I Got A Legendary Sniper Rifle - Chapter 367

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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 367
Ep. 367
He was undoubtedly positioned at the very heart of the Grand Cathedral, the sect’s main headquarters, so he had to be the High Priest.
Yet something felt… anticlimactic.
He stood a full head shorter than Ihyeon.
Beneath his loose-fitting robes, his physique appeared far from robust or imposing.
Most striking of all was his face—so innocent and unblemished that one might believe he’d just arrived from tending cattle in some rural village.
It was true that as I’d climbed the sect’s hierarchy, I hadn’t detected the taint of the Earthspider as prominently as in the Saedos and Duogsinis, but that comparison was relative.
This High Priest, however, was utterly indistinguishable from an ordinary civilian.
Could this truly be that High Priest—the one said to have been first and most heavily afflicted by the Earthspider’s influence across the entire steppe?
A soft smile spread across his face.
The High Priest laughed.
Ihyeon felt as though he were witnessing something inhuman masquerading as human laughter.
“How truly remarkable. That you’ve come this far.”
“…It wasn’t particularly difficult.”
As Ihyeon replied, the man’s smile deepened.
“Of course, I had anticipated this. But there is a difference between anticipating something and truly believing it will come to pass. It seems my faith remains insufficient as well.”
“Are you the High Priest?”
“Ah, forgive my late introduction. I am Erdene, the shepherd who guides this sect.”
The man bowed respectfully, his hands clasped before him.
Could this truly be the architect who had steeped the entire steppe in the Earthspider’s shadow and terror?
The more Ihyeon observed him, the more bewildered he became.
‘What was I even fighting for all this time…?’
If Erdene truly was the High Priest, had that fierce battle been necessary at all?
Could this man—who had resorted to cowardly assassination attempts to kill him on the way here—truly be the leader of those who had orchestrated everything?
A direct confrontation from the start might have resolved this far more simply.
Ihyeon’s resolve crumbled in that instant.
His voice quieter now, Ihyeon posed the question to Erdene.
“Why did you do all of this?”
There might be a clear answer, but he had to ask.
Though Ihyeon hailed from another world, he had come to understand much through leading these people, observing them, listening to them, and feeling their struggles.
Even Kaez, whose body Ihyeon inhabited, had lost his parents and most of his tribe to the Duogsinis that the sect commanded.
There had been times when the despair, terror, and sorrow wrought by these creatures cast a deeper shadow across the steppe than the Earthspider itself.
Erdene smiled faintly and spoke.
“All things unfold according to the divine will.”
Did such a god truly exist?
Erkastrula had once suggested there was a force behind the High Priest.
“Is this god somehow connected to death?”
“Erkastrula has informed you, I understand. Yes, death itself.”
The so-called god of death.
Likely the Floor Master of the 100th floor.
What in the world was this god’s will that drove him to such actions?
As Ihyeon remained silent, Erdene continued the conversation.
“I offer my deepest respect for your remarkable achievement in overturning the entire grasslands to reach this place, Ilgyeok. I also deeply regret the unfortunate events that have transpired. Perhaps you sought me out to bring all of this to an end?”
“…Yes.”
“I give you my word. The sect and I shall descend no further beneath the Stormlands. You, Ilgyeok, shall become the great king who rules the vast grasslands. What do you say?”
My spirit utterly deflated.
The situation resolved far too easily.
If the sect truly ceased descending below as Erdene promised, wouldn’t everything simply end?
Since most of the sect’s forces had already been annihilated by my hand, as long as the Nomadic Warriors maintained their strength properly, no further problems should arise.
That was when it happened.
Uuuuung——
A subtle vibration transmitted through my hand.
No, it wasn’t subtle at all.
Uuuuung——!!!
‘…When did my sniper rifle start trembling?’
My sniper rifle, still maintaining the form of a handgun.
It had been vibrating wildly in my grip for some time now.
Only then could I reflect upon myself since entering this strange space.
‘Did I really intend to withdraw from this?’
Why?
I had accepted the High Priest’s words without the slightest doubt.
Standing right beneath his chin, when a single trigger pull would conclude everything, why had I done so?
Because the High Priest appeared far too naive?
Because I sensed genuine sincerity in his words?
That was not it.
A chill ran down my spine.
‘It’s too easy.’
80th floor, Pulisto and Mikhail.
85th floor, the Dokkaebi.
90th floor, the Scorpion King.
95th floor, the battle against the Three Bishops.
Every mid-boss and Floor Master I had faced thus far had been formidable adversaries given my circumstances at the time.
Of course, none of them could withstand a single shot from my sniper rifle, yet each possessed some trick to trouble me.
But the High Priest?
The moment our eyes met, Erdene declared his surrender, admitting his wrongs and promising never to cross beyond the Stormlands again?
…He who had completely erased my will to conquer?
I had nearly abandoned the conquest for the first time since entering the Main Tower.
It was not merely because of Erdene’s innocent expression.
Once more—why did my sniper rifle continue to vibrate so violently?
Thinking back, there were only a few times my sniper rifle had expressed its own will.
Not merely a sniper rifle, but moments when I wondered if it truly harbored a living consciousness.
This time too, my rifle was trying to tell me something.
Ihyeon closed his eyes tightly before Erdene.
Hm—
Hah—
Hm—
Hah—
I breathed.
Just as when I had caught the Avatar Troll Warrior that ambushed me.
Just as when I had found the Dokkaebi’s true form that seemed impossible to locate.
Now I could reach that state of being through my own power.
I erased one by one the excessive information flooding in due to my stats.
The war outside, the Minister’s battle.
No noise, smell, or sensation could disturb my concentration.
