Chapter 63: Distant Sniper VS Divine Shooter

  (Thanks to "Zhao Wu Xu 2014", "Li Li Zhi Zhi", "Sheng Yang Yu" and "Mei Ying - Bing Xin" for their support. This week's strong push, two updates every day, hehe.)

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  The mountains are gloomy, the plains are desolate, the wind blows through the forest, and the leaves flutter. In the distance, there is the faint sound of iron hooves and arrows clashing, as well as the mournful howls of wolves on the verge of death, while here it is eerily silent. The mountain wind has blown away the grass and trees, but what cannot be dispersed is the thick, unyielding smell of blood in the air.

  Ma Xuan leaned against the tree, his feet on the trunk, and hung the Wushi bow. He drew out the Moyan bow again and pulled out a pure iron arrow - this was one of the standard arrows for the Moyan bow, a five-jin heavy pure iron arrow, also known as a long-range heavy arrow; another type was a 1.2 jin light flying arrow. Ma Xuan had a premonition that the archer on the big tree two hundred steps away was worthy of this heavy arrow.

  After a long time, the other party finally spoke up, with a clear and resonant voice, full of energy. Even from two hundred steps away, every word could be heard clearly: "If someone can achieve such astonishing archery skills, if I'm not mistaken, you must be the 'Khunbuketur' - the Greedy Wolf Archer, Ma Douwei, mentioned in the legends of the Xianbei and Wuhuan people."

  Ma Xun took a deep breath, his voice thundering: "I am Ma Xun, you are the one who posted the wanted notice for the wolf hunt, why did you do this?"

  The Linjian shooter was silent for a moment, then shouted: "Xianbei people say that Dui Mou robbed their sacred artifact, the Magic Eye Bow, and can hold this bow to snipe enemies at a thousand steps away. Is it true that Xianbei's heavy injury was caused by this?"

  Ma Xun furrowed his brow: "You risked killing wolves and brought me here just to figure this out?"

  The archer between the trees did not speak, as if he had tacitly agreed.

  "Alright, I wouldn't normally tell anyone this, but since you seem quite sincere, I'll be honest with you - the Magic Bow is indeed in my possession, and it's true that I can re-create the Kabi, but not at a distance of 1,000 steps, rather 400 steps."

  Four hundred paces! The pupils of the Linjian shooter's eyes contracted into a needle. If Ma Yuan said he could shoot an enemy at a thousand paces, he would have sneered at him, but saying four hundred paces was believable. However, he still had doubts. According to legend, the Magic Eye Bow had twelve-stone bow power, so shooting four hundred paces away was no problem, but how did the other person open it? More importantly, how did they shoot accurately? Four hundred paces away, that person looked like an ant, and was mixed in with a group of "ants". How could he identify who the target was? And how could he hit the target accurately? This was what he most wanted to know. Of course, he wouldn't naively think that the other person would tell him. So, he came up with this plan, attracting Ma Yuan's attention, leaving the city to pursue, creating an opportunity for him to personally experience the true answer.

  "The Linjian shooter slowly opened his mouth: 'I have practiced archery for 20 years, using the five-stone bow, shooting a hundred paces ring, traveling all over Qingzhou and Liaodong, competing with the Wuhuan and Xianbei shooters who are known as the best in the world. I heard that the commander has divine skills, so I traveled thousands of miles from Liaodong to Liaoxi, not afraid to risk my life fighting wolves, just to ask for a single arrow's gift.'"

  Ma Xun heard this and smiled, saying: "If you can subdue the Xianbei people and the Wuhuan people who are above your head, your archery skills must be extraordinary. If you directly find the White Wolf City Wei's mansion to challenge me, I won't say a word, and immediately order someone to throw you out. However, here, I'll give you an opportunity."

  "Oh? Why is that?"

  "In White Wolf Castle, I am the proud city guardian, while you are just a wandering knight-errant, not qualified to duel with me. But here, we are both wolf hunters, no talk of status, no talk of position, only the bow in our hands and the arrow on the string will decide everything."

  "Haha! This sentence really hits the nail on the head. Just from this sentence, I can tell that Du Wei is definitely a true archer."

  "Want to exchange an arrow with me? Best before I turn my hand back, are you ready?"

  "Teach whenever."

  The two voices stopped abruptly, the distant hoofbeats faded away, and the wolf's howls grew weaker. The sky was overcast, the wind grew stronger, sweeping wildly between the two forests, the branches and leaves rustling and dancing, the person leaning against the branch also swayed with it.

  The body is unstable, the strong wind is fierce, the branches and leaves are covered, and the light is dim. These are all taboos for sniping, but under these unfavorable conditions, Ma Xun and Lin Jian will exchange arrows.

  As Ma Chao said, he agreed to a single shot, and the real intention was to give face to his opponent. With Ma Chao's current status, how could he accept the challenge of an unknown person? If any Tom, Dick or Harry can come to challenge him, and Ma Chao responds, then he would not be the great Han cavalry commander, a high-ranking official of 2,000 stones, but a martial arts gym owner.

