Matan’s Shooter

It was only after the enormous elephant, with six tusks, had fallen that Kijung could finally catch his breath. Among the forty-four beasts, there were four giant monsters, and forty were regular large monsters; however, it was always the giant monsters that proved to be the tougher opponents.

“Phew… Great work, everyone! Let’s head back to Juma for reorganization! We’ll move again as soon as we get more information!”

Kijung’s shout was met with a unanimous response from the three hundred Paladins.

Biyemi, who had been playfully chirping nearby, was startled.

“I’m still not used to it.”

“It’s only been two days; actually becoming accustomed to it would be the scary part, Biyemi-ssi.”

“Ki ki, Jin Gonggong-ssi, as a Druid, you adapt quickly, don’t you? Well, it must be amusing to deal with humans after playing with beasts that don’t even talk.”

“What are you saying! That’s not it at all!”

Despite being twice the size of Biyemi, the giant Jin Gonggong was no match for his verbal agility. Hyein, watching the scene, sat down on a nearby rock, tapping the ground with his staff, an image of an old man in every aspect.

Tale teased, “Hyein, it seems like joining our dojo might be below your dignity, but surely you don’t lack the time.”

“Aha, well… Excuses are easy to come by when one denies having time.”

Bobae, trying to ease Kijung’s tension, said, “I know you’re in a hurry, but don’t rush too much. We’ve already defeated five groups in just two days. Isn’t that fast?”

“No, it’s not enough,” Kijung dismissed her attempt to console him.

In two days, they had vanquished five groups, with each group composed of 40 to 50 monsters, which meant they had taken down over 200 monsters. However, this was not sufficient for Kijung.

“The small groups aren’t much of a threat anyway. But… it takes too long to find out where these creatures are moving across this vast land, when, and how~~~” Kijung truly wished they would appear in larger groups – 300 or 500 at a time.

His progress towards the quest for his class change to Holy Knight was barely at 5%.

“Did you speak to Nara-ssi?”

he asked.

“Of course, I told her since you’re taking the lead, to not worry and just wait because you’ll soon suppress those Virtue bastards!”

“O-Our Kijung- cough, yes, what did she say?”

“I don’t know. Nara is like that. She said she was heading to the paleo tribe not long ago… She’ll handle it.”

Bobae shrugged. Despite their attempts to dissuade him, it was clear that given Nara’s nature, she wouldn’t just sit back and watch.

“Sigh… There’s nothing good about Sacred and Virtue clashing. Maybe we shouldn’t stop by Juma City and just continue searching for the monster groups.”

“Right now? But even for a Paladin-“

“Yes, right now. Everyone! Unfortunately, we’ll catch just one more group before heading back to the village! I promise to treat you all grandly then!”

Bobae tried to interject, but Kijung was already marching towards the Paladins, determined.

Understanding that Kijung’s haste wasn’t just for his own sake, Bobae felt a similar pang of urgency.

“Hmm. Roaming aimlessly like this might end up wasting more time… Perhaps there’s a better wa- Ahhh!?”

Bobae clapped.

With a resounding smack, the sound was so thunderous that the people around turned to look at her.

“Kijung! Kijung!”

“Yes?”

“Do you by any chance have that person from last time added? No, no, would she accept your whisper?”

“Who are you talking about?”

“Who else! The person who, at this moment, can catch the movements of monsters better than anyone else!”

Bobae spread her hand and covered her eyes with it.

Though a simple gesture, the ‘New Continent Expeditioner’ members quickly realized who Bobae was talking about.

“Doctor Dooooom.”

“Right, if it’s her, with her Oracle profession-“

“Rubini-nim would be enough! Just turn on that map!”

“Why not just recruit her directly? Teehee.”

As the members of the Byulcho faction each chimed in, Kijung’s body trembled.

“Bobae!”

“Yikes! Why are you embarrassing me like this!?”

As Kijung whirled Bobae around in a movie-like manner with a swift lift, Tale, Hyein, Jin Gonggong, and Biyemi each had their distinct expressions.

“Recording complete. Teehee, gotta show it to Hi-Hi.”

Biyemi murmured, to which Jin Gonggong moved closer and said, “Let me watch it too.”

“Goats, pigs, dogs, cows, carp… It’s like some kind of animal farm. Sigh. Are there no chickens?”

“Technically, it was pigs, bison, and carp. Anyway, there are also chickens.”

Lark, yawning endlessly, was corrected by Pung.

The Virtuous Knight Order, taking over the paleo tribes as if a post-dinner exercise, had effectively subdued all the paleos in the far west of the New Continent that Lark had encountered. Those in the west he hadn’t met were also on the brink of being subdued.

“Last time’s test concluded without any reaction from the Red Goat paleo tribe, subdued by two Knight Orders.”

“Hmm, no Silence reaction effect either?”

“Really? I was sure Leeha would pull something. Was she just not there at the time? Did we leak the right info?”

Lark slightly nodded.

“Of course. The Sacred Knights would all know. And another thing will start at the Black Crane paleo in about 30 minutes. If Leeha doesn’t show up there either- well, we’ll have to think.”

Pung thought, ‘So even Lark can be wrong.’

