Chapter 190
The 6th Joint
Supreme Tournament ⑥
Individual Competition
Translator : PolterGlast
Amidst the watchful
eyes of several thousand spectators, the opening of the Joint Supreme
Tournament began. A fanfare from the band, amplified by Shannon, echoed
throughout the venue, and along with the band's performance, a blizzard of
flower petals danced on the wind created by the Wind Mages.
Through it all, the
elite of the Frontier Knights, led by the Commander, entered on horseback,
demonstrating their skill by shooting at targets while galloping, and then
immediately charging the targets to deliver a slashing attack.
"Incredible..."
"On
horseback..."
"I see. With that
saddle harness... so that's how it works."
Seeing Knight
Commander Gouras and the two corps commanders muttering just as I had intended,
I secretly smirked.
After that, following
a greeting from Margrave Hastburg, His Majesty the King entered and took his
seat. Then, following the guidance of the master of ceremonies, after an
explanation of the competition rules and procedures, a demonstration was held.
This time, all the
latest model crossbows used in the tournament were limited-edition improved
versions made with monster materials. The Frontier Knights, led by the
Commander, would demonstrate the difference from the conventional model by
test-firing them.
It was added that,
since they used precious monster materials and were custom-made, they were not
for sale and would only be given as participation prizes to the competing
athletes.
"Hmm... a limited
production item. I would like to get my hands on one."
"Indeed. The
difference in range is clear. When facing longbowmen, the difference in range
greatly affects the tide of battle. It may be difficult to equip all of them,
but I would like to deploy them to at least some of our outstanding
archers."
Confirming that
Margrave Hamish and Baron Bauner were speaking secretly, it goes without saying
that I made a triumphant fist pump in my heart.
And so, the opening
ceremony ended, and the individual match of the Joint Supreme Tournament, which
the various lords had been eagerly awaiting, began.
There were 35
participants. Five at a time would shoot 10 arrows at five targets of varying
distances, with the farthest targets being worth more points. The condition was
to hit each target at least once, and after fulfilling that, they were free to
aim at any target they liked. Then, after finishing this first round of 10
shots, they would repeat it once more in the reverse order of the first round.
Whether to aim for the
high-scoring, farthest target, or to steadily accumulate points, was a choice
for each participant, so it was necessary for each of them to think about their
strategy.
The reason for the
repetition was to eliminate the unfairness that would arise from the later
athletes changing their aim based on the results of the other athletes.
"Hmm... each
participant is carrying the honor of their respective domain, so their skill is
considerable."
"Yes, Your
Majesty. For fixed targets, if one has a certain level of skill, it is
difficult to create a large gap. Therefore, after hitting the required targets,
the choice of targets by each athlete also becomes an important factor. I
believe that in the second round, each athlete will make their move."
In the individual
match, I was devoted to the role of commentator at His Majesty's side.
For precision shooting
without magic, aiming at targets within 50 m, a distance that does not require
arcing shots, is the most reliable. So, in the first round, each athlete was
choosing their targets relatively conservatively.
Since there are no
electronic scoreboards in this world, we had prepared large, color-coded
stacking blocks to indicate each athlete's score.
Boxes of a height
corresponding to the score were stacked for each athlete, a system where the
performance could be understood by the height. This way, even the spectators
watching from a distance could understand the scoring situation at a glance.
Even a quick look at
this scoreboard showed that the scores of each athlete in the first round were
almost neck and neck. And then, in the second round, it seemed each athlete was
staking their chances, and the number of those aiming for the targets in the
back, at 60 and 80 m, had increased.
The spectators
watching this would sometimes let out a great stir, and sometimes a great
cheer. They were probably cheering for the shooting of the athletes from the
domain they had bet on.
As a result of the
second round of shooting, the difference between each domain became clear.
The domains that had
athletes in the high-scoring range were:
Demon Territory Count
Solis: 3 people (Provisional 2nd to 4th place)
Count Gorman: 2 people
(Provisional 1st, 5th place)
Count Solis: 2 people
(Provisional 7th, 10th place)
Margrave Hastburg: 1
person (Provisional 6th place)
Viscount Kirias: 1
person (Provisional 9th place)
Viscount Cornell: 1
person (Provisional 8th place)
It was shaping up like
this.
