Vol 3 Chapter 5 (2/2)

As such, they acquired a powerful armament.

Now, they had to master using it.

The PTRD 1941, weighing 16 kg, was really heavy, thus it naturally required a character to have high Strength in order to wield it.

Among their team, the only ones who could make use of it right away, that is, to run normally while carrying it, were Sophie and Rosa. Because those two had always carried heavy machine guns, a large number of spare ammunition, and spare barrels.

However, this gun was a sniper rifle.

Either Tohma or Anna, the ones with specialised skills for improving their sniping capabilities, should be the one to use it, thus the two devoted themselves to further intensive training to raise their Strength stat. Taking advantage of their spring break, they spent all of their time outside of club activities training themselves.

Eventually, Tohma raised her parameters high enough that 〝despite having a weight penaltywhen carrying it, she could at least fire it〟, thus the gun now belonged to Tohma.

When Tohma first shot with it while adhering to the instructions shown on the gun's window, she thought her shoulder would be dislocated due to the recoil, incomparable to that of her Dragunov. She felt that this was not a weapon that a human being (though she was using an avatar) could fire.

However, unless she tamed this monster, her team could not win. Having prepared a large number of 14.5 mm bullets, Tohma kept repeating her shooting practice. And refined her willpower to endure the recoil.

There was no scope on this gun. The anti-tank rifles of such an age did not have them to begin with. In that case, feeling uneasy about a long-range battle with M,

”If there is none here, Proceed to put one on, HototogisuNai no nara, tsuketes.h.i.+mae, hototogisu. Not enough morae.”(2)

Tohma used the guns customisation function and equipped one.

She crushed the metal sights attached to the barrel's left side and welded a scope mount; a crude process, but not a problem as long as it worked.

If she used a rifle scope as-is, she feared that the gun's recoil would cause it to hit her in the eye. Thus, she procured a pistol scope with much longer eye relief (distance between the ocular lens and the eye) than that of a rifle's. And equipped it.

Thus, what they completed was,

The 〝PTRD 1941 Anti-Tank Rifle - Attached Girls' School Rhythmic Gymnastics Club Special〟

Alias,

The 〝Decisive Battle Weapon Against M〟──abbreviated as 〝M Gun〟.

For a test battle, the girls once again tried fighting against the machine that dropped this gun.

They restrained its movement with hot water and had Tohma snipe it repeatedly from long range. Seeing the armoured plates be so easily shot off the enemy they had had so much trouble with before,

”We can win thiiiiis!”

Boss cried in the underground hollow.

As if their hards.h.i.+ps last time were a lie, they took down the machine. Of course, another anti-material rifle drop… did not happen, but they did earn experience points and money.

Looking at her overjoyed friends, Tohma presented a problem.

”Though, what are we supposed to do if we can't use the bipod in a place with good line-of-sight? Since I can't move with this gun……”

Once this excessively heavy and long gun was fixed in place, it would not be easy to move from there. Tohma's anxiety was apt.

And then, both the machine gunners, Rosa and Sophie, smiled simultaneously.

Rosa,

”Guys, whenever we're shooting with our machine guns, you support us by standing in front as pedestals!”

Sophie,

”That's right. We could just do the same thing ourselves. When someone as tough as us sits down firmly, you could just fire with your barrel on one of our shoulders!”

Tohma's eyes bulged open in surprise.

”But! If we do that, either of you could be shot and die!”

And then, Sophie,

”That is a problem. ──In that case, we can't fulfil our role as a pedestal properly.”

”No, that's not what I meant……”

”In that case, the solution is simple!”

The dwarfess grinned and answered with the sense of responsibility of a club vice-president.

”You just need to kill me beforehand. Then I'll become an indestructible pedestal, capable of defending against any kind of attack for 10 minutes!”

”Next!”

Before the dust from her first bullet could clear, Tohma loaded her second.

Her target was a bit to the right of her previous one. The center of the fan-shaped s.h.i.+eld.

If she managed to send a bullet in there, she would not only blow away the s.h.i.+eld, but also deal damage to M and his gun there.

