Chapter 73
Chapter 73: Heart in Chaos
According to the panel’s display, the Crisis Node was related to 夏洛特 (Charlotte).
But 罗伊 (Roy) was certain that the current 夏洛特 had no hostility toward him whatsoever.
That’s strange. If 夏洛特 didn’t have any animosity, then where was the crisis from the Crisis Node coming from? And why was it linked to her?
The original work only mentioned this hunting trip briefly, providing no useful intel.
Roy could only remain vigilant and pay attention to any unusual happenings during this hunt.
He followed 夏洛特 to the hunting grounds.
On the wide grassy area, various small magical beasts wandered around. Along the inner perimeter, there was a row of barriers with racks filled with different hunting weapons for people to choose from.
At the sight of 夏洛特 arriving, those who were previously hunting turned and ran.
Nobody wanted to be compared to her and end up looking like a total loser.
But 夏洛特 didn’t care about those cowards; her full attention was on Roy: “It’s a rare opportunity, how about a little contest?”
Roy pondered for a moment: “Is that really a good idea?”
“Being modest again?”
Just after 夏洛特 encouraged him, Roy flatly responded, “It wouldn’t be great if I ended up winning against you, Your Highness?”
“Hey, you’re quite cocky!” With that, 夏洛特 got totally excited and playfully punched Roy.
The Lionheart Princess’s eyes burned with competitive spirit as she pointed at Roy: “In that case, let’s up the stakes — the loser has to grant the winner one request. Are you up for it?”
“Always at your service,” Roy replied with a slight smile.
If he won, wouldn’t it be a perfect excuse to get her to do something straight out of those knightly romance novels?! 夏洛特 was itching with excitement.
Little did she know that underneath Roy’s humble smile, he was also pondering the same thing. He wanted to hear the proud princess make cute sounds like a cat if he won; it’d be great if he could record her with some extraordinary props for a ringtone…
They had become familiar enough that this sort of banter was harmless, and both knew the other wouldn’t take it too far.
But to the spectators, this scene looked like a classic remake — the competitive young man wanting to go head-to-head with the princess, only to be thoroughly trounced while running away in disgrace under her disdainful gaze.
“Tsk tsk tsk, it’s been ages since someone challenged the princess! This guy has some guts!”
“What a fool! Just wait for the embarrassment in front of the princess!”
“Well, let’s not jinx it! Isn’t the guy from 【铁血】 good with weapons?” a young master weakly chimed in, which received a round of laughter from those around.
“What’s the use of being good with weapons?! The princess is at Sequence 8! How long has it been since Roy became an Extraordinary Being? The real question is whether he can even master 【Weapon Projection】!”
Most of the crowd were Charlotte’s suitors; even though they knew they had no chance, they happily watched Roy embarrass himself.
As for the others, even if they had a fondness for Roy, objectively, they didn’t believe he could win, so they wouldn’t help him either. Instead, those looking to comfort him and gain points for favor were already plotting how to console him later.
Roy and 夏洛特 had no idea how their friendly competition was being misconstrued and stood together at the shooting position.
At this moment, the vast hunting ground belonged only to the two of them.
“Countdown from five seconds, then release the prey!”
As the words fell, both Roy and 夏洛特 raised their hands, mimicking the stance of drawing back their bows.
In the distance, a knight, signaled by 夏洛特, opened the cage containing the Fire Fox after five seconds.
In an instant, a small fox burst out like a stone shot from a slingshot, flying far away.
On the vibrant green grass, that flame-red creature was startlingly fast.
The Fire Fox often served as a target for training archers; even if a group of ten archers could hit it once in three rounds, they would still be considered qualified.
Those who could independently hunt a Fire Fox were famous marksmen in the army.
Of course, no one doubted 夏洛特’s abilities.
Within five seconds, 夏洛特 harnessed a fiery arrow and swiftly released it, striking the far-off little fox straight through.
At that moment, Roy had just managed to form a regular iron bow.
“How’s that?” 夏洛特 glanced over, elegantly flipping a strand of hair, feeling pretty proud.
Roy gaped, uttering classic loser lines: “Best out of three.”
“Alright, you said it!”
With renewed vigor, 夏洛特 prepared for another round.
“I told you, there’s no way he could be her match!”
Laughter erupted among the spectators, though it was quieter than before.
Some perceptive folks had begun to notice something off.
Roy was too fast.
The speed at which Sequence 8 executed abilities compared to Sequence 9 was like the difference between heaven and earth, not to mention that a silver bloodline was weaker than a golden one.
Roy’s performance was already astonishingly fast.
But what shocked them even more was yet to come.
This time, the target was the Windshadow Bird.
A small bird not much larger than a sparrow rose swiftly into the high sky within seconds.
Under the blinding sunlight and azure sky, the bird’s teal form was so vague.
The Windshadow Bird was faster than the Fire Fox, and if any archer could hit one in the army, it would be legendary.
Summer took her shot fast, but this time she released three arrows in a row, each only grazing the bird without ever hitting it.
But just as 夏洛特 prepared to shoot her fourth arrow, Roy made his move.
His exquisitely crafted iron bow let out a sharp sound.
With a ‘whoosh,’ a glint of cold light flew high and then slowly descended.
It looked not especially fast, yet it accurately landed right atop the Windshadow Bird’s head!
“How’s that?” Roy lowered his bow, mimicking 夏洛特’s previous self-assured expression, teasingly glancing at her.
“Not over yet! You said best out of three!” 夏洛特 gritted her teeth, not annoyed, simply urging him on.
The long-lost thrill of competition had her completely immersed in the desire to win, forgetting the wager.
The raucous laughter faded away, and the spectators were lost in this equally matched contention.
Even the drowsy knights didn’t expect to see someone actually surpass 夏洛特, and they too perked up, releasing three Windshadow Birds in one go!
夏洛特 rushed ahead once more, but this time Roy’s iron arrow was close behind.
He wasn’t going to be too far behind in gathering the arrows either.
Two poor little birds were pierced one after another.
The Windshadow Birds, usually soaring high and mocking humanity’s slow arrows, had never seen such a scene. They panicked, dropping bird droppings everywhere, fluttering their wings desperately, using all their strength to escape.
The win or lose boiled down to this final arrow.
Both Roy and 夏洛特 realized this simultaneously, ignoring fine aiming and focusing solely on speed.
Roy hurriedly nocked three arrows, while she summoned a blazing flame.
Just when the outcome was about to be decided, the royal maiden’s poised figure accidentally caught Roy’s eye.
Her complete concentration had him spellbound. He suddenly understood why some would rather get hit than be gazed upon by those jewel-like rosy eyes.
At that moment, 夏洛特’s peripheral vision crossed with Roy’s heated gaze, causing her heart to race uncontrollably.
Wait, why’s he suddenly looking over here?!
Both their actions went awry, losing their precision.
The Windshadow Bird barely evaded three iron arrows and one fire arrow, thinking itself lucky, but did not anticipate the fiery arrow behind it would suddenly explode and swallow it whole.
