Matan’s Shooter

Chapter 751

Arcane Sniper 751

As Shin Nara dashed forward using her skills, she once again adjusted her stance. It wasn’t like the berserker from the past. Unlike the days when he only used his blood, now he had learned to utilize the blood of others as well. If that was the case, what would happen if the ability to absorb blood differed based on the level of others? Shin Nara’s plan to give skin and take bones would turn out to be a highly appreciated tactic by Igor.

“Oh my, oh my. You call yourself the Rainbow Knight. Turns out you’re just using your head. The title of Knight is too good for you. Just being a dog suits you.”

Igor gritted his teeth as Shin Nara’s attitude changed again. He realized that he had been deceived by Lark’s words. It was truly remarkable how she could unravel people’s minds and extract information.

“At this rate, we won’t be able to end the fight. But even so, Lark’s mind didn’t stop working. Should I eventually leave it to Leeha? Defeat the necromancer on that side and join forces… Wait? That’s annoying!”

Facing Igor’s attacks where complete evasion and defense were impossible, delaying the time would eventually put them at a disadvantage. They needed to find a way to turn the tables.

“Dame Shin, please stall time.”

“Time? How long?”

“20 seconds is enough.”

In the end, Lark decided to go all-in with a single blow. As he focused his strength while holding his sword, sin Nara took a step forward. Seeing her posture trying to protect Lark, Igor chuckled.

“What do you think you can do now? If it were just you, Knight, you wouldn’t even be able to grab my belt. You must want to hold on desperately, but hey! Kaka kaka!”

“Ridiculous.”

“I agree. Thanks to you, my eyes are burning with excitement. Please, dame Shin!”

Although there was a provocation nature contained in his words, there was no user who couldn’t understand the underlying sexism present.

Sparks didn’t only jump from Lark’s eyes.

“Red Line.”

“Where?!”

As sparks began to jump from his sword, Igor charged towards Shin Nara.

“That won’t do! Concentration Reinforcement!”

Shin Nara also didn’t stop. She didn’t need to find a way kill Igor. But what if she just defended? Possible!

The clear sound, like pouring into a glass, resonated.

“Ka-hat?! What is this? A trick?”

Igor was momentarily taken aback. Unlike a typical sword, his own weapon was made up of thousands of blades with varying curves and lengths. Not to mention that every single sword was coated, making it impossible to find any specific aspect or point, how did Shin Nara exactly manage to block Igor’s sword?

“It’s an established skill.”

She had developed a level of concentration where she could count the wing beats of a flying fly. Shin Nara precisely visualized Igor’s stance, the weight of the sword, and its center, even drawing the shape of the sword dipped in coated blood in her mind, accurately blocking Igor’s attacks without exerting much force.

Of course, it was only possible for a short while while the skill was active.

“Interesting skill. A woman should appreciate skills. If I had skills, it would be quite nice.”

“Don’t talk nonsense-”

『Blood Drain』.”

“-Ack!”

Having exchanged words with Shin Nara, Igor immediately used his skill.

It was a skill that pulled in spilled blood, acting as Bloodsucker, assisting in handling blood more efficiently.

However, what happens when you use it on a ‘specific individual’?

The blood coursing through Shin Nara’s body had no choice but to head towards Igor, and as the blood inside her body surged, Shin Nara’s physical self would inevitably follow suit.

“Shin Nara!”

Cheka rushed forward in alarm, but Igor’s movements were even faster. Since they were in a standoff, even a slight faltering in Shin Nara’s posture would reveal a definite weakness.

With one step, one swing of the sword, it would be enough to cut through Shin Nara’s body.

“Kakaka! Ranker achievements are sweet! 『Bloodsow』!”

“Inii – you won’t die-”

Shin Nara resisted with all her might, but Igor paid her no mind. The sawtooth sword coated in blood began to move like a chainsaw. It was clear that the cutting force would be several times stronger than simply swinging it.

“Let’s see if you die or not!”

As Cheka raised the axe and sprinted at full speed, at the moment Igor swung his sword,

A voice came from behind Shin Nara.

“You can’t do that! Nara-ssi!”

Whooaaaah!

The sawtooth sword, spinning like a chainsaw, collided with something green.

Like a weak twig against a chainsaw, the mass covered in vines was cleaved in half in an instant.

The corners of Igor’s mouth slightly lifted.

But it wasn’t a smirk of triumph.

“… A brat without any achievements.”

It was the derisive smile of someone watching something foolish. That was all.

“Cough… L-Lark, Lark-ssi!”

『Rainbow Knight』!”

It was Lark, not Shin Nara, who got cut by the sawblade of blood.

Despite jumping in to protect Shin Nara along with 『Green Embrace』, it wasn’t enough to stop Igor’s increased cutting power, and as a result, he found himself fully exposed to the damage as well.

“Get lost, you police brat!”

*Gasp!*

With just one swift attack, Cheka had to pull back his arm.

He knew that if he didn’t, his entire forearm would be cut off by Igor’s.

Smiling at Cheka’s distorted expression, igore spoke.

Killing Cheka to release the debuffs and abnormal status would make it easier to kill Shin Nara and Lark. The Giant Bloodsucker, who had already incapacitated Lark, immediately shifted his target to Cheka. Meanwhile, Shin Nara knelt beside the fallen Lark on the ground.

“Are you okay? Potion! Drink the potion quickly!”

Frantically, Shin Nara poured the potion over Lark’s wound and brought the bottle to his lips.

“Lady… in front of me… this expression… cough!”

“What??”

Cutting from his side to just short of his navel, it seemed like a level of injury from which recovery would be impossible, but fortunately, Lark’s stamina exceeded the norm.

“It hurts like hell…”

Despite coughing up blood, the knight managed to joke with a smile.