M bringing an anti-materiel rifle was clearly beyond their expectations.

Their plan was to shoot from as close as possible while staying just outside the M14 EBR's 800 metre effective range, but it was pointless to complain now. 〝If we managed to procure one, they should also be coming with one〟──not considering this possibility was their mistake.

”Eat this!”

She fired.

Along with a roar that shook the earth, a 60 gram, ultra-high-alloy ma.s.s flew out at 1,000 metres per second, that is, at an unbelievable speed of Mach 3.

The next moment, it hit the s.h.i.+eld.

Tohma's aim was a bit off, thus the bullet hit the left edge of the s.h.i.+eld, causing the sheet to burst off there.

If he had not taken cover as ordered by Pitohui, M's head would have been hit by the s.h.i.+eld’s burst sheet, and he would have probably died as well.

M immediately raised his head and grabbed his M107A1.

M, too, had already realised their intention.

Making one of their own into a corpse, an indestructible object, and using it as a high-calibre rifle pedestal in an open field, as well as a s.h.i.+eld; an awfully dirty, yet effective, strategy.

Through his scope, he saw a dwarfess sitting with her eyes closed, and a woman inserting a bullet into a huge iron pipe behind her.

”Enemy! Degtyaryov anti-tank rifle! The slightest graze will kill you! Don't you dare raise your heads!”

At the same moment he reported this to his comrades, he fired.

Although not as good as theirs, he, too, had an ultra-high calibre rifle. The counterattack bullet made a roar as it flew and was easily repelled by the corpse's head.

”c.r.a.p!”

The broadcast in the bar projected the exchange of blows between the great guns.

A member of the amazons fired her PTRD 1941, using her comrade's corpse as a pedestal. The roar sprung out from the speakers as well, causing the air and intestines of the avatars to tremble.

PM4's fat man was. .h.i.t in the head by the s.h.i.+eld and died immediately,

”Uooooo!”

”Yippie! They f.u.c.kin' did him in!”

”The invincible s.h.i.+eld smashed!”

And then, with a quick reload, the woman fired her second shot.

Another sheet was blown away, but M did not flinch.

He shouted something and immediately counterattacked. However, the attack was easily blocked by the now-indestructible object corpse.

In that time, the woman loaded her third bullet. And began aiming quickly. When her face appeared on the screen, they could see a joyful… and ferocious smile beneath her black hair.

”This is… a shoot-out……”

Someone's muttering was erased by the thunder-like discharge of the gun.

The third bullet Tohma fired pressed on along the dry earth.

Underneath the route of the bullet, a shockwave drew a straight line of dust. The bullet hit the s.h.i.+eld and tore off a third sheet.

Right after being shot, the sheet flew just above M's head just as he hit the dirt, and pierced the gra.s.s about 5 metres away.

The s.h.i.+eld that had had eight sheets was whittled from the left and right, and was now down to five sheets. However, M was not shaken.

His opponent had automatic sh.e.l.l ejection but manual loading. He had an automatic loading semi-auto gun. There were still 5 bullets left in his magazine.

”Come at me!”

Raising his head and readying his M107A1, M yelled.

He stared at his enemy as if looks could kill, blurred by the cloud of dust, and squeezed the trigger.

”Taah!”

At exactly the same time as M fired, Tohma unleashed her fourth bullet.

The same composition as their last match in the previous SJ.

Tohma and M simultaneously spouted fire from their respective guns. Their respective empty cartridges sprung out from their guns.

The bullets pa.s.sed by each other mid-air, about 20 cm away──

One of them hit the left shoulder of a corpse, had its forced instantly stopped by the unnatural firmness of the corpse, and fell down.

The other one hit the central part of the s.h.i.+eld and tore it off. The s.h.i.+eld split open, colliding with the M107A1,

”Guh!”

And hit the side of M's body.

Collapsed to the left, M pulled the gun toward him, looked at its side,

”…………”

And understood.

That this gun would be useless unless brought to a weapon shop for repairs. Meaning that it had finished its role in SJ2.

