116: I'm not a sniper 2

"Silence."

A low voice echoed through the plaza, and all commotion instantly ceased.

The Dark Emperor descended the steps and approached Gregg's corpse.

He crouched down, dipped a finger in a bit of blood, and sniffed it at his nose.

"Interesting."

His crimson eyes scanned the surroundings.

"An arrow? No... the wound is wrong. Some kind of... attack method I've never seen before."

Ling Na and Lifa Ya quickly came to the Emperor's side.

Ling Na had already drawn her whisper of the gods to its full extent.

The sacred bow formed an absurd contrast with her current attire.

"Your Majesty, please allow me to find this audacious assassin."

Ling Na's voice was sweet and dangerous.

"I will cover every inch of the surrounding land with nine hundred Demonic Energy arrows and force that rat out."

The Dark Emperor raised a hand to stop her.

"No, this kind of attack... the distance is very far. Extremely far."

He turned his head to look at the darkness outside the palace.

"The assassin isn't here, he's very far away."

"How far?"

Lifa Ya asked in confusion.

"Even my super long-range magic has a maximum range of only twenty kilometers."

"But at that distance, I couldn't possibly fail to detect the magic fluctuations."

The Dark Emperor did not answer. He merely stared at the ground behind Gregg's corpse.

There was a tiny but extremely deep hole there.

The bullet had passed through the skull and continued into the ground, bottomless.

"Rodney."

The Emperor commanded, "Take a team to search the surroundings. Focus on checking all high ground within three kilometers."

"Take a team to search the surroundings. Focus on checking all high ground within three kilometers."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Rodney knelt on one knee, then rose and gathered a team of elite traitors, quickly leaving the plaza.

Qin Jiuge watched all of this through his scope, a cold arc forming on his lips.

A search?

Three kilometers?

Too naive.

His finger once again touched the trigger, and the scope locked onto the next target... The second target was the former Holy Light Bishop, Malcolm.

This bald, obese man once tearfully urged believers to "dedicate everything to the light" during a sermon in the Holy Hall.

Yet, three hours before the Dark Emperor broke through the Holy Hall, he personally poisoned twelve bishops who insisted on resisting, offering their heads as a gift of surrender.

At this moment, Malcolm was hiding behind a Shield Warrior, trembling as he cast one Holy Light shield after another on himself.

"Protect me! Protect me!"

He shrieked.

"The assassin must be those fanatical remnants of light! They want revenge on me!"

The surrounding traitors subconsciously distanced themselves from him.

Everyone knew that gathering together would only make them a more obvious target.

Qin Jiuge calculated the angle.

Malcolm was hiding behind the Shield Warrior, revealing only a small portion of his head.

But for him, that was enough.

One hundred percent penetration meant that the bullet would first pass through the shield, then through the Shield Warrior's head, and finally hit Malcolm.

And, each layer of penetration would not weaken the power.

He pulled the trigger.

The first dull thud was the shield being pierced.

A smooth circular hole suddenly appeared in the center of the legendary "Dragon Scale Guard" shield.

The second sound was the Shield Warrior's helmet shattering.

The third sound was Malcolm's scream—brief and abruptly cut short.

Two bodies fell almost simultaneously.

Shield, helmet, skull—three layers of defense were like thin paper before the "Nameless" bullet.

This time, panic truly began to spread.

"He... he can penetrate defenses!"

"Even the Dragon Scale Shield is useless!"

The traitors began to scatter, seeking cover.

But the plaza was open, and the only cover was the kneeling traitor sculptures.

The Dark Emperor's expression became solemn for the first time.

He walked over to the three corpses, carefully examining the wounds.

Completely identical penetration marks, clean and precise, with no energy residue whatsoever.

This was not magic, not an arrow, nor any known attack method.

"Your Majesty..."

Ling Na's voice finally trembled slightly.

"This attack... I have never seen it before."

Lifa Ya had already cast seven layers of magic shields to envelop the Emperor.

But she knew herself that if even the Dragon Scale Shield could be pierced like paper, these shields probably wouldn't... "Nobody move!"

The Dark Emperor suddenly roared.

His crimson eyes scanned everyone.

"The assassin is observing our reactions. He is enjoying our fear."

"The more chaotic we are, the easier we become targets."

His words temporarily stabilized the situation.

