CH 229

Data.219 – Old Bowman, Limit

“…So that’s how they want to do it.”

In order to dodge the iron sphere, Nord activated Blast Shot, which unleashed a gust of wind from his gun barrels.

If he controlled the direction of the wind from the two pistols, he could even fly and increase his speed a little.

And so Nord used this to move out of the iron ball’s range, and then he continued his attack on Anne.

“Rainy Bullet!”

It was a skill that fired bullets like rain.

Normally, it was not an attack that had much power, and you could not control the trajectory of the bullets.

However, due to a buff from the party member Gullinkambi, its abilities had been enhanced greatly.

Gullinkambi was not the most skilled player in VRHAR.

However, he was very good when it came to offering support to others.

The sound skills he used with his flute weapon could create scouts, buffs and even defend himself.

And he didn’t attack if he didn’t need to.

Nord had taught him to be cautious, and focus on supporting until it was absolutely necessary to act.

“First one down…hmm?”

After seeing that Anne had gone down, Nord noticed that Kyuji had disappeared.

Had he not been able to withstand the rain of bullets?

No, there was no way…!

“Grrr…! I see that you’re able to make such severe decisions now… Attacking while sacrificing a friend.”

An arrow was piercing Nord’s right arm!

The arrow was Inferno Windgod Sky Tear…!

Had it gone through his head, it might have been instant death.

But Nord had dodged it just in time, and so got away with just an arm injury.

Just by seeing that Kyuji was gone, he was able to assume that he had used Warp Arrow. But it was also impressive that Kyuji had also been able to see that Anne had thrown the iron ball as a diversion, and to temporarily stop the gunfire.

The iron ball would block Nord’s view, and in the meantime, he would use a dummy with Mirror Alice Reflection to switch places.

And then Kyuji had used Warp Arrow to escape to the ground.

When continuing his attack, Nord had scanned the entire scene, and seen Kyuji, but that was just a dummy.

And then he was focused on Anne after that, so he didn’t notice Kyuji’s disappearance immediately.

Yes, even for someone like Nord, it took a lot of focus to continue to shoot a player who was falling.

The fact that Kyuji could be thinking about other things and still hit his targets meant he really was a monster, like Macoco said.

“Still, we’re now even. The battle is just… No, it won’t last much longer now.”

◆　◆　◆

“I missed…? No, he dodged it?”

I had been aiming at his head when unleashing the arrow.

It felt like I would hit him. But just the smallest movement of his body had saved him.

And Nord hadn’t been reacting to seeing an arrow.

He had instinctively felt that he was being sniped at, and moved…

“This won’t be easy after all… Still, at least I got one of his arms.”

Surely that was worth Anne’s sacrifice.

Even if he was a brilliant player, he was significantly weaker after losing an arm!

“Let’s keep going, Satomi! Garbow!”

While being protected by the three Unisons, Satomi also got through the storm of bullets and landed on the ground.

Garbow was also not really affected by the bullets, as they were all physical attacks.

With the Unisons, we still have the numerical advantage!

It was possible to use a rare healing item to fix any wounded limbs, but it took time, and it would be canceled if you attacked, or took damage before it was complete.

And so we couldn’t give him a chance…!

“Big Inferno Arrow!”

Could he cancel a powerful charge attack with just one gun…!

“Baou, I’ll need your help for now.”

“…Baou.”

Nord then hid behind the Unison hippo’s body!

Nothing about this hippo suggested that it had the will to fight…

While it followed Nord the whole time, it never did anything to attack the enemy or protect other party members.

Its movements were slow and sleepy. Though, it did have sharp eyes.

It also had a crown and fancy clothes, which suited it, strangely.

And so its appearance and attitude reminded me of a fat king from a fantasy story.

However, what would it do when arrows were flying towards it?

What trump card was it hiding…?

“…Baou.”

It did…nothing!

The arrows could not pierce its skin. Instead, the toughness of the fat caused them to bounce off!

Even the reddish-black flames did not burn it!

And it was looking at me as if it hadn’t even noticed the attack…!

“So normal high-power attacks are meaningless! In that case…Gatling Thunder Arrow! Garbow! Electric River!”

