-1748- One-sided suppression

Looking at the large crater in front of him, Yamikaze, a veteran professional player in GGO who had been playing for quite some time, instantly realized what kind of sniper attack he had just faced.

"Explosive rounds...?!"

Yamikaze hadn't expected to encounter explosive rounds in this battle.

These rounds could only be fired by ultra-large-caliber sniper rifles, or rather, they should be called cannon shells. Once they hit, they explode like bombs, leaving a devastating impact, with the crater in front of him being living proof of their power.

"He actually has such a weapon?"

Yamikaze's face turned grim.

A sniper rifle capable of firing explosive rounds is undoubtedly a high-caliber anti-materiel rifle, a weapon of mass destruction and a rarity among rarities.

Facing such a weapon reminded Yamikaze of the previous BoB tournament.

Back then, Yamikaze lost to a champion equipped with rare firearms and armor, leaving him only in second place.

In terms of skill, Yamikaze was clearly superior, yet he was defeated by the opponent's rare weaponry, a fact that frustrated him to no end.

Now, the weapon Rozen was using was just as rare and powerful as that one. This realization caused Yamikaze's expression to darken further.

But upon reflection, this outcome was inevitable.

"With that level of skill and so much loot from defeating countless players, plus earning tens of millions of points from auctions recently, it's only natural he would acquire powerful rare weapons. How could he possibly still be using just a rifle to compete in BoB?"

So, Rozen must have prepared accordingly.

However…

"This time, I won't lose so easily!"

Yamikaze's determination to defeat Rozen grew stronger.

Being overwhelmed by rare and powerful weaponry—once was enough.

This time, Yamikaze vowed not to lose to a mere weapon.

"I'll prove that a player's own skill is the real measure of strength!"

Yamikaze resolved.

But what Yamikaze didn't know was this:

Rozen didn't lack skill, either.

---

A transparent red light appeared, projected from the highest building in the abandoned city, landing right on Yamikaze's chest.

"Ballistic prediction line...!"

Yamikaze shuddered and leapt to the side without hesitation, dodging the line's trajectory.

The prediction line passed through where he had just been and landed nearby.

It hit what appeared to be an abandoned fuel tank lying by the roadside.

And inside that tank, there seemed to be some leftover fuel.

"This is...!?"

Seeing this, Yamikaze's hair stood on end.

In that moment, he understood.

Rozen's target wasn't him—it was the fuel tank.

Through his scope, that player who had transferred from ALO wasn't just watching Yamikaze but had accounted for his surroundings in detail.

And so, a high-powered explosive round traveled across the distance, hitting the fuel tank.

"BOOM!"

The shell, already akin to a bomb, ignited the fuel, sending waves of fire and explosions sweeping outward.

"AAAAAHH...!"

Having just jumped aside, he couldn't evade the approaching flames in time and was engulfed, his body sent flying before crashing to the ground and rolling several times, out of the abandoned city and back into the sand where he had started earlier.

This single strike caused Yamikaze's HP gauge to shake violently, and his HP began to drop.

Although only less than one-fifth was lost, it was enough to prove the success of the snipe.

Despite seeing the ballistic prediction line, his HP still dropped.

"Magus...!"

Yamikaze finally realized it.

He wasn't facing an ordinary opponent. This person was even stronger than the champion he had encountered in the last BoB tournament.

---

A second ballistic prediction line shot forth, once again landing accurately on Yamikaze's chest.

"Damn it!"

Yamikaze barely had time to breathe as he forced himself to stand, enduring the dizziness and nausea caused by the explosion, and sprinted forward.

"BOOM!"

Moments later, the spot where Yamikaze had stood was struck by another explosive round, erupting into a massive explosion and creating a shockwave.

This time, prepared and unrelenting, Yamikaze sprinted without looking back, using his speed to escape the blast radius, dashing back into the abandoned city.

Amid this chaos, prediction lines continued to appear, one after another.

Some landed directly on Yamikaze, while others appeared ahead of him, waiting for him to step into their path. Others targeted objects around him, such as oil barrels, building tops, glass walls, or semi-ruined structures, initiating a relentless barrage.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"

Explosions echoed through the abandoned city, one after another.

Facing these explosive attacks, Yamikaze did everything he could to dodge.

As an AGI-type (Agility) player, one advantage was using superior speed to evade attacks.

With the help of ballistic prediction lines, dodging bullets at close range was easy for someone with high AGI.

Yamikaze, standing at the pinnacle of AGI-type players, had repeatedly dodged bullets under heavy fire.

But after today, Yamikaze would have to reconsider.

Why? Because even with prediction lines visible, he struggled to keep up with Rozen's attacks.

Lines targeting him directly were dodged, but they detonated the ground behind him, repeatedly blowing him away.

Lines targeting areas ahead were evaded with sudden turns and changes in speed, but the ensuing explosions and flames almost trapped him multiple times.

Explosive barrels hit by rounds ignited violent blasts that Yamikaze narrowly escaped.

Building tops, glass panels, or crumbling walls shattered under the impact, sending debris raining down or flying outward like shrapnel, grazing Yamikaze repeatedly.

Yamikaze was caught in a relentless series of explosions, running frantically as if through a minefield, looking utterly disheveled.

Meanwhile, his HP gauge gradually decreased with every hit until less than half remained.