I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 298

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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 298
Ep. 298
The Bishop and the Duogsinis descended into the gorge below the cliff.
Ihyeon led the Tribal Members down the upper cliff path at full speed.
However, aside from the initial centipede-like Duobuxini, no more enemies appeared to block Ihyeon’s path.
‘Has he not sensed our presence yet? Or perhaps… he deemed us insignificant regardless.’
Ihyeon pondered this peculiar response.
While I couldn’t gauge the Bishop’s exact level, the number of Saedos interspersed among the Duogsinis easily exceeded a hundred.
A commander of such forces couldn’t possibly be incompetent.
He’d noticed my existence yet simply hastened onward.
The Former Apostles offered their own observations from beside me.
“Humans rarely fall under the influence of the earthworm.”
“That makes sense.”
“Though it may be connected, once a human becomes infested by the earthworm, they gain tremendous power.”
According to them, the physical capabilities reaching Hunter-grade levels, and the Saedos commanding Duogsinis, were proof of this.
At minimum, the earthworm’s influence manifests far more powerfully in humans than in animals or monsters.
Therefore, a Bishop commanding Saedos occupied a much higher position in the hierarchy.
“Some say the High Priest was the first to take the earthworm into his body… and that Bishops received theirs directly from the High Priest, though I cannot confirm this.”
It was certainly a persuasive hypothesis.
Far more convincing than suggesting they’d simply established order through brute force without any underlying system, given how meticulously organized they already were.
As we exchanged these words, Ihyeon, the Nomads, and the Bishop with his Duogsinis arrived at what could only be described as the vicinity of the fortress.
The cliff where Ihyeon stood ended abruptly, while the path the Bishop had taken opened into a vast plain before the fortress.
‘He believed we couldn’t jump down the cliff.’
Now I understood why the Bishop had made no moves to hinder us thus far.
No matter how skilled the Nomads were at horsemanship, they couldn’t leap down a sheer cliff thirty meters high.
Well, the combination of the One-Strike Knight Order and Ghost Horses might manage it, but even a Bishop wouldn’t have anticipated that.
He simply didn’t wish to expend effort against someone who’d obliterated a Duobuxini in a single strike.
‘How unfortunate.’
Ihyeon clicked his tongue softly and gazed down below.
The Duogsinis pouring from the gorge spread across the plain, encircling the fortress in formation.
Chaotic in appearance as they were, their overwhelming numbers drained the spirit of any observer.
And there, confidently pushing through the Duogsinis, emerged an enormous palanquin.
The Bishop.
From how he’d arrived at the gates without committing his forces to a charge, one could discern how certain he was of victory.
Truth be told, even I would have felt the same.
No matter how high the fortress walls, the powerful Duogsinis could scale them somehow.
Once they breached the walls, only one-sided slaughter would remain.
That is, unless the opponent knew that behind the One-Strike Knight Order stood Ilgyeok himself.
Ihyeon’s lips twisted into a subtle smile at the Bishop’s shallow arrogance.
How much longer that confidence would last remained to be seen.
Meanwhile, as Ihyeon shifted his gaze forward to observe the fortress, I discovered an unexpected sight.
“People are entering it?”
Then one of the Saedos behind me answered promptly.
“This entire region is already firmly under our control… or rather, the Bishop’s control. So people driven by that pressure tend to flee to that fortress. The fortress’s existence is already quite famous, after all.”
So the One-Strike Knight Order was truly accepting refugees?
Well, they had become considerably more friendly toward people, even during the One-Strike material event, but their origins were ultimately those of mid-floor 75 bosses—the Knights of the Evil God.
I had assumed Ihyeon was keeping them in line with his fierce gaze, so it was rather surprising to see them taking such initiative voluntarily.
‘…Or perhaps Jia has been managing them well in my stead.’
Even Ihyeon, if he were Jia’s subordinate, wouldn’t dare act recklessly.
One misstep in her eyes, and a shield might end up lodged in the back of his head.
“Sigh.”
“What troubles you, Kaez?”
“It is nothing, Uncle.”
Ihyeon inadvertently let out a sigh before awkwardly deflecting the question.
My uncle didn’t seem to find it particularly strange.
In truth, if a sigh was the only reaction to facing such a number of Duogsinis, it was difficult to prove valor any further.
Foolish tribal chiefs would have fled in the opposite direction the moment they caught sight of their rear.
Unlike my uncle’s expectations, Ihyeon harbored no concern whatsoever regarding the Duogsinis.
As the last refugee passed through the fortress gates, the stone-carved gates shut firmly closed.
With not a single gap visible, it seemed the One-Strike Knight Order’s construction—which boasted they could erect any ordinary building swiftly—actually originated from fortress architecture.
From this distance, even Ihyeon, not merely a nomad, could discern the situation atop the fortress clearly.
The defenders of the fortress were certainly the One-Strike Knight Order.
‘…But I don’t see where Jia has gone.’
In fact, Jia—the primary reason I had rushed here—was nowhere to be seen along the fortress walls.
Given her nature, she should certainly be commanding the knights from the front in a situation like this.
Perhaps because of her absence, the knights maintained an unusual quietness rather than their typical clamor.
Two possibilities presented themselves.
Either the knights had settled separately here, apart from Jia from the start.
Or for some reason, Jia was unable to reveal herself.
‘An ambush? No. I don’t see any passage for that.’
