The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 20 : Awakening (3)

Waaaaaaaaah!
The knights drew their swords in unison and charged toward the Orc base.
Kukukukukukung—.
At the sudden sound of the ground shaking, the Orcs panicked, scrambling in confusion.
One of them spotted the Knight Order and shouted.
“Chwiik! It's humans!”
“Chwiik chwiik! The humans are attacking!”
“Chwiik! Fight!”
The Orcs also charged back at the Knight Order.
Skevin, leading the charge, swung his sword at the large gate.
A streak of blue sword aura shot out like an arrow.
Kwaaaang-!
The gate was blown to smithereens.
“Assault team!”
Following behind, Hellot shouted loudly and charged into the enemy habitat with the knights.
They unleashed a merciless assault on the Orcs.
“Kweeeek!”
“Kwak!”
“Keoheok!”
The Orcs fell helplessly.
The Phoenix Knights dispatched them as easily as if they were hunting Goblins.
They were too weak compared to the Orcs they knew.
“What?”
“Why is this so easy?”
Every time they swung their swords, the Orcs collapsed powerlessly.
Orc attacks flew in from all directions, but gasps of admiration escaped the knights as they found themselves dodging with ease.
“What the hell? Why are their attacks so slow?”
“Wait! What if it's not that they're slow, but that we've gotten stronger?”
“No way?”
One of the knights swung his sword at the log fence surrounding the Orc habitat.
Kwang!
“……!”
The part he struck shattered, leaving a hole.
“Heok!”
His eyes widened.
“……I-I've gotten incredibly strong.”
Just as his comrades who witnessed the scene began to realize they had grown stronger beyond their imagination, the ground shook, and from deeper within, Orc warriors charged recklessly like a herd of angry bulls.
“Orc warriors! Form pairs of two and engage them!”
At Skevin's shout, the knights instantly formed pairs of two and fought against the enemy.
But even though they were clearly Orc warriors, it felt like they were fighting regular Orcs.
“I think I can handle one on my own.”
“Yeah.”
Gaining confidence, the knights who had been fighting the Orc warriors in pairs began to take them on alone.
They cut them down as if it were a massacre.
As the Phoenix Knights pushed back the Orcs, the group that had been watching the situation began to move.
It was the Devil's Corps.
Mullan mercilessly swung a giant two-handed sword to clear a path, while beside him, Latale blocked the Orcs' attacks with his massive shield.
The members following closely behind the two dealt with the Orcs attacking from the flanks.
The movements of the seven were perfectly synchronized, like the turning of gears, without the slightest error.
In particular, the three agile-looking members moved so fast as they fought the Orcs that it was hard to follow them with the naked eye.
“What are those guys?”
“They've gotten incredibly strong in such a short time.”
“As expected, the Young Master must have taught them a special training method.”
The faces of the trainees watching the Devil's Corps' performance showed a mixture of surprise and envy.
*        *        *
While the Phoenix Knights and the Devil's Corps were unilaterally overwhelming the Orcs, Arthur was silently watching with Millerf.
“It's effective.”
Unlike Arthur's calm reaction, Millerf couldn't hide his astonishment.
“Besides casting Weight Magic on them, there was no other special training. It's simply amazing that they could become so strong.”
“They surpassed their own limits several times during the training. It would be strange if they didn't get stronger.”
“Even so, this is...”
From Millerf's perspective, it seemed most of the existing knights had reached the level of Sword Expert.
Even the trainees who had just become official knights were impressive enough to be considered mid-level Sword Actors.
He judged that with this level of military strength, they had a fighting chance against Count Yarve.
“You are incredible. I never imagined you could make them grow this much.”
“They'll get even stronger when they awaken.”
“……!”
As Arthur loaded a bead into the CheyTac and took his stance, Millerf quickly focused his gaze on the muzzle of the gun.
Arthur brought his eye to the scope.
“They are going to overcome their limits once again.”
He acquired a target and immediately pulled the trigger.
Taang!
A sharp gunshot echoed through the mountains.
Millerf quickly activated his Hawk Eye magic and watched where the bead was flying.
“Y-Young Master…”
It hadn't hit an Orc, but Hellot's shield.
Hellot, who was fighting an Orc, was startled by the sudden attack and looked around.
“His panicked look is cute.”
Arthur grinned, reloaded a bead, and took his stance again.
Taang!
This time, too, the bead hit Hellot's shield, not an Orc.
The shield was shattered to the point of being useless.
‘Is this really a good method?’
Millerf's face twisted.
Although they were dominating the battle, the situation could change at any moment.
Therefore, it was right to help them and wipe out the Orcs in one fell swoop while the Knight Order's morale was high.
Even if it was for the sake of awakening...
Training methods and awakening were of a completely different nature.
“Young Master! Awakening isn't something that can be forced out.”
Arthur replied calmly, his eyes fixed ahead.
“Humans have an instinct to grow stronger the more they are cornered into a crisis. When that reaches its peak, a new world opens up before their eyes. That's what people commonly call awakening.”
“How do you know that, Young Master?”
“Just shut up and watch.”
Arthur stared intently through the scope and took a deep breath.
This time, he was very cautious.
After a moment.
Taang!
It struck Hellot's sword.
The sword shattered, sending fragments flying in all directions.
