Matan’s Shooter

TL: xLordFifth

ED: 

“So, in the end… Chiyou?”

Tale: Sorry. You must be listening, Leeha. I apologize.

At the point of explaining the situation, Kijung had already switched to speakerphone. Tale’s heavy voice echoed through the hospital room from the other end of the phone. The fact that Tale was making this call, and the fact he was apologizing, almost certainly indicated the outcome of the last battle.

Tale had died, and Chiyou was not killed.

‘Tale, Jin Gonggong, and Biyemi’s deaths…’

Even lying in bed, Leeha found the outcome unbelievable. There had been a glimmer of hope. But whether it was Igor or Faust, the forces that had joined hands with Chiyou had already been defeated once!

‘I defeated them even when they teamed up with Chiyou. So naturally, I thought they wouldn’t join hands again…’

Igor was no fool. Faust was no idiot. They were players who once joined forces with Chiyou but didn’t truly benefit from her. For such players to join hands with Chiyou again? It’s not impossible, but it seemed very unlikely.

“Why did Igor and Faust suddenly change their minds and side with Chiyou?”

Tale: It’s hard to say precisely, but I believe it’s because of the forces she brought.

“The forces? Are you talking about the [Yamato] guild you mentioned earlier?”

Tale: It’s not just about remembering the name. After researching online, I realized that everyone I had seen, fought, and remembered were ‘outsiders’. You probably understand what that means.

“……That’s impossible! Chiyou has a guild like that? A hidden guild made entirely of outsiders?”

Tale: From our encounter, that was the only conclusion I could draw. Not Shinobigumi, but a combat guild. [Yamato] was already prepared by her.

“But! As far as I know, she wasn’t the guild master of any guild-“

Tale: Who is the guild master of Shinobigumi?

Hearing Tale’s somber voice, Leeha came back to his senses.

Even after investigating Chiyou through Holy Grill, she was not listed as the guild master of any guild. It made sense. It was to hide Shinobigumi. But she was the actual leader of Shinobigumi. Then? It wasn’t impossible for Yamato as well.

‘She had another guild… Placing a figurehead as the leader, while she commands another guild?’

According to Tale, after his death, he confirmed through the internet that there were seven outsiders. If the concept of the [Yamato] guild is as such, even the unconfirmed members of Yamato would be no less skilled.

If Hyein struggled with them, it’s possible that other members were within the top 100 rankings.

“If it was the top 10, I might know, but not everyone remembers the faces and names in the top 100.”

She had such an incredible guild. Shinobigumi alone would be a handful for an ordinary person, let alone two!

But Leeha was not just amazed at Chiyou’s operational skills. More important was her mindset, her mentality. If a person had a knife in their pocket, they tend to want to use it. Shinobigumi, or rather, a guild dealing only with ‘information’, would have times when it couldn’t solve everything. Surely, she must have wanted to utilize that hidden combat guild [Yamato].

‘But she refrained. Until the very end. Even when she was about to die…’

Of course, she couldn’t allow more than three deaths, so she eventually had to reveal it. But the fact that she refrained from using the ‘combat guild’ until she was driven into a corner shows she didn’t have an ordinary mindset.

‘One does not pull the trigger until the perfect moment arrives.’

A mindset similar to that of a sniper. Leeha swallowed dryly. She will become even stronger. She will appear before Leeha stronger than ever.

“Ah! Tale-hyung? What happened to the sorceress you mentioned earlier?”

Kijung remembered that Tale hadn’t spoken much about the sorceress. What had become of that sorceress who once saved Biyemi?

Tale: I don’t know. Why did Prea even appear, I’m not sure…

But even Tale didn’t know until the end.

***

A giant eagle clawed at the eyes of the giant bear.

Screams followed as it wildly flailed its legs, but its blind attacks found no target.

“Koo-woo-woo-woo”

Puhak, puhak-!

Faust’s Dullahans cut down Jin Gonggong. The giant bear fell sideways, thumping to the ground, and gradually turned to ash.

“Kyakya! As far as I know, last time too, he sacrificed his life to save someone. Is he doing that disgusting act again?”

“Someone like you, heuk… would never understand.”

“Acting all high and mighty with an arm torn off! Kyahaha!”

Barely standing using his sword as a cane, Tale, now missing one arm, struggled to maintain his balance.

The spatial barrier didn’t naturally disappear, but Hyein managed to create a hole and somehow saved the remaining members of Byulcho.

In the battle involving Igor, Faust, Yongyong, and numerous other outsiders and top 100 rankers, Byulcho miraculously minimized their losses.

“Tch, Igor, stop playing around and just kill him. This is a major loss.”

Chiyou’s face was twisted in frustration. After revealing her ‘final, ultimate card,’ she couldn’t completely annihilate Byeolcho!

‘I knew Master Kay, Bobae, and Ha Leeha weren’t here. That’s why I brought the best to sweep them all… But besides catching Tale, Biyemi, and Jin Gonggong, just a few small fry?’

As Chiyou scowled, her gaze caught someone. A slim figure stood out even in the blood-soaked village.

“Ah! Speaking of which… Prea? What are you doing here?”

Chiyou quickly put on a businesslike smile and approached her. Tale also looked in that direction. What was the reason for the sorceress’s arrival here?

