I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 329

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 329
Ep. 329
The expedition continued riding for several more days.
Finally, the Vice Captain slowed his pace and shouted.
“We’re entering dangerous territory now! Be extremely careful!”
Ihyeon spotted the massive boulder he’d heard about during the briefing.
The towering vertical rock served as a marker indicating entry into the dangerous zone.
And even without the rock, the atmosphere of the dangerous territory was distinctly different.
The ‘Withered Grassland’ as the Knights had named it.
Unlike before, the grassland still had vegetation, but it was yellowed and dried out, and the soil gradually darkened in color.
The analysis suggested this was the influence of the Bishop who governed this domain.
Which also meant the Bishop here was exceptionally powerful.
Ihyeon returned to Kaez’s body after the expedition entered the Withered Grassland.
“Master, you’ve returned.”
“…How did you know?”
The moment Ihyeon returned, Jia, who had been riding beside him, spoke.
When he asked in confusion, Jia merely offered a faint smile without answering.
Perhaps it was a Spirit’s instinctive sense.
“Kaez, where did you go? I dozed off for a moment.”
“Yes, just briefly.”
Meanwhile, the Shaman on the opposite side had been dozing before suddenly jolting awake.
…It was rather impressive that someone of his age could sleep while riding.
Ihyeon called out to the Vice Captain and asked.
“But how do we find Elsie… I mean, that Goddess in this place?”
The Withered Grassland was vast.
Naturally, Duogsinis would be swarming like passing pebbles, and finding the Nomads following Elsie among them was like searching for a needle in a haystack.
Wouldn’t the Knights who had scouted this place have some information?
“I’m afraid I don’t know much either.”
“….”
That wasn’t it.
When the Vice Captain shrugged and shook his head, Ihyeon fell silent.
Only then did the Vice Captain realize how his words might have sounded and hastily added more.
“Ah, you see, the group following the Goddess moves so irregularly. Besides, we don’t maintain permanent forces stationed here either.”
“Right, we’ll probably run into them eventually anyway.”
Ihyeon nodded as if he understood well enough.
It wasn’t that he was disappointed the Vice Captain lacked information about Elsie.
Now that he was actually here, it seemed quite daunting even to him, so his spirits had simply flagged a bit.
But strictly speaking.
‘I came to find Elsie, but… the actual objective for Floor 94 isn’t really about finding Elsie.’
The expedition’s march to the Withered Grassland wasn’t merely for the sake of finding Elsie.
The objective of the 90th floor tier is the complete liberation of the Great Steppe.
Just as when I searched for Jia, Elsie would likely be nothing more than a sub-objective worth achieving according to the system.
“The bond between a Spirit and her Master runs deep. You need not worry overmuch.”
“I think so too.”
It was then that Jia offered her own words of comfort to Ihyeon.
KYAAAAAAAH——!!
A piercing cry echoed from the sky, and a Duobuxini with five fluttering wings came into view, soaring above the expedition.
Rather than plummeting directly toward the expedition, it circled in spiraling patterns, as if conducting reconnaissance.
“Are there Duobuxinis among them that can fly?”
Ihyeon had no recollection of seeing such a thing.
The Vice Captain nodded.
“They appear fairly often in the crimson territories. The Bishops likely wouldn’t deploy them so freely unless they had considerable surplus.”
The Shaman added his own words.
“True, earthbound creatures cannot touch the birds of the sky. But those unfortunate enough to be caught occasionally become terrible monsters, or so the tales say.”
“Is that also a legend?”
“…Not exactly a legend.”
“Ah.”
Ihyeon did not harbor the uncharitable thought that the Shaman knew things beyond mere legends.
“Why do you sound so impressed!”
Whether others shared this sentiment remained unclear.
“Lord, shall you handle it directly?”
“That would be… no, I think it’s better if I don’t step forward. Can you capture it?”
“If you give the order.”
Ihyeon reached for his sniper rifle but stopped, instead entrusting the disposal of the creature to the Knights.
The creature’s movements seemed unnatural.
‘If that thing truly is the Bishop’s scout, it would be better not to reveal our full strength here.’
This was the Bishop’s domain.
It would not be strange if the Bishop’s hands and feet extended in all directions.
Ihyeon fixed his gaze on the Duobuxini circling overhead.
It wasn’t certain, but it felt as though their eyes had met.
Ihyeon spoke in a cold voice.
“Bring it down.”
“Yes.”
The Vice Captain bowed his head, then clenched his fist and raised it.
Simultaneously, several Squad Leaders of the Knights aimed their crossbows.
Thunk—
As the Vice Captain’s fist fell.
Whoosh whoosh whack——!!
Bolts flew toward the Duobuxini with impressive momentum.
It seemed quite difficult to hit at such a distance with such a primitive projectile weapon lacking even a scope.
Keeeeek——!!
It seemed my worries were unfounded.
The Duogsini, which had been shrieking in agony, gradually lost momentum before plummeting toward the ground.
At a Squad Member’s command, one unit of Goblin Warriors broke away from the main force.
The Duogsini soaring through the sky appeared unlikely to survive much longer.
Meanwhile, the Shaman who had been surveying the surroundings spoke to the Vice Captain.
“Pardon me, but where exactly are we?”
“Well… I’m not entirely sure. There aren’t many distinctive landmarks around here. Though there are some rather unusual-looking trees.”
“Unusual trees? Do you mean trees with branches extending at right angles?”
“Oh? You know of them? As expected from a Shaman so versed in legends.”
The Vice Captain seemed intrigued that even these trees carried legendary significance.
“Hup!”
“What’s wrong?”
Noticing the Shaman’s unusual reaction, I also took interest.
