Sniping

Chapter 39: Sniping

By displaying the attributes of the four Knowledge Light Orbs, David could see that these were basically the abilities the four mercenaries had excelled in.

What he hadn't expected was that the Long Sword Mastery among them had reached an 80% proficiency level, and the Spear Mastery had even reached a 99% proficiency level.

Needless to say, the Long Sword Mastery (80% proficiency) was the ability possessed by the leader, Froman, while the mercenary Crock's ability was the Spear Mastery (99% proficiency).

Even if David didn't know much about Armored Warriors, he could guess that there were definitely many secrets surrounding Crock, but since Crock was already dead, those secrets had vanished with the wind.

However, through these two abilities, David could also see the terrifying nature of Gallen.

Two powerful Armored Warriors possessing master-level combat skills were like infants without the slightest power to fight back in front of Gallen, being killed by him as if it were nothing.

David couldn't help but think of the word "Transcendent" that leader Froman had uttered before he died. It was a pity that Froman hadn't been able to finish his sentence, but this still gave David some speculations about what lay beyond the rank of Armored Warrior.

"These are still a bit far from me!" he muttered to himself.

A day had passed since he last fused a Knowledge Light Orb, and he could once again absorb and fuse a new one.

This time, his options were numerous; the mastery of various weapons covered almost all the common weapons used by Armored Warriors. Especially now that he had two Grade 2 long swords, he was extremely tempted by the Long Sword Mastery (80% proficiency).

However, in the end, he decided to absorb and fuse the Sniping (20% proficiency) Knowledge Light Orb today. For melee combat, he already had the War Hammer Mastery at 83% proficiency, which provided him with melee capability, while he had always deeply envied the long-range attack style of sniping.

Safe, efficient, and powerful—that was the Sniper Armored Warrior.

A Sniper Armored Warrior far from the battlefield was the grim reaper for the enemy, yet the guardian angel for their companions.

In David's memories, his predecessor had held special feelings for Sniper Armored Warriors. Looking at it now, David realized this actually stemmed from his father, Hans, who was a Sniper Armored Warrior.

Because of the predecessor's complicated attitude toward his father, he had transferred that love for his father onto the profession of a Sniper Armored Warrior.

The predecessor had originally intended to test for sniping talent only after getting into university, but he had been murdered before he could achieve that.

Furthermore, no matter which Knowledge Light Orb he absorbed and fused these past few days, he wouldn't have had the time to practice it anyway, as his recent time had been entirely occupied by practicing the Storm Hammer Technique.

David took a deep breath, steadied his mind, and then controlled the Shadow Servant to move the Sniping (20% proficiency) Knowledge Light Orb into his body.

In an instant, he found himself on the edge of a battlefield, prone on a large rock. In front of him was an ultra-long sniper rifle over four meters in length, most of which was the barrel.

Having experienced the fusion of combat Knowledge Light Orbs several times, David was already accustomed to this state where he couldn't control the body, yet could receive every sensation the body felt, including the judgment and analysis processes regarding the enemy.

On the battlefield, five Armored Warriors were forming a combat squad. The two Defense Armored Warriors in the front were blocking with two large shields, constantly using the shields to strike the Spiked Pincer Insects at close range with minimal movement, seeking to create distance.

David remembered that the manual had a description of the Spiked Pincer Insects: besides their two sharp claws, they possessed six tentacles on their backs tipped with poisonous stingers that could perform high-speed, close-range thrusting attacks. Their combat power was considered upper-middle among Grade 1 Zerg.

There were as many as five Spiked Pincer Insects. It could be said that in such a battle, without the assistance of a defensive body, the consequences for five Armored Warriors facing five Spiked Pincer Insects would inevitably be failure.

The only uncertainty was the Sniper Armored Warrior lying on the distant rock.

Behind the two Defense Armored Warriors, two Armored Warriors wielding war hammers jumped out of the defensive circle, unleashing a round of powerful attacks toward the Spiked Pincer Insects. Based on David's own mastery of the war hammer, their level was at least 50% proficiency.

Unfortunately, the two war hammer wielders only managed to force two Spiked Pincer Insects back and did not achieve any results.

This was normal; in the face of five Spiked Pincer Insects, the two war hammer wielders did not dare to stray too far from the Defense Armored Warriors.

After the burst, the war hammer wielders retreated behind the large shields, and the spear-wielding warrior forced back the Spiked Pincer Insects that followed.

