Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

It was not Kijung who answered Leeha’s question, but Bobae.

“…. It was Shin Nara, that girl didn’t even say a word—”

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

“She’s not telling us anything! Ugh, it’s so frustrating! I have no idea what’s going on either!”

Bobae suddenly burst out in frustration.

Leeha knew that Lark was with Shin Nara, but beyond that, he was completely at a loss, leaving him confused.

“Hehe, Ha Leeha?”

“Yes?”

“There should still be a bit of the crystal ball video left. Why don’t you finish it?”

Biyemi pointed at the crystal ball with his fingernail.

Leeha tilted his head in confusion and looked at the crystal ball again.

Quite a number of users were already dead, and the last line of defense, including Byulcho, was retreating.

“What’s this about? Isn’t it over now? They’ve exited the barrier area, and Hyein-ssi seems to be drawing a mass teleportation magic circle—”

“Look closely at the left end. Try zooming in.”

As Hyein drew the magic circle on the ground and lifted his head, something passed swiftly at the edge of his left field of vision.

“Hey—something just—”

It was so far off that Leeha couldn’t recognize it properly.

Biyemi stood up from his seat and approached Leeha. He skillfully manipulated the crystal ball to rewind the video and played it again.

Just at the moment Hyein lifted his head from the ground! Biyemi paused the video.

“Do you see it now?”

“Hmm…it’s so blurry; I can’t make out—”

“Then—how about this? Doesn’t it look a bit clearer?”

Biyemi zoomed in on the crystal ball.

It still wasn’t very clear. Some white and slightly dark blue figures seemed to be entwined?

“Wait a second. This….”

However, one thing was unmistakably clear.

Even though it was hard to discern the outlines due to the distance, one thing stood out.

“A—rainbow—?”

There was a brilliant rainbow trail behind that mass. Leeha knew only one person who could produce such an effect.

“Lark?”

“I just mentioned it. How would they have moved at the time Alexander wasn’t logged in? Can you guess? Did you figure it out, Ha Leeha-ssi?”

What Biyemi regretted indicating was that Alexander hadn’t participated in this battle.

How did the chromatic dragons know Alexander was absent? Leeha understood what Biyemi was saying but simultaneously didn’t want to comprehend it.

“What the… Biyemi-ssi, what are you talking about?”

“I should have said something from the beginning…. I’m sorry, guild master.”

Biyemi bowed his head towards Kijung. Kijung waved his hand, indicating it was fine.

Leeha hurriedly looked at Kijung and asked.

“No way—Kijung?”

“What’s there to ask, hyung. That bastard Lark betrayed us.”

Kijung confirmed it definitively.

“That’s impossible. There’s no way!”

“I even checked with Biyemi and Petyr. There was a time when Alexander went to hunt Onyx, but only the other chromatic dragons reacted; Onyx never came out.”

“What does that have to do with anything—”

“Kikik, Alexander left, and then Onyx appeared.”

“It could be a coincidence! Right now, Tiamat is more important than anyone―”

“Coincidence? Not only Onyx but other chromatic dragons also said something similar like ‘thanks to listening to Lark’s words, they didn’t fall into the trap.’ Even Petyr must’ve heard something similar… Moreover, I have another recording.”

Biyemi fiddled with the crystal ball.

Although everyone’s gaze turned to it for a moment, no user paid particular attention.

It meant that all of them had already seen this video.

The video was short.

After a brief quarrel between Biyemi and Petyr, they fell silent as the video began.

The location was somewhere in a rugged mountainous region, and they were looking at somewhere along the mountainside.

Although it seemed there was nothing peculiar as it was protected by a barrier, the screen wavered whenever chromatic dragons passed by.

Biyemi fast-forwarded the footage, knowing the scene he wanted to show was obvious.

The important part was that chromatic dragons including Onyx were coming and going through the barrier.

And beside them were two humans, captured clearly this time.

“Lark… and Nara…”

Leeha unknowingly turned his head towards Bobae.

Bobae sighed deeply. Trying to calm her earlier rage, she finally spoke.

“Whispering, you know, it’s all blocked. It’s frustrating and annoying not being able to contact them, so I tried calling and texting… All they say is ‘I can’t talk right now.’”

“Now? Can’t talk? About what?”

“That’s what we don’t know. Being with Lark? Following that man? Or perhaps…”

Betrayed.

Whatever it was, it was not a trivial matter.

The reason users including Kijung felt so downcast wasn’t just because of Tiamat’s appearance.

If Lark betrayed them, how should they regard Shin Nara for not stopping him?

Isn’t she a traitor too?

One of the top ten rankers, 8th place Shin Nara, a member of the Sacred Knights, betraying them?

“I don’t think that’s the case. Nara might not even know what she’s doing right now. She’s likely been tricked by that damned Lark.”

Knowing what Leeha was thinking, Bobae added a word.

Drastically changing the course from what they’ve been doing was nearly impossible.

In other words, abandoning all the affinity and achievements they’ve built in Middle Earth was almost the same thing.

All the users knew this, so they didn’t consider Shin Nara a traitor.

They just thought she had fallen into some sort of trap.

Leeha could read their thoughts clearly. And he thought about Lark and Shin Nara.

Why, how, for what reason.

What did their actions mean?

Both had blocked Leeha’s whispers. Both Lark and Shin Nara had a rather special relationship with Leeha, didn’t they?

