Here is the translation for Chapter 416, continuing with the established voice, character tone, and natural prose style.
Chapter 416: Free-for-All Over Pale Rider
To quickly sum up where everyone stands:
Yamikaze has currently fallen back to the upper left corner of the map, biding his time for a chance to counterattack.
Pitohui and M, having missed the latest satellite scan results, are advancing based on the previous scan's layout, intending to launch a surprise attack on Dyne and Ginrou's position. Words like "wait" or "exercise restraint" simply don't exist in their vocabulary—though in sexual matters, restraint was sorely needed from the two of them.
Sterben's whereabouts are currently unknown, but there's no doubt he's heading straight for the remaining solo target: Pale Rider.
Dyne and Ginrou have set their sights on Pale Rider next, purely because he's the closest solo player available.
Snake isn't particularly eager for open combat, opting instead for a full MGS-style stealth approach while searching for an enemy to ambush.
Pale Rider is, frankly, in a bind. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, he's currently pinned down and unable to move.
Hachiman is carefully advancing toward the center, keeping a watchful eye in the direction Snake was last seen.
Kirito and Sinon are waiting by the riverbank to test their hypothesis. Taking full advantage of the lack of broadcast cameras around, Sinon has been filling Kirito in on everything that's happened so far, bringing him fully up to speed on Hachiman's recent actions.
"To leave me out of something this major... damn it, I am definitely calling him out on this later."
Such was Kirito's reaction upon hearing the full story.
Meanwhile, Llenn and Musketeer X are rushing toward Pale Rider's location.
This has set the stage for six different forces converging around Pale Rider: Dyne & Ginrou, Sterben, Snake, Hachiman, and Llenn & Musketeer X. And right on cue, a seventh force is about to crash the party.
"There! Isn't that Dyne and Ginrou over there?"
"They don't look particularly appetizing, do they?"
"True. Shall we just clean them up quickly from medium range?"
"Sounds like a plan. Let's go all out."
Without a shred of mercy, Pitohui and M lunged at Dyne and Ginrou.
At that exact moment, Dyne and Ginrou had just caught sight of Pale Rider and were completely oblivious to what was behind them. The surprise attack landed at the very instant Llenn and Musketeer X arrived on the scene and spotted Pale Rider themselves.
Noticing the incoming gunfire, Pale Rider looked toward Dyne's squad and bolted in the opposite direction. But at that moment, a bullet fired out of nowhere slammed into his body. Barely escaping an instant kill, Pale Rider scrambled into cover.
"Whoa, what kind of chaotic mess is this?"
"Lady Llenn, Dyne and Ginrou are down!" reported Musketeer X, scanning the perimeter with her monocular.
"Who took them out?"
"It appears to be Pitohui and M."
"They move fast. Does that mean Cod Roe and Yamikaze have already been dealt with?"
"Quite possibly."
"First priority is saving Pale Rider. Let's go, Max!"
"Understood!"
Llenn sprang into action to rescue Pale Rider. In this context, "rescuing" meant taking Pale Rider out before Death Gun could get to him. Llenn was certain that doing so would prevent Pale Rider from dying in the real world.
If a surviving member of Laughing Coffin had the means to commit indiscriminate murder, there was only one reason why they would restrict their targets exclusively to players of a specific game—and adhere so obsessively to a precise procedure. In short, their business from SAO was not yet finished.
"Hey, Pale!" Llenn called out, boldly exposing her position to get Pale Rider's attention.
The move was also meant to deter the sniper targeting him. At the same time, Musketeer X stepped out into the open, pointing her gun in the direction of the incoming shot as if glaring down an invisible enemy.
"Llenn... and Musketeer X? Did you come for my head too?"
"Yeah. And it's for your own good!"
"That doesn't make any damn sense!"
In that split second, Musketeer X spoke up sharply.
"Spotted."
"Fire!" Llenn instantly commanded.
Musketeer X unleashed a volley toward a patch of brush. A player scrambled out of the foliage in a panic, but Musketeer X accurately put a bullet right through his back.
"Target eliminated."
"Good job. Go confirm."
"Yes, ma'am."
Musketeer X rushed over to check the body, while Llenn, keeping a wary eye on Pitohui's direction, moved to a blind spot and kept her weapon trained on Pale Rider.
Just then, Musketeer X raised her voice in alarm.
"Lady Llenn, this isn't him! This guy isn't Death Gun!"
"What?!"
In that instant of distraction, Llenn's focus shifted away from Pale Rider.
A gunshot rang out. A single bullet flying in from somewhere struck Pale Rider mid-body. He clawed at the air in agony before his avatar disintegrated, leaving behind only the prompt indicating a disconnected line.
"What the... Who did that?!"
Llenn whipped her head in the direction of the gunshot.
