Chapter 442: Archery Training: Methods and Techniques for Mobile Shooting

"Speaking of moving targets, next I will explain the basic points of Mobile Shooting." Jier spoke quickly, because archery is a martial art that relies heavily on experience.

The relevant knowledge only needs to be known by the archers; if they want to put it into practice, they must go through repeated training.

This is not something that can be accomplished overnight. Compared to shield defense and close-quarters combat, it will take longer to practice before results appear.

After Jier finished speaking, he held his bow and arrow and began to move slowly. He did not make any overly exaggerated movements, just simple, smooth movement.

While walking, he said to the three members of the Archery Squad who were watching him: "This is the most basic Mobile Shooting. It is mainly applied in situations where the opponent also has ranged power, the enemy also has archers, or other similar ranged projectile forces. At this time, unless you can rely on the superior range of an excellent bow to maintain an advantage, you must deal with the enemy's counterattack."

Jier jumped a little: "The simplest thing is to move yourself!"

"The first important purpose of Mobile Shooting is to use movement to protect yourself. Once you are moving, it is difficult for the enemy to aim, and the possibility of you getting injured is lower. This is easy to understand, right?" Jier asked at the end.

All three nodded; this was not hard to understand. Everyone wants to hit the enemy while not being hit by the enemy.

Subsequently, Jier first walked further away from the dummy, then slowly walked toward the dummy, and while approaching the dummy, he simulated the action of drawing a bow and shooting: "This is Mobile Shooting for pursuing and closing in on the enemy! When the enemy is scattered and fleeing, or retreating, in order to expand the results, you need to leave your original position and use slow walking or even fast running to approach and pursue the enemy."

"Sometimes, shooting at the enemy is not the further the distance the better, because the enemy is agile? Has cover? Or even your shooting position is not good and needs adjustment, but what if the enemy is confronting you at this time? Shoot an arrow at them, and then take advantage of the suppression force during the shot to move yourself to a position more favorable for your subsequent attacks."

"The second important purpose of Mobile Shooting is to use movement to expand the results and kill the enemy. Once you move, the enemy's retreat will be interfered with, and they will suffer more losses. At the same time, by using approaching Mobile Shooting, you can better kill the enemy and achieve results and victory."

Jier asked at the end: "This is also easy to understand, right?"

All three nodded; Knight Jier explained it very simply and clearly: the former protects oneself, the latter kills the enemy.

Subsequently, Jier performed the third Mobile Shooting demonstration, and everyone guessed it: it was shooting arrows at the enemy while moving backward.

"This is a means of retreating or luring the enemy into attacking. When you need to retreat, shoot to suppress the enemy while moving backward to increase the distance from the enemy. When the distance is far enough, most enemies will give up their attack on you, or you can turn around and run at full speed! Haha."

Jier made a joke, but everyone didn't find it very funny.

Straightening his expression, Jier continued: "When the battle reaches a stalemate, you can set a trap where you are currently, or not set a trap, and then move backward while shooting, attacking the enemy while making a retreat movement. If your enemy was injured by you before, then he or they will mostly pursue you."

"Pop!" Jier waved his fist: "They will mostly charge up directly, then enter the trap you set, and then be killed by you as you charge up! This method is especially suitable when the enemy has defenses or is hiding behind cover. Lure them into a moving state, weaken their defenses, or make them leave cover they have no other way to use, and take the opportunity to kill them."

Jier warned at the end: "But you might have questions: if I want to set a trap or lure the enemy, can't I just turn around and run? Why do I have to move backward while shooting?"

The three archers all nodded one after another; clearly, they had similar thoughts.

But Jier refuted this idea: "If you think this way, then you are doomed. You set a trap and then turn around and run; a cautious enemy will instinctively suspect a trap, so he won't pursue, and your trap will have been set in vain! If you don't set a trap and just lure the enemy out, then if you turn around and run, it will easily turn into a real escape. The enemy pursues, you run, and the whole battle will collapse!"

The three archers smiled sheepishly; clearly, they hadn't thought enough.

"Therefore, the third important purpose of Mobile Shooting is to use Mobile Shooting to change the stalemate of the battle. Once you move and grasp the initiative of the battle, doesn't the enemy also have to produce corresponding changes based on your changes? And we thought of this a step ahead, calculating both your movement and the enemy's pursuit into the tactical plan!"

"Breaking the stalemate and grasping the initiative in the battle is one of the functions of Mobile Shooting."

