Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Contact them! Send an urgent message! Toon has appeared!”

“We need reinforcements for the [Divine Staff] protection forces! Proceed with an emergency call after reporting to Juma City!”

The various knight orders were thrown into chaos as if their nests had been stirred.

To the scouting knights, the sight of Toon was obscured not only by the distance but also by the thick dust clouds hiding Toon’s massive form.

However, there was Leeha. The flickering shadow within his scope was undoubtedly Toon—Leeha was sure of it.

“Hmm~ Normally not even a glimpse, but the one time he does show up, so does Toon… The stench is too foul.”

“I fully understand what you mean, but now’s not the time to squabble, please step aside.”

There was a considerable distance between them, and they were not even looking at each other, but Leeha understood Lark’s intention. It was as if he was insinuating that Leeha was colluding with the Demon King’s Army.

“All members currently raiding near Red Wood have been called back, it will take approximately 7 minutes to arrive after reorganizing!”

“We’ve also called back knights on a paleo intimacy quest! They’ll be here in ten minutes!”

The knight order was certainly different from an average guild.

With a mix of users and NPCs, they had a structured command and emergency communication system.

For users, there’s no way to contact them once they log out, but for NPCs, the concept of logging out doesn’t exist. Leeha felt relieved as the personnel began arriving via teleportation.

Comparing to the 3000-strong force during the [Divine Staff] siege, the numbers were still lacking, but there was confidence that the enemy wasn’t at full condition either.

‘What about his arm… Losing one, no amount of healing magic could fully restore an arm shattered to pieces beyond recovery.’

It must have been damage beyond the concept of healing magic.

Toon, being a monster, the concept of ‘regeneration’ giving him a new arm couldn’t be dismissed, but that seemed unlikely in such a short amount of time.

If the grotesquely large arm of a 441-foot dinosaur were to regenerate in less than a week?

“It’s too unfair for the users, damn, how are we supposed to win against that.”

In an instant, the number of allied knight order members, called upon urgently, swelled to over seven hundred. Obviously, not everyone was pleased.

“Ah, it was a timed quest, what bad timing. How long will this take? Can we return within an hour?”

“There was almost this raid-ending monster. It looked somewhat like an armadillo, and we were just down to its leader, damn.”

Toon’s emergence necessitated an urgent call, literally putting everything else aside.

Those on quests without time limits were somewhat better off.

Users hunting monster groups in the new continent – practically a field dungeon – wore particularly bitter expressions.

If they hesitated here and then returned, the monsters would have completely respawned, guarding their original positions.

It meant they would have to start the entire assault over again. Despite being a part of the knight order and receiving support from royal families or affiliated cities, their financial status wasn’t infinite.

With expenditures, there must be outputs, particularly in difficult situations, a single ‘urgent call’ could mean a substantial loss.

“What’s happening? Toon, again?”

“Ah, your name is… Anyway, your grace!”

Leeha couldn’t even properly remember the bishop’s name, who had been hurriedly summoned.

After establishing a new diocese in Juma City, the post-[Divine Staff] situation had left no room for rest.

“Can’t we just use this [Divine Staff] to eliminate those guys?”

“The [Divine Staff] has been activated, but the Holy Spirit has not yet descended upon it! If only the Holy Spirit had descended, those unworthy beings wouldn’t dare approach, but as it is now…”

“So, that’s why it needed 21 days. I see. And the Cardinal?”

Leeha looked for Cardinal Romero. Unlike the flustered bishop, cardinal Romero, with his kindly charisma and full divine power, was far more reassuring.

“The Vatican currently hosts him. To summon someone of Romero His Eminence’s caliber, we should have contacted him in advance—”

“So, you’re saying he was called here without even contacting him?”

“Of course, we’ve sent a message! But how quickly he can come…”

Leeha clicked his tongue without the bishop’s notice.

“A call has been made, he will come.’

would have sufficed, but the knack for adding unnecessary details and unsettling people is something, isn’t it,” he thought.

“Anyway, whether he can do anything upon arrival is unknown. But with the divine power needed to activate the [Divine Staff], perhaps he could cast a massive defensive barrier.”

Leeha adjusted the scope’s magnification. The monster hordes continued to move to the left, to the left.

What did this movement, not directly charging towards the Divine Staff, signify?

“Are they searching for a gap? To be circling at this distance and forming a formation seems pointless.”

In cases where the military forces exceeded tens of thousands, simply changing the direction of an advance could break the enemy’s formation. Moving at a higher speed than the opponent is imperative, but it’s by no means a pointless act. But what about now? Leeha just couldn’t make sense of the movements of Toon’s and Ma’s ragtag army.

“Neither side has many troops. Plus, we’re experts in team battles,” Leeha thought.

Leeha took a moment away from the scope to look over at the knights. They were forming a defensive formation according to the direction of the monsters’ movements, ensuring they were prepared even for the possibility of another surprise attack from somewhere else!

“We’ll be unstoppable as long as Bluebeard doesn’t show up. Even Toon wouldn’t stand a chance.”

This time, there’s no Ram Hwajung. But Leeha had a plan.

“Blaugrunn-ssi, don’t wait for permission this time. Transform into your dragon form right away.”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes. I might struggle to make the right call while focusing on sniping. If you see an opportunity, just polymorph,” Leeha instructed.

“Alright, I won’t let Toon push forward, even if it means charging at them.”

“Okay.”

“Leeha-ssi!”

Yes?

“Ah, Nara-ssi, Kijung.”

