The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 69

“……!”
Jakal’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.
He was more shocked by missing Arthur's movements than by the fact that his attack had been blocked.
Within the Empire, no one was faster than him, except for the Assassin Guild Master and a few of his subordinates.
But the current situation left him extremely flustered.
“I believe you’ve understood your place.”
Arthur retracted the dagger he had pointed at Jakal and released the arm he had subdued.
Then he stood up and approached Yarve.
“What, this is…”
Jakal wore a dazed expression.
Arthur wasn't wary of him at all.
He wasn't afraid of Jakal, who had cornered the Julius Knight Commander.
He knew Arthur was strong enough to defeat Kapo, a Sword Master, but he didn't feel the special aura unique to a Sword Master.
Although he wasn't a Sword Master himself, the mere fact that he was an assassin should have made Arthur wary and fearful.
“How dare he…”
The thought of being completely ignored by Arthur made a rage he had never felt before surge within him.
“I will never forgive you.”
As Jakal exhaled killing intent and stood up, he kicked off the floor and charged.
However, his attack, which completely failed to utilize the assassin's specialty of stealth, was not threatening.
“His mental strength is weaker than I thought.”
Arthur, with a slightly disappointed expression, lightly dodged Jakal’s punch and tripped him.
Thud!
Jakal, whose head was slammed into the floor, ignored the pain and sprang back up.
“How long can he afford to be so relaxed?”
Jakal, his assassin's pride shattered, charged with venom in his eyes.
“I don’t have time to play with you.”
Arthur threw a punch.
Thwack!
Struck in the solar plexus, Jakal flew backward, hit the wall, and collapsed to the floor.
Skevin was astonished by Arthur’s skill in subduing the assassin with a single blow.
He hadn't been this strong just a short while ago.
But now, he was incomparably stronger than he had been then.
He had continued to grow even while engaging in real combat.
It was even wondrous to behold him.
Anyway, the stab wounds on his side and thigh were bleeding profusely.
He decided to stop the bleeding first.
He took out a potion stored in his belt compartment and drank it.
He felt the medicine spread throughout his body, and the bleeding stopped.
The potion he made this time took effect even faster than the last one.
With this, he felt he wouldn't easily fall against any strong opponent.
That being said.
He decided to bind Jakal and put him in prison before he woke up.
While Skevin bound Jakal, Arthur stood before Yarve, looking down at him intently.
“Ugh…”
Yarve groaned, clearly in great pain.
“Escaping prison means death.”
“S-shut up…”
Yarve glared, emitting killing intent.
Arthur threw the prepared paper and pen to him.
“If you want to live, write.”
“……?”
“War reparations.”
“W-what are you talking about!”
Yarve scrunched his face in disgust.
“Shall I turn you into a beehive?”
Arthur summoned a Benelli M4 into his right hand.
Seeing it, Yarve started as if having a seizure, trembling uncontrollably.
He could never forget the sight of Arthur obliterating the Knight Order with that monstrous weapon.
Even now, when he closed his eyes to sleep, the image of Arthur ruthlessly killing with madness-filled eyes occasionally lingered in his mind.
Each time, he felt as if he would go mad with terror, and now he was seeing that sight again.
“A-alright.”
“If you want to keep your life, just bring me what I want.”
Arthur brought a chair, sat down in front of Yarve, crossed his legs, and continued.
“10,000 gold. That’s the condition for your release.”
“W-what did you say? That much is enough to buy a small territory and still have some left over!”
“You’re worth that much ransom, aren’t you?”
“This bastard…”
“Rumors say the Count Yarve family is wealthy. Was that not true?”
Arthur’s continued sarcasm made Yarve’s insides boil.
But to get out of here, he had no choice but to accept Arthur’s conditions.
Yarve suppressed his anger and wrote something on the paper.
“5,000 gold! Let’s negotiate with this.”
“Then just stay stuck in here.”
Just as Arthur was about to stand up, Yarve shouted.
“Wait!”
“This is your last chance. Think carefully before you speak.”
“Honestly, gathering that much gold would take time, and I’d have to personally get involved. Why don’t you ask for something else instead?”
“Hmph.”
Arthur snorted.
But he was secretly pleased that Yarve was moving in the direction he wanted.
He feigned thought for a moment, dragging out the time.
After about ten minutes had passed.
“I’ll give you anything, just tell me!”
Yarve shouted impatiently.
Arthur, with a reluctant expression, opened his mouth.
“Very well. Then send 5,000 gold and, additionally, iron.”
“Iron? I can give you as much of that as you want. But honestly, 5,000 gold is still too much.”
“Then die.”
As Arthur drew a firm line and was about to turn his head towards Jakal, Yarve yelled.
“Damn it! Fine! I get it!”
He wrote a message to be delivered to the Nibon Territory on the paper and placed it at Arthur’s feet.
“Deliver this to Waiman of the Nibon Territory. Then you’ll receive what you want.”
Arthur smirked and looked sideways.
Skevin, having finished binding Jakal, put him in a prison cell. Then he approached Arthur and asked.
“What should we do with him?”
Arthur stood up and replied.
“Put him in a cell and prepare for the expedition.”
“Understood.”
Skevin bowed respectfully.
“What?! You should say something after I’ve written down what you want! Where are you going, just leaving like this!”
Yarve shrieked like a devil.
But Arthur left the place without a second thought.
Skevin grabbed Yarve by the scruff of his neck, lifted him up, and threw him into the cell opposite Jakal’s.
Yarve scowled, looking at the unconscious Jakal in the opposite cell.
“You idiotic bastard! How can a supposed escort Knight not be able to handle one young brat?!”
Shing—.