Jier emphasized at this moment: "This is also what I previously told the Shield Squad about 'controlling the enemy.' Grasp the initiative of the battle and restrict and plan the enemy's next actions, letting the enemy's actions fall into the battlefield or situation you have long planned. Achieve a state favorable to yourself and unfavorable to the enemy. It seems impossible, but in reality, it can be done."

But Jier's expression shifted, and he said with a smile: "But actual combat is very complex, and it is difficult to plan as perfectly as expected. Many times, the enemy will not follow your plan for one reason or another. At this time, everyone should not be discouraged; just reorganize the situation and let the battle enter the next round of maneuvering."

The words Jier said at the end left the Warriors confused, and only a few people could roughly understand what Jier was talking about.

Clap, clap!

Jier clapped his hands and continued to talk about Mobile Shooting: "Besides this, Mobile Shooting is not just walking around like this; its movements also include shooting while jumping, shooting while rolling, shooting while lunging, Inverted Reverse Shooting, Wall-Kick Moving Shooting, and various types of close-quarters combat shooting."

These were either skills and knowledge he learned from the old hunters under Knight Lanisha, or skills he summarized and pondered himself.

"For shooting while jumping, if you jump and shoot from a standstill, then your jumping ability needs to be at a certain level. But if you are jumping down from a high place, you must be careful; the arrow you shoot needs to account for your falling speed and movement trajectory, otherwise, it is difficult to hit the enemy accurately. Because the timing of jumping and landing is very short, if you want to get better results, you must master the technique of Rapid Shooting."

Jier demonstrated what Rapid Shooting is.

He grabbed a handful of arrows from someone else's quiver, held them in his right hand, then aimed at the dummy, and after saying, "I'm starting," Jier continuously placed the arrows in his hand onto the bowstring, using only his fingers to hook the bowstring, without pulling the bowstring much, just pulling it slightly and letting go to shoot the arrows that were barely resting on the bow body and bowstring.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—whoosh, whoosh.

Jier grabbed eight arrows in one hand and actually shot them all out in this single breath of time.

The speed was lightning fast and dazzling.

And the shooting result surprised the Warriors even more: the eight arrows Jier shot all hit the dummy in front.

The three archers looked at each other; only then did they realize how much better Knight Jier was in archery martial arts than them.

Too much better, way too much.

Fast speed, fierce power, high accuracy.

There are no weaknesses.

"How is it?" Jier turned his head and asked the few people.

The three archers immediately applauded to show it was amazing. Other Warriors didn't pay attention to what had just happened here, mainly because Jier's movements were too fast, and many people didn't see clearly. At this time, attracted by the applause, and after hearing what the Warriors who had just seen the scene said, everyone asked Knight Jier to perform it for everyone again.

"Haha, then let's do it again! Watch closely."

Jier was a bit proud, because this technique was something he learned from the old hunters before he even underwent Knight Training.

He repeated the Rapid Shooting again, and this time everyone saw it clearly and began to praise him one after another.

"Too fast!"

"I hadn't even seen it clearly, and Knight Jier had already shot out the handful of arrows!"

"And they all hit! Who can do this? I ask, not just in our team, but in the entire Refugee Team, who can do this?"

"Hey, don't talk about us; I think even the soldiers and the resident Knight lords of the former Baishi Pass didn't have this skill of Knight Jier!"

Jier coughed a few times, signaling that moderate flattery was enough; he didn't know the level of the knights at Baishi Pass and didn't dare to compare himself with them. What if the other party was a bow-knight who specialized in archery martial arts? Then he would purely be showing off before an expert.

"Back to the previous topic."

Jier waved his hand and continued to talk to the three archers about Mobile Shooting.

"Next is shooting while rolling. This is more difficult, but the effect is very good; it is suitable for sudden sneak attacks in narrow places and short, quick dodging movements. It combines three points: short-distance movement, rolling to dodge, and sudden sneak attacks. It is very practical."

After Jier finished speaking, he demonstrated to everyone what Rolling Shooting was.

Twisting an arrow with his hand, Jier crouched slightly, facing the dummy.

He first swayed slightly left and right to get a feel for it, then suddenly rolled to the right twice. No one saw it clearly, but an arrow shot out fiercely from Jier, who was in the middle of rolling, and hit the center of the dummy's forehead directly.

"Unbelievable!"

"How was this arrow shot?"

"How can it be shot so accurately in this state?"

The three archers each exclaimed in surprise, while Jier felt a bit embarrassed because he had cheated with this move.

He had secretly used the Shadow Bird's ability beforehand, letting the pitch-black little bird use the dim light to land in the shadow of the dummy not far away. Therefore, he could grasp the dummy's situation in real-time from his position.