Hippos made me think of the water attribute, and so maybe it would be weak to thunder?

…Ah! It gritted its teeth a little!

It still wasn’t moving, but it was clearly an improvement!

If only I knew the most effective attack…!

“Garbow! Kurokogairu!”

“Gar! Gar!”

Five clones came out of Garbow’s shadow.

If they worked with Satomi and his Unisons, they could surround Baou, and Nord would not be able to hide!

And then we can move in and attack!

“Parallel Parsol Bullet!”

Colorful umbrellas shot out of Nord’s left pistol, and they created a barrier around him.

It was an enhanced version of Parasol Bullet, which I had seen at the Ghost Float!

However, its strength was its ease of use, and the durability hadn’t been that high…

And this one looked like it had evolved to increase its numbers, rather than its durability, so I doubted it could stop multiple charge attacks.

So we would continue to press forward!

“Gatling Thunder Arrow! Garbow, Electric River!”

“Gar! Gar!”

“Fire Kindling Seed! Ultra Air Cannon! Guerilla Stream!”

We targeted Baou, while Satomi targeted Nord!

Now we would take them both down at the same time…

“What…! It’s perfectly fine…!?”

While smoke was rising from Baou’s body, he was still in good condition.

And he would still not move!

Did he hate moving so much…!

But what was most surprising, was that we had not been able to destroy the Parallel Parasol Bullet barrier!

Satomi and his Unisons had all been unleashing charge attacks!

His Unisons were almost as strong as a player, and yet Nord had stopped them with a single defense skill!

No, that wasn’t right.

It’s true that a defense charge attack was stronger, but balance–wise, it shouldn’t have been able to block three.

There must be some kind of trick…!

“…Hmm!?”

There was a man playing a flute while looking at Nord from behind the debris!

That was…Gullinkambi! The other VRHAR player!

I was so focused on the fight with Nord that I had forgotten about him…

But now that I knew, I would not let him get away!

While I couldn’t hear anything, it was clear that he was casting buffs with the flute!

“Gatling Inferno Arrow! Garbow! Tentacle Laser!”

“Gar! Gar!”

But when the attacks were directed at him, Gullinkambi…did not run.

A high-pitched note came from the flute, and he stood his ground!

Biiiiiiii…clang! Clang!

Our attacks hit an invisible wall and then disappeared.

Was it a…sound barrier?

So his defenses were quite impressive as well…!

“Mr. Kyuji, it was the buffs after all.”

Now the umbrella barriers were being destroyed by Satomi and his Unisons!

It was now clear that Gullinkambi had been casting buffs on Nord’s charge attack.

And when the attacks moved to him, he started to buff himself.

In other words, Nord was no longer protected!

“I’ll focus on Gullinkambi! Garbow will target Baou, so you can deal with Nord!”

“Gar! Gar!”

“Understood!”

I could see the enemy’s hand now…!

And we could fight them properly.

Even if they were the strongest party!

“Now, it’s time to rejoin the fight. Compressed…Air Bullet!”

“Ukyaa…!”

Gochu was…shot through the head!

But I didn’t see any bullets…!

It was so fast, and yet so powerful…!

But that wasn’t the only thing that was surprising.

Nord’s right arm…was back!

So he had healed it while hiding behind Baou and using his barriers to buy time…!

However, that shouldn’t be enough to get around Satomi’s cover.

So it was likely that Gullinkambi was buffing his attacks as well.

There was that storm of black bullets, for one…!

Nord had stopped shooting them and dodged Anne’s iron ball, and then continued shooting them immediately.

In other words, it showed that it was a skill with no cooldown.

We could not allow a buffer who could make a skill that dangerous roam free…!

Furthermore, while Nord had his arm back, his other pistol was still on the ground where he had dropped it.

So it didn’t change the fact that his attack ability was halved!

So maybe Satomi and the others could still manage…

“Please survive…!”

I continued to shoot my arrows at Gullinkambi.

However, they were just blocked by an invisible wall.

And even when I used Bound Arrow to shoot from different angles, there was no crack in his defenses…!

