The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel-Chapter 73

“How is it?”
“The security has been doubled compared to usual, and the dungeon area is also being guarded by three-person teams. It was incredibly tight.”
Arthur smiled faintly at Porshe’s answer.
They must be absolutely furious after being put through training all day.
It was clear they desperately wished for the intruder from last night to reappear.
Only then could they vent their accumulated anger.
“We should give them what they want.”
Arthur, a smile playing on his lips, continued speaking to Porshe.
“You, Ramni, and Peri, infiltrate and cause a ruckus.”
“Understood.”
Porshe’s face was full of mischief.
“But if you get caught, you’ll have one-on-one sparring with me for a month.”
“Huh!”
Porshe’s face, along with the other two, instantly darkened as they recalled their sparring sessions with Arthur when they were trainees.
They had been brutally beaten until they were half-dead, repeatedly brought back from the brink of collapse by Millerf’s healing magic.
The mere thought of it made their teeth grind and their blood run cold.
The idea of going through it again snapped them back to reality.
“That will absolutely not happen.”
Ramni and Peri nodded resolutely at Porshe’s reply.
“And Latale and Cassan, if they run wild inside the castle, guard Mother as if it were a real situation.”
“Yes.”
The two bowed respectfully.
Arthur looked at Mulan and continued.
“You go to the stables, release Britanniker and all the other horses, and open the castle gate.”
“The castle gate, sir?”
“I intend to turn everything upside down.”
“It will be utter chaos.”
Mulan grinned.
Now, only Dark remained.
Everyone’s gaze turned to him, anticipating Arthur’s command.
Dark looked directly at Arthur, awaiting his words.
Arthur met his eyes and asked.
“It could be dangerous.”
“It’s fine.”
“You might get seriously hurt if something goes wrong. You can refuse this mission.”
“I am prepared to follow any order.”
Dark replied without the slightest hesitation.
Arthur wore a satisfied expression at his reaction.
“Good. Infiltrate the Dell Knights and bring out Adellan’s bow.”
“……!”
For a moment, Dark’s eyes wavered slightly.
He had guessed it wouldn’t be an ordinary mission when Arthur mentioned it could be dangerous, but he had never imagined such an order.
Unlike the other Knight Orders, the Dell Knights had joined late, so he hadn’t even properly greeted their Knights.
If his mask came off and his face was revealed, there was a high chance he’d be considered an enemy.
“Can you do it?”
Dark seemed to ponder for a moment, then replied.
“I will.”
“Bring it here, and the mission is accomplished.”
Arthur looked around at the Devil’s Corps, clad in black attire, and continued.
“Consider this a real battle and do your best. Even if you’re discovered by them, buy as much time as possible.”
They all bowed with grim expressions.
Arthur glanced at the clock installed on the castle tower.
“We move at exactly midnight. To your positions.”
They exchanged silent glances before swiftly dispersing.
Arthur, left alone on the castle wall, silently watched their retreating figures.
Once they had completely vanished from his sight, he, too, pulled his mask up to just below his eyes and disappeared into the darkness.
***
Ten minutes before midnight.
Throughout the camp, guards patrolled in pairs.
Torches brightly lit the surroundings, leaving no dark corners.
The guards scanned their surroundings with sharp eyes.
Inside the command tent, the Knight Commanders gathered, receiving s on the situation in each camp.
“It’s quiet so far.”
Adellan was also present, having taken on the temporary role of Commander of the Dell Knights.
“Will he really show up?”
Hectro looked at Hellot with a doubtful expression.
Hellot gazed at the Julius family banner fluttering on the distant castle wall and spoke.
“The moment he shows his face here, he’s a dead man.”
“Of course he will be.”
Drakan clutched his Black Spear tightly.
Everyone was suppressing their anger, thinking of the intruder from yesterday.
Piii-eeek—!
A loud whistle echoed.
At the same time, they rushed out of the tent, and the guards all dashed towards the sound.
“Intruder…”
A Knight who had been on patrol inside the castle stumbled out and collapsed.
Seeing this, Hellot’s eyes widened as he shouted.
“Emergency standby squad—!”
The surroundings reverberated loudly.
Simultaneously, Drakan and Hectro rushed inside like arrows.
