Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter]

Chapter 288

It’s crude, but it was clearly a crossbow, and some even held shields as large as doors next to the ones holding crossbows. It meant that they were able to identify the weakness of a crossbow and supplement it.

‘Not only that, but they have different weapons and compared to the troll in the Sentinel Mountains carrying clubs, these trolls look like an army.’

There were no trolls that could be considered ‘workers’ like the kobolds and orcs.

They were not able to grow crops in the north and could only hunt, so they were even more ferocious and powerful. The northern trolls who were equipped with blunt weapons, shields, and spear knives suitable for their size, could be called a real monster army.

[Looking at the northern troll tribe.]

[Nothing suspicious so far.]

[Gathering information 0.6%]

‘0.6% every hour. If we do it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.’

Leeha also considered Luger and Kidd in his calculations. They were not able to pick out anything out of place so the notification window did not show anything unusual.

“I think the seeker coming out earlier is just an unexpected situation.”

“It’s possible.”

Kidd agreed with Leeha’s statement. Additionally, Leeha thought that if nothing special happened for the time being, the three of them did not have to be there at the same time.

“I think it will only take a week like this. We should take turns surveilling and resting, so we should log out in order. Two people will do the surveillance, and one should rest.”

They should not use their stamina carelessly. 

Leeha always analyzed the quest first and engaged later. It was like that during the quest to protect the king, and it was the same during the natural war as well.

However, Luger did not react to Leeha’s suggestions.

“Johny Deaf-ssi? Can you hear me?”

“It’s more important to find Crolangs location.”

“Huh? No, thinking about catching Crolang first-”

“Catching Crolang will not be a problem. Don’t you think we need to know the location of the northern troll chief first so that we can prepare for emergencies?”

The reason why Leeha made such a suggestion was to keep Luger in one place as much as possible. He was worried that there would be a 100% chance of getting into an accident if he wandered around. However, there was truth in Luger’s words.

“Right. But do you know where it is? There are so many guards, so we can’t walk around the place.”

“How many times have I told you? I know the geography of this place.”

“Are you going to wander alone? What if you messed up while moving alone? Kidd and I would have to clean up your mess. Do you think we would let you go carelessly under such circumstances?”

“I said we need to find Crolang.”

“So-”

”

“No, Luger is right this time. Even if it’s not for the extra reward, it is important that we find out his location as a named monster in the 2nd Human-Demon war. I don’t think this quest will be completed by simply watching the trolls..”

Kidd defused the situation before the tension between Leeha and Luger escalated. Leeha was also aware of it. However, it was too risky to search different places.

How can they reduce the risk? A plan unfolded in the sniper’s head.

“Hmmmmm……. Damn it, it can’t be helped. I wanted to be as quiet as possible. Luger! Didn’t you say you are extremely familiar with the geography here? Where is the highest altitude?”

“What?”

“Where is the highest ground around here? After the three of us have a clear understanding of this village, you two will move. And I will monitor the trolls from above. As soon as we find Crolang, you should go to where I am. The Chain Teleport skill’s cooldown is 2 hours, so if we roughly search, the cooldown will eventually end.”

Even in an emergency situation, a contingency plan had to be prepared.

Extra skills, geographical advantage, and necessary information were put together in Leeha’s head and a strategy was devised in an instant.

Kidd’s eyes widened for a moment but soon spoke to Leeha with a teasing tone.

“Are you saying that you want to be the control tower?”

“If there is someone who can measure the distance and see farther than me, they can do it instead. That’s reasonable, right, Luger?”

“……Of course. Let’s try those unlucky eyes.” Luger answered.

“What if you don’t believe me? Let’s be clear. Because we all have to prevent getting the “beginning of destruction.”

“Follow me.” Luger ignored Leeha’s words and moved again.

They had to go a long way from where they were to the place where they could see the whole of the northern troll village. There was a terrain that can be called a mountain behind the village at least 1.5km away.

“Can you see it?” Luger asked.

“Of course. But the outer part would be the limit. I am not going to infiltrate the village anyway, so I will be fine, but you have to be careful.” Leeha opened the scope cap and took a quick look around the northern troll village. Fortunately, there were not many trees.

A few hedges and huts couldn’t hide the northern trolls, so he could see them all.

Leeha said, “Phew, it would be nice if the quest percentage went up here.”

Luger answered, “In Middle Earth? Ha, that would be absurd.” 

“I know that as well. I was just saying. You don’t answer when you’re asked, but you do when someone is talking to themselves.”

Even as they opened the map and made a plan, Leeha, and Luger bickered. It didn’t take long to check and confirm the perimeter of the village, the elevation of the surrounding terrain, and the covers where they could hide. Not only that, but it was proof to Leehathat Luger and Kidd had done a lot of things before getting the Three Musketeers achievement.

“If anything happens, contact me right away. Don’t die. Even if only one of us dies, the quest will fail.”

Looking at the two people preparing to leave, Leeha asked for reassurance. Kidd opened his mouth as he loaded his revolver. “Luger, are northern trolls strong?”

