360: Chapter 352 Sniper Battle

"The World."

Research Institute.

Zhang Mu strolled among the instruments with his hands behind his back, touching one here and kicking another there from time to time.

"Clang—" He kicked one of the instruments a bit too hard.

Geoffrey, busy at his workstation, turned around helplessly. "Lord City Lord, isn't Lake at war?"

"How do you... still have time to stay here with me? Don't you need to go to the front lines?"

Judging by Geoffrey's expression, he was clearly dissatisfied with Zhang Mu's interruption of his work, but given their respective statuses, he could only offer a tactful reminder.

Zhang Mu felt a bit awkward and straightened the instrument he had kicked askew. "I'm just waiting for your magic guidance radar and the weakened version of the magic guidance sniper rifle to be finished. As for the front lines... the Allied Forces haven't made any major moves for now, so there's no need to worry yet."

Hearing this, Geoffrey took a deep breath and turned back to continue his work.

He understood that the only way to get his City Lord to leave was to quickly develop the two weapons he had mentioned.

In truth, what Zhang Mu desperately lacked right now wasn't just a magic guidance radar, but also a "Medical Squad," training for the Special Squad, and so on.

Although the Allied Forces were currently stationed in the plains, both sides knew this wouldn't last for long.

What Zhang Mu had to do was prepare for the final decisive battle within that "not-so-long" timeframe.

Through the battle for Keton City and the sniper warfare in the plains, Zhang Mu had already roughly figured out the conditions for defeating the Allied Forces.

The Allied Forces' advantage lay in their numbers, which far exceeded Lake's.

This didn't just refer to the regular human legions, but also Saint-ranks, High-tier Professionals, low-tier Professionals, logistics, and every other factor that determined victory or defeat in war.

Originally, Zhang Mu didn't fear human-wave tactics, but on the Saul Continent, there was magic and Professionals, making the power of ordinary firearms very limited.

Reversing this disadvantageous situation wasn't that difficult either.

As long as the entire Special Squad advanced to Magic Apprentices and their numbers were continuously expanded, they could suppress the enemy's High-tier Professionals and Saint-ranks who were wreaking havoc in the sky.

As for the massive number of low-tier Professionals, a Special Squad that followed the elite principle would find it difficult to handle them properly.

With over a hundred thousand low-tier Professionals, even if they lined up and stood still for Damu to pick them off, it would take half a month; besides, they weren't idiots and would certainly take cover.

Therefore, the low-tier Professionals could only be dealt with head-on by the legions.

But in a head-on clash, several legions, including the First Army, would struggle immensely, even if the hidden armored army group was deployed.

The armored legion could easily handle Mutated Rhino-Oxen, but it would be a bit troublesome if the opponents were low-tier Professionals.

Especially agile knights.

They would dodge shells, leap onto armored vehicles, and then swing their longswords, slicing the vehicles into pieces like tofu.

The solution Zhang Mu came up with for this problem was the weakened version of the magic guidance sniper rifle.

The so-called "weakened version of the magic guidance sniper rifle" involved discarding the gun-array Core.

This way, with just a bit of training, Soldiers could form two-person sniper teams to fight on the front lines.

Zhang Mu snapped out of his thoughts, ran behind Geoffrey, and poked his head forward.

Seeing that Geoffrey's work wouldn't be finished anytime soon, Zhang Mu decided not to disturb him. He opened a light gate and went to the plains to check on the battle situation.

...

The eastern borders of Lake had completely fallen. Novak followed a steady and cautious strategy, building numerous outposts in the plains to consolidate control over the region while squeezing the operational space of the Lake Soldiers.

Domit and Zhang Mu had anticipated today's situation before the war even began.

Or rather, today's situation was something they had deliberately guided into being.

Both of them were well aware that with Lake's current legions alone, keeping the Allied Forces outside the borders was nothing more than a pipe dream.

Since the enemy's entry was inevitable, they might as well make use of it.

The tactics they devised were also simple.

By digging trenches in the plains and dealing the enemy a heavy blow, no matter how stubborn the Allied commander was after getting battered, he wouldn't dare to advance recklessly.

He would inevitably choose to first digest the fruits of victory he had already obtained—that is, strengthening his control over the plains—before plotting for the rest of Lake's territory.

The time during which the Allied Forces remained in place to build outposts and clear out unstable factors was the perfect opportunity for Zhang Mu and Domit to accumulate strength.

Zhang Mu set about organizing the "Medical Squad" and similar matters, which need not be detailed here.

On Domit's side, although large-scale battles wouldn't occur for the time being, small-scale skirmishes never ceased.

