Chapter 89
Chapter 89
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: The Sniper's Moment
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lucius Bardin.
I thought he was a paladin, but he's a holy sword.
That's just amazing.
Wait, is being grabbed and swung around that fun?
Well, it is quite a spectacle.
The human holy sword, Bardin, was screaming "Let there be light!" while being held by the ankles by the giant Gobang, sweeping through the undead with his body.
It was also efficient.
His reach increased, the solid spiked armor has considerable destructive power on its own, and the flail's secondary attacks are added on top.
Was he a pervert, or an extreme efficiency fanatic?
Anyway, Bardin was an important combat asset for the team. As a memento, a badge awarding ceremony was held right away.
"For your noble spirit of self-sacrifice, fearlessly throwing your entire body into the fray and making a great contribution to conquering the Tower, I hereby award you this badge."
I pinned the badge onto the underwear inside his armor.
"My Lord! Just give the command. I am your sword."
Bardin was moved to tears, his eyes glistening.
Tsk tsk tsk, what's so great about being a human holy sword?
"Anyway, today is a team dinner. We're raiding the fridge."
"Yes, sir!"
It's been a while since Bardin was summoned, but he's practically a new family member.
We need to foster camaraderie too.
'I should catch Gwang-ma-nim one day and have him join us.'
The conquest of the French Black Tower continued.
The promised temporary naturalization period is 15 days.
Let's finish this quickly and get my original nationality back.
And so, on the 5th day with French nationality.
66th Floor Specter.
S++ rank conquest completed without issue.
On the 6th day with French nationality.
67th Floor Phantom Reaper,
An undead monster Joo-hyuk was encountering for the first time.
Well, it had the unique trait of using a long-range dark aura, but...
"Let there be light!!!"
What's so hard about that?
At least the Specter was big.
S++ rank conquest completed without issue.
My level went up too.
On the 7th day with French nationality.
68th Floor.
Finally, we've reached here.
A floor where conquest was completed using a Tower Jumping Ticket, but which no player has truly conquered.
According to Kosak,
The floor where you could ascend with the holy sword before its repair, when its durability was insufficient, was the 67th.
He said it gets difficult from the 68th.
Because the Death Knight appears.
Death Knight.
The name alone sounded extraordinary.
Of course, Dullahan was also a knight, but he didn't have a head.
In contrast, the Death Knight was a guy with a perfectly intact head.
Floor 68 Mission
📍 Objective: Defeat 4 Dark Death Knights
⏰ Time Limit: Within 15 hours
"Four? The number suddenly dropped a lot."
"That means they're a real pain in the ass."
Right.
He shouldn't let my guard down just because the number is small.
A small number means they were that strong.
Soon, four Death Knights appeared at once.
Maintaining intervals from each other at the front.
"Look at that armor. Even if you pierce the dark aura, it's hard to land an effective blow due to its inherent defense."
"...Hmm."
And the black flames rising from their entire bodies.
It was he densest dark aura he'd experienced so far.
"Their swordsmanship skills are no joke either. That's why close-combat players find them tricky. Well, it's not exactly easy for ranged players either."
To be honest, he was a little intimidated.
Jet-black armor, a body as large as Gobang's, a monstrously huge greatsword, and eyes shining like a beast's.
Compared to that, what am I?
Ah, the insurmountable timidity of an ordinary guy.
He wanted to be a real man, at least inside the Tower, but the Death Knight stood in his way.
"...Can you handle the Death Knight?"
"Yes, sir!"
"I thought you said it was difficult?"
"That applies to ordinary players."
"Sigh, I thought it was finally time to show off my Blood Jade Astral Qi in actual combat."
At that, Kosak flinched in surprise.
"Ah! Summoner Bong, you can just stay put. Letting a mere scrap of armor like that make you move personally would damage your dignity."
"R-really? With my inherently manly nature, my desire to step forward is as strong as a chimney."
"Yes, sir. Do I not know Summoner Bong is a real man? Still, please endure. Hehehehe."
Not to be outdone,
"Master, please preserve your precious body. Menial combat is the servants' duty."
"Hoe-eeeeh!"
"Summoner, rest. Warrior handle it."
Well, if that's the case, He had no choice. What a shame.
He wanted to show off his Blood Jade Astral Qi once.
Right then!
"Sergeant Officer Veronica Caliber!"
"Yes?"
"Leave this operation to me. I will finish off the Death Knights in one fell swoop."
"Hmm."
That's Veronica for you.
A gleaming look in her eyes.
Her confidence, as ample as her chest, was palpable.
"Yes! I trust only you, Sergeant Officer Veronica."
"Victory is assured!"
Veronica felt her chance had come.
The moment she could meet the Commander's expectations.
She was a veteran sniper from the Magic Empire's Northern Ranger unit.
The Ranger unit was the Empire's elite force.
But after joining the new Commander's team, she hadn't had a chance to show the true power of a sniper.
