Arcane Sniper

Chapter 963

“It… it was just a hypothesis, a hypothesis! It could have happened, maybe!”

Kidd sarcastically retorted as Luger bristled and answered him.

Pushing down his hat with a wry smile, Luger shot him a glare before opening his mouth again.

“If we don’t weaken it with that skill, any attack would be meaningless. That blasted Ghibrid will come up with a countermeasure against your skill. No, worst-case scenario, it might not even try to fight you at all.”

“Ah…”

Only two users, aside from Kijung, had witnessed the power of the “Mace of Ahlo”.

Lee Jiwon and Luger.

Both had seen the massive skill striking down upon Ghibrid.

Both were worried about the same thing.

‘Will the skill work next time?’

“Still! It worked this time! Just like it worked when I went with Lee Jiwon last time―.”

“That was back when the creature didn’t know about your skill. And at that time, it was blinded by my aggression. You managed to ambush Ghibrid, who was furious after I slaughtered the Manticore, and that’s why you succeeded.”

Ghibrid’s speed, as it charged at Luger, was faster than Luger had anticipated.

Instead of allowing him to use the time bomb for self-destruction, it was Kijung, who had completed his transformation into a dinosaur, that blocked it in front of Luger. Kijung had successfully ambushed Ghibrid using the “Mace of Ahlo” skill immediately.

Luger, having experienced that moment, understood.

‘It won’t work again…’

They should have captured it this time.

Expecting the same skill to work again on the Demon King’s Fragment would be underestimating Middle Earth.

“Hmph, if only you had arrived a bit earlier! Also, what on earth is that monstrosity?”

“Earlier? I was on my way back after killing the Chimera fused from Pyro and Igor. Unlike some, I don’t engage in foolish actions that let the target escape.”

“What? Foolish? You idiot! Do you know how many Manticores I’ve killed, you fool!?”

Luger and Kidd were bickering with each other.

Kijung shared their analysis of Ghibrid to some extent, but he could no longer sustain that thought.

“Tiamat is… crumbling.”

An alarm related to Tiamat had also appeared for them, showing Tiamat falling down in a gray ash from the sky.

Kidd and Luger, who had been quarreling, looked up at the sky.

“Tiamat’s accumulated damage leader…?”

Lifting his hat’s brim slightly, Kidd bit his lip hard.

“What on earth did that guy…?”

Compared to Luger, who stood with his mouth agape, Kidd’s reaction was far more gentlemanly. He quickly closed his mouth, startled by his own response, and began to babble incoherently.

“There should be a penalty for not using such a broken skill! No, what… how did… damn it!”

He ended with a roar.

Thanks to each individual’s exceptional achievements, including the Three Musketeers, the Rankers, and the Outsider-class users, the front line was steadily being cleared up.

The chromatic dragons lost Tiamat.

The chimera nest Ghibrid retreated.

Driving out troops that had completely lost their will to fight was as easy as pie.

To the users who had barely held out until then, it felt like a ‘bonus experience point event,’ marking a rewarding moment for lower-level users who participated in the war.

In this rapidly moving front line, metal dragons suddenly fell to the ground.

“Huh? What’s wrong with the dragons?”

“What, what’s happening? Why are they all crashing?”

“Damn, we need their breath! It makes driving back the chimeras easier!”

Leeha was also watching places pointed out by lamenting users.

At the same time, a loud ringing filled Leeha’s head.

―Ha Leehaaa!

―Blaugrunn? What’s going on?

―The Lord… the Lord…

Blaugrunn was wailing.

Even though he hadn’t heard any details yet, Leeha felt a sweat trickle down his back.

“Why! Why Bahamut?! You said Raphaela could save him! You told us the situation wasn’t critical right after retreating to the lair! Weren’t Bahamut, Bailephus, and Alexander all going to be fine?”

That’s what allowed him to feel at ease.

Survival of Bahamut and the death of Tiamat were the absolute conditions to ensure Lark’s plan didn’t go up in smoke.

So, what had happened to Bahamut?

“Yes! That’s right—he was fine then… but… Khhh…”

“Don’t cry! If he was fine then, what happened next? Just tell me the result! What happened?”

Even though Leeha urged him frantically, emotions weren’t easily controlled. That was true even for dragons. At least, they certainly were more cool-headed and quick compared to humans, so Leeha had to wait for about 30 seconds until Blaugrunn could regain his full senses.

30 seconds that felt as if the sound of his own heartbeat might echo in his ears passed, and Blaugrunn finally spoke.

“The Lord… has passed away.”

“What?”

“The Lord Bahamut has returned to peace… he has gone back.”

Then, he announced Bahamut, the Lord of Platinum Dragons and Leader of the Metal Dragons, had died.

* * *

Leeha stood there in a daze for a while.

Even when Ram Hwayeon tapped his shoulder, he couldn’t register her presence.

Returned to peace?

Didn’t that mean ‘death’ in dragon expressions?

Had he misunderstood something? But who died? Bahamut?

