Nata's mind was in a mess, and she could hear her own heart beating so fast that she could hear it.
In order to deal with the fear in her heart for so long, her body was a little stiff. Seeing Roddy leave so 'confidently', Natha didn't even know what to do next.
In Natha's view, or rather, the view instilled by the village elders, humans should be lustful, greedy, and liked to take advantage of others. But why was this fellow completely different from what Chief Brudy had described?
Her gaze turned to the corpse of the steeltail leopard. Such a powerful creature could be sold for a high price in the human world, but why did he leave it behind without any hesitation?
Also … Why was his archery so powerful?
How could he be so calm in the face of danger?
The speed, accuracy, and boldness of the two arrows made Natha feel immense pressure. She took a few deep breaths, but she couldn't calm herself down. She looked at the two arrows on the head of the steeltail leopard, and her body trembled slightly from the adrenaline.
After standing there for a few minutes, footsteps came from behind.
"Natha! Are you here? Na — — Natha? You're really here! We all thought that something had happened to you … "
A few figures walked out from the darkness. They were the Wood Elves who were supposed to hunt with Natha. The leader was called Randolf. He had a strong and vigorous body, but when he walked on the complicated ground, he almost didn't make a sound. He was one of Natha's many admirers, and perhaps the most enthusiastic one. The people behind him were her hunting companions, and it was obvious that they had followed her intentionally. They probably saw the traces of Natha's escape and chased her here.
Speaking of which, Randolf was already prepared to be the 'hero saving the damsel in distress' and was excited for a long time. He finally found a chance to show off his skills in front of Natha. But when he rushed to Natha's side, he realized that things didn't develop as he had imagined.
"We saw the traces you left behind and thought that you might be in danger. If you're here, then you should be fine. That leopard …"
As Randolf spoke, he saw the leopard's carcass lying at the side. His words were stuck in his throat and he frowned. To young hunters like them, the Steel-tailed Leopard wasn't a prey that could be easily killed. Last year, a senior hunter in the village was killed by this powerful and cunning leopard. That was why the Wood Elves would usually stay away from it.
However, when they saw that it was an adult steeltail leopard that was chasing after Natha, Randolf and the three Wood Elves felt a little scared. It was fine for the four of them to deal with a young leopard, but if it was such a big adult leopard, it would be wishful thinking if they didn't pay a certain price. The best result was that they could only force it away.
Thinking of this, Randolf's' hero saving the damsel in distress' plan was basically gone. But then, he was puzzled. "That … Natha, you … you killed this leopard?"
Natha raised her head and looked at him, but she didn't even have any extra reaction. She turned her head, patted the ground, and picked up the short bow that was thrown to the side.
"Are you hurt? We brought some herbs. "
There was still no response.
Randolf also understood her 'iceberg' personality, and he was already used to her cold attitude. In order to change the topic, he walked to the leopard's corpse and looked at it. But he frowned and looked at the dried blood on its head. He said in surprise, "These two arrows … are too accurate, aren't they?"
Hearing this, the companions behind him also came over and looked carefully. They also felt that it was a little unbelievable.
"How is it possible …"
"Both eyes were right on target. There was no deviation at all."
"This mark … it was shot when it jumped up."
"Two arrows in the air?"
Although they were novice hunters in the village, they could roughly guess the process of the battle just by looking at the footprints and marks on the ground. But the final conclusion made them feel that it was like a fantasy story.
"Wait, these arrows …"
Randolf swallowed his saliva and pinched the tail of the wooden arrow with his fingertips. His eyes froze, and just when he was about to say something, he saw Natha walking straight to the leopard with a frosty expression. She didn't even look at him and his three companions. She forcefully pulled out the two arrows, disregarding the blood dripping from the arrowheads, stuffed them into her quiver, and turned to leave …
This slightly arrogant attitude didn't make the Wood Elves too dissatisfied. Usually, Natha treated everyone like this. So, when they looked at Natha's back, they turned around and discussed, "Randolf, this leopard … Should we carry it away?"
"Yes, when we go back, tell Village Chief Brudy that we picked it up. Don't let Natha have anything to do with it." In the eyes of his companions, Randolf was a gentle and upright person. He was one of the more prestigious ones among the younger generation, so no one would question his leadership. "Don't say any more nonsense. This leopard's death has nothing to do with us or Natha."
"But Randolf … this bonfire …"
"Only you know this is called a bonfire?"
"That arrow … That arrow doesn't seem to belong to us …"
"Do you really need me to say it out loud to stop this stupid question?" Randolf waved his hand and interrupted their questions. "It's obvious that this camp belongs to humans, and that arrow is also used by humans. Are you satisfied now?"
The three Wood Elves looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what was going on.
Randolf sighed and continued, "What's important isn't the process, but the result … Natha is fine, and the steeltail leopard is dead. As for the rest, it's just speculation. So, don't say any unnecessary nonsense to anyone when you go back, understand? Otherwise, Natha might beat all of you up for this! "
Hearing that Natha wanted to beat them up, the Wood Elves nodded hurriedly. Randolf didn't say any more nonsense and immediately ordered them to deal with the leopard's carcass.
He strolled around the bonfire alone, his gaze wandering to the blurry footprints on the ground. From time to time, he would stop and look at them with a serious expression.
In fact, he didn't show the nervousness and shock in his heart on his face. Although he said those words casually, in fact, he knew better than his companions what the wound on the carcass meant …
When hunting such prey, the first choice of the hunter was to shoot the heart at the back of the foreleg. He had never heard of anyone who would choose to shoot the head. Either that person was stupid, or he was bold.
