Chapter 246: The Rifle

"Now it's my turn! Please, mysterious Mr. Li."

Dainn Stracy had already drawn her holy sword 'Dimos' and maximized the protective array of her armor 'Holy War of Divine Grace'.

She was a level 17 Temple Warrior, the most powerful melee professional among those present. Charging into battle was precisely the duty of a melee class.

"Go ahead with confidence! With me and the Eye of the Sky here, no shooter will threaten you. Alisa, you'll be my observer."

Li Mochen said as he added bullets into the magazine of Dragon Might.

The 3721 Linfield Rifle was a bolt-action, magazine-fed manual rifle. Due to its age, it had no detachable magazine, only a five-round internal magazine.

And 'Dragon Might,' a weapon of divine grade, was built based on the 3721 Linfield Rifle, thus inheriting this feature. Although its maker had made some improvements, expanding its magazine, it still only held seven rounds. After use, bullets had to be manually replaced, a process much more cumbersome than changing a magazine.

"I believe you can do it!"

At this moment, Dainn's surroundings were already filled with the radiance of magical energy and divine spells. With a stomp of her foot, she shot forward like a cannonball, crashing directly through a breach.

Then, from within the factory building, a series of screams rang out.

Li Mochen once again aimed his gun at the opposite side, his gaze focused and cold. Alisa Targaryen lay twelve meters away from him, using binoculars to search for any targets that might threaten Dainn or them.

She was a level 10 Magic Hunter, and with the enemy's protective array already collapsed, she was sufficient to replace Dainn's previous role.

What followed was nearly a sweep. After the warehouse's magical protective array was destroyed, the battle within Warehouse No. 2 fell completely under the control of Li Mochen, Howard Eisenhower, and Dainn Stracy.

Seeing the situation turn unfavorable, many of the enemy's magic professionals began to retreat underground. However, most of their attempts failed. Several entrances leading underground were discovered and blocked in time by Sampson Brute and others.

In just three minutes, the gunfire and roars in Warehouse No. 2 subsided. The battle temporarily ceased, leaving sixty-five corpses lying in the warehouse, now riddled with holes and nearly collapsed.

"The operation at the Blazing Club also started five minutes ago."

Alisa Targaryen was also responsible for liaising with the guardian knights of the New Church of Light, using a special magical device to communicate with them.

"It started smoothly, but when they entered the club's basement, they encountered sniper fire from at least sixty gunmen. The defensive array there is no less formidable than the one at the essence factory. Mr. Jerome said they might need twenty minutes to break through, and that's assuming no more reinforcements arrive."

Alonso Jerome—the Knight Commander of the Atlanta Cathedral of Light, a level 17 Temple Knight, a loyal subordinate of Assistant Bishop Isolt Linden, and leader of five elite church knight squads.

"Twenty minutes?"

Li Mochen frowned slightly. Although he hadn't expected much help from these church knights, hearing this news was still disappointing.

It was now 11:10. Waiting another twenty minutes would make it 11:30, leaving them only half an hour to clear the underground section.

Li Mochen's intuition told him this was very unwise; it could lead to tragedy happening right under their noses while they were powerless.

"Don't wait for them. Start the demolition!"

Sampson Brute and Thompson Adams had anticipated this outcome, so before the cleanup of Warehouse No. 2 was complete, they had already begun planting various bombs inside.

Attacking underground solely through the two stairwells and elevator shaft inside the warehouse would undoubtedly be difficult and extremely risky. The enemy had完善的 defensive facilities, and their fierce, crossfire with no blind spots could wipe them out.

Thus, Sampson's strategy was a multi-pronged approach: directly blasting open passages to the underground space. The blueprints they obtained from Jeremy Burt made this plan feasible.

This base, deep underground, had three ventilation shafts and two heat dissipation shafts leading to the surface, all of which were Sampson's targets.

Especially the latter: by blasting open the walls of the shafts, they could penetrate deep into the underground base and directly attack the motor room below. The corridors around the motor room were also well-connected.

After completing his work, Sampson returned to Li Mochen with several guns: "Found three good guns, Boss. You can take your pick—all top-notch automatic rifles. I recommend this level 10 'Death Knell.' Its use level is only 10, but its power reaches 15S. The key is that it can generate charged bullets. This is also your trophy, Boss; its owner was the level 15 Magic Shooter you sniped earlier."

At this moment, Li Mochen was holding a makeshift geomantic compass he had made, performing calculations. Hearing this, he glanced at the guns and his eyes lit up. He directly took the 'Death Knell' that Sampson recommended.

It was foreseeable that once they entered the underground space, the role and power of Dragon Might would be greatly limited. The gun had terrifying accuracy and range, but its rate of fire was not ideal, making it unsuitable for close combat.

And the underground base below them was unlikely to have a vast space for it to perform.

Li Mochen had the 'Sun, Moon, and Stars Heavenly Sword' as his reliance, so he was not afraid of close combat. But if he also had a powerful automatic rifle or two powerful pistols, his combat effectiveness would double!

Li Mochen had originally planned to use the two level 10 magic pistols prepared by Li Tailai and others, but this 'Death Knell' was undoubtedly a better choice.

In terms of firepower density alone, magic automatic rifles far surpass magic pistols. Although the former's power is usually inferior to the latter, which is easier to equip with magic arrays, the high rate of fire compensates for its shortcomings.

He tested it a bit, firing two shots to the side, and found that the recoil of 'Death Knell' was just within the tolerance of a level 10 magic professional. This meant it would still be somewhat difficult for him to perfectly control the gun, and it also dashed his plan to dual-wield automatic rifles or hold a pistol in his left hand.

—If it were his main body, he could manage it, but this secondary body was slightly inferior in endurance.

What was gratifying was that the power of 'Death Knell' was indeed extraordinary. Its muzzle velocity reached Mach 11, and it was enchanted with five spells: 'Intermediate Disintegration,' 'Advanced Armor Piercing,' 'Advanced Sharpness,' 'Advanced Wind's Blessing,' and 'Decay Edict.'

As a result, the bullets fired by 'Death Knell' were three times more powerful than those from his two level 10 pistols. Neither in power nor range could the latter compare.