Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

If he wanted to escape, he could just use a Return Scroll. He could’ve used a Mana Sphere or a Teleport Scroll as well.

“But he didn’t. He always ran away.”

Kijung was not one to believe such an unconvincing excuse that seemed more like an attempt to save scrolls. He was naive and simple, but he was not a fool.

If the direction of the escape was always towards Kijung himself, it was only natural to be suspicious. Today, of all days, Kijung refused to back down.

“I’ve been patient enough. Say one more thing, and one of us is going to end up dead.”

Kijung drew his sword towards Lark. The members of the Virtuous Knight Order that were already ahead had also prepared for battle. Lark’s face, which had been sullen, became serious in an instant.

“Hmm, but if I say something, we’ll have to fight. And if I don’t, given the situation, we’ll still have to fight……”

Lark gestured towards his back. The paleos were still in pursuit. It wouldn’t take a minute for them to catch up.

“Wouldn’t it be better to resolve this through dialogue, Master Kay? Even if I block those creatures, it’ll be hard for you to deal with our group in under a minute. Defense might be possible, but attack would surely fall short on time.”

This was why Kijung, despite his disdain, couldn’t help but be wary of Lark.

When fleeing from the paleos, Lark always took the rear.

“On Rubini’s map too. He was always at the back, meaning, he was the closest to the paleos.”

A selfish and despicable person would have made his subordinates take the rear.

Because in the current situation where the full extent of the paleos’ forces was yet to be revealed, anything could happen. However, Lark always positioned himself at the very back.

At least two things were evident: his quality as a leader and his confidence in being able to withstand and then escape from the entire force of the paleos for a considerable time.

“Do not interfere. This is your final warning. If you come near us next time, we’ll consider it a deliberate interference and come to you first.”

Indeed, the chances of him being a nuisance were very high. Yet, how should one deal with someone who possesses a cause, ability, and even the qualities of a leader?

For the kind-hearted Kijung, making such a decision was exceedingly difficult. The sword he aimed remained undrawn, but the mere change in Kijung’s tone made Lark smile again.

“If you intend to exclude us, under orders from the royal palace… Well, we can’t just let that slide, can we? What do you think? Shall we have at it now, or should I bring an official letter from the royal palace next time and have it out then?”

If someone approached, he retreated, and if someone retreated, he approached. His ability to maintain an appropriate distance while provoking and drawing in his target was unmatched by anyone else in Middle Earth.

A reasonable person would have turned back by now. The paleos had already closed the distance to just 20 seconds away, their appearances becoming visible.

The ‘usual’ Kijung would have done the same. He would have preferred to resolve the priority issue first and end it amicably if possible. It was because he shared quite a bit in character with Leeha.

Unfortunately, the current Kijung was not the ‘usual’ Kijung. There were people who were naive and simple and who believed in the good of others.

Their ‘good’ should never be crossed. This was something Kijung and Leeha had in common.

“Come at me, you bastard.”

To these cousins, the user that they absolutely didn’t mesh with was none other than Lark.

“Wha—what did you say?”

“[Shield Enhancement], [Aura of Protection], [Triple Armor]. Let’s see who dies first.”

In an instant, Kijung, having completed his self-buffs, began to charge towards Lark. It was an unexpected moment, even for Lark. He hastily drew his sword but found it difficult to make an appropriate assessment of the situation.

“Kwangbong-ah! Kill them!”

“Red Goat! Wipe out humanity!”

“Black Crane!”

Behind them, the paleos began to transform, and in front, like a wild boar in frenzy, Kijung charged forward!

“Wait, just a moment! Wait— Hurricane—” Whooosh… Boom!

“Bl- Hm?”

“Yung…”

Just as Lark was about to cast a spell, a burst of fire exploded in the distance. Unlike fireworks, this pure ball of fire spread radially across the sky. Instead of admiration for its beauty or surprise, a more sober reflection came first. Witnessing this, the paleos halted their advance.

“Damn humans, consider yourselves lucky to have your lives extended by a day.”

“Kwangbong, Kwangbong- we’re turning back, Kwangbong-!”

The paleos, who had brought their claws close to Lark’s nose, all turned back. Even Kijung, who had exchanged the first strike with a member of the Bertrude Knights, could no longer move his sword.

“Turning back…?”

“Now?”

Both Lark and Kijung knew why the paleos had been in the vicinity. Thus, guessing the reason wasn’t difficult. Why had they turned back? What was the sudden explosion of fire about?

“Everyone’s here.”

“The mystical creatures— all the mystical creatures have gathered—”

“Kaha… That’s a pity. I wanted to see Master Kay’s skills. Well, we’ll be heading back. Take care of yourselves!”

Lark chuckled as he pulled out a return scroll. The member of the Bertrude Knights, who had already put some distance between himself and Kijung, also matched his timing.

“Kijung!”

“Kay! What’s happening?”

“We’re all returning to Juma City.”

Kijung bit his lip hard.

“Kikik, all of a sudden? But there are still some monsters left?”

“That’s not what’s important. For now… we need to block off Juma City. No, we need to, because if not… phew.”

Kijung rubbed his temples. The issue was complex. How were they to resolve this? Or perhaps it was something that couldn’t be resolved at all.

“Why? Why?”

To Bobae’s question, Kijung sighed deeply before replying.