But now, looking at the wound on the eyes, Randolf naturally understood what kind of person had 'rescued' Natha.
Why did a human with terrifying archery help Natha? Why did she take the arrow away? Was it to cover up something?
Seeing that Natha didn't want to say it, Randolf decided to hide it. But when he looked at the leopard, he still sighed and muttered to himself, "… Among the humans, there's such a powerful guy?"
Randolf was a little depressed because the opportunity to 'save the damsel in distress' was wasted. But for Natha who was walking away, her emotions were more complicated than ever.
The Wood Elves basically hunted with bows and arrows for a living, so after carefully looking at the two arrows, her heart was filled with admiration and even despair … She even felt that her steps were several times heavier than usual.
In her hands were two ordinary-looking wooden arrows. The craftsmanship wasn't as exquisite as the arrows used by the Wood Elves. An outsider wouldn't be able to see any difference, but after a simple observation, Natha was surprised to find that these arrows had been adjusted in subtle areas.
Some parts of the arrow shafts were slightly shaved off, and some parts of the arrowheads were made to reduce the weight. It seemed to be ordinary wear and tear, but the center of gravity and hardness of the two arrows were shockingly consistent!
This kind of modification was enough to ensure that the two arrows would land on the same spot within a 30-meter range. But what made her feel more afraid was the unconfirmed guess …
That was a small scratch on the tail of each arrow.
The scratch on both arrows had a slight deviation. This kind of scratch, Natha had only seen in the village's strongest hunters and Village Chief Brook … And the words of the village chief still seemed to echo in her ears —
"You said scratch? The arrow's landing point will be slightly different from 30 meters away. No matter how uniform each arrow is, there will still be some differences. If your target is above 70 meters, the difference will be magnified, so these scratches will let you know what adjustments you need to make. "
"Natha, you are still young. You don't have to think about these problems for now because this is a matter of another realm. When you truly reach this realm, you will understand."
Those words echoed in Nata's mind, making her feel extremely complicated as she held the arrow in her hand.
"Roddy … I'll remember you."
The young Wood Elf's voice was very soft. It was definitely not easy to make her speak. But at this time, because of Roddy's "coincidental" encounter with her, this Wood Elf who was originally going to be Roddy's "Ranger" mentor had now regarded him as an insurmountable peak in her heart …
Sometimes, fate always seemed so absurd and full of coincidences.
*****
At the end of August, Hollier was still a little hot.
As the largest city in Eiffta territory, Hollier's prosperity was undeniable. The large market that was held twice a week attracted a large number of merchants. A large population meant more taxes for the lord of the city. With more taxes, he could buy more luxurious items to display in front of other nobles. He could hold more banquets and let more people know about his wealth.
Of course, this was only on the surface. Most of the time, the nobles of this era were extremely bored and did not have much to do. Other than reading and learning knowledge that the commoners could not access, the only thing they could do was to stroll around their territories all day long. The so-called entertainment activities were hunting and feasting. Every day, they would eat and drink to their heart's content and enjoy the amazing wealth that was inherited from their ancestors.
Most of the nobles in Eiffta territory were basically in this state. The son of the largest lord of the territory, the old Duke of Angmar, was the same. Since returning here in late April, the Earl had frequently appeared in various occasions. His presence was bursting. Almost all the nobles in the territory talked about him at the dinner tables.
In the eyes of the nobles in the territory, Earl Francis' behavior should be a sign that he had finally gained the approval of his father, the Dukes Of Angmar, and was ready to "step onto the stage".
Some time ago, there was news that the heir of the Duke had not been decided. Now that Sally had become the candidate priest, there was no longer any suspense. More than a dozen lords were already thinking about when to send gifts to the future Earl. After all, the Lucifron Family was the most powerful family in the entire northwest of the kingdom.
But these nobles did not know that the truth was far more bizarre than they had imagined.
"After a few months of investigation, this is the result you got?!"
Roars came out from Francis's closed room. Francis's voice was trembling as he whispered something, but what he got in return was an even angrier response.
After a while, there was a sound of something being smashed.
"I only want the result. Don't explain."
When the door was opened, Francis's cold voice came out. There was no anger like before. Instead, it was calm like an ancient well, as if it was a normal order.
His men, who were covered in cold sweat, stepped back in fear. They lowered their heads and did not even dare to look up. They whispered promises and disappeared at the end of the corridor as fast as they could.
Francis closed the door without any expression. The moment he turned around, his expression became extremely ferocious.
"A bunch of useless things!"
The low curse could not hide the disappointment and anger in his heart. He quickly walked to the desk. The content on the parchment made him feel like his chest was about to explode.
All of this, it was all thanks to Sally.
The veins on Francis's forehead bulged. Obviously, he was trying hard to suppress the anger in his heart. He realized that he had been trying to help Sally for the past few months, but to no avail. Since the beginning of the investigation, he had been led by the nose by one false evidence after another. Until now, he still had no clue!
It was not until recently that his subordinates discovered some clues and became aware of this. So after eliminating the interference of Sally, one of his men called Willie finally found some real clues. There was evidence that the scouts of Norland Village seemed to have a great relationship with the "mysterious person"!
But when he continued to investigate, the news that came back made him feel strange. The scouts of Norland Village had all disappeared.
Only a Second Lieutenant called Sodin was sitting at the entrance of the village like a lunatic. When they sent people to ask him questions, he foolishly answered all kinds of questions, saying crazy things like the scouts had attacked the Orc Kingdom.
"Are you kidding me? Can't you f * cking use your brain to make up lies?! "
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