Temporary shooting ranges had been set up beneath all four city walls. Anyone who could hit a target from within a hundred paces was qualified to climb the walls and help defend the city.
After all, fine steel arrows were consumables. When the demonic beasts attacked the city, it would be difficult to retrieve them, so one needed a high enough level of archery skill to inflict the greatest possible damage.
The demon-slaying crossbow weighed nearly a hundred jin. For ordinary mortals, it was obviously a heavy burden, and holding it level to aim and shoot was practically impossible. So the tests were done with ordinary bows and crossbows instead.
As long as their aim was good enough, they could use the city wall as a support once they climbed up. It wouldn't be so strenuous, and they'd be of use.
Shi Lan stood beside the shooting range, guiding those who met the requirements up onto the wall. The mask was stifling, so she simply took off her helmet and set it atop the wall.
The person currently being tested at the range was a dark-faced old man of about sixty. He was tall and burly, and the muscles of his right arm were notably thicker than those of his left. Thick calluses covered the web of his hand, his thumb, and his little finger.
The old man took an ironwood bow and an arrow from a nearby demon-suppression soldier. He held the bow in his left hand, took a deep breath, then swiftly nocked the arrow and drew. The muscles in his right arm swelled, his back straightened, and the bow curved into a full moon.
The old man fixed his gaze on the distant target, his eyes suddenly sharp. A breath later, he released the bowstring without hesitation.