Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“They’re getting away! Catch them!”

“Mana! Detection Scrolls! Use all of the search scrolls!”

They quickly took it out of their bags and ripped the paper, but couldn’t find them in the mist that obstructed the flow of mana, let alone his sight.

“C-commander-in-chief-nim! Kidd! Kidd where are you!”

“There’s been an attack! The commander has been attacked!”

“Everyone, don’t move! You must stay in your position! We need to find the assassins quic-”

“Save the commander!!!”

And then the effective time for the sound isolation scroll passed, and the surrounding users and NPCs who hadn’t noticed there was something wrong with the commander-in-chief’s tent before, suddenly rushed in.

“Wah……. I can’t believe that they escaped even though Halihali-nim already told me about them beforehand.”

Kijeong and Tae-il pounded their chests with disappointment, but Biyemi already knew that he would not be able to catch them. Mixed in the mist and all the chaos, they disguised themselves as Fibiel soldiers and escaped safely.

“B-byeocho guild master? And Biyemi-nim? Where’s Ha Leeha? Where did Ha Leeha go? Why is it only you-”

Ram Hwayeon was among the people who ran hastily.

“What the hell is this?”

At the moment, it was difficult for her to understand the current situation.

“Did he arrive safely? They should have stopped it.”

Leeha was moving in the Marching Plains while crawling. They were on a different battlefield, so it was already impossible to see the troops’ location and use whisper.

However, looking at the fact that the quest was not over due to the death of the commander-in-chief, he could guess that Granville didn’t die at least.

“It would’ve been better if the assassination hadn’t come in the first place, but – hey!”

He was worried about the Commander-in-Chief Granville, hiding whenever something glimmered in the thick fog that even night vision could not see through. And imagined the invisible enemy.

‘If the assassination did not happen, it means that the enemy’s level is lower than expected. However, if they came?”

Leeha expected them to be a really troublesome opponent.

In order to deal with a person with such flexible and quick movements, he would have had to remain in Minis.

It seemed that it would take a lot of time to pass through Marching Plains, far from Dike Beach.

‘Damn, when are you going?’

He also used potions and scrolls that could resist the status abnormality effect. What kind of terrible things did Crowley use to create this dreadful fog?

It’s an item with a much wider range and duration than any skill.

‘Did he make some kind of fog machine? No, no, Faust could have applied magic to Crowley’s concoctions. If you think that those two helped each other instead of just working together-’

Klang- clang- clang-.

Leeha’s thoughts stopped as he heard the footsteps of the iron golem. After that, the clicking sound of bones joining together.

Leeha immediately held his breath and stopped his body.

What did it mean to see enemies’ movement already at the point where he had just entered the Marching Plains from Minis?

‘As I expected. Those two are going straight to Minis and are trying to beat down Fibiel’s main forces from the back.’

‘I’m just glad I’m not in a hurry. Iron Golems and Skeletons would not be spread all over the Marching Plains, so it will be easier to move once I get past this point.’

‘I don’t want to deal with either one of them-’

He had night vision, so the darkness didn’t matter to him, but finding a target in the fog was difficult. Holding back the desire to hide Crowley and Faust, Leeha proceeded carefully through the Marching Plains.

As he used abnormal status potions and scrolls, the fog began to loosen to a point where the silhouettes of the skeletons and iron golems could not be seen.

‘I have to start running now.’

The dawn was already falling and the darkness was already visible in the distance.

Before midnight, it took nearly an hour to enter and cross the march’s plains. However, if you only go to Fibiel, he could go to Dike Beach in a short time.

“I have to hurry.”

Leeha grabbed Black Bass and put strength into his thighs.

A soldier saluted with a puzzled face and walked out of the tent.

He had come to give a report, so he thought he would get reprimanded, but the atmosphere wasn’t as bad as he thought.

The inside of the large tent was completely empty.

Reports about the war situation and various documents were scattered around, but only two people were inside. One of them opened his mouth.

“Didn’t you say you had four ace cards up your sleeve?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

While listening to Ewin’s question, Chiyou nodded sternly.

