Riches and Bitches: I have a gate to an isekai and leveling-up system!

Chapter 167: Bloody clash

The front of my gun exploded, spewing out long tongues of flames while scattering overheated pellets from its complicated muzzle.

The rail and explosive-powered bullet pulled the burning air into its tail, artificially lengthening the fiery discharge to several meters… While cutting straight through the nearest rider, the one behind him, and then burying itself into the chest of the horse of the one further back.

And for just a moment, the tranquility of this moment became everything.

The cavalry that was about to crash into the barriers looked into the eyes of the celestials and divines who rose from behind their barriers.

Some readied their weapons, others pushed the parts of the barriers at the horsemen while a huge chunk of my force hurried to cast some sort of spell.

For this one, fleeting second, everything was right in its place. They were about to off us, we were about to off them. Everyone on the field came prepared, ready to pick a lot in the bowl of this messy fate of ours.

And as the voice of the system sang in my consciousnesses, this tranquil moment came to a crushing end.

[Battle Log:

- Average attribute level of the kill: 17.2 Participation: 70%

- Average attribute level of the kill: 15 Participation: 70%

- Average attribute level of the kill: 15.6 Participation: 70%

…

I didn't even have the time to realize I'd actually killed the third horseman… and most likely, either their mounts were counted as slaughtered beings or the bullet actually cut through the entire length of the horse, struck the ground, and claimed at least one more life as it ricocheted.

Such was the power of the weapon designed to burst bunkers open. And while anti-personal use was possible… its creators clearly didn't put much focus on it.

Which, strangely enough, in this crazed world of sword and magic, proved to work in my favor.

A bullet capable of penetrating several inches of the military-grade reinforced concrete turned out to be a great tool to crack open not only the armor but most importantly the barriers of the enemy soldiers.

"Haaa…" I heaved a long sigh as I felt the power surge toward me, instantly filling in a huge part of what my current body could contain.

But there was no time to waste. And two cavalrymen bursting through the clouds of dust and debris while slashing down at the celestials hiding behind them proved my point.

BOOM!

Fay's shot went through one of the riders, exploding only at the back of the man's barrier and showering the man behind with a sea of flame and boiling-hot metal shards.

"KILL EM ALL!" I shouted from the bottom of my lungs, recharging my weapon with a quick swing of the leaver.

Feeling the new round click in its place within the lock of the gun, I raised it towards the next, nearest threat.

It was a young cavalryman. Deprived of his horse during his charge at the barricade, he somehow managed to land properly in a full set of plate armor, showcasing a mind-boggling level of control and agility. He rolled on the ground and jumped up, ready to pounce at me…

Only to be met with a barrage of pellets from the side of my shot, given how I aimed at a man slightly to the side and behind him.

As optional as the anti-personnel use of this gun was, it didn't mean it wasn't capable of clearing the trenches if necessary. The construction of both the bullet and the muzzle of the gun made sure of it, spitting clouds of tiny, tiny pellets in a relatively wide cone with every shot.

My finger pressed the trigger. The gun shook in my hands, the recoil compensation plumes of fire forcing the gun forward, against the kick of its recoil.

The young, handsome cavalryman suddenly became not as handsome when his body was covered in hundreds of small wounds, each of them exploding with blood when those pellets easily cut through the man's pristine, plate armor and wrought havoc in his insides, only to carve out huge chunks of flesh as they burst out of the man's back.

In a mere instant, the young, brave legionary left this world, the shock of the myriad of tiny yet devastating wounds lulling his mind away before he could even feel any pain.

The man that I aimed for, thought, wasn't as lucky.

The main slug cut through the invisible barrier with ease, before stealing a fist-sized chunk of the man's stomach and dismantling it as it powered through the back of the barrier and dug into yet another cavalryman behind.

'Judging by all the additions to the log, those travel far further than I expected,' I thought.

Then, I gritted my teeth.

'That needs I need to be even more careful with where I am.'

My only test of this gun was performed on the massive, old trees of the celestial forest. And a single slug was more than capable of carving a long line through the forest, felling more than just a few of the massive trees.

And when compared to the trunk that no human could hope to embrace on their own… just how strong could the barriers those humans raised be?

'Next!'

Activating my Eye on time, I turned my attention towards my next target.

Now with my mind gaining a lot more processing power to spare, my awareness expanded from just the small bubble directly around me to nearly the entire battlefield.

Jump from thirteen points in intelligence to sixteen proved to be much more than jump from my old, eight points to the thirteen I had right now!

And all along the line of contact, I could see the imperial cavalry crashing through the barricades, all ready and eager to face off with the enemy that dared to attempt an ambush on them.

I raised my eyes just a tiny bit, only to see Fay's fire sweep anyone who dared to crest over the top of the hill, slowing down the influx of the new enemies…

But there were already too many.

'Shit!'

I cursed when my body jerked, jumping back in a desperate attempt at dodging.

Not a second too late.

A long, barbed blade of a two-meter-long lance struck the place I was in just before.

'DIE!' With the adrenaline cursing in my veins, I raised my shottie…

And held back my shot.

That man's charge pushed me deeper into the line, while the man ended up slightly to my side. And if I were to shoot him at this angle…

The backs of the celestials would become the targets for all the side pellets!

'If that's the case,' swallowing down my fear, I regained my balance right as the attacker pulled on his horse's reins, making it turn to face me.

But by the time the rider readied himself to accept my attack and properly find out who here had bigger cohones and greater skill in a battle… I angled my shottie to the side, aiming right back to the place where I just escaped from.

And then…

"FALL OFF!" I screamed out like a madman while already pressing the trigger down.

The cavalryman only looked at me with confusion, not expecting me to scream out when it was time for the two of us to culturally decide who would be the slaughtered one and who would be doing the slaughtering.

Behind the rider, though, all the divines and celestials in my immediate surroundings fall back, breaking contact with the enemy forces and running for their dear lives to the sides…

Away from the cone of the fire my gun was about to unleash.

"Whatever…" The rider rolled his eyes and struck the sides of his mount with his heels, raising his lance to simply skewer me with it and put this farce to an end…

But the last of the celestials just escaped from my range of fire. And with the rider's horse stepping up for a jump charge, I pulled the trigger all the way back, instantly removing all the thoughts from the rider's determined and now all-bloody face.

As it turned out, neither his barrier not extremely nice decorated helmet helped him to stop the barrage of hundreds if not thousands of small needless pellets so hot, they turned half-liquid during the discharge.