Chapter 638

Arcane Sniper [Matan’s Shooter] Chapter 638

The squad leader immediately took out a whistle.

The signal for something gone wrong was to blow it short and sharp, three times.

“Uh huh-?”

This brief curiosity was cut short as the leader lost consciousness, logged out of Middle Earth with only that much of the memory left.

Of the eight mana nets that were supposed to be cast, only three had been deployed.

The Castilian Knights’ commander would undeniably be aware of this.

This was because the expanse of the delicate mana net unfolded in the air hadn’t even managed to fill a third of the Black Crane paleo territory’s area.

“What’s going on? Where- Who are the idiots not following the plan!” the leader of the Castilian Knights grimaced in frustration.

However, the knights, adhering to their principle of silence on the battlefield, found it difficult to respond immediately. Designed for the most secretive maneuvers and efficient combat, their reliance on hand signals and body language was proving to be a hindrance in this situation.

“Open your mouths, you morons! Speak up! What the hell happened!? Which squad messed up, and which one was it? Know that once we return, I’ll have your heads!”

Despite his roaring anger, nothing changed.

The plan faltering and the risk increasing was an unforgivable situation for him.

But what was even more unacceptable was the thought of failing so miserably at achieving the “Subjugation” achievement, especially when lesser knight orders had already obtained it.

Their only remaining option was clear.

Forward, ever forward. Now, they had to claim their achievements through sheer force.

“Charge! For-“

“Black Crane! Lead us all, let us give them a taste of their bloodied regret!”

Overpowering the commander’s voice, the resounding call of the Black Crane paleo tribe’s guardian spirit, huded, filled the air.

Black-

Crane!

What followed was, of course, an explosive festival of light!

As long as the skies remained open, nothing could limit the movements of the Black Crane paleos.

The Black Cranes transformed and soared into the sky.

They were not a tribe to avoid combat. Their ascension was solely to gain the acceleration needed for their descent!

“Rampage all you want, are you not primitives!

Not the Castilian Knights to be bested by you beastly fools!”

The commander of the Castilian Knights easily sliced through the beak of a Black Crane paleo charging at him.

Blood burst from the severed connection of nerves and vessels in the bird’s beak.

“Come at me, come at me!”

Another Black Crane paleo swiped with its fiery wings, which the commander parried with his sword, leaning back to dodge and counterattacking with the pommel of his sword against the Crane’s spine!

The commander proved his worth, defending against the attacks of three Black Crane paleos.

“Arrogance never ceases with humans! But, perhaps, that is the very nature of humanity!”

“Great bird-brain? Lucky me. I’ll take you down and correct this blunder.”

The commander raised his sword.

“Castilian Knights’ guardian beast squad, assemble! After we subdue this beast, we deal with the rest of these half-breeds!”

He confidently declared, eyeing Hudid with determination.

Though some squads had erred in casting their mana nets, it wasn’t as if there were no plans in place. With faith in their flight scrolls for aerial ascendancy, they believed they could have subdued a significant number of the Black Cranes. Above all, it was his confidence in being able to stop the mystical creature, hoodid, that had led him to devise this operation. He knew that if they could keep Hudid at bay, Joe, who had failed in casting the mana net, would work even harder to make up for his mistake.

“Never thought it would be used in such a manner.”

Leeha reflected on the recent days he had spent fighting and exchanging blows with Bottleneck.

“Is this the final version?”

“I’ve tested it, but it’s hardly sufficient. It’s essentially an extension of the barrel, isn’t it? If it’s even slightly misaligned by 12mm, the bullet could shatter this silencer.”

Precision work, such as what’s needed to create an item where the horizontal and vertical alignments are perfect, was nearly impossible without mechanical presses, especially in a world lacking such machinery.

The more integral a piece is to connecting with a firearm, like small tooling not made of mere iron, the greater the demand for precision.

“Hmm, it looks a bit different from the drawing I made.”

“If I made that wing-like part any bigger, it would actually increase the noise. That’s because the elements that need to escape would not hit the wings but escape through the holes between them.”

“Well, since Bottleneck-ssi made it, I’m sure it’s reliable. Shall we start the test then?”

“But it’s not that simple! And even though the noise is reduced, it’s still not satisfactory!”

Bottleneck shook his head in embarrassment, but Leeha was undeterred.

He immediately attached the silencer to the end of Black Bass. The well-crafted item fixed with a pleasant snap.

The test site was next to Bottleneck’s smithy in Gaza City.

Leeha aimed the rifle at a tree branch he chose as an arbitrary target. The distance was merely 80 meters.

‘Let’s fire a shot.’

Phahaang—–!!

The branch Leeha aimed at disappeared without a trace.

At least the accuracy at close range was satisfactory. Most importantly, he was pleased that the silencer remained intact.

The fact that the path for the bullet inside the silencer matched precisely with Black Bass’s barrel meant, “See, I told you the sound is still loud. Is there no way to reduce that damned air-burst sound?”

“Hehe, that’s what I was saying. This alone won’t suffice. But, it’s impressive for what it is. This level of sound wouldn’t carry farther than 2 meters.”

“Wonderful?”

Leeha nodded to himself. The sound of gas expanding and pushing air, similar to a sonic boom, had a high probability of being heard beyond 1 meter.

“In a battlefield full of gunfire, it might not be heard, but this is Middle Earth. The sound, akin to the popping of a sonic boom, would be quickly picked up.”

The noise wasn’t loud, but its unique characteristics meant there was a high risk of detection. But what if the distance exceeds 1.56 meters? Beyond 21 meters? Or even beyond 3 meters?

Leeha was confident. A special sniper attack that could annihilate multiple enemies would certainly become possible.

“What use is being kilometers away! If that’s the range, the bullet’s speed would take priority, so there’s no need to worry! Wasn’t this made for close range effectiveness?”

“Ah, that’s the point. Did you forget what I mentioned? There’s something else that needs to be added.”

“Something else?”

“Yes. The process must either reduce the bullet’s propellant or lower the bullet head’s weight. [Subsonic Bullets].”

Because the bullet is sent flying too quickly, the gas moves through the air, pushing it outward.

Meaning, if the bullet can’t be sent out too quickly, the gas will naturally lose its force.

After losing its force, if the moving speed is less than Mach 1, a sonic boom would not occur.

Leeha had told Bottleneck this at some point, but it seemed certain the latter, consumed with his work on the silencer, did not remember.

To Leeha, just having made a reliable silencer was satisfying enough.

Improving the bullet would be quick work with Bottleneck’s skill.

Of course, what Leeha did not know at the time was that perfecting the improved bullet would require countless trials and errors.

The creation of the subsonic bullet with reduced speed was accomplished only this morning, after an additional day’s work.

Hardly had they finished this task (?) when news arrived from Blaugrunn, left in Juma City for intelligence gathering.

-Leeha-nim! The Castilla Knight Order will move to the Black Cranes paleo Tribe this evening!-Nice! ... But wait, this evening?

-Yes. I’m not sure of the exact time, but it’s definitely tonight.