“And one has been torn already?”

“It wasn’t an ace. That was just a surprise joker. My real aces are alive and well, right? Everything is going smoothly”

The question was about Petyr’s failed assassination.

However, Chiyou answered as if she did not have any expectations in the first place.

“Smoothly? Hmm, the giants who entered the northern part of Fibiel seem to be having more difficulty than expected, can you really say that it is going smoothly?”

The endless reports that Ewin received were shared with Chiyou.

Agromni Igor and Czar broke through Castle Dale’s outer fortress leading to a complete defeat and massacred the surrounding users, but compared to that brutality, Fibiel’s damage could not be considered all that great.

Ram Hwajeong and Jacheong successfully defended and resisted while leading the few remaining guild members of HwaHong. Practically speaking, they did not succeed in even a single Castle Dale siege while leading a large number of people. As time goes on, more support will be added to the mobile forces defending within Fibiel, and they will have no choice but to back down.

“Oh my goodness, of course. They would suffice for that role. Because of this, the movement on Dike Beach became much faster. After the naval forces of Kraven land, they would arrange their formation and advance to Aelstock, don’t you think the commander-in-chief of Fibiel would be a sight to see?“

“Well, they don’t have to head to the capital, they just have to build a good defense line all over Dike Beach. It would be very unpleasant to have cancer cells in their land.”

Chiyou understood Ewin’s worries, but she still only smiled at his words.

“Hmmm……. It’s definitely worth seeing. Good. What about the ‘ace’ in the Marching Plains?”

“It’s going pretty well. In time, we will build a barricade that would not allow even a single drop of water to pass through. No, no. According to commander-in-chielf’s words-”

“Is it…… an anvil?”

“That’s right! Anvil. It will be the toughest anvil in history…. Is the hammer ready?”

Chiyo smiled with her eyes and crossed her arms with Ewin.

To her strangely encouraging attitude, Ewin smiled slyly.

“What would you do if I was ready? Cough, then we need to wield that hammer.”

“Huhut. Then let’s see if the ‘hammer’ is delivered?”

Chiyou took out a crystal ball and shook it.

A huge silhouette flew through the sky with its back against the sun and started to rise.

Even the fox of the prairie and commander-in-chief Ewin, looked into the crystal ball with a happy expression.

“He was already in Minis long ago. He will be here in an hour or so.”

“The Fibiel army will start running in an hour.”

“They have already run all the way here…… don’t you think it would be a little hard to run towards the Marching Plains again?”

“That’s why we have to reduce their suffering-”

Ewin unwrapped Chiyou’s arms and approached the hologram of the battlefield.

After the false defeat from the battles on Marching Plains, they finally came to this point with the troops’ operation that subtly induced Fibiel’s army to try and break through one point.

A huge siege force at the level that virtually used the entire Minis country!

“-Isn’t it great that you wouldn’t have to run if you die?”

After all formations have been arranged, there is nothing the Fibiel army can do.

Either they die surrounded by a siege, or they get hit in the back while escaping through the deliberately opened path.

“Ah, are you going to leave the gunman alone? The assassination failure can be attributed to him.”

“Hmm, are you talking about that Ha Leeha? He is pretty quick-witted. He must have already been on his way to Dike Beach by now…. Wouldn’t it take him a long time to get back from there? If he was really smart, he should have come back with his team this time instead of insisting on going to Dike Beach.”

“……Keep an eye on him.”

Chiyou’s eyes widened at Ewin’s words.

Because he shared information as soon as it came in, Ewin knew all about the active people in Fibiel, especially about Ha Leeha.

‘I was originally interested, but why is the commander-in-chief paying attention?’

Since when was he watching Leeha?

It wasn’t just Petry who liked surprises. She also enjoyed unexpected things that exceeded her expectations.

Of course, she was able to enjoy this because she was confident that even if something unexpected happened, it would eventually all move within her prediction.

“Does the fox of the prairie only care about the hunter? Uhuhuhut.”

“That’s not it.”

“Yes?”

“I experienced something like this before.”

“Before……? Who?”

