The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 44

He was bewildered that the creature had let him ride it, but what was more surprising was how stable it was, even though he wasn't holding onto anything.
It felt as if his bottom were glued to the creature's back.
Also, its speed was incomparable to the others.
The creatures that had been following them were no longer in sight, and only the sound of their hoofbeats could be heard.
After running for a long time, they reached the summit of a mountain.
When the Black Horse stopped, Arthur quickly jumped off.
Then he stared intently at the Black Horse.
The creature slowly walked somewhere.
Arthur watched it in silence.
The Black Horse stopped in front of a small grave and lowered its head.
It was as if it were bowing to the grave.
The Black Horse looked at Arthur.
'Is it telling me to come over?'
With a meaningful expression, Arthur walked toward the grave.
The Black Horse did not show any caution as he approached, simply staring at him.
Standing before the grave, Arthur's eyes flashed.
A piece of plate armor was buried in the ground, and on it, words were engraved.
[For the Golden Glory!]
"This is!"
It was the motto symbolizing the House of Count Julius.
To think he would see this phrase here.
It seemed someone from the family had come down here before him.
And the Black Horse appeared to be related to the person buried here, but the question of why it had brought him to this place remained unanswered.
It was then, as Arthur was gazing at the Black Horse with a deep look in his eyes.
His necklace began to glow.
Then, a light also emanated from the Black Horse's head.
"Huh?"
As if they were communicating with each other, the lights shone, and then the Black Horse suddenly bent its front legs and bowed its head to Arthur.
"…?"
As Arthur wore a puzzled expression, a warm breeze blew past.
The fallen leaves piled up around them were swept away by the wind.
As the leaves were cleared, other pieces of armor were revealed.
"What is this?"
He walked over to where the armor lay and saw that there were words engraved there as well.
[Karuda!
He was a demon in human guise.]
'Karuda?'
Arthur's gaze deepened as he moved to where another piece of armor lay.
[I am Adam Julius.
I came here with him to create another world…
…Omitted…
I hope this will be of some help in dealing with that fiend.]
"Hmm."
Arthur's face hardened.
The one who had left the message on the armor was Adam Julius, Teheran's own brother.
A mage, he had come to this place, known as the cursed land, with Karuda to create a domain of their own.
During their magical research, Karuda had learned black magic, and in his craving for greater power, he was eventually consumed by it and became a demon.
That fiend was the Demon King.
Karuda had not only shattered Adam's magic circle to prevent him from using magic but had also cut off both his legs to stop him from escaping.
Having witnessed Karuda's atrocities until the brink of death, what he had left for Teheran was this very creature, born with only the best traits of a unicorn and a Britanniker.
Arthur asked the Black Horse.
"Are you Storm?"
Neigh~.
The Black Horse let out a pleasant whinny.
Arthur was surprised to see the creature understand his words and respond.
"He left behind quite a creature."
His surprise was brief, replaced by a sense of pity for the creature that had only been discovered by him after a hundred years had passed.
If Teheran had ridden this creature to face that fiend, the outcome might have been different.
In any case, Adam had arranged it so the horse would only follow the bloodline of the House of Count Julius, so it seemed it would follow him from now on.
If that was the case, now that a new master had appeared, he decided to change its name first.
"From now on, you are Khan. If you understand, bow your head."
Storm just stared at Arthur, as if it didn't understand what he was saying.
'Did I ask for too much?'
As Arthur scratched his cheek awkwardly, Storm raised its front legs high towards the armor buried in the ground and cried out.
Hee-hee-hing-!
"What's wrong?"
Arthur asked, startled as he stepped back.
Storm soon calmed down and bowed its head to Arthur.
"What? Did you understand me?"
Neigh~.
"Really?"
Arthur wore an expression of wonder.
If that was true, then the creature's earlier action must have been a final farewell to its former master.
He decided to check, thinking he might be mistaken.
"Storm."
Storm showed no reaction.
The corners of Arthur's mouth curled up as he called out once more.
"Khan."
Neigh~.
Storm bared its teeth and whinnied. It looked as if a person were grinning broadly.
"Ha…"
Arthur stared blankly.
Soon, he came to his senses and decided to examine Khan properly.
Its back was above his head, its muscle-bound legs were like steel H-beams, and its body was reminiscent of an iron plate, making his jaw drop.
It truly looked as if it were clad in iron armor.
Above all, it possessed the immense strength to knock over a fully grown Ogre with a single headbutt and a speed that no one could match.
Everything about Khan was captivating.
His heart pounded with excitement just imagining himself riding this creature and sweeping across the continent.
Arthur stroked Khan's red mane and said,
"Let's do well together."
Neigh~.
Arthur met Khan's eyes and added one more thing in a firm tone.
"Never die."
…!
In that instant, Khan's eyes flashed, and it stomped its front hoof down with all its might.
Thump!
Then, it raised its head and let out a loud cry.
Hee-hee-hee-hing-!
Unlike the whinnies he had heard before, this one was heavy, filled with a strong will to never be separated from its master again.
"I won't leave you alone either."
Neigh, neigh~.
"Shall I give it a ride?"
Arthur mounted Khan.
Just as he had felt before, his bottom stuck to the creature's back as if drawn by a magnet.