A moment later.
The emergency standby squad also entered, following Hellot’s orders.
Adellan, instead of going in with them, asked Hellot, who was surveying the surroundings.
“He didn’t come alone, did he?”
“I have somewhere to go.”
Hellot quickly ran towards the dungeon.
Although the surroundings were chaotic, the dungeon guards remained at their posts.
As Hellot approached, they asked with stern expressions.
“Has he appeared?”
“He seems to have entered the castle. There’s a chance he’ll appear here too, so stay on high alert.”
Just as Hellot was scanning the surroundings with sharp eyes.
Hiiii-iiing—!
Hiiii-iiing—!
Britanniker and the other horses burst out of the stables and ran wild throughout the castle.
“What the…?”
Hellot wore a bewildered expression.
Adellan was likewise flustered. The situation was unfolding completely differently from what they had expected, which was a quiet infiltration, leaving them visibly flustered.
“This is all…”
Bwoo-woo-wooong—!
The sound of an emergency horn blared.
“……!”
Hellot and Adellan’s eyes flashed open, and they quickly dashed towards the castle entrance.
The castle gate, which should have been firmly closed, was opening.
“No!”
Hellot shouted angrily and ran towards where the guards were lying unconscious.
Then, he snatched the rapidly turning pulley and stopped it.
“Hmph!”
It was unbearable to try and do alone what usually took three strong men to move.
He felt his body being stretched.
“Kuaaah!”
As he screamed and squeezed out every last ounce of strength, Adellan also came forward and grabbed it with him.
“It mustn’t open! Ugh…”
She poured all her strength into preventing the pulley from turning.
The castle gate opened about 60 degrees before stopping.
Though they barely managed to stop it from opening, Hellot and Adellan were steadily losing strength.
“N-no…”
“Please…”
As Hellot gritted his teeth and poured out all his strength, a faint orange aura flared around him.
Adellan, who had been struggling with all her might alongside him, had her eyes flash at his reaction.
‘This is!’
“Absolutely, not… allowed!”
Tendons visibly bulged on his arms, which were swollen like calves.
The pulley, which had been locked in a fierce struggle, slowly began to turn.
“Just a little more…”
Krr-r-r—.
The castle gate slowly closed, bit by bit.
***
At that moment.
The three brothers with purple dispositions, demonstrating their specialty in speed without reservation, were outmaneuvering Drakan and Hectro’s pursuit.
‘Damn it!’
‘Why are they so fast?’
‘I expected it, but…’
Drakan and Hectro were flustered, seeing them pursue while maintaining a steady distance.
The brothers exchanged glances and then split up at a fork.
“Left!”
Drakan chose the path where two of them fled and followed.
The two circled the first floor before heading up to the second, and Drakan raised his Mana, pursuing closely.
After a short while.
Another fork appeared, and as the culprits split up, Drakan’s face contorted.
“Damn it!”
He powerfully hurled his Black Spear towards the one fleeing ahead.
Papat—.
It flew fiercely, tearing through the air.
“Damn it!”
As the killing intent grew closer from behind, Peri quickly threw his body to the side.
Sss-uk—.
“K-ugh!”
Peri’s face contorted as he fell, and the Black Spear flew to the end of the corridor and embedded itself in the wall.
Clang!
After confirming that the culprit had fallen, Drakan pursued the remaining one.
Ramni, seeing Drakan pursuing him, raced towards the top of the castle tower.
That was the best way to buy as much time as possible.
‘Keep following me.’
As he curled the corner of his mouth, killing intent emanated from Drakan’s eyes.
‘I’ll definitely catch you.’
***
“Stop them!”
“Herd them to the right!”
Due to the rampage of the Britannikers, the castle became a scene of utter chaos.
The Knights couldn’t hide their bewilderment as the creatures they had always managed so well went absolutely wild.
Since they were creatures that couldn’t be stopped by brute force, the Knights tried to soothe and calm them down somehow.
But it wasn’t easy.
Because Khan, the leader of Britanniker, was at the forefront of the rampage, the other creatures ran rampant like unbridled colts.
“Is Young Master still not here?”
