Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED:

“Brrrrrrgh…”

Bubbles bubbled up when Leeha, who was on Sea Bream’s back, opened his mouth to speak.

“What?”

[Kyukyu?]

Anderson and Blaugrun, held in Anderson’s hand, saw the air bubble. Whispering wasn’t difficult, but it was more uncomfortable than speaking directly.

Leeha: I’m so frustrated I can’t even talk! Ah, it’s nothing special, I was just wondering if you are prepared for the fishmen!

“Of course.  It might be different on the surface, but here our detection capabilities are not any less.”

While listening to Sea Bream, Anderson pointed to his forehead. Even though he was a muscular mermaid, Anderson looked pretty and had a small scale on his forehead.

‘Given their comments, can I assume the border situation is under control? The real issue, however, is speed. Since it is underwater and they are swimming, they can definitely move faster than a ship. Also, taking into account that the mermaids need breaks, can I assume that we will eventually arrive at the central waters of the Dragon Palace around the same time? If everything proceeds as expected, we should be there in about 19 days and 12 hours.’

In the central waters of the Dragon Palace, just at sea level, lay an immobile island known as ‘Buoy’. Below the surface, nestled on the sea bed, was the ‘Dragon Palace’. The areas designated for the New Continent expedition team to carry out their operations were quite similar. However, Leeha found his thoughts tangled in complexity.

‘The starting point of the operation will be slightly different.’

Team A had several users. They could go through the central part of the waters of the Dragon Palace and log out once they exited the waters of the Dragon Palace.

Team B consisted of only Hyein, but the operation started near Buoy Island. In other words, until then, he had to focus on defending against the fishmen with the users of Team A, then log out at an appropriate time, log in after a break, and complete his duties.

But what about Team C? 

Leeha was literally alone, not even a team. Therefore, it meant that there was no one to switch with him for the logout rotation and no one to take over his mission, even if only a short period of time. Moreover, unlike Hyein’s team, Leeha had already started his operation. 

‘Furthermore, maybe it is because he’s the sea god, undine clan, or whatever, but the waters of the Dragon Palace is also incredibly large.’

The entire diameter of the waters of Dragon Palace was about 40 days away at the sailing speed of the ship, and from the outskirts of the waters of the Dragon Palace to the center alone, it was only 20 days. How many days did Leeha, who started his operation after entering from the outskirts, have to carry out the operation? Maintaining connectivity throughout that period was close to impossible. Therefore, what was confirmed in advance was the effect of [Water Ring]. Leeha thought about it the most.

‘How will the 20m distance limit be applied while logging out?’

It was a blessing in disguise.

‘Even if I log out, I will be near Sea Bream.’

If one thought about it simply, it was a movement-restricting skill, but after creating an application method, it became possible to use it as an excellent movement skill.

‘No, I have to stay connected as long as possible. As much as possible!’

It was not the time to stop and rest. It was the most relaxed time when the fishmen flocked toward the vessels serving as bait.

‘The mermaids also increased their speed without resting and agreed to rest for a day when I logged out. Tsk, me too, but in the case of the mermaids, it’s like moving for 10 days and resting for 1. If they were human NPCs, they would have just fainted and stretched out.’

Mermaids were not in a position to choose between hot and cold food. It was not possible to confirm whether they had higher physical strength than human NPCs or whether they could survive without sleep. However, Sea Bream and Anderson also agreed to move for 10 days and sleep for 1 day, and move again for 10 days and rest for 1. Of course, there would be time to stop and rest along the way, but it was a schedule no different from a hellish march.

Leeha, in terms of real-time, it was the same as 48 hours of access- 5 hours of sleep, and 48 hours of access- 5 hours of sleep, so the mermaids did not mind. It was a mission that required extreme concentration while surviving only on a short nap.

An ordinary person with decent physical strength would not be able to withstand it.

That’s why Shin Nara tried to stop Leeha when he said he would be alone in Team C, but she couldn’t stop him either.

‘A stroke of luck amidst this misfortune is that I’ve already endured worse! The KTKC experience was hellish – having to lie in one spot for 60 hours, unable to move or even use the bathroom. It was a challenge to even discern whether my eyes were open or closed. Compared to that ordeal, my current situation feels almost pleasant. Truly, that experience was complete nonsense!’

Although he was reassuring himself, Leeha’s expression was not bright. Still, he knew very well the things that he had to grit himself.

‘Anyway, 22 days from now, Middle Earth time, we will be right near the Dragon Palace. If we rest there for a while and go to the Dragon Palace, it will be exactly 23 days. I have to finish it in one day.’

Leeha calculated the operational time in which he could move. Considering the speed of the ship, spatial movement using the link between Hyein and Bailephus was also a great reference to the fact that it could only travel a distance of 100 hours.

‘The space lock created by the ancient dragon surpasses the strength of the wide-area barrier deployed during the national war. Even Hyein, who managed to break through it, is still 100 hours away. I’m uncertain about the potency of the Three Musketeers’ chain teleport, and whether it’s strong enough to surpass that barrier. Given these circumstances, I should set my time limit even earlier.’

In other words, since Hyein’s free time was limited to 4 hours on the 24th, it meant that those who entered after the 23rd had reached the limit before the 24th day were up.

