The dragon's harem

The fights burned across the arena like fire. Each archer performed their utmost best and did everything they could to win. Causing many surprises.

The archer who performed the worst in the previous two contests turned out to be a monster in this one. That lone woman wasn’t able to shoot past ten meters thanks to her poor eyesight, but now, when confined to short ranges where she could see, her arrows seemed to have a mind of their own.

“Her eyes limit her,” Aella said as she leaned on the wall beside Arad. “Her draw speed, aiming time, speed, and moves are all perfect. The only explanation why she couldn’t shoot targets ten meters away is because she can’t see past that.” Aella inspected the woman’s fights for a while and then nodded.

“She can’t see well past five meters. Look, she never bothers to move and just stands in the middle of the arena, waiting for it to shrink. The moment an arrow enters her range, she shoots it down.”

Arad nodded. He reached the same conclusion as Aella.

“The arrow is already flying when it enters her five-meter range. But in that fraction of a second, she can lift her bow, knock an arrow, draw it back, and release a shot. Quite the precision and sharp intuition, she might even rival you.” Arad smiled, and Aella sighed.

“Come on, she is faster and sharper than I ever could be.” Aella looked at the woman fighting, “If only her eyes weren’t so bad, she might’ve taken my spot. Not counting the arrow spread.”

“She won’t. She doesn’t have the destructive wind magic that you have.” Arad looked at the fight, which already ended. The moment the woman’s enemy entered her range, he dropped down with an arrow sticking in his thigh.

Soon, it was Aella’s turn to fight. Look and behold, the woman who ranked last in the previous two contests was now facing the second-best.

“Who would’ve expected this? Contestant Valeria had climbed from the depth of the last place to now stand face to face with contestant AD, the living, breathing, mass-destruction weapon.” The commentator burned with excitement, infecting the crowd and spectators with his enthusiasm.

Valeria stood like she did before in the middle of the arena. Lonely and aloof, but her distant gaze hid a deep sense of pride and stoic will power. But this time, her eyes twitched, and beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, dripping across her beautiful face as Aella walked in.

“I really don’t want to fight you, contestant AD.” She forced herself to speak.

“Really?” Aella looked at her with a smile, “Is there a need to be scared of me? I won’t use any magic here. I’m as harmless as elves go.”

“Liar, I might not be able to see your face, but I tell you that a tempest is approaching. You’re that violent wind, a storm of chaos.” She lifted her bow and knocked an arrow, getting ready to shoot. This was the first time Valeria got ready first, and that got the crowd excited.

Aella walked closer and closer until she stood just an inch outside Valeria’s range. She then took a step and walked inside, and something exploded between her and Valeria.

The crowd gasped as none of them was able to see it. One of the top archers, the large man who ranked third, gasped, “They’re fast! Valeria shot an arrow at AD the moment she walked closer, but AD pulled her bow and deflected the arrow with a shot of her own.”

And then everything exploded into chaos. Aella and Valeria started moving at blinding speed, their bodies turning into blurry mist as they flashed all over the tiny five-meter area they decided on. Hundreds of arrows flew everywhere, and a horrid, rattling noise filled the whole arena, shaking the seats to the point that the spectators had to hold onto the rails to remain standing.

That large man approached Arad, “You seem to know her well. Do you think she’ll win? AD, I mean.”

Arad spared him a glance and then looked back at the fight, “Can’t you see them?”

“I can barely keep up. I’ve seen sword masters move faster than this, but this is still something far beyond what an archer like me can deal with. That is the reason I lost to Valeria.” He shrugged, showing Arad the arrow wound on his shoulder. “She is fast, too fast for anyone to handle. But I bet AD has a chance.”

“I don’t know about that. She is always a step behind.” Arad looked closer at the fight, a feint frown on his face.

“Valeria?” The man gasped.

“No, AD is losing.” Arad looked at him with a stern face. “In terms of physical ability, they are near equals. The thing tipping the scales in Valeria’s favor is that she is used to fighting in such a close range while AD isn’t.”

And just as Arad finished speaking, and after several thousand arrows fired, the fight reached an end. At first, no one knew the result. Aella and Valeria stood two meters away from each other, dripping in sweat.

Aella sighed, “It’s my loss.” She wiped a tiny scratch that was on her neck. She spared Valeria a glance and smiled, “That was a good shot. Baited me well.”

Aella then approached Valeria, “But I must ask, why didn’t you shift a bit to the left? You would’ve got a better hit and not just a scratch.” She looked back at the referee, “He wouldn’t have spotted the scratch if I tried to hide it. And what’s more, what if I could regenerate? Such a tiny wound would get wasted, healed in the blink of an eye.”

Valeria looked at Aella, gulped, and then took a deep breath, “I can’t see well, but I can smell and sense things better than most people. I know that something beyond my sight is watching, something that’ll kill me if I harm you. I can smell him on you, the one who ranked first.”

She lifted her shaking hand. “I could feel his gaze on us the whole time. He followed my every move like he was looking at my very bones.”

Aella glared back at Arad and sighed, “Sorry about that. He is my husband and is quite protective even though I can handle a wound or two.”

Valeria lifted an eyebrow, “You two are married? I can only wonder what a couple like you two can achieve.” It kinda made sense. The two appeared together and both refused to use their names. They must be some powerful people from outside the kingdom; Since they aren’t half-angels.

“Many things. But don’t worry. As threatening as he looks, he is quite gentle and caring. He won’t have harmed you even if you hit my throat with an arrow.” Aella shook her head, and Valeria giggled, “Would’ve tortured me for years instead.”

It was then that the last fight was about to start. Valeria against Arad. The crowd couldn’t wait. This was the moment they all awaited, the best against the best.

But the moment Arad got close enough, Valeria froze in place, and her face paled.