The last song of the ancestors

Above the big screen in the Grand Arena, where the reports were shown, there was a false wall. It was armored glass that made it possible to see everything that was happening below. This was where the organizer of the event, General Luena, stood. She only presented herself to the public with a holoprojection of her bust.

Inside this secret room, a team monitored the betting rate, drew lots for the fights, gave the starting signal and the declaration of victory. Sitting on a seat with an electromagnetic axis, the military woman floated from side to side when she wanted to check some metric.

Despite the smaller number of fighters and days, there had been a record number of subscribers and bettors. The figures had already hit billions of Credibits in the first half hour before the first fight. The only thing she was unhappy about was the absence of Akachi and his companions. After a long series of tortures on Yasini, she extracted information about Adisa's son. The tortured man was then handed over to General Jitujeusi.

His bad mood dissolved with the results of the first confrontation. He activated a panel and the cubic ceiling and floor of the ring were replaced. They were completely destroyed by Jomo's flames. After that, the other two fighters entered the ring, and the ceiling closed in on them. She watched the two of them facing each other.

"Hawa, that name is not unfamiliar to me..."

One of the operators heard his general's question. Without turning his face from the screen, he described some information:

"Hawa, member of the Massai people of Tanzania. Military leader of his village, he fought against landowners and rival peoples. His war tactics allowed his people to protect themselves from invaders."

"Wait, that's the same archer who broke the archery world record at the last Olympics. I didn't know that Massai women devoted themselves to martial arts and war, hunhunhunhun."

"That's true, my general. But after so many local conflicts, the social dynamics changed because of the war. Because they needed extra arms, women ended up getting involved."

All this was true. Hawa was a young Masai who practiced archery away from the public eye. This was covered up by Shomari, his older brother, the Masai stick warrior. Ironically, a scout from the Tanzanian Ministry of Sports saw her training in hiding, offered her a scholarship and summoned her to train.

The start was difficult. There was resistance from her community, her parents and even other athletes. For a while, she disbelieved in her own abilities. Only her coach and her brother continued to believe in her. Until she was able to go to the Olympics, became a gold medalist, broke records and achieved fame. When she returned home, nothing had changed. Her people were still impoverished and at constant war.

He abandoned sport and embraced war. Through his influence, he began to bring together the various Masai villages in Tanzania and Kenya. The state intervened with force of arms, the Masai responded with arrows.

⸎

Akachi stood facing Hawa. He felt uncomfortable. That firm gaze reminded him of Spin Bomb.

The young Massai woman was wearing a green and red sleeveless dress. She was tall and slender. Her hair was shaved. She wore various adornments such as necklaces, earrings and bracelets made of braided straw, seeds and small copper triangles. Her bow reached the height of her breasts, and her quiver was made from a collage of bovine horns.

Akachi drew his two sticks. As soon as the signal for the fight was given, Hawa drew an arrow and drew his bow. She didn't shoot. She remained static with the string taut. Azekel's grandson waited for the attack, and it didn't come. Fenyang appeared behind him like a shadow.

The best way to fight an archer is to reduce the distance as much as possible.

Yes, bro, but archers aren't usually defensive. In hand-to-hand combat, they have a disadvantage.

What's that, Fenyang?

Their posture is fixed and their movements repetitive. This makes them vulnerable to close-range attacks. They can't defend themselves with their hands, otherwise they'll get screwed!

She's planning something. She seems to be timing herself, babbling quietly...

Use your speed, bro. Attack from the flanks. Don't let that piranha woman shoot you.

The young medium ran so fast that it was only possible to make out his figure. Even when zig-zagging, Hawa's eyes were still on him. Akachi emerged from the left flank. He tried to apply an upward blow. The target was the ribs below the armpit. This would immobilize one of the young massai's arms. Before he could apply the attack, his opponent squirmed incomprehensibly.

The enemy arrow was aimed at Akachi's chest. The audience was shocked, as was the medium. The combatants stood still.

"You're mine!"

As he said this, Hawa fired the arrow at point-blank range. Akachi concentrated a field of repulsive force in the area. The makeshift shield protected him from being shot in the chest. Despite this, the impact of the arrow threw him a distance.

Akachi rose from the ground. His use of contortion to defend himself against close-range attacks had taken him by surprise. He wouldn't give in. Hawa maintained his self-confident posture. His eyes did not stray from those of his target. This caused the fighter anguish. It was as if he was going to take an arrow at any moment.

What is it doing?

She must be accumulating kinetic energy. I counted the time she spent twitching the bowstring, it was one minute and forty seconds.

Let's distract her and attack from behind. Instead of attacking with the sticks, I'll use my repulsion. Only then will I hit her full on.

Hawa continued counting. For every second, she added a percentage to the kinetic energy used in a normal shot. The maximum speed of an arrow was two hundred and fifty kilometers per hour, or 155.343 miles per hour. For every one percent accumulated, one tenth of a second was added to the arrow's speed. At one hundred percent, the total speed was two thousand five hundred kilometers per hour.

I can shoot an arrow at a speed close to Mach 2, twice the speed of sound. He won't be able to dodge or defend himself.

Akachi concentrated his Axé on his legs. He applied repulsive force under the ring floor. Fragments rose into the sky. He concentrated force on the two sticks and attacked. Hawa did not remain inert, but responded with a second arrow.