The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel

“*Chwiik*—kill them all.”

The Orcs, their eyes glinting with murderous intent, began to indiscriminately slaughter the Goblins.

Gak! Gak!

Gak—!

The Goblins' screams echoed from all directions.

An Orc, about 1.5 times larger than the others and holding a staff, shouted loudly.

“Kill the humans too! Chwiik-chwiik—.”

“Chwiik.”

“Chwiik-chwiik—.”

The Orcs, letting out hot steam from their flat noses, began to ransack the village.

Crash!

Shatter!

Clatter-bang—!

The village was torn apart and set ablaze by the dozens of Orcs.

The flames grew stronger until the entire village was engulfed.

Skevin, the first to arrive at the village, roared.

“Attack!”

“Ack!”

The Phoenix Knights following behind him scattered in all directions and launched a counterattack.

Arthur, who had jumped off his horse just before entering the village, drew a dagger from his back.

Then he shouted to the Trainees who had dismounted.

“Search in teams of three!”

“Ack!”

They quickly formed groups and dispersed.

Arthur looked around, assessing the situation.

He had thought it would be difficult to fight them in the dark, but that wasn't the case.

It was as bright as day, and he could see the monsters through the flames.

From the looks of it, the Goblins were almost completely wiped out.

The problem was the Orcs.

There were dozens of them, and they were swinging large, axe-like weapons without mercy.

However, the Knight Order, far from retreating, was dealing with them with great valor.

It was then.

Bwoooooo-!

The sound of a horn came from somewhere.

Ruuuuuumble—.

The ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred.

“What is it?”

Slightly flustered, Arthur quickly scanned his surroundings.

He saw a massive horde of Orcs charging ferociously from the mountain foothills ahead.

“Hmm…”

Just as Arthur’s face hardened.

“Charge!”

With Skevin’s cry, the Knight Order spurred their horses forward and rushed toward the enemy.

They unleashed a barrage of attacks, weaving through the Orc horde.

“Gak!”

Whoosh!

“Gak-gak!”

The Orcs fell helplessly.

He was able to witness the skill of the Knight Order led by Skevin for the first time.

He hadn't thought they would be terrible, but he also hadn't expected them to be outstanding.

But it was beyond his expectations.

The various tactics they deployed to match the unfolding situation were quite good, and the Knights' swordsmanship was excellent.

‘If only the Knights’ skills were upgraded, they would be worthy of being called the Spear of the Empire.’

Just as Arthur was watching with a satisfied expression.

“……!”

He felt a murderous intent from behind him.

He quickly spun around.

A Goblin was charging at him, radiating killing intent.

Arthur dodged to the side and, quick as lightning, plunged his dagger into the Goblin’s chest.

Kugh!

As the Goblin collapsed with a thud, he quickly slit its throat.

For the enemy, there was only death; there was no hesitation.

After dispatching the Goblin in a single breath, he looked around.

Two Orcs that had been chasing the Goblin approached, radiating a menacing killing intent.

“Chwiik, kill.”

“Chwiik, all humans must die.”

Arthur was startled to see the Orcs speaking with their nasal voices.

“Monsters can talk?”

“Kill! Chwiik—!”

One of them raised its axe high in the air and charged.

Arthur didn't even blink.

He reversed his grip on the dagger and waited for the distance to close.

The Orc swung its axe.

Arthur twisted his body to dodge and simultaneously drove his dagger into the Orc’s neck.

Then, he rushed at the remaining one.

“Chwiik! Die!”

The Orc swung its axe wildly.

Arthur dodged its attacks with ease and struck its vital points with his fists.

Thwack!

He followed up with a kick.

Pow!

A heavy impact was felt, and the Orc stumbled backward.

“Chwiik-chwiik! It hurts!”

Even though he had accurately struck its solar plexus and flank, it didn't fall.

“Tough as a rock.”

Arthur attacked the Orc several more times with his fists and kicks, but it had no effect.

He realized he couldn't defeat it with his bare hands.

