Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Thank you, Jin Gonggong!”

“Kikik, with Shin Nara coming here so often, I’m going crazy. Why don’t you take her away quickly?”

“Well, it’s not that simple. Please wait for a while.”

Leeha was cautious because not only Bobae but also Shin Nara and Lark were around. He couldn’t help but worry about what kind of questioning he might face if they caught him.

“Now that I think about it, what is Lark doing?”

Leeha knew better than anyone that Lark was not someone who would be idle. Though he was performing tasks for the “Sacred Alliance”, it was clear that those tasks weren’t particularly effective or meaningful.

“The western reconnaissance is merely part of the ‘great deception’ strategy for the eastern expeditionary force. A strategist of Lark’s caliber must have figured it out by now. So, is he just pretending to be fooled?”

Perhaps he couldn’t disobey orders because an NPC from the same Minis faction was the general commander?

“There’s no way someone who could trade sand in the desert would stay still.”

Leeha found Lark’s behavior somewhat puzzling. However, he had no time to investigate Lark’s actions at that moment. His first destination after safely passing through the Corrupted World Tree Forest was the Dark Forest.

* * *

Just as Leeha suspected, Lark wasn’t idle. Besides the information collected by the Virtue Knights, he had secret intel exchanged through Cheka. The price for the information that Cheka gathered and handed over was Lark’s interpretation of it.

They had established a symbiotic relationship, akin to a crocodile and a plover bird. They had already figured out about the Eastern Expedition of the New Continent and even noticed other incidents.

“I see… So that’s why the troop deployments around the Corrupted World Tree Forest are arranged in that manner.”

“It’s not confirmed.”

“The Holy Knight and the Saintess have been to Ezwen… received some kind of quest, and they are in the northern part of Shazrashian. The first one to discover Shazrashian’s northern region is Ha Leeha. Ha Leeha is related to the Holy Knight. Ha Leeha informed the Holy Knight of this, who then reported it to the Pope, resulting in the Pope giving some quest that requires a ‘Saintess’.”

“That’s correct.”

“Additionally, the person the Saintess Raphaela has recently inquired about is ‘Rubini’. Forget the grand nickname; her specialty is creating maps and tracking targets. There is a task requiring the Holy Power of a Holy Knight and a Saintess, they need to find a target for that Holy Power, and they are moving with a space skill expert, Hyein… which means the target they are searching for is not ordinary. Even if they find it, the chase won’t be easy.”

“You know well.”

Cheka admired how Lark pieced together and interpreted the fragmented information brought to him.

“Kee, the capital defense knight of Minis is not a position just anyone can hold. But then again, I should say I’m more impressive than that.”

Lark laughed, lightly patting Cheka’s shoulder exaggeratedly. Although Cheka showed a momentary displeased expression, he didn’t react further.

“But this is only my speculation. It will likely be correct, but we’ll need to confirm it.”

“Is there a way?”

“If you move, Cheka, that should be enough.”

“The northernmost part of Shazrashian is vast. Exhibiting myself directly is dangerous—”

“I know. So…”

Lark stuck his sword into the ground and leaned on it like a cane. Cheka could see that Lark’s mind was actively working.

“For a thorough search, we need a large-scale tactic. Cheka, you just need to follow the leader of that large-scale tactic.”

“Is there a way?”

“Wah! In Middle Earth, there’s only one group that comes to mind when you think of large-scale tactics. I’ll contact them. Cheka, you find and pursue that person. We can’t be the only ones missing out on this exciting event.”

“Hmm. I’ll get back to you.”

“Sure, sure.”

As Cheka’s form vanished instantly, Lark sighed deeply.

“Huuu… I’m exhausted. Won’t this ever end? It’s impossible to pit my second transfer skills against a dragon without a dragon to hunt.”

He grumbled as he headed towards the headquarters of the 〈Sacred Alliance〉.

* * *

“Ah, these no-teleport zones are really killing me. Aren’t you bored too?”

『Myong.』

Jellypong let out a weary sound as its tentacles drooped.

Even moving with three-dimensional maneuvering gear should be limited to a few hours. Having been on the move for over 12 hours, it was only natural that even a being treated as an “item” would get exhausted.

“At least we’ve made it to the Dark Forest, so we need to move quickly.”

Leeha had battled his way here for one reason: vampire hunting. It was too wasteful to leave behind such rare monsters that might increase his charge rate with each one he took down.

But the question was, where could he find these vampires and how could he deal with them?

“Hehehe… Heheheh. What would I have done without Gerda’s item?”

Leeha emerged from the Dark Forest and cautiously rummaged through his bag.

Even after contracting with the spirit of darkness, the reason Prea could not be removed was clear: Not only did Leeha know the exact locations of the top-grade spirits of ice and snow, but he also knew places with a concentration of these spirits, which enabled him to restrain Prea further.

‘A map showing the distribution of vampires!’

Leeha had already confirmed the existence of such an item from Luger and Kidd, and he knew approximately the number of vampire groups waiting near the Dark Forest.

‘But I can’t take it lightly. Even though I’ll be the one launching a surprise attack this time… It’s different from before. I can’t afford to let even one escape.’

