Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

The bullet Leeha fired missed its mark by approximately one meter.

His lower half was fixed to the ground, suffering from Joint Fixation: his upper body was not completely restrained. The moment he pulled the trigger, the blast made Black Bass’s aim sway abruptly.

Leeha didn’t take his eye off the scope.

Hoping that Brown hadn’t located his position, or was mistaking him for someone who had been caught and killed in the recent explosion.

“……Damn it…”

As expected, it wasn’t so.

Leeha kept his eye on the scope, watching as Brown’s gun barrel subtly moved.

Once used, Joint Fixation makes it impossible to release for 20 minutes. He would either have to use teleportation to flee or die right there.

Leeha had only two options to choose from.

‘If it comes to this, the Toon quest will fail. Damn, I should’ve just shot Toon…’

Brown’s muzzle was perfectly positioned in front of Leeha. Through the scope, Leeha saw this too.

There was no time for contemplation. He had to let go of regrets.

He needed to risk his life, as only then would come the next leap.

As he had promised, Leeha whispered to Blaugrunn, about to ask him to summon him through the [Summon: Partner] skill.

“…Huh?”

Leeha had two choices. Either to flee, or to die.

But was Leeha the only one here? Another person’s choices were not limited to these two.

A tremendous explosion erupted from the cluster of trees where Brown was hidden.

The ammunition fired from a relatively short distance set off the explosion, hurling destructive projectiles towards Brown, shredding the rocks and trees indiscriminately.

“Luger?!”

That wasn’t all.

Along with that assault, another person, fluttering the hem of his coat and wearing a hat, started to charge towards Brown’s hiding place.

“Kidd!”

Users who were not targeting Toon, no, Brown’s ‘dongsaengs’, had been waiting from the start for Leeha to find Brown. They had been lying low within the horde, intervening only then.

“Kahahaha! Just as I thought! Although Leeha is of no use, he has a keen eye!”

“I agree. But we cannot hand over the 《Matan’s Shooter》!”

“Heh, whoever kills him first gets the inheritance. And of course, it’s my turn to kill that bastard senior. [Cannon Strengthening: Flat Cannon], [Jagdpanzer Kanone], [Panzerfaust]!”

Co- bang-bang-bang——-*—-

The users momentarily turned their heads towards the sudden explosion, but that was all.

The other users who needed to focus on the imminent threat of Toon quickly lost interest.

Looking at Kidd, who was running towards the uprising flames, Luger laughed.

“Will he survive that explosion-“

“Woah, what?! It’s the stupid direct dongsaeng and the unlucky out-of-boundary dongsaeng!”

Pierce, Tukwaaaa——-!

It was an explosion substantial enough to kill someone even by the splash damage, yet Brown was leisurely laughing.

The two counterattacks launched in an instant sent chills down Luger’s spine.

Rather, it was an unexpected event that Kidd, who was even closer, skillfully dodged it.

“Whoa?! You wanted Browless, but instead, you became a Browless?”

“That’s not even funny. [Eighteen Panning].”

Luger, who was far behind Kidd, watched Kidd’s back as four arms appeared.

They were not arms created from illusions or mana. Instead, they were afterimages created by Kidd’s movements, which were beyond the speed of visual perception.

He’s not firing all four revolvers at once.He swiftly fired three revolvers like lightning, then aimed a loaded pistol to handle the aftermath.

When fighting, Kidd’s aggressive and fast-paced style had unknowingly evolved to cope with any unexpected situation.

“This punk.. such an unlucky attack.. it’s as if we’re fighting that annoying Browless!”

Eighteen gunshots continued to ring out non-stop, but Brown dodged them all with his sneaky maneuvers.The robe that he was wearing was full of holes, but there was no blood. This meant there hadn’t been a direct hit.

“Not even one?!”

“You don’t need many shots, unfortunate dongsaeng. You need one perfect one, just like this!”

Piercing-

“Oops?!”

“Yes, just like I said!” – Pierce!