‘Was it just a coincidence that she helped Biyemi once?’

Tale was secretly hopeful. This was an opportunity with Chiyou approaching her.

Prea was also a top-ranking expert, ranked 11th. Surely, she had the power to use spirits to burn Chiyou to the bone when she was off-guard.

As Chiyou swayed her hips approaching Prea, Prea took a step back, shaking her hands nervously.

“You weakling, what are you looking at?! Eh!?”

“—-!”

Tale felt his head being sliced off, flying through the air. Right before logging out, the last thing Tale saw was Prea’s smiling face.

“Ah, there, um- haha, Chiyou-nim, I’ve heard of your fame. It’s also my first time meeting Igor-nim and Faust-nim. Hello?”

The tall Wood Elf, Prea, awkwardly smiled and greeted the people in front of her. She wanted to use teleport to escape right away, but there was no chance. Hyein hadn’t completely broken the spatial barrier, only creating a hole to use. And it was too late to walk out now.

‘Ah, this is annoying! Why did I even come here! Of all times!’

Her purpose was precisely to help Byulcho assassinate Chiyou. But in the current situation, what could Prea do by herself? Side with Byeolcho? Prea glanced at Chiyou’s feet approaching her. Beside her, Tale’s head lay disconnected.

‘He seems to be quite a high-ranking person. In this state, even if I side with them…’

There was no reason to. Even if she did, there’s no one to acknowledge her. Prea couldn’t clearly decide what position to take.

‘Hmm… It seemed like she wanted to protect Biyemi… But then, being ranked 11th, it’s obvious ‘what she would have thought’…’

Chiyou didn’t miss Prea’s ‘thinking’ expression. She accurately saw through what Prea was thinking, why she came here, and what her intentions were.

“Oh no! No! What are you saying! Have you ever seen me obsessed with rankings? I just heard there was a dragon lair near the Silver Plains, so I thought of going there to sightsee.”

“Then that stone wall magic earlier-“

“Ma, magic? No! Sometimes spirits go out of control- Ehehe.”

Prea laughed shyly, her white eyes curving like crescent moons.

It was then that Igor stepped forward, ahead of Chiyou.

“Now that I think about it, I’ve never had the pleasure of fighting you. Rank 11 should have some achievements to show, right?”

His movement, lifting his saw-toothed sword, was swift and unhesitant.

It seemed he might strike down Prea at any moment, and while Chiyou flinched at the gesture, Prea’s expression turned sharp.

“If you swing that, you’ll regret it, Igor-nim.” 

“Kyahat?! What? Regret? I know, [Sorceress of the White Snow]. You don’t mingle with people much, thinking you’re something special because you’ve got a few spirits to level up with. You think I don’t know that’s all you’ve got for skills-“

“That ‘little’ skill of mine is enough to burn you to ashes right now.”

Igor couldn’t swing his sword. He was too taken aback by her audacious statement. Who’s killing whom? As Igor’s expression began to turn fierce, Prea spoke again.

“And my spirits are my strength, but you leveled up thanks to those underlings over there, right? Is that your ‘skill’?”

Her wide-mouthed smile shone even in Chesi, now devoid of NPCs. But it didn’t reach Igor. Just as the Russian giant was about to swing his sword, Chiyou stepped in front of him.

“Cuckoo, that’s enough, enough. You’re an interesting person, Prea-nim.”

“Ha, I always play with spirits and have trouble talking with users. Was it interesting?”

Prea asked with an innocent face. Chiyou’s mouth also curled up slightly. ‘Look at this… She’s not just bluffing. What kind of person is she? I have some information, but she’s quite different, isn’t she?’

While there was general information about her skills, there was no information on her ‘personality’ even within Shinobigumi.

Chiyou felt intrigued by Prea. Even with the overwhelming situation involving Igor and Czar, Faust and the Undead, Yongyong and his Tamed Pets, and Chiyou’s own Yamato. To have confidence in front of all these! Whether it was bravado or truth, to Chiyou, it was fascinating.

‘There was only one other person like this.’

That was why Chiyou took an interest in Prea. The person who comes to mind, the one she wanted but ultimately couldn’t have.

‘Ha Leeha.’

Chiyou smiled. Then she spoke.

“Prea-nim?”

“Yes?”

“Would you like to join us for a cup of tea? I have some things to discuss with Igor, Faust, and Yongyong anyway. It would be great if you could join us.”

It was a clear invitation to recruit her. Prea responded immediately.

“Sure, why not. I’m a bit tired of chatting with spirits all the time anyway.”

“Woo-hoo-hoo———-!”

As soon as she finished speaking, a small rock formed beside Prea, screaming.

Prea kicked the rock again, annoyed.

“Gnoim! I told you not to pop up anytime!”

Chiyou watched this with a somewhat bewildered expression. She chuckled and turned around.

“The NPC’s are all wiped out, so Minis Kingdom’s defense force will be here within an hour. Let’s have our talk quickly.”

“What’s there to talk about so fast? Kyakat, I thought you just carried around big-mouths, but you’ve hidden some cuties, haven’t you?”

“Hehe, if you don’t want to get stabbed by those ‘cuties,’ you better watch your mouth, Igor.”

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!