Of course, there were also shortcomings of the longbow, namely that the archer had to have a strong body and constitution, have great skill on many different fronts, as well as the ability to cooperate well with each other. This meant a long time spent training and fighting together before an archery unit was mature.
The importance of archers in an army was undisputed, especially so for Heavenly Bow Empire. In fact, when Zhou Weiqing’s father was younger and still a commander, he led troops of archers in a model battle of success for archers. At that time, their opponent was the Kalise Empire on their southern front, whose army was mainly made of cavalry.
At that time, Admiral Zhou had chosen a gentle slope which the Kalise Army would pass by and set up an ambush.
At that time, Heavenly Bow Empire’s archer troops consisted of only 2000 men, divided into 3 units. The unit covering the left used trees and trenches as cover, and the unit covering the right had a river as a natural barrier cover; the last unit was behind the other two and personally led by Admiral Zhou himself. In front of each unit, there were around 150 dismounted heavy cavalry troops equipped with heavy tower shields in a protective formation of 6 rows. With such a formation numbering mostly archers, and facing more than 3 times their number in enemy cavalry, they had won in a convincing slaughter-fest. This was also the battle that propelled Admiral Zhou to fame, and brought him into the upper echelons of the Heavenly Bow Army ranks.
Knowing his father’s history, when Zhou Weiqing held the bow, he couldn’t help but feel a rush of passion and excitement. As his father’s son, he had been trained with a longbow previously, but holding such a longbow which had been on the battlefield just felt different.
Taking a deep breath, Zhou Weiqing held the bow in his left hand, while expertly using his thumb, index and middle finger to pull back the drawstring, using his strength to unwaveringly draw the bow into a perfect crescent, taking aim in front.
The soldier’s eyes lit up, and he exclaimed in praise: “Nice! Little bro, you have used a bow before right, very standard actions, but let’s see how your accuracy is. For us archers, as long as we have good accuracy, we are extremely important in the army.”
With such a proper posture, how could Zhou Weiqing not be accurate? After all, as long as Zhou Weiqing’s father was at home, he took pleasure in “torturing” his son with training. Although Zhou Weiqing was not able to cultivate, but in terms of training in different weapons and combat, he definitely had the best possible training. Even when the Admiral was out at work, he would still assign training for Zhou Weiqing to complete, and would even check afterwards. If he failed the check…. hehehehe..
As a result of that, Zhou Weiqing not only knew how to shoot, but was also very accurate, which was also one of the reasons why he had been so happy to choose to join the archer unit. After all, Heavenly Bow Empire was renowned in the region for its archers, and Admiral Zhou had definitely given him a lot of training in that area.
After taking the position for a while, Zhou Weiqing slowly put down the bow, not even out of breath and his back straight. He was after all still 13 years old, and although his strength was no weaker than an ordinary adult, he still could not sustain that position for too long.
“Alright, that’s enough. Little bro, from now on you are one of our brothers in the archery battalion. Our battalion is part of the 5th Regiment of the army, and the 5th Regiment has a total of 10 battalions out of which 4 are archers, and we are of the 3rd battalion.
In Boundless Mainland, the formation of armies in the various countries were pretty much the same.
10 men to a Squad
10 Squads (100 men) to a Company
10 Companies (1000 men) to a Battalion
10 Battalions (10k men) to a Regiment
10 Regiments (100k men) to a Field Army Group
Of course, Heavenly Bow Empire’s army did not consist of Field Army Groups, its entire army was made up of 5 Regiments, totalling 50k soldiers.
“Ah? Is that it for the test?” Zhou Weiqing asked in surprise.
The archer replied with a laugh: “Why? Did you think it would be harder? We’re recruiting fresh troops not picking a son-in-law, as long as the recruit is healthy and in good shape, and is able to draw the longbow, it is considered a pass. You foolish youngling, probably just reached 16 years old right, and you will continue growing in stature so there won’t be any issues there. More importantly, all the recruits will be having a 3 month basic training. Of course we will not be sending fresh recruits into the battlefield. Alright, now go over to that side to collect your equipment. Little bro, let me tell you that you are extremely lucky to be able to enter our 3rd battalion, you will know why when you see our battalion commander who is personally giving out the equipment over there.” As he spoke, he put a tick on Zhou Weiqing’s form before returning it to him.
The archer gave Zhou Weiqing directions to the temporary battalion headquarters which was situated not far from the field, it had likely not been set up for long, and there were still wagons delivering goods there.
Was he about to become a real soldier now? Since young, Zhou Weiqing had been scolded by his father for being a useless bum, and he had never felt such a sense of accomplishment as today. Even though the test earlier had been extremely simple, but he had passed it on his own merits. Zhou Weiqing thrusted his chest forward in pride as he strode towards the Battalion headquarters.