Shin Nara had to go through several changes of expression while looking at him.

“How can you joke like this now – what – why did you do that!”

How can you joke in this situation? Stop talking nonsense.

And why did you do that?

Even with the effects of the potion, Lark’s healing was slow.

Due to the special effect of 『Blood Soak』, the healing rate of wounds was drastically reduced.

With a still pale face, Lark quietly said to Shin Nara while looking at her.

“As I said… we are…”

“What??”

“… A couple, that’s why… took the hit.”

Shin Nara stared at the vomiting Lark blankly. What did that mean? If that statement was true, what was the meaning behind everything Lark had said so far?

“Lark!”

Shin Nara called out Lark’s name desperately. His eyes, half-closed, opened wide.

“I’m not dead yet… First, help… Cheka…”

“Y-Yes, yes, okay!”

Shin Nara followed his instructions, feeling puzzled. As they watched him regain his strength and raise his voice once again, she also seemed to be invigorated.

“You, Igor!”

Moments before the fire ignited on the sword of Shin Nara, Igor’s expression twisted.

“Oh, well. I’d love to play a bit more, but it seems time is running out. Let’s meet again next time. I’ll make sure to drain all your blood then, you scoundrels.”

“Where are you going!” 『Bang-thud』!

Before a Sonic Boom could occur from the ultra-high-speed thrust, Igor’s body had already vanished. Strictly speaking, since his voice still lingered, it wasn’t teleportation. Moreover, the light blue dome, spatial lock, was still active.

“What? Igor? Igor!”

Through the vampire skill Fogging, Shin Nara was unaware that Igor had disappeared.

While Shin Nara stabbed into empty space searching for Igor, Cheka approached Lark.

“Is the Rainbow Knight alright!?”

“I, huff, it’s fine. What about the village? No, about Leeha!? Please check on that first. We need to know the outcome.”

“Understood. Then-”

Shwack, at that moment, the spatial lock was lifted.

As soon as it released, a blinding light emanated from them.

“Igor!”

“Leeha-ssi!? What happened?

What about over there? The Dragon? Faust?”

Lark grabbed his side and managed to rise to a sitting position.

Although he was still in a state where he needed to gulp down a potion, he understood that the results were more important than his own condition.

“… I’m sorry. I missed it.”

And Leeha’s expression darkened. The burden of disappointing their expectations weighed heavily on his heart.

“You missed it? You, missed that? You missed something like a necromancer? Even if you had holes in your body, you should’ve gone twelve more feet – cursing, the like of it?! To go with the dragons and all-”

“What about the dragon. What about the white dragon?”

“T-that’s right! What about the white dragon, high Sir?”

“That…”

Leeha couldn’t bring himself to say any more.

“Leeha-nim~…”

Only Blaugrunn, who had witnessed the entire situation through Leeha’s eyes, couldn’t blame him.

Lark and Cheka had to deal with the aftermath of Fiorenza City, while Leeha and Shin Nara compiled additional details about Faust and Igor’s distinctive features and skills. The fact that they had prevented the city’s destruction was somewhat comforting.

After the sun had set, they gathered again and began sharing information.

The most significant piece of information Leeha had uncovered was a potential aspect that might play a big role in a future assault on Faust.

“This bonding thing…”

“It’s a method of merging souls together.”

As they listened to Blaugrunn’s explanation, Lark, Shin Nara, and Cheka all had slightly perplexed expressions.

It was something none of the three could fully comprehend.

“It was vague, but I definitely heard it, Possession. Now Faust can not only summon the undead, but it seems he can also summon the souls of the dead.”

His sigh deepened.

“As such… it’s entirely possible to imbue souls into one’s own body as well.”

“So, are you saying he has become stronger?”

“Not in terms of how much he has strengthened.”

He let out another sigh. Why did Blaugrunn have to stop at that critical moment?

Using 『Terror Spirit: Summon』 means that one must freeze all enemies except for oneself and one’s allies.

Resistance – beyond the state of undead. It’s the most definitive proof of Faust using Possession.

Even the Bone Dragon, let alone the Lich Dragon, was not dominated by the terror spirit.

Blaugrunn referred to it as a state of resistance beyond that of the higher undead.

For those who are already dead, there is no longer any such thing as fear. It seemed like an obvious statement. But what about Faust?

Why summon those who are not dead?

Right there, the deduction by Leeha and Blaugrunn began, with the conclusion that Faust had utilized the skill 『Possession』 to undeadify himself.

“I managed to defeat one Bone Dragon, but one Lich Dragon has increased…”

“The other side has two Lich Dragons and three Bone Dragons, it seems.”

“Igor’s strength also underestimated the information. If they were together, we would all be dead.”

Listening to Lark and Shin Nara’s story, Cheka quickly organized the situation.

No one could refute it. In reality, they rushed into battle in a manner dictated by the enemy, and the consequences of being unprepared were painful.

“What’s more serious is that I feel it would be difficult for me to engage with them in combat. Depending on the situation, I might just have to retreat.”

“Huh? Why, Leeha?”

“Uh, right. Did you forget about the one failure?”

“Don’t rile him up at times like this, Lark. And there’s no need to talk like that… It’s not about enthusiasm.”

“Heh, heh! Then?”

Lark asked quickly, looking embarrassed. It was an intention to provoke anger in the enthusiastic opponent to bring them back into battle, but Leeha saw through it in an instant.

The reason Leeha felt it would be difficult to participate in combat was not simply because of one failure.

“When I’m there, they become stronger. Both movement speed and attack speed increase by 60%.”

“Really? 60%?”

“… This is insane. If it were raised by over 60% from Igor’s final state-”

“Igor alone would be able to kill all of us.”

Cheka quickly organized the situation once again. No one could refute that statement either.