Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

As Ram Hwayeon offered her hand with a faint smile, it met Leeha’s without hesitation.

“I guess I have no choice but to make it happen this time. Alright, I accept.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Ram Hwayeon-ssi,” Leeha replied, causing Ram Hwayeon’s face to light up slightly.

Kijung knew that Ram Hwayeon had subtly taken Leeha’s hand at this opportune moment. It was regrettable that Leeha, who had indeed held her hand, seemed unaware of this fact.

“After all, the daughter of Ram Long, the largest conglomerate in Hong Kong, is the leader of [Partisan]. The nuances may be slightly different… With such thoughts in her mind, it was natural that she couldn’t even feel the touch of the hand she was holding.

After that, the continent was busy for a while.

As Romero, now Urbano II, sent letters to various kings, requesting a large expeditionary force led by Leeha, and preparations were underway not only for Fibiel but also for Minis, Shazrashian, and Kraven to quickly organize their forces.

Leeha also introduced Ram Hwayeon to various Mystical Creatures, including Koba, the leader of the Pallaeos in the western part of the new continent, and continued with days filled with non-stop briefings about the operation.

“Phew… So these are the places where the House Houses are.”

Luger had enough time to pass through the Dark Forest and reach the place where Elizabeth and Brown had been.

“Of course, they wouldn’t be here. I already know that.”

Luger took out his Cobalt Blue Python and inserted a cartridge. He hadn’t come to find traces of Elizabeth and Brown.

“House Houses. The deliverymen of the new continent. Using them to trace Elizabeth.”

Where did they go? When he thought about it, it was obvious.

No matter how fast they moved, would they have just walked? Luger didn’t think so.

“Kyle is here.”

It was evident that a procession with a frail person couldn’t move quickly. What would their next action be?

“Using House Houses for transportation. The problem lies with them…”

Unfortunately, the grotesquely shaped creature-like drone species did not communicate with humans. They understood but used an incomprehensible language. A new race, perhaps their intelligence surpassed that of humans.

“That’s not important. What matters is them—huh?”

While Luger used to believe that aiming a rifle at someone could make any conversation possible, now he had to hide his body.

“I feel a presence, what is it?”

The surroundings near the House Houses’ distribution center were different from usual. Luger cautiously peeked ahead.

“They mentioned there are several places the headquarters uses. They said those places are unchanging locations for Yoon Man-hae. Waypoints for Eastern New Continent users. But… I don’t see any houses here now. Could they have all moved to different warehouses at the same time? Thinking that way was inappropriate.”

Luger, surveying the surroundings while holding his breath, heard a strange sound. It came from the air. However, it wasn’t the distinctive flying sound of the househouses rotating like helicopter rotors. Flutter… flutter… flutter… It sounded like something much bigger than a normal bird fluttering in the air. Luger jerked his head up.

“Wh-what is that!?”

To Luger, the creature flying above the trees was a monster he had never seen before. It had a lion-like head and body without fur, and bat-like wings. In various sizes, some had scorpion tails, while others had snake-like heads as tails, all flying in the sky.

“It’s not just one or two. These monsters were not here last time I came. Have new monsters appeared now, or were the surroundings cleaned up last time because Brown was here?”

Even Luger, who would usually fire away with “Let’s take them all out since they’re new!” remained quiet. His animal instincts were warning him. It was a new monster, but it was definitely dangerous.

“There are so many of them. Just a glimpse of their shadows, and they’re already over twenty. I’ll have to go around them. I have to be extremely careful.”

Luger lowered his stance while scanning the sky. His intention to move quietly was instantly ruined.

Thud… rumble!

Roar…

From afar, the sound was clearly abnormal. Should he perceive it as footsteps, or was it a sound Luger didn’t want to think about? It was more like the sound of a gigantic bulldozer pushing through the forest, rather than footsteps.

“There can’t be any construction going on here. Especially not suddenly in a place like this, which isn’t even a habitat for large monsters. It’s completely different from last time! Is it changing based on whether Brown and Elizabeth are here or not?”

Luger didn’t think so. It was natural to speculate that there must be some connection between the complete absence of the Haus Haus and the suddenly appearing swarm of monsters.

“[Hawk’s Eye].”

While Luger was not the successor of [Bullseye], he did possess at least one skill related to scouting. When the Hawk’s Eye, which was slightly inferior to the Eagle’s Eye but still effective enough, was activated, a ‘group’ of distant monsters caught his eye.

“What are those… exactly?”

However, Luger couldn’t describe them more accurately.

They were monsters of a form he had never seen before. Even the monsters walking right next to him had completely different forms and colors, making it impossible to tell what they were made of.

“No, I’ve seen them before. Not exactly the same, but I’ve definitely seen them. They’re probably…”

Luger swallowed dryly.

They were monsters that he had encountered on the “Old Continent” in the past. They looked like a mix of various living and non-living creatures, monsters and flora.

Their shapes were so unrecognizable, but that was their “feature” as monsters!

“Chimeras. Are those in front of the chimeras the most advanced ones?”

