The line-up remained the same, which made the crowd antsy. No one was interested in seeing how these others would perform. While there were some among them who were good, they were not at the peak.
Everyone waited eagerly to see how Njeru would perform. They had seen a riveting performance earlier, and they were sure this performance would not have come if not for the challenge issued by Njeru.
Soon enough, Njeru took to the stage. Even those that had dispersed quickly came back to witness the shooting.
"Don't let me down." Deep in her heart, Keshi whispered. To her, much of Njeru's skill came from what she taught him. After all, in some ways, shooting a bow was harder than shooting a rifle.
Each weapon had its dynamic, and though she was well aware of that, she was the one who showed him the basics.
Her performance had been dismal, despite her best effort. Neither the rifle nor the handgun seemed to agree with her, so she'd have to settle for the bow. She was not at the level of using a shotgun yet.
On the other hand, Chege was also just as eager. He was tired of the Nangi and his Crimson team lording over him and his teammates, acting as though they were better than they were.
For the most part, they really were. After all, they had better equipment, better armor, access to more resources. Moreover, because of Nangi's deep connection in the high society, he would always receive the best missions and personnel.
A classic example was Warai. Despite the boy seeking to carve out his own path, he wouldn't just join any adventure team. The fact that he chose Nangi's team showed how far-reaching Nangi's connections were.
Warai was extremely well-practiced with the gun. His performance had made that clear. No ordinary person would have seen a gun more than three times in their lifetime, and a considerable fewer people had fired a gun.
That he was so good at it showed that he probably even had training. Someone took the time to show him how to use the gun.
Chege had to admit, such existences were not the kind he would meet often, yet now he had someone like that in his team.
Any way he looked at it, Njeru's performance matched Warai or exceeded it. Even if he did not perform well with the rifle, his skill with the gun showed he was no ordinary joe picked up in the forest.
Up till now, Chege had yet to decide if Njeru was a positive addition or an unprecedented threat to his team.
Twa! Twa! Twa! Twa! Twa!
Chege was interrupted from his reverie by the sound of guns firing. Njeru had begun his first round of testing. Turning his eyes to the target, he almost fell to the ground.
Just looking at the target, Chege wondered for a moment if he was hallucinating. Njeru had placed all five shots in the tenth ring, two being on the border with the ninth ring.
Let alone Chege, Warai felt as though his eyes were playing a trick on him. How could anyone be that good? Remembering his dismal performance of thirty-seven, he couldn't help feeling dejected.
It should be known that while thirty-seven seemed a dismal performance in comparison to Chege's forty-eight (the two on the border were counted on the lower side, so three tens and two nines).
However, considering the others, it was an extremely good performance. Matter of fact, he was the first runner's up, the second holding steady at twenty-nine.
Almost everyone had missed at least one shot, some even failing to hit the target altogether.
Now, looking at the performance, it felt as though there was only one real shooter, while everyone else was a joker.
Even Nangi, who had maintained a calm and composed demeanor till now, simultaneously leaned forward and frowned.
He had been observing this whole time. Despite Chege's best poker face, Nangi could tell that even he was surprised by the youth's performance. This only made Nangi all the more interested in the youth.
How could there be such an illustrious person around the city of Rongai that he had never met before. His usage of the firearm suggested a more experienced hand than that of a common adventurer. Whoever this man was, he was definitely mysterious.
The man himself did not have time to pay attention to the cheers. With intense concentration, he raised the rifle once more and fired.
Having fired the first shots, he was confident of managing the recoil. The strength he applied was neither too much nor too little, just enough to tame the gun.
The short bursts had captivated everyone's attention captivated, eagerly awaiting the results.
Perhaps those who didn't understand would have been better served watching Warai's face. After the first burst, Warai's complexion darkened. The second made it even worse.
After the third burst, the man's face was incredulous. One look at him and you could tell, his world view had been done in. While he saw what had happened, he couldn't bring himself to believe it had actually happened.
After that one performance, there was no doubt about who was the reigning champion, who was the undisputed winner in this contest.