As he entered the headquarters, the form in his hands was his entrance permit across the various sentry checkpoints, and with the directions from the sentries he was able to easily find the 3rd battalion’s headquarters. In front of a large warehouse there was a sign which read: New Recruits report here.
Zhou Weiqing was so excited by now, and hurried towards the warehouse and raised his hand to move aside the curtain to get in. In an unbelievable coincidence, just as he raised his hand forward, someone was walking out at the same time. It was summer time at the moment, and the curtain on the headquarters was extremely thin, and was mostly just to ward off mosquitoes. Due to Zhou Weiqing’s excitement, his actions were very large, and in grabbing the curtain, he also grabbed onto something round, soft, yet springy. Zhou Weiqing subconsciously squeezed, and at the same time there was a loud hmph from the other end before he was kicked away.
The kick was not that heavy, but Zhou Weiqing was still knocked back 7 steps, almost landing on his butt. The curtain was shoved aside and someone strode out.
It was a beautiful young girl, looking to be around 16 years of age, around 1.7m in height and very slender. She had a head of blue hair tied in a ponytail, and was dressed in a suit of black uniform, which Zhou Weiqing recognized as the uniform of a battalion commander. Of course, she was not wearing the armor which would complete the whole battalion commander gear.
Princess Difuya was already very pretty, but was no match in comparison to this young lady who was a whole level ahead in terms of looks. Her skin was as fine and smooth as milk, and her most dazzling feature was her pair of large enchanting light blue eyes which were gentle and nigh perfect. Her features were blemishless, giving anyone who looked upon her an impression of being as gentle as still water.
As he looked upon the young girl, Zhou Weiqing was stunned as he realised he knew her. Although he had only seen her once from far, but she had definitely left an impression on him then. The reason for that was because the girl in front of him was Heavenly Bow Empire’s top genius on the young generation, and was also known as the top beauty of the empire. Her name was Shangguan Bing’er.
Zhou Weiqing had only seen Shangguan Bing’er once, and that was during her award ceremony. The countries in Boundless Mainland had very similar titles for nobles, the six titles in order of nobility from low to high – Lord, Baron, Viscount, Count, Marquis, Duke. Of course, for different countries, the various noble titles might have varying amount of power.
Shangguan Bing’er was born from a common family, but she had been awarded a title of Lord at the age of twelve, Baron the next year. This year she was 15 years old, older than Zhou Weiqing by 2 years, but her noble title was already the same as him at Viscount. However, in comparison, her title was truly earned by herself unlike Zhou Weiqing’s titles, which were only because of his father. Even though Princess Difuya was a rising star in the royal family, she paled in comparison to Shangguan Bing’er.
Although Shangguan Bing’er was a year younger than the princess, she already possessed 2 sets of Power Jewels, furthermore she had both Elemental and Power Jewels. At the age of 12, Shangguan Bing’er already managed to cultivate to level 3 Heavenly Energy and Awakened her Twin Power Jewels, which were known as Heavenly Jewels. Such a phenomenon was much rarer than giving birth to twins in families. Especially in such a small country like Heavenly Bow Empire where the number of Heavenly Jewel Masters they have are honestly really pathetic. The reason why Shangguan Bing’er is held in such regard by the Empire, given the rank of viscount as such a young age, is because she is actually the second Heavenly Jewel Master in the whole empire! And the first Heavenly Jewel Master is actually Zhou Weiqing’s father, Admiral Zhou.
Although Zhou Weiqing’s father was a Heavenly Jewel Master, but the class was still a mystery in Zhou Weiqing’s heart. As he had blocked meridians since young, Admiral Zhou looked down upon him and thus never discussed anything regarding Heavenly Jewel Masters. The only thing that Zhou Weiqing knew was that on the surface, Heaven Jewel Masters seemed to be the combination of a Physical and Elemental Jewel Master. However, while there were definitely many similarities, there was actually also a lot of differences in terms of cultivation, promotion of Heavenly Jewel Masters. In fact, even the look and abilities of their jewels also differed in some ways as compared to the individual Elemental or Physical Jewel Masters. However, he had no idea what the differences actually were; all he knew was that Heavenly Jewel Masters were known as having much greater strength in comparison. Many a time had he daydreamed that he was a Heavenly Jewel Master.
The one and only time that Zhou Weiqing had seen Shangguan Bing’er previously was the day that she had been awarded with the title of Viscount. The one who had awarded her the title was the Emperor himself, and at that time Admiral Zhou had brought him along to view the procession. As such, even though he had seen Shangguan Bing’er before and could recognize this top beauty of the empire at a single glance, she did not recognize him.
