Groooooooowl—
One would think I'd have gotten used to it by now, but the sheer sight of a swarm of beasts and monsters gathering like a mass of dark clouds never failed to feel unnerving.
It wasn't just me who felt that way, either. The ether around me stirred violently.
[Run, run away...]
[No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No. No.]
[Hiiiiiik...]
Esther sneered.
["See? Even if you're nice to them, all they think about in moments like this is how to run away. It's best to just shoot them all with that bullet. You know, the experimental round, GHOST-157."]
"If it becomes necessary, I'll do it, even if you don't like it. Don't worry."
The ether reacting during a wave wasn't something that could be blamed on any one factor. It was more of a natural phenomenon.
Simply reacting to it was meaningless.
'That's not what's important right now.'
I began moving toward the point where I had set up the NOA-8 Heavy Machine Gun and the TITAN-17 anti-beast rocket launcher, preparing for this very day.
Since the range from my previous hideout was a bit off, I had moved to a position closer to the front line.
'From now on... I can afford to take a more proactive approach during the wave.'
Until now, I had mostly sniped from a distance or lured the monsters into Spirit Mountain Noah to deal with them.
But not anymore.
Though I couldn't say I was perfectly prepared, I had made significant progress, and now all that was left was to head to the front line.
'The more I move, the less damage the Ark takes.'
While moving to the point, I looked at the swarm of beasts coming in like a massive storm cloud.
Grade-3 Flying Type: Sky Whale.
Grade-5 Insect Type: Giant Wasp.
Grade-4 Rock Type: Gargoyle.
'Let's start with a greeting.'
My first target was the Sky Whale.
Simply put, the Sky Whale was a flying beast similar to Mossback Kupf, but significantly weaker due to the difference in grade.
It had a massive, heavy body.
Thick, durable skin.
Sluggish movements.
In other words, it was an easy target for aiming at weak spots.
Click.
I aimed the Ark-15 Anti-Materiel Sniper Rifle.
The first shot was loaded with a high-penetration armor-piercing round.
My target was the Sky Whale's eye.
Boom!
With a thunderous sound, the armor-piercing round cut through the air, racing toward the whale's eye.
But I knew.
Even with the initial strike dealing an additional 10% damage, a single shot from the Ark-15 wasn't enough to pierce through the Sky Whale's eye.
'But that's only if it's a single shot.'
After firing the first round, I immediately pulled the trigger again and again, almost in a rhythm.
I had deactivated the silencer mode, but since Maybell Pilgrim had upgraded the weapon, the noise wasn't excessively loud.
Boom!
Boom! Boom!
The [Blade Rounds] trait reduced the target's armor upon impact.
In other words, even if the first shot didn't break through the hide, repeated hits in the same spot would eventually do the trick.
Swish—!
Like baby birds chasing their mother, the following rounds followed the path of the first.
Despite the Sky Whale's continued movement, the bullets traveled just as I had calculated.
The initial shot struck the whale's eye.
The Sky Whale flinched, but the armor-piercing round didn't fully penetrate the cornea.
Even if it was a weak point, a single shot wasn't enough to pierce the eye of such a massive beast.
'But the crack has already formed.'
As proof, the subsequent armor-piercing rounds drove deeper into the fractured surface.
[Grooooooowl!]
Just like that.
While the Sky Whale was reeling, I quickly swapped magazines.
The newly loaded rounds were A-985 explosive rounds, the most powerful destructive rounds I currently possessed.
The weak point had already been exposed.
All that was left was to blow it up.
Boom!
I fired three shots in quick succession.
The explosive rounds followed the path set by the cracked eye and burrowed inside, triggering a massive explosion.
Bang!
Boom!
The Sky Whale's eye and head erupted in grotesque bursts, and soon, black smoke spewed from the hollowed eye as the massive body plummeted to the ground.
[Grade-3 Flying Type: Sky Whale has been slain.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-3 Flying Type: Sky Whale increased by 0.05%.]
It was the perfect opening for the battle to come.
["What... what did you just do? How did you take down the Sky Whale that easily...?"]
"I just aimed for the weak spot."
["Seriously, what are you, Master? I thought only weirdos like Crux could do stuff like that. How does an ordinary human even...?"]
It wasn't unreasonable for Esther to be shocked.
Indeed, my performance just now might as well have been called a miracle.
Ignoring Esther's stunned murmuring, I moved on.
'Let's keep going.'
Thanks to the A-985 explosive rounds, I could now snipe down Grade-3 monsters from a distance if I aimed at their weak spots.
'Of course, Sky Whales are particularly vulnerable to the armor-piercing and explosive round combination.'
Just as Sky Whales were susceptible to armor-piercing and explosive rounds due to their massive size and thick hide, different monsters had varying vulnerabilities to specific bullet combinations.
Strictly speaking, most of these combinations could be overcome by using explosive rounds alone, but that didn't render other rounds entirely useless.
'Well, that aside...'
Upon reaching the point where I had set up the heavy weapons, I pulled away the camouflage netting.
By now, the swarm of beasts had already reached the Ark's front line.
Click.
Clack, clack—
The first weapon I grabbed was the NOA-8 Heavy Machine Gun.
It was loaded with just one round, but that was enough for me.
Gripping the handle, I aimed at the horde of monsters pouring toward the Red Line front lines.
[Kreeeeeh...]
[Keeeek, keek!]
[Kyaaaaaaooo!!]
A never-ending wave of monsters surged forward.
