"The Excellent Archery, prepare the best arrows! Climb the highest branch. Aim at your target!"
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The large tree was used as a place that all participant in the The Excellent Archery competition must climb. The tree was large and towering, each branch has a branch that is attached to a different knot. The higher branches were tied with more knots, meaning that whoever reaches the branch will get more points. Each one knot was worth One Hundred points.
The referee's command shouted loudly, burning the enthusiasm of all the archers.
"You are the Excellent Archery, prepare the best arrows! Climb the highest branch. Aim at the best target!"
All of the archery praja started to climb. It was seen that Raojhin led the first to succeed to the highest branch than the other prajas.
Raojhin was agile, agile, agile. Without difficulty he managed to climb onto the branch with the ten knot mark. He was in the branch position with a thousand points.
Meanwhile below, a dozen of steps away from the big tree, there was an arrow target board with each one having a different color. There are three colors representing distance. The green board was 20 steps, the yellow board was 30 steps and the red board was 50 steps. Each board has different points based on its color. Of course the farthest board will give the most points.
Taja surveys the position where Raojhin made way up there. Meanwhile, Taja was about to start his position on the lowest branch of the tree among the others.
"What's wrong? Trouble with the tree?" Lorr En quipped from under the tree and watched Taja who seemed reluctant to move any further. Taja briefly saw Lorr En who looked up at him, looking a little teased.
"I feel weird carrying this ...," Taja touched his back, there was a holster filled with a few arrows. And it's a load that's a little annoying, "It just kind of itches."
"Why don't you take part?" Taja protested a little to Lorr En and was answered with a somewhat teasing laugh.
"Beat him!" said Lorr En, clenching her fists and encouragingly.
Taja moved nimbly while grumbling, "But I'm not competing!"
Like creeping into the grove, Taja was moving up nimbly. His fingers were sticking out the roots gripping the twigs and branches, and his body was getting lighter and lifted up. In just a few moves, without anyone noticing, Taja was near where Raojhin was.
Of course it shocked Raojhin. At first glance, he felt that Taja was far below.
"You?!"
Raojhin's hands almost slipped from their hold on the branches. Luckily he was swift when he was in an unbalanced position and was back on standby to put the bow in his hand. Raojhin shoots his first arrow.
"A thousand points!" an umpire shouted out the number of points Raojhin had achieved because of the first shot of the arrow. Next, three times Raojhin's shot hit the red board on target.
"Four thousand points!" shouted the referee again mentioning the results of the next point from Raojhin's shot who had managed to aim four times at the red target board right in the middle of the target.
Even some of the other praja, only targeted the green and yellow boards. Remaining of them were a miss!
All the other prajas and praja who were not participants, including the judges and referees, also witnessed this. Seeing Raojhin's results they were shocked in awe. It's no wonder that previously, Raojhin had earned the nickname The Excellent Archery at such a young age.
Taja watched too. Only he had not aimed the arrow yet. Looked to think for a moment. Suddenly it moved to a higher branch. All the participants were surprised to see Taja's action that went beyond the limits.
"What are you doing?!" Raojhin expressed apprehension when he saw Taja reach the highest branch.
"Twenty knot branch!" shouted several other participants watching Taja. No one has yet reached the branch. The branch was quite far above the tenth branch. Because the higher the branch, the faster it sways because of the wind, and the condition of the branch is unstable to support the weight of the body.
"Crazy!" Raojhin shrieked.
"How could it be?!" Raojhin flinched on the spot and quickly climbed back up to catch up with Taja's position.
"That branch isn't stable enough!" shouted Raojhin below as he continued to climb.
"There's no rule against anyone being on this branch, is there?" briefly Taja responds to Raojhin who appears to be climbing towards him.
Taja refocused facing the bow right in front of the chest. An arrow ready to be aimed and immediately released. With full attention, Taja's eyes narrowed to main target board, the red ones.
Meanwhile, the branches swayed with the wind. Taja's body also clings to the branch. Suddenly he turned his body face down quickly so that he was hanging upside down in a ready position with his bow and arrows ready to be aimed.
A moment later the arrow shot, causing the sound of a thin object shooting lightning as fast as light, breaking through the sound of the wind. In an instant, the arrow was right into the red plank's target. The sound of a sharp object hitting everyone who witnessed it stunned. Taja's arrow shot hit the target, accompanied by a leaf at the end of the arrow stuck at the target point.
"A thousand points!" shouted the referee.
"Stop!" suddenly Raojhin catched up Taja's hand.
"What do you mean?!" Taja canceled the second shot. Raojhin was very distracted.
"No one shoots like that!" Raojhin prevented Taja's arm from being alert, about to shoot again.
"There's no rule against doing this!" Taja takes Raojhin's hand away. He turned his body back in an upright position. Unknowingly, they were both on the same branch.
The wind blows. The branch moved heavily, making a little rattling sound under the weight of the two people's bodies.
Krak!!!
"Aaargh ...!"
The sound of branches breaking, as Taja and Raojhin scream. Two bodies mired from the same branch. Simultaneously, everyone below witnessed that, screaming in unison. The sound of two bodies hitting branches and twigs breaking many times. The rustling of leaves broke the panic. The bodies of the two youths were caught between the branches of the lowest tree. Barely fell to the ground.
Luckily, Taja manages to restrain himself and catches Raojhin's hand. While his toes gripped the branches tightly. Everyone panicked, immediately rushed to the point where Taja and Raojhin got stuck.
"Why you guys?!" asked Chief Sujinsha, panicked and astonished. He was the first to arrive at the position of the two persons caught between tree branches, and immediately helped both of them. Many other prajas came too, rushing to help Raojhin. Only Lorr En helps Taja. He was the first to reach the ground safely.
Unlike Raojhin, his clothes were torn. His body was caught in the branches and twigs, making it difficult to get down. While groaning in pain, Raojhin was supported. There were bruises and cuts all over his body. Finally, he was escorted to the House of Herbals. Eventually, the competition of Excellent Archery had to be stopped.
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