The traitors feigned composure, but their trembling hands and feet betrayed their inner fear.

Rodney's search party had left twenty minutes ago, and no news had returned yet.

Qin Jiuge changed to a more comfortable position in the bell tower.

He was waiting, waiting for the most opportune moment to snipe the most important target... "The assassin is using some kind of ultra-long-range physical attack."

The Dark Emperor analyzed in a deep voice.

"But every attack has its limits. He must be able to see the target to aim."

He pointed to the surroundings of the plaza.

"All light sources, extinguish!"

Lifa Ya immediately waved her hand, and hundreds of magic lamps in the plaza instantly extinguished.

The moonlight was absorbed by the palace's obsidian walls, plunging the entire plaza into deep darkness.

The traitors held their breath, waiting in the darkness.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Five minutes.

Nothing happened.

"It seems I guessed correctly."

The Dark Emperor's voice rang out in the darkness.

"The assassin needs a clear line of sight. Now that he cannot aim in the dark, we are safe."

Some traitors breathed a sigh of relief.

But Lifa Ya suddenly felt a chill.

"Your Majesty... if the assassin is truly at an extremely far distance, how could he see us from five kilometers away?"

"Even Eagle Eye has its limits..."

Before she could finish her sentence, another dull thud sounded in the darkness.

This time, it was a female traitor who fell—the former Forest Elf Queen, Alice.

She was once known for her beauty and wisdom, but at the brink of her race's survival, she betrayed the coordinates of the Elf race's Tree of Life to the Dark Emperor in exchange for her eternal beauty.

The bullet entered her left eye and exited the back of her head, with terrifying precision.

Panic in the darkness completely erupted.

"He can see! He can see in the dark too!"

"What kind of monster is this!"

The traitors began to frantically rush into the palace, pushing and trampling each other.

The once elegant and noble powerhouses were now like startled livestock.

"Silence!"

The Dark Emperor roared, releasing his coercion and stunning dozens of traitors.

"Everyone stay where you are! If anyone moves again, I will kill them myself!"

After barely controlling the situation, the Emperor's face was terrifyingly grim.

He was wrong.

The assassin could not only see in the dark but also his accuracy was not affected in the slightest.

Even more terrifying, Rodney's search party had still not reported back.

Twenty elites, including three legendary warriors, had just vanished silently?

"Ling Na."

The Emperor suddenly commanded.

"Towards the southeast, maximum range, saturation fire."

Ling Na was startled.

"But Your Majesty, I don't know the assassin's location..."

"No need to know."

The Emperor said coldly.

"Use Demonic Energy arrows to cover a thirty-degree fan-shaped area, maximum range."

"Since he could attack Gregg from that direction, he is most likely in that direction."

Ling Na took a deep breath and raised the whisper of the gods.

Dark Demonic Energy gathered on the bow, and she nocked ten arrows at once, which was her limit.

The arrows split into hundreds the moment they left the string, pouring down towards the southeast like a black rain curtain.

Qin Jiuge watched this scene through his scope, gently shaking his head.

Too close.

Ling Na's maximum range was only fifteen kilometers, vastly different from a million kilometers.

The black arrow rain streaked across the night sky, ultimately falling powerlessly onto the wasteland.

"Continue."

The Emperor commanded, "Change direction. Lifa Ya, you too, use super long-range magic to cover all possible directions."

"Change direction. Lifa Ya, you too, use super long-range magic to cover all possible directions."

The two former idols began to frantically unleash firepower in all directions.

Ling Na's arrow rain, Lifa Ya's meteor showers, ice storms, lightning spears, and various legendary magic illuminated the night sky.

They plowed the land within twenty kilometers of the palace over and over again.

The bombardment lasted for a full half hour.

When both of them were almost exhausted of magic and stopped, gasping, the Dark Emperor focused on sensing the surrounding energy fluctuations.

No counterattack.

No sign of the assassin being forced out.

Only endless, suffocating silence.

"He... is even further away?"

Lifa Ya's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Impossible."

Ling Na shook her head.

"Even an Ancient Divine Artifact doesn't have that kind of range..."

Her words abruptly stopped.

Because Qin Jiuge pulled the trigger for the fourth time... This time, Qin Jiuge chose the former leader of the "Shadow Brotherhood," the assassin Great Master Keller, nicknamed "Faceless One."