After some time of mental processing, he managed to respond to Blaugrunn.

– No way! Blaugrunn! This is no time for jokes!
– This is not a joke! Do you think I would joke about something like this?!
– Then how… why? Because of Tiamat’s breath? So—

– No. It’s not that. The Lord… died in place of Zelreja and Kurpke. He sacrificed himself to save them.

‘Zelreja… Kurpke…’

Leeha recalled the two dragons’ names. What did it mean to have saved them?

Where were they?

“No way, then—in that place—”

“Yes. A vampire woman appeared with the “Arcane Sniper”…

“Chiyou!”

The third card he hadn’t been concerned with until now sank Leeha’s heart.

“Suddenly? Why Chiyou?”

“Chiyou, eventually… Ah, ah! It was that side! Thank goodness it wasn’t visible—but I thought she was doing something else somewhere else…”

“Ha Leeha?”

“I thought wrong! Damn, damn! She targeted that side—maybe from the beginning! Yes, from the beginning she targeted it! There was no way Bluebeard would fall that easily! There was no way Ghibrid would reveal itself so easily either!”

“Ha Leeha! Get a hold of yourself, Ha Leeha!”

Ram Hwayeon grabbed and shook Leeha’s shoulders, slapping his cheek lightly.

The sharp sound echoed, and a warm sensation on his cheek brought Leeha back to his senses.

“Speak calmly! What happened?”

“Hwayeon….”

Leeha looked into Ram Hwayeon’s eyes.

The sanity he barely regained finally allowed him to comprehend the entire situation clearly.

Bluebeard was here.

Ghibrid was here.

Where would everyone’s attention be diverted? The Demon King’s Fragments that had no reason to walk around and draw attention to themselves, even if they were at the very rear of the front line, inevitably did just that!

—Hyung! F-f-from the, the, the papacy—they contacted us—right now, from the papacy—

—Woke up, didn’t you? … Pyrot-Cocri.

It was to divert attention away from Peklo City.

‘From the start, this was Chiyou’s plan. No, to be precise—it was Bluebeard’s plan. Le put himself at the forefront to facilitate Chiyou’s operation.’

With Arcane Sniper present, the dragon guarding the front of Peklo City wouldn’t pose any hindrance.

However, at that moment Leeha had a question.

“Why…?”

“Yes?”

“It’s clear why Le wanted Chiyou. But why did Chiyou strike a deal with Le? What did she gain?”

Was it simply to flaunt the power of Arcane Bullet? No way.

There was a limited number of Arcane Bullet. It wasn’t something to be used recklessly. It didn’t make sense to use it just to awaken Pyrot-Cocri.

That was undoubtedly a benefit to the Demon King’s Fragment and the Demon King’s army. But Chiyou?

‘A woman who calls herself a third force… would she really?’

What could she possibly gain?

Leeha didn’t know, but he was sure about one thing. Chiyou never moved without gain.

Thus, Chiyou had struck a deal with Bluebeard.

On the day Prea’s dark spirit was discovered by Tiamat.

At the very moment Bluebeard told Faust, ‘I’ll be gone for a while’, Chiyou had already contacted Le.

To obtain what she wanted.

* * *

“Hehehe… I didn’t expect you to contact me this soon.”

“To seize the best timing for both of us, we need to be aware and cooperate, don’t you think?”

“That’s right. Well said. I couldn’t refuse the offer to open Peklo City and fully resurrect Pyrot-Cocri.”

Le lifted the teacup placed in front of him.

Having completely removed his hat and cane, he showed no signs of resistance.

Chiyou didn’t think Le would attack her either.

“Oh my, our Count. It seems you have no doubts about me opening Peklo City.”

“Hmm? Of course not, click click… A fox like you wouldn’t contact me without confidence. Besides—there’s a friend right behind you, so what could you possibly worry about? So, how many bullets did you fire?”

“Oh hoho! Do you think I’d tell you that?”

She had Kyle hidden deep within the darkness behind her, and Le was well aware of that fact.

She bantered while taking a sip of her tea.

How many bullets were fired? To the Arcane Sniper, that was one of the most crucial pieces of information.

Le grinned, showing his teeth before asking her.

“Fine. What do you want?”

Upon hearing Le’s words, Chiyou’s expression grew serious.

At a time when information was paramount, recklessly divulging any could lead to being outmatched by an AI like the Demon King’s Fragment.

However, to obtain that very ‘information,’ she needed to do something crucial.

“Lend me Pyrot-Cocri’s power.”

“Power? You want to borrow power? Not mine, but Pyrot-Cocri’s? That’s not within my decision—”

“No. It’s possible if it’s you, Le.”

The mention of “you” made Le’s eyebrows twitch momentarily. Seeing this, Chiyou quickly corrected her words with a bright smile.

“No, no, I mean, with our Count’s power, it’s possible. Hehe, isn’t that right?”

TL’s Corner:
Chiyou again, the previous generation three musketeers are appearing useless now.

-_-