I am a literary giant in Russia

Chapter 189 Hand-to-hand combat with a brown bear and a sly smile
When the general's cheer rang out, the young nobles gathered on the other side seemed to snap out of a daze. They looked at each other in bewilderment, unconsciously uttering a few unseemly curses, and then began to discuss the matter in genuine astonishment:
"What's with that distance?! Did he really hit it? I can hardly believe my eyes."

"It looks like he hit it. He actually hit it? At this distance, many people I know risk missing the target. How did he hit it? And why did the general say he hadn't been learning for long? If he really hadn't been learning for long, I'd eat my pistol right now!"

"Kyril, why did your father lie to us? Could it be that he wanted to urge us on?"

"Why would my father lie to you? I've heard him mention this gentleman several times, but there don't seem to be any previous rumors about his marksmanship. Has any of you heard of him?"

“Gaidanov, weren’t you two just discussing him? Are you perhaps quite familiar with him? I think I even heard something about a duel. Do you two want to duel him?”

When the particularly exciting word "duel" was uttered, all the noble youths present couldn't help but look at Gaidanov and another thin youth. Under everyone's gaze, the two who had just been making bold statements finally came to their senses. However, upon hearing about the duel, cold sweat naturally broke out on their foreheads.

If he can hit you from this distance, is fighting him a gamble with your life?

It's simply a matter of facing a given fact, isn't it?
While they were still discussing, Mikhail, who had finished his round, quickly stepped down and then smiled at the noble youth Gaidanov who had invited him to come first, saying, "You can go next. I have only been practicing for a short time, maybe two months, so I can only reach this distance. I should learn more from you."

Other aristocratic youths: "???"

Really only two months?!
"really?"

After Mikhail said that, the youngest boy on the field couldn't help but jump out and question, "Then how can you hit a target that far away?"

"Is it far? It's alright."

Facing the general's youngest son, who was also Nadya's brother, Mikhail shook his head and said, "If I had to say, it would be luck?"

Nadya's brother: "?"

Who exactly is this person? I really want to say the same thing they said.
Just as the boy couldn't help but continue talking to Mikhail, Gaidanov, the next person handpicked by Mikhail, reluctantly stepped forward under everyone's gaze. Although he wanted others to go first, it was clear that no one wanted to start their performance after Mikhail.

When it was his turn to choose the target's location, seemingly remembering Mikhail's earlier mention of luck, Gaidanov hesitated for a moment before finally gritting his teeth and saying, "I'll choose the same distance as him."

As soon as he said this, everyone in the room couldn't help but look at him. Even Madame Danilevskaya, who was annoyed by Mikhail's performance, couldn't help but look over again. After all, to be honest, although this fat young man's family background was slightly worse than theirs, and after observing him for the past few days, his performance in all aspects wasn't outstanding, he was still a decent candidate. So, if he could...
While others were somewhat surprised or even expectant, Mikhail's eyes were a little strange. Although he often said it was luck, did you really think it was all luck?
Of course, the possibility that this noble youth was actually a master could not be ruled out, so Mikhail watched carefully for a while. However, after the three gunshots rang out, Mikhail, who had controlled his facial expression, turned his head and continued to talk to the very curious boy.

But he managed to control himself; some people did, however, almost lost their composure.
Even though Gaidanov didn't notice any of this, his face was still grim when he left the field.

Just as he was trying to find some peace and quiet, he inadvertently overheard Nadya's brother talking to Mikhail:
"Are you a good hunter? You must be very good, right? Like my father when he was young, he killed a brown bear with his bare hands!"

Mikhail: “?”

No, is the general really that awesome?
Or is it just hype?
Although Mikhail's lips twitched, he continued to answer the boy's question: "Hunting is not bad, but it is quite difficult, since the probability of hitting live prey is not high."

When he heard this, although Gaidanov was a little unsure whether it was true or not, it was indeed a great comfort to him. That's right, how can a fixed target compare to prey?
He probably spent all of his time practicing on fixed targets for the past two months, that's right.
Just as Gaidanov was thinking this, the game continued. However, because of Gaidanov's example, the other young nobles were obviously much more cautious. Otherwise, it would be too embarrassing to make the same mistake as Gaidanov, missing all the targets.

However, also due to caution, none of the subsequent scores surpassed Mikhail's. Therefore, after the general finished tallying the last young man's score, he immediately walked towards Mikhail with a big laugh.

As the general presented Mikhail with a small prize from the competition, he couldn't hide his surprise and patted Mikhail on the shoulder, saying, "Mikhail, I know you're not one to lie, but you really only practiced for a few months and you've reached this level? You learned as fast as I did when I was young!"

It's a pity you're not tough enough; you probably can't fight a brown bear hand-to-hand like I did. I used a sweeping leg kick back then.

Mikhail: “???”

Just as Mikhail was listening to the general boast while holding his prize, on the other side, Madame Danilevskaya, after watching Gaidanov's performance, sighed and left. At this moment, she was already sitting in her own living room. Before she could continue thinking about anything, a small head popped up again at the top of the stairs.

After the mother and daughter's eyes met, Madame Danilevskaya paused noticeably. But just as she was about to start making up a story about Mikhail not being so prominent, her daughter Nadya gave a knowing smile, then gracefully walked back to her bedroom, seemingly muttering to herself, "I knew it."

Mrs. Danilevskaya: "?"

Why are you in such a hurry to go back to your room?
Are you secretly laughing?
(End of this chapter)