Regardless of whether there was a forest or not, the chimeras seemed indifferent.

They simply walked in a straight line. If there were trees, they crushed them, if there were rocks, they eroded them, and if there were animals, they devoured them. Among these chimeras, there was a monster with a recognizable form.

“Human…?”

The one wrapped in bandages opened its mouth, looking at Luger.

“A talking chimera? Are you the leader?”

Luger swallowed his saliva. His instincts had already revealed the “outcome.”

In the sky, there were flying monsters of unknown identity. In front, there were monsters with unstoppable power and an unidentifiable group with indistinguishable types. His presence was in the eastern territories of the New Continent, where spatial movement was impossible. He couldn’t escape from these unknown monsters.”

However, running away isn’t an option. I figure if I give them even just a little chance, they might die with less resentment,” Luger’s movements were swift. After removing the originally inserted bullet, he quickly took out a new type of ammunition from his bag and loaded it into the chamber.

The new attack method that surprised Leeha and Kidd in the temporary camp of the Dark Elves was not limited to just a “skill.”

“Let’s see how much you can endure. The distance is only 180, setting the time to 0.18 seconds,” Clack! With a slightly different loading sound than usual, Luger raised the chamber.

“I said I don’t need to aim anymore. The point of [Pierce] is to shatter the enemies to pieces and burn their ashes. Feel it. [Form Stabilize – High-Explosive Shot] –

Boom!

Along with a blast, the projectile that flew out immediately split apart.

Small wings were attached to each tiny projectile that came out from the divided projectile, allowing them to charge in the direction of energy without losing propulsion! Of course, within a mere 0.18 seconds, it was impossible for the human eye to track the flight of an object capable of “time-based explosion.”

What Luger and the surrounding living organisms witnessed was only one thing. As Luger pulled the trigger, something shot out with tremendous force, causing a massive wall of fire to pour down in front of him!

“Kr-hahaha! I already knew, that you guys are weak against fire!”

“Kwieeeeeet-“

“Planning to attack from the air! Dare to face me! [Firearm Reinforcement: Anti-Air Cannon].”

It was another enhancement system of Luger that Leeha and Kidd had not seen.

An evolved attack mode specialized for flying monster monsters from the common and curved cannons, the [Cobalt Blue Python] attack mode!

“Take thaaat!”

Bang bang, bang, bang bang– Luger wildly swung the chamber towards the sky. Due to the wall of fire generated in front, the chimeras couldn’t even get close, so he had nothing more to worry about.

“You bastards, how dare you provoke the mighty Luger! Charge-“

Sweeeeeesh–

“With a sudden bang, a strange scene appeared in Luger’s eyes as he frantically shot towards the sky. At the far end of his sight, the curtains of fire that had appeared began to be engulfed with tremendous force.

“What, what is this? The bullet cannot be blocked by skills of water attribute… Wait a minute, could this unique fire that cannot be blocked by skills like water or ice attributes be the bullet given by Brown to me?!”

Luger looked ahead with eyes full of disbelief. However, he had no more words to say. The bandage-wrapped creature, like a mirage, had not used skills of water or ice attributes.

“That body… No, I knew from the beginning. You-“

Luger realized, looking at the mass of ‘Mummy Flesh’ bundled up in the completely burnt body form before him, the identity of the monster in front of him.

“-Ghibrid… A Demon King’s Fragment, chimera, perhaps.”

Ignoring the fire, Ghibrid strode towards Luger. The fire around Ghibrid’s path was all being sucked into his body.

“Directly? You will face me directly? Ha! What an honor, even Bluebeard One had to taste my vengeance, so shall you, Jagdpanzer Canone- prepare yourself?!”

With a twist, Luger’s face distorted as he prepared to use a skill, completely focused on Ghibrid in front of him and unaware of a flying monster rapidly approaching from behind.

“W-What is this…?”

[Manticore (Scorpion) synthesis has begun.]

[Abnormal state: Poisoning (enhanced) has been applied.]

[Loses 10% of HP every 10 seconds for 2 minutes.]

[Abnormal state: Paralysis (enhanced) has been applied.]

[Unable to move for 5 minutes.]

The sight after being stabbed was blurry, meaning there wasn’t significant damage from the attack itself. However, in a situation where no one was there to help, the abnormal status were fatal.

[Will be synthesized with nearby living/non-living materials at time of death.]

[When Manticore is synthesized, the duplication skill is randomly determined.]

“Synthesis… Isn’t Chimera supposed to be made by Ghibrid? Duplication skill… Does it copy my skill?”

Despite the initial confusion of experiencing the duplication of his own skill, Luger quickly understood the situation. Due to the poisoning, his vision rapidly darkened.

“Manti-… come…”

Through the dim vision, the approaching figure of Ghibrid could be seen. Even though Luger could no longer hear properly, he could hear a fluttering sound as something landed beside him.

“Get lost, Ghibrid- Are you about to die? I can explode you right now.”

[Good momentum…]

Numerous mouths appeared on Ghibrid’s body, all of them smiling. It seemed satisfied with Luger’s resolve.