Even if he was casting buffs, this was ridiculous!

Still, it meant that he was succeeding in buffing himself.

As for Satomi and the others…

“Gah! Ha…ha…”

Now that Gochu was out, it looked like they were struggling against Nord…

And Garbow and his clones had still not defeated Baou!

Baou continued to stand there without attacking back!

Upon seeing this situation, Nord went to pick up his fallen pistol.

And then Satomi moved forward!

He held up the staff that was his weapon…and charged into Baou!

“I thought you were preparing something. So it was the instant death skill you used against Mad Slime CORE.”

Nord held up his pistol and shot at Satomi!

And then Buffy and Kapaparuto moved in between them!

They would protect Satomi at all costs!

Yes…now Satomi’s attack would reach him!

“Baou is a King Hippopotamus. Not only does he have a higher status than most Unisons, but he won’t obey the orders of players. He is also slow in both mind and body. However…”

Baou, who had been still this whole time…suddenly stood up!

“They will move when death is close. And…”

With a speed that did not match its size, it dodged Satomi’s instant death attack!

“It can be fast when it wants to be. Furthermore…”

Without losing any momentum, it then charged into Satomi from the side!

“Their counter attacks are incredible. And in the end…”

Satomi lost all of his HP in one hit…!

“It’s difficult for a human to beat a hippo.”

And then baou sat heavily on the ground again.

I-I didn’t even have time to help him…

It was just too fast…!

“You were right to use an instant death attack on Baou. In terms of status, he is the best in our party, and so conventional methods would take too long. Besides, I have seen your instant death attack and learned. And so I would have been more likely to dodge it.”

“Haha… I didn’t have to take all of that into consideration… I’ve never fought on such a stage as this before. So my mind goes blank if I’m not careful… And I start to shake… I just wanted to take Baou down so that Kyuji could shoot…”

“…I see. Because if it came down to two shooters, he would have the upper hand?”

“Yes, exactly.”

Satomi said. And then he disappeared.

Now it was just me, Garbow, Nord, Gullinkambi, and Baou…!

“Well…let’s put those words to the test then.”

And then Nord jumped out from behind Baou’s body!

“Scatter Thunder Bullet…Triple!”

Small thunder bullets spread out!

“In-Inferno Arrow Tempest!”

I was hardly even thinking anymore, but there was nothing else that I could do!

With this chain attack, Garbow’s clones were wiped out, and Garbow himself took damage.

And while some bullets got past my arrows and chipped away at my HP, I was still able to survive…!

Nord had also been hit by some of the arrows, and his armor was burned.

It was the first time he took proper damage since losing his arm…

“We won’t give up yet, Garbow!”

“Gar! Ga…gaga…!”

“Garbow…?”

I had thought that Garbow survived the thunder bullets, but there were several holes in his back!

Did that mean they were shot from above…!?

No, it was…from below!

It was those drill type bullets that burrowed in the ground. I had been hit by them on the Ghost Float…!

That’s what he used!

I had known about the existence of that skill, but had not been able to do anything…!

Drill-type skills were especially effective against machines.

And since it was after Garbow had been hit by thunder, he could not withstand it.

And so for the first time, I saw Garbow fade away and disappear.

In the past, I had always used a combined charge attack to allow him to escape during a pinch…

“Tsk…!”

There was no time to grieve!

There were still two enemies and a Unison to deal with!

I had to do something…!

But what…

“It’s checkmate, Mr. Kyuji…”

Just then, thunder shot out from Baou, who was behind Nord.

Even Nord was so surprised that he turned around.

I should have targeted him then, but I was also surprised.

Baou was killed, and his body disappeared…

Immediately after, Nord’s body was slashed by something I couldn’t see!

No, even if I couldn’t see, I knew who it was.

“There was no announcement about Edda being killed…Ms. Necoco.”

“It’s a little trick.”

Necoco Strange…!

She had been both an enemy and an ally. But I had never thought she was so reliable as she was now!

“The battle has just begun, old man!”

“…Right!”

I answered. But I was feeling something else.

Battles between the best were usually over in an instant. And this battle will be over soon…

That’s what I felt.