The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 42

“I've never seen a sword like this.”
“Did you see that just now? A tree as thick as a grown man's waist was cut down in one go.”
“Where did the Young Master get something like this?”
The knights were extremely satisfied with the armaments they received from Arthur.
It went without saying they were sharper than their original weapons, and the blades didn't break even when striking a rock.
They couldn't help but be amazed.
Of course, this was to be expected, as the weapons they received were made by those called master craftsmen among the dwarves, using the world's hardest metal, 'Orichalcum'.
Weapons of this caliber were things that only those of Duke rank or higher could even get their hands on.
They were not something ordinary nobles could easily come across.
Therefore, it was natural that they didn't know what material they were made of.
Arthur, too, did not know this fact.
He just thought that since they were in a Dragon's Lair, they must be good.
“Hmm.”
Arthur's face, having arrived at the cliff before he knew it, was stiff.
The members of the Devil's Corps who followed behind also looked around and wore serious expressions.
“They’re gone.”
“What kind of bastard could it be?”
The ogres' corpses had all disappeared.
When thinking of a creature capable of moving such large masses, only an ogre came to mind.
They grew tense, wondering if ogres might suddenly pop out of the forest.
The members of the Devil's Corps felt their lips go dry with tension.
On the other hand, Hellot and the knights had faces full of questions as to why Arthur had come here.
Hellot led the knights and approached Arthur.
He proudly slung the mace, a blunt weapon he had received from Arthur, over his shoulder and asked.
“Why did we come here?”
Arthur answered while keeping his eyes fixed below.
“We've been searching the West Mountain Range all this time but couldn't find any monsters. And yet, monsters keep appearing.”
“I've been wondering about that too.”
“But there's a place we missed during our search.”
“A place we missed?”
Hellot tilted his head and thought about it, but contrary to Arthur's words, he felt they had searched thoroughly.
“Could the Young Master be mistaken…?”
He was puzzled by the sight of Arthur continuously looking down.
“Why do you keep looking down? That place has been designated a forbidden zone for a hundred years…!”
In that moment, Hellot's eyes flashed.
“Surely you're not thinking of going down there?”
“This is the only place we haven't searched.”
“Young Master! That place is known as a location from which no one can return alive.”
“So, has anyone ever gone in?”
“Pardon?”
“It's just a story you've heard. No one has actually gone in, right?”
“Of course not. Who would go when they say you can't come out if you go in? And why would anyone climb down a cliff unless they were crazy?”
“In any case, we're going to search it. So get everyone ready.”
“Young Master!”
When Hellot shouted, Arthur stared at him with cold eyes.
“Bring the rope.”
“Ah, yes…”
Overwhelmed by Arthur's intense presence, Hellot had no choice but to follow the order.
A moment later.
Arthur wrapped the rope Hellot brought around his waist, finishing his preparations to descend the cliff.
Everyone there, including Hellot, looked at Arthur with worried expressions.
“Will you really be alright?”
Arthur nodded at Dark's question.
“I'll go down and make a path, so you guys follow me down.”
“Understood.”
Dark followed Arthur's instructions without a second word.
Seeing this, Hellot frowned and said a word.
“What are you doing in a situation where you should be trying to stop him?”
“I trust the Commander.”
“Do you think I'm doing this because I don't trust the Young Master?”
As Hellot glared and shouted, Mullan, who was next to Dark, answered.
“That's how it looks.”
“What did you say?”
“If you trust the Commander, I believe it's right to follow his orders.”
“Ah, these bastards are completely nuts. What are you going to do if something happens to the Young Master?”
“Stop it.”
Arthur, unable to stand it any longer, spat out a word and said to Hellot.
“If you don't want to go, then go back. Don't be a distraction.”
“Young Master, I…”
“I'm going down, so get ready.”
Arthur spoke curtly and shifted his gaze to Dark.
“Come down as soon as I give the signal.”
“Yes.”
Dark answered without a hint of hesitation.
Arthur looked down, staring at the cave entrance, his first destination.
“Shall we begin?”
