I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 286

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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 286
Ep. 286
“You brat! Do you dare stand against the Grassland’s Wrath? Our tribe doesn’t even have a proper Archer Hunter who can draw a bow! How do you expect to catch that bird? Will you, who just obtained a staff, manage to do it?”
“Yes.”
“W-wait, Kaez!”
My Uncle spun around in shock at my casual response.
Kaez had only just completed his coming-of-age ceremony—he was still a boy.
The notion that he would dare face the Thunderbird, which even seasoned grassland warriors wouldn’t dream of confronting, could only feel like the reckless impulse of a child.
The Nomads, gripped by terror, now erupted in fury at my nonchalant words.
“It’s all because of that bastard!”
“He completed his coming-of-age ceremony and brought back some monstrous creature, and now the Thunderbird is enraged!”
“Let’s offer Kaez as a living sacrifice!”
“That big, ugly horse should be worth three of us!”
The timing was remarkably coincidental.
Barely had I completed my coming-of-age ceremony when such a massive monster appeared.
Yet even as everyone pointed fingers at me and hurled curses, I let out a quiet laugh.
‘I know this place is a tower, so none of this is particularly surprising.’
I’d thought the 90s floors were oddly dull, but now the puzzle finally felt complete.
And I understood exactly how to clear Floor 91 perfectly.
“Purung.”
Neigh—!
“Let’s go.”
I spoke to Purung, who was glaring at the dark clouds with eyes just as resolute as my own.
Leap—!
With a single bound, I vaulted onto Purung’s back, which towered above my own height.
It was a feat that Kaez’s horsemanship could never explain.
“Wh-what?!”
“Kaez, be careful!”
The startled Shaman and my Uncle couldn’t believe their eyes.
How could Kaez, who had been so intimidated by the Tribal Members’ pressure, suddenly possess such ability?
‘The coming-of-age ceremony? No, I’ve experienced it myself. Such a thing is impossible!’
The coming-of-age ceremony was merely a ritual to obtain a horse and a weapon.
It held no power to transform a person’s fundamental nature.
Yet now Kaez was completely different from before.
As if another person’s soul had entered him.
Rumble—!!! Thundering hoofbeats——
Once Purung confirmed I was securely mounted, the massive creature burst forward with explosive acceleration despite his bulk.
The earth where his hooves had been was gouged as deeply as a puddle.
Both horse and rider charged toward the Thunderbird, the scourge of the grasslands, without a moment’s hesitation.
“I… I didn’t expect the sacrifice to be quite so brave about it…”
“Quiet down, you fool!”
“W-we’re not running away?”
“Why would we charge in that direction if we were fleeing?”
“I don’t know… maybe he’s lost his mind…”
“Still, if we can offer the Thunderbird something of that caliber, it might actually be satisfied…”
*Gulp—!*
Even the Nomads who had been cursing Ihyeon enthusiastically just moments before found themselves speechless at such a reckless yet exhilarating charge.
Did this boy truly possess the courage and ability to stand against the Thunderbird?
At least in that moment, both my uncle and the Nomads shared the same thought.
Kaez’s Father, the previous Tribal Chief.
That valiant warrior of the grasslands who had earned everyone’s respect and love.
‘No, perhaps even greater than my brother…’
Could this be the reincarnation of Wumute, the legendary hero passed down through the ages of the grasslands…?
*Thundering hoofbeats—————!*
Meanwhile, Ihyeon rode upon Purung and felt the wind brushing across his face.
The Thunderbird’s overwhelming presence already permeated the air.
‘In truth, I could have simply taken the shot from that position.’
With my abilities and the sniper rifle’s capabilities, the distance and obscured visibility beneath the dark clouds posed no real obstacle.
I likely could have brought down the Thunderbird from within the clouds without difficulty.
But the reason I charged across the grasslands on Purung’s back.
‘This method is the best way to win the Nomads’ recognition and submission in one stroke.’