Because the edge of the s.h.i.+eld, made out of absurdly st.u.r.dy material, that crashed into the barrel had created a deep cavity in it.

If he fired another bullet without noticing this, the bullet would be stopped by this cavity and, having lost a place to go, the pressure would end up tearing the barrel apart. This level of reproduction was only present in GGO, a game with plenty of gun maniacs who fussed over the damage to guns.

”.50 calibre done in. Can no longer fire unless repaired.”

Reporting this, M parted with his M107A1 by laying it on its side and slowly retreated.

And the moment he was about 3 metres away from his s.h.i.+eld──

A fifth bullet came flying and hit the s.h.i.+eld that no longer protected anyone.

A metallic clank that would have broken their eardrums if they were not in GGO resounded and the sheet in the centre was blown away. The s.h.i.+eld could no longer maintain its arc and collapsed to pieces.

With one of their comrades killed, the iron wall s.h.i.+eld broken, and a long-range sniper rifle rendered unusable──

”…………” ”…………” ”…………”

The three masked men turned around while lying face-down and simultaneously gulped. Although it was impossible to see their expressions, it was possible to guess.

And then,

”Not baaaad!”

Pitohui alone remarked in sheer elation.

”Not half baaaaaad!”

The roar of joy could be heard in the bar as well.

The amazons had went as far as sacrificing their own comrade to break the s.h.i.+eld belonging to M, the previous winner, and caused the first casualty for PM4, thus everyone was awfully hyped up.

”Yippie yippie yippie! s.h.i.+NC's victory is settled now!”

While there were people who supported the amazons,

”You don't get it! It's five against four, ya know? M still has his M14 EBR and, most of all, that brutal woman is still unhurt!”

There were also people who supported PM4.

The cheering teams in the bar war were cleanly split in half and exceedingly fired up.

Among them was a man who, slowly slurping his shot gla.s.s whiskey, muttered lonesomely.

”My LLENN-chan…… what happened to her…… What is she doing……”

”Haah……, haah……”

Holding the heated PTRD 1941 with smoke drifting about from its long long barrel, Tohma continued breathing wildly.

”Defea….. ted…… We defeated him…… Sophie! Thaaaaaanks!”

And shouted with a tear-stained face to her comrade in front of her, who had become a corpse and pedestal.

”Alriiiight!”

In the wide field, Boss's roar resounded while she lay p.r.o.ne.

Despite losing Anna and Sophie, they splendidly accomplished their goal of sealing the use of M's s.h.i.+eld.

Looking at her wrist.w.a.tch, it was half past 14:08. What an intense time that was.

”Alri~ght! What great timing! We're going to charge again, so get ready! ──Tanya, you take the lead again. Tohma, thank your Degtyaryov! Rosa, provide supporting fire as soon as you're in range.”

She gave orders to her surviving comrades in succession. And received affirmative replies from all of them.

They could no longer make use of the PTRD 1941. Because Sophie was dead and there was no one to carry it.

If Tohma carried it, not only would she be unable to move freely due to its weight, she would also be unable to carry and use her Dragunov, a semi-auto rifle that would be beneficial in the upcoming battle. If she had to choose, the natural choice would be the Dragunov. The same applied to Rosa and her PKM machine gun.

”I truly thank you. Let's meet again later, okay.”

Tohma thanked her beloved gun, which beautifully carried out its role, with a smile and laid it beside Sophie’s remains. She put the remaining ammunition into her storage so that no one would be able to fire it on the off chance that they picked it up.

While standing up, Boss shouted to the 〝four〟 of them.

”We defeated M's s.h.i.+eld! The time is ripe! ──Attack!”

At the start of the amazon's a.s.sault,

”Incoming!”

The masked and goggled macho man started firing his MG3 machine gun. Making strange, suppressed gunshots.

Although they were still quite far away and only visible as dots to the naked eye, he fired in bursts of 5 bullets after aligning his sights. Empty cartridges fell to the gra.s.s, turned into polygon fragments, and disappeared.