As the members of the Sacred Knights and Byulcho arrived one after another, Leeha was confident in their preparations.

“Hyung? Can you see Toon? How far is he?”

“Yes, I’m looking. It’s a bit blurry so I can’t determine the height accurately… But it should be a little over 310 meters. Around 3.310 meters.”

“Wasn’t that about the distance when we killed the manticore last time?”

“That’s right. That creature was flying so fast it was hard to hit–”

“So, we’re not fighting Toon right now?”

Hearing Kijung’s words, Leeha felt like he’d been hit in the head with a hammer. Toon was definitely within Leeha’s range. Yet, the thought of firing in that direction hadn’t occurred to Leeha at all, leaving him flustered.

“Leeha-ssi, please try to restrain him. Even if you can’t hit him, just the act of pressuring them will weaken their morale.”

“Or maybe take down the flying creatures or monsters running in front. Even if I pull my bow to its full extent, it wouldn’t reach that far. If you could shorten the distance a bit, it would make things easier later,” Nara and Bobae agreed with Kijung.

“Uh, yeah. That would be better, of course,” Leeha nodded in response. However, Bobae tilted his head upon hearing Leeha’s response.

“Better, of course…? But why–”

“Cough, let’s go! Leeha will handle it. Let’s hurry and take our positions. Bobae, let’s go!”

Kijung intercepted any further comments from Bobae. They all knew why stretching into Toon’s range or mentioning sniping came up. Leeha’s close acquaintances had vaguely realized it. It became completely clear during the last “Divine Staff” capture battle.

“Leeha couldn’t pull the trigger even as Kijung was dying.”

“Really? You really can’t shoot Toon? Just shoot him!”

“Damn it… If Leeha-hyung is out of the fight, that would be troubling.”

An unspeakable frustration they couldn’t vocalize. Nara, Bobae, and Kijung bit their lips in discomfort and turned their backs to leave Leeha. What Leeha saw was their backs, but it felt as though he could see their faces too.

“Sigh… They’re right.”

“Leeha-ssi?”

“Blaugrunn-ssi, lift me up.”

“What? But”

“It’s okay. I know how to swim.”

“Swim? What are you talking about all of a sudden-… All right. [Levitation]”

Though Blaugrunn couldn’t understand what Leeha was talking about, he couldn’t refuse the request.

Leeha started to float gently upward soon after.

Beyond 3 meters were sections not fully visible due to the terrain’s unevenness or small forests obstructing the view of the earth or monsters fully. However, such obstructions don’t exist in the sky.

Leeha asked Blaugrunn to stop once they reached a sufficient height.

Now, they were at a height where they could easily see in which direction the monster herd was moving.

After adjusting the scope’s magnification, Leeha examined the moving shadows of Toon.

Even in the dust, the creature’s form didn’t completely disappear.

Its massive silhouette was clearly visible.

“The rough distance is 3.3 km. It needs to be measured more accurately.”

The difference between 3.36km and 3.324km is significant. Leeha remembered the sizes of the trees around them, the size of the flying manticore, and the size of the giant elephant-like monster running on the ground.

Considering their size, position, what would be the measurement of the current Toon size?

When these figures appear in the current scope’s magnification, what is the distance between the target and the shooter?

“Three thousand three hundred… forty. Forty-four, forty-six? Approximately 3,345m. 3,3460m-“

They are moving. Not a fixed target.

Leeha saw Toon’s shadow waver through the scope.

“It’s shaking. Damn, if only this dust cloud would clear up… Oh, but why is there continuous dust?

It’s an unusual amount of dust for a herd of monsters moving, as if something was burning like smoke.

Leeha shook his head.

It was a suspicious phenomenon for sure,

but it wasn’t the time to worry about that.

“Re-measuring, approaching 3,319m. Still moving…. Ahead of the moving target’s direction, there’s a narrow stream and hilly terrain.”

Leeha moved the scope to trace their path.

Moving targets in the air are relatively easy to predict in terms of speed and direction, but ground movements present more variables.

Thus, the difficulty of predictive sniping exponentially increases.

“Passing that point, the estimated distance is 3,323m. After that point, there might be no opportunity.”

Leeha pressed his cheek further against the stock and aimed through the scope.

The distance to Toon from the sniping prediction point is roughly 2,000. At most, it’ll reach in less than twenty steps.

“Sigh. Woah, wow.”

Click-!

Leeha pulled the bolt and loaded a bullet.

He felt as if he could hear Toon’s footsteps.

It was as if the giant’s vibration was coming closer, shaking Leeha’s sniping posture.

“It can’t be. How can it be, when I’m suspended in the air? My body is perfectly stationary right now. It can’t be shaking.”

It was purely psychological. It’s only your eyes and hands that are shaking. And what’s shaking your eyes and hands is your heart, Leeha placed his index finger on the trigger. He zoomed the scope in. With Toon’s body height at 440 and the distance to the expected passing point at 3,325m, what would be the time taken for a bullet with a muzzle velocity of about 830m/s to reach the expected point?

At that point, what is the probability of Leeha hitting the targeted part of Toon accurately?

You can shoot. If you don’t, the guilt will only grow!

“Argh, damn it, damn it-“

His index finger trembled. The moment he felt unable to properly pull the trigger, a voice echoed in Leeha’s head.

Don’t end up like me.

Sigh-…

A phrase that popped into his mind, along with a face,

“Understood, boss.”

That settled Leeha’s mind.

To a place where even fear couldn’t reach.