Just backup roles or pulling monsters.
She endured and waited.
For the moment to show the true skill of a Magic Empire Ranger Sniper.
That moment was now.
The formation was set.
Veronica in the center, Razix on the right, Holy Sword Bardin on the left.
Prone firing position.
First,
"Let there be light!!!"
Whoooosh! A brilliant, radiant flame.
"Initiating attribute absorption."
Simultaneous aiming.
The magic gun, upgraded to SSR and now equipped with a homing function.
Sergeant Officer Veronica's magic gun, having absorbed Bardin's holy attribute, blazed with radiant fire.
Zzzzzzzzzziiiiing!
Pajujujujuk!
"Wow!"
It felt like watching a spaceship's photon cannon fire.
True to its power, the recoil was tremendous too.
Jjuleong!
Enough to shake Veronica's entire body in her bodysuit the moment she fired.
'Hmm.'
'Hm.'
'Kuhm.'
The large-caliber round pierced straight through the Death Knight's dark aura and scored a direct hit on its chest.
A large-caliber round capable of destroying buildings.
Filled to the brim with holy energy through attribute absorption.
This single shot consumed all the loaded magic stones.
In her previous life, when Veronica was deployed for the defense of the northern fortress walls,
The large-caliber round was used solely for a one-shot, certain-kill purpose against giant magical beasts.
For example, something like the super-giant magical beast Jörmungandr.
But she could never use it to her heart's content.
Because the magic stone consumption was too great.
But now was different.
Quartermaster Razix's infinite supply of magic stones.
The result?
Bang! The Death Knight exploded.
Shattered to pieces along with its armor.
He couldn't let this go without praise.
Joo-hyuk sent his applause.
"A, applause!"
Clap clap clap clap!
One down.
"Let there be light!!!"
"Hoehng!"
Bardin emitted radiance for attribute charging.
Razix opened his subspace backpack to fully load the magic gun with magic stones.
Another shot.
Zzzzzzzzzziiiiing! Pajujujujuk!
Jjuleong!
'Hmm.'
'Hm.'
'Kuhm.'
After upgrading to SSR, the number of large-caliber rounds Sergeant Officer Veronica could fire was three in total.
Zzzzzzzzzziiiiing! Pajujujujuk!
Jjuleong!
Three large-caliber shots fired, three jjuleongs, three hits.
The remaining one?
"Let there be light!!!"
Peopak! Pak pak pak pak!
It met the fate of being threshed by a flail.
It was unstoppable.
How fortunate it was to possess a proper long-range attacker.
Joo-hyuk couldn't help but be impressed.
"One hundred shots, one hundred hits, Sergeant Officer Veronica!"
Kosak too,
"Amazing Sergeant Officer Veronica!"
The other summoned beings as well.
"Sniper is reliable."
"Truly the epitome of a heroine."
"Let there be light!!!"
"Hoehng!"
The posture of Veronica, head held high, magic gun slung over her shoulder, leaning on one leg with a slight tilt, was nothing short of art.
Cablan's second curse and the collapse of Japan's Black Tower.
Nations couldn't help but be tense.
Saudi Arabia was also in a very urgent situation.
Saudi King Ibn bin Al-Wahid personally appeared on an American news channel to issue an apology.
- The damage to the holy sword was a tragedy caused by the foolish actions of Player Nasser. Our Saudi government also bears responsibility for the wrongdoing. We send our sincere apologies to the holy sword's true owner in Korea. We promise prevention of recurrence and sufficient compensation...
Immediately after the apology broadcast, Minister Majed visited the Korean Awakening Management Bureau with Saudi players.
"We're sorry. We were foolish. We apologize once again from the bottom of our hearts. And this..."
Swish.
Majed held out an ornately decorated jewel case to Deputy Director Jeon Gwang-il.
To an outsider, it might look like offering a bribe.
"This is compensation for the holy sword's damage. Please deliver it to the true owner of the holy sword on our behalf. We ask for your help."
Even if it was an act, Minister Majed bowed with a servile expression.
"What's all this?"
Jeon Gwang-il opened the jewel case.
Inside was a single small stone with an inscription.
"Team Leader Lee Min-ah?"
"Yes."
Checking the item information.
Lee Min-ah nodded her head.
A signal confirming it was indeed a Trait Enhancement Rune.
Yes, that's how you apologize. As expected of the flashy Saudis.
"Yes, I will deliver it on your behalf."
"Then the holy sword..."
"Let's start the lease immediately."
"Th-thank you."
The player to conquer would be Nasser's backup, the next Saudi player, Akram.
Akram was still level 62.
To conquer from the 62nd to the 67th floor, he'd have to move busily.
So the lease fee was 50 million dollars.
Anyway, was this for real?
Magic stones were impacting the energy industry, but the value of oil remained high, incredibly high.
