Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

If Leeha was alone, unable to talk to anyone, she would have been on guard, with no one getting closer.

[Kyukyuu? Kyukyuu!]

“Ha, huh? Why, Blaugrung?”

But now it was different. The turquoise dragon perched on Leeha’s shoulder was flapping its wings and slapping Leeha’s cheek.

[Kyukyuu! Kyuuuuu!]

“What… you need to speak a language I can understand…”

[Quack!]

Flap, flap!

“Ah, stop slapping me! It’s distracting me from aiming!”

Blaugrung seemed to be trying to convey something to Leeha.

Should I focus on aiming first? Or should I concentrate here? The enemies beyond the scope had already hidden behind the Chimeras.

Leeha’s decision was simple.

* * *

“Darn it, Jeyral, what’s going on?!”

“W-who… who attacked us…”

Fwooaaah!

While saying that, the Chimera’s body was pierced, and acidic slime poured out.

Warlock and Sorcerer, who were hiding behind the Chimeras, stepped back in a hurry. They could control the Chimeras to prevent them from attacking, but that didn’t mean they were invulnerable.

“Was the attack just now from the voice we heard? Is that possible?”

“…Yes, Leeha! The, the, sniper! Leeha!”

Being unharmed by Leeha during the national war was still unbelievable for them.

Although videos circulating on the internet were now quite common, many people thought they were not real but rather well-edited promotional videos, not actual Mad Movies.

“Magic? Can you send any summoned creatures?”

Warlock yelled in frustration.

Ordinary magic wouldn’t reach them. Even if they tried long-range magic, the maximum range would be within 100 meters.

Even if they used non-targeting magic, Leeha’s appearance would still be blurry to them. Aiming was not easy.

The alternative was to use Sorcerer’s summoned creatures.

“Gosh… easier said than done! Send an Imp? Even if it sticks its head outside the Chimera, it’ll die! Ghost horse’s reach isn’t…”

Twaquaaaah!

Amidst the chaos, the Chimera’s body exploded again. The two took steps back to avoid the flowing slime.

The Minis Embassy guards were still surrounding Aventurine Count around them, so it was still fortunate that they hadn’t attacked yet. But what if they made a judgment and retaliated?

Long-range Leeha, close-range Gard, and several Chimeras. Although there were only a few Chimeras, two dark magic profession people couldn’t handle it.

Kwaaak!

Chimera’s body burst once more.

“Gosh! If this goes on, we’ll be taken down by our own Chimeras!”

Puuaaak!

Sorcerer couldn’t finish his sentence. In the place where his head exploded, there was no longer any part that could be called a mouth.

He had just stepped out two steps away from the Chimeras. From Sorcerer’s perspective, it was a position where he could relax because he put two Chimeras in front of him, preventing them from attacking. But for Leeha, it was visible.

A black mask coming through the gap between the artificial composite monsters’ bodies.

Once inside his scope, there was no chance that Leeha would miss the timing of the shot. The shock was great for the first person to experience Leeha’s attack.

Warlock turned his body while grumbling.

His magic might not be effective, but there were still more than seven Chimeras. Even using just four of them would be enough to wipe out the Minis Embassy guards.

“Ugh… easier said than done! Send Imps? They die just sticking their heads out of the Chimeras! Ghost horses…”

Twaquaaaah!

Amidst the chaos, the Chimera’s body exploded again. The two took steps back to avoid the flowing slime.

The Minis Embassy guards were still surrounding Aventurine Count around them, so it was still fortunate that they hadn’t attacked yet. But what if they made a judgment and retaliated?

Long-range Leeha, close-range Gard, and several Chimeras. Although there were only a few Chimeras, two dark magic profession people couldn’t handle it.

Kwaaak!

Chimera’s body burst once more.

“Gosh! If this goes on, we’ll be taken down by our own Chimeras!”

Puuaaak!

Sorcerer couldn’t finish his sentence. In the place where his head exploded, there was no longer any part that could be called a mouth.

He had just stepped out two steps away from the Chimeras. From Sorcerer’s perspective, it was a position where he could relax because he put two Chimeras in front of him, preventing them from attacking. But for Leeha, it was visible.

A black mask coming through the gap between the artificial composite monsters’ bodies.

Once inside his scope, there was no chance that Leeha would miss the timing of the shot. The shock was great for the first person to experience Leeha’s attack.

Warlock turned his body while grumbling.

His magic might not be effective, but there were still more than seven Chimeras. Even using just four of them would be enough to wipe out the Minis Embassy guards.

“Now I have to contact Faust.”

Even if it was just in case of an emergency. Warlock first directed the Chimeras forward.

By moving them towards the Minis Embassy group on the left, he would have to concentrate on keeping a safe distance from Leeha and Leeha.

While the Chimeras hesitated and approached again, the knights swung their swords with all their might, but with their numbers already reduced, there was little they could do.

One knight was quickly devoured, then another… The Minis Embassy guards no longer had anyone to attack, so Warlock quickly sent a message to Faust.

– Boss! Boss! The sniper appeared –

[Kyuu?]

“What, what is it?!”

As Warlock was about to send a whisper, lively chirping sounds came from above his head, accompanied by the sound of flapping wings.

However, the voice that followed was nothing short of grim.

“It’s real. It’s not Blue Beard, right?”

“When did you―”

Leeha’s actions were faster than Warlock’s words.

Grapes poured out of the pistol he held in his left hand, bombarding the users who immediately turned pale and turned gray.

Without any delay, Leeha shouted, “Move aside, kid! And Minis folks, right? Go behind the brown bears! Hurry!”

Kwaaeeeeeng───────!