A small anxiety took root in one corner of Ihyeon’s heart.
But that anxiety was given no chance to grow further.
Kyaaaaaaack——!!!
Along with a bizarre cry that seemed to emerge from nowhere.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud———
The Duogsinis assembled widely across the plain charged in unison toward the One-Strike Knight Order’s fortress.
Though they were enemies, the sight was magnificent.
Like a black wave crashing against the fortress with fierce surges.
However, the One-Strike Knight Order did not simply stand idle and watch.
Pabababang——!!
“Hmm?”
I couldn’t help but admire the fortress’s counterattack.
The One-Strike Knight Order hadn’t merely fortified a wall blocking the gorge.
They’d excavated deep into the cliff face for a considerable length around it.
Then, as holes appeared in that cliff, massive boulders began bombarding the Duogsinis.
Whatever method they used to launch them, the destructive force was formidable.
The boulders pummeled the Duogsinis, and with their remaining momentum, carved deep scars across the plain.
Simultaneously, arrows from the One-Strike Knight Order flew in volleys, piercing through them.
“Wow!”
“Magnificent!”
The nomads watching the spectacle gasped in admiration.
Unlike the open expanse of the grasslands, they realized that such a towering fortress could actually hold back the Duogsinis from entering recklessly.
Certainly, without the One-Strike Knight Order’s caliber, even a fortress would struggle to hold, but to nomads who’d never seen a castle in their lives, it was nothing short of miraculous.
‘It seems the civilians they’ve taken in are contributing quite substantially as well.’
I observed the situation calmly.
The One-Strike Knight Order was originally a company-sized force.
One platoon was stationed outside the Tower, so realistically only about a hundred soldiers remained here.
Seeing coordinated attacks of a scale that couldn’t be explained by that number made it clear.
Even without my immediate assistance, they could likely hold out for a considerable time.
‘Still, without Jia, they lack their usual vigor.’
The One-Strike Knight Order’s greatest strength was their unwavering resolve against any enemy.
Not easily succumbing to despair in battle was a tremendous advantage.
Normally, they should be hurling all manner of taunts at the Duogsinis being swept away, but the fortress’s silence suggested something was amiss.
Certainly the knights were fighting brilliantly, yet the Duogsinis, leveraging their numbers, were rapidly closing in on the fortress.
The nomads behind us expressed their dismay.
“Even warriors who fight so well ultimately cannot prevail!”
“To think they can deploy such numbers of Duogsinis at will….”
“Is this truly the end of the world?”
“Kaez! Do we have to fight them too?”
Fear lurked beneath their despair.
Had I shown no intention to fight, they would have retreated long ago, but as the waiting stretched on, their fear only deepened.
I shook my head immediately.
“There is no need for you to step forward.”
“Th-that’s a relief….”
The nomads nodded, finally able to breathe easier.
Then, suddenly, commotion erupted from behind.
“Come out, wherever you are!”
“Eh, the Shaman Elder?”
“Where were you? Why emerge suddenly?”
“Kaez said we didn’t need to step forward, so why now….”
“Gaaaah!!! Who would’ve thought those Duogsini monsters could actually frighten anyone?”
The Shaman swept his staff through the crowd of tribal members, carefully making his way past Ihyeon to the very edge of the cliff.
Furrowing his brow and placing his hand above his eyes, the Shaman gazed toward the fortress, then nodded vigorously.
“That’s it! That’s the location of the Great Spring spoken of in the legends of the grasslands!”
“The Great Spring?”
Ihyeon tilted his head in confusion.
“What is that?”
“Tsk tsk… The Great Spring, you see, is said to be the place where all life began in ancient times. It was supposedly located deep within a primordial forest, but it vanished without a trace. Who could possibly find it hidden in this desert!”
It seemed the One-Strike Knight Order had established themselves in quite a significant location.
‘Perhaps I was always meant to come here, not just because of the One-Strike Knight Order.’
It couldn’t be mere coincidence piling upon coincidence.
The Shaman continued to elaborate on the Great Spring.
That immersing one’s body in the spring would heal all wounds and illnesses, and strengthen the human body itself.
That malevolent spirits couldn’t approach it, and that rust on weapons would be cleanly washed away.
It was truly the sort of tale one would expect from legends, but since this was another world, it didn’t seem entirely implausible.
Just then, one of the nomads asked the Shaman a question.
“Setting aside everything else, but malevolent spirits seem to come and go just fine, don’t they?”
Could the Duogsini be considered malevolent spirits in a sense?
‘Come to think of it, the knights themselves seem to fall into that category too…’
The Shaman immediately struck the nomad who had spoken with his staff.
Crack—!
Ihyeon watched the nomad who had been unexpectedly struck and thought to himself.
‘I’m glad I didn’t say anything.’
“Ow!”
“You talk too much! Obviously, given that the surrounding forest has disappeared, the Great Spring must have lost its power over the long ages! Typically, when such sacred places fall to the forces of darkness, they become far more dangerous instead!”
“B-but that doesn’t mean you had to hit me…”
The Shaman paid no mind to the nomad with tears welling in his eyes and approached Ihyeon.
“Kaez, you understand what I’m trying to say, don’t you?”
“Yes.”
“Right, as I thought…”
The moment Ihyeon nodded immediately, the Shaman’s face broke into a smile.
“That’s the location of the Great Spring, isn’t it?”
“…”
Or is it not?

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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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