I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 159
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 159
Ep. 159
“Summon them again.”
“Yes, Master.”
Judging by tone alone, it sounded as casual as if he’d picked up a pebble off the road and tossed it away.
Though the Knights lacked proper bodies capable of sweating, they felt a chill run down their spines nonetheless.
Whoosh—
The Senior, summoned once more at Ihyeon’s command.
“You! What kind of underhanded nonsense was that?!”
“Sorry, but the underhanded ones here are you Knights of the Evil God…”
“…Ahem.”
Come to think of it, it was always they who heard accusations of being underhanded, so the Senior cleared his throat awkwardly at Ihyeon’s point.
Yet that did nothing to extinguish his rage.
Ihyeon understood this perfectly well.
‘I need to establish dominance clearly.’
New Recruits who’d flexed their strength outside showed no fear even in the Military.
Whether it was a Senior or a superior officer, they’d charge in or subtly threaten first.
It was because they’d grown accustomed to logic where fists mattered more than law.
But there was something closer than law and fists.
‘And that was rank.’
Why else would the figurative expression for fighting with all conditions stripped away be “remove your rank insignia”?
Two things a person possessed from birth: life and rank.
And the Military was the society that made rank most visibly apparent.
“Feeling wronged?”
“Yes! For a Mage to resort to such cowardly ambush… Do you have no honor as a Mage?!”
Like other beings from different Towers, the Senior mistook Ihyeon for a Mage.
Ihyeon began his second lesson.
“Then come at me.”
“?”
“If you’re a Knight, you shouldn’t lose a one-on-one melee against a Mage, right? Come on.”
“You…”
At Ihyeon’s provocation, the Senior’s already crimson eyes blazed even brighter as he charged forward immediately.
Discarding the shield in his hand, the Senior drew only his sword and rushed forward.
‘It would’ve been more troublesome if he were Undead.’
Possessing reason was both a definite advantage and a fatal weakness compared to the Undead.
Mainly because it meant emotions could easily sweep them away.
Ihyeon gripped his rifle with both hands, different from before.
‘Despite appearances…’
The so-called “practical martial arts” that modern militaries rarely taught or bothered to learn.
Yet as one who pursued perfection as a marksman, Ihyeon had once painstakingly trained in such practical combat by seeking out ancient manuals.
He had even learned their techniques during joint training exercises with the American military, picking up the knowledge through broken English!
‘I’m quite skilled with bayonet techniques.’
Slash— slash slash— whoosh!
“???????”
Ihyeon’s movements had always carried a certain sharpness, subtly evident even in everyday actions.
But this time, angles of a completely different caliber began to burst forth.
Even Jia and Elsie, who had never witnessed Ihyeon engage in close combat with his gun, widened their eyes in surprise.
Once again, the match was decided in an instant.
‘Block from above.’
Clang—!
“What kind of staff is this…!”
‘Strike with the stock.’
Boom—!
Eyes blazing red, he blocked the descending blade with his entire body, then flowed naturally into a strike with the gun stock.
The Senior, struck squarely on the side of his helmet, couldn’t withstand the force and tumbled across the ground.
The stock was designed to absorb recoil during firing, but it could also be used effectively as a blunt weapon.
The impact force was certainly not something to be taken lightly.
Of course, even so, in the past it would have been difficult for Ihyeon to display this level of skill against the Knights of the Evil God.
No matter how much he trained in bayonet techniques or how much precision his movements carried, there was an unavoidable difference in raw strength.
But.
‘I never expected to benefit from the Soul Bond rank increase like this.’
Recently, the Soul Bond had risen to rank A, and my own stats had increased tremendously as a result.
At that level, I wouldn’t lose to most monsters.
“Master, what is…?”
The match had been decided in an instant.
And it was my victory.
But Jia seemed thoroughly bewildered by abilities of mine she had never witnessed before.
If Jia was like that, what about the other Knights?
To see their Senior knocked down in one blow by someone who looked tall but hardly seemed like a knight at all—their astonishment was beyond imagination.
Ihyeon had deliberately induced such a reaction.
When would new recruits who enlisted at the training center come to respect their instructors?
When they’re barked at relentlessly upon arrival and an intimidating atmosphere is created?
Fear could be instilled, but genuine respect born from the heart was difficult to obtain.
There were various cases, but in Ihyeon’s case, the recruits developed respect by witnessing him effortlessly accomplish difficult tasks they could barely manage.
In other words, only after a display of overwhelming skill would the recruits finally understand why the instructor was an instructor.
Ihyeon, who had been subtly savoring those gazes, spoke.
“You all have formal movements, right?”
Jia couldn’t answer and simply nodded.
Just like modern militaries, Knights also had formal procedures as fundamentals.
Of course, those might differ from those of Earth, or the South Korean military.
However, Ihyeon paid it no mind.
“Everyone, wake up.”
“…?”
Ihyeon spoke quietly to the bewildered Knights.
The Knights exchanged glances with one another, their expressions turning uncertain.
‘There’s a task the Special Forces Unit members often undertake.’
Ihyeon chuckled inwardly.
Every spring through autumn, Special Forces Unit members received orders for duties different from their usual assignments.
Namely.
“From this moment forward, all responses are unified as ‘Yes!’ Everyone, wake up!!!!!”
“!!!”
“If you don’t respond, everyone down and give me push-ups!”
“Yes, sir!”
Commanding and supervising guerrilla training exercises across military units nationwide.
In Ihyeon’s case especially, with his exceptional physical prowess and keen interest in such matters, he was always selected as a premium ace instructor!
The Knights of the Evil God, whose eyes had burned with defiance when they first appeared, snapped to attention at the sharp, cutting tone of his command.
