Once again, the Red Archer Atalanta felt a sense of helplessness, even stronger than when facing the Black Saber.
Previously, the Black Saber possessed immortality similar to Achilles, rendering her arrows ineffective. Fighting him felt like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog—it was impossible to find a weak spot, a clear case of being countered by his abilities.
This time, however, the Black Archer presented no such issue of countering abilities; it was purely a matter of skill suppression.
Undoubtedly, as the greatest female hunter of ancient Greece, Atalanta's archery had reached the divine realm. But the Black Archer she was battling had also reached that realm and was on an even higher level.
Terms like "divine realm," "divine skill," and "superhuman" are broad terms that signify surpassing human limits, and they vary in strength just as gods vary in power. Karna's father Surya and Chiron's father Cronus are powerful, while Achilles' mother Thetis, and Semiramis' mother Dirce are relatively weaker. Even weaker still are Stheno and Euryale, the elder Gorgon sisters, who can be easily torn apart by Shinji once their divine powers are neutralized.
Similarly, among divine archery skills, the prototype of Sagittarius, Chiron, who has been active for countless years, naturally belongs to the highest tier. Atalanta, who was turned into a lion early on, still has some distance to that level, and not even the blessing of the moon goddess Artemis, who wields a bow, can bridge that gap.
In standard archery, their precision, power, and shooting speed are roughly equal, but in terms of the subtlety of their arrow trajectories, Atalanta falls short of Chiron's effortless mastery.
In rapid-fire archery, Atalanta is at her most disadvantaged.
Atalanta's limit is a seven-arrow chain, a sophisticated archery technique she serendipitously derived from the Big Dipper constellation, and one of her most prideful moves.
But Chiron's limit is a ten-arrow chain, precisely the number corresponding to the six stars of the Southern Dipper plus four other bright stars associated with Sagittarius.
While each arrow might be stronger from Atalanta, in a chain shot, quantity matters most, and in this regard, Atalanta is completely outmatched.
In multi-arrow shots, the trajectories and number of arrows might be equal, given the constraints of the bowstring and fingers, but the shooting speed is a notch slower.
The only area where Atalanta can gain an advantage is in her full-power draw shot, but she knows well that this is due to her beloved bow, rather than her skill. If both were to use the same bow, she might not hold any edge.
Fortunately, Atalanta retains some of her beast-like thinking and doesn't care about the pride of a hero. If it were someone like Achilles, whose eyes are fixed on the heights, it wouldn't simply be the helplessness he felt. He'd likely have grown restless and reckless, thinking of ways to go all out against the enemy, unlike Atalanta, who calmly maneuvers and leverages her strengths (specifically in the area where she is most proficient but is being crushed).
Does Atalanta have any advantages over Chiron?
The answer is yes—she does!
Atalanta's class is an Archer, but her true class is a hunter. Archery is just one part of hunting, which also involves skills like hiding, trapping, and misleading. In the entire field of hunting, Atalanta is at a divine level, and with the blessing of Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, she stands at the pinnacle.
Though Chiron possesses divine wisdom and has also learned from Artemis and Apollo, he hunted a lot during his time in the mortal world. However, he is too exalted and involved in too many fields, making him less adept in hunting than Atalanta, who has continually refined and honed her skills.
This gives Atalanta a chance to counter Chiron.
To maximize her advantages, Atalanta painstakingly moved the battlefield from the plains to the forest. This is where she grew up, her home turf, where everything becomes her ally, aiding her in countering Chiron's fearsome archery.
Her innate beast instincts, her final fate of being degraded into a lion, and the ears and tail that accompanied her as a heroic spirit, all become heightened in areas untouched by human destruction.
She continues to fire arrow after arrow.
Constantly changing positions.
Every inch of Atalanta's skin, every muscle, every nerve was trembling.
It wasn't just because of the enemy's strength or the danger of the battle, but also the sheer exhilaration of running and shooting arrows so freely, something she hadn't experienced in a long time. It was like her childhood, where she constantly ran through forests and rocks for survival, fighting various wild beasts.
A series of nine arrows descended from the sky, each one aimed precisely at Atalanta's next landing spot. This was the perfect blend of divine archery and calculation, a testament to Chiron's full effort.
The appearance of her beast ears and tail and divine bow confirmed Chiron's identification of his opponent. Facing such a powerful archer, he had no choice but to go all out.
Yet, this divine skill, which even caused Artoria considerable trouble, did not affect Atalanta. Her steps remained light, her movements agile—the arrows that should have pierced her feet simply landed beside them, narrowly avoided by a hair's breadth.
"My distant homeland Arcadia, rugged mountains stretch endlessly. I leap among the rocks and play."
As Atalanta ran past the arrows, her lips moved, and a melodious voice spilled from her mouth.
These were her most precious memories, the scenery forever imprinted in her heart. This experience sublimated with her in death, becoming her power.
Skill: Crossing Arcadia
Rank: B
Allows her to move across all obstacles on the field, including enemies.
For her, the more complex the terrain, the stronger her abilities.
On the plains, I am not your match, but in the forest?
After smoothly avoiding the nine arrows, Atalanta turned her head and glimpsed her pursuer. She softly recited another phrase:
"Go ahead, I will follow like the wind, overtaking you."
This was the sublimation of another of her anecdotes, another of her great assets.
She drew her bowstring, and the arrow she released was aimed precisely at Chiron's landing point.
At that moment, Chiron was springing from one tree to another.