The bullets flying towards Kidd exploded in the air as they collided with bullets shot from behind Kidd.

They had not planned this in advance. Still, their coordination was perfect.

“Ha-ha! Look at you! You were more adorable practicing calligraphy with paint! Where did you learn such bad habits?!”

“You’re the one who made me this way. In fact, I’ve surpassed you. I’m an original!”

“Ugh, is [Pierce] only used by such men?”

Upon Brown’s harsh words, Luger didn’t say a word.

Even while speaking, the simultaneous fire was a characteristic of [Pierce].

Kidd was stuck in the middle of a barrage blasting from front and back, but his expression didn’t falter.

‘[Danger Perception] shows its real value. Eighteen Panning’s failure is due to unsuccessfully adjusting his distance. You need to get closer, even just a bit. One step closer!’

Kidd moved forward as shells collided with each other, and armor-piercing shells lost their trajectory due to a blast wave, exploding all around him.

It was as though the shells were intentionally avoiding Kidd, who skillfully moved along a smooth path.

The unfortunate part was Brown, who was constantly moving even while engaging in unceasing artillery fire with Luger.

‘Damn, even after I successfully manage sustained artillery fire, they’re not being hit!’

‘Even if ‘Danger Perception’ is successful, it’s like walking through a minefield… Is he telling me to close the narrowed distance again, and that too while fighting with Luger?’

Brown’s hands were fighting Luger, and his feet were facing Kidd.

The onslaught from two of the new-generation Musketeers was easily being deflected by Brown, one of the old-generation Musketeers.

“This is exciting! Damn, it’s my first time having fun since coming to this wasteland! If only my wife were here with me!” He even laughed loudly.

By the time Luger and Kidd charged at Brown, the youngest was already turning his gun barrel.

‘The two won’t be able to beat Brown by rushing in. But… they can buy us time.’

That was enough.

He wanted to cooperate with the two to target Brown, but knew it would be challenging.

Even when he thought he hadn’t been detected and stopped moving, sniping at 4.4 kilometers had failed.

Even swallowed by an explosive blast, failure was just that.

Could he snipe Brown, who was moving intensely after the two’s intrusion? He knew better than anyone that he hadn’t reached that level yet.

Therefore, there was only one target.

The initial and most important target, Toon!

“Ah, ah ah ah———!”

“Look out! The whip arm is coming!”

“Dodge it, dodge it, dodge it!”

Maybe because his attacks were simple compared to his size, the users were fairly accustomed to the Toon raid.

Thud-thud-thud———-!These were users whose goal from the beginning was not Toon, but Brown. They were ‘Juniors’ of Brown, to be precise.

“HAHA! I knew it! Leeha might be useless, but his eyesight is excellent!”

“I agree! But I can’t give up on the ‘Matan’s Shooter’.”

“Well, whoever kills him gets everything. And it’s my right to kill that idiot senior of ours. ‘Cannon Lenforcement: Flat Cannon’, ‘Jagdpanzer Kanone’, and ‘Panzerfaust’!”

As Luger and Kidd ran toward the source of the explosion, bursts of laughter filled the air.

But that was not all.

Another figure took off running towards where Brown was hiding.

“Kidd! Get a grip!”

The users momentarily turned their heads at the unexpected explosion before their attention quickly returned to Toon. They couldn’t spare any attention for anything else.

“Ah, aaahhhh!”

“Be careful! The whip-like arm is coming!”

“Dodge it, dodge it, dodge it!”

Despite its simplicity, Toon was so large and powerful that users were relatively used to dealing with it.

“Five out, five out!”

“Three dealers, two healers are down! We need two more! Hurry and replenish the formation!”

Of course, being accustomed to it is entirely different from dealing with it.

Even though Toon had simple attack patterns, its attacks were overpowering and could tear the users to shreds.

Alexander, Lee Jiwon, Pei Wu, Ram Hwajung, and Bobae, the top ten rankers, were scattered about, waiting for an opportunity to attack Toon. But it was not an easy task.

