Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Chapter 260

Kraven also noticed something was wrong, but they couldn’t miss the prey wagging its tail in front of them.

“Fibiel forces are turning port!”

“So suddenly?”

“I-I don’t know- all of their fleets are turning port-”

“Sailing station! What’s on the left side? Where can their fleet hide?”

“There aren’t any! There are no islands or land!”

“Hmm……. Does the movement of the 3rd fleet have anything to do with our movement? Why did they change direction?”

The admiral of the 7th fleet, who was at the forefront of the Kraven Fleet, tilted his head. It was said that a ship deviated, and all the ships of the 3rd fleet turned to catch it.

The 7th fleet, could not accurately grasp the situation at the rear.

What was the ship that deviated?

And why did Fibiel, who didn’t even have the time to run away, suddenly turn back? The 7th fleet’s questions were quickly answered.

“Urgent! The admiral of the third fleed is dead!”

“What?”

“The admiral of the 3rd fleet died, and the 3rd fleet was absorbed and reorganized by the 2nd fleet located next to them- the cause of death is unknown, and a ship is rapidly approaching the 2nd fleet – that was what they said!”

“What are you talking about? Rotrey is dead?”

“T-That is right.”

The user who brought the urgent news stuttered. He was only reporting what he heard from a whisper, and he did not understand the current situation himself. NPCs used the information transfer where the information is shared by flag-bearers waving flags. And the NPC admiral did not exactly understand how users whisper to each other.

Because of the unique system of Middle Earth that emphasized reality, only inconvenienced the users.

‘I thought the perhaps the admiral would know, but he doesn’t? Shit, what happened?? What’s the 3rd fleet messenger doing, can’t he communicate properly?’

And then, shortly afterwards, at the rear of the 7th fleet, dong, dodododng-! Noises were heard.

It was the sound of an allied bombardment that Kraven’s navy was familiar with.

“Our allied 2nd fleet are firing! One enemy ship is approaching! The distance is about 1.5 nautical miles, but the enemy’s 2nd fleet is taking over the 3rd fleet, so the gravity of bombardment is-”

The user is still receiving news via whisper. However, his words suddenly stopped. His face turned as blue as seawater.

“So? How is it? Wouldn’t it be okay to send a speed boat, block the enemy’s expected course, hold their ankles, and fire a cannon? Kraven’s fleet is having trouble with only one-”

“Kraven 2nd Fleet’s admiral… died. The enemy ship widened their distance again, and it is estimated that they are heading toward the 4th fleet……”

“-What? Who died?”

The 7th fleet’s admiral’s forehead wrinkled. Only then did the 3rd fleet’s flag fluttered.

The admirals of the 2nd and third battlion at the second row died in a similar way, and the enemy is heading toward the 4th fleet.

The calculation of the systematically superior NPC was fast.

“Deliver the message to the 4th fleet’s admiral immediately! Flag -bearer! Tell him to hide immediately! The enemy has come with some secret weapon! Hurry!”

“Roger that!”

“And call commander Drake!”

Normal NPCs can only communicate with each other through flag-bearers. However, how about the commander-in-chief? The strongest person in the Kraven Navy and commander-in-chief had no such restriction.

“Contact- uh…… Admiral!”

“What?”

“Over there……. It’s the commander.”

The Serpent Fleet was approaching at great speed. It was the appearance that made Kraven cheer and Fibiel sigh.

“Uwaaaaah! Let’s go, let’s go!”

“The cannon shots are falliiiiiiing-! Hold on tight!”

Chuwaaaang, chuwaaaaang-!

The rising foam wetted the deck of the sailfish. Users and NPCs who were already wet became like mice that fell on water once again. Even though the salty sea water covered their bodies, noone complained.

“The galleons of the 2nd and 3rd fleet are chasing us from behind!”

“Ignore them! Even if there are a hundred of those idiots, they can’t hit us!”

They could only shoot from the side. In other words, if they were facing the enemy, they would not be able to shoot. And by the time Kraven turns to its side and opens the artillery door, the Sailfish would have already widened the distance.

Burke and the crew were more than confident their ship, the Sailfish.

‘That’s two. If two more admirals are killed, Kraven will automatically collapse.’

The death of one or two admirals would not be a major problem for the command system. However, ships that should be handled by eight admirals cannot be handled by only 4 admirals.

