Matan’s Shooter

When Leeha asked, the Beard Brothers looked at each other. Then they burst into laughter.

『That damn Ha Leeha must be plotting something again.』 or 『Anyway, he’s just doing what he’s supposed to do, isn’t he?』

“You just nailed it! Acting all tough while missing the mark! Ha ha ha!”

Listening to their conversation, Leeha felt a strange sense of exhilaration.

Were they preparing another secret weapon against each other? Given the timing, it was certainly related to Tiamat.

‘Those guys couldn’t have missed the footage.’

What blossomed in a corner of his mind was relief.

It was a different kind of reassurance compared to seeing the thick defense line in the central part of the New Continent.

Witnessing new cards from recognized players served as a kind of refuge.

“Okay. Bottleneck Ajussi! Hurry! Finish mine quickly too!”

“W-wait! I’m hurrying as fast as I can!”

The time Leeha spent visiting Bottleneck’s smithy, spreading emergency alerts to Blaugrunn and Bahamut, and organizing his stats and preparations for war took roughly three hours.

Although he moved considerably fast, the enemies were not ordinary monsters.

Despite his expectations, they began to move extraordinarily quickly.

Beeeeep— Beep beep beep beep beep!

“Enemies detected on the radar!”

From the northern side of the central part of the New Continent.

Beep beep beep beep beep— Beep beep beep beep beep—!

“Multiple enemy signals detected from Doctor Doom’s scroll! They seem to be Chimeras!”

From the southern side of the central part of the New Continent. And from the center itself, within the forest of the Contaminated World Tree.

Shuuuuu!

“Alr

“They’ve come.”

“The stacks of scrolls were hardly worth it.”

The reaction came. Much earlier than everyone expected.

It had barely been five hours since they began deploying the stockpiled scrolls, enough for ten days, yet the enemy’s advance was rapid.

User players in the central part of the New Continent, including Kijung, were momentarily taken aback.

However, when gargantuan figures appeared on the map, they couldn’t even be shocked anymore.

“Rubini! This is—”

“Yes. It’s a dragon. At a straight-line distance of about 3.5 km. The chromatic dragons are spread out at regular intervals, but you might as well say they’re clustered together. The problem is……”

Rubini swallowed as she looked at the map.

“They’re coming with the Chimeras.”

The Demon King’s army, allied with the chromatic dragons, was coming.

More precisely, Tiamat, Bluebeard, and Gibehrid were coming.

* * *

“Prepare for battl

“Contact Hwahong Guild! As soon as the warp gate is ready, open it! We need to taxi all the users from the Old Continent here!”

“Summon Pei Wu for Hwangryong! Call all the rankers from the 〈Sacred Alliance〉! The enemy is coming!”

“Find Alexander! Contact Alexander and urgently request help from the metal dragon side!”

The frontline started to become noisy.

Even though they had simulated this several times and had undergone many practical training exercises, actual combat inevitably led to confusion.

As tension, excitement, and fear-induced trembling spread among the user players, Kijung lifted his sword and shield high, shouting.

“We can do this! Absolutely! Just like we practiced!”

The eyes of the user players turned to Kijung.

Standing on one of the roots of the Contaminated World Tree that protruded above ground, Kijung did not avoid the gazes directed at him.

He calmed his breathing and tore a Scroll of Voice Amplification.

『I’ll take the lead! I will block Tiamat’s and the Chromatic Dragons’ attacks from the front! All of you, shake off your worries—』

Then he raised his shield high.

A shield made from a giant’s bone, a jet-black shield that absorbed light amid the shining plate armor of the Holy Knight hypnotized the user players.

『—and fight! Let’s end this war, and Tiamat, together!』

The moment Kijung finished speaking, an emerald green sword descended and pierced through his back.

It looked as if the deity Ahlo particularly favored Kijung. When the green light from the emerald sword enveloped Kijung’s body, all the surrounding users cheered.

“Waaaaah!”

“Master Kay!”

“Master Kay!”

“He’s the best, the cardinal of exorcism!”

“We have a Holy Knight! Let’s gooo!”

Kijung kept smiling as he watched the users shouting to their heart’s content. It was a while later when he heard a woman’s voice in his head.

—”Really, if you intend to incite them, you have to do it properly! You need to clearly define Master Kay’s character to gain an advantage in the C9 vote.”

—”W-Was it not enough as it is?”

—”I told you to raise your shield when I used 〈Guardian’s Sword〉. It was a bit out of sync, and it ended up looking off.”

All of this was part of Raphaela’s plan. Even while preparing for the battle against Tiamat, she was concerned about the selection of the ‘Council of Nine Cardinals.’ Kijung felt a renewed sense of fear towards the Saintess.

‘It’s fortunate she’s on our side. After all, I’m the only one among the cardinals who can actively perform on the battlefield. If I don’t die and achieve something in this war—’

That was Raphaela’s strategy for his certain selection.

—”Is-Is that so? Ah, I’m sorry. I’m not really good at this…”

—”But it was good enough. As long as the reaction isn’t bad. There’s definitely no one more noticeable here than you, Master Kay.”

—”Haha. Indeed, if people like Alexander or Leeha-hyung were here, it wouldn’t have worked as well.”