‘Bailephus – damn, it’s not going to work.’

Bailephus was approaching Alexander rather closely, but his barrier was still intact and resonating in a booming echo.

The Dragon Knight was bound to have a stronger attack when it was wholly completed. However, the monsters seemed to know this and gave him no chance.

‘Brown is in the many, so it means Bailephus will be Elizabeth’s target? This is rather fortunate.’

Leeha rapidly adjusted his clicks. It felt as though he had just solved a difficult problem and was now working on an easy one.

Toon was close compared to Brown and much bigger.

His accuracy had abruptly hit rock bottom. If he couldn’t succeed this time, he wouldn’t be Leeha anymore.

‘My sniping skill is over, but it’s okay. It’s enough. I just need to control my breathing… then I need to let out multiple…’

Hmmmm…

Since Leeha had already been detected, the Shadow Hitman title effect wouldn’t apply anymore, but it didn’t matter.

What would happen if he hit it with dozens of rounds of multiple bullets?

Even if it withstands his attacks, the top rankers led by Alexander would follow up with deadly strikes.

In that case, regardless of Toon’s remarkable skin resilience, it wouldn’t be able to withstand it all.

Leeha confirmed Toon’s head’s and chest’s position through the scope.

‘Here comes multiple-‘

Just before he pulled the trigger, Leeha heard the sound of gravel crushing next to him.

“I’m certain that it was around here. Did he already move? No way, he must have used Bess’s Camouflage. He must still be around.”

In order to calm his trembling body, Leeha tried his very best.

The voice he heard right now, a high-tone chatterer-like voice, made Leeha anxious.

“Hey! Are you here, dongsaeng? Where could you be hiding? You seem to be quite good at hiding, but if you can’t beat our husbands yet, you should return the marksmanship title, don’t you think? I’ve heard that ‘penetration’ and ‘rapid fire’ are interesting, so I wondered what kind of ‘marksman’ you are. But it’s quite disappointing if you’re struggling at just 4km.”

The voice was unfamiliar.

But even so, Leeha instantaneously understood what that woman’s words meant.

The old generation’s Three Musketeers were not merely composed of Mister Brown.

“Even now, if you show yourself, I can at least give you some advice as a senior archer!”

Approximately 3m beside Leeha, who was lying down using camouflage, stood a woman. She was holding a rifle that was even longer than a typical pike.

Miss Elizabeth unveiled herself.

‘Elizabeth?’

Leeha’s brain whirred rapidly.

His index finger, which was almost pulling the trigger, barely managed to resist.

Even if he used the skill, the camouflage wouldn’t be lifted. However, the scene of his firing a skill would be exposed.

‘How did she…?’

Leeha gently moved his head and upper body so as not to make even a gravel sound.

But she didn’t come fully into Leeha’s sight.

All he could barely make out was that her figure was thinner than he’d thought, and she was holding a rifle taller than herself.

On an instinctual level, Leeha knew.

The gun that had a similar design to ‘Black Bass’, which had a significantly longer barrel, signified something specific.

The item was designed and constructed entirely for sniping.

‘It’s even better than the Legendary Black Bass?’ It could be at least a tie, or perhaps it might be of a higher rank than the Legendary Black Bass. It could possibly be an item of the Myth grade.

“If I turn this area into junk, even though you’re using camouflage, you’ll know that you ought to show yourself. If you show yourself now, we can converse. But if you’re caught and are forced to show yourself, you will die. So, what are you going to do?”

Elizabeth was moving around the area, kicking pebbles around her.

It was not due to some quirky walk or a flight of the blues.

Camouflage can hide your appearance, but it doesn’t make your body disappear. In other words, sand or pebbles could collide with Leeha’s body at any time.

If the sand or pebbles that were kicked by her made a movement in the air, she would shoot a bullet at that place – all in less than 0.1 seconds.

Leeha held his breath and lay flat on the ground.

The footsteps of her sneakers, which sounded like tap, tap, could be heard from behind Leeha.