This also seemed to be one of Khan's special abilities.
First, he decided to check if the search party had escaped this place safely.
"Take me to the western cliff."
Hee-hee-hing!
Khan charged powerfully down the mountain.
***
"It's gotten dark."
Mullan looked at Dark with a stiff expression.
Since arriving at the cliff, Dark had been staring intently at the entrance of the vines.
'Captain…'
Hellot approached, fuming.
"No matter how I think about it, just waiting here isn't right."
"What are you planning to do?"
"We've waited for an hour, but he hasn't returned. Something must have happened! I can't wait any longer. I'll take the swiftest men—no, I'll go myself."
"Hmm."
Dark considered it carefully.
He might have encountered a monster on his way back.
It didn't seem right to just wait for Arthur to appear.
"Understood! We will go."
"Let me know as soon as you find him!"
"Yes."
Just as Dark was about to signal the Devil's Corps members.
Clop! Clop!
A sound was heard.
"What's that sound?"
Everyone tensed up and looked towards where the sound was coming from.
The sound grew closer, and then something enormous burst out from beyond the vines.
At the same moment, Hellot shouted.
"It's a monster!"
The knights all drew their swords in unison.
The Devil's Corps also raised their weapons, ready to attack at a moment's notice.
The massive thing leaped over the search party and landed in front of the cliff.
"What?"
"What kind of horse is that big!"
"A Britanniker!"
Hellot's face darkened rapidly.
It was no match for an Ogre, but it was a beast powerful enough to kill a warrior Orc in a single blow.
"Someone's riding it!"
One of the knights pointed at the Britanniker's back.
Because of its enormous size and the unexpected appearance of the creature, they hadn't had a moment to notice if someone was riding it.
A golden light on the pitch-black Britanniker's back was illuminating the darkness.
Everyone instantly recognized who it was.
"Young Master!"
"Captain!"
They shouted with expressions of relief.
At that, Khan snorted hot air and turned around.
As expected, it was Arthur.
Arthur silently surveyed the surroundings.
The number of men had decreased more than he thought.
"How many were lost?"
Hellot lowered his head and answered.
"…Seven men, sir."
Arthur asked with a hardened face.
"Why are you still here instead of returning?"
"We couldn't leave you behind, Young Master."
"You foolish man…"
His temper made him want to smack the man on the head, but he knew the decision was made out of worry for him.
He couldn't get angry, knowing he would have made the same decision if he were in his shoes.
"I'll let it slide this once. But I will not forgive a second time."
"I will keep that in mind!"
Hellot replied respectfully.
Arthur looked over the search party and continued.
"We are returning to the castle."
"You're coming with us, right, Young Master?"
At Hellot's question, Arthur shook his head.
"I'm going to finish the search and then return."
"Young Master…"
Hellot looked like he was about to cry.
"Don't worry. As long as I'm with this one, there's no danger."
"That may be, but if we run into Ogres again…"
"They didn't even think of chasing me."
"Is that true?"
Hellot's eyes widened.
"So go back and wait. I'll return by sunrise tomorrow at the latest."
"The Captain will not let me off easy."
"In a situation no different from wartime, what happens if you disobey my orders?"
As Arthur pointed the tip of his dagger at Hellot, he swallowed hard and couldn't say a word.
"Dark."
"Yes, sir!"
Dark came and stood next to Hellot.
"As soon as you return, tell Van to find a way to build a wall at the western cliff."
"Yes, sir."
"And tell Skevin that we need to replenish our forces."
Finally, Arthur looked over the search party members and said,
"See you later."
When Arthur kicked Khan with his foot, the horse nodded its head and galloped away like an arrow.
It effortlessly leaped over the vines and disappeared.
Everyone's jaws dropped at the sight.
At the same time, a strong question arose in their minds.
"How did he tame a Britanniker…"
***
"Hmm."
With Khan's help, Arthur roamed all over the area.
He thought scouting would be difficult in the dark of night, but when he drew on his mana, his vision brightened.
He could see as if it were broad daylight, so it wasn't inconvenient at all.
He had encountered numerous monsters while scouting.
But they didn't dare attack Khan, merely growling at it.
He could tell that Khan was quite high up on the monster food chain.
Thus, he moved about without having to worry about the monsters.
Then, he discovered a river.
The river was several hundred meters wide, and beyond it, they were there.
He could see their heads at the tops of the giant trees.
They were Ogres.
There were nearly twenty of them, and he also confirmed something he should never have seen.
A red horn sprouting from a head!
A Kadrazin!
That one had also reached its complete form.
Arthur realized that further scouting was meaningless and decided to return to the estate.
He and Khan raced across the vast plains, cutting through the wind.
After a long time, the Grada estate came into view in the distance.
'We're here, but…'
Slowing Khan's pace, he looked back.
A moment later.
A cloud of hazy dust came into view.
Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-.
With the sound of the ground vibrating, dozens of Britannikers appeared.
They had followed Khan.
"Well, now."
Neigh~.
It was as if Khan were asking him to accept its family.
It was exactly what he wanted.
Having them on his side would be a tremendous boost to his military strength.
Arthur pulled on the red mane and shouted.
"Alright! Let's go together."