Without hesitation, he threw his body downwards.
At that sight, not only Hellot but also Dark and Mullan were startled.
The others too, their eyes wide at Arthur's action, quickly approached.
The coiled rope next to them fell endlessly downward.
That went on for a moment.
When the rope pulled taut, Mullan and Dark quickly gripped it tightly and looked down.
They could see Arthur, who had landed safely near where a tree branch extended.
“He's truly amazing.”
“I know, right.”
Dark and Mullan were astounded by Arthur's monstrous ability.
“Is he human?”
“How could he just jump off a cliff…”
It was then that Hellot and the selected Phoenix Knights were also staring blankly, as if they had lost their minds.
“Come down!”
Arthur's shout was heard.
Dark was the first to descend the rope.
Mullan, Peri, and Latale followed.
Once all of the Devil's Corps had gone down, the knights' gazes turned to Hellot.
Hellot, who was staring down, grimaced.
“Damn it!”
As he grabbed the rope and prepared to go down, the knights asked.
“Are you really going down?”
“We can't be the only ones left up here.”
“The Young Master said we could return to the castle…”
“What are you going to tell the Captain? That we sent the Young Master into the forbidden zone alone and came back?”
“Ugh.”
“Stop talking and follow me.”
Hellot took the lead, grabbed the rope, and descended.
***
At that moment.
Arthur descended the cliff wall with a dagger taken from his Subspace, driving in spikes and setting ropes as he went.
The corps members followed the path he made.
After about 30 minutes had passed.
Finally landing on the ground, Arthur quickly looked around.
Vines, about the height of a grown man, stretched out endlessly like a wall.
It felt as if some kind of boundary line had been created.
Dark, Mullan, Peri, and Latale quickly came to Arthur's side and stared at the vines.
“What is this?”
“What kind of vines are so big?”
“Don't let your guard down and keep a lookout in all directions.”
Arthur approached the vines and swung his dagger with all his might.
As expected of a weapon from a Dragon's Lair, the vines were cut through with ease.
However, no matter how much he cut, there was no end to the vines.
“What kind of vines are…”
Arthur continued to cut with a hardened expression.
After cutting for quite a while, he was able to get out of the vines.
“This is…!”
Arthur wore a dazed expression at the alien landscape unfolding before his eyes.
It wasn't just the vines that were huge; the trees, the flowers, and even the grass and weeds on the ground were all enormous.
“What on earth is this place…”
As Arthur looked around, the corps members who followed came out of the vine forest one by one.
They too were very flustered by the alien landscape.
Once all the search party members had safely emerged from the vines, Arthur gathered them all.
“As you can see, it wouldn't be strange at all if something jumped out at us right now.”
“I will take the lead.”
When Hellot volunteered, Arthur shook his head.
“I'll take the lead, you take the rear. Be prepared to escape at any time if an unexpected situation arises.”
“Understood.”
Arthur heightened all his senses to their peak and scanned his surroundings.
It was so quiet that not even the common sound of birds chirping could be heard.
“Hmm.”
It was then that Arthur's brow furrowed.
A sound was heard from the nine o'clock direction.
Of course, it was a very faint sound that only he could notice.
“Let's go.”
Arthur moved his feet without hesitation toward where the sound had come from.
The members followed him, minimizing the sound of their footsteps.
Fortunately, there were no obstacles like the vines.
When Arthur, who was in the lead, suddenly lowered his posture and raised his arm, they all stopped in their tracks.
Then, they gripped the weapons in their hands tightly and awaited his instructions.
Arthur's face contorted at the scene before him.
Two ogres were tearing at and eating something. Looking closely, it was 'Kadrazin', who had fallen from the cliff with him.
Moreover, their size was incomparably larger than the ones he had seen before.
They seemed to be about 10 meters tall.
Dark, who came up beside him, his jaw dropped the moment he saw the ogres.
“Th-the ogres are…”
“I'll take care of them quietly, so you keep watch on the surroundings.”
“Commander, by yourself…”
Before Dark could finish his sentence, Arthur shot towards the ogres like an arrow.
