Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“Hey, that one’s got quite the temper. Whew! Who went to suppress the Gorilla paleo just now?”

Lark asked Pung while scratching his ear. They couldn’t just be waiting around in Juma City.

The method they chose, given that any attack on paleo was forbidden, was hunting monsters near the Red Woods. It was a way to not only level up but also significantly strengthen the organization of the Virtue Knights.

“Let’s see… I believe it’s the Picante Knights today.”

“Picante, huh? Do you know who the leader of the New Continent for them is?”

“Of course. What would the financial officer do if he didn’t know that? Why? Want me to tell you?”

“Yeah. Quick.”

Lark received the name of the leader of the Picante Knights from Pung.

He immediately sent a secret message to the leader of the Picante Knights.

“The paleos are acting up? There wasn’t any issue until just yesterday, and now this all of a sudden?”

Of course, this was to verify something Leeha had said.

Lark: Ah, hello. I’m Lark from the Virtue Knights.

-I’ve heard great things about the [Knight of the Rainbow].

Lark: You flatter me. It’s nothing, really.

…while Lark’s face was completely stern despite the warm, salesy greeting.

If the leader of the Picante Knights had been there in person, they would have been shocked by the disparity between his words and expression.

“It’s true. Harhei and the Gorilla paleos have left their post. Such cowardly primates.”

“What? What does that mean?”

“…It means the paleos are up to something. Where did Leeha get this kind of information?”

Lark frowned.

He hadn’t stirred up Leeha without reason.

“How dare they discredit my achievements… I had neatly planned my debut in the New Continent with that.”

[The Slayer of Toon], the sudden uproar in the New Continent, was not the scenario Lark had wanted. If he were to kill, it had to be in a battlefield with everyone watching, through his power alone.

“It must have been that fourth wave thing. That was the time I suspected Toon would exit the scene. Despite not having lived in the New Continent for long, he had predicted quite a bit through the series of events.

If Leeha hadn’t killed Toon, who could assert what would have happened during the fourth wave? It was entirely plausible that Toon’s kin, the Saurus, would have become more rampant, a possibility he had foreseen.

Having shown deeper insight than even those users who participated in all three waves, Lark was indeed upset by Leeha’s feats.

‘And to think, he knows information I don’t. What could Leeha’s information network possibly be? Only the Holy Grill in Gaza City, as far as I know. The information of the New Continent… Sacred Knights? The Sacred were only around Juma. Byulcho? What’s Byulcho doing these days?’

Lark nodded to himself. He was through thinking it over.

“That’s it. If information were to leak, it could only be them.”

“Anyway, we’ve got only one thing to do. Pung! Call everyone together.”

“Why all of a sudden?”

“I won’t repeat myself.”

With Lark’s gaze turning serious again, Pung, the financial officer, could no longer object. The ultimate command of the Virtue Knights in the New Continent rested entirely with Lark.

“We return to Juma City and complete our reorganization! Everyone will likely need to visit their home country. You have two days! Finish all preparations within two days and gather in Juma!”

As Lark shouted, the members of the Virtue Knights stirred.

The murmuring quickly died down as he raised his fist.

“In a few days… something very interesting is going to happen near Juma City. We might even earn an achievement for exterminating the paleos… Prepare accordingly.”

“Exterminate! If we do such a thing, the Papacy-”

“No, no. This time, it seems we’ll need direct permission from His Holiness himself for the situation that’s going to arise. Hehe. Everyone, return!”

As everyone used their return scrolls, Lark quietly summoned Pung.

“Pung?”

“Eh?”

“Didn’t you say there was a map marking all of the paleo tribes.”

“I still have it.”

“Who brought that map?”

“Espion.”

“Espion… You’re talking about that soft-spoken one?”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

“Got it. Contact me if anything comes up.”

Lark patted Pung’s shoulder and immediately teleported to Juma City. Since the Virtue Knights’ headquarters were always formed on the outskirts, there weren’t many suitable places for their main base inside Juma City itself. This was precisely why Lark had authorized everyone to return to their homeland. Regrouping required everyone to go back.

It was when the considerably large Virtue Knights were not moving as a unit but scattered in individual actions.

“Espion?”

“Sir! Did you call for me, captain?”

Lark had been waiting for this moment. It was impossible for the quick-witted Lark to not have suspicions about the “map marking all the paleo tribes.”

“Ah… The map you brought last time was really good.”

“Are you talking about the map, sir?”

“Yes. Can we talk for a moment? Where you got it, and from whom… I think I might need a personal route too.”

“A route, you mean…?”

“I don’t want to lag behind anymore.”

While Leeha was frantically searching for a teleport point, angered by Lark, Lark too was devising several ways to outdo Leeha.

“Finally, calming down. Jellypong, let’s stop by that-hyungok over there for a while.”

[Myong!]

Leeha, passing through the forest, had Jellypong stop.

It had taken a full six hours for the anger induced by Lark to cool down.

During that time, while Leeha had searched all around for a teleport point, the “resting place” in the Eastern part of the new continent wasn’t so easily found.

“Kidd has logged out, leaving only Luger grumblingly cooperating… Well, I guess Luger’s in more of a hurry.”

Luger, taking steps with every teleport attempt of the Three Musketeers to reach Leeha’s destination, was indeed working hard.

To Luger, who hadn’t even seen Toon’s shadow, the location of Leeha, who had killed Toon, was truly like rain on dry ground.

