The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 55

‘What is it?’
After pushing through the dense bushes and climbing the mountain path for about 30 minutes, Porshe suddenly stopped.
At that, Ramni, Peri, and the Devil’s Corps members who were following behind all stopped at once.
They watched Porshe’s reaction, keeping their eyes on him.
Porshe whispered to Ramni and Peri, who had approached him from either side, in a voice only they could hear.
“I think there’s something up ahead. I’ll go check it out.”
Porshe ran forward, making sure his footsteps were as silent as possible.
About 30 meters from where the corps members were, a large rock was visible.
‘I can hide myself there.’
Arriving at the rock, he carefully surveyed his surroundings. Then, crouching down, he climbed onto the rock and looked ahead.
‘It’s quiet, though?’
It was a moment when no particular anomaly was found.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-swoosh-.
The sound of bushes rustling was heard.
At the same time, Porshe’s face hardened.
‘That’s!’
Unidentified men appeared, pushing through the bushes.
Their clothes were too plain, even old and tattered, to be considered Knights.
They looked almost like a band of beggars.
‘Who are they?’
As he wore a puzzled expression, moonlight illuminated them.
In an instant, sharp swords glinted at their waists.
At the same time, lightning flashed in his mind.
‘Mercenaries!’
Just as Porshe quickly got down from the rock and was about to move towards the Devil’s Corps.
Something suddenly leaped from the rock and landed in front of him.
It was one of the men who blocked his path.
“A little rat was hiding, eh?”
“Damn it!”
Porshe lunged at the man, throwing a shuriken from his belt.
It was a shuriken that Arthur had given, saying Porshe’s brothers would need it.
“What?”
The man quickly dodged the shuriken by leaping to the side.
Porshe’s face hardened when even his surprise attack failed.
‘He dodged that attack?’
They were no ordinary foes.
He had to escape from here quickly and relay this information to his comrades.
He ran with all his might.
The man also quickly got up, chased after Porshe, and whistled.
Wheee-whee-whee!
Ramni and Peri spotted Porshe, running frantically as if being chased by something.
“Damn it!”
Peri quickly turned around and said.
“Retreat!”
As soon as his order was given, the Devil’s Corps retreated the way they came.
At the same time, Dark and Ratale approached Peri.
“We’ll buy you time, so to the Captain quickly.”
Peri nodded and, taking the corps members with him, swiftly left the area.
Dark watched beyond the approaching Porshe.
For a moment.
A man radiating killing intent came into view, running towards them.
“I’ll handle that guy, you go with Porshe.”
He pushed off the ground and shot forward like an arrow.
Porshe saw Dark running towards him and frantically shook his head, shouting.
“No!”
“……?”
As Dark wore a puzzled expression, dozens of men burst out from the dense bushes.
The killing intent emanating from them was so intense that the fine hairs on one's body would stand on end, and the strong scent of blood permeated the air.
Above all, their movements were extraordinary.
He realized at once that these were not foes he could handle.
Dark threw all the shurikens he had at them, shouting.
“Run!”
Ratale’s eyes also widened upon seeing them.
“W-what is this….”
After throwing all his shurikens, Dark fled with Porshe, asking.
“How many of them are there?”
“At least a hundred, no, maybe even more.”
Ratale asked as he joined them.
“What are we going to do!”
“The Captain said they’re no ordinary foes. Let’s not fight them, let’s get away from them.”
“Understood.”
They ran with all their might up the steep mountain path.
The man who was chasing Porshe stopped running and watched with a sardonic smile.
His comrades, who had rushed over upon hearing his signal, approached the man.
One of them asked him.
“Were they from the Count’s family?”
“Probably.”
“It seems the Count’s family has someone who can think, after all.”
“Indeed.”
The man turned around with a smile on his lips.
He looked at Alteron, who possessed a massive physique reminiscent of a bear, and asked.
“What should we do? Catch them and bring them back?”
Alteron shook his head.
“We just need to follow Hazan’s orders. When his signal comes, then we attack the Count’s family.”
“Understood.”
The man smiled faintly and continued.
“Shall we go scout again, then?”
***
At that time.
Dark, who had been frantically descending the mountain, stopped.
“Wait a moment.”
He turned around and surveyed his surroundings.
The strong scent of blood that the enemies had exuded was gone.
Aside from the rough breaths of Porshe and Ratale, it was as silent as a grave.
“Something’s strange, isn’t it?”
“What are these guys thinking?”
Ratale frowned.
“Shall I go back and check?”
Dark shook his head at Porshe’s suggestion.
“It would be better for us to go down as we are and follow the Captain’s orders.”
“Will it be alright?”
“It’s not a situation that will change just because we step forward.”
Dark turned around without hesitation and descended.
“It felt like monsters were following me.”
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
Porshe and Ratale looked back at the path they had come from for a moment, then followed Dark.
***
“The reconnaissance team is coming.”
Skevin, who was leading the charge with Arthur, spotted the reconnaissance team and halted the troops.
The reconnaissance team approached Arthur and ed.
“Enemy tents were set up near the border.”
“They’ve arrived already?”
Skevin’s face twisted.
The information from the informant said they were expected to arrive tomorrow at the earliest.
This was too fast, even for an early arrival.
Arthur asked the reconnaissance team.
“Which unit were they from?”
“There were no flags, so we couldn’t confirm.”
“Then how many tents were set up?”
“There were ten.”
“Ten tents….”
Arthur fell into thought for a moment.
The forces Count Yarve was leading were a large army, with over a thousand Knights alone.
The number of tents was too small to consider it his entire force having arrived.
It was highly probable that the Knight Orders from other territories had arrived first and established their positions.
But the absence of flags meant they had concealed their identities.