“The test is over. Now, get lost.”

He mercilessly plunged his dagger into the Orc’s heart.

“Kugh.”

The Orc collapsed with a thud.

Arthur shifted his gaze to the main battlefield.

The Trainees were also fighting Orcs.

It was too much for one person to handle an Orc, but in teams of three, they dealt with them easily.

However, as time went on, the number of injured increased.

He decided to quickly find and deal with their commander before his side suffered more losses.

Arthur scanned through the Orc horde.

He spotted one giving orders while being protected by other Orcs.

The ones protecting it also looked stronger than the others.

It seemed like a suitable opportunity to test the results of a week's training.

‘I wonder how much stronger I've become.’

He ran towards them.

As he moved, attacks came from Orcs on all sides.

But thanks to his awakened senses, their attacks posed no threat at all.

He lightly dodged while stabbing and thrusting his dagger.

The Orcs fell helplessly.

The Trainees who saw this stared with wide eyes.

“N-No way…”

They couldn't believe a person could be that fast.

The Knights were beyond surprised; they were horrified.

They were astonished by Arthur's god-like movements, but even more so by the fact that he felled them all in a single blow by aiming only for their vital spots.

They had never seen such an attack before.

Moreover, far from looking tired, he had a smile on his lips as if he were enjoying the situation.

Under the blazing firelight, the red hexagonal hat he wore felt unusually intense.

Every time the skull on the hat reflected the light, it created the illusion that it was smiling.

Even though he was on their side, it was utterly chilling.

“Y-Young Master…”

At that moment.

Skevin, finding his horse surrounded and pressured by Orcs, quickly leaped off and swung his sword.

“Hyaaaah!”

A blue aura erupted from the sword like an explosion.

The attacking Orcs collapsed with a thud, parts of their bodies severed.

“……!”

Skevin's eyes went wide.

His aura was much denser than before, and more importantly, he had felled four of them in a single blow.

Thinking it might have been a coincidence, he swung his sword again.

Fwip-fwip!

It was the same this time. The Orcs in front of him fell helplessly.

“This is…”

Just as Skevin was bewildered with shock.

“Chwiiiiiiik—!”

A sharp scream echoed.

Everyone’s gaze simultaneously turned to where the sound came from.

There, they saw Arthur, his dagger embedded in the Orc Shaman’s head.

“Hah!”

Everyone’s jaws dropped.

“Y-Young Master…”

Skevin was so shocked he stuttered.

The Orc Shaman dropped the staff it cherished like its own life and fell backward like a dead tree.

Thud!

Arthur pulled the dagger from the shaman's head and shouted loudly.

“Wipe them out!”

“Ack!”

The Knights shouted in unison.

Their incredible momentum washed over the Orcs like a tidal wave as they unleashed a merciless assault.

With their commander fallen, the Orcs were nothing more than a disorderly mob.

They were slaughtered mercilessly, as if in a massacre.

The survivors scattered and fled to the mountains, but the Knights chased them down to the last one and killed them.

An hour later.

All the monsters that had invaded the village were dealt with, and their corpses were piled up like mountains.

Skevin approached Arthur.

“The cleanup is complete.”

“Our casualties?”

“There are no deaths. Three seriously injured, seventeen lightly injured, for a total of twenty.”

“All Trainees, I assume?”

“Yes, sir.”

Skevin’s attitude was nothing but respectful.

The fact that they had ended the battle against nearly two hundred monsters with such minimal losses was all thanks to him eliminating the shaman.

He had expected him to be stronger than before, but he hadn't known it would be to this extent.

The Orcs near the shaman were known as Battle Orcs, and they were about twice as strong as regular Orcs.

For that reason, even the Knights wouldn't attack them rashly unless they were in pairs.

Yet he had taken down five of them by himself.

And he had done it without any proper protective gear, with only a single dagger.

Could he himself have done it?

He might have been able to defeat them, but he wouldn't have even thought of facing them without a single piece of armor.

It was so incredible it felt insane.

