The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 64

**Chapter 64**
"Damn it!"
The other corps members also spotted Arthur and realized he was about to attack.
"Split left and right!"
As the Devil's Corps hastily scattered in two directions, the Dell Knights following them did the same.
Like Moses' miracle, they instantly parted, leaving only the pursuing enemies to appear before Arthur.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
K1's Aura poured down on them.
Caught off guard by the sudden attack, the enemies fell helplessly.
A few retaliated by firing arrows, but Arthur scoffed.
"Pathetic."
He mercilessly unleashed attacks, tearing into their formation.
Simultaneously, he summoned the Benelli M4.
Bang!
The shotgun's power was immense.
Over ten Aura blasts fired like explosions.
They swept away the enemies nearby.
"Argh!"
"Ugh!"
The enemies fell without even managing a proper attack.
Meanwhile, the fleeing Devil's Corps and the Kanlana Count's family's Knights returned and joined the attack.
Following them, Skevin also appeared, leading his Knights.
Arthur shouted to Skevin.
"Go to the coast!"
"Understood!"
Skevin galloped towards the eastern coast with his Knight Order.
Drakan and the Lannister Knights followed behind them.
With nearly five hundred Knights moving on monsters, the ground vibrated.
Moreover, Britanniker charged straight through most trees, smashing them without evasion.
It swept away everything like a tidal wave.
Arthur quickly scanned his surroundings and shouted.
"Kill all who resist!"
The moment his words fell, the Devil's Corps mercilessly cut them down.
"Argh!"
"Aaaargh!"
Desperate screams echoed ceaselessly.
After a short while.
All fifty of the enemies were dead, with only five surrendering and surviving.
"Escort them to the castle!"
As Arthur gave the order and was about to move to the coast, Millerf appeared, riding a horse.
"What happened?"
"They'll know."
Arthur looked at the Dell Knights of the Kanlana Count's family.
One of them stepped forward and removed their helmet.
Long black hair fluttered in the wind, revealing the face that had been hidden by the helmet.
'A woman?'
Arthur was inwardly surprised.
She knelt on one knee before Arthur and bowed her head.
"I greet Count Julius. I am Adellan Kanlana, the eldest daughter of the Kanlana Count's family."
"You're Adellan?"
Millerf's eyes widened.
Having only memories of Adellan when she was toddling, he was surprised and bewildered to see her appear as an adult.
Arthur said to her.
"I'll only accept your greetings for now. I'll hear the details later."
"Yes."
Arthur shifted his gaze to Dark.
"Millerf and I will go to stop them, so you return with these people."
"Understood."
"Maintain emergency alert in case. If Millerf fires a signal flare, don't hesitate to close the castle gates."
"Yes."
Dark nodded heavily.
Arthur and Millerf galloped towards the eastern coast.
Adellan stood up, watched Arthur move away, and asked Dark.
"Close the castle gates? Are there no additional troops?"
Dark turned his horse's head and replied.
"I am simply following orders."
"But what if the Count is in danger then...?"
"That won't happen."
Dark replied firmly and said to the Devil's Corps.
"Return."
He added a word to the Dell Knights.
"Follow closely."
Dark and the Devil's Corps members galloped vigorously with Britanniker.
Adellan's face was filled with questions as she watched them.
'The Julius family...'
***
"Captain, they're getting back on the ships!"
"Hmm."
Skevin's face hardened.
Upon arriving at the coast, three hundred Knights were preparing to depart.
As they appeared, the enemies immediately attacked.
Skevin had thought it would be a tough fight, as there were mages among them.
But his prediction was wrong.
They retreated immediately and re-embarked.
If they returned like this, their strength would be known to the world.
They couldn't let them go, as the next attack would come with full preparations.
They had to stop them, but there was no way.
"Damn it!"
It was then, as Skevin's face hardened.
Hellot approached.
"Young Master and Lord Millerf have arrived."
"Really?"
Skevin turned around, his face brightening.
Khan galloped vigorously, followed by Millerf on a white horse.
The moment he saw Millerf, a way to stop the enemies came to mind.
"Keep the pressure on!"
"Understood!"
Hellot immediately ran to the Knight Order and shouted.
"Push them back!"
Arthur approached Skevin, watching the front, and asked.
"What's the situation?"
"It seems they've been ordered to retreat."
"We can't let them escape like this."
As Arthur's face hardened, Millerf dismounted his horse as soon as he arrived.
Then he stepped forward before the two and said.
"I will try to stop them."
At that, Skevin spoke as if he had been waiting.
"If you can just destroy the sails, I'll take care of the rest."
"Understood."
Millerf plunged his staff into the ground and softly chanted a runic spell.
"Power of Glory~!"
Flames bloomed in his outstretched hands.
They grew larger and more intense.
While Millerf prepared his attack, Arthur rushed towards the enemies.
He summoned K1 and unleashed attacks on those who hadn't yet boarded the ships.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!
"Argh!"
"Aaaargh!"
The enemies were overwhelmed helplessly.
Those who fell from their horses either died or were washed ashore by the seawater.
There, they were stabbed to death by the waiting Phoenix Knights' swords.
The face of a man in a blue robe, watching the scene from a ship, twisted in horror.
"What in the world are those monsters?!"
The other two men in blue robes also muttered a word each.
"Karlov's information was wrong."
"Seeing as they appeared here, Count Yarve must have also fallen to them."
The startled shouts of the Knights were heard.
"They have a mage!"
