Free Web NovelChapter 168: The Archer’s Hunt [4]
The group gathered around the fallen Cteedle shortly afterward. Up close, the creature looked even larger than it had from a distance. Its thick brown hide was covered in patches of dirt and grass from where it had crashed to the ground. One of the archers nudged it lightly with his boot.
"It really is huge."
Several of the archers nodded in agreement.
The knight who wasn’t carrying anything stepped forward. Without much talk, he began securing the carcass for transport. The other knight was already carrying the Bogart they had killed earlier, asking him to haul another creature this large would have been ridiculous. Soon enough, the second knight had the Cteedle secured. The weight clearly wasn’t light, even for a knight. Still, he managed.
The archers gathered around while Seren looked over the group. The hunt had been going well so far, very well, actually. They had meat. A lot of meat. But that wasn’t the only reason they were out here. This was training too, real training, the kind that couldn’t be replicated on a practice field.
"The next one is yours," Seren said.
Several archers looked at her. She folded her arms. "The knights are carrying enough already."
That immediately earned a few laughs. The two knights certainly weren’t going to disagree, the Bogart alone was heavy, and adding another Cteedle made things even worse.
Seren’s expression became more serious. "And besides." The laughter faded. "If danger appears again, you’ll need to react."
A few of the archers nodded, immediately understanding what she meant. Earlier, when the Bogart had attacked, the knights had been the first to react. The knight had thrown his spear, moved forward, and stood between danger and everyone else. Meanwhile, the archers had needed those few extra moments to understand what was happening.
That wasn’t necessarily wrong, they were archers. But they couldn’t always rely on someone else, not forever. Not every dangerous situation would give them time to think. Sometimes they would need to react immediately.
The younger archers exchanged glances. Then one of them grinned. "We’ll do better."
Another nodded. "Definitely."
Someone else raised a fist. "Let’s do this."
The mood quickly improved again. Seren smiled slightly. That was good enough for her.
The group resumed moving through the forest, this time heading toward a different section. The trees gradually began thinning, and the terrain changed as well. Instead of dense woodland, patches of open space appeared between the trees. Grass grew taller here, and sunlight reached the ground more easily.
As they walked, Seren found herself thinking about the Cteedles. She still didn’t fully understand the creatures. Were they carnivores, animals that hunted other animals? The Bogoarts definitely qualified. But what about Cteedles? She honestly wasn’t sure. They looked somewhat like oversized cattle, yet appearance wasn’t always reliable. Some harmless-looking creatures were dangerous, and some dangerous-looking creatures weren’t.
Could Cteedles eat people? Could they hunt? Or were they simply oversized grass-eaters? Maybe they ate both: grass, animals, humans, everything. Seren honestly had no idea. She hadn’t seen the creature in her life. She only knew one thing for certain: they should taste good. And right now, that was all that really mattered.
A few minutes later, one of the archers suddenly crouched. His hand rose. Everyone stopped immediately, no questions asked. The group followed his gaze, and then several smiles appeared. ƒгeewёbnovel.com
Because there they were Cteedles. A whole group of them. Six in total.
The animals grazed peacefully in a wide clearing ahead. None of them appeared aware of the humans watching from the tree line. They lowered their heads repeatedly, chewing grass while occasionally shifting position, completely relaxed, completely unaware.
Seren immediately crouched lower, and the others followed. The clearing stretched before them like a hunting field. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. No dense trees, no complicated chase, no running through half the forest. The Cteedles were simply standing there, waiting. freёwebnoѵel.com
Seren glanced around and began issuing commands, mostly hand signals, a few whispers, nothing loud enough to carry across the clearing. The archers immediately understood: spread out, choose targets, aim together.
The goal wasn’t to kill one. The goal was to kill all six. Or at least as many as possible.
The archers carefully moved into position. Nearby, the two knights remained behind. They weren’t participating this time, one was carrying the Bogart, the other was carrying the Cteedle.
Neither could exactly charge into battle while hauling enough meat to feed half the village. So they watched. The five rabbits they had killed earlier were placed gently on the ground. The archers needed both hands free.
One by one, bows were raised. Strings were drawn. Arrows were nocked.
The clearing suddenly became very quiet. Only the sound of grazing animals remained. Six unsuspecting Cteedles. Eleven archers. The odds were not in the animals’ favor.
Seren slowly looked across the line. Everyone was ready. Even Panett, especially Panett. The woman looked completely calm, as though this was nothing more than another day.
Seren raised her hand. Then dropped it.
THOOM!
The forest exploded. A storm of arrows crossed the clearing. Several struck immediately, several missed. One arrow buried itself into the dirt, another flew slightly too high, a third struck a tree. But it didn’t matter, because where one archer missed, another succeeded.
A Cteedle collapsed almost immediately. Another staggered after taking two arrows in the side. A third tried to run but stumbled after an arrow buried itself in its leg. Panic erupted among the herd. The surviving animals attempted to scatter, but the first volley had already done enough damage. They weren’t escaping anymore.
The archers fired again.
THOOM!
Another volley. More arrows, more impacts. One Cteedle crashed into the grass, then another.
Panett’s target died particularly fast. Her first arrow struck deep enough that the animal barely managed a few steps before collapsing. Clean, efficient and almost effortless. The other archers weren’t surprised anymore, that was simply Panett.
Meanwhile, Seren’s own target survived the first hit. Her arrow struck solidly but not fatally. The wounded creature attempted to flee, but before it could get far, another archer released. His arrow struck moments later, and the combined damage finished the job. The Cteedle collapsed.
One after another, the remaining animals fell. The clearing gradually returned to silence, no more running, no more panic, no more movement. Only six dead Cteedles scattered across the grass.
The archers slowly lowered their bows. Several of them stared at the scene with wide eyes. The difference between this hunt and the previous one was obvious, there had been no desperate chase, no running through the forest and no exhausting pursuit. This had been coordination. A proper ambush. And it had worked beautifully.
For several moments nobody spoke. Then one of the younger archers let out a low whistle.
"That’s... a lot of meat."
Slowly, the group emerged from the trees and began walking toward the clearing.
