Chapter 83

Nata's mind was in a mess, and the thumping of her heart was so loud that she could hear it herself. She had been holding on against the fear in her heart for so long that her body had become stiff. Watching Rodi leave so "casually," Nata was momentarily at a loss about what to do next.

In Nata's view—or rather, the view instilled by the village elders—humans were supposed to be lustful, greedy, and cunning, always looking for an advantage. But why was this guy so different from what Mayor Brudi had described about humans?

Her gaze turned to the dead steel-tailed leopard. This powerful creature could fetch a high price in the human world, but why did the other person show no attachment and just leave it behind?

And... why was his archery so powerful?

How could he remain so calm in the face of danger?

The speed, accuracy, and boldness of those two arrows left Nata feeling an immense pressure. She took several deep breaths but could not calm herself down. Her eyes fixed on the two arrows embedded in the steel-tailed leopard's head, and her body still trembled slightly from the adrenaline.

After standing there for a few minutes, footsteps approached from behind.

"Nata! Are you here? N—Nata? You're really here! We all thought something had happened to you..."

Several figures emerged from the darkness, the wood elves who were supposed to have gone hunting with Nata. The leader, Rando, was a strong and agile figure who made almost no sound as he walked over the complex terrain. He was one of Nata's many admirers, perhaps the most enthusiastic. The others who followed were her hunting companions for the day, and they had clearly followed her trail, probably because they saw her unhidden escape marks.

To be honest, Rando had long been prepared to "save the damsel in distress" and had been excited about it, thinking it was finally his chance to show off in front of Nata. But when he rushed to her side as quickly as possible, he found that things did not go as he had imagined.

"We saw the marks of your running and thought you might be in danger. If you're here, you should be fine. That leopard—"

As Rando spoke, he saw the dead leopard lying nearby and was momentarily speechless, frowning in confusion. For young hunters like them, a steel-tailed leopard was not an easy prey. Last year, a senior hunter in the village was killed by one of these powerful and cunning leopards, so the wood elves usually avoided them.

Seeing that the leopard that had been chasing Nata was an adult steel-tailed leopard, Rando and the three wood elves behind him felt a bit of fear. They could handle a young leopard, but an adult one would require a significant cost, and the best they could do was to drive it away.

Thinking about this, Rando's thoughts of "saving the damsel in distress" were largely dispelled, but he was still puzzled: "That... Nata, did you—did you kill this leopard?"

Nata lifted her gaze and looked at him, but she didn't react at all. She turned her head, stood up, brushed off the dirt, and picked up the short bow she had just thrown aside.

"Are you hurt? We brought some herbs."

Still no response.

Rando understood Nata's "ice queen" personality and was used to her coldness. To change the subject, he walked over to the leopard's body and examined it, frowning at the head with the slightly dried blood. "These two arrows... they're too accurate."

Hearing this, the others gathered around and examined the arrows, finding it truly unbelievable.

"How is that possible..."

"Right in the eyes, no deviation at all."

"This mark... it was hit while jumping."

"Two arrows in mid-air?"

Although they were new hunters in the village, they could guess the basic course of the battle from the footprints and marks on the ground, but the conclusion they reached seemed like a fairy tale.

"Wait, this arrow..."

Rando swallowed, pinched the tail of the wooden arrow, and was about to say something when he saw Nata's cold face as she approached the leopard, ignoring him and the three others, and forcefully pulled out the two arrows. She didn't care about the blood dripping from the arrowheads, put them in her quiver, and walked away.

This slightly aggressive attitude didn't make the wood elves too upset, as Nata treated everyone this way. They watched her leave and then turned to discuss.

"Rando, this leopard... should we carry it away?"

"Yes, when we report to Mayor Brudi, say we found it, and don't mention Nata at all." Rando, known for his gentle and upright character, had a certain authority among the young generation, so no one questioned his leadership. "Don't say anything extra. The death of this leopard has nothing to do with us or Nata."

"But Rando... the campfire—"

"Only you know it's a campfire?"

"That arrow... that arrow doesn't seem to be from us—"

"Do I have to spell it out for you to stop asking these stupid questions?" Rando waved his hand, interrupting their questions. "Obviously, this camp is human, and the arrows are also human-made. Are you satisfied now?"

The three wood elves looked at each other, confused.

Rando sighed and continued, "The important thing is the result, not the process... Nata is fine, and the steel-tailed leopard is dead. As for the rest, it's just speculation—so don't say anything extra when we get back, understand? Otherwise, Nata might beat you all up!"

Hearing this, the wood elves hurriedly nodded, and Rando stopped talking, instructing them to start handling the leopard's body.

He wandered around the campfire, his gaze lingering on the indistinct footprints on the ground, his expression serious.

In reality, his tension and shock never showed on his face. He had spoken calmly, but he understood more than his companions what the wounds on the leopard's body meant...

When hunting such prey, the heart, located slightly behind the front legs, was the first choice for all hunters. No one had ever heard of someone aiming directly at the head—either they were stupid, or they were extremely skilled.

