After surveying the whole place, I found that there were about 110 Demon Tamers around the village. Most of them were in the central area, while a few were inside the houses, probably resting or sleeping.
I removed my eyes from the scope and took a deep breath. I looked over at Igni who was waiting nervously for news.
"... There are 13 humanoid dragons and 61 others in the middle of the village, they're tied up but seemingly fine for now. One humanoid female dragon is currently undergoing forced consumption of essence crystals."
"That's all of them! Quick, we have to save them!"
Igni quickly tried to stand up and charge forward, however, Fang quickly pressed her head down, while gesturing for her to keep her voice low.
"We'll do that later. First, I'll be reducing the number of the Demon Tamers."
I said as I looked over to Ember.
"Ember, you be my spotter."
"Yes, master!"
She responded with a resolute expression. After confirming that she was fine with her role, I turned to Fang and Igni.
"Fang, Igni, you two would charge in after I cleared about half of them."
I raised a finger in caution.
"Remember, only rescue the villagers. Don't engage the Demon Tamers in any way!"
Although I can cause chaos with the sniper rifle, it can't wipe them out instantly. It takes time to reload the bullets, so adding that into consideration, we'd only be able to kill them at about one every 5-10 seconds.
"Got it, Leader!"
"... Okay."
The two responded with contrasting tones.
"Fang, before we start, fill this bullet with your Dark Energy."
I said as I quickly passed two empty shells to Fang. Although she seemed confused, she still followed my instructions. In just a few seconds, the two shells were packed full of her dark energy.
"Great. Igni, fill it up with fire and wind energy too, just until it's about to burst."
Igni quickly did as told, carefully adding more energy inside the bullet. Soon, the two bullets were completed. I quickly chambered one and aimed.
"Ember, we'll begin."
I pulled the trigger gently.
The bullet, filled with Fang's Dark Energy, hit the bottom of the stake where the hanged humanoid dragon was. The energy blasted around, enveloping a wide space with Dark Energy, limiting their vision.
I quickly loaded the other bullet and aimed it toward the captured villagers. I shot after a bit of aiming, creating another smokescreen around them.
Even after I shot two times in a row, the slime suit didn't do as much as budge. The ground behind me had a large hole though. It seems like the excess energy from the recoil was all redirected toward the ground.
With the preparation done, I started loading the actual bullets.
Inside the smokescreen, nothing could be seen. Even Ember shouldn't be able to see anything from here. However, that is if she's only using her eyes.
"Master, two clicks to the right, one click below. A commander-looking one."
She said while peering over a binocular-looking tool. It was equipped with infrared scanning features that she learned from the auto doors of the dwarves. With this, no Demon Tamers could hide from her.
I, on the other hand, was only using the scope which doesn't have such functions. Instead, I was able to see the flow of energy around me. Demon Tamers are extremely eye-catching as their energy is extremely twisted inside their bodies. They were like walking balls of yarn that I could see even from afar.
I pulled the trigger. The bullet fired, sending the tip flying at incredible speeds. I manipulated the energy of the flying bullet as it flew, making it go on a curved path. The bullet hit the center of the ball-of-yarn-like energy and made it explode instantly. The bullet then hit two more ahead of it, killing three of them in one hit.
"Hit."
Ember said without wavering.
"Next, one click upwards, trying to take a dragon as a meat shield."
I finished loading the next bullet as Ember instructed. I quickly pulled the trigger and hit the target's core, destroying it completely. As the fourth Demon Tamer died, the others started moving erratically.
Thanks to the flash suppressor, the Demon Tamers have yet to find our location. Since I am trying to curve the bullet path, they can't trace it back to the source too. They were all panicking, running around like headless chickens.
Just like that, I managed to clear about 30 of them before a minute passed. We prioritized those who got closer to the dragons, so the guards around them have thinned greatly right now.
Given enough time, though, they all got out of the range of the Dark Energy smokescreen I shot at first. They probably thought that staying inside it is dangerous, but in truth, I was only trying to separate them from the dragons.
"Okay. The first stage is already complete. Fang, Igni, go!"
I shouted as the two almost instantly charged forward. Since Fang's barrier follows her around as the center, Ember and I became exposed and were immediately noticed by the remaining Demon Tamers. However, too bad for them, I was expecting them to charge toward me.
The first ones to approach got shot down almost instantly. The bullets were so quick that they can't even dodge them even if they tried. Before they could even get close, they all fell down like flies.
As they were blinded by rage, trying to reach me and Ember at all costs, they fell for my plans too easily. Fang and Igni quickly freed the rest of the dragons as the Demonic Tamers were distracted by me.
When I confirmed that they had all evacuated completely, I stashed the sniper rifle that already ran out of bullets. Even with my skills in shooting, I only managed to maintain a 90% accuracy. In short, a dozen of them still remained.
"Welcome, friends! How may I help you?"
I shouted towards the approaching figures. However, this gesture only ended up angering them more. I just smiled as I saw them react as predicted.
"So sorry, but we're a bit busy, you see. It's been a short while, but thank you for your presence. I'll be taking your heads for exchange later."
I added while waving my hand down.
At the same instant, twelve golden flashes fell in a straight line on top of their heads. It was none other than the missed bullets that I fired earlier.
"Don't underestimate the Sucessor to the Strongest Bounty Hunter."
I huffed as I turned around, leaving the twelve bodies that fell down the cliff. I forgot to watch my step and fell into the hole in the ground that formed from all the recoils redirected by the suit though. What a way to ruin a nice setting.
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