“Huff… Huff…”  

It was my intention to increase his senses, but the effect was too good.  

‘It’s similar to the first time when we used the enhanced hearing trait and suffered from its side effects.  

His senses have become overly sensitive, causing him pain.  

I can guess the reason is,  

‘The effect of my cooking has become too strong.’  

Compared to when I cooked a course meal for Jeong Soo-ah, things are different now.  

Back then, I hadn’t acquired the [Absolute Palate] trait, so my stats were lower.  

My level was also in the 10s, and my cooking skill was stuck at the Junior Grade proficiency.  

But now, with my stats boosted and having reached intermediate cooking skill,  

the effects of my cooking have become excessively powerful.  

 Even Sergeant Seo Su-hyeok, one of the strongest awakened in the battalion, is having trouble handling it.  

“Phew… I think I’m feeling a bit better now.”  

Exhaling heavily and wiping the cold sweat from his brow Su-hyeok finally opened his eyes.  

“I’m gradually adapting to it.”  

“Can you handle it? If it seems too tough, it might be good to consider other options.”  

“Are you seriously asking me that right now?” He looked at me, incredulous.  

“After eating this kind of meal, there’s no way I can’t.”  

The eye monster is located near the center of the tank battalion. But from this distance, no matter how high we climb, it’s hard to see inside the tank battalion.  

So.  

We need to lure it out to a sniper point.  

[Chef: Start the operation]  

“Everyone-! Advance-!!!”  

Following the order to commence the operation, Lieutenant Kim’s shout echoed.  

Boom…  

The footsteps of the legion shook the ground.  

I spoke to Seo Su-hyeok, who was sitting at the sniper point.  

“How does it look from up here?”  

“Our legion. It’s quite impressive.”  

Indeed.  

Below the building.  

About 200 soldiers were standing by with their weapons.  

Even the combat vehicles modified for war.  

The [Aura of the Legion] emanating from them bound the soldiers together as one.  

I never realized it while being among them.  

But our unit has grown out to be quite reliable.  

The plan to lure the eye monster to a sniping position is simple.  

‘The energy that the eye monster emits controls its surroundings. To spread it widely, it needs to rise into the sky.’  

It was such a powerful force that even I, an awakened individual, had part of my body’s control taken for a moment.  

But it’s not without weaknesses.  

‘If we advance our troops towards the tank battalion, the monster will surely try to spread its energy.’  

Actually.  

This wasn’t much of a weakness when I fought it.  

My combat style focuses on close quarters, utilizing [Intermediate Dagger Mastery].  

Using a pistol for long-range attacks was merely supplementary, making it hard to eliminate the monster once it took to the sky.  

But.  

For this guy, who’s struggling to control his heightened senses.  

It’s different for Corporal Seo Su-hyeok.  

‘The snipers haven’t been idle either.’  

After occupying the ammunition battalion.  

The firearms we seized were modified by the engineers and were distributed to the snipers.  

Silenced firearms are a prime example.  

And the rifle Corporal Seo Su-hyeok is holding now is no exception.  

‘K-14.’  

A sniper rifle used by the Republic of Korea Army.  

Originally, it was a decent weapon.  

But now, modified by the engineers, it has become a proper weapon equipment.  

This time, we didn’t even attach a silencer to preserve maximum firepower.  

‘It’s incomparable to regular firearms.’  

And the power of the bullets fired by the marksman depends on the user’s abilities.  

The unit’s best sniper, Seo Su-hyeok.  

Now equipped with the buffs from my cooking and the gear made by the engineers.  

A target floating still in the sky.  

Is no different from a shooting ranged target.  

Thump. Thump. Thump.  

The synchronized footsteps of the soldiers marching together reached even up here on the rooftop.  

The tank battalion noticed it too.  

Boom, boom, boom-  

“They have started the bombardment!”  

Along with the harsh sounds of artillery fire.  

From a distance, red glowing figures began to rain down on the legion soldiers.  

The tank battalion, detecting the approaching legion, attempted to intercept.  

“Last time, we were hit by that shelling and had to retreat helplessly.”  

Of course.  

This time is different.  

“Mages and marksmen, prepare for interception!”  

[Command Directive – ‘Interception Mode’ echoes through the battlefield]    

As Lieutenant Kim’s order rang out.  

All sorts of colorful lights filled the air against the red shells,  

Lightning, fire, ice, wood, water… Various elemental magic and even formless magical energies.  

The legion’s mages began to cast all kinds of spells.  

Boom…  

When the two lights clashed.  

“Interception successful!”  

Most of the red light disappeared without leaving a trace.  

While advancing, there were a few shells that weren’t intercepted.  

“Warriors, adopt defensive positions and protect our allies!”  

“Yes, sir!”  

[Command Directive – ‘Defensive Position’ echoes through the battlefield]     

 “Huff!”  

Warriors wielding massive shields leaped to intercept the shells.  

The intense heat and lethal shrapnel bounced off the magically infused shields.  

‘Amazing.’  

I was impressed anew.  

This is the power of an awakened unit anticipating enemy attacks.  

With sufficient preparation, we could even break through military shelling.  

At that moment.  

Corporal Seo Su-hyeok, who was positioned for sniping, spoke up.  

“I can see it.”  

The eye monster.  

It began to float in response to the legion’s threat.  

“It’s not at its peak yet.”  

“But.”  

“The legion is holding up fine. Just hang in there a bit longer.”  

“…Understood.”  

Struggling to control his heightened senses, it seemed difficult for him to keep his eyes open and look through the scope.  

They say a sniper’s qualities lie not only in shooting skills but also in patience and endurance.  

Sorry, but you’ll have to endure a bit longer.  

A few minutes passed as the legion soldiers advanced through the shelling.  

“Sergeant Shin, the main gate is open.”  

The main gate of the tank battalion opened.  

It wasn’t hard to understand their intention.  

‘They must have judged that shelling alone couldn’t stop us, so they’re sending out tanks and infantry to intercept us.’  

And.  

To send out all their infantry, they would have to spread that mist-like energy to the soldiers defending the posts throughout the battalion.  

In other words.  

Now is when the floating eye monster is at its highest point.  

“Prepare to fire.”  

“Preparing to fire.”  

Corporal Seo Su-hyeok heeded my command and readied his rifle.  

The heightened senses from my cooking effects gathered all the surrounding information.  

Wind direction and speed, distance to the target.  

Corporal Seo Su-hyeok’s [Junior Grade Shooting Skill] calculated the bullet drop based on the gathered information and adjusted the muzzle slightly.  

And then.  

“Open fire!”  

“Open fire!”  

Bang-!  

A loud gunshot echoed.  

A .308 HPBT bullet cut through the air, advancing rapidly.  

And then.  

Several kilometers away.