“……!”
Suddenly, Yarve’s eyes widened.
In the blink of an eye, Skevin’s sword was pointed at his throat.
“Th-this… g-get it away.”
Yarve stammered, utterly terrified.
Skevin glared with piercing eyes, as if ready to kill.
“Watch your mouth if you want to keep your life. Next time, I’ll mercilessly cut off your head.”
***
“Hmm…”
Arthur, having come up from the dungeon, went straight to his office.
Standing before the window, he pondered who to entrust with the reparations document Yarve had written.
It had to be someone trustworthy and strong enough to handle a show of force if necessary.
The first person who came to mind was Skevin.
However, he couldn't entrust it to him as Skevin had been assigned a different mission.
So, he thought of entrusting the mission to Drakan, but the Lannister Knights moved with Giant Wolves, making them easily noticeable to people.
Unlike other Knight Orders, the Phoenix Knights couldn't simply replace their mounts with regular horses.
Since they needed to hide the Julius family’s full strength as much as possible, he couldn't entrust it to them either.
The remaining Knight Orders were not yet at a stage where they could be entrusted with missions.
Thus, his worries deepened.
He considered various methods and sought a suitable candidate.
A long time passed like that.
Knock, knock.
With a knock, Skevin entered the office. Blizan's figure was also seen following him.
Arthur looked at the two reflected in the window and turned around.
“Any injuries?”
“I’m fine.”
“Tell me if you learned anything from today’s fight with that fellow.”
“He was difficult to deal with, and I didn’t expect someone of that skill level to be on Count Yarve’s side.”
“And?”
“I confirmed once again that I am weak.”
“……!”
Blizan, who was listening to Skevin’s words from behind, widened his eyes significantly.
‘Who on earth was it?’
He was surprised that there was someone on Count Yarve’s side who could contend with Skevin.
He wanted to ask who it was, but it wasn’t his place to step in.
For now, he decided to continue listening to their conversation.
“Honestly, that guy isn’t at a higher level than you. Yet, you were pushed back for one reason.”
“What is that?”
Skevin looked at him with intense eyes.
“An assassin thinks only of one thing when facing an opponent. What were you thinking when you faced that guy?”
“……!”
For a moment, Skevin’s eyes wavered as if he had realized something.
Silence fell.
Arthur waited patiently for him, and after a few minutes.
Skevin met Arthur’s gaze.
“I will never forget the words you spoke today.”
Arthur, sensing a step forward in Skevin’s gaze, which was much deeper than before, smiled.
“It won’t be long now.”
“What are you referring to?”
“The day you’ll fill the spot beside me.”
“Please wait just a little longer.”
Skevin bowed his head heavily.
‘Beside him? What on earth is he talking about?’
Doubt clouded Blizan’s face.
Arthur decided to conclude Skevin’s personal matters here for now and asked about the expedition.
“Are the preparations complete?”
Skevin replied crisply.
“The advance party consists of 50 people in total, and ten members of the Horcamun Tribe, including Blizan, will accompany them.”
Arthur nodded and shifted his gaze to Blizan.
“I will await your safe return.”
“We will not betray your expectations.”
“I trust you.”
Arthur smiled faintly and looked back at Skevin.
Then, meeting his gaze, he spoke firmly.
“As this is the first time the Julius family’s Knight Order is going out into the world, you must pay attention to everything. If any variables arise, prioritize survival and inform me. No matter where, I will come to save you.”
“Yes, sir!”
A short while later.
Skevin led the Knight Order on an expedition to Hazan’s stronghold.
However, only a few commanders, including Arthur, knew this fact.
In the training ground, the trainees’ shouts echoed thunderously as usual.
Arthur stood by the window, watching the departing Knight Order, hoping for their safe return.
Once they had completely disappeared from sight, he thought about the war reparations matter again.
Even after thinking again, no suitable candidate came to mind, and there was no need to send troops outside and make it known to the world.
“This is difficult.”
As Arthur sighed, that person suddenly came to mind.
If that person were with him, he felt this problem could be easily solved.
So far, he was satisfied, but it wasn’t enough to make a judgment.
Now that his situation had changed, his convictions might have shifted.
“I wonder what he’ll say.”
Arthur curled the corners of his mouth and left the office.
***
“You swindler!”
When Arthur appeared, Yarve gripped the iron bars tightly and bellowed.
Arthur smirked and approached.
“Blame your own foolishness.”
“Shut up! And do you think you can get what you want by taking that scrap of paper? That will never happen.”
“Beg your mother for forgiveness. Then I won’t kill you.”
“What did I do wrong?!”
As Yarve glared and shrieked, Arthur’s eyes turned cold.
“You did nothing wrong?”
“Yes!”
“Make sure to answer that way in front of King Yama, too.”
“Who’s that?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Arthur looked at Jakal, who was imprisoned in the next cell.
He was silently staring out.
“Jakal, you idiotic bastard! Are you just going to sit there, you who call yourself an assassin? He’s right in front of you! Do something!”
Arthur approached Jakal and asked.
“Don’t you regret serving a master like that? With your skill, you could have chosen someone else.”
“Hmph.”
Jakal let out a scoffing laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Are you ignorant of the world? Or if you’re trying to mock me, stop. I’m not someone who’d fall for such a trick.”
“So you see me as that kind of person.”
Arthur forced a bitter smile and continued.
“It’s all a matter of perspective, I suppose. For your information, I’m different from those who automatically despise assassins just because they’re born with an assassin’s aura.”
Jakal looked at Arthur for the first time.
“So why did you spare me?”
Arthur gave a meaningful smile and met his gaze.
“To give you a chance. A chance to be reborn.”