It was the kind of sight that would freeze any human with fear, but to me, it was nothing out of the ordinary.
Whirrrrrrr—
The ten barrels of the Heavy Machine Gun began to spin, gathering momentum.
Ziiiiiiiiing—!
All preparations were complete.
All that was left was to fire.
Kwa-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka───!
The Heavy Machine Gun roared, spitting fierce flames at the oncoming horde of beasts.
The red flashes pouring from the muzzle looked almost like plasma weaponry in action.
[Grade-10 Beast Type: Tropical Plains Raptor has been slain.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-10 Beast Type: Tropical Plains Raptor increased by 0.05%.]
[Grade-8 Monster Type: Mutated Scale Snake has been slain.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-8 Monster Type: Mutated Scale Snake increased by 0.05%.]
...
[Grade-10 Insect Type: Diligent Worker Ant has been slain.]
[Damage dealt to Grade-10 Insect Type: Diligent Worker Ant increased by 0.05%.]
The nickname of the NOA-8 Heavy Machine Gun was "Eraser".
Quite literally, the reason was that wherever the NOA-8's muzzle swept past, it looked as if everything had been wiped away with an eraser.
As proof of that, all that remained in the path of the machine gun was blood and destruction.
[Kieeeeeee!]
[Kek, kek!]
[Kiiiii...]
Amidst the relentless flashes and roars, the monstrous beasts cried out in agony.
By now, my position had been partially exposed.
Without even needing the ether to sense me, some of the beast horde began rushing toward me.
["M-Master!"]
As the monstrous roar directed itself at me, Esther's panicked voice rang out.
No matter how overwhelming my firepower might be, it wasn't enough to handle the endless onslaught of beasts.
Well, at least not by ordinary standards.
Click.
The machine gun's barrels spun once more.
Kwa-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka───!
The biggest drawback of the NOA-8 Heavy Machine Gun was its terrifying rate of fire of over 10,000 rounds per minute, which consumed ammunition at an equally monstrous rate.
Even the Ark couldn't handle that kind of ammunition consumption without feeling the strain.
But that wasn't my problem.
[Kraaaaak!]
[Kiek!]
[Caw, caw!]
The monstrous firing rate of over 10,000 rounds per minute continued without pause, grinding down the approaching beasts and monsters into literal shreds.
The monstrous 20mm rounds, specifically designed to counter the various threats to the Ark, made it possible.
["W-What the hell?"]
It seemed Esther finally noticed the oddity of my seemingly infinite ammunition.
I didn't have time to explain.
The swarm of monsters and beasts still came charging at me without end.
Still, I let go of the trigger.
Chiiiiiiiiik...!
'Hmm.'
I wasn't sure how many rounds I had fired, but the barrels of the NOA-8 Heavy Machine Gun were glowing red-hot.
If I kept pushing it, the barrels would get damaged, so I needed to give it some cooldown time.
'Alright, then...'
By now, the distance between the beast horde and me had shrunk to within 500 meters.
Practically speaking, they were right in front of me.
There was no way I would just watch them approach without doing anything, so I drew out the bone tendrils from my bone armor.
['Ankelenth's Domain' has been activated!]
[Current duration: 31 minutes 31 seconds.]
After devouring the Reverse Scale of Ouroboros, the absorption rate of Ankelenth's Fang had increased significantly.
This meant that the duration for maintaining Ankelenth's Domain and the Spear had also increased.
["Hik!"]
The moment the beasts froze, Esther reacted as well.
["Ugh... This feels so damn awful."]
No matter how much of a specter she was, her essence was still that of a monster.
Even Ouroboros, a Beyond Grade-Beast, had been affected for a moment.
It was only natural for the weakened Esther to feel the effects of Ankelenth's Domain.
[Keruk?]
It didn't take long before the beasts and monsters redirected their grotesque cries toward the Ark once again.
Concentrated fire followed by domain activation to reset aggro and give the barrels time to cool.
This technique and cycle were crucial for me to master if I were to move beyond the Red Line front and into the Orange Line, Yellow Line, and beyond.
For someone like me, living outside the Ark and affecting fronts beyond the Orange Line meant I would inevitably have to leave Noah.
This meant I would no longer have the luxury of sniping from relatively safe locations as I had until now.
Once the beast horde changed their course again, Esther, who had finally regained her composure, muttered in disbelief.
["This... This is insane..."]
While she was busy being dumbfounded, I kept my eyes on the distance between me and the horde.
Once I deemed the gap to be sufficient, I immediately deactivated Ankelenth's Domain.
['Ankelenth's Domain' has been deactivated.]
[Remaining duration: 27 minutes 52 seconds.]
Of course, it would take a bit longer for the machine gun barrels to fully cool down.
But NOA-8 wasn't my only weapon.
Clatter—
Grabbing the TITAN-17 Anti-Behemoth Rocket Launcher, I aimed it at the swarm heading toward the Ark.
There was no need for precise targeting.
After all, I planned to wipe out everything in sight.
Psshhyooong!!
As I pulled the trigger, the massive rocket shot out of the launcher.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang───!!!
A devastating explosion that couldn't even be compared to regular grenades.
It was an incredible force, truly fitting to be called a bomb designed to hunt giant beasts.
[Kieeeeeeeeeee!]
Despite the explosion, the monsters and beasts on the outskirts howled and turned their gaze back toward me.
Not one to leave such insolent stares unchecked, I pulled the trigger once more.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Kwaaaaang───!!!
Another massive explosion erupted, clearly announcing my presence.