Although Jier had previously looked down on this 【Shadow Possession】, feeling that possessing someone's shadow to monitor their situation had no practical significance. After all, in many close-quarters battles, let alone seeing the enemy, he could grasp the enemy's position and movements just by listening with his ears.

This possession felt a bit superfluous.

But only now did Jier begin to figure out some uses for this ability—such as archery.

Because the Shadow Bird's ability allowed him to know the position and movements of the possessed target in real-time, even while Jier was in the middle of a rolling motion, he could still skillfully know the dummy's exact position and its precise distance from him.

This positional intelligence usually seemed unimportant, but at a time like this, it had a unique effect.

"How is it? Is Rolling Shooting very effective?" Jier gestured to the distance he had rolled twice in succession.

"Although this distance isn't far, in a cramped indoor environment, it is enough. It is enough for you to roll from one end of a Corridor to behind cover at the other end. At the same time, because it is a low-profile roll, it is also very difficult for an enemy to hurt you while you are rolling after they react. The window for attack is truly both short and small."

"Finally, there is the suddenness of this rolling attack; I think the Arrow in the dummy's head is enough to prove the point."

Jier smiled smugly and casually brushed the dirt and grass clippings off his body.

"It's just that it's easy to get dirty; of course, for the sake of battle, it doesn't matter if one gets a little dirty."

Jier's last sentence was somewhat redundant; which of these three archers would care about getting a little dirty because of battle? Not a single one.

Seeing the three archers still discussing Rolling Shooting, Jier originally wanted to talk about the next one, but he added some knowledge and techniques: "Rolling requires practice; if you want to roll quickly and far in battle, you cannot skimp on practicing this in your daily routine."

The three of them nodded in agreement.

"Secondly, how to aim and how to draw the bow and shoot while rolling—this also requires you to practice step-by-step starting from the slowest roll. First practice rolling, then practice stopping to shoot during a roll, then practice how to shoot during a slow roll, and finally speed up the rolling, increasing the speed step-by-step."

Jier pointed at the dummy: "Last of all, only then is it time to practice accuracy and precision."

"Next, let's talk about shooting while pouncing."

Jier performed a motion of pouncing forward, and to the left and right. He pounced forward from a standstill, and in the process of pouncing, he shot an Arrow at the dummy. After standing up, he pounced to the left, with another Arrow in the middle, and then pounced to the right, with yet another Arrow.

His movements were fast and powerful, and he was merciless when shooting, making all three archers feel that if they were the enemies of Knight Jier, they would already be dead, even before they could react themselves.

"How is it? Did it leave a deep impression on you?" Jier asked after climbing up, while brushing off his body.

Unexpectedly, all three shook their heads, instead unanimously believing that Rolling Shooting was still the most powerful.

Rolling Shooting combined movement, sneak attacks, and evasion; if they practiced it well, they would no longer fear other Warriors holding a Long Sword and Shield in indoor close-quarters combat.

Jier shrugged: "You all are really overthinking it."

He criticized: "Rolling Shooting is very powerful, I admit, but the difficulty of practicing it is high, isn't it? How can it be as simple and easy as Pouncing Shooting, which is easy to practice and easy to hit with?"

Jier began to explain Pouncing Shooting: "You all just saw this kind of movement. It is more suitable for launching an attack from behind cover, but take note, because it is not easy to get up after you finally pounce onto the ground, Pouncing Shooting requires that you only face a single enemy!"

"Remember, it can only deal with a single enemy at a time. And if you are not confident, then do not use this method. If you pounce out and shoot in mid-air but don't hit the enemy, then the enemy will raise their weapon and rush up to hack you to death. At this time, you can't get up from the ground, and you can only be killed by the enemy in vain."

The three archers looked disgusted.

Jier waved his hand: "Hey, don't be disgusted. What I just said were its shortcomings, but it also has advantages. The advantage is that it is simple and easy to learn, and it has the element of surprise in battle."

"The former is easy to understand; the movement is nothing more than pouncing out and drawing the bow and releasing the arrow in the air. As long as you practice, anyone can make this whole set of movements standard and fast, and the result is that the Arrow accurately hits the enemy. At the same time, because it has no warning—you are definitely hiding behind cover before you pounce out—the enemy cannot see you and naturally cannot predict your movements, so it naturally carries an element of surprise."

"At this time, as long as the enemy has a weakness and your arrow is truly accurate, then you can easily take the enemy's life!"

The three archers looked at each other and discussed, feeling that this move wasn't so bad after all.

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