“The mystical creatures have all gathered. The paleos have all turned back. Perhaps by tomorrow, they’ll be advancing on Juma City.”

The die was cast. What remained was war alone. The paleos, on the brink of losing their status as natives and falling to a lower class, clashed with the New Continent’s expedition members who, backed by various supports from the Old Continent, were duty-bound to harness power ‘in the name of God’.

Perhaps this was a fate decided from the moment the expedition team first landed on this land. Without any consultation, the coexistence of two civilizations was nothing more than a dream, something that had never existed in the course of human civilization.

“Are you really planning to fight, Alexander?”

Shin Nara argued passionately, even spreading her arms.

A day before, the paleos’ grand ‘Rally Complete’ sign had been seen by all users across the New Continent.

The paleos’ villages began to empty one by one, four days ago, and the circulating rumor was confirmed at that moment.

That is to say, today, the paleos are launching a full-scale attack on Juma City, a fact known to nearly all users in the New Continent.

Thus, Juma City was swarming with countless users from early in the morning.

For them, this was yet another ‘Wave’, indistinguishable from an event.

In fact, it could even be considered a better situation than a Wave. Back then, it was merely a collective of users, but now it includes all sorts of knight orders dispatched from the old continent.

In other words, it’s an even better state for leveling up through combat. Unawares, Alexander, who now stood at the forefront of the defensively arranged group, had Shin Nara relentlessly sticking to him. It seemed the only way to minimize mutual damage in the current situation.

“There is no justice on our side in this matter. It’s the result of the reckless ventures born from human greed. I do not wish to interfere.”

[Neither do I.]

“Then, then! You shouldn’t have shown up here-“

“However, I cannot yield when it comes to defending Juma City for a greater justice. I have no intention of launching a preemptive strike, but my comrades and I will do our best to protect Juma City.”

“You’re saying you’ll fight in the end!”

Alexander did not respond to Shin Nara’s words any further. Although her anger surged towards him, she could no longer press Alexander for answers.

[Female warrior, Shin Nara. Mystical creatures are not foolish.]

“Wh-What??”

[Think about it. Those who have blocked the attacks of the demons, including myself, are here. Have you considered what it means for them to attack this place still?]

“No-Not really.”

[It’s a resolution to fight to the death. They’re expressing their will that strongly. If a few words from Alexander or myself were enough to deter them, they wouldn’t have come here in the first place. Above all… their forces are not to be underestimated.]

Shin Nara clenched her teeth. However, it was as courteously as Bailephus could possibly speak. Had she been any other user with nearly zero closeness, she wouldn’t have dared to receive such advice from an Ancient Gold Dragon.

A regular user would’ve been regretting their arrogance whilst experiencing Bailephus’s claws and breath’s ferocity firsthand. Above all, Bailephus wasn’t wrong, leaving Shin Nara with nothing more to say.

There was another user who understood well the strength of mystical creatures.

“I acknowledge the words of the Golden lizard. It would have been so much better if you had just stayed hidden instead of revealing yourself. Talk about being foolish.”

“Lee Jiwon, I beg you, as a member of the Fibiel, fighting the paleos now would bring us no benefit. If you could just—”

“I can’t refuse a request from Dame Shin. It won’t make a difference if I stay out, but like the Golden lizard said, the other side is no pushover. If one of us, the concept junkie, Pei Wu, and I, were to step back, Juma City is likely to fall.”

Lee Jiwon was lying down with his head on his [Thunder Cloud].

His tone was light, but he too was quite tense about the upcoming battle. If either Alexander, ranking number 1, Lee Jiwon, ranking number 2, or Pei Wu, ranking number 4, were absent from this defense line, what would become of Juma City? It was the reason why, despite their reluctance, Alexander and Lee Jiwon had no choice but to be here.

Contrastingly, at several spots around the outskirts of Juma City, festivities were underway.

“Wow, there are seventeen mystical creatures. I’ve only seen five.”

“Seventeen adult dragon-level forces… This is going to be epic. I’ve started recording.”

“What? So, we’re talking about a 17-dragon raid streak? Insane.”

“If you’re not joining this, might as well quit Middle Earth.”

“Hello, guys! Do or die! Today, it’s ‘Surviving the Spirit Wave as a Level 100 Sorcerer’!”

While the rankers, Marlat, paleos, and their relationships with the users were of no concern, these people were simply enjoying the moment.

“Maybe that’s just how it’s supposed to be?”

“Exactly. It’s us who are being too serious.”

“Ah… This is driving me mad. Rubini, what’s with the paleos?”

“They haven’t made a move yet. But all seventeen mystical creatures have gathered, and there are more paleos now than before. Considering Marlat’s bases, their force would be at least equal to that of four bases combined.”

“How about their strength? All combined, are we talking Toon-level?”

“Hard to say. If they really coordinate well, it might even surpass Toon-level.”

Rubini’s map could measure the ‘strength’ of individual monsters. When Toon appeared from Marlat’s source once, everyone was shocked by the size of that giant point on the map.

Currently, the sizes of the mystical creatures shown on her holographic map were by no means small. Fortunately, the paleos had mostly acted in small tribal-scale actions.

Kijung thought they wouldn’t have experience in this kind of large-scale group combat. But in a crisis, who knows what could happen. There’s no room for complacency.