The reason Leeha could quickly narrow the distance was thanks to the Soul Mate child. The balance between fire and poison was still evident even in times like this.

Even several high-level knights couldn’t properly handle a single Chimera. But with Leeha’s brown bear child skillfully restraining the Chimeras, they found a safe position.

“Count, now is the time! Let’s go quickly.”

Only two horses left.

The only ones left were Abandoned Aventurine and Gard Jajak.

After throwing bombs towards the Chimeras, Leeha turned around, riding her horse and setting the horses towards the Chimera again.

Kwaaeeeeeng───────!

Amidst the explosions and flames, the Chimeras began to retreat unsteadily. The monsters, who were no longer under the command, couldn’t take appropriate actions.

“Kid, come back, let’s go!”

Kwaaeeeeeng──!

“Blaugrung, please come quickly too.”

[Kyukyuu! Kyuu!]

“But you understand what I’m saying, right?”

[Kyuu?]

“Ugh… You’re not answering properly when I ask if Blue Beard is not here.”

Although their intimacy was already 100%, Leeha still had trouble communicating with the Bronze Dragon.

The fundamental reason Leeha could ride the child was that Blaugrung clearly indicated that Blue Beard was not present.

“But when it comes to this, pretending not to understand… Is there a system where you can detect only Blue Beard’s mana even if you can’t actually understand what I’m saying?”

It’s not a pet, not even a summoned creature…

With the dragon, whom he didn’t know how to recognize as a “partner”, on his shoulder, Leeha quickly climbed on the child’s back.

“Um, Sir Fubuel’s knight?! What do we do now―”

“Ah! Run! This direction is empty! I’ll take care of the back while riding the bear, so go at top speed!”

As Aventurine Count pointed in the direction of Black Beast’s muzzle, Gard Jajak and Aventurine quickly urged the horses.

The child, carrying Leeha, also started running with a thud, thud.

“Thank you, thank you so much, Sir Knight!”

“I’m not a knight, what knight?!”

“Then… may I ask who you are?”

“Um… I don’t know what to say if you ask who I am, but for now, I’m just a citizen of Fubuel. No, am I a knight now? Maybe like a bus driver? Leeha, hold on tight! Direct to Fubuel Capital! Let’s go, kid!”

Kwaaeeeeeng───────!

The frightened horses ran even faster at the tremendous roar of the brown bear.

The surviving Chimeras at a distant place were bumping into each other, making a crunching sound.

* * *

-Faust! Faust! Are you still alive?

-What’s wrong, Choyo?

-Hide your body quickly, hurry!

Faust was startled by the sudden whisper.

Choyo rarely used whispers to convey information. And to hide her body? What could that mean?

-What’s happening?

-Leeha, Leeha is there―

-Boss! Boss! The sniper appeared―

‘Hmm?’

Chiyo’s whisper was heard by Faust for a moment, overlapping with Warlock’s whisper. However, it was just a fleeting moment as Warlock’s whisper was cut off mid-sentence.

“What’s going on?”

Faust could sense that something was amiss.

The sudden whispers from Choyo and the blocked messages to Warlock.

She also tried to send whispers to the Sorcerer and the Warlock, but none of them reached their destination.

“Choyo! What did you say earlier?”

“Leeha said he went there! I don’t know who he is?”

“…I already know.”

“Then this is not the time to be calm! You might die, so hide your body first! Always summon the undead!”

Choyo was also desperate.

She was trying to make the NPCs and Faust’s forces flow in the desired direction while subtracting the power of the aristocrats and Faust. But according to Sasuke’s information, all of her plans had turned into nothing.

Sasuke had been chasing after them from a distance to rescue Gard Jajak. However, as soon as he saw Leeha, he tried to send a whisper to Choyo, but it was already too late.

“Geziral, what can one musketeer do…”

But even with Choyo running frantically, Faust couldn’t ignore her.

He first called Kruelie at the bottom of the expeditionary plains and prepared all the Chimeras and undead summons towards the central route.

“Kruelie, Kruelie───!”

“Kru, Kruelie, Kruelie───!”

“Whoa! No, no! My cute test subjects!”

Around the same time, Faust and Kruelie arrived at the central route and could see only debris and the fighting Chimeras.

Kruelie quickly approached the Chimeras and eased their tension by spraying them with a potion.

The artificial synthetic monster, the Chimera that was created during the second Inma War, Giebride, was seen for the first time. But the “Alchemist” had already prepared enough methods to deal with them.

“Cadaver Lover! Where did all your subordinates go? What’s this? You lost five Chimera at the same time!”

“…This is impossible…”

Faust arrived late and couldn’t fully grasp the situation.

Who, how, what methods were used in the battle? To investigate the traces, there must be corpses, but all the Chimeras had already swallowed them.

In the end, all that was left were a few bridles and scattered swords that the ambassador’s team rode on and a few knights scattered here and there, indicating the horror of the situation.

“The ambassador’s team can hardly handle a lot of Chimeras for two days… But this Leeha guy caught three of our members and three Chimeras by himself?”

To be precise, Leeha had only caught one Chimera.

The other two had fought each other and ended up devouring each other, but the reason was also because Leeha had “caused injuries,” making it practically the same as Leeha’s killing them.

“Oh dear, what a waste, oh dear, I can’t make these again, how, how! Stupid fool! I should have used someone I could trust as my subordinate…”

“Shut up, Kruelie. I feel like crap right now.”

Even Faust, who usually took everything in stride, found the insult hard to bear.

“…Leeha…”

The face of the human he had briefly met during the Kuzgunak’s incident was deeply imprinted in Faust’s white Lizardia’s mind.

Shrill, the Lizardia sharpened its teeth.