Chapter 18: Battle on a Bridge (4)
Battle on a Bridge was one of the traditional duel methods of the Sefira family. Katherine explained the rules to Keter.
The duelists faced each other from a distance of one hundred meters. Each had thirty arrows to use, with the arrowheads removed so that the arrows were safe. Then, they would shoot arrows at each other.
There were three ways one could lose: if they dodged an arrow shot by their opponent, dropped their bow, or ran out of arrows first.
The rules were simple, but they contained a profound philosophy. The duel was training to eliminate the hesitation felt when aiming at a person and to overcome the fear of the opponent’s arrows.
Katherine was going to explain the history behind this duel method, but Keter shook his head.
“I’m just going to go if you’re going to keep talking about useless things,” he said.
“Alright. Before we start, please wear the protective armor over there. Even if the arrowheads are removed, the arrows will still leave a bad bruise.”
“Why aren’t you wearing one?”
“You’ve never done this kind of duel before, but this is my specialty.”
“So, you’re going to give me an advantage? Fine, but I won’t shoot my arrows in a straight line.”
“...?”