Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Even the tail swipe attack that seemed useless to them would be a fatal blow to a human, almost leading to death.

The battle between the Ancient-grade dragons exerted all their strength, far surpassing any imagination.

“Was even the restraint shown in the national war with Fubiel too much… Insane…”

It couldn’t be said that they held back their strength just because they used their breath attacks, but seeing the spells that Veil Lupus used against Kuzgunashishi, it was evident.

The Gold Dragon had held back its strength when facing humans.

“Leeha, Leeha! Are you ready?”

“Just mark the Dragon Heart spot once! I understand it’s the area you mentioned as the chest, but to be more certain, even with my mana vision, I can’t detect that damn Dragon Heart!”

“Damn it, understood. Hurry up and prepare!”

“And you need to keep your distance! Lure them towards the spot I mentioned!”

“It’s not easy! I’ll try to lure them as much as possible, so seize the opportunity.”

Veil Lupus’ whisper abruptly cut off.

Through the scope, the scene of the Gold Dragon scratching its neck while roaring at the Red Dragon became visible.

Initially, there might have been some delay in leading Kuzgunashishi to the spot mentioned by Veil Lupus. Even then, Veil Lupus showed moments of being on the defense, getting hit once every two defensive moves, as Kuzgunashishi had the upper hand.

However, after the massive explosion, the situation drastically changed.

Now, Veil Lupus struggled even to defend once. Getting hit twice, three times, four times in a row was not beyond Veil Lupus’ ability to counterattack Kuzgunashishi.

If one falls behind in a battle, regardless of their intentions, the inevitable result is to retreat from the battlefield.

“At first, I thought I was leading them towards the northwest… But after transforming into a dragon, the direction completely changed. It’s going southeast.”

It’s not just because Veil Lupus is being pushed back.

They couldn’t afford to prolong the time even for the sake of sniper stability.

“Huuuu…”

Clang—!

Adjusting their breathing, Veil Lupus regulated their rhythm while holding the black Vez connected to the stabilizer after loading a shot.

The scene of the Red Dragon rushing could be seen through the scope.

Kuzgunashishi relentlessly attacked with even more force, not even considering its own body. Its aggressive and single-minded assault was truly befitting of a warrior.

“We barely reached the 1.7 km point, and it’s getting farther. Currently at 1.9, no, soon entering 2 km.”

Essentially, it meant they were about to reach the maximum effective range of a regular black Vez. Veil Lupus was barely holding on, but it wouldn’t be easy.

In a battle of floating dragons at such high speeds, even moving once or twice would quickly move over 100 meters.

“With all the fuss about magic, wind direction and speed measurements shouldn’t be much of a concern. It’s not like this is a fight between whales and shrimp exploding.”

Veil Lupus relaxed a bit, joking with themselves to relieve tension.

More than any previous sniping, the opportunities were limited.

Just one mistake, and the Red Dragon would instantly come to Veil Lupus’ side and tear them apart.

Not only would all the quests fail, but even Veil Lupus might face death after LeeHa’s demise.

“Hmm, then will Alexander go from Dragon Knight to Dragoon if I lose my courage as a Dragon Knight? Hehe, I wouldn’t mind seeing that if it weren’t for my own penalty…………?”

To erase such thoughts from their mind, they had to relax.

Relaxing their waist and taking a deep breath, followed by shallow breaths…

Slowing down even their heartbeat and preparing to restrict blood flow, Veil Lupus focused their gaze through the scope.

With the spells and assault from Kuzgunashishi, Veil Lupus barely retreated, striking their shield. Their distance from LeeHa gradually increased as the six wings fluttered in the sky.

But there was no room for haste.

“The current wind direction is southeast… At the 1.3 km mark, there was a change in wind direction to south-southeast, with a wind speed of only 4 m/s. It’s not fast. Thanks to the previous explosion, the atmosphere has become calm. Distance is 2,280 m”

Gulp.

In the past, shooting beyond the effective range and requiring compensation would have been necessary, but not anymore.

“Within effective range. Confirming target location.”

The diagonal wound on the Red Dragon’s chest.

The area where blood was flowing was the indication caused by Veil Lupus. That’s where the Dragon Heart was.

“Distance adjustment: 2,310m- 2,319m- Sniping, with a calm mind.”

Click.

A bullet traveling at 830m/s shot out of the muzzle of the black Vez.

1 second, 2 seconds, 2.3 seconds, 2.5 seconds, and then 2.8 seconds later.

Fwoosh…

The body of the Red Dragon shook unsteadily.

It seemed like it would crash, but it quickly regained its balance.

It was not dead. Veil Lupus had missed the Dragon Heart.

Blood was flowing from the neck of the Red Dragon.

Like his fiery attribute, Kuzgunashishi’s eyes, burning with anger, met LeeHa’s eyes through the scope.

[Ha, ha, ha!]

The roar of the enraged Red Dragon’s Lion’s Howl reached LeeHa’s ears beyond 2.3 km.

[Inoom, where do your eyes wander in our fight!]

Veil Lupus didn’t miss the opportunity.

Recognizing LeeHa at the point 2.3 km away and infuriated, the Red Dragon soon had to endure the tackle of the Gold Dragon.

Veil Lupus shook with the momentum to tear Kuzgunashishi’s neck, but the resistance was not insignificant. With its four wings performing intricate movements, the Gold Dragon evaded in a way that couldn’t be replicated.