It was predicted that
these 10 would likely occupy the top ranks, and the final standings would be
decided by the scores in the moving target round. At this point, many people's
bets still had a chance of winning, and their cheering was fervent.
"Still, the
Houses of Solis and Gorman, which have been at the forefront of adopting the
crossbow, are strong. And especially, that young woman from Count Gorman's, I
hear she's not a soldier but an ordinary citizen!"
"Just as Corps
Commander Hoffman says. Of the elites in our Third Corps of the Royal Knights,
I wonder how many could stand against the top contenders now. It is truly
regrettable..."
"Corps Commander
Schultz, that will not do. As the Royal Knights, I'm counting on you in the
team match to uphold His Majesty's honor. Even if you cannot win, at least get
a high rank..."
"Yes, Your
Excellency, Gouras! On the honor of the Royal Knights, I will do my best. This
time, we have brought men whose skills are comparable to Lord Gold and Lord Aral
of the Demon Territory Count Solis's retinue, from whom we have received
instruction as teachers. In the team match, they will surely perform
well."
"Fufufu, as
expected of Corps Commander Schultz. I have high expectations. If that's the
case, then I can enjoy the individual match with peace of mind."
Knight Commander
Gouras laughed, relieved.
Unfortunately, they
did not know.
That the skills of
Gold and Aral, whom they had arbitrarily assumed to be the top of the Demon
Territory Count Solis's forces, were nowhere near the level of the members Takuhir
had prepared for the team match...
"Still, it seems
the depth of their roster is proportional to the number of people who make it
to the top ranks. It is also His Majesty's will. Upon our return to the
capital, the Royal Knights should take the lead in adopting this and we should
scout from among the citizens of the capital as well."
Knight Commander
Gouras muttered.
If it were to spread
among the 30,000 members of the Royal Knights and the citizens who live in the
capital, it would create a base of competitors easily exceeding 100,000 people.
If they scouted for
excellent individuals, couldn't they also establish a powerful mounted archer
unit within the Royal Knights? He was envisioning such a plan.
There were also those
who began to grow anxious as they watched the progress of the individual match.
"Christoph, that
girl Count Gorman sent out, isn't she pretty dangerous? She somehow reminds me
of Carleen..."
"Lord Takuhir,
three of the individual match participants from the Gorman domain this time are
women. I believe this is proof that the crossbow has penetrated quite deeply
among the citizens living in the domain.
I heard from the Gorman
soldiers stationed in Teigoon, as part of the Frontier Knights, that after Lady
Yuka took the initiative, the number of female archers increased all at
once..."
"In that case,
the team match will be just as, or even more, unpredictable than last time. Is
that what you're saying? Then, I guess we have no choice but to go with that
strategy for that one..."
"Yes, Count Gorman
will likely be aiming for the champion, and he still has the luxury of sending
them to the individual match. We have no choice but to judge it that way."
An image of my
father-in-law, who normally never breaks his expression and has a grumpy face
for everyone but us, with a full-faced, smug smile, popped into my head.
While this was
happening, after a break, the next stage, the moving target competition, began.
To be honest, the moving target is not easy. One has to instantly judge the
speed of the target and the trajectory of the arrow and lead the shot, so the
difficulty level rises sharply.
Even those who ranked
high in the fixed target round often miss, and in past tournaments, the
rankings have often been completely overturned in the moving target
competition.
This time, I had sent
five people into the individual match with full confidence, and among them,
three were outstanding.
The Wind Mages,
Katarina and Folk, and though not a mage, a former citizen whom I had picked up
from the descriptions in the history books and who now belonged to the
self-defense force, Altena.
Altena had originally
started with the crossbow out of admiration for Carleen, and after being
scouted by us, she had also received direct instruction from her and had her
inherent talent blossom all at once.
She was my trump card
in the individual match. I had kept Altena in reserve for a long time for this
very purpose, and I was having her participate this time.
My sister, Chrisia,
had sharp-eyedly tried to probe for something before the tournament, but I had
responded with a poker face. It was also annoying to always have my sister see
through me, and she too would probably be in a bit of a panic this time.