This person was the most skilled at stealth and assassination among all the traitors.

After the Dark Emperor awakened, he voluntarily offered the names and strongholds of all Brotherhood members.

This led to the last organized resistance force on the continent being uprooted.

At this moment, he was perfectly integrated into the shadows, almost stopping even his breathing and heartbeat.

But he didn't know that in the scope of Barrett's "Nameless," his vital signs were as obvious as a torch in the dark night.

The bullet passed through the gaps of seven walls, bypassed three pillars, and finally entered Keller's temple, exiting from the other side.

This assassin Great Master, who once caused countless powerhouses sleepless nights, died silently in the shadows he was most skilled at.

"Lord Keller?"

A traitor next to him tentatively called out, then discovered the blood on the ground.

"Another... another one..."

The collapse began.

No matter where they hid, no matter what method they used to conceal themselves, the assassin's bullet always found them.

Dragon Scale Shields couldn't block it, magic shields couldn't block it, darkness couldn't block it, walls couldn't block it.

This was a slaughter beyond their comprehension.

"Your Majesty! Save us!"

A traitor knelt on the ground, crying out.

"I was forced! I was forced to betray!"

Another tore at his clothes, trying to prove something.

But most traitors just stood there blankly, waiting for the next bullet to land on their heads.

The Dark Emperor finally realized that he was not facing an ordinary assassin.

This was a ghost, a ghost capable of precisely killing from ultra-long distances.

The ghost's purpose was clear—to eliminate all traitors one by one, and then it would be his turn.

"Everyone, enter the palace!"

The Emperor finally ordered.

"Close all doors and windows, activate the highest-level protection barrier!"

The traitors, as if granted a great pardon, frantically rushed into the palace.

Qin Jiuge smiled in the bell tower.

Entering an enclosed space?

Exactly what he wanted.

One hundred percent penetration meant that walls, barriers, shields—everything was rendered useless.

And in an enclosed space, the traitors gathered together would only allow him to hunt more efficiently.

But he wasn't in a hurry.

Let the fear ferment a little longer.

Let the traitors think they are safe.

Then, at the most relaxed moment... pull the trigger... Inside the palace, the former Human Throne Hall.

The Dark Emperor had transformed it to be even more magnificent and terrifying.

Portraits of human kings from past generations were replaced with images of traitors, and the fountain in the center of the hall gushed not water, but viscous blood.

Over five hundred traitors crowded into the hall, still shaken.

Lifa Ya and more than a dozen mages worked together to erect an "Absolute Defense Barrier" covering the entire palace.

This was legendary magic, theoretically capable of withstanding any known attack.

"We're safe..."

A traitor slumped to the ground.

"The Absolute Defense Barrier can even block forbidden spells three times. That assassin can't get in."

Ling Na, however, frowned deeply.

"Your Majesty, I feel something is wrong."

"The assassin clearly had a chance to kill more people before we entered the palace, but he stopped."

"What is he waiting for?"

The Dark Emperor sat on his throne, tapping his fingers on the armrest.

"He's enjoying it, a cat-and-mouse game."

"Then what should we do?"

Lifa Ya asked.

"Keep hiding here? If the assassin truly has infinite patience..."

"Impossible."

The Emperor shook his head.

"Any attack requires energy. Such ultra-long-range precise strikes must consume a huge amount."

"He will soon run out of power, or... he must get closer to replenish it."

"So we're waiting for him to get closer?"

A glint flashed in Ling Na's eyes.

"Once he enters my range, I'll let him know what real..."

She couldn't finish her sentence.

Because a bullet passed through the palace's outer wall, through three layers of barriers, through the bodies of three traitors, and finally shot into her shoulder.

Not a vital spot.

Qin Jiuge did it on purpose.

Ling Na screamed, and the whisper of the gods fell from her grasp to the ground.

She clutched her wound, black blood gushing from between her fingers.

"The barrier... was penetrated?"

Lifa Ya's face was ashen.

This was impossible.

The Absolute Defense Barrier theoretically could withstand all physical and magical attacks.

Unless... the assassin's attack completely ignored the concept of "defense."

Panic spread explosively in the enclosed space.

"He can shoot in!"

"It's not safe here either!"

The traitors frantically rushed towards the hall exit, but the main door had been magically sealed.

They pounded on the walls, crying and pleading.