Red Archer Atalanta once again felt helpless, even more so than when she faced Black Saber.
If the Black Saber we met last time possessed an immortal body similar to Achilles, arrows would be ineffective and fighting him would be like a dog biting a hedgehog, with nowhere to bite. It was a restraint in terms of compatibility.
Then the Black Archer I encountered this time had no compatibility issues at all, it was pure skill suppression.
There is no doubt that Atalanta, as the most outstanding female hunter in ancient Greece, had a bow skill that reached the divine realm. But the Black Archer she was fighting against also reached the divine realm, and was at a higher level than her.
God's domain, God's occupation, non-human, etc. are just general terms for transcending human boundaries, and there are also strong and weak ones, just like gods can be strong or weak. Surya, the father of Karna, and Kronos, the father of Chiron, are obviously strong, while Thetis, the mother of Achilles, and Diligente, the mother of Semiramis, are relatively weak. Even weaker than them are the eldest sister Stheno and the second sister Euryale of the three Gorgon sisters. As long as they find a way to offset the power of God, even Shinji can tear them apart easily.
Both are divine archery. Chiron, the prototype of Sagittarius who has been active for countless years, is naturally at the highest level. Atalanta, who was turned into a lion early on, is still some distance away from that level. Even with the protection of Artemis, the goddess of the moon who uses a bow as a weapon, it is difficult to make up for this gap.
In ordinary flat shooting, the accuracy, power and shooting speed of the two were roughly the same, but in terms of the trickiness of the arrow's path, Atalanta could not do it as freely as Chiron.
Rapid-fire continuous arrows, this is the part that puts the most pressure on Atalanta.
Atalanta's ultimate is the seven-arrow chain, an exquisite archery skill she accidentally learned from the Big Dipper in the Ursa Major constellation, and it is also one of her special skills that she is very proud of.
But Chiron's limit is ten arrows in a row, which is exactly the number of the six stars of the Southern Dipper plus another four closely related bright stars belonging to Sagittarius. I don't know if it is a coincidence, these four stars are classified as "Jixiu" in China, and the six stars of the Southern Dipper are called "Douxiu", which together form a "Jidou" (ancient container).
Although Atalanta is stronger than Chiron if we evaluate each arrow individually, the most important thing about a series of arrows is quantity, and Atalanta is completely defeated in this respect.
One bow and multiple arrows. This time there is no difference in the arrow path and the number of arrows. After all, it is fan-shaped archery. The bearing capacity of the bowstring and the limitation of the fingers are there, but the shooting speed is inferior.
The only way to gain an advantage is to use all the strength of the bow to shoot an arrow, but Atalanta knows very well that it is not her credit but the credit of her favorite bow "Sky Bow". If both of them use the same bow, she may not be able to gain the upper hand.
Fortunately, Atalanta still had some animalistic thinking and didn't care about the pride of a hero. If it was Achilles, who had his eyes on the top of his head, he would never be simply helpless. He might have been impatient and thinking about how to fight the enemy desperately. He would not be as calm as Atalanta in dealing with the enemy and trying to play to his strengths. (It only refers to being crushed in the field he is best at.)
Does Atalanta have any advantages over Chiron
The answer is yes—yes!
Atalanta's job title is Archer, but her real occupation is actually Hunter. Bows and arrows are only one part of hunting, and there are other skills such as concealment, traps, and misdirection. In this entire hunting field, Atalanta is at the divine level. With the blessing of Artemis, the goddess of hunting, Atalanta can be said to be at the top.
Although Chiron possessed "divine wisdom", had learned from Artemis and Apollo, and had shot many prey when he was on earth, his skills were too high and involved too many areas. In the seldom used field of hunting, he was not as good as Atalanta, who had been studying and improving herself all the time.
This gave Atalanta the opportunity to fight Chiron.
In order to maximize her own advantages, Atalanta took great pains to move the battlefield from the plains to the forest. This is where she grew up, her home ground, and everything here will help her fight against Chiron's terrible archery.
Her innate animality, her experience of being banished to the form of a lion at the end of her life, and the animal ears and tail that accompanied her after she became a heroic spirit would be stimulated to the maximum in an area that has never been destroyed by humans.
Keep shooting arrows.
Keep dodging arrows.
Constantly changing position.
Keep sweating.
Every inch of Atalanta's skin, every muscle, and every nerve was trembling.
Not only because of the strength of the enemy and the danger of the battle, but also because it has been a long time since I have been so excited to run and shoot arrows. It is just like when I was a child, I kept running among the mountains and rocks and fighting all kinds of beasts in order to survive.
Nine arrows fell from the sky in succession, and each one accurately calculated Atalanta's next landing point. This was a perfect combination of divine archery and calculation, and proof of Chiron's full effort.
Chiron has already identified his opponent from the aura of the "Arrow of the Complaint", the shape of the "Sky Bow" and the animal ears and tail. To fight against such a powerful archer, one must go all out.
However, this divine skill that even Artoria suffered a lot did not have any effect on Atalanta. Her steps were still so light, her movements were still so agile - and the arrow that should have pierced the huntress's foot finally fell at her feet, and she avoided it by a hair's breadth.
"My distant homeland Arcadia is full of rugged mountains, and I play by leaping among the rocks."
Atalanta's lips opened and closed as she ran close to the arrow, and a moving sound flowed out of her lips.
That was the most precious memory in her life, a scene forever imprinted in her heart. This experience sublimated after her death and became her strength.
Skill: Crossing Arkady.
Grade: B
Able to move across all obstacles on the field, including enemies.
For her, the more complex the terrain, the stronger her abilities will be.
I'm no match for you on the plains, but what about in the forest
After successfully dodging nine arrows, Atalanta turned her head, caught a glimpse of the pursuer behind her, and softly recited another sentence:
"Go ahead, I will turn into a gust of wind and come out on top."
This is a sublimation of another of her anecdotes and another major support for her.
She pulled the bowstring and shot the arrow, aiming at the point where Chiron would fall.
At this moment, Chiron was jumping from one tree to another.
PS: There was a hidden trump card "Seven Arrows of the Big Dipper" in the setting of Atalanta's Noble Phantasm, which was an extremely powerful attack named after the Big Dipper in the Ursa Major constellation. However, it was not used later. I would like to pay tribute to it here. Chiron's Southern Dipper and Magpie can be regarded as a tribute.
PS2: I can probably guess the reason why it was not adopted. It is too powerful. It is much higher than Chiron's Noble Phantasm. This level of fan power has violated the Basic Law.