Seasoned experience on the battlefield was evident.
If there was someone among them with such capability…
One person came to mind.
Kapo Mars.
It was highly likely that the Steel Knights had arrived first and were waiting for Count Yarve.
If he were to lead the vanguard and push forward.
Arthur looked at Skevin.
Skevin bowed his head when their eyes met.
“Speak your command.”
“Can you face the Steel Knights?”
“Hmm….”
Skevin’s face hardened.
Kapo Mars was the strongest among the powerful, ranked 10th in the Empire.
He might be able to throw the Steel Knights into disarray with the Britanniker, but that would only be for a moment.
If Kapo were to defeat the Britanniker, the morale of the Knight Order would surely be reversed.
This was not his place to step forward.
“I don’t think I can.”
“Understood. I will handle him; you take charge of the Knight Order.”
“If you permit it, I will accompany you.”
“No, I will face him alone. You completely crush the Knight Order. You may kill them all.”
“Understood.”
Killing intent flashed in Skevin’s eyes.
Arthur shifted his gaze to the reconnaissance team.
“Relay this to the Phoenix Knights. We will sortie as soon as we reach the border.”
“Yes, sir!”
The reconnaissance team swiftly went to the following Knight Order and delivered Arthur’s command.
Arthur nudged Kan with his foot.
At that, Kan began to move again.
Drakan and Linda looked at Arthur for a moment, then quickly followed him.
Linda whispered to Drakan.
“Can’t you face him, brother?”
“If the family head didn’t ask me, there must be a reason.”
“Just tell him you’ll take care of it, brother.”
“There’s something I need to confirm first.”
“What?”
Linda tilted her head.
Drakan looked at Arthur with questioning eyes.
“I want to see with my own eyes if he’s truly strong enough to defeat an Ogre.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I have no desire to live a blind life like my father.”
“No way!”
Linda’s eyes widened.
Drakan stayed close to Arthur, looked at him, and said inwardly.
‘If you wish to become the true master of Lanister, you will have to show it. Otherwise….’
His gaze turned cold.
‘I will not follow you.’
He gripped the black spear tightly, putting strength into his hand.
At that, a wailing sound was heard from the spear.
At the same time, Arthur stopped. Then he turned his head towards Drakan.
‘No way, he sensed that?’
It was then that Drakan’s eyes wavered.
Millerf stared at a distant point beyond Drakan, then opened his mouth with a hardened expression.
“It’s them.”
“It seems they’ve spotted the enemies.”
Arthur nodded and shifted his gaze to Drakan. Then, looking at the black spear, he spoke to Skevin.
“Hold position for a moment.”
“Yes, sir!”
Skevin drew his sword and halted the Knight Order’s procession.
A moment later.
The Devil’s Corps arrived at Arthur’s position.
“Huff, huff, huff.”
They had gone to the castle, then rushed back without rest upon hearing that Arthur had led the troops out.
Thanks to the Britanniker, they were able to catch up in an instant.
Dark bowed his head briefly in respect, then ed.
“We’ve spotted the enemies. We couldn’t confirm the exact number, but it’s roughly a hundred or more.”
“Just as I thought.”
Arthur’s face hardened slightly.
If this were the case, there was a high possibility that Count Yarve was employing a two-pronged strategy.
Appointing Kapo as the vanguard, and ordering the mercenary corps to attack the Count’s family.
Although he had entrusted the castle to Hector, their opponents were a notorious mercenary corps.
They were so strong that only traces of death remained wherever they passed.
It would be insufficient to face them with just that force.
If this were the case, he had no choice but to divide his forces into two.
It was when Arthur alternately looked at Skevin and Drakan.
Dark continued with a hardened expression.
“They were no ordinary foes. They weren’t wearing armor and were dressed in plain clothes, but the strong scent of blood….”
He conveyed all the information about them without omission.
He added that their movements were all agile, and the aura they exuded was different from anything he had felt before.
Most importantly, the eyes of those chasing them were chilling enough to make one’s skin crawl.
Skevin and Millerf looked at Arthur with serious expressions.
Arthur looked towards the western mountain range where the enemies were and fell into thought.
As long as Count Yarve had a Sword Master, he couldn’t carelessly divert his troops.
Nor was it certain if a minimal force could stop them.
Both situations were ones he couldn’t give up on.
In such cases, as he always had, he decided to choose the option that could end the war.
“Hellot!”
At Arthur’s call, Hellot quickly approached.
“Speak your command!”
“Return to the castle with 50 Knights and confront the mercenary corps.”
“Understood!”
Hellot replied without a second thought and ran towards where the Knight Order was.
Next, he shifted his gaze to Drakan.
“Who is the Vice-Commander?”
“That would be me.”
Linda approached.
“You, too, will return to the castle with 50 Knights.”
“Yes.”
Linda bowed respectfully.
Millerf watched her back as she moved towards the Lanister family’s Knight Order and asked.
“Will they be alright on their own?”
“You go too.”
“……!”
Millerf’s eyes widened.
Arthur met his gaze and continued.
“Someone is needed to command them.”
“But with just this force to face Count Yarve….”
“Don’t worry about here. As much as the forces have been depleted.”
Arthur alternately looked at Skevin and Drakan, sending a silent signal.
Then he drew up his Mana.
At that, Skevin and Drakan also exuded powerful auras as if in response.
The Sig Sauer appeared in Arthur’s right hand.
“Since it’s come to this, there’s no need to wait. We’ll sweep them away just like this.”
“My Lord….”
“Hold out no matter what until I arrive.”
Arthur pulled Kan’s red mane tightly and charged forward.
At that, Skevin and Drakan powerfully thrust their swords and spears, shouting.
“Charge!”