The Shaman, whose hands trembled as he gripped the reins, could not hide his unease.
“I fear this place is not good, Kaez. This is very ominous ground.”
“Not good in what way?”
“I was uncertain when I heard it was a withered prairie, but… I suspect this might be the land of Erkastrula from the legends.”
Erkastrula.
‘A named monster?’
From my experience, the prairie had long been home to numerous monsters living alongside humans even before the Duogsini.
It was hardly surprising if one of them bore a name.
Named creatures typically became far more powerful than their kin, so the Shaman’s concern was understandable.
But the Shaman shook his head as if it were far worse than that.
“Erkastrula—in our tongue, it means ‘the Overlord of the Underground.'”
“….”
“A demon.”
* * *
Somewhere in the withered prairie.
There stood a grotesque temple made of red earth, mixed with something unknown.
Countless Duogsinis wandered about, and Saedos who commanded them came and went frequently.
In the most ornate and highest chamber of this temple, naturally.
“Mm.”
“Bishop, have you perceived something?”
The Bishop who ruled the withered prairie stood there.
With a face painted red and draped in Duogsini hide, the Bishop’s expression twisted briefly before breaking into a faint smile.
“They have come.”
“They, you say…?”
The Saedos prostrated before the Bishop asked with slightly fearful expressions.
The intruders who had entered the withered prairie were not particularly frightening.
No matter who these assailants were, if they blanketed the earth and sky with the Duogsinis they commanded, what chance would I have of withstanding them?
The only thing they truly feared was the Bishop they served.
The Bishop’s smile deepened until his teeth showed.
“The boy Ilgyeok and those who follow him.”
“!!”
Just as Ihyeon had anticipated, the Duogsini that had been struck by the Knights’ Bolt and sent plummeting was the Bishop’s scout.
It had been serving as the Bishop’s eyes, wandering across the withered grasslands.
Though Ihyeon and the Bishop had never exchanged introductions, the Bishop had accurately grasped the expedition’s true identity.
The great plains, which had been on the verge of falling completely under the dominion of the High Priest and Bishops, were now ablaze.
From the western reaches, a wildfire kindled by human hands burned with considerable fury.
Some called him the child of a comet, others called him the one who quelled calamity.
The boy who audaciously bore the name Ilgyeok.
One Bishop stationed in the west had fallen by the boy’s hand, and not long ago, another Bishop had lost his life to the boy’s subordinates.
“Tsk, tsk… I recognized them from the moment those who had barely claimed their Bishop’s seat began wandering about so recklessly.”
He shook his head in contempt as he recalled the dead Bishop.
Though they were all Bishops, there was naturally a clear hierarchy of power among them.
The Bishop who had fallen to Ilgyeok and his followers ranked among the weakest.
“He struggled even to cause a partial eclipse, and the fool who managed only to summon a single Eodukshin after causing an eclipse deserves no sympathy in death.”
In his eyes, it was merely a squabble between children.
The Saedos echoed the Bishop’s words.
“Indeed, sir!”
“Truthfully, we mere Saedos were hardly different from him!”
“Yet a Bishop is still a Bishop—do you dare suggest you could match us?”
Sssshhh—
At the Bishop’s sharp rebuke, the Saedos’ expressions, which had been awkwardly laughing in agreement, turned deathly cold.
“N-no, of course not, sir.”
“We merely sought to elevate your standing, Bishop…”
“Tsk.”
The Bishop shook his head slightly once more, then pointed to one of the Saedos and asked a question.
Though it was merely a simple question, the Saedos’ darkened faces turned ashen.
“Why did that boy Ilgyeok and his followers march all the way here?”
The Sado who had been singled out swallowed hard and spoke.
“That is… surely not with intent to turn their blades against you, Bishop. Since we’ve already eliminated all nearby forces, perhaps they harbored idle ambitions… hehe.”
The Sado desperately tried to appease the Bishop.
Yet the reason the Saedos feared the Bishop’s questions was quite simple.
Thwack—!
A sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed.
At the same moment, the Sado who had answered the Bishop’s question lost the light in his eyes, and his limbs went limp.
Thud—
He collapsed face-first to the ground.
Black fluid mixed with blood streamed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.
The Earthworm’s rampage.
Without lifting a finger, the Bishop could simply follow his will and send the Earthworm infesting the Sado’s mind into a frenzy, bursting his brain like a rotten fruit.
This was why the Saedos had no choice but to obey the Bishop absolutely.
The Bishop turned his gaze away with a bloodstained smile.
“What do you think?”
“I, I…! It m, must be an attempt to expand their territory! Yes, the rumors that those bastards are trying to establish a nation have already spread this far!”
“Ho, is that so?”
“Y, yes it is!”
Splurt—! Thud—
Another Sado collapsed.
The Bishop continued to point to several more Saedos and question them, and naturally, with each question asked, another Sado died.
Until he reached one particular Sado.
“I, I believe they came to meet the Seeker… the Seeker.”
“The Seeker?”
“Yes! Your Excellency the Bishop surely knows well of the Seeker, the headache of our territory! They must have thought bringing him to our side would be beneficial!”
“Yes, the Seeker. The Seeker….”
Only then did the frenzied massacre come to an end.
The Sado who had uttered the word “Seeker” trembled his pupils as he gazed upon the corpses of his comrades strewn before him.
No matter how steeped in madness the Saedos were, accustomed to slaughter, they could not help but feel terror watching their allies die like this.
Especially when that death came from a man who hadn’t moved a single muscle.
The Bishop smiled faintly and spoke.
“Still, among the trash gathered here, there is some trash worth using.”
Whoosh—

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————