Matan’s Shooter - Chapter 222

Leeha grabbed and checked Kaztor’s crystal ball in case he missed it. It was difficult for him to open his eyes properly as strong wind hit his eyeballs, but Leeha could tell that the crystal ball didn’t respond.

“Hmm…… It isn’t around here.”

There! Jin Gonggong-nim, turn around and go to the cannibal zone!”

Piiik-!

Flaaap, the golden eagle flapped its huge wings and changed direction. The movement of gravity that applied to Leeha’s body was quite oppressive, and he clenched his teeth.

 “As expected, it isn’t near the Siand Frontier.”

If that was the case, the dark elves would have found it themselves before giving Leeha a quest like this.

He checked again just in case, but again, Kaztor’s base isn’t near the frontier.

‘I don’t know how far the distance is before it would react. But I guess all we can do is search blindly.’

In addition, there were problems with the size and air current of the eagle, so low-flying was impossible.

If the two of them lost their lift while flying, they would fall to the ground. If they fell at this speed without any safety equipment, it would pretty much be instant death.

Jin Gonggong flew to the direction Leeha indicated.

Leeha looked at the crystal ball again, but there was still no reaction. He nodded.

“Okay, now! Let’s go to Jing Gonggong’s place!”

Piiiik-!

Jin Gonggong roared loudly and raised their altitude.

As they flew, Leeha saw the scenery unfolding under them. The unexplored areas that did not appear on the map and cannot easily be seen through screenshots.

There were many dense forests and rugged terrain, enough to truly be called Mother Nature.

A mountain is a mountain, a valley is a valley, a river is a river…….

‘When I think about walking around here…’

It looked like a small cliff, but it was a cliff that couldn’t be crossed by simply jumping over.

How many kilometers would Leeha need to detour to get to a place that was less than 20 meters in a straight line? If it was anywhere else in Middle Earth, it would have been a place where there would have been a bridge, but the area around the frontier truly was unexplored.

How long have they been flying in Jin Gonggong’s golden eagle form? Maybe two hours?

A huge forest appeared in front of Leeha.

A denser and larger forest than any other forest he had ever seen.

It was a place where there was a river flowing below and looked more like a jungle. 

Even though he was flying in the air, he could feel the moisture coming from below.

“Just like the Amazon!”

Piiiik-!

Jin Gonggong also roared in agreement with Leeha’s words.

30 minutes after entering the Amazon-like terrain, Jin Gonggong began to quickly increase the altitude again.

-Can you see that?

-What is it?

-It’s like a flower bud that pops up from among the trees, over there.

-Ah, yes. Is it close by?

-No. That’s it.

“……What?”

Leeha looked up at Jin Gonggong, but that was all.

A lump protruded out of the huge, tall trees. The moment Leeha was about to say something, the head of the man-eating plant flinched.

Like a creature with a pulse

“Ugh, that’s so gross! What is that? That’s not a man-eating plant, that’s a world tree! Why is it so big?”

-The world tree… it does seem similar. The explanation would be that it’s one of the seeds spread by the world tree…. Anyway, that thing itself doesn’t move. The problem is the surrounding monsters. That plant tamed all the surrounding monsters to protect itself.

-Taming?

-No. By scattering something like hypnosis pollen……. Monsters catch humans and push them into its plants body. Then, the body fluid of the plant causes the human body to-

-S-Stop! Stop! I know that it’s one of the worst deaths on Middle Earth, so you don’t need to describe it.

How does it feel for the body to get corroded at 50% assimilation rate? Leeha cut off Jing Gonggong’s gruesome description.

-So, while I’m getting to know the plant. I just need you to stop the surrounding monsters from approaching me.

-Hmm, can’t you get rid of the hypnosis pollen?

-That’s it. To do that, I have to find the organ that spews out the hypnotic pollen from the plant and get rid of it… that’s gonna be pretty hard. It’s the organ that’s attached to the head. Take a look around now!

Piiiik-!

When Jin Gonggong signaled, Leeha turned his head. At the top of the huge mound, there was something wriggling.

He could even see that it was constantly spewing pollen.

-Look. Leeha-nim, look to your left. You have to rip it off-

-Okay.

And as soon as he looked, he understood the situation. He knew what he needed to do.

-Can you hover for a bit?

-No. Not while the golden eagle form is activated- wait, what are you trying to do?

-If I tear that off, the hypnosis will stop. Even though I don’t know how many monsters there are, I know that it will take a long time to kill them one by one.

Leeha corrected his posture and took out the Black Bass. It was only then that Jin Gonggong noticed what Leeha was doing with his feet.

-Here? In the air? Your gonna shoot now?

-I shouldn’t miss. Jin Gonggong-nim, if you move, I will curse you.

-Wait! What! No, going further is dangerous. Even if it is Leeha-nim, at this distance….

-I don’t even want to go any closer anyway. How can we approach such a disgusting monster?

The golden eagle’s claws held Leeha in a prone position, so at first glance, it looked like Leeha was in a prone shooting position.

However, lying face down was to stop even the slightest trembling by keeping the body as close to the ground. It was because the accuracy increases when all the muscles in the body are relaxed and the trembling was eliminated by being one with the rifle.

But now?

Even during a simple flight, the shaking caused by the wind was considerable, and it was even more so when the golden eagle flapped its wings, its body shook.

It was only the posture that was similar, but it was more accurate to say that Leeha was shooting while standing. No, if he shot while standing, he could control his body with his own will and set the timing of his shot. (ed: was he standing or laying down, he can’t do both.)