Unlike the previous encounter, where he had intentionally let one escape to reveal his location to Chiyou, this time, he had to ensure complete secrecy.

If he didn’t aim for total annihilation, it would be difficult to attempt another attack the second or third time.

Knowing well the speed and maneuverability of vampires, Leeha slapped his cheek to heighten his tension. He quickly arrived at the first vampire distribution area in the Dark Forest. It would have taken longer if he had walked, but thanks to Jellypong’s three-dimensional maneuvering, he was able to ignore the terrain and obstacles and propel Leeha at top speed.

“How fortunate”, Leeha muttered as he loaded his rifle. The metallic sound of the bolt-action echoed loudly.

It wasn’t solely because of Jellypong’s assistance.

Leeha attached a silencer to the muzzle of his Black Bass rifle.

The flame silencer, which blocked muzzle flash, was unnecessary at that moment.

‘Distance: 1.2 kilometers. No nearby monsters. Terrain: inside a cave in a cliff.’

Leeha could clearly discern the environment.

The sunlight pouring from behind Leeha was now forming a deep pink twilight.

“Whew… This is just the beginning. If any of them try to escape, pursue them immediately, Jellypong.”

『Myong!』

Standing in the standard shooting posture, Leeha aimed at the cave in the cliff below.

As he gazed at the sheer walls of the mountain, which extended both upwards and sideways, Leeha began his countdown.

‘Once the sun has fully set…’

The pink hue turned purple, and the purple began to shift into navy blue.

‘When the moon rises in the sky… They will emerge.’

At exactly 18:03:53 according to Middle Earth’s time.

What in the world was the reason they were stationed here?

If their activity involved surveillance, this was the possible timeframe. From now on, they would likely spread out widely to start their watch.

So, when would they set off?

What time does the sun set in the eastern parts beyond the central continent of the New Continent?

A scope wasn’t necessary. He had already confirmed the wind direction and speed.

What he needed now was quiet patience!

“3, 2… 〈Mana Vaporizing Shot〉.”

As a sniper and former soldier, Leeha found significant help just from his ability to track notable sunset times.

In Middle Earth’s time, it was 18:04.

About 4 kilometers away from the Dark Forest, a cute sound spread out.

Poppp───────────……

At the entrance of a cave punctured into the cliff, as soon as Leeha’s bullet struck the ceiling, bats started to pour out.

Leeha’s vampire hunt had begun.

* * *

“One, two, three, four― thirty-seven. Okay.”

The first thing Leeha did was count the number of giant bats that popped out of the cave.

After confirming that the number didn’t significantly differ from the thirty-five that Prea had informed him of?

“Once more! One! Two! Three!”

Pop─, pop─, pop─, pop─……

Leeha’s lower thigh was firmly rooted on the earth.

Not only his left arm but also a stabilizer utilizing Jellypong’s tentacles was firmly supporting the Black Bass.

The only things moving were the rotation of his waist and his right arm!

The vampires, literally blindsided as soon as they opened their eyes, couldn’t help but get hit the longer they took to grasp the situation.

Even so, vampires were vampires.

The moment Leeha killed his sixth giant bat, their movements started to change.

“They’re desperately dodging while charging en masse. Good strategy, but……. Hehe, this isn’t going to work against me.”

The giant bats emerging from the cave flew toward Leeha with chaotic maneuvers.

Their complex movements and strategy, combined with their number of at least thirty, would have disoriented most long-range dealers.

Naturally, most would have tried to suppress the situation using a few powerful skills or area skills.

“〈Curve Shot〉!”

Pweeeeeeeeew──────────

But not Leeha.

The bullet drew a huge arc to the left as it exited the barrel.

Aimed at a bat that was trying to navigate around the cliff to the left, the bullet pierced its wing and hit the cliff on the opposite side. The giant bat, its body penetrated, started to fall, turning to ash.

“And for the rest of you― 〈Multi-Warhead Shot〉!”

For the incoming swarm, the merciless multi-headed bullet sufficed.

The forty-four separated bullets created a network of fire, and no matter how evasive their maneuvers, more than half the giant bats were skewered.

『Meowmeow! Myong!』

“Hmm, it’s alright. Let’s first see if any more have fled to the other side…… But those guys are smart. In such a short time, they thought to send a messenger back, risking a collective massacre.”

The AI of the vampires, unable to fully grasp Leeha’s attack and judging they couldn’t win with traditional methods, had decided in that brief moment to ‘let at least one escape.’

Leeha examined meticulously with ‘Distorted Vision’ to ensure no more giant bats circled the right cliff or ascended directly above it.

『Myong, myong, meowmeow!』

Despite Jellypong getting agitated at the giant bat swarm approaching from less than 400 meters away, Leeha didn’t move until he was sure there were no additional movements.

“Eeeeeeek―!”

“I’ll avenge our clan!”

Some of the vampires transformed from giant bats into human form.

Watching them change their patterns again with ground attacks while also conducting flight attacks amidst their collective assault, Leeha gave a small nod of admiration.

If the vampires used mana for a full-scale battle, or if they engaged in a state of mutual awareness without being ambushed, he could foresee that it wouldn’t have been an easy battle at all.