Chapter 18: You Actually Won?

The pursuing gunmen had not yet appeared, and Joja, lying on the ground, took the opportunity to attach a night vision scope to the 15x scope of his SVD. After activating it and observing for a moment, Joja noticed that the creatures on the grassland appeared in a silvery-white color. The overall visibility wasn't very clear, but as soon as those gunmen appeared, they would stand out like the moon at night.

Joja was not accustomed to searching through a high-powered scope, so he simply kept his left eye open to assist in scanning the area, while swiftly moving the rifle to help locate targets. Joja wasn't sure if other professional snipers operated the same way, but he naturally adjusted his shooting method according to his own habits and personality.

Joja himself was unaware that he was unconsciously transforming into a precision shooter. Of course, this was mainly because his gun was exceptional—within 800 meters, the flat trajectory required little thought. Compared to the legendary experts, Joja was still far behind in both experience and skill, but his gun helped bridge the gap between him and those top-tier marksmen.

When Joja, with the habits of an assault trooper, controlled a precision rifle, he became extremely lethal because all his actions were aimed at achieving 'speed' and 'accuracy'!

As Joja was getting used to the SVD's night vision scope, he heard gunfire in the distance, followed by the slightly heavy breathing of Kaman over the radio, "Boss, they're here—nine people, including a sniper. Be careful."

As Kaman spoke, Joja spotted their position through the scope. They moved swiftly and fired decisively; even as Kaman communicated with Joja, a burst of bullets hit the grassland around him. Although they missed, the fact that the assault troops could accurately pinpoint Kaman's location in such visibility conditions was impressive.

Joja kept Kaman's tactics in mind, remembering that he was there to play the role of a 'support sniper.' 

At 830 meters, when the enemies entered Joja's effective range, he decisively pulled the trigger.

*Bang, bang, bang*

Three consecutive shots were fired. Two of the bullets hit their targets, and the two lead assault troops immediately jerked violently before collapsing to the ground. The others quickly realized there was a sniper and accurately determined the general direction from which the bullets came.

Two machine gunners instantly went prone and began blind-firing in Joja's direction, using tracer rounds to adjust their aim. The others quickly flanked to the side, attempting to use the tall grass as cover to close the distance for a counterattack.

Only one of the two machine guns was being used effectively, with its operator rhythmically adjusting the trajectory with the tracers, most of the bullets hitting the slope where Joja was positioned. However, the other machine gunner was doing a poor job; he held down the trigger, but 70 or 80 rounds later, he hadn't even hit the hill.

Joja ignored the flanking enemies and focused on the most threatening machine gunner, decisively pulling the trigger...

*Bang, bang*—two rapid shots. Not only did the skilled machine gunner get hit in the back, but the other machine gunner, who was reloading, also took a bullet. Just as he raised his upper body to change the ammo belt, a fatal shot hit his neck, creating a large hole where his neck and shoulder met, causing blood to spurt out like a fountain.

With the two machine gunners down, Joja instantly recognized the advantage of distance. When you suppress the enemy with both range and visibility, you become the 'god' of the battlefield.

Feeling a surge of confidence, Joja was about to move his rifle to find a new target when a large chunk of wood suddenly splintered off the dead tree in front of him, followed by the sound of a gunshot...

"A sniper!"

Joja instinctively whispered, then reflexively curled up and rolled to the right. He immediately heard another shot hit the dead tree, almost hitting his shoulder.

"Damn it!"

Joja felt a warm sensation on his shoulder, let out a gasp, and retreated into the bushes, using a pre-dug shallow pit to conceal himself from the sniper's line of fire. He then positioned his rifle through a gap between the dead tree and the ground, searching for the sniper's location.

The enemy was too accurate, undoubtedly equipped with night vision gear or something similar. No wonder people always say that a sniper's worst enemy is another sniper because, at this distance, only a sniper can deliver a fatal blow.

The gap was too narrow, and Joja wasn't used to quickly scanning with a high-powered scope. After about ten seconds, he spotted four enemies still advancing at high speed, with the sniper staying behind to suppress him.

Not finding the sniper made Joja uneasy, but those four rapidly approaching enemies were also a huge threat since one of them was carrying a grenade launcher. 

In battle, there was no time for hesitation. Joja decisively fired multiple shots, hitting the man with the grenade launcher and another tall figure.

At over 600 meters, the SVD sniper rounds not only had high accuracy but also tremendous power. The man with the grenade launcher had his head blown apart, while the tall man suddenly realized that his arm was hanging by a thread of flesh.

In such a tense situation, the pain didn't come immediately. The tall man came to a sudden halt, and while he didn't feel anything, the guy in front of him turned around, took one look, and let out a scream of horror before rushing back to his comrade.

"Nooo—"

The horrified scream was cut short as a bullet pierced the man rushing back to help, then hit the tall, one-armed soldier in the gut.

Joja had no time to assess his kill. The sniper on the enemy's side had fired two more shots, both hitting the tree trunk in front of Joja, with the second bullet piercing through and grazing his left shoulder, tearing off a chunk of flesh.

Joja let out a painful cry but didn't dare move to the side because leaving the shallow pit would expose him to the sniper's line of fire.

It was now a test of calmness, speed, and the ability to scan and shoot quickly. At this point, Joja had already traced the sniper's trajectory and found his position.

The sniper was cunning, hiding in a shallow pit behind some grass, and even more cunningly, using the body of a wounded animal as cover to block Joja's infrared search.

The intense pain caused Joja's body to tremble slightly. After taking a few deep breaths, Joja was just about to pull the trigger and kill the sniper when he spotted Kaman's ghostly figure...

The old black man had crept up to within 5 meters of the sniper. As the sniper began to sense something was wrong, Kaman lunged forward, stabbing the sniper through the back with his hunting knife.

Joja immediately swung his rifle to the last enemy, who had gone prone and was seeking cover, and shot him.

After confirming his kills, Joja packed up the SVD, picked up his HK416, and stood up. He was about to descend the hill when he realized his legs were a bit weak.

The intense pain in his shoulder blade caused Joja to let out a muffled grunt.

Kaman, like a leopard, ran up to Joja, giving him a strange look and then at his HK416, and said in disbelief, "You actually won?"