It wasn’t my usual style, but I needed to amplify the impact of this moment by any means necessary.
The stigma of being a cursed child.
The staff, positioned at the very bottom among the grasslands’ weapons.
This was the only method to overturn all these disadvantages at once.
*Screeeee—————!*
Soon, the Thunderbird’s harsh cry echoed from within the clouds.
Simultaneously, its blue body pierced through the dark clouds and descended.
*Rumble—— Flash—!*
‘Quite formidable indeed. So it truly is a monster in the 90s tier.’
Judging purely by the aura it emanated, it was comparable to the Scorpion King.
Moreover, since the Thunderbird could fly through the skies, it would be a far more troublesome opponent for ordinary Hunters.
Rain and wind lashed down as if I had plunged into a tempest, and dust and stones were swept up by the gales, pelting against my clothes.
‘Did Erubein manage to capture the Thunderbird? Or did he choose another method?’
As the Thunderbird descended low, having spotted me and Purung, I observed its massive form—
*Click—*
I shouldered the sniper rifle while maintaining my riding position on Purung.
Fortunately, Purung, whom I was riding directly, was a magnificent steed indeed.
As if understanding my every intention, the horse maintained smooth galloping and a stable gait.
Even its blade-like mane had softened into slightly firmer fur.
Thump-thump-thump——
The violent jolting up and down was inevitable, but that was a problem I had to handle myself.
The distance between Purung and the Thunderbird, both charging and flying frantically toward each other, rapidly closed.
I aimed at the Thunderbird through my scope.
In my swaying field of vision, I could see the Thunderbird opening its maw toward me.
Crackle— Crackle-crack——!!!
The Thunderbird seemed intent on launching its own attack at me.
I couldn’t hear it, but the Shaman Elder knew about that attack.
“Thunder Cannon! It’s the Thunder Cannon!”
According to legend, the Thunderbird spews thunder in torrents from its mouth, incinerating arrogant sinners.
No one had actually witnessed it.
Because anyone who saw the Thunder Cannon would surely have lost their life.
Hearing this, the Nomads could only grow more terrified.
Yet at the same time, they couldn’t tear their eyes away from Ihyeon, who sat in an odd posture atop the massive beast, aiming his staff at the Thunderbird.
The boy who had undergone the coming-of-age ceremony had become a completely different person.
No one could fathom what the boy was thinking, but his silhouette possessed a power that captivated everyone’s gaze.
Crackle-crack-crack———!!
Then, from the Thunderbird’s maw, a Thunder Cannon composed of brilliant spheres was unleashed.
It was truly an attack of tremendous power.
The weeds scattered across the grassland turned to ash and cinders for the sole reason that the Thunder Cannon had been fired.
Yet I remained charging forward with my staff still aimed, completely unchanged.
Since both of us were approaching each other at such tremendous speed, it seemed I and Purung would be engulfed by the Thunder Cannon and charred to a crisp at any moment.
“Aah…!”
An involuntary cry of concern escaped from the people’s lips.
And as for Ihyeon, the one directly involved.
‘Almost there.’
Unconcerned with their worry, I focused solely on the task I had set for myself from the beginning.
I recalled the time when I caught Amogratl atop a swaying small boat in the past.
Beyond the swaying scope’s crosshairs, the Thunderbird shrieked with ferocious intensity.
And ahead of it, the Thunder Cannon.
My plan was simple.
‘Blow them both away.’
There was no need to waste two shots.
As always, all I needed was a single shot.
I calmly proceeded to the final step.
Breath control.
Crosshair alignment.
And.
‘Fire.’
Bang——!!!
The firmly braced gun stock recoiled heavily, pushing Ihyeon’s shoulder backward.
Simultaneously, a mana bullet of intensity that rivaled—no, vastly surpassed—the Thundergun burst forth from the muzzle.
“That… what is that?!”
