I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 332

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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 332
Ep. 332
While Ihyeon couldn’t hide his bewilderment at Elsie’s completely transformed appearance, she continued speaking.
“I am pleased to encounter a connection from my past, yet I have already embarked upon the path to master the Way of the Void. Enlightenment draws near, and I humbly request your understanding.”
“Ah.”
“?”
Observing Elsie speak with her voice lowered in an unusual manner, Ihyeon let out an exclamation.
Since his response hardly matched her words, Elsie tilted her head slightly in confusion.
“This isn’t Elsie.”
“…That is correct.”
“Elsie would never speak so eloquently.”
Ihyeon circled around Elsie, observing her carefully, as if to confirm his suspicions.
Yet there were indeed some unexpected changes.
“She seems taller?”
Elsie, who had originally been about the height of an elementary school student in the lower grades, now appeared to have grown considerably—roughly the height of an upper-grade student when viewed up close.
Elsie responded as if it were of little consequence.
“It has been sixteen years since I began walking the path of the Void upon the grassland. Though the Void and the body bear no inherent connection, growth is hardly a matter of surprise.”
“So you’re leaving?”
“Indeed.”
At Ihyeon’s question, Elsie nodded immediately.
Thud—
“For real?”
…She had intended to nod, but Ihyeon suddenly produced a sniper rifle, preventing her from doing so.
Though her manner of speech and personality had changed, the power of the sniper rifle remained deeply embedded within her very bones.
Elsie spoke with a somewhat aggrieved tone.
“No matter how much a master one may be, it is not the way of a martial artist to suppress and restrain one’s subordinate’s self-improvement through force!”
I must say, she had become quite learned.
The original Elsie would stumble over her words whenever she spoke more than five characters.
Ihyeon nodded.
“I’m not a martial artist.”
“Ah.”
Elsie belatedly realized this and her face flushed, but she had no further objection to his claim of not being a martial artist.
Ihyeon had been looking down at Elsie the entire time with an expression suggesting he found her adorable.
‘She does seem taller, that much is certain. To bring her back to her senses, I’ll need to call Jia. Yes, once Jia strikes her once, her mind clears right up.’
…Though his inner thoughts were not quite as gentle as his expression suggested.
Given that she had been exposed to the characteristics of a swordsman for so long, it seemed Jia would need to exert proportionally more force as well.
“In any case, I hope you will respect my opinion.”
As Elsie spoke such words, Jia appeared from the distance, leading the Knights and the Nomads into view.
‘Has that side already finished organizing?’
Just as Ihyeon was about to hurry over and ask Jia to use some force, a message arrived from her.
Why would she send a message from a distance where they could easily have a conversation in just a moment?
I immediately checked the contents.
「Jia: Master, something about the surroundings feels off.
Ilgyeok: What is it?
Jia: The squad members I sent to scout the perimeter have encountered multiple Duogsinis converging toward this location. It’s merely speculation on my part, but I suspect…
I could guess what came next without reading further.
「Ilgyeok: An ambush?
Jia: Yes, that’s my assessment as well, Master.」
The Bishop’s treacherous scheme that I had worried about long ago.
He could have pressed forward with far greater force if he’d wanted to, but the Bishop hadn’t done so.
‘…Was he waiting for me to meet Elsie?’
If that were the case, then he’d certainly laid a proper trap.
His intention must have been to eliminate all obstacles in one sweep.
“The Duogsinis are closing in.”
“Yes, so it seems.”
Just then, Elsie, apparently sensing something suspicious as well, sniffed the air and spoke to me.
She had always been unparalleled in detecting monsters by scent.
Now she was standing still in one spot, producing an effect similar to the Knights’ scout unit.
「Ilgyeok: It seems Elsie has been affected by the Swordsman trait. Let’s restore her to normal first, then respond accordingly.
Jia: Understood.」
Though I hadn’t found Blue yet, this was the moment before the core Original Members—myself, Jia, and Elsie—were complete.
In other words, regardless of what preparations the Bishop had made or how many of his minions he’d sent.
‘I’ll sweep them all away here.’
I had no intention of playing along with his scheme.
No, the Bishop, whom I hadn’t yet laid eyes on, would soon come to bitterly regret his actions.
If he was going to scheme, he should have defeated me and Elsie separately before we ever met.
That was the moment.
Crack—!
“?!”
An ominous sound.
I saw it clearly.
A bolt of black lightning striking down directly in front of me.
‘What is this?’
There was no time to be startled.
Though I didn’t know what the black lightning was, what it had summoned became immediately apparent.
Crunch—!
It was astounding.
From the spot where the lightning had struck, withered trees peculiar to the grassland suddenly began sprouting.
They stretched out at right angles, creating an eerie sight for anyone who beheld them.
Yet these trees were vastly different in scale from the ones I’d seen several times while crossing the grassland before.
‘No, this tree is bigger than any I’ve seen in the grasslands….’
Purung—?
The tree, which had grown even larger than Purung by now, cast a dark shadow across the ground.
Or perhaps I should call it dusk itself.
I heard what sounded like a scream from the Shaman.
“It’s Erkastrula’s tree!!!”
The Overlord of the underground.
A distant legend that had filled the grasslands with terror for ages—incomparable to mere dusk.
That was the name of the sinister demon.
At the same moment.
Whoosh—!
“What?!”
Without any warning, sand erupted explosively from beneath where Ihyeon and Elsie stood.
“Master!”
Jia called out to Ihyeon in a voice completely unlike her usual tone.
She had just begun to spread the ominous warning and prepare to fight together, but the anomaly occurred in that very instant.
As the erupted sand fell back to the ground, Ihyeon and Elsie vanished without a trace.