Rather than standing up, it was more like grabbing a gun, running, and then shooting. It would be the same level as that.

-If you accidentally touch it and fail, there will be an uproar! Leeha-nim, it’s okay, we have to approach him, and my affinity-

-Don’t worry, just be patient.

Leeha calmed Jin Gonggong down, and calmly examined his condition.

‘The important thing in helicopter sniping is whether you could support it. There’s nothing more foolish than a sniper exposing himself in an open area. But now……’

The shooting environment is the worst, but in terms of the external environment, it’s the best. At least at this distance and height, there would be no monsters that could threaten Leeha. Then the only remaining problem would be solved by him.

‘But it doesn’t change the fact that I could still miss. If I missed, there would be a riot……’

The surrounding monsters will become enraged making it even harder for them later.

‘But if the attack power is too strong, I might accidentally kill the plant.’

In this case, the overwhelming attack power became a burden. He can’t kill it, but he couldn’t afford to miss it either, and only the organ that sprays the pollen had to be removed.

He was being held by the claws of the flying eagle.

“Phew……”

The distance was 300m at most. At this ‘short’ distance, the scope was rather obtrusive. Leeha controlled his breathing and placed the barrel of the Black Bass in the gap between the golden eagle’s feet.

‘Eagle’s Eye.’

At this distance, he could shoot it with his naked eyes, but it didn’t mean that he didn’t need information on the surrounding.

What was the current speed of the golden eagle? How often did the golden eagle flap its wings? It was in the middle of circling around the plant. What was the wind direction and speed when the trigger was pulled?

-Fly straight. No need to slow down, don’t worry about me. Like now. Keep going straight.

-O-okay.

Flap- flap-

Jin Gonggong circled around the man-eating plant.

When the circle with a radius of 300m was drawn, all the necessary information was ready in Leeha’s mind.

“Haa…”

And flap, flap, the wings of the golden eagle finished flapping its wings.

7 seconds until the next trembling, the distance was a round 280m, the wind direction north-northwest, about 13m/s due to increase in wind speed due to altitude.

The fate of a sniper who must calm his trembling body and blood flowing through his veins regardless of his will.

‘Calm Mind.’

It was only 3 seconds, but 3 seconds was a necessity for a sniper.

When Leeha felt his body floating in the air hardening as if lying on the flat ground, before he could even think ‘now’, Leeha pulled the trigger.

The golden eagle, startled by the loud gunfire, roared for a long time.

Babam-!

[Achievement: Raining on monsters(B)]

Congratulations! You hit a target at a distance of 250m or more from the altitude of 50m or higher. Life on the ground would be killed without even being able to counterattack. Infantry, knights, magicians, and even monsters will fear you.

Reward: Agility +13

You are the first registrant of the achievement [The monster that makes rain].

The first three users to get this achievement will be recorded in the Hall of Honor. The effect will be increased to  200%. Effect: Agility +26

“Oh? An achievement?”

Leeha closed the notification windows first. As the achievement appeared, the result was natural.

The red sack above the man-eating plant’s lump had burst.

-AMAAAAAAZIIIIING!! LEEHA-NIM!!! What! How did you hit it?

Piiiiik-!

Jin Gonggong roared with the eagle’s cry and whispered simultaneously. He was so excited that Leeha could feel it from beneath him.

“Phew, actually, it was 50-50! On a chopper- no, anyway! This is great!”

He had only done sniper training from a helicopter once. Of course, even then, he still hit his target. (ed: well aren’t you a cocky one( ͡❛ ᴥ ͡❛) )

However, shooting from a helicopter hovering at 30m was a different story than shooting while being held by an eagle’s claw at more than 50m.

‘The hall of fame also appeared. Besides, I was the first this time! Well, when I think about Luger and Kidd, it’s only natural.’

Who would have thought of using a druid’s transformation skill? Even if they knew, they wouldn’t be able to find someone to help them. Most importantly, the transformation of a human druid is not that big.

They won’t be able to find the unique combination of Giant + Druid. 

“Hehe, are the monsters around released from their hypnosis? You can sneak in quietly and increase intimacy now, right?”

There was no need to answer. Piiiik-! The eagle began to lower his altitude, roaring pleasantly.

After a while, they stood in front of the huge man-eating plant.

“Wow, Leeha-nim! That was really great. I only called you to catch some brainwashed monsters!”

“It wasn’t bad, right?”

“Not bad at all! It’s really cool! Awesome! The best!”

Jin Gonggong put two thumbs up! And smiled. He was overreacting, but it wasn’t a bad feeling.

“The monsters didn’t even see us, so there’s no way they would come…. I’ll walk around for a while. You go on ahead.”

“Yes. I will whisper to you once the ritual is complete.”

Leeha took out Kaztor’s crystal ball and looked around. Of course, he was as careful as possible to not drag any of the monsters’ aggro.

He couldn’t figure out the reaction range of the crystal ball, so he had no choice but to watch it as much as possible.

‘I don’t know if there was no reaction because we were in the air, or it just didn’t respond.’

He wandered around a bit and looked at the crystal ball, but there was no reaction.

In the end, it was impossible to conclude whether there was no reaction because Leeha was in the air, or whether the base was simply not close by.

‘Well, if I look around more, I will find it eventually- but I’ll have to start doing something else after Jin Gonggong’s work is complete.’

(To be continued…)