It was not a simple operation, and even more when artillery battles had to be waged. Therefore, the core of the quest was to remove 4 admiral, and Kraven would have no choice but to retreat to their country.

When Leeha was carefully preventing the Black Bass from getting wet, a user hurriedly ran towards the helm and shouted.

“Keok, C-Commander!”

“What is it?”

“There is an emergency signal from the main unit! On the port side of the main unit, a fleet was rapidly approaching from afar …”

“He-hehehe, right, that’s right. After all, if sharks smell blood, they will come. Everyone brace yourselves! The second storm is coming! The Storm named Drake is coming!”

Burke couldn’t help but exclaim.

He clenched his teeth as he frowned to forcibly eliminate his fear.

“Ah, it’s going to be sweltering.”

“We’re in trouble. Where did they come from? Did they see us?”

“I don’t know. He just showed up-”

“I, I can see them! I can see them! I see the Serpent Fleet! Their are as fast as our ship, no, they are faster!”

While the users were terrified by Drake’s name, the NPC in the watchtower shouted.

The Sailfish was already located behind the Kraven’s direction of travel.

To the right of the Sailfish, Kraven’s 2nd and 3rd lost fleets were in a hurry, and Kraven’s 4th fleet turned to the 2 o’clock direction of the Sailfish and waited.

At the Sailfish’s 12 o’clock, a fleet was clearly visible in the distant sea. They were sailing through the waves as fast as the Sailfish before.

The fleet with tremendous speed was not facing the back of Fibiel’s main force.

“Captain.”

“Yes?”

“Drake is coming.”

“I know.”

“Do you know who is chasing after?”

“Well, it’s obvious.”

“They are coming for us.”

“Right. That’s what I mean.”

Drake was accelerating towards the Sailfish, not Kraven’s main force. Burke ignored the navigator’s remark. The users who were listening to the side were envious of the NPC’s calmness.

“What?”

“Who?”

“Where is he heading?”

The users looked at each other. The screams were almost simultaneous.

The Second Storm is comiiiiiiiing?!!!!

In the bow part of the Sea Serpent, which ran through the waves, a man wearing a triangle hat was stroking his mustache. His eyes seemed to pierce a ship at the distant sea that he could not yet see properly.

“They are daring.”

“Yes?”

“I knew that he had a strong heart, but did he have the ability to do that? Or does he have someone he believes in.”

“What…… are you talking about?”

One user looked at the expression of the man touching his mustache. He didn’t know if the man was talking to himself or if he was giving an order.

And the man in the triangle hat, who had been looking at the sea for a long time, shook his head and turned and shouted.

“Call the fleet. They don’t have to chase Fibiel’s main force.”

“W-what are you talking about, commander? What should we do if we don’t chase Fibiel’s main force?”

The Kraven user who heard Drake’s order was barely able to ask. Assisting him, one of the most difficult NPCs to contend with, was a quest in itself.

“Are all of our navy’s admirals blind? Are you saying that they don’t know what that ship is?”

“Sorry. I haven’t seen it yet-”

“That ship is the Sailfish.”

“Sailfish?”

“It’s the ship of Fibiel’s navy commander. Contact the entire fleet! Tell them to surround that small ship that is currently heading towards the 4th fleet, and pour out all your skills. Now!”

How could they recognize the pattern of a ship that was 20km away? However, among NPCs, NPCs specialized in the sea could recognize it.

Drake’s orders were like from a god of the sea. The Kraven users also understood his meaning.

It was the ship where Fibiel’s naval commander is on!

“Understood!”

“Serpent Fleet, use all your acceleration skills. Get it done in 40 seconds! Let’s see Burke’s face as soon as possible.”

Ay, Ay, Sir!

Exactly 40 seconds later, all the ships of the Serpent’s Fleet turned at once. It was unbelievably fast for a battleship.

“Admiral Scott! The Kraven Fleet- there’s something strange about the Kraven’s Fleet.”

“What?”

Chwaaa, chwaaa, meanwhile shots were falling near Fibiel’s fleet. Although they were only appearing and running away repeatedly, and only retreated after simple baiting, ships could be seen getting hit directly by Kraven’s artillery.

“They…… are not turning.”

Turning port and firing, then returning to starboard to increase the speed, firing the starboard cannon as it is, and turning again to port- has been the pattern of the Kraven Navy so far..