The ogres, who were deliciously feasting on Kadrazin's corpse, turned their heads as soon as they sensed Arthur's presence.
As soon as they spotted Arthur, they let out a monstrous shriek and stood up.
Kkiaaaa!
“Noisy.”
As Arthur drew up his mana, a golden aura enveloped his dagger.
The members watching from behind were startled.
“What? The Young Master's aura is…”
“Sword Expert, highest level? But for that, the aura is…”
“No way!”
Hellot's gaze wavered uncontrollably.
He knew that even Skevin, a highest-level Sword Expert, was no match for Arthur.
Because of that, the thought of a Sword Master naturally came to mind.
Even setting aside the level of a Sword Expert, one couldn't become a Sword Master just by wanting to.
No matter how talented Arthur was, it was impossible for him to have become a Sword Master in less than half a year since he started training.
“How am I supposed to take this?”
While Hellot muttered, Arthur glared at one of the two.
“You first.”
After dodging the ogre's flying fist, he kicked off the ground and leaped up.
Reaching its knee in a single bound, Arthur used it as a foothold to jump once more.
Then, he plunged the dagger into the ogre's neck.
Stab!
Kkiaaak!
The ogre let out a monstrous scream and shook its body.
Arthur used the recoil to quickly climb onto the ogre's shoulder and stab the dagger into its eye.
After that, he moved to the nape of its neck and drove it down with all his might.
It all happened in the blink of an eye.
Kkiaaaak!
The ogre let out a desperate, monstrous scream.
Arthur pulled out the dagger with his left hand while thinking of a pistol.
Simultaneously, a golden Sig Sauer was gripped in his right hand.
“First time for everything.”
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Kkiaaaaaaak!
The ogre shrieked and then fell over like a giant, dead tree.
But of all places, it fell toward where the search party was.
“Get out of the way!”
With Hellot's shout, the search party quickly dodged.
However, in doing so, they were discovered by the other ogre.
Kkiaaaaaa!
It was then, as the creature shrieked as if going berserk and tried to move towards the members.
Bang!
Green blood spurted from the creature's ear.
Kkiaak!
“Where are you looking! Your opponent is me.”
Arthur rushed at the creature and swung his dagger with all his might.
With its leg half-severed, the ogre staggered and fell to the side.
Arthur did not miss the opportunity. He quickly went to the creature's face and aimed the muzzle at its eye.
Bang! Bang!
The ogre, shot with aura-infused bullets, rolled on the ground like mad, thrashing about.
Nearby trees broke and rocks were sent flying, and the fragments rained down on the search party.
“Damn it! Get as far away as possible!”
At Hellot's command, the search party moved as far away from the ogre as possible.
But the Devil's Corps couldn't leave Arthur alone.
“What do we do?”
When Mullan asked Dark, Peri and Latale also looked at him, waiting for an answer.
“Damn it! This is driving me crazy.”
Dark wanted to run and help Arthur right away, but he had to follow his orders.
“For now, stay on guard.”
“What are you talking about? Are you going to let the Commander fight alone?”
“I'm just following orders!”
Dark gripped his dagger tightly, suppressing the urge to run to Arthur and help.
It was then.
Rat-tat-tat-tat-!
With the sound of gunfire, the ogre's violent struggles stopped as if by a lie.
A golden light could be seen beyond the hazy dust cloud.
A short while later, as the dust settled, Arthur appeared.
“Commander!”
Dark quickly ran to him.
Arthur nodded and asked.
“Anyone hurt?”
“No one on our side.”
Just as Arthur was about to turn his head towards Hellot.
Thud! Thump! Thump!
The ground shook as if there was an earthquake, and they could feel something massive approaching.
It felt ominous, sensing a presence incomparably more powerful than the ogres.
“We're moving!”
Arthur told Dark to run in the opposite direction of the creature.
“Don't look back, just run no matter what.”
“What about you, Commander?”
“There's something I need to check.”
Arthur shot towards the creature like an arrow, praying inwardly.
‘Please! Let it not be…’