Although the battle seemed to be going back and forth, the Spiked Pincer Insects had not yet used their six poisonous stingers. At this moment, the insects were likely still toying with their prey.

Just then, David's normal vision was replaced by the view through a sniper scope. This was the familiar T3 Sniper Auxiliary Device, but the T3 Sniper Auxiliary Device mounted on this ultra-long sniper rifle displayed much more information.

In an instant, David received the Sniper Armored Warrior's analytical plan, which included analysis and judgments regarding air temperature, humidity, wind direction, distance, and so on.

The Sniper Armored Warrior's hand flicked lightly on the rifle, and David understood this was switching ammunition.

A Sniper Armored Warrior could use suppressed ordinary sniper rounds to lure Zerg from afar, allowing the squad to face only one Zerg at a time, increasing the squad's combat efficiency and survival rate.

When the Sniper Armored Warrior needed to launch a lethal attack on the Zerg, they needed to switch to special ammunition.

For example, since the Spiked Pincer Insect in front of them was a Grade 1 Zerg, the special ammunition the Sniper Armored Warrior had to use needed to have a warhead made of at least Grade 1 material.

Such precious warheads were expensive; although they weren't as heavy as Grade 1 weapons, they could not be wasted.

The Sniper Armored Warrior did not have many opportunities to attack because to attack the Spiked Pincer Insect, they could not use the suppression mode. While the suppression mode could reduce the sound of the gunshot, it greatly weakened the sniping damage.

David heard the sound of a bullet sliding into the chamber, and a new piece of knowledge entered his mind: an experienced Sniper Armored Warrior could judge what kind of bullet it was just by listening to the sound of it sliding into the chamber.

In the display of the T3 Sniper Auxiliary Device, one of the shield-bearing Defense Armored Warriors was knocked back a step by a charge from a Spiked Pincer Insect. It was this step that created a gap in the previously intact defensive formation.

The Spiked Pincer Insects also seemed to have tired of playing. The moment the formation showed a gap, the six poisonous stingers on the back of that Spiked Pincer Insect suddenly retracted, preparing to fire.

At that very instant, the sniper rifle rang out, and the Grade 1 material bullet rushed out of the barrel amidst a flash of fire.

David felt the massive recoil transmitted from the rifle body. Fortunately, the Exoskeleton Armor on the Sniper Armored Warrior dissipated most of this force, and the remaining part was suppressed by the Sniper Armored Warrior using their strong physique.

David sensed the state of the Sniper Armored Warrior at this moment; because the sniper rifle could not be allowed to shift, the Sniper Armored Warrior forcibly suppressed all the recoil, causing them to feel a momentary sense of suffocation.

In this state, the Sniper Armored Warrior skillfully pressed a Grade 1 bullet into the chamber and fired again.

This was not a case of one plus one equals two in terms of recoil; the impact force received by the Sniper Armored Warrior's body from two consecutive shots was no weaker than that received by an Armored Warrior fighting on the front lines against a Zerg.

In fact, to achieve a lethal effect on a Grade 1 Zerg like the Spiked Pincer Insect, the instantaneous attack power erupted by the sniper rifle had to far exceed the Zerg's shell defense, and the point of attack had to be a fatal weakness.

The first Grade 1 bullet passed exactly through the gap in the large shield and struck the white spot beneath the Spiked Pincer Insect's head.

At this moment, another piece of knowledge entered David's mind: behind that white spot beneath the Spiked Pincer Insect's head was exactly where its heart was located, but most of the time, the insect would use its thick head armor to block this fatal spot.

Only when attacking would it expose this fatal weakness.

The Level 1 bullet flew across a distance of five hundred meters, striking the white spot just below the head of the Spiked Pincer Insect almost the instant the gunshot rang out. The Level 1 bullet caused a green spray to erupt from the shell of the Spiked Pincer Insect, followed immediately by the creature's shrill, mournful howl.

The second bullet, a Level 2, followed less than half a second after the first, once again passing through the gap in the great shield to strike another Spiked Pincer Insect that was charging toward the shield.

This attack landed directly in the eye of the Spiked Pincer Insect; black fluid sprayed out accompanied by the creature's agonizing wail, leaving it severely wounded.

In the span of a mere second, the tide of the battle had shifted, fully revealing the terrifying power of the Sniper Armored Warrior.

Thanks to Yuchen Xiaoke'ai for the 100 Qidian coin tip!! Thanks to Jia2Jia for the 100 Qidian coin tip!!