Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Fernand listened intently to the faint sound coming from afar.

The sound, heavily layered in an incredibly short time, echoed for an exceptionally long duration. It lingered far too long to be an explosion or a gunshot.

The intermittent screams, almost like wails, made the distinction even harder to make.

Of course, unlike Fernand’s questions, Luger recognized it immediately.

“… It’s a skill beyond the 〈Magnificent Seven〉. Is it the skill of 〈Desperado〉? Damn it.”

“Huh?”

It was natural to identify the skills of one’s ‘rivals’, and Luger had already confirmed the effective duration, time, and power of the skills Kidd possessed.

Clearly, it was different from Musketeer 『Rapid Fire』.

To keep a distance and refrain from showing it intentionally seemed suspicious.

Perhaps the whole strategy to scatter was an attempt to hide his skills?

Though it was a bothersome thought, Luger’s mind functioned most efficiently when flowing this way.

“Keke… That’s right. This is how you should come out. Ha Leeha was indeed a later competitor. From the start, it was a fight between you, Kidd, and me.”

The manifestation of rivalry and competitive desire.

The unique tension of a one-on-one duel, which only users who inherited the attributes of the Three Musketeers, the first and second, had.

Luger felt his body heat up.

Fernand, with a startled face, asked when he saw Luger’s twisted smile.

“Luger? What do you mean by that? Why would Kidd—”

“You don’t need to know. Just run. Keke… Human compass! Do you know about the Copper Dragon?”

“Copper Dragon uses Slow-type Breath! If it is enhanced by Faust, it won’t just be slow; you’ll be completely paralyzed!”

“So, it binds you and uses poison breath, is that it?”

They already knew that the Copper Dragon and black dragon were chasing them.

Being dragons, they would definitely use mana tracking, but in this vast forest, it would be hard to catch two people fleeing at high speed.

In the end, the Lich Dragons used two entities that could use a ‘widely distributed breath.’

『Arrogant insects, where are you going!』

Fuuwah────────!

With the dragon’s roar and breath echoing from the sky, Fernand quickly stopped and changed directions.

“Judging by the breath’s spread—let’s dodge this way!”

“Ha, as expected of a human compass.”

Though he grumbled, Luger was quite relieved.

The breath spread from behind. They alternated using it, and they spewed it in different sections, making it nearly impossible to avoid after seeing it.

The fact that they hadn’t inhaled even a single breath of toxic gas until now was all thanks to Fernand, and Luger’s instincts, having confirmed this by evading the breath multiple times, were now stirring.

“How far will we go?”

“Keep moving farther. Further!”

“No matter how far we go—merely dodging isn’t going to be the solution!”

“That will suffice. You just do that, human compass.”

“What? It’s not like dodging forever from two adult dragons is feasible. What if we get tired—”

“We won’t go that far. If they start turning into ‘bones’ from ‘Liches’ at that point, and there’s the terrain I want….”

Luger tightly gripped the Cobalt Blue Python.

“It’s enough.”

“Enough, you say… Dragons are like a combination of bombers and fighters, no matter how many guns—”

“So that’s why it’s enough, stupid!”

Luger shouted at Fernand.

However, what he said coincided exactly with Luger’s thoughts.

Two adult dragons?

What does it matter?

“Bombers and fighters, you say… Anti-aircraft guns were made to take down planes.”

That’s exactly what the skills of a ‘Cannoneer’ exist for!

Watching Luger’s sly smile, Fernand realized once again why this man was called the ‘Warlord’ and ‘War Mercenary.’

At that moment, he clearly understood why all users in Middle Earth avoided this man, who was entirely confident even in extremely unfavorable situations.

* * *

While Kidd used 〈Overclock〉 and Luger worked to create a suitable situation, Alexander and Bailephus fought against Faust and Labatt.

Despite it being a night sky, the light emitted by the two dragons and Alexander illuminated the surroundings brighter than a flare.

『Fire Pillar, wild Tornado!』

Bailephus created a pillar of fire in the designated air space.

However, with nothing to support it, the fire pillar began to fall towards the ground. At that moment, a gust of wind intertwined the fire pillars and directed them towards Faust.

“Fire magic again! Labatt!”

『Fire against a red dragon… Bailephus, how did Kuzi-nim fall to you?』

『Silence, you fool! The chromatic clan always resorts to these foolish acts!』

『You’re the foolish one. 『Fire Absorption.』』

Shuuuu—!

The vertical whirlwind of fire was sucked into Labatt’s mouth like dust into a vacuum cleaner.

『… Can your heart endure that much?』

Bailephus’s expression darkened for a moment.

It was impossible to absorb large mana with a smaller mana tank. Even the Kuzgunak’sh couldn’t do such a thing.

So, with Labatt perfectly absorbing Bailephus’s magic without any side effects, it proved that Labatt was a dragon with superior skills than Bailephus.

『I am not just any dragon, Bailephus. I have grown stronger with the power of the Deathbringer here. Why don’t you become a Lich Dragon as well?』

『Have you lost even your dragon pride?』

Despite Bailephus’s rebuke, Labatt remained calm.

『Pride? What is that?』

『A dragon obeying mere nonhumans—』

『Ha! Knowing your rivals with Kuzgunak’sh-nim, you cannot be ignorant of our situation. While your metal dragon clan has an absolute king, what about us? How long must we follow Onyx, who is merely an elder in title? You know Onyx is not a special dragon but merely a member of the chromatic clan!』

『Ugh…』

The metal dragon clan had Bahamut.

A perfect being forming a vertical hierarchy. But what about the Chromatic Dragons?

As Labatt said, they remained horizontal in structure.