Naturally, he thought the East, much further ahead than himself. Indeed, Leeha was quite significantly skewed to the East compared to Luger.

If Luger could just instantly reach Leeha’s destination…

Not only shortening the travel time, but also a chance to find a saving point was what Luger grumbled ceaselessly about, yet cooperating with Leeha was exactly for that reason.

“I have to crack that damn head open. It’s a waste to go back on foot after coming all this way.”

Not going back, the snickering voice of Lark lingered in Leeha’s head, presenting an annoying choice.

“Finding a teleport point seems best. But that’s easier said than done! There’s not even the slightest hint about whether it’s in the East or North! Not to mention basic information about what it looks like or how a teleportation site is supposed to be.”

This inefficient “blind searching” was definitely not what Leeha wanted.

“Hmmm… Turns out, there’s only one option.”

[Myong?]

“Finding someone who knows where the teleport point is, that is.”

[Myong! Myong!]

“Why haven’t I used such a good method before? Because—”

That person meant either Elizabeth or Brown.

In other words, not just wandering around the site where Toon was killed to find a point, but moving even farther East to discover Elizabeth!

“Probably… They must know.”

Leeha remembered what the dark spirits Shade had said.

Elizabeth and Brown frequently traversed the Dark Forest. Did they just loiter near the entrance?

“They must have crossed it. Beyond the Dark Forest, into the Eastern part of the new continent, they must be looking for something there, visiting often to find it. And considering that we haven’t yet found any trace of them, what they’re looking for must be further East.”

What could it be? What was it that made it impossible for Fernand to explain? Of course, Leeha had his own guesses.

“It must be related to the Matan’s Shooter. That son of theirs, Kyle, is said to be in a terrible state… Maybe it’s something like a cure?”

Lying flat on his back with his arms as a pillow, Leeha knew that rushing things wouldn’t solve anything. The priority was what mattered now.

“The rumors are starting to spread in Juma City too. They’ll spread quickly. Kijung’s Byulcho team fortunately escaped safely. There’s news that a significant number of regular players hunting nearby were affected. If the paleos gather… and even the mystical creaturess join… Even the high rankers won’t be able to sit still. Above all… what would the papacy say? Shouldn’t we start by talking to them?”

Would Bailephus, who has a strong resistance against battles with mystical creaturess, just stand by and watch?

What about the ranker, Lee Jiwon, who is rumored to have already killed a mystical creatures?

To acquire a skill beyond [Thunder Cloud], the second-ranked Magic Swordsman will become a threat.

“One by one, the mystical creaturess are akin to Adult Dragons. If all the paleos in the western part of the New Continent gather… There are definitely paleo tribes I am unaware of.”

Would there be around fifteen tribes? Twenty?

Leeha shook his head. Even at the maximum, it wouldn’t exceed twenty tribes.

“That means about twenty Adult Dragons. The number is astonishing.”

Having observed the gathering of metal dragons and their kindred, Leeha was more certain than ever.

“The total number of dragons in a single species was around forty.”

Of course, not all were Adults. Among them were dragons on the brink of transitioning from Juvenile to Adult, and even Ancient dragons.

Twenty mystical creaturess with power close to that of Adult Dragons couldn’t be considered a light force.

“The problem is when they all gather. Even a slight disarray could…”

The possibility of the paleos in the western part of the New Continent being annihilated couldn’t be dismissed.

However, mystical creaturess with the power of Adult Dragons like Bailephus or Alexander wouldn’t just attack ‘while taking it easy’.

It’s a situation where two forces clash with full strength. It’s definitely not something to welcome.

“Winning will incur great losses, and losing means the end. Moreover, if this kind of news…”

What if ‘someone’ hears about it?

Lying down, Leeha suddenly got up.

“Yes, that’s right. There’s no way she doesn’t know. Chiyou must be aware. And if she knows,” even if she didn’t, she would’ve discovered this information within hours.

If this story reaches Chiyou, then who would be the next to find out?

“Bluebeard! Damn it! mystical creatures fighting humans is exactly what those bastards enjoy the most!”

So far, Bluebeard hasn’t personally intervened.

This was fortunate for Leeha and all humans. But why hadn’t he intervened personally?

“Because he had a proxy. And Bluebeard himself had other things to deal with.”

Now, there was no guarantee that Bluebeard wouldn’t take action personally.

“I… By killing Toon–” No longer does he have a proxy. There was a time when he entrusted Faust with the role of the chief strategist of the Demon King’s Army in the Lope Continent, but the objective of the Demon King’s Army then and now is entirely different.

It’s not merely about attracting attention to prevent them from heading to the New Continent, but about awakening the [Divine Staff] and thereby Ghibrid.

“The likelihood of Bluebeard acting personally has increased! Even if Bluebeard doesn’t act himself–”

Leeha swallowed hard.

Among the achievements gained by killing Toon, one name came to mind. Toon, the third in command of Bluebeard’s forces.

The first in command is, needless to say, Bluebeard himself.

Then the second?

Aside from Toon, who claimed to be the left hand, who is Bluebeard’s “right hand”? Leeha knew the name.

“Blood Maiden Elizabeth Bathory!”

No matter who comes, it would lead to the worst possible scenario.

The anger towards Lark had faded. Leeha must find Elizabeth as soon as possible and thus used Jellypong as a three-dimensional maneuver gear to head east again.