Thinking this, I
watched the progress of the moving target round.
※
For the moving target
round, the participants with the lowest scores from the fixed target round
would shoot in groups of three, and the final top 10 would shoot in pairs. Each
group seemed to be struggling considerably, with many missing their targets,
and the venue was filled with great excitement.
And then... the
shooting of the top 10 began. The cheers from the venue grew even more fervent,
and the great cheers when a target was hit and the shrieks when it was missed
grew louder.
Katarina and Folk, who
were third and fourth in the fixed target round, each produced respectable
results, provisionally occupying first and third place overall, and all that
was left was to wait for the results of Altena and the female archer from the Gorman
domain (Miria), who was first in the fixed target round.
At this point, the
likely outcomes of the betting had also been narrowed down to three.
Demon Territory Count → Demon Territory Count (8x)
Demon Territory Count → Count Gorman (4x)
Count Gorman → Demon Territory Count (5x)
I mean, the fact that
the top three most popular patterns were directly leading to the results gave
me a slight chill. The fact that everyone was already in the process of
establishing a winning formula...
It goes without saying
that the match between these two was abnormally exciting. Not only was it a de
facto match to decide first and second place, but it was also a major battle
where neither would yield.
Of the 10 shots at the
moving target, all the previous athletes had missed several times. But these
two had not missed a single target up to the ninth shot.
If both hit the 10th
shot, then based on the individual match results, Count Gorman's (Miria's)
victory would be decided.
The participants
watched with bated breath, and the two fired their final arrows at the same
time.
One arrow stuck in the
target, and the other swerved slightly, grazing the target.
"Magnificent!
Magnificent! The duels up to now have been so, but the final duel between these
two was truly magnificent!"
His Majesty the King
also seemed to be impressed by the sweat-inducing duel between the two and
their attitude of not yielding an inch. And the venue was filled with great
cheers and loud applause praising their good fight.
"We did it! We
hit it again this time! Yuka-san, Chrisia-san, your predictions were spot
on!"
"It's a little...
frustrating, but I hit it too. Chrisia-san's analysis is amazing, as
expected."
"Aah! This
excitement is unbearable. To be able to experience this again with my big
sisters..."
A particularly loud
voice rose from the nobles-only VIP seats, and I couldn't help but look that
way.
Wait, Chrisia's
analysis? What does that mean? Does it mean my sister was getting information
from someone other than me?
Who was it! Who was
the careless one who told my sister about our trump card!
To prevent future
information leaks, I was thinking that I should impose a special training
(punishment) on that careless person.
"Fufufu, please
leave my brother's strategy to me! This time, it's thanks to my brother as
well!"
"!!!"
Hey, Chrisia! Don't
say such careless things! For me, the tournament organizer and the house, to be
the source of an information leak is no laughing matter!
It's as if I leaked
the information... My comrades who were beside me were looking at me, holding
back their laughter.
No, in reality, I
haven't told her anything. I'm completely innocent, and it's a baseless
story... I think.
Probably... I haven't
said anything, have I? Me.
"It couldn't have
been... I am innocent."
I should be confident,
but I was gradually getting anxious... I muttered quietly and held my head.
"Yuka-sama! This
is my first time, but... I think I'm getting addicted!"
"Me too! Aah... I
can't wait for tomorrow."
"To think there
was such fun besides honey. It was worth it to persuade my father and come
here!"
"Such fun...
Yuka-sama, you're so cunning! From now on, I will too!"
It goes without saying
that I ended up holding my head even more, seeing the four sheltered young
ladies who had stepped into a world they shouldn't have, getting abnormally
excited.
※
And so, the first day
of the tournament ended with cheers and great applause.
First Place: Demon
Territory Count Solis (Altena)
Second Place: Count Gorman
(Miria)
Third Place: Demon
Territory Count Solis (Katarina)
Fourth Place: Demon Territory
Count Solis (Folk)
Fifth Place: Margrave
Hastburg
It goes without saying
that a special prize from His Majesty the King, who was impressed by the final
great match, was added for the top prize winners.
The next day, with
even more participating nobles, the fierce team matches, carrying the honor of
each domain, would begin.
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