"Prepare for magic attacks!"
"What?!"
The men in blue robes widened their eyes.
They quickly looked around.
"There!"
A giant fireball floating above the head of a middle-aged man in a white robe caught their eye.
"W-what is that...?"
"T-that's a 6th-class..."
As their faces turned pale, the fireball above the middle-aged man's head vanished.
Simultaneously, a rain of flames poured from the sky like hail.
"Fire Rain!"
"Damn it!"
"Everyone, take cover!"
Crash!
Boom!
The flames burned the ships, including their sails.
The Knights threw themselves into the sea.
They were washed ashore by the seawater.
The men in blue robes also jumped into the sea and saved their lives.
They managed to come ashore, evading the Phoenix Knights' eyes.
"We made it!"
"Run quickly!"
Just as they were about to escape.
Growl.
A Giant Wolf appeared before them, baring its fangs.
"Get lost!"
One of them cast 'Fire Lance' and attacked.
But the Giant Wolf moved nimbly, dodging all of them.
"It dodged that?"
The man showed a look of surprise.
Growl.
Snarl.
Giant Wolves began to appear one by one from all directions, soon surrounding them in dozens.
Behind them, a man wearing leather, not steel armor, and wielding a black spear appeared.
It was Drakan.
He had been waiting in the second line to catch any who might try to escape the Knights' eyes.
As Drakan approached them, one of them quickly launched a Fireball.
"Foolish."
Drakan swung his spear with a wry smile.
Clang!
"Gah!"
He parried the magic with his spear and pierced the man's heart.
The man fell with a thud.
Drakan pulled out his spear and looked at the remaining two with cold eyes.
"Try to attack again, and I'll pierce your heart."
***
Thirty minutes later.
The three ships burned fiercely and sank into the sea.
Most of the enemies were dead, and only a few were captured as prisoners.
Millerf approached Arthur, who had been silently watching the battlefield.
"Good work. The magic you used today, that was the same attack you used against the Ogre on the cliff before, wasn't it?"
"That's right."
"You've grown stronger since then."
Before, the attack had been like a rain shower, but today it poured down like hail.
It seemed the grimoire he had acquired from Rumakas Square had been of great help to him.
Millerf gave a deep smile.
"Thanks to the grimoire my liege bestowed upon me, paths that were blocked are slowly opening."
"You'll get stronger and stronger."
Arthur grinned and turned his head sideways.
Drakan was approaching, having bound the two men in blue robes.
"They're mages."
At Millerf's words, Arthur asked.
"Can you tell their skill level?"
"Judging by their Mana auras, they seem to be around 4th-class. If you compare them to Knights, they're about mid-level Sword Experts."
"Worthless fellows."
Drakan brought the two before Arthur, made them kneel, and said.
"There were originally three, but one died trying to ambush me."
Arthur asked the men.
"Reveal your identities."
The men remained silent, their heads bowed.
Then Millerf stretched out his hand towards the two.
"Mind Control."
"…!"
The two looked up in surprise, but soon their eyes lost focus, and they became blank like dazed people.
"Reveal your identities."
At Millerf's words, the two obediently answered.
"We are warriors of the Magic Tower."
"Oh no!"
As Millerf frowned, Arthur asked.
"What's wrong?"
"They are informants who gather imperial intelligence and deliver it to the Magic Tower."
"And?"
"They are not ones to act independently. Their appearance here means..."
"It seems the Magic Tower has made some kind of contract with the Emperor."
"The possibility is high."
Millerf's face hardened.
Traditionally, the Magic Tower was a place built solely for the research and advancement of magic.
As long ages passed, its original purpose gradually faded, and it became tainted by the power of authority.
Now, it had become the most powerful organization apart from the Emperor.
A noble place that once sought self-reflection and development had become a monster pursuing only honor and power.
He felt guilty, as he also bore some fault in it becoming so.
'Master...'
Millerf closed his eyes and recalled his master, Mardoro.
Seeing his face filled with worry, Arthur didn't ask further.
He looked at the men again and asked.
"Why are you here?"
"We came to capture Adellan."
"What happened to the Kanlana Count's family?"
"Helm Dell is holding them off, but they will fall to Karlov."
"Hmm."
Arthur's face hardened.
From the Hexa family to the Kanlana family.
It seemed all families falsely accused of being followers of the devil had fallen, except for Julius.
And though they had repelled the enemies' attack this time, it wouldn't be easy next time.
It seemed best to hurry, even for a day.
Arthur summoned his Sig Sauer and aimed the muzzle at the men.
Just as he was about to pull the trigger, something suddenly occurred to him.
"Why are we followers of the devil?"
"Lord Altaros, the Great Mage, said so. He said that in the future, a race with black hair would join hands with devils, cause a great catastrophe, and destroy the Empire."
"So?"
"To prevent the great catastrophe, they must be annihilated."
"Bullshit."
Arthur mercilessly pulled the trigger.
Bang! Bang!
He looked with cold eyes at the men whose heads had exploded and died.
"The Emperor of this Empire is being played by his subordinates."
As Arthur wore an incredulous expression, Millerf's voice was heard.
"It's entirely possible."
"…?"
Arthur looked at him.
Millerf met Arthur's eyes with a very serious face and continued.
"For that fellow, manipulating the Emperor's mind would be nothing."
"You know this Altaros fellow?"
Millerf's eyes blazed with fury as he clenched his fists tightly.
"He's the thief who stole my master's relics... and he's my own brother."