Purung——!!
Purung, who had been right beside them, frantically scraped at the ground with her hooves in confusion.
But there was no chance the two missing people would reappear from that.
Jia cried out in shock.
“Find the Lord, quickly!”
“Yes!”
The Knights, thoroughly flustered, moved to obey Jia’s command.
Excavating the ground was the Knights’ specialty.
But the Shaman thought differently.
“That’s wrong, all wrong….”
“What do you mean, Shaman Elder? Speak clearly.”
The Vice Captain growled menacingly, as if warning him to be prepared if he spoke nonsense.
The Shaman flinched for a moment, but soon fulfilled his role.
It was bringing an ancient legend into the present day.
“Erkastrula is the Overlord of the underground. There are tales that she drags her poor victims down into her world beneath the earth to enjoy them… I’m certain that Kaez and the Goddess were both pulled into Erkastrula’s grasp.”
“You old fool!”
The Vice Captain, enraged at the Shaman Elder for speaking such ominous words, drew his sword with a violent motion.
Then, another Shaman who had been mixed among the Nomads following the Goddess stepped forward and stopped the Vice Captain.
“Unfortunately, this Elder speaks the truth. The old and terrible legend of Erkastrula is quite famous. I’ve heard rumors of Ilgyeok myself, but if it truly is Erkastrula….”
“This is….”
“Enough.”
“Captain!”
When even Jia stepped forward to stop the Vice Captain, he exhaled sharply, unable to calm his agitation.
Just when the Captain had recovered his health and the Sword Squad Leader had returned, the Lord vanished.
However, Jia continued speaking with a cold expression.
“The Master sent word.”
“Word? Ah!”
Only then did the Vice Captain understand Jia’s meaning and glanced around cautiously.
The Nomads wouldn’t understand, but the Vice Captain knew that Ihyeon and Jia exchanged messages with each other.
Jia nodded.
「Ilgyeok: I’m with Elsie. Don’t worry. It seems I’ve descended underground.」
Not long after Ihyeon vanished, he had sent a message to Jia.
Jia relayed what the Shamans had said, informing them that Ihyeon and Elsie had likely been pulled into the domain of a demon called Erkastrula.
If Ihyeon and Elsie had truly been taken by a transcendent being, there was nothing the Knights could do even if they dug up the entire ground.
Again, a reply from Ihyeon came back quickly.
「Ilgyeok: Right. You said the Duogsinis are swarming over there? I trust you can hold out without me. Conserve the Nomads’ strength as much as possible. Just wait a little longer.」
“….”
Jia waited silently for Ihyeon’s next words.
「Ilgyeok: I’ll bring Elsie back with me.」
It wasn’t just Jia and the Knights who witnessed Ihyeon’s disappearance and fell into confusion.
Rather, the Nomads following them were in a state of near panic.
Just as the Bishop had predicted, having lost Ilgyeok and the Goddess, they were utterly bewildered.
“It’s all over….”
“From what the Knight said, they’re coming in far greater numbers than last night.”
“We should never have come to this cursed land in the first place!”
Neither Jia nor the Vice Captain pressed them to regain their composure.
Instead, they.
“Prepare defenses.”
“Yes, Captain! What are you all doing!”
“Let’s go!”
began preparing to hold back the incoming Duogsinis alongside the Knights.
The Shamans and leader figures, who had been less confused, asked them with bewildered expressions.
“Shouldn’t you first comfort the people? That would be the proper order, wouldn’t it?”
“That’s right. In this state, even if you two step forward…. Moreover, the timing is suspicious. If Erkastrula is also infested by the Earthweb, retreat might be the better option.”
“Huh!”
But despite the ominous predictions pouring in, Jia and the Knights’ stance remained unchanged.
Jia spoke to the worried people in a cold voice.
“We’ve confirmed the Master’s survival. That’s sufficient.”
“Ah!”
“If Kaez is alive….”
Only then did the people’s expressions brighten somewhat, finding a measure of relief.
But Jia’s words didn’t end there.
“And we are not the ones worried about the Master.”
“???”
Then who are you worried about?
“Ah, could it be the Goddess?”
“That’s possible. Even though these are the dead, they possess truly warm hearts.”
The Shamans nodded at each other and pieced together their conversation.
The Vice Captain, who had been listening quietly to their discussion, wore a sinister smile.
“The Swordsman Squad Leader? Kekeke, there’s someone else to worry about. Rather….”
What followed was a masterpiece.
“I wouldn’t worry about that Erkastrula or whatever, who lost her nerve using a bit of power underground and ended up summoning her Lord.”
“???”
* * *
Meanwhile, Ihyeon and Elsie, who had suddenly fallen underground.
Though startled at first, they quickly regained their composure and surveyed their surroundings.
“…It feels like an underground prison.”
“I agree.”
Elsie nodded at Ihyeon’s words.
The atmosphere was certainly different from the grassland where they had been staying before.
A long corridor constructed of desolate bricks.
Between the hollow gaps scattered throughout, thick iron bars were wedged in place.
I relayed to Elsie what Jia had said—that this place would likely be Erkastrula’s territory—but her reaction remained as indifferent as ever.
“It matters not where this place is. I walk only the path of the void.”
With that, Elsie adjusted her straw hat.
Ihyeon gazed at the back of Elsie’s small head and pondered.
‘Can I bring her back to her senses?’
Perhaps not to the degree of Jia’s shield, but my sniper rifle’s stock also carried considerable impact force, so it might work if done right.
Or slime rounds could work too.
At that moment, Elsie trembled slightly and spoke to me.
“I sense you’re harboring suspicious thoughts.”
“No, not at all?”
Elsie’s instincts were indeed sharp.

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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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