Matan’s Shooter

Matan’s Shooter 783

“I will not forgive failure. Ensure that I do not have to step onto the battlefield.”

“Understood, President-nim.”

Having left the Remlin Palace, Karelin immediately began interrogating Manganese users to track them down.

It was a dark night. Despite thousands of Knight Order members surrounding Hamina Castle, where the concept of logging out did not exist, it was a night where not even a single shadow could be found.

“So, they all got wiped out? Wow.”

“I heard it wasn’t just wiped out, but completely crushed. It was lucky that some were logged out at that time. People who jumped in thinking it was a job event couldn’t even recover their losses.”

“This is insane… Wait, does this make sense? Who? Only one person was there? Everyone just happily accepted the quest that could be cleared by simply pushing forward.”

Giant users preparing for a hunt at Hamina Castle exchanged whispers. The battle that took place during the day had already spread to Shazarashian territory and even infiltrated the community.

Thousands died, the Bantal and Amunsan Trio couldn’t even use their full power, Leeha summoned a dragon, it was undoubtedly the work of the Fibiel Mage Squad, the 『Meteor Strike』 magic was triggered… Rumors ranging from things that hadn’t happened yet to things that never happened were entwined with each other.

“Was it all because of some idiot who said that while accepting the quest on the community? Still, some people knew about it, including Bantal and the Pack Guild. Who was it?”

“Who?”

“Leeha.”

“Leeha? If it’s Leeha-”

“The person who killed Toon!”

The eyes of the giant users listening to their friend’s story widened. While it was like hell for the giants who participated in this quest, for those who only heard rumors or did not participate in the quest, it was just watching a fire across the river.

As the saying goes, nothing is as enjoyable as watching someone else’s fight, so it was inevitable that people would be interested.

“Wow. But no matter what, how can someone alone kill thousands of people? Is that possible? He’s not even a Ranker.”

“It’s total chaos. They’re even voting for ‘Leeha vs. Alexander’ on the community right now, saying Alexander wouldn’t be able to do that.”

“Wow, that’s crazy. But I am curious, if they fought so fiercely-”

Ahhh!

“0”

“What, what!?”

The echoing screams stirred up Hamina Castle in an instant. Users in the square also perked up their ears at the distant screams.

“Where-”

“Castle! It’s the castle!”

Suddenly, lights started pouring into the dark castle. The light magic, as if searching for a culprit with a spotlight, began scanning the surroundings relentlessly.

“What’s going on?”

“Let’s go see!”

Giant users and even the NPC lords from foreign territories started running towards the castle of the ‘administrator’, a castle equivalent to the lords’ residence.

“Everyone, step back, please!”

“Please refrain from approaching further and cooperate with the search! All citizens of Shazrashian residing in Hamina Castle, please cooperate with the authorities for the search!”

Groups of giants and a few humans, including the knight order from Hamina Castle and nearby waiting knight groups, were now in control of the users.

“Pant, pant, what’s happening?”

“I don’t really know either. I heard the sound of glass breaking, so I came to see, but I can’t hear any screams. Who died?”

“Someone died? The administrator?”

“It couldn’t be… right?”

Giant users exchanged worried glances with each other.

They were headed towards the administrator’s room. It was a fact that the glass window was broken.

Even in the dark night sky, the shattered glass window was clearly visible. Two giant users who had been conversing whispered to each other.

“This couldn’t possibly be… Ha Leeha, could it?”

“What? Ha Leeha?”

“He was known for sharpshooting from a distance, hiding somewhere to target the administrator-”

“Nonsense! Don’t talk nonsense! No matter how skilled Ha Leeha is, does it make sense to kill the administrator? How could someone target the castle in the middle of the city, how far is it to the nearby castle walls, let alone the room where the administrator is? And who would target him in the middle of the night?”

“Refrain from exaggerated rumors or malicious speech!”

“Please refrain from making baseless speculations until the investigation is concluded! Future violators may face penalties from the authorities!”

As the voices of the users grew louder, the knight order NPCs began to control the situation. Users thought it was absurd, but even with just the NPC’s reactions, they could sense the tension.

Surely, something was going on there. At that moment, Leeha was looking at his work through a night vision scope.

“Well, seems like it’s right.”

“Of course. I took Leeha-nim to that administrator or whatever.”

“Right, right. I won’t forget Blaugrunn, alright?”

How did Leeha know about the administrator of Hamina Castle? When he was once imprisoned in the underground prison here, Blaugrunn had a record of ‘running wild.’ When Blaugrunn transformed into a dragon, the castle’s administrator fled to his bedroom at once, and Leeha chased and subdued him in an instant. Later, he brought him along to release Leeha directly from the underground prison.

Recalling those memories, Leeha came here with Blaugrunn and was truly implementing the final 『Pre-Emptive Attack』 operation.

“Even if I write, they would get it, right?”

“Whatever.”

“But shouldn’t it be written in Russian? I feel like I wrote it in English for no reason. Not that I know Russian either.”

“What? What’s Russian? English?”

“Huh, no. It’s nothing.”

Leeha put the night vision scope back on his forehead and looked through the scope again.

Now that the entire Hamina Castle was illuminated, the night vision scope was no longer necessary.