He continued firing. Even if he did not hit, just forcing his opponents to dodge or hit the dirt upon seeing the Lines was enough. This way, he could prevent them from firing back.

At that point, a bullet struck one of them, who then switched from running in zigzags to hitting the dirt. It did not seem like she had been killed, but the moment he thought he succeeded in stopping her,

”Pull back!”

He heard M's sharp voice and, as instructed, the man forcibly pulled his beloved gun and got down.

Several Bullet Lines blanketed the area he had just been in and, a beat late, a hail of bullets came cras.h.i.+ng down. The tracer bullets drew orange lines in the air. Gra.s.s fluttered down in various places, while some dirt was kicked up.

”Uhi!”

He had been engrossed solely in shooting to bring his opponents down, thus he was late to notice the Lines coming at him diagonally. If not for M's order, he would have probably been shot.

Their enemy continued firing. *Byun* *byun*, he heard bullets soaring above his head.

”c.r.a.p!”

He could not see them, but this way, while one of the enemies fired with their machine gun, the others undoubtedly advanced quickly. And the men── well, they were all women, so the women advanced forward to some extent before hitting the dirt, then provided cover fire for the others to move.

”It's fine. No need to panic.”

A voice came from M.

”They're still far enough to use the Lines to dodge. Even if they try to flank us, they won't have cover. I'll be counting on you for suppressing fire when they come a bit closer. Until then, I'll snipe them.”

”Roger that.”

Having heard the reply, M crawled along the gra.s.sland at full speed, his M14 EBR in hand.

The ground was almost perfectly flat, but he was looking for a spot that was at least slightly elevated to mount his bipod and use for sniping. It would be easy to hide on the ground, as well as easy to aim.

While crawling──

'Why are they muscling through like this?'

M harboured a huge misgiving about the enemy team s.h.i.+NC's actions.

His group had a s.h.i.+eld and an ultra-long-range sniper rifle, thus they chose to take up position at such a flat location.

The enemy had an anti-tank rifle, so they chose to have their showdown there. And the enemy was declared the winner. This much he understood.

However, now that the s.h.i.+eld was magnificently destroyed, meaning that they accomplished their goal and thus had no reason attack head-on.

Logically thinking, would it not be best for them to fall back for now to reorganise?

'Why… on a plain with such good line-of-sight with no merit to attack… why are they muscling through to us?'

'Have they lost themselves to anger after losing their comrade?'

The odds of that were not zero but considerably low for a team like that.

In that case──

”So they have some sort of plan, huh……”

Muttering, M found the perfect spot, set up his M14 EBR where there were no Bullet Lines, and aimed at the silver-haired woman he saw through his scope.

The woman was fast. She was carrying a Bizon submachine gun. In the previous SJ, she ran into LLENN and held a dogfight in a place full of rocks.

After 3 second of running, the woman changed her trajectory, then changed it again as she continued to get closer. The distance was about 700 metres.

'Is she going to turn right or left next time?'

'And what angle will that be?'

With no answer, M relied on his intuition, aimed at a spot with no one there,

”Oh whatever.”

And squeezed the trigger.

The moment Tanya, running at full speed, was about to change the direction of her zig zag run,

”Kyafun!”

She was splendidly shot in her left shoulder.

The s.h.i.+ning hit effect also entered her view. As is, she tumbled flas.h.i.+ly, raising dust.

Her hit points decreased, immediately reaching halfway point. Turning from green to yellow.

”c.r.a.p! I got sniped! That's the Lineless sniping! He read my moves!”

As she let out a frustrated voice, Tanya took out a first-aid kit from her waist and applied it to her nape. Slowly slowly, her hit points began to recover.

”Boss! Getting closer would be nuts!”

At Tanya's usual vigour and complaint,

”I know! But we're still doing it! Just as planned!”

Boss answered, lying on the dirt.

5 seconds later, when she was about to stand up, the wrist.w.a.tch on her left arm violently vibrated, thus Boss looked at the dial.

14:09:30.

”Now! It's time!”

In response to Boss,

”Roger!”

LLENN replied.

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