The Smurfocalypse chapter 69: Preparing for War
Training on the plateau had come to an end, and Hefty and the knights had made it back to Port Saint Smurf. Two weeks of their month before the blackhearted return was gone, but in that time the Smurfs had made significant progress gathering resources from the house, and Hefty had worked the knights to the bone to prepare them for the upcoming battle. The ballistae have been built and for the ammo Handy designed a huge arrow to which they would tie one of Papa Smurf's smaller, less dangerous Jokey Boxes in order to cause an explosion upon collision with the target. The Smurfs had wheeled them up the wooden ramps leading to the top of the walls built around town and positioned them to Archer's liking. Archer then recruited Smurfs to aid him in defending the walls on the big day. The ballista were so big that they required a two Smurf team to operate, and the ammunition so heavy that most Smurfs could not carry them without a team lift. The Smurfs would have to work together to defend their home whether they were an experienced knight or not simply due to the design of their siege weaponry.
This was a time in the Smurf's history where the average villager would have to answer the call of duty and put themselves in harm's way. The village used what little metal they had left to craft Smurfgun bullets, a wheelsmurfer for Dreamy, made repairs on or completely reworked the knight's damaged armor, and Blacksmith and Handy worked together to forge Timber another hatchet so that when the day came to fight he would have both his side arms. As it now stands Port Saint Smurf has no metal to work with. Blacksmith Smurf was the silent type, but his contribution to rise of Port Saint Smurf was just as important as any other. Since bean bags were fairly easy and cheap on resources to craft, Handy had the mostly non-lethal practice firearms made which costed even more metal so that the village could finally at long last get some target practice in. The target practice was mandatory, and the only Smurfs that were allowed to avoid this practice were Dreamy due to his handicap and Coconut due to her young age. Hefty and Handy worked together to set up a training ground in the center of town near the well where the entire village for the most part was centered.
Falconer and Handy being smurfgun specialists were put in charge of organizing the event by Hefty. The entire village had gathered in the center of the port to begin target practice, and Coconut was there with Dreamy acting as his caregiver for the day. Once the village was gathered Hefty addressed the crowd very similarly to how Papa Smurf would. Walking up to where the targets were positioned and facing the entirety of the village.
"Alright Smurfs, today we will be shooting wooden targets with bean bags to improve your skills so that you will be able to defend yourself if any of you find yourself in trouble." Hefty said.
"Is there really a chance that demons will breach the walls?" Brainy asked.
"Port Saint Smurf's walls will hold, but this exercise is mainly for Smurfs that will be accompanying Archer on the walls during the fight. We just want to make sure every Smurf has a way to defend themselves. I don't want any Smurf getting hurt or killed, and I will not be here during the fight I will be in the forest fighting Vanity." Hefty said.
"The port will not be without support from the knights. I will stay behind on the walls and assemble a small force of my own. We will be defending the walls from above with smurfguns and ballistae." Archer said.
"Allow me to demonstrate just what it is we will be doing today." Handy said as he approached the crowd.
Hefty nodded and walked away from the targets allowing Handy to take center stage so to speak. Handy took the Bean Bag Smurfgun off his shoulder which was attached by a strap and skillfully aimed the weapon at a wooden target before firing it. The sound it created was far less intense than an actual Smurfgun so any concerns of being heard by anybody outside the port were thrown to the win. The bean bag collided with the wooden target and the force caused it sway just a bit. The crowd was impressed with Handy's marksmanship.
"If you can manage to hit the target your already well on your way." Handy said.
"Who would like to be the first to try this out?" Falconer asked.
Much to the surprise of every Smurf Brainy stepped forward, adjusting his glasses and drawing his bean bag smurfgun.
"Of course firing this weapon couldn't be too hard. It's all about math and timing. If any Smurf can hit that target surely it's me. Furthermore I-." Brainy said.
"Just fire the weapon already!" Handy said.
Brainy took aim at a target and fired the gun only to be sent to his bum from the recoil. The beanbag soared through the air and completely missed the target by a long shot causing the village to roar with laughter.
"You see what happened? The kick of these guns is pretty intense even though it's not a genuine Hunter Smurfgun." Handy said.
Brainy stood up and dusted himself off.
"So what's the trick?" Brainy asked.
"I found it's all about the stance, and the firm grip of the weapon." Handy said.
Handy approached Brainy and helped him aim the gun just right after reloading it for him.
"Aim down the sights and try to line up the shot with the target." Handy said.
Brainy tried a second time to fire the weapon and this time the kick caused him to merely flinch. The bean bag round hits the left hand corner of the square wooden target and bounced off landing on the ground.
"See? I told you I could hit the target." Brainy said.
"There's plenty more targets to choose from. Let's get started. Every Smurf needs to get in their practice." Falconer said.
There were several square wooden targets placed in a line forming a shooting gallery where the Smurfs could line up and take turns firing at the targets. Before long the rest of the villagers were firing their guns and bean bag rounds were flying towards the targets. Mandatory target practice would be scheduled every day around noon for the remainder of the month. They would also be getting up onto the walls, and the entire village had to train themselves on how to make proper use of the ballista. Preparing the village for the oncoming conflict was the only thing on Hefty's mind at the moment, but there were still jobs around the village that needed to be done such as tending to the fields. So throughout the rest of the month target practice would be held for a couple hours a day so that it wouldn't interfere too heavily with village work. The month would pass quickly though, and before long the day came where all they would face their greatest challenge as a society to date. The battle for the forest was fast approaching, and if they couldn't gain control of the forest the woodland creatures would stand no hope of further survival and Port Saint Smurf would fall apart in their hands.