“I'll return with the Trainees. You finish up and come back.”

Arthur turned and signaled to the Trainees with a wave of his hand.

At that, they all mounted their horses in unison.

Arthur mounted one of their horses and left the village.

As Skevin watched his receding back, his face became colored with respect.

He made a firm resolve once again.

‘I will definitely be chosen by the Young Master.’

*        *        *

“You must have learned a lot from today's battle. I'm giving you the day off from training, so each of you, organize your thoughts. That is all!”

“Ack!”

The faces of the answering Trainees were filled with awe for Arthur.

His appearance as he fought the Orcs was peerlessly brave and chillingly cruel.

A demon!

That's how he must have looked in the eyes of the Orcs.

When he had single-handedly pushed back the Orcs as if massacring them and plunged his dagger into the shaman’s head!

A thrill ran down their spines.

It was like seeing the hero they had always imagined in their minds.

Skevin and the other Knights had also defeated the Orcs one-sidedly, but they hadn't left as strong an impression as Arthur.

Through today's battle, Arthur had established himself as their idol.

As the Trainees gained an idol, they were also able to confirm how much stronger they had become.

Although they had fought the Orcs in teams of three, it was something they couldn't have imagined doing before.

What was more surprising was that they had defeated the Orcs.

At first, they thought it was a fluke, but as they continued to fight them, they realized they had become unimaginably stronger.

The monsters were no longer a fearsome existence.

And all of this was thanks to Arthur.

They became certain that they would soon become official Knights and members of the 1st Phoenix Knight Order.

‘We will trust and follow you.’

They watched silently with eyes full of respect until Arthur disappeared from the Sparring Arena.

Arthur, having climbed the castle wall, stared silently toward the West Mountain Range.

He had been able to confirm the training results of the Knights and Trainees while fighting the monsters.

There were no problems with their physical stamina, but there were many points to improve in terms of skill and tactics.

Fortunately, there were no casualties, but a whole village had been torn apart by those creatures.

Something like this must never happen again.

The only solution was to subjugate the monsters.

“I'll have to push them harder.”

Just as Arthur’s eyes turned cold.

He felt a presence behind him.

Thanks to his awakened senses, he could now distinguish the nature of auras.

Feeling a strong power within a gentle presence, he figured it was Millerf.

And sure enough.

Millerf approached and bowed politely.

“I heard the news. You had your first campaign today.”

“It wasn't a campaign, it was training.”

“I see.”

Millerf smiled.

Arthur, still looking toward the West Mountain Range, asked.

“When will it be finished?”

“It seems it will take about two more days.”

“Hurry as much as you can. We don't know when they'll come down again.”

“Yes, sir.”

Millerf replied, then glanced at the dagger stuck in Arthur's belt.

“Did you have any trouble dealing with them?”

“Not really.”

“I suppose you will start learning swordsmanship now.”

“No.”

“……?”

Millerf tilted his head.

“The sword doesn't suit me.”

“Then are you planning to fight with a dagger?”

“Probably.”

“Hmm.”

It was impossible to fight enemies with only a dagger.

Considering the future Territorial War with Count Yarve, even if it wasn't a sword, he needed a weapon that could replace it.

“Do you perhaps have a weapon in mind? I can look for it for you.”

“You won't find it.”

“……?”

“Because it doesn't exist in this world.”

“What do you mean by that…”

Arthur looked at Millerf and gave a bitter smile.

“I'll take care of it myself.”

“If you insist, how about visiting the village blacksmith?”

“The village blacksmith?”

In that moment, he recalled what Wesley had said.

‘By the way, if something unfortunate happens to me and you need someone's help, go find Van the blacksmith in the village. He will be of help to you.’

“Are you talking about Van?”

“Yes, his family inherited techniques and alchemy from the Dwarves, so he should be able to make what you want, Young Master.”

“Dwarven technology…”

It sparked a hope that maybe, just maybe, ‘it’ could be made.

‘If only I have that…’

He would fear nothing.

“I need to meet him right away.”