Chapter 597 Golden Deer
The second arrow shot by Klaus hit the golden animal squarely, and a golden glow appeared around the deer.
The crowd erupted in cheers and shouts of celebration. However, contrary to what most imagined, the challenge was not over. The deer, though hit, only seemed to feel the impact for a brief moment, and then the arrow that hit it fell to the ground.
Immediately, Klaus knew that he was one of the animals that needed more than one arrow to be 'killed' and that consequently gave more points. Therefore, Klaus needed to keep hunting the animal to be able to effectively 'kill' it and secure the points.
The deer started to run, and Klaus started to run after the deer so as not to lose sight of it too much.
Running through the dense vegetation, Klaus struggled to keep up with the golden deer. Its body was large, which made it a little difficult, but at least the experience of the NIST camp in that forest was doing some good. As it moved nimbly, leaping over natural obstacles, the audience watched with concern on the screens, cheering on the archer who was literally hunting the animal.
The golden deer was agile and very clever, changing direction and hiding among the trees to try to throw Klaus off. However, Klaus was determined to catch it, using his intuition and experience to anticipate the animal's movements. However, after some time, the deer eventually disappeared from Klaus' field of vision.
The archer was panting and stopped running to catch his breath. At the same time, he looked around, realizing that he was in the heart of the simulated forest, surrounded by lush holographic vegetation. There were probably other animals still around, because no sort of warning had resounded, but for the sake of pride and ease Klaus still wanted to catch the deer.
'Shit! I should have aimed for the head instead of the trunk!' Klaus shouted internally.
Meanwhile, Ard Park turned to her mother with a look of concern and a few tears in her eyes. All this pressure and excitement of the competition was new to him, especially since he was watching Klaus on the big screen.
"He'll make it, won't he, Mom?" asked Ard, anxiously.
Chun smiled confidently. "I'm sure he will. Do you still have doubts? I'll tell him about it later."
For his part, Klaus calmed down a bit and slowed his thoughts. There was no point in rushing, as it would only hinder him. He knew he had to be rational to win, after all, the challenge was a hunt, right?
So, Klaus had an idea and looked at the ground, exactly where the deer had passed a few moments ago. Surprisingly, there was a golden footprint on the ground and that was exactly what Klaus needed to track the golden deer. He crouched down to examine the mark and when he touched it, a window of information opened.
[Fresh Deer Footprint.]
The crowd sighed at this technology, and Klaus also smiled, as this confirmed that the footprint belonged to the animal he was chasing. That golden footprint was a sign that he was on the right track. So, using all his basic hunting experience, Klaus began to follow the golden footprints, adopting a calmer and more strategic pace. He knew he had to act cautiously and patiently to avoid spooking the deer again.
The audience watched expectantly as Klaus followed the tracks through the forest environment.
So eventually, Klaus noticed that the footprints started to become even stronger and sharper, indicating that the deer was closer. He slowed his pace even more, adopting a quiet, careful stride. His mind was calm and focused, his senses sharp. And then, among the holographic trees, he saw a glimpse of the golden deer. The animal was still, sniffing the air as it seemed to be aware of Klaus' presence. It was a tense moment, a duel of wills between the archer and the prey.
Klaus put one hand in his quiver to take an arrow and scanned his surroundings. Everything was calm, but if everything was that easy, it wouldn't be a competition. Suddenly, Klaus spotted another archer to his left, another competitor. He was Allan Barry, the nervous boy from before who had trouble calming down, even though he was very talented.
Allan Barry already had an arrow on the bowstring and was aiming exactly at Klaus' deer, which was very bad news.
Klaus knew he had to act quickly before Allan Barry had a chance to shoot. He couldn't allow another competitor to steal his conquest after all the chasing and one hit shooting. With a surge of will, he focused on his target and kept his cool. Without making a sound, Klaus took an arrow from his quiver and positioned it in the bow. His heart was racing, but he was calm. He took a deep breath and blocked out all distractions around him, focusing only on the task at hand.
Allan Barry seemed not to have noticed Klaus' presence, being totally focused on the deer. This gave Klaus an advantage, and he knew he needed to seize this moment. With a smooth, controlled movement, he drew back the bowstring, aiming accurately at the golden animal. However, at the same time the sound of Klaus' bowstring being pulled back resounded, Allan released his arrow, which gave Klaus no choice but to aim at Allan's own arrow to try and stop it from hitting the deer.
This was an improbable, practically impossible thing to do, a risky and extremely difficult maneuver to execute, but Klaus was determined to do everything in his power to secure his place in the final and compete against Emma. He focused intently on Allan's arrow, following its path through the air with his eyes fixed. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as he adjusted his aim and calculated the exact moment to fire.
With a precise movement and a sure shot, Klaus's arrow collided with Allan's in midair, deflecting the trajectory of his opponent's arrow.
A murmur of surprise and confusion spread through the audience, and Allan widened his eyes and said:
"What the hell was that?"