“It’s absurd beyond words. If the residence of a top-ranking person is targeted, it should be covered up rather than revealed. Those fools.”

Despite being outrageously absurd, what could be done? Leeha was utilizing the concept of ‘sniping,’ which was not properly operated in this era but was being used in battles. In a sense, it was an over-technology. It was natural for them not to be able to respond.

“Ah, even when I look again, it’s a masterstroke. A masterpiece.”

Leeha did not snipe the administrator of Hamina Castle.

“Even if the situation is like this, it’s not good to kill a administrator recklessly. It would be more troublesome if it backfired.”

Therefore, his chosen method was to clearly reveal the deception. The reason he sniped through the window of the NPC administrator was to shoot at the wall there, where a brief message was engraved amidst the bullet holes:

“You could be killed at any time. It’s better to keep out of war.”

The message was short, but the implications were vast. Leeha had come up with a more effective means of pressure than shooting directly.

“Let’s go back. With this, we can’t do night attacks, and it’s unrealistic to attack immediately tomorrow morning. I don’t think we can move for a few days at least.”

Although a spatial confinement barrier was active in a wide area, including the square of Hamina Castle, it did not affect Leeha, who was sniping outside the walls.

“Got it. Then I’ll teleport.”

About 2.30 kilometers west from the castle. Riding in the air alongside Blaugrunn to snipe, Leeha used teleportation as it is.

The next morning, Karelin, arriving at Hamina Castle, had to scream once again.

“Again during the night…?

With 13 unauthorized deserters caught overnight and scheduled for execution this morning, Karelin had no choice but to completely revise the plans.

Could executing deserters serve as an example? Could such an act right now have counterproductive effects?

“The, the administrator stated that he would not be able to participate in this battle and… suggested that you take full command, including supplies.”

“I see.”

Karelin sighed. Perhaps she didn’t know there was no other way from the beginning.

“I underestimated Leeha. No, Ha Leeha-nim is calling for me. Leeha, who had shown skill in handling rifles, must want to kill himself. Immediately… Prepare the Shazrashian knights for battle, staking the honor of the Shazrashian Federation.”

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“Yes, yes?”

“As a member of the Shazrashian Federation government, no, as the interim supreme commander of the Winter Resource War, I command.”

The early war strategy called 『Pre-Emptive Attack』 proceeded smoothly like water flowing. Every battle and situation went as predicted. Except for Karelin’s fighting spirit!

“Now, get ready to depart right away.”

The gorilla’s furious face twisted.

※ ※

“Why do we have to meet like this when we could just use the headphones for communication?”

“Why must you be like that? Communication won’t be perfect with just that. And we can still lie even if we meet in person, right? Come on, let me whisper into my ear-”

“D-Don’t fool around like that!”

Shin Nara pushed Lark away, who was leaning in to whisper. The unofficial national investigative team tracking Faust and Igor continued their covert operations.

“Anyway, since you’ve been to Bates as well, just give me a brief update on Minis’s situation. I’ll do the same for Fibiel.”

“Are you busy?”

“N-Not particularly.”

Shin Nara avoided Lark’s gaze, staring intently at her face. After a moment, Lark nodded without looking at her.

“If you’re tired, take a break outside for a bit. The responsibility for the Fibiel’s side still falls on me as well. I can manage for a few days.”

“Well… alright then.”

“Hmm, even though I know Dame Shin, it’s hard to understand her.”

“What, what do you mean?!”

How many times has it been that they’ve had a gathering like this due to Lark’s strong suggestion? Faust and Igor have completely disappeared without a trace, making it impossible to find them anywhere.

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There were many speculative hypotheses floating around, suggesting that maybe they didn’t go back to the New Continent after all, and instead of targeting dragons, they might have moved somewhere to utilize them. Both agreed to keep an eye on things for now.

“It seems like you treat me more curtly than others. Do you happen to like me or something?”

“Pfft, just kidding. Just kidding. Why are you so flustered? I know our work is tough with not much reward, but it’s a way of cheering each other up.”

Lark laughed at Shin Nara, who was making strange noises with a blocked mouth. However, Shin Nara still found it hard to look directly at Lark.

When did it start?

“I must be losing my mind for real! Why are you acting like this?!”

Something was different. No matter how hard she tried to push it away, how should she handle these strange feelings and emotions that wouldn’t go away?

‘It’s similar to Leeha but… different.’

Shin Nara couldn’t explain it clearly, but she understood it. It fit perfectly when she thought about Leeha and Lark.

“Hmm, after the Kaztor incident on the New Continent, the peacekeeping mission is wrapping up, and Fibiel is almost finished too. However, there’s a new quest recently. It might be something good since you haven’t told me about it, related to skills, weapons, or characters for getting stronger, right?”

“Indeed.”

Shin Nara replied quietly. No matter how straightforward she was, Lark always responded in that manner. She found herself uncertain about how to react to such a character she had never encountered before.

“By the way, I got a quest too.”

“What, what is it?”

“Haha! Right after you deliberately kept it secret, you’re asking about the details of my quest? That’s not fair!”

“I, it was just a reflex-”

Clang!

Lark immediately tilted his head forward. The distance between the two at the table rapidly shortened.

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