Matan’s Shooter

Arcane Sniper (949)

—That madman!

—Ha Leeha! Why are you suddenly cursing?

—That bastard! That guy! Kha-hah, I knew it! He wasn’t the type to act thoughtlessly. He knew about Onyx! What kind of dragon Onyx is!

—What are you talking about? I don’t understand.

—Lark! That’s the reason Lark was with Onyx!

In Leeha’s mind, it was as if he could hear Lark’s voice.

Lark might have been discovered by Onyx while hunting down the chromatic dragons.

‘No, no. Since he belonged to Minis, he would have known about Onyx’s existence all along. He must’ve known that Onyx was the leader of the chromatic dragons.’

Perhaps he even went to ‘kill’ Onyx.

But no fight ensued. How did they end up talking?

‘He recognized the sword! Onyx, who even Bahamut acknowledged, would definitely recognize that sword!’

A human wielding a sword capable of killing Tiamat.

Onyx must have taken an interest in Lark. And Lark, through their conversation, must have realized,

‘That Onyx was a dragon worth using! That sharp-minded bastard couldn’t have missed that— and then!’

『Hmm, then how about using the incomplete Tiamat to kill Bahamut? Even if incomplete, it must have power.

But wouldn’t the Queen still be alive?

Oh-ho! A dragon who knows what this sword is speaking like that. We’ll use Tiamat to kill Bahamut, and then I’ll kill Tiamat.

Do you think a puny creature like you can kill the Queen?

Haha! Onyx, you don’t have to put on that act. You’re the one who will set the stage for me to kill ‘the Queen’. You want it too, don’t you? Then help me. I’ll make you the king of all dragons.』

Lark’s cunning words must have precisely struck at Onyx’s desires.

And by making a deal with Onyx, Lark easily infiltrated the chromatic dragons.

In order to kill Tiamat!

But would Lark ever actually let Bahamut be killed?

If that happened, Lark would become an irredeemable traitor.

Even if it wasn’t Lark’s intention, the major figures related to the metal dragons would forever resent Lark.

Lark must have considered this.

‘So that’s why… he was with Nara.’

Being with Shin Nara. That was Lark’s ‘insurance’.

『I truly didn’t betray anyone!

If I had, would Dame Shin really be with me!?

There would have been no way to safely get close to Tiamat without this method!

While I was working here, you should have been ensuring that Bahamut didn’t die! You knew what I was going to do, and yet you just watched!?』

Although irritated, Lark’s logical voice again echoed in Leeha’s mind. He now understood why Lark had blocked whispers. But Leeha knew.

Lark wanted someone to ‘understand and trust his plan and even come up with countermeasures.’

And who was capable of that?

It was him.

“Blaugrunn!”

“Yes, yes!”

“Please inform the Lord.”

Leeha had left a message for Blaugrunn.

“If that is Lark’s plan, then we must utilize it from now on.”

『”Indeed… Understood! I will head there immediately!”』

“You don’t need to come! Just relay the message―and make sure, Blaugrunn, that you stay with the Metal Dragons, ensuring you do not get hurt! Since the Lord has revealed himself, Bluebeard and Ghibrid are likely not going to remain idle!”

『”But what about you, Ha Leeha!?”』

Blaugrunn, who had been flying, stopped moving and asked.

Leeha did not respond, wearing a blank expression. Blaugrunn tilted his head, puzzled by Leeha’s demeanor.

『”Ha Leeha…?”』

At that moment, a lilac light flashed beside Leeha.

Blaugrunn, who was ready to cast a lightning spell and fire, soon recognized the figures that appeared around Leeha.

『”You all are―.”』

“You’re late! When I call, you should come immediately!”

Leeha shouted at the people who had appeared around him. However, they ignored Leeha’s anger.

“… Is that something you should say when you’ve just sent a whisper?”

It was Rapidfire Kidd.

“Ugh! What is this? You said you had a place set up, but it’s this miserable?”

It was Pierce Luger.

“Who’s the one who told us to wait until a plan was set and now gets angry?”

It was Prea, the White-Eyed Spiritualist.

Leeha laughed bitterly at the three who weren’t backing down.

“I had to call you sooner because if we’re any later, there will be a problematic gap in the front line. We couldn’t just wait for the perfect timing.”

Leeha had gathered them all.

By now, the shared information was already known.

In light of the true intentions of Lark that they had figured out, what would be the best strategy? Leeha had just thought of a plan based on those realizations and communicated it to them.

Upon hearing Leeha’s plan, Kidd pulled down his hat.

“Is it even possible with that? You of all people should know the firepower calculations show it’s insufficient. Are you pushing through regardless because… you have a hidden card you haven’t mentioned yet?”