[You damn fly, I suspected something since you started spewing mana! But you dared to hide a mere human and try to capture me!]

[Flame Strike!]

[Flame Strike!]

Veil Lupus unleashed magic toward the soaring Kuzgunashishi, but the Red Dragon immediately retaliated by pulling back its body.

The Flame Strikes clashed in mid-air, emitting acrid smoke.

[With such arrogant magic, such an arrogant human… Did you dare to stop me, the queen’s summoning? Foolish, how foolish you are, you damn fly!]

Before the smoke dissipated, Kuzgunashishi turned and flew away.

Veil Lupus could discern the direction in which Kuzgunashishi was heading.

[Hey, stop! Where are you going!]

[Kyahahahat! I can easily get rid of someone like you anyway! Should we let a variable interfere with our plans?! Huhuhu!]

Neither Veil Lupus nor Kuzgunashishi could sense LeeHa’s mana, but that didn’t matter.

They could just burn everything in their path while flying.

A whirlwind of mana began to gather in front of Kuzgunashishi’s chest.

An intense Chloride Breath rivaling the Gold Dragon’s would spew onto the land beneath him as he flew.

[But that won’t do, Reverse Gravity!]

Snap!

Veil Lupus activated a gravity reversal magic but couldn’t stop Kuzgunashishi’s flight. It was also a space-related magic.

The locked space trembled and experienced a shock, but that was all.

“Wipe your chest and wait, you damn fly! Once I deal with Highha, I’ll dispose of you immediately! Paaaah!”

LeeHa’s bullets had already hit Kuzgunashishi three times.

It meant marveling at the overwhelming range that even dragons would find astonishing and the destructive power that remained unchanged at that range.

It meant there was still enough time to figure out how to defend against LeeHa’s attacks. After exhaling the Breath sufficiently forward, Kuzgunashishi vomited towards the ground.

It was a strategy to melt LeeHa’s bullets with the Breath before they could reach him again.

[Here I am, Kuzgunashishi!]

[Lee Ha, this is getting interesting, you damn fly! A game of tag between us!]

Kuzgunashishi glanced back at the approaching Veil Lupus, smiled mockingly, and then accelerated toward the firing point of LeeHa’s attacks.

Swoooooosh-

[Can you evade this, Highha! Even you will become the queen’s enemy! I won’t let you and that damn fly get away!]

The Red Dragon spun its body and flew rapidly.

Like the rolling of a fighter plane, it rotated its body around its head, never fixing its chest and protecting its weaknesses perfectly. There was no way to stop it from intercepting Veil Lupus with its faster speed in straight flight.

Neither the Gold Dragon’s magic nor Veil Lupus’ movements as a Black Vessel could affect it.

Through a single collision, Kuzgunashishi had already devised a way to compensate for all its weaknesses.

Unless it was a method like an anti-aircraft gun or a Vulcan that created a network of firepower, the Black Vessel’s single-shot attacks couldn’t possibly hit such movements.

[Where are you, wheree!]

The Red Dragon only stopped rolling for a fleeting moment to exhale a breath, taking advantage of the opportunity to aim for the weaknesses in Veil Lupus’ fire-breathing movements towards the ground.

The distance between Kuzgunashishi and Veil Lupus had decreased to within 1 kilometer in no time.

900m, 800m, 700m………….

[Stop! Stoop, darn it!]

Pwooof!

Veil Lupus’ flying body collided with an invisible wall. It was evidence that it had reached the edge of the movement-preventing barrier Kuzgunashishi had initially set up.

[Kyahahahat, don’t move there and wait! I’ll play with you soon!]

[Ino-oom, Kuzgunashishiiii!]

Veil Lupus began to release the barrier using mana, which took some time.

Moreover, catching up with Kuzgunashishi, who was flying at super speed was impossible. Gold Dragon could only roughly estimate Veil Lupus’ position, so all they could do was watch the Red Dragon’s flight with regret.

As the distance between Kuzgunashishi and Veil Lupus reached 600m, 500m, 400m………… and approached 300m, the Red Dragon, which had been rolling, took a deep breath once again.

[This time, I will kill you! On behalf of the Color Dragon Clan and on behalf of the queen’s will.]

Hueeup……!

Just as he was about to exhale his breath, a sound of glass cracking reverberated through the world. Crackle, crackle!

[Hmm?]

Paaaah!

Then, an explosive burst of violet light erupted from a spot on the ground.

[Space teleportation? My barrier…]

In the place where the light disappeared stood a human mage wielding a long staff.

He began casting a spell out of the blue, but to Kuzgunashishi, it seemed like a futile attempt.

[So you’re creating an illusion! However, you can’t block my breath! Are you trying to stop a dragon’s breath with human mage skills? Even that damn fly can’t block my breath!]

“What kind of dragon has such a long tongue? I won’t block your breath! Instead, I’ll block you from exhaling your breath!”

Swoosh!

The laughter of triumph from Kuzgunashishi was interrupted by the presence of another person appearing next to the human mage.

[What?]

Kuzgunashishi recognized him.

Releasing the camouflage, he held the Black Vessel more firmly.

It was not a retreat but a confident unveiling of his presence. Looking at Hyein, who held a gun, Kuzgunashishi was taken aback.

Just for a very brief moment, not even a second!

But that was enough.

“Hyein!”

The magic of Sage Hyein was invoked.

“Complete Halt!”