Standing there was a player clad in a tattered cloak, wearing goggles that emitted a crimson glow. The moment Llenn saw him, she shouted instinctively:
"Are you Death Gun?!"
"It is not over yet. Never forget that."
The moment the words left his mouth, Sterben vanished into thin air.
"What...? Don't tell me that cloak lets him go invisible?!"
It seemed Llenn was unaware of the existence of the Metamaterial Optical Camouflage Cloak.
"Max, fall back for now! We're regrouping with Hachiman!"
"Understood!"
The two immediately made their escape. Staying put meant risking an unwanted clash with Pitohui and M, and there was no time to explain the situation to them.
(Dammit... I'm sorry, Pale... If only I hadn't overthought it and just sniped you myself...)
Regret came too late; a lost life could not be recovered. For the first time since she began playing GGO, Llenn was forced to retreat in defeat.
When the next satellite scan took place, Llenn deduced that Death Gun's in-game avatar name was "すてぃーぶん" (Steven?).
"He's not on the scan..."
"Yeah. Everyone left is on our side. Since you took out Snake earlier, process of elimination says it has to be this 'Steven' guy."
"Lady Llenn, about that..."
"Hmm?"
"It's possible it's meant to be read as 'Sterben'—the German word for death."
"Is that so? That actually makes a lot of sense."
"Yes."
Llenn praised Musketeer X's intellect—as expected of a student at a top-tier institution—and decided that regardless of the exact spelling, she would call him Sterben from now on.
"Besides, Kirito isn't showing up either. What's going on?"
"...Could it be the same trick Sterben is using to evade the scan?"
"Or maybe there are dead spots on the map that the scan can't reach."
"I see."
In that instant, both of them whipped their guns around to face behind them.
"Sorry I'm late."
Hachiman casually emerged in front of the two. Llenn let out a breath of relief and quickly brought Hachiman up to speed on the situation.
"...Sterben, huh."
"Yeah. He's almost certainly Death Gun, and right now he's using some method to hide his presence."
"Could it be that cloak you mentioned earlier?"
"That's the most likely culprit, but Kirito's location vanished unnaturally too. So it could also be location-based. Best to assume he has multiple ways to stay off the radar."
"Got it."
Hachiman nodded, then asked Llenn about their next move.
"So, what's the plan now?"
"We wipe out Pitohui, M, and Yamikaze."
"Wait, really?"
"Yeah. If we just take everyone else out with our own hands, no more incidents should happen."
"Hmm..."
Hachiman wasn't as familiar with the Laughing Coffin members as Llenn was, so he gave a noncommittal hum. Seeing his reaction, Llenn explained the real-world situation.
"Even if Kirito, you, or I get shot by that gun, nothing will happen to us. Our real bodies are heavily guarded."
"Ah, now that you mention it, some scary-looking old guy came by my house this morning."
"Is Kirito-sama guarded as well?" Musketeer X asked.
"Yeah, Kikuoka-san definitely covered all the bases. Which means the ones we need to prioritize protecting—by taking them out first—are Pitohui and M."
"Um... what about Sinon?" Musketeer X added.
Llenn replied smoothly:
"I checked the security at her place myself, so she's fine. It's not a door a amateur can pick, plus my alter-ego is guarding the place."
"Your alter-ego?"
Hachiman, unaware of Hachiman-kun's existence, looked confused.
"It's basically a guard robot. Don't worry about it."
"Wow, as expected of Soleil."
"The real question is Max..." Llenn turned a probing gaze toward Musketeer X.
"I'm fine. The security at my home is airtight."
"I see. Just to be sure—when you registered for BoB, you didn't type your real-world address into the terminal, did you?"
"No, I didn't... Ah, is that what happened?"
"You realized it?"
"Yes. You think Sterben used that cloak to peek at other players' input screens, don't you, Lady Llenn?"
"Exactly. Smart as always."
Llenn then explained the BoB registration process to Hachiman, who was still looking slightly puzzled.
"I see. Master mentioned something about inputting personal information too."
"Master?"
"Zexceed."
"I see..."
Hearing that, Musketeer X felt a small surge of warmth in her chest. Even though he had been an opponent, hearing that Zexceed was doing fine in that way moved her. Sensing what was on her mind, Llenn spoke gently:
"Don't worry. As far as I know, he's being looked after by one of the absolute best doctors out there. We'll definitely save that idiot Zexceed."
Llenn was referring to Kiyomori in her own tsundere way.
"Alright then! Let's go take out Pito and the others."
"Yes!"
"Understood."
The three nodded in agreement and immediately set out. However, the Pitohui & M duo—realizing they were at a tactical disadvantage—were hurrying toward Sinon, who appeared to be alone. Yamikaze was even farther out.
As a result, Llenn's group was unable to locate anyone before the next satellite scan, wasting precious time.
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