The world spread before me vanished in an instant.
What remained was only this strange assembly hall, Erdene, and myself.
‘Further from here….’
I tried to strip away even more.
But.
‘It won’t work?’
I could strip away nothing more.
There was no problem with my concentration.
Rather, I was immersed with even greater focus than when facing the Dokkaebi.
Yet for some reason, this assembly hall showed no signs of being erased by my attempt.
Erdene, still gazing at me with that innocent smile from within it, was the same.
In that moment, a sense of incongruity seized my mind.
‘That it cannot be erased—perhaps that means….’
A disquieting suspicion that this space itself might be false.
Of course, it was hard to believe I had fallen for such a deception without any resistance, but it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.
A suspicion that the leader of the cult on the 99th floor would not truly be this harmless.
And.
‘The evidence that I had already nearly fallen for half of what that bastard said.’
It was worth attempting.
If this immersion could not erase what remained, how could I expose the falsehood?
The answer was simple.
Just as I had always done.
Click— clack—
I pulled the bolt of my sniper rifle, which felt so familiar it had become part of my body.
What I aimed at was not Erdene.
‘This space itself.’
It was an extraordinarily peculiar assembly hall.
Though it existed within Ihyeon’s inner consciousness, the moment Erdene caught sight of what Ihyeon was targeting with his sniper rifle, his expression hardened.
“What are you doing right now?”
The fact that he was speaking within the space of immersion was itself evidence that he had already penetrated deep into Ihyeon’s inner world.
Ihyeon’s hand movements became even more filled with conviction.
Ihyeon took aim at Erdene.
‘Reveal your true form.’
Click—
Within Ihyeon’s inner consciousness, his trigger finger pulled.
Whether in reality or within his mind, Erdene’s expression—which had maintained an easy smile—twisted for the first time.
Crack— crackle—
Fissures began spreading across the pristine white assembly hall.
Floor, walls, ceiling—the cracks appeared simultaneously across all surfaces and quickly interconnected.
It resembled an enormous pane of glass shattering rather than a building collapsing.
Without even glancing at his own space as it threatened to shatter, Erdene fixed his gaze on Ihyeon and spoke.
“You’re determined to walk a difficult path, I see.”
It was only then that Ihyeon opened his eyes.
The assembly hall in reality remained intact, showing none of the cracks he had witnessed in his inner vision.
It had vanished completely.
As if to declare that everything Ihyeon had witnessed until now was merely illusion, the space where he and Erdene stood was entirely different.
At last—an atmosphere befitting the underground depths of the sect’s main temple, the Grand Cathedral.
Torches flickered with wavering light against the walls of the dark stone chamber.
And where Erdene had been offering his prayers, a massive stone statue stood.
‘That is….’
Ihyeon narrowed his eyes slightly as he examined the statue’s form.
It was a shape entirely familiar to him.
In this completely transformed surroundings, there was one thing that remained unchanged.
It was Erdene, whose expression had twisted within the inner realm.
Though his face still bore the simple, rustic appearance of a rural youth, the atmosphere surrounding him had shifted now that his illusion had shattered and his true nature revealed.
A sinister quality, serpentine in nature.
‘He must have been scheming something since I descended the stairs.’
Ihyeon felt a chill at the realization of how close he had come to retreating from the 99th floor without attempting anything.
The 90s are non-retryable.
What if he had fallen for Erdene’s deception and simply led the expedition in retreat?
Ihyeon too would have been unable to advance to the 100s, his feet bound here.
The result would have been the simultaneous collapse of all main towers across the world.
Though in combat Ihyeon was an unstoppable force, obliterating everything in a single strike,
he had nearly fallen helpless to an attack conducted at the level of spirit and consciousness.
Yet now that Erdene’s illusion had shattered, he no longer seemed threatening.
“You don’t seem interested in fighting.”
Ihyeon spoke to Erdene.
His words were accurate.
Those who had accepted the eclipse into their bodies—needless to say the Duogsinis.
Even the Saedos were desperate to somehow express it outwardly.
Right now, the Cardinals at the round table, presumed to be directly beneath the Bishop, and the Lawkeeper were actively fighting using the eclipse, weren’t they?
But Erdene showed no will to fight through the eclipse even in a situation where his trump card had failed.
He merely stared at Ihyeon quietly.
But that was brief.
Erdene smiled faintly again.
“That is exactly as you say.”
There was no goodwill like before, speaking as though he would fulfill everything for Ihyeon.
Just a calm tone.
Erdene spread both arms and spoke.
“I have no intention of fighting you, Ilgyeok.”
“…You’re relying on the eclipse?”
It was the first thought that came to Ihyeon’s mind.
The Land of Tempest was a place where a total eclipse was constantly unfolding by Erdene’s hand.
Since the high-ranking cult members used the eclipse like a Life Vessel, Erdene’s eclipse would likely be even greater than the Lich’s, and certainly not easy to break through.
But Erdene shook his head even at those words.
“The eclipse here was not caused by me.”
“What?”
Ihyeon, who hadn’t anticipated that far, asked in confusion.
“This is the land of the god I serve. In other words, it is a sacred ground where the god’s will descends most closely. The eclipse is also a small testament to that.”
In other words, the eclipse outside was not Erdene’s.
“It’s an eclipse summoned by the god of death?”
“What would I hide at this point?”
It belonged to their god, the god of death.
Erdene smiled with a half-hollow expression, then spoke in a lonely tone.
“Originally, I had planned to persuade you and send you back, but since things have come to this, I cannot escape death. That too is the god’s will.”
Click-clack— Click—
And Ihyeon, as if he had no need to hear more, immediately finished loading and aimed at Erdene.

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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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