The pipeline-style gun barrel was faintly glowing red.
Being targeted by such a thick, black beast would make anyone feel that it was quite an unfortunate situation.
But—
What if you were behind the beast?
Under that linear pouring attack mode, easily turning the attack direction was inherently an extremely difficult task.
Almost all experienced BHAO players understood this point.
Even the “Steel Scarecrow” himself was well aware that this was the skill flaw of this virtual character.
Therefore, circling around, detouring, launching attacks from the side or even the rear—
That was the best way to defeat the “Steel Scarecrow.”
However—
“Witch! Accept my storm-like barrage of ammunition baptism!”
After a burst of harsh static, the old broadcaster’s voice suddenly became clear.
As if infected by the scarecrow’s momentum, this nearly scrapped device also burst into a second life at this moment, even briefly overpowering the roar of the Gatling beast.
At the same time, the rotating sound of the combined gears mixed in.
In the gaps of the scarecrow’s circular base, those ancient and rough mechanisms quickly linked up, driving the entire mechanical structure.
The Gatling, continuously spewing flames, drew a curved arc from the horizontal parallel firing plane under the drive of the disc base.
That speed was by no means comparable to an ordinary turn.
And its target—
Was precisely after completing a 180-degree turn, the Steel Scarecrow’s own rear.
The face pieced together from discarded neon lights, springs, and aluminum foil couldn’t change due to emotions.
But the operator hidden behind the virtual model—probably already filled with the premonition of victory.
This was one of the Steel Scarecrow’s little-known trump cards.
It was also the auxiliary-type skill he obtained when upgrading to Tier 9.
Its effect was extremely simple—
Merely allowing the upper body to complete a direction switch at an extremely fast speed.
No offensive effects, extremely short cooldown, consuming no mana at all.
It seemed like a worthless trash skill.
Yet it was precisely the puzzle piece that the Steel Scarecrow needed most.
Previously, his skills were almost all heavy firepower like chainsaws, hand cannons, and missiles.
These skills shared the same fatal flaw as the Gatling—
Unable to effectively cover the sides and rear.
And it was this skill that gave his originally cumbersome and sluggish body a nearly dead-angle-free attack range.
After the bullet storm performed a meaningless baptism on the innocent ground, it finally reached the endpoint.
The impending victory made the furnace inside the Steel Scarecrow boil nonstop.
The witch.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her an idol in the BHAO world.
She plundered armaments from various territories, secretly snatching the first kills of powerful lord BOSSes, then distributing the obtained points to those players who were about to be forced to exit BHAO due to insufficient points.
She wore a dark cloak, and no one had ever seen her true appearance.
Unlike those gorgeous, dazzling, appearance-type characters that won with song and dance—
The witch was more like a dark idol who robbed the rich to help the poor and upheld justice.
Or rather—
HERO.
The title “witch” was merely a codename born from her ID (character name) and that enchanting voice.
If I can take down the witch’s first kill…
Perhaps, I can also become famous in BHAO overnight.
But reality always shattered beautiful fantasies one step ahead.
The bullets were still bombarding the ground.
The gun barrel’s roar began to change tone due to overheating, as if complaining angrily about the emptiness of the attack target.
“This Steel Scarecrow guy, isn’t he just hitting empty ground?”
“Hey! What is he doing? The witch is behind him! Behind!”
“Yeah! The witch came out from that doll—oh my god, this scene is too terrifying! Does this game need to be so realistic?”
The spectating BHAO players couldn’t help but shout reminders.
Normally, this would count as违规 behavior in a formal duel.
But in the ENDLESS WORLD, such constraints never existed.
What… behind?
The reminder was like ice water, splashing into the Steel Scarecrow’s consciousness.
“Turn around!”
He immediately tried to switch the attack direction again.
However, even if the “turn around” skill had an extremely short cooldown, it still needed time after all.
And these short few seconds—
Were precisely fatal.
The circular base was forcibly driven, sparks constantly bursting out.
That was the overload reaction produced when the Steel Scarecrow tried to force-trigger the skill due to anxiety.
The flexible gears were firmly jammed.
This was the restriction from the BHAO system—
No matter how close the game was to reality, it couldn’t violate the underlying rules.
The Steel Scarecrow’s mechanical structure became stiff.
But what truly stiffened was the person manipulating all this.
He had already clearly felt—at the connection area of the mechanical back neck, there was a cold and sharp aura transmitted through the air, aimed right at him.
The neon light bulbs frantically scanned the cooldown counter for the “turn around” skill.
2…
1…
0…
This was a number that could make the Steel Scarecrow ecstatic.
At the instant the count returned to zero and the prompt “skill available” appeared, he squeezed out all his body’s power, forcibly activating the turn.
The old components emitted a piercing creak, and even rivets were flung out during the high-speed rotation.
But none of that mattered.
As long as he could turn around.
As long as he could still attack—
“…Wrong.”
Everything is too late.
Or rather, the “opportunity” given to him just now,
Was nothing but a prank meticulously designed by the witch.
At the instant of complete turnaround, he understood this point.
Because the vision had already given all the answers.
That was a crescent-shaped pure black.
Black mist and flames flowed upon it.
And at the end connected to the handle—
Was embedded a skull that made all cells instinctively fear.
The symbol of death.
Scythe.
A cold wind suddenly blew on the calm ancient path, rolling up the long hair spilling out from the cloak, and also stirring the bone ornaments hanging on the scythe.
Clack.
The sound of bones colliding with each other was like a whisper declaring death.
The next instant,
The scythe’s blade slid down.
At the same time as the mechanical head was swept away—
Everything returned to calm once more.
The Gatling gradually stopped roaring.
Only the red-hot gun barrel and billowing thick smoke remained.
The scarecrow pieced together from scrap iron and parts, having lost magical support, scattered all over the ground.
Then, it turned into data streams, dissipating into the night sky of the ENDLESS WORLD.
“It… ended just like that?”
“But the Steel Scarecrow is a pretty strong ‘Tier 10’ shooter-class profession.”
“But his opponent is the witch, you can’t measure her with normal standards.”
“…Yeah.”
The battle didn’t attract much interest from the players.
Because it was too fast.
Because it was too simple.
Almost every match ended with the witch’s “instant kill.”
It couldn’t be called flashy.
But—
The fact that a low-tier character consecutively killed two mid-tier players,
Still made people feel a chill in their hearts.
“Ah! The witch is leaving!”
“She took the armaments from the coffin, she must be leaving here!”
“I really want to see what’s under her cloak… That voice must be very sexy.”
“Wait! That coffin!”
“Blood is flowing from the coffin!”
“Hey! Didn’t they say it contained armaments?!”
The players’ exclamations suddenly exploded.
This was a sudden change that occurred before the witch had even approached the coffin.