Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

“The blueprints are sufficient. It would take at most two or three days.”

If the supersonic bullet and the new concept silencer were completed simultaneously, it would have a tremendous concealment effect in close-range shooting.

Leeha could start activating the crystal sphere while imagining that the sound might be reduced enough to be like something out of a movie.

His destination was Juma City.

“Ah, darn. I meant to go to the [Divine Staff] but here I am again. Oh well, since I’ve come this far, maybe I should grab something delicious with Blaugrunn-ssi.”

After becoming a Juvenile-class, Leeha felt sorry for not having cooked for him in a while.

He had been negligent despite Blaugrunn’s constant help in various combat situations these days.

“Maybe I should bring up the Silver Dragon story as well?”

And so, Leeha intended to casually bring up the topic to Blaugrunn.

Suddenly, he realized that Juma City seemed unusual.

“Something’s off.”

The flags fluttering above the buildings serving as the supply bases for the various knight orders were awkward but not unseen before.

However, what about the knights roaming around now?

“Monsters keep appearing. Those crazy things reveal themselves one day and then disappear the next as if sitting around…”

That they spaced out and vanished when Leeha arrived to the [Divine Staff] and reappeared some time after Leeha had left seemed plausible but also implausible.

“How do they know when I appear? It’s not like I shoot Toon directly, but they disappear just as I’m about to? It must be spies within… But there’s no way to identify each and every one of them…”

With monsters appearing, the number of knights near [Divine Staff] was always at least 1,500.

Even excluding reliable members like Byulcho and Sacred, it was daunting to find a spy among over a thousand people.

“There’s no assumption that there’s just one spy. Heck, I don’t even know how many humans Shinobi-Gumi has.”

Leeha accepted the fact that there were members of Shinobi-Gumi but was still at a loss.

Thankfully, since Toon and the monsters weren’t attacking, it was best to quickly attend to important matters given the situation.

“But… isn’t this too much?”

Leeha finally realized why he felt out of place.

“Even if there’s a possibility of Toon striking… why are there so many knights in Juma City that should be at [Divine Staff]?”

The realization that there were more people in Juma City than usual, especially knights who were supposed to protect [Divine Staff], had somehow become ‘acknowledged’ by Leeha.

[Sanctification]

Mission: 1. Secure Divine Staff within 15 days (Completed)

Protect Divine Staff for 21 days afterwards.

(Remaining Time: 14 days) There are 14 days left until the Sanctification quest is successful. A chill ran down Leeha’s spine.

“Ha-a-a-am… Boring. It seemed like a good idea, but doing it for a week straight is no fun.”

“Fun? You’re doing this for fun?”

“Sigh… Sasuke-ssi, was it? You might feel differently, but I play games for fun.”

Sasuke frowned.

Since Chiyou, who had died from a curse by Biyemi, still couldn’t log in due to a death penalty, Sasuke had been in charge of overall control of the fort-related personnel.

“Even choosing a new hideout… With just Faust and Igor, it’s complicated enough, but when did this woman… start her own operation like this?”

Sasuke glanced at Prea with suspicion.

However, the white spirit mage was just lying on the back of Toon, rolling around lazily.”

It must certainly be a welcome thing to do that-“

“Huh? Oh, right. But you know, I could just ask the wind spirit for support.”

“So, it’s the wind spirit that’s employed in creating this illusion?”

“Um, well, yes and no. It’s originally like that, isn’t it? Hehe.”

Prea turned away with a bright laugh.

It was, indeed, Prea who had been tormenting the New Continent Expeditionary Knight Order every day, including Leehar. Monsters would usually buzz around, but Toon, for one, would just stand there, silent and with a dumb look, without even roaring.

Since it was an illusion created by Prea, that was expected.

“Did you receive any direct message from- no, from Toon-nim?”

“Me? I’m sure he’s handling things just fine on his own. How would I know?”

“But you were the one who received orders from Bluebeard! Because we knew what Toon was up to, we are here-“

“Wait, wait. Sasuke-nim?”

“~Hm??”

Prea, who had been rolling around at Toon’s illusionary foot, suddenly got up.

Her eyes were devoid of black pupils, but Sasuke could vividly feel that Prea was glaring at him.

“Let’s get our story straight here. I didn’t ‘receive orders’ from Bluebeard. So, I don’t know about that.”

“If you didn’t receive orders from Bluebeard, then why are you here-“

“Well, human affairs are complicated, aren’t they?”

With that, Prea lay back down.

The wind spirit seemed to cradle her body like a hammock.

“I wonder how long this will work. It doesn’t seem like the knight order’s numbers are diminishing, does it?”

“There’s some strange talk going around. A few from the Minis affiliated knight order are said to have deserted…”

“Why? What for?”

“How would I know?”

Sasuke shrugged.

It was typical knowledge that it had something to do with the [Subjugation] achievement since one of them from the [Virtuous Knight Order] had a tie to the Shinobi-Gumi.

“To keep the knight order tied down here using Toon’s illusion… But because of the Virtuous Knight Order, knights are starting to leave in search of achieving the [Subjugation] outside.”