“Only the Young Master can calm this situation…”
The Knights desperately wished for Arthur to appear and resolve the situation.
Contrary to their thoughts, Arthur went to Ron, the Giant Wolf, and asked him to prevent the Horkamun Tribe from coming out.
This plan was to re-establish the Knights’ discipline and unite them, so it was better that they didn’t intervene.
Leaving them to the Giant Wolves, he infiltrated each Knight Order’s camp and took something out.
It was the banners, imbued with the pride of the Knight Orders.
The camps of the Defen Knights, Dell Knights, and even the Lannister Knights were all empty.
Everyone had been deployed to deal with the incidents erupting everywhere.
Occasionally, Knights would enter the camps.
Each time, Arthur hid himself in the ceiling or an unseen spot, evading their eyes, and they failed to notice his presence.
Arthur moved to the camp of the Phoenix Knights, his final target.
As per his plan, the Devil’s Corps was moving well.
Now, he just needed to get his hands on the Phoenix Knights’ banner and then resolve the situation.
He moved swiftly, concealed in the darkness.
Unlike the other camps, the Phoenix Knights’ camp had about 30 Knights on standby.
These were the Assault Squad.
They were Hellot’s emergency reserves, prepared for unexpected situations.
The members who left with Skevin formed the first wave, comprised of the strongest fighters, and these were the ones belonging to the second wave.
“No signal from the Vice-Commander yet, right?”
“No.”
“Is it really the right thing to just wait here?”
As time passed, they grew increasingly restless.
Hiiii-iiing!
“Damn it!”
Whoosh-bang—!
“Aargh! My leg!”
A desperate scream was heard.
“I can’t take this anymore!”
It was when one of them jumped up from his seat and opened the door.
Thwack!
He was sent flying back as if he had been slammed by a charging horse.
Everyone sprang to their feet and looked towards the entrance.
A man in black attire and a mask.
It was the same intruder from yesterday.
“Catch him!”
The Knights all drew their swords and rushed at Arthur.
Without batting an eye, Arthur charged towards them, evading their attacks as smoothly as flowing water.
The Assault Squad members were utterly bewildered that their attacks couldn’t even graze his clothes.
“H-how…”
“This is impossible…”
“What are you doing?! Snap out of it!”
When Jonathan, the leader of the second wave, shouted like thunder, they quickly composed themselves and attacked again.
Sharp swords flew in from all directions.
As Arthur unleashed his supersenses, all movements felt incredibly slow, like in slow motion.
Merciless attacks poured down, but they were not threatening at all.
He lightly parried unavoidable attacks with the edge of his hand, made his way inside the tent, snatched the Knight Order’s banner, and threw himself out the window.
Crash!
“Chase him!”
The Knights rushed out in a clamor.
But the distance between them and Arthur grew, and they ultimately lost him.
“Damn it!”
“Spread out and search every corner! Don’t let him get away!”
Jonathan swiftly gave orders to his squad members.
After watching his squad members scatter, he re-entered the tent. Then he checked what the intruder had taken.
It was the Knight Order’s banner.
“Why the banner…?”
As doubt clouded his face, something clicked in his mind.
“Ah!”
Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t felt any killing intent from him.
There were men who had been knocked down by his attacks, but the damage wasn’t severe enough for them to immediately get up and charge.
If he were an enemy, they would have been dead or incapacitated.
His mind raced, and a single scenario formed.
‘If my guess is correct…’
There was only one person who would pull off a stunt like this.
No one else.
Jonathan frowned.
“What exactly are you thinking, Young Master?”
***
Meanwhile, Dark, who had been thoroughly searching the castle for Adellan, found her near the castle gate.
Since she was with Hellot, it could easily turn into a two-on-one duel if he wasn’t careful.
As the distance between him and the two narrowed to within 10 meters, he held his breath, concealing his presence as much as possible.
‘One chance.’
The two were resting for a moment after closing the castle gate.
Once their strength had somewhat recovered, Hellot turned around and surveyed the surroundings.
Just as his distance from Adellan had widened considerably.
‘Now!’
His eyes flashed, and he lunged at Adellan.
At the same time, she also sensed Dark’s presence.
“Who’s there!”
She quickly drew an arrow and pulled back her bowstring.