Looking at the bow in his hands, Knight Marshall had never imagined that the crisis facing the castle could be resolved with just a single bow. Could this be the true ability of the master blacksmith?
Abel watched as Knight Marshall's expression grew increasingly entranced by the composite bow. He knew that look all too well—it was the same expression Knight Marshall wore whenever he looked at his beloved armor.
Abel inwardly cried out that something was wrong. Knight Marshall couldn't be planning to keep the composite bow instead of returning it, could he? With that thought, Abel reached out, trying to take the bow from Knight Marshall's hands.
The composite bow in Knight Marshall's hands seemed to have taken root. Abel tugged at it several times, but it did not budge.
"Abel, Uncle Marshall has treated you pretty well, hasn't he?" The smile on Knight Marshall's face reminded Abel of the expression on the Big Bad Wolf's face when he looked at Little Red Riding Hood.
Abel couldn't help shivering. He nodded and said quietly, "Uncle Marshall has always been very good to me."
"Your Uncle Marshall has never had a good bow. Just think, as an Intermediate Knight, I still don't have a decent bow. Every time I go out, I'm too embarrassed to even bring one with me," Knight Marshall said pitifully.
Abel rolled his eyes. Every time Knight Marshall went out, he wore his finest clothes, carried his Magic Greatsword, and donned his brightest armor. Even his horse was stronger than ordinary warhorses. When had he ever brought an ordinary bow and arrows along? In Abel's experience, Knight Marshall cared most about having impressive equipment. He would never carry ordinary gear unless it was necessary for battle.
Knight Marshall also knew that this bow must have been extremely difficult to make, but how could he possibly hand over something that had already fallen into his hands? That simply wasn't his style.
Today's results had been astonishing. Twelve orcs had been killed outside the castle, and these were no ordinary orcs. If they had been ordinary orcs, why would Knight Marshall have hidden inside the castle instead of going out to fight them? Every one of them had been at least level six, and each could use battle qi in combat. As an Intermediate Knight, Knight Marshall could defeat one orc alone, but orcs were naturally stronger than humans of the same level. Their powerful bodies and years of combat experience made them better suited for battle than humans. Orcs were more like war machines.
Knight Marshall could no longer remember how many years it had been since he had felt this exhilarated. Standing on the battlements, he had felled one orc with every arrow, hitting exactly where he aimed. This bow was like an envoy of the Grim Reaper—whoever it marked was destined to die.
Watching the forty-year-old Knight Marshall act cute in front of him, Abel felt completely defeated. Helplessly, and with some heartache, he glanced at the composite bow in Knight Marshall's hands. This super-composite bow, with a draw weight of over four hundred pounds, was getting farther and farther away from him. He waved his hand and said, "Uncle Marshall, if you like it so much, just take it."
Knight Marshall laughed loudly, drew the bow, and struck an archery pose. He looked at Abel smugly and said, "A divine bow like this can only be used by the strongest knights."
"Uncle Marshall, if you fire the bow without an arrow, it'll damage many of the components. I don't have any spare parts to repair it." Ignoring the pose Knight Marshall thought made him look cool, Abel mercilessly pointed out the bow's usage restriction.
Knight Marshall's laughter abruptly stopped. He slowly began releasing his strength, trying to return the bowstring to its original position. The bow's characteristics were obvious enough: drawing it required tremendous strength, and returning the string required just as much. The initial resistance was not too great, but as the bowstring returned, the required strength grew stronger and stronger. A burst of white battle qi radiance appeared around Knight Marshall's body. After finally flattening the bowstring, Knight Marshall wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and carefully examined the bow, still somewhat shaken. He absolutely could not damage this divine bow he had just snatched by showing off.
Abel sighed and walked gloomily down from the battlements. Now he had to return to the Blacksmith Shop and make more composite bows—two of them, one for himself and one for his father, Knight Bennett. Abel knew very well that now that Knight Marshall had one, it would not be long before he showed off to Knight Bennett. If Abel did not make one for Knight Bennett as well, he would feel guilty himself. Although he knew his father would not say anything, Knight Bennett would certainly be very upset inside.
"Open the castle gates. Drag the bodies back, and bring the mounts back as well," Knight Marshall loudly ordered the attendant cavalry waiting inside the castle gate.
Once the castle gates opened, ten attendant cavalrymen spurred their horses and charged out. The two dire wolves on the battlefield were howling mournfully when they saw the humans appear. They suddenly rushed forward to attack the attendants.
They had only gone a few steps when two arrows flew from the battlements and pierced the heads of the two dire wolves. The attendants gazed admiringly at the lord in shining armor atop the battlements. A powerful lord meant safety for the territory—and protection for their families.
Aside from the two dire wolves that had been shot, four Blazing Bulls remained outside the castle gates. The other mounts had already fled alongside the escaping orcs. Only Blazing Bulls were not particularly intelligent, nor were they especially loyal to their owners. The four Blazing Bulls were quite valuable; after being tamed, they could be used or sold.
After the attendants brought the bodies and four Blazing Bulls back into the castle, Knight Marshall had already decided their fate. His carriage would be converted into a bull-drawn cart, with two bulls for his own use and two for Abel's. Knight Marshall felt that this arrangement reduced his guilt over snatching his adopted son's weapon somewhat. Even though that guilt was very slight, he knew that since Abel could make one bow like this, he could make a second. But if Knight Marshall did not seize this bow, who knew when Abel would next feel like making bows and arrows?
The crisis had been resolved, and Knight Marshall believed no other orc would dare come to Hari Castle seeking death. He ordered the guards to continue patrolling, then allowed himself to rest. For the past several days, Knight Marshall had not taken off his armor once. As the castle's master, the pressure on him had been immense.
Once orcs appeared near a castle, the noble of that castle could no longer leave. This was a wartime regulation shared by all humanity. It required that when humanity's enemies appeared within a noble's territory, the noble could not leave that territory. If he did, it meant he had abandoned his domain.
This rule did not apply to wars between humans. In wars among humans, conceding defeat when victory was impossible was accepted by everyone. Nobles were rarely killed in wars between humans. Unless there was deep hatred involved, no one would violate the rules of knightly conduct concerning the treatment of noble prisoners.
After returning to the Blacksmith Shop, Abel began the repetitive work of making composite bows again. He took all four of the heavy bows remaining in the warehouse, and Knight Marshall certainly would not object to his doing so.
He made the ball molds again, producing more this time. Abel also made four additional bearings and several large springs. This time, he planned to modify a carriage himself. The carriages used for every journey had left Abel with a deep psychological shadow. Accustomed to the smoothness of automobiles in his previous life, he felt that carriages in this world were like dancing over a field of rocks.
For two days, all of Abel's energy went into making composite bows. With his previous experience, the two bows he made this time were even more precise. Since the orcs had been driven away, Abel could leave the castle and test the composite bows' long-range shooting.
He refined the markings on the sights, dividing them into ranges of within one hundred meters, one hundred to two hundred meters, two hundred to four hundred meters, and beyond four hundred meters. The bow's power dropped considerably beyond four hundred meters. Abel estimated that the maximum range of the composite bows he had made this time was around four hundred meters. Beyond that, they could no longer achieve a lethal effect and could at most injure an enemy. Moreover, after four hundred meters, the arrows would slow down, allowing enemies to dodge them with ease.
After completing the two composite bows, Abel was eager to deliver one to his father, Knight Bennett. He therefore approached Knight Marshall and told him that he wanted to make a trip to Bennett Castle.
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