𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐁𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭
Sniping in Actanoid is extremely difficult.
Even with aim correction, taking into account lag and shooting with deviation is not humanly possible.
The fact that the small Warabe was shot was because he was targeted when approaching a heavily damaged All-Rounder.
Therefore, the correct answer is to move immediately.
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Chihaya and the others were quick to decide. Some immediately hid in the bushes in the square, others ran into the forest.
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“Search for the sniper with the drone!”
“Did the gunshots get picked up by the Jackalope’s vaunted sound collector?”
“――I have bad news.”
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The Jackalope’s Actor, who silenced the Actors calling for information on the sniper with a single word, continues.
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“Footsteps were picked up by the sound collector. A pack of Hafurondis is coming our way.”
“This situation and now Hafurondis, of all things?!”
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The new-world creature Hafurondis is a giant crocodile-like animal. Since it is covered with sturdy scales, bullets are less effective, and it’s also fast. Forming a pack of about twenty is also troublesome.
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However, we have a heavy-Rounder-type Keeper here. The Keeper’s armament is a light machine gun 『Zaiga=Counterweight』. Even in Actanoid, if it’s within range, it’s heavily armed enough to turn into scrap, so it’s an effective tool against Hafurondis as well.
Its companion, the Psycholon, also carries the Kaien Heavy Industries-made pistol 『Dragon Roar』, conscious of its handling. Although this pistol has significant recoil, it’s a high-power pistol developed for new-world large reptiles and is naturally effective against Hafurondis.
Still, in the current situation, where a sniper is targeting them, they cannot fight properly.
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Someone has to guard their rear, but naturally, the arrow of selection falls on those who don’t have the armament to fight Hafurondis.
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“Jackalope and All-Rounders, cover the sniper for us.”
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I knew it, Chihaya looked at the ceiling with teary eyes.
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“Fu, fu-heheh. . . . . .”
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Chihaya, who laughed creepily, forgetting that the voice chat was on, was found eerie by the Jackalope’s Actor.
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“To laugh in such a pinch. . . . . .”
“A, Ah, no, fu-hehehe.”
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While feeling a stomachache, Chihaya operates the All-Rounder.
They don’t know where the sniper is hiding. However, since the Warabe was sniped, it is unlikely that the sniper is hiding in the forest. The trees are dense, and the shooting line is blocked.
Chihaya looks at the Wagawa upstream mountain range to the east, thinking it might be a sniping from one of the mountains. It felt too far, though.
It could be that the sniper has taken a position on top of an exceptionally tall tree.
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Chihaya looks at the rear camera.
She sees the Keeper fighting Hafurondis in the forest. They were laying down a barrage while slowly retreating, whether because of their numbers. If they continue to retreat, they will expose themselves in the square and be targeted by the sniper.
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Chihaya has to draw the sniper’s attention, but against a sniper armed with a sniper rifle, Chihaya’s All-Rounder is powerless. It’s unlikely the sniper is within the range of an assault rifle.
Time is running out. While they’re doing this, the sniper must be waiting for them to come out into the square. In the worst case, Chihaya’s All-Rounder will become a target to find the direction of the sniper.
If the rented All-Rounder is damaged, she will definitely incur a loss. She will be charged hundreds of dollars for repair costs. If it’s heavily damaged, it could be thousands in compensation. Even with insurance, it’s something she absolutely want to avoid.
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Tearing up and wondering why they were attacked in such a desolate place, Chihaya suddenly thinks.
The sniper might not want any other Actanoids to come close here.
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Chihaya was bothered that the All-Rounder, which had a retrieval request, was left unattended. Bandits wouldn’t leave a downed mecha out in the open.
Initially, why was the All-Rounder sniped? In such a dense forest, they should bring a gun that’s easier to handle than a sniper rifle. There shouldn’t have been a sniper here in the first place.
The sniper is not here by chance. But it’s not for banditry either.
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“. . . . . .Protecting something you don’t want to be known?”
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This is a remote area of the New World, where radio waves from other garages are hard to reach.
Actanoid is a luxury item, and a decent Actor would avoid combat as much as possible. In other words, if you attack and wipe them out, everyone will start to avoid this place.
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It’s a simplistic approach, but effective. However, it’s only a temporary measure until a top-notch Actor who accepts the extermination request comes.
If the purpose is to ward off people in the short term, it’s not about building a base.
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A drone appears on Chihaya’s main monitor. If the aerial footage of that drone is run through the resource identification app, you might be able to find out what the sniper is protecting.
However, there was no way the socially awkward Chihaya would request drone footage.
Chihaya was searching for words with her mouth gaping open as she turned on voice chat, but the result of the acoustic exploration was reported by the Jackalope Actor first.
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“No response. However, encrypted communication is being conducted in some bands, so there are multiple enemies.”
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At the same time, a simple topographic map of the surrounding area, analyzed from the drone footage deployed by the Conductor, was sent.
High trees and other high-altitude points where the sniper might be hiding are marked in red. After looking at the attached drone footage, Chihaya immediately operated the resource search app on her computer.
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“Fu-he, found it. . . . . .”
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Chihaya, who muttered involuntarily, immediately operates the All-Rounder and takes out a wire.
The Jackalope Actor called out to her.
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“Found what, where is it?”
“Eh? Fu, fu-hehe.”
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She laughs and dodges the question, as she didn’t exactly find the sniper. A suspicious atmosphere seems to come through the voice chat.
Meanwhile, the All-Rounder controlled by Chihaya silently winds the wire between the trees, hooking a hand grenade halfway.
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While remotely operating the winding machine and pulling the pin of the hand grenade, the wire is wound at high speed, and the hooked hand grenade is thrown into the air.
The hand grenade flies, describing a parabola.
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“What on earth are you?”
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Just after the Jackalope Actor asked the question, the hand grenade exploded in the distance.
Whether concerned about Chihaya’s actions or not, the Psycholon checked the blast site with a drone and shared the footage.
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“This, a kukumerka grove? Why there?”
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As the Jackalope Actor says, what Chihaya identified with the resource search app and threw a hand grenade into was a kukumerka grove in the New World.
It is a resource in the New World, expected to be used in medicine as an easily extracted anesthetic without dependence, the growth conditions of which have not yet been identified.
It was this grove of highly valuable plants that Chihaya suspected the sniper was protecting.
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“Fu-hehe. . . . . .”
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The Jackalope Actor is taken aback by Chihaya, who is reloading and firing while laughing ominously.
It’s a merciless bombardment of valuable and expensive medical resources. Without hearing Chihaya’s thoughts or objectives, it looks like she’s destroying resources while laughing, ignoring the fight with the sniper.
However, the effect was immediate.
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When the third hand grenade was fired, an unidentified large drone rose from the forest and shot at the hand grenade.
It had no chance of hitting the small hand grenade, and the third shot struck the kukumerka grove.
The dumbfounded Jackalope comes to his senses and reports.
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“Acoustic search has a response. Lannoid-type Conductor, Leaf Sprinter-type Sprinter approaching!”
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It seems that the sniper who realized that he could not protect the kukumerka grove without doing something about Chihaya gave up sniping points and was approaching.
It was as planned, but Chihaya continued to laugh creepily from fear and tension as the enemy machines approached.
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