“If it’s Kidd’s bullet, it will sting by a bit.”

“That should be enough. Rather than us, Ha Leeha, you should be careful. Because it is common for people who look further away to not be able to see what is right next to them.”

“Heh, do you think I’m an idiot? Don’t you know how Rising Sun and I fought?” When Leeha shrugged, Kidd made a pleased expression.

The first time Kidd saw Leeha was when he watched the video of Leeha’s fight against the Rising Sun. Didn’t Leeha have another weapon at that time?

“As expected……. Let’s go, Luger.”

“Don’t order me.”

Step- step-  

While the two of them walked toward the northern troll village, Leeha set up several claymores around him.

On the battlefield, snipers must learn how to protect themselves. It was exactly what Leeha believed. When the claymore installation was over, Kidd and Luger were already approaching the northern troll village.

***

Finding Crolang was harder than they expected.

-1 o’clock, 150m ahead, two trolls moving near the fence. -We will hide.

– Okay.

Hearing Kidd’s whisper, Leeha moved his gun again. He had to watch both Kidd, who was going around the village to the left, and Luger, who was going to the left.

-11 o’clock, one- isn’t there a watchtower about 300m away? The visibility will be quite high, so be careful in advance.

-I know.

-Oh, is that so? There’s a meat-eating troll under the watchtower, so be careful with that too. I don’t know where it would move yet.

-……I get it.

Swoooosh—-!

The blizzard blew past Leeha once more. As expected, the abnormal status message popped up again, and this time he also succeeded in resisting.

‘It doesn’t go up either. I have been here for an hour and a half already. The information gathering rate doesn’t go up just by me watching from here.’

The quest had a distance limit.

It meant that Leeha’s eye using the scope was beyond the quest limit. It was only natural that no message would pop up since it had been less than 30 minutes since Kidd and Luger had arrived near the village.

– I could not confirm Crolang’s location, for now, there’s no troll with an unusual appearance. How about the two of you? What do you see?

After confirming that there was nothing special between the two of them, Leeha turned the scope once more and swept around the town. There was nothing in the village that looked large enough to support the trolls’ large bodies, no guardhouses, watchtowers, and not even a hut.

-They are just regular trolls. You could see them at first glance, but there is no clue about Crolang.

-I said I would tell you if I saw him.

Leeha suddenly realized how Bailephus could deal with Luger.

‘Gold dragons are wise after all.

I would only get tired if I react to every single thing he says. That’s why he ignored what Luger said and just talked about what was needed.’

There was a reason he ignored everything Luger said, whether asking for a fight or calling the gold dragon Bailephus a reptile.

After interacting with each other for a few hours, Leeha was able to adapt to Luger in less than a night.

‘The problem is Crolang. As expected, there must be a certain condition, like Hijuit-Ka. Should we just break in and kill every troll? Will he come out if we do that?’

Like in the kobold quest, should we capture and torture(?) them to gather information? Leeha was not sure. Compared to the kobolds, who were smaller than humans, the strength of a single troll is unmanageable. If they grab one and ask them, they wouldn’t be able to communicate, and it wasn’t easy to capture one alive.

‘Most importantly, that wasn’t the content of the quest. It is not about killing it, it’s watching, watching. In other words, it’s to observe…’

Leeha’s thoughts proceeded as expected, and continued observing.

Another 30 minutes passed as he gave proper instructions to Kidd and Luger, evaded the trolls, and looked around the village some more. A notification window appeared in front of the three of them.

[You have surveyed the northern troll tribe.]

[So far, you have not seen anything suspicious.]

[Information collection 1.2%]

‘Even if I’m alone here, I stay for a long time. Only one out of three? Maybe that means that only two or more people are needed for watching. Anyway, those two are good at hiding.’

The information they receive from Leeha will be useful in clearing the quest by achieving ‘100% Information Collection rate’. Of course, it was a story of when the three of them are thinking of the same thing.

-Meal distribution…… I heard something about the meal distribution time. Luger?

-I heard it too. It’s already 6 o’clock.

Suddenly, Kidd’s voice quickened.

-Meal distribution? What is it?

Leeha asked, but neither answered. After a while, Luger turned around and said to Leeha.

-Check thoroughly. All trolls will gather in 1 hour.

-It’s sounds like rationing. Okay, I have confirmed both your locations.

Even though they are equipped, it is not a civilized society.

In the troll society where everyone had to gather in one place for rations, Kidd and Luger crouched.

‘Was there that many? I don’t remember their number before, but there are more now? No, I think there are more trolls who went out in the first place!’

From where did they come from? 

All the trolls hiding over the hills, across the road, behind the trees, and in the valleys began to pop out. They held something in their hands, from beasts resembling polar bears to deer-like beasts with long fur.

Even the number at first, that was similar to an army, were just sentries protecting the village, and the hunters who accounted for a large part of the village were outside

-Stay still, don’t move. Kidd, there are 7 at 7 o’clock 40m away, and 13 at 11 o’clock 70m away.

,-The same with Luger! 15 at 1 o’clock 100m away- no, sixteen, and 8 more are approaching from beyond!