‘According to calculations, the total operation time is about a day and a few hours, but I should not move with that in mind. I heard stories about the Dragon Palace and the Purification Pool, but…Theory and practice are different. If I move a little more tightly and with the determination to finish within 20 hours, I will be just in the nick of time.’

Leeha’s strategy was to avoid the fishmen as much as possible and only fix the Purification Pool.

‘If the polluted sea god returns to its original state, he will lead the mermaids and take charge of the fishmen, right?’

It was Anderson and Sea Bream’s guess, and Leeha and Bailephus also thought it was highly likely. It is said that he had not come forward and punished the fishmen because he treated them as members of the same species.

If they took that as a starting point, the sea god considered co-existence with them, and Leeha speculated that this happened due to the contamination of the septic tank while the sea god wasn’t looking.

In other words, it should be seen that they took action thinking that removing the source of pollution would eliminate the ferocity of the fishmen, but failed, leading to the current situation.

Of course, if the source of pollution was removed, it was highly likely that the seas would return to their original state.

If it was like that? At that time, the fishmen would leave them alone.

‘I can do it. If we just remove the source of pollution in the septic tank, the sea god will definitely return. That’s probably why the death of the sea god was listed as a failure condition.’

Hints from quests. There was nothing more difficult for Leeha, who knew what Middle Earth aimed for.

‘If all operations go as planned, Team C, I, will join Team A, less than 10 hours after Team B joins Team A.  In addition, the sea god and mermaids will deal with the fishmen that follow, so normal logout rotation can be started immediately. If that’s the case? By the time we leave the waters of the Dragon Palace, everyone will have recovered their stamina.’

Of course, there were variables even during this time.

All of these plans were made based on the standard that the Blue Marlin and New Serpent move at a constant speed without slowing down or resting. If something happened in the middle, everything would inevitably go wrong.

‘I have to believe them. Unless I can cover every place by myself, I have to trust my ‘comrades’.’

Leeha imagined the state of the sea surface for a moment and opened his mouth.

“Pugrrrrrrrk-!”

Faster, faster!

The mermaids understood Leeha’s meaning without having to whisper. Bubbles rose to the surface drop by drop. The schedule and operational plan are shared by teams A, B, and C. All teams would work hard to meet their respective deadlines.

Not only Leeha but also teams A and B were in a situation where they couldn’t find any leeway.

“Port cannon, fire as soon as you are ready! You don’t have to guess! Check it first! Slow them down!”

Baaaang, baaang, baaang—!

Inside the cabin, the sound of culverine firing constantly rang. Fishmen were creatures with human arms and legs sprouting from the body of a fish.

There were some that swam like dolphins at the sea surface and came toward the ship, but there were also quite a few that swam from the bottom of the sea. However, they were invisible to the users at the deck. It could not even be caught by Oracle Rubini or Dancer Chiyou’s skills. 

How would they deal with them?

It was difficult to think of a way. Except to shoot indiscriminately.

“Change the type of bullet! Insert the prepared fishing net! Insert the chain shells into the cannon chambers that are not equipped with fishing net shells!”

“Starboard gun- fire!”

Baaang, baaaang—!

Two cannonballs flew from the muzzle of the huge culverine cannon and began to spread. Connected between the cannonballs were thin, long nets. Normally, the chain was aimed at destroying sails or masts, but as they entered the waters of the Dragon Palace, Kraven users developed better cannonballs to deal with the fishmen. The new continent expedition team were high-level users who created countermeasures based on their experience of fighting just once!

A huge water fountain soared up with the whistling sound of a flying cannonball.

“Hamu-!”

“Kyukyuhak, hat!  It works!”

“Make more!  What is this guy with his hands idle!  Keep making fish nets!”

The interior of the cabin, which was not visible from the outside, was also busy.

Not to mention the deck. Drake had partially removed the storm in the sky, and the Blue Marlin and New Serpent’s acceleration skills and wave-ignoring skills were showing off their effectiveness to the fullest, but the fishmen’s offensive was strong.

“Kiskis, you said you fought with these guys? [Poison Stink].”

Biyemi shook his head and sprayed water mist outside the deck. The small particles, which seemed no different from spray from the sea, spread widely and created a barrier.

“Hakyu- uhh?”

“Eup, hakit!  Hakit!”

As many as five fishmen were approaching that place. However, those who were swimming with their gills spread hastily changed direction.

“Uwa, what skill is that?”

“Kiskis, I tried it just in case, and it worked.  It’s a poison that utilizes a bad smell. Rather than being poison, it is used to chase away birds or insect-type monsters…”

Biyemi laughed happily. Poison did not simply reduce HP. The venom mage, who knew Middle Earth’s system, drove the fish away in a way that other users could not even imagine.

“If you overdo it, you will lose experience….” It was something worth using… While everyone was busy dealing with the fishmen, Lee Jiwon climbed onto the mast, moved around calmly, and looked around.

“Lee Jiwon-ssi! What are you doing? Hunt quickly- [Spread arrow]!”

Bobae showered arrows and shouted at Lee Jiwon, but the second on the ranking, the most needed user at the moment, just sat there and ignored her.

“Waaak! Bobae-ssi, look over ther!”

“Ah, right, heavy shot!”

Huuuu, pak!

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