There wasn’t much of any force on the New Continent capable of opposing their actions.

Sasuke sighed.

“The person dispatched as the leader of the New Continent from the Virtuous Knight Order is [The Knight of the Rainbow], Lark. We have no ties with him, which is quite troublesome. Or rather, should I be relieved? It’s regrettable that the Virtuous Knight Order is pulling other knight orders, but this might actually disturb their internal cohesion.”

In some sense, disrupting Prea’s sabotage was equivalent to helping Virtuous Knight Order and Lark.

Despite that, Sasuke’s mind was actively searching for ways to turn the situation to their advantage.

“If only we could break their internal unity, Prea’s actions could be advantageous to us. However…”

The problem was accurately assessing the benefits derived from Prea’s actions. More fundamentally, the question of whose side Prea was really on was another headache for Sasuke. With Chiyou’s disappearance, Sasuke was left to handle all these judgments.

“When is Chiyou logging in? Right after she’s freed?”

“Uh…Chiyou?”

“Ah! Chiyou-nim? Well, we became sort of close, so I called her that.”

Prea tapped her mouth twice, admitting her slip of the tongue. Despite hastily trying to find an excuse, Sasuke’s face remained unamused.

“You should still watch my mouth.”

Prea steadied her heart. Chiyou and Bluebeard had formed a sort of master-servant relationship anew. However, Prea herself was more or less in a ‘give and take’ business relationship with Bluebeard.

Meaning, she positioned herself in a more advantageous standing than Chiyou. Given the importance of this matter, I understand that I would have to work more closely with Chiyou. Still, I’m wondering when we’ll receive any news about that item. Maybe we should consider an alternative…

” She remembered the conversation with Bluebeard and Noeanen on the day she returned with Toon.

“Can you really keep the knights in check?”

“Yes. If it’s my method, it’s possible. I saw it work at the end. There are a few people I’m worried about but… I think it should be effective enough.”

“Then there’s a way on this side too. Toon!”

[Yes, My Lord.]

Bluebeard nodded as he heard from Prea how Toon’s illusion could be used to tie down the knights and various users. He looked at Toon with a sardonic smile.

“What do you think about deploying your tribe? I thought I should get your consent anyway.”

[I… I am not involved with them.]

The look in Toon’s eyes briefly faltered, who had always been absolutely obedient to Bluebeard’s words.

Prea quietly listened to their conversation.

“To bite one’s tongue and commit suicide if told to die… Quite rebellious, isn’t he? What exactly does Bluebeard mean by Toon’s tribe?”

One of the features of the Middle Earth Quest System is that the storyline advances only if there is at least one user listening.

Prea was the user currently learning about another of the Demon Army’s secret weapons being prepared.

“If there’s no relation, could you persuade them to come along?”

[As Master knows, they are not the kind to show a favorable attitude once I return. Moreover, they are located in the far East, and the journey alone would take a considerable amount of time-]

“Ha, Toon.”

[Yes, My Lord.]

“Won’t show a favorable attitude, you say? Are you planning on whining about it? Haven’t I told you that the most important thing in persuasion is a kind word and a finger ready to gouge out throats?”

[Th-that is-]

“Twist their words and drag them here. If you fail this time.”

[Ah, understood!]

Bluebeard’s eyes sparkled.

Prea couldn’t grasp the situation perfectly but got the gist from Toon’s panic and Bluebeard’s stern manner.

This was the first time they instilled fear in Toon, a nightmare for the users.

“So, is he giving Toon an impossible mission? But Toon’s former tribe… There’s a place swarming with those kinds? That would be more interesting than the spirit world? Plus, it means Bluebeard is getting desperate if he had this method but didn’t use it until now.

Not just as a punishment for Toon, but Bluebeard could interpret that additional forces are necessary for his plans.

“If the Divine Staff’s power and the delay of the fourth wave made him impatient- Wait. It’s because I used Toon’s illusion that the story moved faster, right?

Prea felt quite proud, thinking she played a significant role. Bluebeard poured a glance at the self-congratulatory Prea.

“If Ghibrid wakes up well, I’ll listen to what you think.”

“Oh? That’s sooner than I expected. If you do that, I’m all for it.”

“Ha? Anyway, I’m relieved you’re not slyer than Chiyou. You shouldn’t have let such words slip out.”

Bluebeard sighed and shook his head.

“Is that so?”

Prea grinned, and upon seeing her smile, the corners of Bluebeard’s mouth rose again.

“No, no. If that was a calculated act, you might be too cunning to compare even with Chiyou.”

“Me? I’m not sure what you mean?”

“Ha-ha, okay. Got it. Oh! But remember, I am merely a matchmaker. If the other party doesn’t take a liking to you, Prea… well, I’d rather not recommend. You might wish you were dead.”

“That would be terrible. I’ve never succeeded in a blind date before.”

Prea laughed innocently.

Bluebeard laughed heartily once more.

As their laughter faded, Toon and the horde of monsters, who had put several users including Leeha on edge, began their first appearance.