Ewin’s brows furrowed slightly. He looked at the war situation for a moment, then shook his head and answered Chiyou’s question.

“20 years ago, during the Great War, there were three annoying guys in Fibiel.”

“Threatening me from places I couldn’t see or hear……. It reminds me of that damned bastard with no eyebrows.”

“Do you mean the 2nd Human-Demon war? That’s the Human Alliance and the Demon King’s-”

“Do you really think the Human Alliance was ‘united’? Tsk, tsk, you still have a long way to go if you really want to become a fox.”

They seemed to be helping each other. But inside?

It appeared that everyone was together under the pretext of breaking through the immediate crisis, but it was a time when all the countries that gathered were endlessly fighting for their own interests. Of course, there was no way Chiyou would not know that. Anyway, Middle Earth was a place where there were a lot of NPCs that acted like real humans. She just asked the NPC once to know a little more about the NPC’s settings.

“……It was fun.”

“Hmm?”

“That is why Middle Earth is so much fun. Huhut.”

Smiling even colder than Ewin, Chiyou covered the corner of her mouth with her sleeve.

*****

“Pheeew……. Is it over now?”

The thick fog was now almost gone.

Almost all the bizarre noises intermittently heard in the fog disappeared. Leeha could see that he had almost come from the Marching Plains all the way to Fibiel.

‘I now have 49 of each status resistance potion and scroll. It’s so crazy.’

Since the start of the war, Leeha had used more consumables in the Marching Plains than at any time ever before. Some were torn just in case, but an Outsider and a Ranker collaboration was great.

“Ah, I see it. Alright!”

As he walked, he turned on his friend’s window and checked their locations.

As the location of Shin Nara, Ram Hwajeong, and Jacheong could be seen, he was certain that he had entered Fibiel.

‘As expected, Nara-ssi is in the Royal Palace. Okay, then the king will be fine.”

The war will not end abruptly with the assassination of the king.

It was unknown what it was now, but since Petyr and the elite of Midnight Circus had failed to assassinate Granville, there would be no room to infiltrate Fibiel directly.

‘Ram Hwajeong is in Castle Dale. Is she still fighting Igor?’

He had to choose here.

He could go to Castle Dale and help Ram Hwajeong to get rid of Igor first. Then, he could bring Ram Hwajeong and Jacheong to Dike Beach.

‘Hmmm..

But it was bound to take a long time.

Most importantly, since the Dike Beach quest was given separately, he had no time to spend elsewhere. For Leeha, who roughly guessed the enemy’s intentions, the most important thing in the future was ‘time’.

He had to hurry.

“Sorry, Ram Hwajeong-ssi. But maybe next time!”

leeha used a return scroll to go to a nearby town, and through the warp gate, he headed to a city near Dike Beach.

When he confirmed that the position of the others had disappeared again through his friend’s window, after running across Dike Beach, Leeha discovered the large fleet that floated on the sea.

“Reinforce the side with wood! The upper deck is still far away! Reinforce the side with wood first!”

“You never know when the Serpent Fleet would appear! Surveyor! Go ahead and bring it!”

“Hwaaaak! When will the supply of gunpowder come?!”

“Who will ride the 7th ship of the 4th fleet! A battle galleon can carry two more platoons!

Those who are interested, please come to the 2nd company! We’re accepting ranged dealers! And any type of magician!”

A great fleet cannot dock at the port.

Many of the boats were anchored and floating offshore, and only small supply chests were busily getting carried in and out of the port.

“Waa……. This is another battle entirely.”

Although he had seen the ships of the navy several times during the three-armed joint exercises, the feeling was different with the ships in front of Leeha.

In fact, in terms of weight alone, modern ships would be bigger, but it was inevitable that medieval ships with huge sails, the smell of gunpowder and cannons felt more exciting.

‘What can I even do here……?’

It’s like the siege war. He couldn’t do anything with the quest he had received from Granville right now. After receiving detailed instructions, he must secure the ship he would use to ride.

Seeing the tents and simple buildings built all over Dike Beach, Leeha immediately moved. He went to the biggest and most splendid place.