  In fact, for more than a month now, there have been no less than a dozen groups of Wuhuan and Xianbei skilled archers who have come to the front of the Duwei government to request a battle with "Kunbaturu". After being chased away by the white wolf cavalry sent by Wu Chui, they retreated and asked for a second chance, requesting to see the magic bow. As a result, anyone who did not leave within an incense stick was arrested, and when their tribe or clan came to request release, according to the rules of the grasslands, they had to pay a ransom to get the person back.

  After a period of time, the ransom alone had collected wealth worth 300,000 to 400,000 yuan. To the point where Bai Lang Chang Tian said with a smile, "Why not just open the city gates and let them in? The losers would pay us ransom, and within a year or a season, our income would be equivalent to half of White Wolf City's annual taxes."

  This is of course a joke, Ma Hu is the master of the city, the leader of the tribe, the pillar of the Han Ge Department, and the spiritual leader of the White Wolf Cavalry. Who would casually compete with someone of unknown identity? Others lose, it's just one life, if he loses, the foundation that has just been established will disappear, who will wear new shoes to step on dog shit?

  Ma Xun agreed to a duel with Lin's archer not only because the opponent was sincere and willing to risk his life, but also because he was very interested in this person - the Central Plains God Archer from Qingzhou. In the Three Kingdoms era, heroes emerged one after another, would this person bring him surprises?

  The clouds rolled in the sky, the wind blew stronger and stronger, the treetops swayed, and the leaves danced wildly. But at a certain moment, the world seemed to be quiet for a moment. Under this eerie silence, a loud noise suddenly burst out, and two dark and white lights that were hard to distinguish with the naked eye flew out from the treetops.

  Dark light flies swiftly like electricity, at a distance of one hundred and fifty steps, the white light has just flown out for fifty steps, two rays of light collide accurately.

  Bang! A loud explosion sounded in the air, and a white light burst into splinters, turning into fragments of wood chips that were swept away by the strong wind in an instant.

  Wu Guang's light was slightly off by a fraction of an inch, but his overbearing momentum did not diminish, and he disappeared in a flash.

  Plop! A strange noise in the woods, then everything fell silent again.

  Ma Hong took a deep breath, and for the first time, a look of surprise appeared on his face. He was more aware than anyone else of the power of this arrow: a twelve-stone super-strong bow, fully drawn and fired in one shot, with an initial speed almost comparable to that of a handgun bullet. Due to the rapid friction between the arrowhead and the air, it even produced a sonic boom. He instinctively felt that his opponent was very strong, although it was just a test, and although he admired his opponent, once the arrows were facing each other, he absolutely could not show mercy, otherwise, it might be him who ended up lying down.

  If you want to ask for a single arrow's blessing, then you must have the awareness of death.

  The two arrows collided in mid-air, not by coincidence or tacit understanding, but by the work of a skilled archer. The opponent was clearly aware that this arrow could not be dodged, so he took a risk and used his own arrow to collide with it, intending to knock down the iron arrow.

  Iron arrows shot out at nearly bullet speed, were actually hit by the opponent in one move, such precision and predictive accuracy was a divine skill that Ma Xun asked himself if he could do it. If this arrow was shot towards him, then all he could do was dodge as fast as possible.

  Counter-attack with attack, break arrow with arrow. Losing by a hair's breadth, blood splatters and lives are lost. How much confidence is needed, or how many lives must be risked to achieve this?

  "Good archery!" Ma Xuan laughed loudly and jumped down from the big tree, "Are you okay? If nothing's wrong, come out and show yourself." He heard clearly that his iron arrow had shot into the trunk of the tree, so it shouldn't have hurt that person. The iron arrow was deflected by a fraction of an inch, flying towards its target with an error of at least one foot. As they say, "a difference of a single hair can lead to a mistake of a thousand miles", it's almost exactly this meaning.

  Almost simultaneously, another person jumped down from the tree in front, about twenty-five or six years old, with a green cloth wrapped around his head, wearing a thick coat, with a handsome face, long arms and narrow waist, and a height of nearly eight feet, only slightly shorter than Ma Hu. He had two halberds inserted on his back, and his slender arm held a large black bow that shone like oil, and a pair of dark shiny eyes that were similar in color to the bow. When he opened and closed them, two sharp rays shot out, just like the arrows he shot, which made people's hearts chill. However, at this moment, what caught people's attention was not his eyes, but a thin line of blood on his left cheek. If you looked closely, you could also see that there were some tiny thorns stuck in his skin...

  "Swift arrow unbeatable, distant shot unmatched. It turns out this is the true strength of a Greedy Wolf Archer." The young archer sheathed his bow and cupped his hands in respect, "Thank you, General Ma, for teaching me. I lost."

  Ma Xun said calmly: "Since you've lost, leave your name, I'll see how much ransom is worth."

  Young archer speechless with laughter: "I'm just a wandering son of Liaodong, today I eat my fill, tomorrow I don't know where to dine, afraid to disappoint the commander."

  "No!" Ma Xun smiled faintly and pointed at the other person, "You are the most valuable, even if you're a nobody now, with this archery skill, you will definitely make a name for yourself in the future."

  The young archer smiled brightly, handsome and sunny: "So, let's borrow the auspicious words of Douchen, hoping that one day the name of Donglai Taishi will resound throughout the world. A great man should be like this!"

  Tai, Shi, Ci! Ma Xun smiled with narrowed eyes. Indeed, it didn't disappoint me at all, this trip was worth it.