Onyx was forcibly promoted to elder to lead the Chromatic clan, but not everyone agreed it was right.

『There was a human who told me what actions I should take for the Chromatic Dragons. He wondered why Kuzgunak’sh-nim acted as he did. His name was Ha Leeha, if I recall correctly.』

A single person’s words pulled the trigger of dissatisfaction.

『Light of Justice—huh? 』

『Summon Unde—what?』

Even amidst the fierce battle involving the undead, the mention of this name made Alexander and Faust lose concentration on their skills.

Even the Ancient Dragon Bailephus was startled enough to falter in his flight for a moment.

『What… Ha Leeha?』

『Yes. Despite his weak fists, something inside me changed the moment I was struck.』

Bailephus could not even muster a rebuke about being influenced by a human.

Summoned by the Chromatic Dragon clan, Leeha once argued with the black dragon Onyx over a Fire Flower.

At that time, Labatt, the red dragon, had breathed fire beside Onyx to subdue Leeha.

『Even if you were influenced by him! Do you think becoming a Lich Dragon is what Kuzgunak’sh wished for?』

Bailephus quickly changed his argument, shouting, but Labatt’s resolve was firm.

『Escaping Onyx’s tyranny, becoming the ultimate power to lead the Chromatic clan—that is what Kuzgunak’sh-nim wished for. So, I… But! I decided not to rely on such uncertain methods.』

『Do you mean to lead in person, as a Lich Dragon? Without the power of nonhumans, you will revert to being a mere base dragon!』

『We will find out in battle! 『Ignition Burst, enchant Fire!』

『Alexander, duck! Huuuuup—!』

Pwooosh─────────!

Bailephus unleashed his White Fire Breath.

Though flames over ten thousand degrees Celsius spewed from the Hwangryong’s mouth, they could not match the small fireball sent by the opponent.

The reason Bailephus told Alexander to duck and immediately ascended further into the air was this.

“We could not block it?”

『Protecting both from flames over twenty-five thousand degrees Celsius is difficult.』

“I see. Faust’s undead are not easy. They seem to be continuously supplied with mana.”

『Vampires grow stronger at night.』

“Yet we cannot fight until sunrise—ah.”

Talking without much thought, Alexander raised his head.

He looked up at the sky, darker than darkness itself. Facing the cold night wind, he gazed at the heavens.

“We need to climb higher, partner.”

『Do you have a method?』

Alexander whispered to Bailephus. This was done cautiously so that Faust wouldn’t hear, and soon Bailephus’s eyes widened.

『Indeed. We can do it.』

“Let’s go.”

Shooouuuuuu───────!

As they ascended and accelerated further, an explosion occurred in the sky below them.

The location was already quite far from them, both in terms of height and distance.

『An explosion?』

“Luger. Still a madman.”

Bailephus worried if it could be another danger, but Alexander recognized it immediately.

Seeing Luger’s exploits left him feeling a bit unsettled.

Could one really face an adult dragon without any help?

“… It won’t be easy next time.”

Even Alexander, who had directly fought Luger in a 1:1 battle, had to acknowledge his secondary job transfer.

Had he known that Luger was dealing with two adult dragons alone, Alexander’s face would have scrunched up.

* * *

『Kyaaaaaaa―! How dare a human!』

『Krrrr, rrrrrr…』

“It’s been devoured! Luger-ssi! It’s been devoured! And one of them seems unable to speak properly, surely transitioning into a bona fide dragon form!”

“Shut up, I know! Uuuuuugh…!”

Luger’s groan didn’t come just from his mouth.

Using all his strength, he worked on adjusting the barrel and angle of the 〈Acht-Acht〉 from below his diaphragm.

‘It’s hard to read their movements. Damn dragons.’

Since the first hit, he had been flying even more cautiously.

Though they were demoted from lich to regular undead, they didn’t become completely brainless.

As long as they could engage basic intelligence, they wouldn’t slow down.

“They’re dispersing! Luger-ssi! Black and Copper are moving in different directions!”

No, with their reduced intelligence, they had come up with a new tactic.

As his growing fears became a reality, Luger gritted his teeth.

“This is going to be my quest.”

“Pardon?”

“In the state of Acht-Acht… How many seconds does it take to change the direction and angle of fire… That’s what you want to know, right, Python? You boring snake-headed thing.”

“What are you talking about, hurry up! You have to shoot quickly!”

Despite Fernand’s urging, Luger remained unfazed.

When he finally steadied his breath and his eyes shifted momentarily, the second barrage of the 〈Acht-Acht〉 began.

Approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes had passed since Faust and the others initially appeared.

* * *

『Krrrk, kkk, krak!』

『Hu, man, kakh!』

The two dragons could barely move.

If they tried to retreat, an attack would come from behind. If they tried to dodge sideways, an attack would come from the sides.

Attack began from the direction the dragons attempted to move, and the attacker was beyond the dragons’ perception. Without the ability to teleport, they had no way to evade.

Huu, huu…

However, the attacker’s situation wasn’t all that good either.

Even though Kidd had pierced through the scales and tore apart the muscles of the two adult dragons, it had already been 4 minutes and 40 seconds into 〈Overclock〉.

Using the skill beyond the maintenance time could harm the user’s body, so caution was advised.

『Time remaining until forced termination: 1 minute 19 seconds』

How many bullets had he fired to tackle the dragons in that time?

When using existing skills under the Overclock state, even the skill casting sped up.

Kidd had used almost all his skills, such as the Seven of the Wild and Eighteen Panning.

Typically, Kidd carried bullets up to the limit of his strength, but now even those bullets were about to run out.