Chapter 345: Intercontinental Archery Championship finals part-2

Junho voiced his opinion regarding the jinx, stating that it's time for the committee to discuss this problem thoroughly and look for a solution, probably revise the rules. After all, the robots are the highlight of this tournament.

Once the championship is decided, it's obvious that most of the depressed runner-ups will not be able to perform their best in the third round.

Watching the outcome of the high school division from the waiting room, Hyori can't help but let out a deep sigh as she remembered the finals of the previous two years.

Hyori also faced defeat in both of the rounds for two years in a row. In IAC 2018, she managed to win the third round. However, the following year she faced a devastating defeat. One can say that Sakura completely crushed her.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to encourage herself, "My family is cheering for me. Wil even brought his family all the way here to cheer me up. If not my sake, I should win this battle for them."

She then closed her eyes and emptied her thoughts for a while until her name has been called by the staff member.

Gripping the bow, she walked out of the room.

Just then, she found her competitor also stepped from the opposite room at the same time.

As both of their eyes met, Hyori turned serious while Sakura let out a smile, "I never said these words for the past week. But, I think it's time for me to officially acknowledge the fact that you are really a worthy rival.

If you hadn't come here, the competition would have been boring. Thanks to you, I'm feeling excited to compete in Archery after several years."

Hyori didn't feel any good upon hearing Sakura's heartfelt words. Instead, she was angered for a second thinking that her opponent is taunting her.

Taking a deep breath, Hyori forced a smile as she looked into Sakura's eyes, "Save your gratitude until the end. If you were still able to smile like this even after losing, you can thank me, later…"

Saying what she wanted to say, Hyori continued to walk forward.

Meanwhile, Sakura's face immediately changed to seriousness. She wasn't taunting Hyori like the latter thought it is. Her feelings are really genuine. However, she didn't realize that she spoke those words at the wrong timing.

Thinking that her opponent threw a challenge, Sakura felt like she should become serious in the next two rounds.

Followed by Hyori, Sakura reached the grounds and heard several people are cheering for her opponent.

"Huh!" For a moment, she halted her steps in surprise as she looked around.

She didn't know what happened that made the audience rooting for the opponent but it no longer matter to her.

With both of them, taking the positions, the technical official pressed the button.

Two targets that were placed 60 meters away, started to oscillate. The only difference is that both of them are oscillating at the same speed and weren't reducing their distance as time passed.

"After the signal is being given, both of you will have 30 seconds to shoot. In case, any of you don't release the arrow within the allotted time, then, the score will be declared as zero." The technical official reminded them of the rules and then, looked at the oscillating targets. 

As soon as the both of them reached one of the peaks, both of them received the signal and drew the bows. The 30-second timer started on the screen.

*Swoosh*

Sakura didn't even waste any time and shoot the arrow as soon as the timer began. The arrow cut through the air and hit the target.

"Ten…" Commentator Yamamura screamed in excitement. "Amazing. Fujimori Sakura once again proved that her accuracy is top-notch. On the other hand, it seems, Lee Hyori seemed like she was biding her time. What do you think, Mr. Kim? Was she in high pressure?"

"No, I don't think so." Junho shook his head, "There's no trace of stress on her. Her facial expression tells that she was concentrating deeply and also seemed to aim for something…"

Just as his words ended, Hyori released the arrow while the target about to reach the lowest point.

It hit the dead center, contrary to Sakura's shot that hit almost the edge of  the ten-point circle.

*Whew* Hyori let out a sigh as she put down the bow. Sakura narrowed her eyes for a second before she took out the next arrow from the quiver while the authorities are removing the arrows from the target.

"Okay, you can do it Hyori…"  Hyori drew the bow, once again.

"These two girls really increased the level of IAC." Even though Commentator Wang personally supported Hyori, with the presence of Junho in the commentary box, he decided to be neutral to maintain the level of fairness.

However, still, he can't help but sneakily pass out the comments in Hyori's favor. "With both of them still in their first years, it will become tough for other competitors in the following two years. However, the more pressing matter right now is whether Hyori will be able to take revenge by winning this championship or not…"

Just as Commentator Yamamura about to say something, both of them suddenly received a piece of news from the authorities.

Commentator Yamamura then said, "We mentioned at the start about the possibility of rainfall, but right now, judging by the state of the clouds, I guess it might fall at any time soon.

"Well, as long as the rain isn't heavy, it's alright…" Junho shrugged his shoulders. He didn't consider this as an issue because this is an outdoor sport. In his view, these athletes should have been prepared for such a scenario. 

The battle went on for little more than 20 minutes. Only one shot left and both of them tied with 187-187. Of the nineteen shots, while Hyori missed the ten-pointer three times and scored nine, Sakura, on the other hand, made a slight mistake once and score 7.

Her seven points made Hyori relax a little bit as she had a 3 point lead, and eventually, she made mistakes over and over again. 

However, she didn't expect Sakura to equalize the score by shooting the rest of them into the center ring.

Once again, as the pressure got to her, Hyori found her hands shaking a little bit. She immediately put down the bow as Sakura shot her next arrow which turned to be another ten.

"C'mon, Hyori. Be calm…" Hyori closed her eyes and stayed still to empty her thoughts.

Watching Hyori from the stands, Wil leaned forward while making fists in nervousness. "C'mon, Hyori. What are you waiting for... There's only 10 seconds left."

Just as the timer reached 5 seconds, she drew the bow and looked at the target that was about to reach the peak.

*Swoosh*

Just as she released the arrow, all of a sudden, a bright flash of lightning appeared inside the gathering dark clouds, followed by a powerful sound of thunder.

Hyori shivered for an instant in reflex as she released the arrow. 

Once again, the thunder roared in the clouds and it slowly started to rain.

Hyori raised her head and looked at the sky as her bow slipped from her hand to fell on the ground.

"It seems she's given up." Watching Hyori, Scarlet out a comment. Upon hearing her comment, Hyori's mother's face filled in worry.

Meanwhile, a frown appeared on Wil's face.