—”By the end of this battle, you need to position yourself so you won’t be overshadowed, even if Alexander or Ha Leeha are by your side. The rule Master Kay must follow for that is just one.”

—”What is it?”

Raphaela’s voice paused for a moment after hearing Kijung’s question. Although only a few seconds passed, it felt like an eternity to Kijung, who was becoming anxious. Then, Raphaela’s voice came through again.

—”You must not die, Master Kay. As long as you don’t die—I’ll make sure to save you somehow.”

Her voice was undoubtedly trembling. However, the will embedded in her voice remained unshaken. Despite having various cards to play, including the skill 〈Dinosaurization〉, at that moment, it was Raphaela’s voice that Kijung found most trustworthy.

“Alright! I will survive no matter what.”

Kijung mumbled to himself, making a resolution. His voice was loud enough for those nearby to hear.

“Of course, Kijung! That’s the spirit!”

“Indeed. Leading from the front while ensuring survival! As expected of the best tank!”

“If it gets dangerous, call us immediately. With the magic formation here and the skills inscribed on your armor, instant summoning is possible.”

Bobae, Tale, and Hyein were all moved by their guild master’s resolve. Even Biyemi and Jin Gonggong praised him, saying things like ‘He might seem clueless at times, but he steps up when needed,’ and ‘In terms of character, he’s the best among the Middle Earth guild members.’

“R-Right? Aha, haha!”

Kijung felt a bit guilty, knowing all this was due to Raphaela’s whisper, but he hid it with an awkward laugh.

At the same time, Kijung sent a whisper to another person. The most critical point in this war! There was a person who needed to oversee this entire battle.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

—”Ram Hwayeon-ssi! This is Master Kay! The enemies have appeared…”

—”I know. I’m already reporting to Supreme Commander Ewin.”

—”As expected, you are fast. Then, to Leeha-hyung…”

—”I’ve already informed him.”

The supreme commander of the 〈Sacred Alliance〉. If Ewin appeared, not only would the NPCs, but also the users who joined to strengthen the defense line here, would gain even more strength.

Ram Hwayeon had already finished her preparations.

― “Ah… As expected! There’s a reason why my aunt likes you, Ram Hwayeon-ssi. Leeha-hyung mentioned it. After visiting last year, my aunt kept talking to him about you~”

― “What― What?! What do you mean…?”

― “Puhahahaha! That’s all for today! I’ll tell you after the battle!”

Throwing a ‘bomb’ at Ram Hwayeon, Kijung relaxed.

He might have laughed even more heartily if he had known that Ram Hwayeon had staggered on her way to knock on Ewin’s door.

And as the saying goes, speak of the tiger, and it appears.

Swoosh―!

A pale violet light flashed beside Kijung.

“Kijung!”

“Hyung!”

Leeha appeared with a stern face.

He briskly moved to Rubini’s side to examine the map without any formal greetings. The distribution of the enemies was not as widespread as expected.

At least, until then, it was within expectations.

“Rubini-nim, what about Tiamat?”

“Still… not detected.”

There was no reason to spread out too widely, as long as Tiamat was present.

Colored dragons and chimeras? The same applied to them. As long as Tiamat lived, they would display even stronger power.

“3.3 kilometers in a straight line. Their advance is slow.”

“It makes me more uneasy, sensing their confidence.”

A few minutes had passed, and they had only advanced about 200 meters. It was a decidedly cautious approach.

Were they conserving strength for a sweeping attack? Perhaps Tiamat intended to show her power first, and then advance at full speed.

“It’s lucky for us.”

Nodding at Rubini’s words, Leeha recognized that, despite everything, buying even a little time was fortunate.

― “Blaugrunn-ssi, finish the report?”

― “Yes. The Lord has awakened. Bailephus-nim and Arzenmacht, along with all the metal dragons, are gathering here.”

At least it meant that the metal dragon leader had time to prepare.

Bahamut had issued a summon to all adult-level metal dragons, and it took them only a few seconds to gather.

― “However, he said he won’t come immediately. We should go first, and he will arrive when Tiamat shows her true form.”

― “Hmm, indeed. That may be better. Since we also have Bluebeard and Ghibrid on our side.”

If Bahamut revealed himself first and got exposed to an attack from the two Demon King’s Fragments?

There would be no one left to hold back Tiamat, even momentarily.

That would result in the worst outcome.

Therefore, knowing the locations of the main enemy forces was essential to prevent that.

“Rubini-nim, have you found the Demon King’s Fragments?”

“We can track Bluebeard. But Ghibrid and Tiamat are still unknown.”

Rubini fiddled with the holographic map.

Beyond where the chromatic dragons were clustered, there appeared one overwhelmingly large circle.

“Usually, it wouldn’t show up, but there’s a reason it’s revealing itself now.”

Although Rubini sought opinions from everyone, no one was quick to answer.

The sheer magnitude of power held by the Demon King’s Fragment displayed on the map gave them much to ponder.

Leeha was the only one to respond to her words.

“Well, there could be several reasons. The first is deliberate. Everyone here knows that damn thing loves to play tricks.”

“Huh? Hyung? Then what’s the second?”

Kijung asked Leeha.

Leeha did not answer Kijung. After closely examining the map and checking the direction, he pulled back the bolt.

The heavy clank of metal reverberated.