Before Leeha could even respond to Kidd’s accurate point, Luger clamped his cobalt-blue python close to his side and laughed.

“Ha! Aren’t you the guy who formed the Three Musketeers to carry out some scheme? It’s obvious you have some other idea. I will just show my strength.”

“Ha Leeha and I working together, isn’t that interesting? And it’s fun to use a new power as soon as you get it!”

Prea sparkled with excitement as if she were going on a picnic.

Seeing Prea like that, Leeha sighed.

“Hah, I wonder how fun it’ll be… We’ll soon find out.”n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

In that brief silence, Leeha pulled back the bolt.

Click, a rough metallic sound echoed.

“Let’s begin hunting Tiamat.”

The four of them moved simultaneously.

* * *

『Onyx! Must you carry out this doomsday assault after all!』

『Isn’t that what you wanted, Bahamut?』

Bahamut shouted, trying to launch a breath attack at Onyx, but capturing the timing was not easy.

Onyx was already flying toward the back of Tiamat, and numerous chromatic dragons were gathered in front of it.

『Coward!』

『Lord!』

While Bahamut hesitated momentarily, Blaugrunn approached him.

Blaugrunn conversed with Bahamut briefly before both of them took flight together. The destination was where Bailephus and Alexander were located.

The first dragon partner and partner dragon were engaged in an intense battle with the chromatic dragons.

Of course, they weren’t the only ones.

As the number of metal dragons assisting Bailephus increased, the number of chromatic dragons rampaging under the influence of Tiamat’s aura also grew.

Users watching the dragon clashes from the ground felt an overwhelming sense of awe.

“Wow… incredible.”

“This alone is worth more than this month’s subscription fee!”

The ice breath of the white dragon was countered by the fire breath of the gold dragon, the electric breath of the bronze dragon was scattered in the air by the blue dragon’s lightning-guidance magic, and the breath of the yellow dragon, which included slow and sustained damage, was offset by the almost similar breath of the copper dragon.

“Are metal ancients really losing to color adults!?”

“That must be the power of Tiamat! This is insane—waaaah!”

The realistic spectacle was a movie-like experience so vivid that fragments from breath collisions and stray skills resulted in casualties among the players.

However, the amazement of ordinary users was nothing compared to that of the mage-class users.

“Is this even a scene that can only come from a dream…?”

“What skill did the red dragon and gold dragon just use on each other?”

“Over there, looks like Hell Fire! Isn’t it casting Hell Fire? That color of mana particles—ah… it’s been canceled.”

“No way! They comboed Chain Lightning with 24 Lightning Bolts in one move! Is that even possible!? The lightning forms a chain with following bolts!”

The high-grade magic wielded by the dragons, the nature of the skills, and their functions!

To mage-class users, who could eventually learn such spells, the dragon battles were like theses or analytical, research materials.

There were even users so mesmerized by dragon combat that they recorded it while chimera approached.

Given that ordinary dragon battles were already like this, it was obvious that many users focused on Tiamat and Bahamut. Their eyes widened in a flash as they watched these cosmic beings.

“Hey! The mouth! Tiamat’s mouth!”

“She’s going to breathe again, her breath attack—she’s doing it again!”

From the six enormous writhing heads, different colored mana particles began to gather again.

Users knew very well the catastrophic impact if Tiamat breathed out those rays again, especially if all six beams shot simultaneously.

The tanks facing the chimeras or the healers protecting them, all users within the potential breath attack range, panicked and began to flee.

The fear corresponded to a dam progressively cracking until a gaping hole appeared.

“Don’t run! The frontlines will collapse!”

“Hold your ground! We have to fight! If we retreat, the chimeras will swarm, and our allies will be surrounded!”

While some users tried to plug the cracks in the dam with their fingers, they couldn’t prevent the wall from crumbling.

Tiamat’s heads were facing toward the southern sector of the New Continent.

If either the northern or southern frontlines, regarded midpoint-wise as the left and right wings, collapsed, the main base could be attacked from the rear, and in the worst-case scenario, they could end up surrounded without the ability to retreat.

“Then what should we do! If that—if that mouth spews breath, we’re all dead anyways!”

“Leave that mouth to me!”

“Why does her head have to face south! It would’ve been better if it were her tail!”

Despite feeling their lives threatened, some were already fleeing without looking back.

Eventually, someone had to step up.

A logical, rational, and realistic leader. A charismatic figure who could remind everyone that standing firm and fighting was the only route to survival.

『Idiots! You just need to stop her from breathing, right? Do you think you can outrun Tiamat’s breath if you run away?』

Even amidst the noisy battlefield, a woman’s voice pierced through clearly using a loudspeaker scroll.

“Ram… Hwayeon!?”

“What? Isn’t Ram Hwayeon an administrative officer? Why is she on the battlefield—.”