Spirit Taming

Chapter 618: Unique archery Skill

The next twenty minutes were annoying for the girls who had decided that they would be taking down these beasts. Mostly led by Isa, the group pushed forward. They managed to spot some moving red here and there that arrows were shot at.

It was unfortunate for Reese since he was the one called to collect the arrows. But pretty soon, Grace and Isa had begun using some energy to just make arrows out of ice. In their heads, it was better not to waste the real arrows on pests.

The more that Isa missed her targets, the more that they tried. They had not come to realize that these red jungle raccoons had clearly been tempered by the predators of the jungle to avoid the longer ranged attacks.

"Ugh! Why would they be able to dodge arrows so damn well!?" This was the last straw when Isa missed another one and only managed to make a small clump of fur leave the red jungle raccoon's body.

"They need to compete with many other beasts for food. I would assume that they are able to survive against many beasts. But it could be that they are often climbing trees for shelter since the jungle floor is very dangerous. That direction should have the artillery ant nest marked on the map." Ella had memorized the map shown to her for only a few minutes.

It just came with her research oriented brain.

"The artillery ants are the ones that shoot stingers full of poison at anything that breaks in to their best or above it, right?" Jerold had paid close attention to this and was recalling what had come up when he asked about it before.

"Exactly. They are very dangerous and even the strongest tamers avoid their nests since they only nest in areas with the densest and the most humid jungle. Apparently there is a researcher down south in an area of jungle that grows enough to block an entire mountain range from travel."

"That researcher is only able to be around the artillery ants because they have a queen artillery ant as a spirit beast. But the research has saved many people's lives during their exploration of the band jungle along the mountain range." hearing this from Ella made what they had expected to be a dangerous beast even more dangerous sounding.

"And that's why we are not chasing them to those places. They might be able to dodge them, but the ants will leave their territory like other beasts to fight them. And they are one of the few ants that will fight from up to a mile away…" Ella put the idea to rest right there.

"How about we play dumb. Let the little things get closer to us then we trap them." Isa thought of this as a better method, but before she could even test it, she watched Maria who had started to ignore them.

While Isa had her own reasons, Maria had gotten fed up and frustrated to her core. She had always been good with archery. She had been good at it even when others in her family mocked her. That was all before she met Clark after all.

But being poor in archery right now was enough to make her feel as if she was being mocked. That all her talent in archery and shard training was just scratching the surface of what it meant.

Therefore, Maria notched two arrows at once. Something she had only thought of and not done. Rapid firing was easy enough for her. She had trained her body to catch up to the possibility. She could easily track a target and fire arrows up to five times without having to readjust her bow.

Firing multiple arrows at once was a teaching that went against traditional archery. While some had used it, many people would mock them for that action since it would decrease the ability to aim. It was usually only something an archer would do when they faced a hoard of beasts or opponents. But Maria felt she was different.

This moment right here had clicked something together in her mind. A practical use for firing multiple arrows at the same time. An opponent that was dodging every singular arrow, including the rapid fire arrows. These beasts had always fought against the individual attacks one after another. They could focus on that and dodge.

Naturally, the artillery ants and other beasts would avoid fighting for the prey so these red jungle raccoons would not have experienced true synched ranged attacks.

Clark pulled Isa's hand back since she was about to stop Maria. It was only expected that Isa would want to proceed with her plan while they had the chance. But when Isa saw that Clark was the one holding her back, she didn't even utter a word. She understood that Clark must understand something more. And more was exactly what the look of focus Maria had right now.

The breathing that Maria had matched with the beat of her heart slowed. It was a control only those that focused on their bodily training could do. But matching it with the rhythm of her shots as an archer was something that came with harder training. The exact degree of which Maria held herself to because this was her talent to teach the group. To show off.

To take pride in even when she was considered useless.

Just as the red jungle raccoon was about to leap toward a bush, Maria released the arrows. As it had done earlier, the raccoon dodged ahead in a leap. Perfectly missing the arrow that had been fired. But it had not taken in to account the second arrow moving at the same pace but a foot ahead of it.

Due to the way it dodged, the red jungle raccoon made itself a perfect target. Maria's arrow had pierced it right through the chest and left the beast dead right there. It didn't even have a chance to whine or make a sound otherwise.

"You killed one of the pests!" Isa jumped up in surprise.

Maria smiled softly as she put the bow back on her back to have it at the ready. But before Isa could move to claim the prize, a single pink tongue shot out and swallowed up the red jungle raccoon.

'Three toed frog- rare

The three toed frog is known for the three toes that it has which are covered in a very sticky fluid. It is often hunted by those with a high amount of bravery to sell this liquid. It is considered a very strong building supply item if it is kept fresh and mixed with purple beetle shells.

It is a strong water type beast that enjoys the morning mist since it is able to easily keep its body damp. However, it must move in to water pools during the hotter times of the day.

It uses its sharp eyes to snatch up any prey that near the bubble trees that it lives around and in. its tongue is very quick and also covered in sticky fluid…'

Clark changed where he was looking and spotted the odd trees around them. The territory to their right had definitely become a space full of these frogs and trees. The bubbles mentioned about the tree were bulbs of the trees that would flower later. They held water around the bulbs to keep them from drying during the hot hours of the day. Therefore, it was known as a bubble tree. It all made sense.

There was a moment where everyone thought that Isa was going to call out the blaze elemental and attempt to burn the forest to the ground. However, it appeared that Isa had just wanted one single thing. The red jungle raccoon to perish. To be fair, she saw them as evil pests, so that made a lot of sense.

"So we are not going to move any closer to that area of the jungle. Got it. No frog fighting in the trees." Reese ushered everyone to move and Jerod was the same attitude. They both partnered together to make sure that the small trail was followed perfectly. Especially since they were between larger frogs than them and a nest of ants able to fight them for miles.

"You are both acting so worried? We won that fight and the rest of them won't appear again because they know we will beat them." Isa's positive mood would not be broken. Meanwhile, Ella's furious scribbling of notes was matched by Brad who was keeping up with her. A surprising adjustment when it came to the challenge of even keeping tabs on what Ella was writing about.

"We should only be an hour away from the next are of worries. We are coming up on an are where we might see some jungle serpents or maybe the titan spiders. It depends on what the trails are really like there." Clark reminded everyone of the further dangers. It felt that a day had passed and not a few hours since they started walking.

It was all due to the antics of fighting the raccoons of all things.