My Uncle and the Nomads, who never imagined I could unleash such an attack, stood frozen with gaping mouths.
But I gave them no time to process their shock.
The mana bullet and the Thundergun collided first.
They were never evenly matched.
The Thundergun, which had been incinerating everything burnable on the grassland as it flew, was pierced clean through its center upon impact with the mana bullet, then scattered into sparks.
Next came the Thunderbird.
Kiiiiieeeee—————!!!!!
The Thunderbird shrieked, comprehending the impossible unfolding before it.
Yet who could have foreseen it?
The Thunderbird’s charge became a noose that strangled its own neck.
Had it soared high in the sky where I could never reach, conducting reconnaissance, perhaps some opportunity for counteraction might have been granted.
‘Though I likely couldn’t have stopped it anyway.’
But the creature, utilizing its massive body’s momentum to plunge and charge downward, couldn’t even properly react to the mana bullet.
Kiiie… Thwakrakrakra——
Its body below the neck was obliterated, and it fell hideously to the earth.
Whoosh—
Purung lightly leaped over the corpse of the fallen Thunderbird.
The Thunderbird skidded much further, leaving an ugly scar across the grassland before finally coming to rest.
“The Thunderbird…”
“Is dead…?”
The Nomads couldn’t believe what their own eyes witnessed.
The lion of the grassland and sky, the Thunderbird—nature’s wrath itself.
Who could have imagined it would fall to a single strike from a boy who had barely completed his coming-of-age ceremony?
Pierced alongside the legendary Thundergun no less.
Yet it was undeniably reality.
The fact that a boy of merely fifteen had toppled the grassland’s calamity remained unchanged, no matter how much doubt was cast upon it.
“The Thunderbird was clearly a calamity that Kaez summoned, wasn’t it?”
“If the one who brought the curse kills the curse, what does that even mean?”
“I… I don’t know…”
The people couldn’t decide how to react regarding Kaez.
In modern times, perhaps it would be different, but this pre-modern society remained too bound by superstition and legend.
Then.
Thud—!
“What? The Shaman Elder has collapsed!”
The Shaman, who had been watching alongside the people, lost strength in his legs and fell to his knees where he stood.
My Uncle and several Nomads nearby rushed forward to support the Shaman.
But the Shaman muttered as if half-conscious.
“It is the return of Wumute… The Thunderbird is dead… Another calamity will descend upon us….”
“Pardon? Elder, what do you mean by that?”
“The Thunderbird is dead, so what other calamity could possibly come?”
The Shaman swept his gaze across the bewildered tribal members before speaking with a hollow expression.
“There is only one person in all of history said to have slain the Thunderbird.”
“Yes, the great warrior of the grasslands, Wumute.”
“Even Wumute, after killing the Thunderbird, ultimately could not overcome the calamity that followed and perished.”
“What?!?!”
The people who heard the Shaman’s words were startled.
In truth, so many versions of Wumute’s tale existed that no single account could be declared as the true history.
Regarding his final fate, naturally countless stories had been passed down, but what the Shaman spoke of was an obscure version rarely known.
“The Thunderbird is the messenger of sky and grassland. Do not fool yourselves into thinking that slaying it will lift the curse! A far more brutal calamity will soon find us!”
“That, that cannot be….”
The people were thrown into panic by the Shaman’s dire prophecy.
Yet they had no time to verify whether the Shaman’s words were truth or falsehood.
Rumble—— Crash——!
Though the Thunderbird that had brought the dark clouds was certainly dead, the sky grew darker still.
The thunder and lightning intensified even further.
“What in the world is happening…?”
The Nomads’ brief joy at vanquishing the Thunderbird faded as they came to believe the Shaman’s words of an even greater calamity approaching, and they sank into deeper terror.
The Shaman thrust his staff high into the sky and cried out in anguish.
“The Human-Faced Bird! The Human-Faced Bird is coming!!!!”

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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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