After the three legions withdrew from the plains to recuperate, Domit immediately selected a group of people from several legions that hadn't yet entered combat and had been practicing with non-magic guidance sniper rifles, breaking them into smaller units to hunt along the edges of the plains.

Their targets weren't Professionals, but the ordinary patrol Soldiers sent out by the Allied Forces.

The purpose of this arrangement was to prepare in advance for the mass production of the weakened version of the magic guidance sniper rifle.

Once the weakened version of the magic guidance sniper rifle was mass-produced, it could be directly distributed to the snipers.

Domit didn't hide this news, clearly telling the Soldiers that the number of the first batch of "advanced sniper rifles" was limited, and the criteria for selecting users would be based on their kill counts.

The Soldiers, who had deeply experienced the power of the sniper rifles, instantly became fanatical.

If a regular sniper rifle was already this strong, able to blow off a low-tier Professional's head with one shot, how terrifying would the power of an advanced sniper rifle be?

To become the first batch of snipers for the weakened version of the magic guidance sniper rifle, the Soldiers formed two-person teams and frantically hunted Allied Soldiers in the plains.

This operation had been going on for half a month.

Early this morning, five sniper teams that had briefly rested at a temporary camp set out once again on their hunting journey.

According to the rules, they should have rested for three days before setting out, but the teams didn't report their kill counts to each other. They didn't know how many enemies other teams had taken down, so to ensure they won the selection, they could only try to increase their own kill counts as much as possible.

In the mountain forests on the edge of the plains, two Soldiers wearing ghillie suits and carrying military-green AWMs moved through the woods.

Reaching the edge of the woods, they found a hilltop on one side of a path outside the forest to set up a sniper position.

Once finished, the two lay prone in the grass—one with his rifle ready, the other holding binoculars to search for enemy traces while marking surrounding objects.

"Damn it." After looking around for a long time without seeing a single enemy Soldier, the spotter couldn't help but curse, "Where did those guys go?"

"It's almost noon, and we still haven't seen anyone."

The sniper consoled him in a low voice, "Don't be in a hurry. Did you forget the instructor's warning?"

"Impatience is a sniper's greatest taboo."

The spotter lowered his binoculars. "Yesterday we only took out seven people, while Team Three got twelve—five more than us!"

"I was thinking of catching up today, but looking at the situation now... the gap will probably only widen."

The sniper was quite optimistic and said with a chuckle, "If we lose, we lose. We'll just wait for the second batch of advanced sniper rifles."

"How is that... the same?" The spotter's voice rose, but seeing the sniper's stern look halfway through, he quickly lowered it. "The instructor said..."

"No one remembers second place. To be a good Soldier, one must have the determination to pursue first place."

"And the military... military... mentioned by the Marshal..."

"The military merit peerage system."

"Right, the military merit peerage system." The spotter scratched the back of his head. "As long as we kill enough people, we can become nobles!"

The sniper felt a bit helpless toward his teammate, who didn't listen carefully in class. "The peerage in the military merit peerage system doesn't refer to nobility; it refers to positions within the legion."

"Whatever, it's basically the same thing."

Seeing no sign of the enemy for the moment, the spotter lay down. "Do you think... this military merit peerage system is for real?"

"Real? What do you mean?"

"I mean, will the Marshal actually follow through with it?"

"Of course!" The sniper raised his hand and smacked his head. "Don't say things like that again. If the instructor hears you... you know, the instructor is from the First Army."

"The First Army... you know what happens to anyone who dares to speak ill of the Marshal in front of them."

Unpleasant memories surfaced in the spotter's mind, and he subconsciously shivered. "I definitely don't want to..."

"Shh!" The sniper suddenly became alert. "Someone's coming."

Someone?!

The spotter's eyes lit up as he picked up his binoculars and looked down the path outside the forest.

Through the binoculars, a patrol squad of over ten Allied Soldiers was slowly walking down the path toward them.

"How's it look?" the sniper asked.

"No problem, they're all ordinary humans."

Domit had strict orders: all sniper teams were forbidden from engaging enemy Professionals; they were to retreat immediately upon encounter.

This patrol squad consisted entirely of ordinary humans, so they naturally didn't fall under the ban.

The spotter's binoculars followed them slowly. When the patrol squad reached an area without cover, he said, "Sector A, Marker 1, 50 degrees right, distance 50."

"Copy that. Sector A, Marker 1, 50 degrees right, distance 50."

"Lead captain, wearing light armor, holding a spear in his right hand, sword at his waist."

"Copy that. Lead captain, wearing light armor, holding a spear in his right hand, sword at his waist."