Somehow, they felt they had experienced something similar before.
In a distant past, in memories now faded beyond recall, during their days as cadets at the Knight Military Academy….
That hellish memory had been summoned once more before Ihyeon.
“Roll left, roll right. Left, right, left, left. Who rolled right!!!!!”
“Yes, sir!”
Still reeling from the overwhelming presence of having their Senior crushed in an instant, the Knights began following Ihyeon’s orders without even properly comprehending the situation.
And then came a remarkable transformation.
The fierce crimson glow in the Knights’ eyes gradually began shifting to a deep blue.
Elsie, still unaware of such changes, trembled as she witnessed Ihyeon’s tiger-like demeanor.
“M-Master has that side to him? It’s so scary…?”
Of course, he certainly accomplished his objectives, but in his daily life, Ihyeon often displayed a somewhat scatterbrained side.
Yet watching him drill the Knights now, Elsie was reminded of her own mentor.
Meanwhile, Jia’s eyes glistened with tears of profound emotion.
“…Hey, Armored Fox, you have a strange sense of what’s touching. Getting emotional at a time like this?”
Elsie poked Jia in the ribs as she asked.
True to form for one who lived only for her Master, everything seemed to move her.
But Jia was sincere in her own way.
“Master’s abilities are truly boundless as the infinite cosmos.”
“Well, well?”
Ihyeon had always seemed distant until now, but discovering he possessed a side similar to her own(?) was surely cause for such overwhelming emotion!
Meanwhile, Ihyeon, who had been driving the Knights like a tempest, now called upon a seasoned instructor to move on to the highlight.
“Jia.”
“Yes, Master.”
“You know what PT exercises are, right?”
“I am far too foolish and inadequate to comprehend what you are saying, Master.”
“…?”
Ihyeon tilted his head in confusion at Jia’s sudden shift to an even more formal tone than usual.
‘What’s gotten into her all of a sudden?’
Did she think he was about to give her an order?
But that wasn’t what mattered.
Ihyeon explained the PT exercise movements to Jia through chat.
Then Jia’s face brightened as she spoke.
“Ah! The Knight Academy had something similar to this as well. Are you referring to the extreme conditioning drills?”
“So that’s what you call them?”
Ihyeon nodded with a smile, relieved that they could understand each other.
Shiver——!!!
The Knights trembled violently as they caught the eye contact between the instructor and the assistant instructor.
What they had just done felt like they were re-enrolling in the Knight Academy all over again, and now extreme conditioning drills too?
But what could they do about it?
“Now, I don’t know what you called them, but from now on, we call them PT exercises. What do you say?”
“P, PT….”
“I said all responses are unified with ‘Yes, sir!’ Now drop and give me push-ups!”
“Yessssir!!!!”
“Who’s dragging out their response like that!”
‘What do you even want from us!’
If he says do it, you do it. If he says PT exercises, it’s PT exercises.
Ihyeon, having snapped the trainees to attention, now began the PT exercises in earnest.
Whether they had learned something at the Knight Academy or not, the Knights grasped the basic framework quickly and picked up the movements rapidly.
But the brutally vicious PT exercises were far from over.
After confirming their understanding of movements one through fourteen, Ihyeon began the intensive repetition phase.
Whoooosh—— Squelch— Squelch—
To do that properly, he first needed to set the right atmosphere.
After all, obstacle course training was meant to be done on rainy days, in muddy terrain where your feet sank deep!
“Exercise eleven, thirty squat jumps. Begin.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Before you start.”
“?”
“Everyone remove your helmets and place them between your legs. Execute.”
“??? Yes, sir!”
Though the Knights didn’t fully understand Ihyeon’s orders, they obediently removed their helmets and placed them between their legs.
They knew better than to disobey, lest they face some other ordeal.
“Now, as you jump, make sure you can pass on both sides of your helmet.”
“!!!!!”
“Execute.”
Beep— beep— beep— beep-beep-beep-beep—
The moment Jia, who had somehow fashioned a whistle-like instrument, began calling out orders, the Knights moved in unison, breaking into a run.
Unlike simply running, leaping over helmets was nothing short of torture.
‘If they were human, thirty repetitions would be sufficient, but since they’re semi-Undead, the lack of physical limits is rather convenient.’
Ihyeon watched the scene unfold with a smile as devilish as any demon’s.
A rank closer to law and fists than anything else!
Since they were all elite Holy Knights in their own right, they blazed through thirty repetitions in what felt like mere moments.
“Th-thirty!”
“Damn it all!”
Yet even among such Holy Knights, there was always one who became the torturer.
What one might call the Law of Torturer Preservation.
The Holy Knights who had seemed at ease mere moments ago now began venting their resentment and rage toward one another.
“Who curses at their comrade? Collective responsibility! Three hundred additional repetitions!”
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!!!!”
Ihyeon never showed mercy.
Jia’s whistle began calling out orders with renewed enthusiasm.
“I… I can’t watch anymore.”
Poof—!
Trembling in fear as she witnessed the scene, Elsie made the remarkable decision to voluntarily retreat into her inventory, lest any of the fallout reach her.
How long did the Knights continue their ordeal?
“Huff— huff— huff—”
The flat Makeshift Shooting Range was now filled with the harsh, ragged breathing of the Knights.
Not a single one could manage to sit; they all lay sprawled across the ground.
Their eyes had transformed into a complete blue hue, emanating an atmosphere entirely different from the Knights of the Evil God of old.
…Though admittedly, each of their expressions was so contorted that it was difficult to discern their true state.
「The Knights of the Evil God have completely submitted to you.
The faction of the Knights of the Evil God has changed.」
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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