But Lark himself didn’t think so.

Most of Lark’s guesses were spot on, which spoke volumes about his insight.

“If Sacred knows, then Shin Nara knows. If Shin Nara knows, Leeha would too. Just watching the [Subjugation]… It’s not like her. Interesting.”

“Oh really? Are you friends with Leeha, captain?”

“Do you have to be friends to know? Leeha reeks. A strong smell thick around her.”

Lark crinkled his nose. Pung found it surprising how someone as informal and light-hearted as Lark could be a captain.

“Anyway, to get to the Chicken paleo, we need to go near the source of evil- um, wait.”

“Why? What about Leeha?”

Pushing Lark, who was fixated on Leeha, aside, Pung shook his head.

“No, someone else.”

“Damn, it’s Shin Nara.”

Without a response from Pung, Lark could guess.

Combining the tense expression on Pung’s face with the current list of nuisances, there was only one answer.

“Are the ones who went to Black Crane part the Colosseo Knights? How many from the Sacred Knights did they bring?”

Lark tried to compare the strength of the Minis-affiliated Knights with that of the Sacred Knights.

If the numbers suggested they could overpower the Sacred Knights by a factor of two and a half, then the Colosseo Knights might be able to subdue the Sacred Knights as well.

However, Pung shook his head at Lark’s question.

“What? Why?”

“Did she come alone?”

The one who stood against the Colosseo Knights was a single person from Shin Nara.

Pung was listening to the conversation in real time.

Lark was taken aback for a moment but merely made a sound of acknowledgment.

“… Huh? Shin Nara alone? Fine. Leave it to me then. That lady is quite the apostle of justice. No matter how high-ranked you are, daring to face the Colosseo Knights alone—”

“But, she is holding them off?”

Pung’s face grew darker. At that point, Lark could no longer just stand by.

“Sigh… Seriously. The Minis Knights are all dead, all of them. It’s true that it was just one person from Shin Nara?”

“Yes. There’s no one around and— there’s also no effect from Silence, so it’s clear that high-ranking individuals are absent—”

“Got it. Head to the paleo chicken first. I’ll tidy up and follow.”

“Are you planning to go alone?”

Without responding to Pung, Lark immediately activated the crystal ball. With the remaining time until the orb activated, he sighed.

“What can I do when Dame Shin refuses to cooperate? I’ll be back soon.”

Swoosh! Moments later, having teleported near the Black Crane paleo Tribe, he was faced with the sight of about a dozen milky corpses of the Colosseo Knights scattered on the ground.

“Dame Shin! My, it’s been a long time.”

“The, the Virtue Knights!”

“It’s the [Rainbow Knight]!”

The users of the Colosseo Knights were even more surprised to see Lark.

In the meantime, Shin Nara, who had created a hole in the knee joint of one of the Colosseo Knights, was actually smiling. Lark, observing her reaction, asked.

“You were expecting this, weren’t you?”

“Of course. Who else but you, Lark-ssi, would come?”

“You also anticipated that I would come alone, not just as Virtue?”

Shin Nara nodded with a smile.

Lark was wary of her smile. A master of Shin Nara’s caliber would not be unaware of Lark’s skills and weapons.

Could she really smile like that knowing Virtue is not around?

The Colosseum might be considered inferior to Virtue, but they are not an easy knight order to deal with.

If Lark joined in, it would be unimaginable for Shin Nara to handle them alone.

“Yet, you’re smiling…? There’s something more.

Lark drew his sword, pointing its tip directly at Shin Nara who also changed her stance.

Having darted around fighting the Colosseo Knights, she now stood completely still, ready.

“En garde. Remember?”

“Of course, I remember! I also remember what you taught me. First is timing, second is tempo, third is distance! But you plan to fight again with that?”

Lark exclaimed enthusiastically.

What kind of confidence is this? What enables her to smile so?

Shin Nara’s smile remained unbroke.

It wasn’t a facade to hide tension.

Rather, her face was filled with even brighter smiles.

“Yes. And thanks to Lark-ssi, I’ve been working on adding another principle to our Sacred Knights’ creed. I need to test it, though.”

“Oh, if it was helpful, then I’m glad. So, what are you adding?”

Lark scrutinized Shin Nara’s stance. Her arms were slightly extended in a fencing ready stance.

At a glance, one might consider it an awkward pose, but the posture of en garde alone is critical in evaluating a fencer’s level.

Lark appreciated the ‘ready stance’ Shin Nara adopted in full.

‘Back then, she moved so fast I couldn’t see properly— wait, did she always wear those boots?’

Then, he noticed Shin Nara’s footwear.

The type was unclear, but previously, it was a long steel boot that covered up to the calves.

But now?

At first glance, it looked like ordinary sneakers.

Given the unique materials of Middle Earth, they appeared more akin to ballet shoes than sneakers.

Seeing Lark observing her foot, Shin Nara subtly extended one foot.

“Your observational skills are, as expected, excellent. Anyway, you’ve given me quite the dilemma. I meant to choose a better pair, but then I found these.”

Listening to her gentle voice, Lark realized. The unseen shoes, the dilemma, the better pair. He understood what these three keywords meant.

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