It is because both guns can be fired alternately, and the Kraven army can catch up with the Fibiel army even with such a maneuver, which inevitably loses a lot of speed, unless Fibiel does not ‘intentionally’ speed up.

—

“Hmm? What is that…?”

However, it was now different.

Ships that have been facing port do not turn their bows to the right. Ah yes, a maneuver that seems to go back after making a u-turn.

Fibiel’s Admiral eyes lit up with sparks. “C, Call the entire fleet! Turn quickly! Turn quickly!”

“Yes?”

“The commander is in danger! They figured out what ship he is on! Turn the entire fleet! Chase after Kraven!”

It was Fibiel who was trying to lure. But now the position had changed. Fibiel’s ships began to turn in a hurry. However, after the Kraven had already turned, they were building a huge encirclement toward the Sailfish.

“Oh, t-the main force- the main force are turning! Before Kraven’s 2nd and 3rd fleet were taken over, they turned around and are getting led by the remaining 6 fleets!”

“Yeeeees-! Great! Then we can win!”

“They have 8 fleets right? Great! Then, aren’t we ahead just by looking at the numbers?!”

“……It’s a pity we can’t see the moment of victory. Drake is coming.”

The news of Drake’s appearance was enough to nullify the good news that they heard before.

“No! Our chances of surviving have increased! Drake will not go after us if he is going after the commander!”

The expression of the users improved even as the Second Storm approached. In fact, the mood across Dike Beach dramatically changed after two Kraven admirals were killed. After being beaten one-sidedly, they though they would either survive or lose until the war is over!

Leeha also heard it.

“Did the main force change direction?”

“Yes! I don’t know if they’re going to fight, but they say they’re using roaming around the artillery room! Of course, you want to fight, right?”

However, Leeha’s expression was dark.

If 6 Kraven fleet and 8 Fibiel fleet engaged in an all-out shelling battle, it will be worth fighting for. However, if they seriously fought each other, the damage to Fibiel’s army will naturally be significant.

‘No. I have to save as many as possible. We need to maintain as many troops as possible so we can catch up on the Marching Plains.’

Leeha’s objective wasn’t simply winning in the Dike Beach. These forces must be used as reinforcements in the battles across Minis. In that case, the preservation of the troops were essential, and indiscriminate attrition could not be waged.

“Commander, call the main unit. Widen the distance. Tell them not to stick to Kraven.”

When Lee Ha was about to open his mouth, Burke, who was holding the helm, started to talk first.

The instructions of the NPC who had the same thoughts as Leeha were quick. However, the user who received the instruction did not understand Burke’s words properly.

“……What?”

“Tell the 2nd Fleet admiral, no, call Scott. This is my command. All of Fibiel’s Fleet is not allowed to engage Kraven. Tell them to focus on escaping from Kraven. Right now. A poor baiting strategy will only lead to a dog fight.”

At Burke’s words, the user’s mouth twitched.

What did he mean by that? He wanted to ask what kind of situation the Sailfish would be in if they did that, but Burke overwhelmed the user with just his eyes.

The momentum that something would happen if they spout nonsense spread on the Sailfish i.

“I…… understand.”

The navigator sighed as the user walked away with an expression that he had eaten shit.

“Captain, you know what that means, right? If you’re already senile, you will be in trouble.”

“Kuhahaha, of course. We should do our job!”

“Well, I don’t think admiral Scott will turn back because of the captain…”

Burke shrugged his shoulders.

“Done! I ordered you to go back, so that’s it! Watchtower! Measure the distance from Kraven’s 4th fleet! And report on Drake’s position every minute!”

“Understood! They were only 3 nautical miles away from Kraven’s 4th fleet in the 2o’clock direction! Within the effective range of the Culverin! And the distance from the Serpent Fleet was roughtly- uh- 11 nautical miles!”

Leeha couldn’t help but laugh as he listened to Burke’s instructions

‘It’s Fibiel’s job to be bold! Doesn’t he have a heart stronger than any other NPC? Seriously, I mean it was crazy to think that he was going to get stuck in Drake’s fleet before he talked about the operation, but…”

Truly a seaman, Burke hummed as he grimmaced.

And they were about 5.5 nautical miles from the Sailfish, dung, dung, dung-! A gunshot rang out.

“Focus on evasive maneuver again, port, port!”

Port!

Huwaaaah-.

The Sailfish quickly approached Kraven’s 4th fleet. And at a faster speed than that, Drake’s 9th fleet approach from 20k away.