Unfortunately, right at this very moment, the facial expression on this top beauty was extremely ugly, her perfect features were ice cold, brow furrowed in anger and her hands were clasped protectively in front of her chest.
At this time, Shangguan Bing’er was rather despondent. She had just been walking out of the headquarters when the youth in front of her had suddenly recklessly grabbed the curtains, and had even grabbed her sensitive areas! In fact, from a young age, no male had ever touched any part of her body, she had no idea who her father was, and had been brought up singlehandedly by her mother. In fact, if she had not been protecting herself reflexively from the grasp just now, the kick on Zhou Weiqing would have been a lot harsher.
Zhou Weiqing also awoke to reality at this point, and recalling and associating the words of the archer earlier, he realised that this top beauty in front of him was clearly his superior officer, the battalion officer of the 3rd battalion, the very officer who was supposed to issue him his gear. Also, looking at Shangguan Bing’er’s face and actions, it was clear to him where he had grabbed earlier.
In the Star Forest earlier, he had only seen the naked back of Princess Difuya and had been exceedingly excited. Now, he had actually touched Shangguan Bing’er! Could this be his lucky day1? In this one single day, he had had ‘ambiguous relations’ with the 2 of the most famous young ladies in the whole empire! Thinking about where he had grabbed earlier… *Pooh* Once again, twin rows of blood spurted out of his nose. Although his face was arranged in an honest expression, that nosebleed betrayed the dirty thoughts he was currently having.
“Who are you?” Looking at Zhou Weiqing’s nosebleed, Shangguan Bing’er’s expression got even angrier, and she drew her sword and shouted in rage while pointing it at him.
“Ah! It is a misunderstanding, I’m a new recruit. I’m here to report and get my new equipment.” Zhou Weiqing quickly waved his form in front of her.
Shangguan Bing’er took a swift step forward towards Zhou Weiqing, grabbing the form from him to take a look. Her face softened a little, as she knew that it truly had been a coincidence previously, though she was still very angry at Zhou Weiqing.
“Why are you bumbling around clumsily for?” With a *qiang* sound, Shangguan Bing’er sheathed her sword, the killing intent in her eyes had disappeared but her tone was still cold and angry. After all, what girl would be able to keep her temper after being grabbed that way.
Zhou Weiqing had been observing her expressions, and was very impressed in his heart. Look at Shangguan Bing’er! She was born from a common family, and clearly her moral character was way better than the princess. The grievance she had suffered was no smaller than Princess Difuya’s, but the reaction was just so different. If only she was my fiance instead, how great that would be?
“Follow me inside.” Shangguan Bing’er pushed aside the curtain and re-entered the headquarters.
Zhou Weiqing was about to enter, when someone sidled up next to him. Only then did he realise that a male soldier had actually been following Shangguan Bing’er out of the headquarters previously. He was wearing light armor covering the vital spots of the body, and with a helmet with a yellow feather, this was the mark of a Company Leader. Previously, all of Zhou Weiqing’s attention had been focused on the alluring Shangguan Bing’er and he had not noticed his presence.
A voice sounded out in his ear, as soft as a mosquito’s buzzing, “Hey Boy, how was the feeling like?”
Zhou Weiqing was at this point gloating inwardly, and he subconsciously praised out loud: “The battalion commander’s chest muscles are not bad!”
The Company Leader had only been teasing him, with a bit of envy mixed in, little did he expect that this young rascal would actually reply him out loud; this seemed rather at odds with his honest outlook. Regarding Zhou Weiqing’s reply, he could only think of one phrase: How intrepid!
A cold light flashed, and Zhou Weiqing felt the ends of his hair stand up suddenly as the curtain in front of him was suddenly cut into two. In front of him, at the doorway, with her sword quivering in her hands, Shangguan Bing’er stood glaring coldly at Zhou Weiqing: “If you talk some more rubbish, I’ll make sure you become an eunuch.”
“Eh, Battalion Commander, I’m so sorry I was wrong.” Zhou Weiqing had regretted his words earlier the moment they had left his mouth, after all he had been so loud and Shangguan Bing’er was so close. He hurriedly admitted his mistake with a apologetic smiling face.
Shangguan Bing’er gave an angry hmph, before turning back to head into the headquarters. The Company Leader seeing the situation, gave Zhou Weiqing a big thumbs up before he ran off quickly. Although Shangguan Bing’er did not put on any airs and had a very good temperament, as soon as combat started she was definitely more valiant than anyone else. He did not want to end up becoming an excuse for her to vent her anger.
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