"I'm seeing 3 mils from head to hip."

"Copy that. 3 mils from head to hip."

"Dial to 500."

"Copy that. Dialed to 500, adjustment complete."

"Wind from right to left at 6 miles per hour, 1/4 mil right."

"Copy that. Wind from right to left at 6 miles per hour, 1/4 mil right."

The sniper held his breath, and his index finger squeezed the trigger.

*Bang—*

"1/4 mil right."

"Target hit. Get ready for the next one."

The sniper chambered another round. "Copy that. Target hit. Preparing for the nex—"

The spotter looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Something's... not right."

"What's not right?" The spotter shifted his gaze back to the patrol squad. "We have to take them out quickly, otherwise..."

Through the binoculars, he saw that after their captain died, three members of the patrol squad didn't flee in panic. Instead, their lips curled into mocking sneers.

Although they were still about three hundred meters apart, the spotter felt as if he could hear the three members saying—Got you.

"Professionals! Run!"

The two quickly stood up and, clutching their sniper rifles, turned and dashed into the forest.

"Hey, you rats who like hiding in the gutters, weren't you looking for us? Why run?"

Behind them, the enemies' taunts approached rapidly. The two realized they had fallen into a trap.

"No, we can't outrun them. Call for backup!" the sniper panted.

The spotter pressed the switch on his Bluetooth headset. "This is Team Five, this is Team Five. We've been ambushed in Sector C. Enemies are three Professionals, rank unknown, but confirmed to be low-tier Professionals. Requesting immediate backup!"

"Repeating, we've been ambushed in Sector C. Enemies are three Professionals, rank unknown, but confirmed to be low-tier Professionals. Requesting immediate backup!"

As soon as he finished, a response came through the headset immediately.

"Team One copies!"

"Team Three copies!"

"Team Four..."

As long as they could hold out until their teammates arrived, they would survive, so they ran with all their might.

But their endurance and speed were clearly no match for Professionals.

In just five minutes, the three Professionals who had been hundreds of meters behind had caught up. The two could even hear the crisp sound of leather boots snapping dry branches behind them.

"Come on, little rats. Come back with me, and I'll treat you well."

The three were right on their heels. One of them taunted them, kicked off the ground to leap into the air, and drew a longsword for a vertical slash.

Before the sword even reached them, the fierce wind it generated was already ruffling their hair.

Their teammates' backup was still on the way, and they knew they couldn't escape.

Then let's fight!

The two glanced at each other, seeing resolve in each other's eyes, and simultaneously turned back to raise their rifles and fire.

"You only have a chance of hurting me when you're backstabbing from the gutters, you fools!" The Professional in mid-air wasn't panicked at all and even had the leisure to mock them.

His upward momentum had peaked, and he began to descend.

The blade reflected a cold light. The two, now half-squatting, gave up on dodging and held their breath to aim.

*Bang—*

The leaping Professional fell like a kite with its string cut, crashing straight to the ground. Following closely after, two bullets that had been split into four pieces fell beside him.

His chest had been pierced by a bullet, blood gushing out, and his expression was one of extreme shock.

Equally shocked were the remaining two Professionals, as well as the sniper and the spotter.

The four were stunned that although two bullets had been split, the leaping Professional was still hit in a vital spot.

The latter were the first to react.

The spotter's face lit up with the joy of a narrow escape. "They're here!"

They're here?

The two Professionals were dazed for a moment, then were struck with alarm. The intelligence was wrong!

According to the intelligence gathered by the Allied Forces, the Lake Soldiers hunting their patrol squads worked in pairs, with considerable distances between the teams.

That was why the three of them had been so confident in their pursuit.

Two ordinary humans, with individual strength far inferior to theirs and fewer in number—what was there to fear?

As it turned out, the enemy's backup had arrived in just a few minutes, and there was more than one!

The two Professionals heard faint footsteps among the surrounding trees, knowing that the people hiding in the shadows were using the same strange weapons that could pierce their bodies as the two in front of them.

They had to run!

Fear took hold, and they immediately acted on it, turning to flee.

They were clever, knowing the enemy would surely shoot at them, so they didn't run in a straight line but wove in an S-pattern through the trees.

Clearly, the two of them didn't understand the skills of a sniper, especially a top-tier one.

This batch of Soldiers on the hunting mission had been selected through multiple rounds from a legion of tens of thousands. Aiming at a moving target was a simple task for them.

There were four sniper teams that had arrived—eight people, eight sniper rifles.

*Bang—* They fired simultaneously, the gunshots overlapping.

The two corpses lurched forward a few steps from momentum before collapsing to the ground.