Of course, they flew towards Hellot's face as well.
A life-or-death situation!
Hellot's movements as he dodged the fragments suddenly accelerated.
“This is...!”
Millerf's eyes widened at the sight.
The Orcs, seeing Hellot's sword was shattered, swarmed him like a pack of dogs, swinging their axes.
Hellot swiftly dodged and rammed an Orc with his shoulder.
The heavily built Orc flew into the air and was thrown backward.
He fought against the next wave of charging Orcs using only hand-to-hand combat.
Each time his fist landed, a dull thud was accompanied by the Orcs' screams.
Arthur's lips curled into a smile as he watched Hellot beat the Orcs with his bare hands.
“Don't his fists look stronger than his sword? Truly ruthless.”
“Ah…”
Millerf stood there stunned, his mouth agape like a dazed person.
Were Orcs monsters that could be beaten with bare hands?
Even seeing it with his own eyes, it was so unbelievable it felt like a dream.
“For something like this to happen...”
“Shall we find the next target?”
Arthur brought his eye to the scope, a smile playing on his lips.
The performance of several knights caught his eye.
Once the targets were decided, he pulled the trigger without hesitation.
Taang!
Taang!
To the targeted knights, Arthur's attacks were like lightning bolts striking from the sky.
At the same time, fear washed over them.
They continued to fight the Orcs in a state of extreme tension.
Time passed, and they entered a state they had never experienced before.
As they ceaselessly repeated the cycle of instinctively defending and attacking, the wall called 'limit' began to crumble bit by bit, until it finally collapsed.
They had achieved awakening.
Their attacks were incomparably stronger than just moments before.
Orcs fell with a single strike of their swords.
“Now, shall I mess with that guy?”
Just as Arthur was about to look for Skevin through the scope, Millerf's eyes flashed.
“The Devil's Corps has infiltrated the command post.”
“Oh?”
Arthur turned the muzzle of his gun toward the command post.
As planned, Dark and Kasan entered the barracks, while the others held off the swarming Orcs outside.
Inside the barracks, there was sure to be an Orc Shaman and the Orc warriors guarding him.
He looked forward to seeing if Dark and Kasan would fulfill their roles.
He believed it was entirely possible with their skills.
However, he didn't let his guard down, as unpredictable variables could arise at any moment.
He focused all his senses on the scope so he could intervene at any time if they were in danger.
“Show me what you've got.”
*        *        *
“Damn it! Why are there so many of them?”
Kasan's face contorted.
Dozens of Orc warriors wielding glaives were blocking the way like an iron fortress.
Dark spotted the one holding a staff behind them.
“That's him!”
He dashed toward the shaman.
The Orc warriors immediately launched an attack.
Glaives flew in from all directions.
But Dark didn't even blink.
Freed from the Weight Magic, his body now felt as light as a feather, and he was overflowing with the confidence that he could dodge any attack.
And just as expected.
Their attacks only cut through empty air.
Kasan, on the other hand, being an offensive-type knight, swung his sword recklessly.
The Orcs' arms and legs were severed and flew in all directions.
“Chwiik! Don't back down!”
“Chwiik chwiik! Protect the Shaman!”
Far from retreating in fear, the Orc warriors fearlessly charged at Kasan and Dark.
While being protected by them, the Orc Shaman raised his staff and chanted a spell.
“Chwiik chwi-chik chwiiik! Die!”
The staff glowed with a deep green light, and a fireball shot toward Kasan.
Kasan, who was frantically swinging his sword at the enemies, saw the fireball flying toward him.
“What?”
He instinctively thrust his sword at the fireball with all his might.
The moment the sword and the fireball met!
Peo-eong!
With the explosion, Kasan was thrown backward.
“Uaaaaagh!”
“Kasan!”
Dark's face contorted.
Mullan, who was holding off the Orcs outside the barracks, heard Dark's shout and quickly entered.
“Kasan!”
Seeing him collapsed with burns on his face and upper body, his anger flared.
“You sons of b*tches!”
Mullan glared and swung his two-handed sword mercilessly.
While unleashing attacks on the Orc warriors, he shouted at the top of his lungs so his comrades could hear.
“Kasan is down!”
At the same time, Porshe, the elder of the Light brothers, came in.
“What! Kasan's down?”
“There he is! Get him out of here, quick!”
“Got it!”
Porshe quickly ran to Kasan and was about to help him up by the shoulder.
Kasan shook his head and stood up on his own.
“I'm... okay…”
“Hey! What do you mean, okay? No more talk, just come outside.”
“I said I'm fine!”
Kasan snapped and pushed Porshe away.
The pain of his skin burning was excruciating beyond words.
But he gritted his teeth and raised his sword with his burnt hand.
“Even if I die, the mission must be completed.”
“Kasan…”
A venomous glint emanated from Kasan's eyes.
“Just hold your position. The Devil's Corps' first mission must not end in failure because of me!”
“Umm…”
He was the most responsible member of the corps, so Porshe could fully understand his feelings.
“Don't you dare die.”
“I…”
Kasan gripped his sword tightly.
Pain surged through him, so intense it felt like his blood was flowing backward, but he bit his lip hard and continued.
“am going to become the Young Master's personal knight!”
He charged at the Orc warriors, radiating a terrifying killing intent.