Yet they acted this way? What could their true intent be?

Leeha finally understood.

He had seen Tiamat’s incredible majesty and the unity of the chromatic dragons. He felt a sense of powerlessness thinking they couldn’t face them even with all their forces combined. But that alone didn’t explain the sense of defeat filling this place.

The reason for the sense of defeat among the gathered users was because of Lark and Shin Nara’s betrayal.

But Leeha thought differently.

“No.”

“Huh? What isn’t?”

“It’s not a betrayal.”

“Yeah, right. You know Shin Nara well and probably kept in contact―”

“No, we didn’t stay in frequent contact. And I’m not talking about Nara.”

“Huh? Then who?”

When Leeha spoke resolutely, Kijung, Bobae, and Ram Hwayeon looked surprised.

“Yes. I’m saying Lark wouldn’t have betrayed us.”

“K-Kikik! Ha Leeha? This isn’t the time for such jokes!”

“No, it’s not a joke. As Biyemi recorded… it’s certain that Lark and Nara may be ‘on their side’ right now. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a betrayal.”

Biyemi tried to question Leeha with an exasperated tone as if asking how he couldn’t see it, but Leeha maintained a firm expression.

He chose to remain silent.

After all, it was rare for Leeha to be this adamant about something.

“Hyung… do you know something? Why are you so sure? Lark… if I’m being honest, he’s a pretty annoying guy! In the early days of the New Continent… have you forgotten? Who else but Lark would know Alexander’s logout time?”

He was someone who went around ‘subduing’ everyone here in paleo.

The one who devised those subjugation strategies and utilized the persistent achievements to benefit the Virtue Knights.

If he had already been aligned with the Chromatic Dragons, and if he had sensed Alexander’s plot to assassinate Onyx using some skill…

Lark was the person who would have considered that the best time for the Chromatic Dragons to move to the New Continent was when Alexander was not in Middle Earth.

That was the point Kijung was trying to make. Leeha also understood it well enough.

‘But… no. It can’t be.’

Yet Leeha was unwavering.

He knew something that the gathered users did not.

“No, it’s not a betrayal. Ram Hwayeon, as you know well, I haven’t been in recent contact with Shin Nara. So honestly, I don’t know much about Nara. But… I believe Nara has her reasons. And those reasons likely tie into Lark’s actions.”

“Kikit, so Ha Leeha-ssi thinks Lark is acting with a certain purpose, and therefore, we should trust both people?”

“Yes. That’s what I believe.”

Leeha looked into Biyemi’s eyes.

Biyemi’s sharp and narrow gaze softened momentarily.

After making a short clicking noise through his teeth, he shrugged his shoulders.

“I guess I should cancel the bounty placed to Petyr. Kik!”

Biyemi and Petyr weren’t ones to let Lark’s betrayal slide.

They had already begun working to socially ostracize Lark from Minis, and now they declared they would cancel that plan after hearing Leeha.

During Leeha’s moment of confusion, Kijung also organized his thoughts.

He looked at his older cousin.

“So, hyung? What will you do now? You know what’s coming, right?”

“Hmm. Tiamat… will come.”

Onyx and the Chromatic Dragons would all cross over.

Neither Bluebeard nor Tiamat would sit idly by.

That was Leeha’s biggest fear, the event Bahamut had warned him to prevent at all costs.

“At the very least, we need to concentrate the battlefield in one area. Kijung, can you manage that?”

“… While dealing with Chimeras would be somewhat easier, preventing teleporting dragons―”

“It won’t be easy, but we can do it. If we line up 40 dragons, they would form a front line about a kilometer long. If they’re packed tightly, we may need to consider at least two kilometers. Any longer would be unmanageable. It might be costly, but we need to purchase a lot of spatial barrier scrolls and place them at intervals. For terrains where regular defenses can’t cover, we will have to use alarm scrolls as our best bet. Concentrate our forces there and reinforce the remaining areas with smaller guilds and paleo, and the forces of the ‘Sacred Alliance’.”

Ram Hwayeon, predicting Leeha’s way of thinking, devised a broad but tight defensive plan centered around the New Continent.

“Ram Hwayeon?”

“This would cost a lot. Maintaining this daily during peacetime would be difficult… but we can hold out for about two weeks. We need to figure out the budget from the ‘Sacred Alliance’ and make detailed adjustments.”

Scrolls inscribed with skills are expensive. Continuously using them to maintain a defensive line for 24 hours isn’t easy.

A long and solid defense setup, with a clear timeframe in mind.

Ram Hwayeon proposed this idea. Whether or not it would be accepted depended on the ‘Sacred Alliance’ commander.

“Alright, do it. And about Ewin―”

“I’ll go. I’ll go with Ram Hwayeon to get the commander’s approval. Hyein hyung, Biyemi, you come along too.”

If Kijung, who had maintained the defense line for so long, spoke, it would carry enough persuasive power. Adding Ram Hwayeon to cover any logical gaps and Biyemi’s intelligence capabilities would be even better.

Kijung instinctively identified the areas where he lacked.

The gathered users knew what they had to do.

Tale contacted Pei Wu, and Bobae went to find Browless.

The stagnant atmosphere began to fill with energy. Hyein looked at Leeha with a satisfied expression.

He knew who was responsible for this shift.