The King of Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil producer, was apologizing, and a minister was offering a Trait Enhancement Rune.
Even Jeon Gwang-il couldn't help but puff out his chest a little.
'A Trait Enhancement Rune and a lease fee of fifty million dollars...'
There would be no permanent naturalization for Player Bong.
There shouldn't be.
Saudi Arabia also began its conquest.
The second batch of selected nations also quickly embarked on Tower climbing.
The Tower must not collapse.
Having witnessed the collapse and regeneration of the Japanese Tower, nations were desperate.
What if ours collapses?
What if a regenerated Tower was erected right in the heart of the city?
As it's something that could very well happen in reality, not just hypothetically, the anxiety was maximized.
However, the curse was not yet over.
Things you hope won't happen inevitably do.
Another world announcement rose.
Cablan's third curse.
The selected nations were going insane and frantic.
There were also nations that had been selected in the first and second batches, barely conquered, and were caught again in the third batch selection.
Mainly nations below the 60th floor.
The Japanese archipelago was plunged into despair again.
If it collapsed again this time, Tokyo would disappear.
Conversely, the nation that reached the highest floor.
France, which had broken Cablan's seal, also fell under the curse.
A curse requiring the conquest of the 70th floor.
China was put on emergency alert.
They were included in the third curse.
The Black Tower floor China needed to conquer was the 60th.
The Wyvern Lord and the Venomous Wyvern, a floor known to be even more difficult than the 61st.
However, China's top player's level was only 58.
The 59th floor was also conquered through temporary naturalization by a Russian player.
Even after buying that time, Chinese players still hadn't surpassed the 59th floor.
It seemed they would have to rely on temporary naturalization by a Russian player again this time.
The new Chairman Wang Yuan convened a meeting of the Standing Committee.
After Chairman Lin Chaoming died of an acute cerebral infarction, Wang Yuan inherited power.
His succession to power was almost a foregone conclusion.
To the point his nickname was Lin Chaoming's adopted son.
"We will conquer the 60th floor."
"...Are you planning to send a special envoy to Russia again?"
"We won't send one. They'll demand land or border adjustments again; the tail would be wagging the dog."
"Then where will we do temporary naturalization... Don't tell me Korea?"
"Ha! Bow our heads to a petty nation like that?"
Then by what means?
Wang Yuan's face was bitter.
"There will be no temporary naturalization."
"Then how?"
"How did France climb to the 70th floor?"
"That's... Ah!"
"Tower Jumping Ticket, it allows you to skip up to 5 floors of the Tower. Currently, our China has secured four of them."
In the early days of Tower climbing, when items were pouring out, Tower Jumping Tickets were also released in considerable quantities for each country.
Obtaining them wasn't difficult.
They were much cheaper than the cost of temporary naturalization.
"There's even talk that the 61st floor is easier than the 60th. They say you can pass it with just light attribute items..."
Wang Yuan paused briefly before continuing.
"I plan to select three from among our Chinese players deemed to have the most talent."
Since Tower Jumping Tickets also raise the level.
"With three tickets, China will possess three players at level 61."
Murmur murmur.
The faces of the Standing Committee members were filled with color.
"If it really doesn't work, we can just pressure the Korean government to lease the holy sword, right? It's only ten million dollars."
Right. That method existed.
"There is absolutely no way the Tower in China will collapse. I will make sure of it."
Confidence overflowed on Wang Yuan's face.
US Secretary MacMillan, Director Antonio, and Player Gerald were still staying at the hotel in Seoul.
No contact with Player Bong Joo-hyuk, and in the meantime, another world announcement popped up.
A call also came from the White House.
It would be best to continue staying in Korea until the curse ended, or until the undead section was breached.
It wasn't just the US.
All nations conquering the undead section had settled down in Korea.
"This is insane. A third curse? This time it's 30 nations."
"I'm worried about China, which has three Towers."
"China, you know what's funny?"
"How would I know? It's utterly incomprehensible."
MacMillan wore a smiling expression, as if something was amusing.
"I just got a call from the CIA Director. He said China is buying up Tower Jumping Tickets."
"What?"
Antonio's expression was one of disbelief.
Tower Jumping Tickets?
"Are they planning to conquer with those?"
Well, thinking about it, it seems better than temporary naturalization.
"It's like a baseball game. Intentionally walking the power hitter to face the next batter."
"They'll get to the 61st floor, I suppose."
But they were Chinese players who couldn't even conquer the 59th floor.
"They must think the 61st floor is easy?"
"Well, if they borrow the holy sword, they might somehow get past it."
"...Lending the holy sword to a player who jumped levels? Is the Korean government insane? I'll oppose it before that happens."
"Get in line, I'll oppose it first."
Lending the holy sword to a player who raised their level through a shortcut?
Out of the question.
He'd make sure they couldn't even enter Korea.
At least until the US conquest was completely finished.
MacMillan vowed to himself.