Looking at the wounds in the leopard's eyes, Rando understood the level of the person who had "rescued" Nata.

Why would a human with such terrifying archery skills help Nata? Why did she take the arrows? Was it to cover something up?

Seeing that Nata didn't want to talk about it, Rando decided to keep it a secret. But as he looked at the leopard, he sighed to himself, "Are there really such powerful people among humans?"

Rando felt a bit dejected because the "hero saving the damsel" opportunity had been wasted. But for Nata, who was now walking away, her emotions were more complex than ever.

Wood elves mainly relied on bows and arrows for hunting, so after carefully examining the three arrows, she felt a sense of awe and even despair... even her steps felt heavier than usual.

In her hand were three seemingly ordinary wooden arrows, not as finely crafted as those used by the wood elves. To an outsider, they looked the same, but Nata, after a simple inspection, was surprised to find that these arrows had been subtly adjusted.

Some parts of the arrow shafts were slightly shaved, and some had been lightened at the metal arrowheads. It looked like ordinary wear, but it made the center of gravity and flexibility of the three arrows astonishingly consistent!

Such modifications were enough to make the three arrows land in the same spot within thirty meters. But what frightened her even more was an unconfirmed guess...

The small marks on the arrow tails.

The marks on the three arrows had slight deviations, and Nata had only seen such marks on the arrows of the village's most powerful hunters and Mayor Brudi... and the mayor's words still echoed in her mind—

"You mean the marks? The arrows will have some deviation at thirty meters. No matter how uniform the arrows are, they are still different. If your target is more than seventy meters away, the error will be much larger, so these marks help you know what adjustments to make."

"Nata, you're young, so you don't need to worry about these things yet. This is a different level, and when you reach it, you'll understand."

These words resonated in her mind, making Nata's emotions incredibly complex as she held the arrows.

"Rodi... I remember you."

The young wood elf's voice was very gentle, and it was not easy for her to speak, but because of the "coincidence" of Rodi's arrival, this wood elf, who was supposed to become Rodi's "ranger" mentor, now saw him as an insurmountable peak...

Fate sometimes seems absurd and full of coincidences.

******

At the end of August, Holier City was still slightly warm.

As the largest city in the Eifert territory, Holier's prosperity was undeniable. The large market held twice a week attracted many merchants, and the large population meant more tax revenue for the city's lord—more tax revenue meant more luxury items to display to other nobles, more banquets to host, and more people knowing about his wealth.

Of course, this was just the surface. Most nobles of this era were extremely bored, with little to do except read and learn knowledge that commoners couldn't access. Their daily activities were mostly wandering around their territories, with hunting and banquets as their main forms of entertainment. They ate, drank, slept, and enjoyed the astonishing wealth inherited from their ancestors.

Most of the nobles in the Eifert territory were in this state, and the son of the territory's largest lord, the old Duke Angmar, was no different. Since returning in late April, this earl had frequently appeared in various settings, his presence overwhelming, and he was a topic of conversation at almost every noble's table in the territory.

In the eyes of the territory's nobles, Earl Francis's actions suggested that he had finally gained his father Duke Angmar's approval and was preparing to "step forward."

There had been rumors about the duke's successor being undecided, but now that Sally had become a candidate priest, the result was no longer in doubt—several dozen lords were already thinking about when to send gifts to the future earl, as the Lucifer family was undoubtedly the first in the kingdom's northwest.

But these nobles had no idea that the truth... was far stranger than they imagined.

"Several months of investigation, and this is all you have to show for it?!"

A roar echoed from Francis's tightly closed room, followed by a trembling voice answering, only to be met with an even angrier response.

A moment later, the sound of something breaking was heard.

"I want results, not excuses."

When the door opened, Francis's cold voice came out, devoid of the previous anger, calm and collected, like a normal command.

His subordinate, drenched in cold sweat, stepped back in fear, head bowed, not daring to look up, making a promise and quickly disappearing down the corridor.

Francis, expressionless, closed the door. The moment he turned around, his face twisted into a fierce scowl—

"A bunch of useless scum!"

The low curse couldn't hide his disappointment and anger. He quickly walked to his desk, where the contents of the parchment made his chest feel like it was about to explode...

All of this, in the end, was thanks to Sally.

The veins on Francis's forehead bulged as he struggled to control his anger. He had been investigating the "mysterious person" who had helped Sally for months, but to no avail—since the beginning, he had been led astray by one false clue after another, and now he still had no leads!

It was only recently that his subordinates found some clues and realized this. After eliminating Sally's interference, a subordinate named Willie finally found some real leads—there was evidence that the scouts of Nolan Village seemed to have a significant connection to the "mysterious person"!

But further investigation brought back strange news... the scouts of Nolan Village had all vanished.

Only a lieutenant named Sordin was sitting crazily at the village entrance, babbling incoherently when they sent people to ask him—saying something about the scouts attacking the orc kingdom—

"What a joke! Can't you use your brains when you lie?!"

This was also the reason why the usually composed Francis couldn't help but lose his temper—attacking the orc kingdom? Do you think I'm stupid? Can't you find out where those orcs are first?