The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel

Chapter 78

Rat-tat-tat-tat!

He unleashed a volley of gunfire along the man's escape route.

The man quickly changed direction and ran elsewhere, but Arthur had already predicted that route and completely blocked his path.

In the meantime, the Phoenix Knights rushed in and surrounded him.

"Damn it!"

Just as the man pulled out a dagger to commit suicide.

Thwack!

"Wha-what is this?"

The man turned his head to look at the mysterious needle stuck in his arm.

His entire body hardened like stone.

He couldn't even twitch a finger, nor could he move his mouth.

'Why, all of a sudden!'

As the man's eyes wavered uncontrollably, men clad in animal skins rushed out from the forest.

It was the Horkamun tribe, who had been scouting the area around the western mountain range.

They had heard from a sentry that a mysterious ship had appeared on the eastern coast and that Arthur and the Knight Order had been dispatched, so they came running.

'Th-those guys are all...'

Seeing the beast-like men, a dark shadow fell over the man's face.

***

Alteon stood before Arthur with Bukas.

"Where is the enemy?"

Alteon looked around for them, but all he could see was the middle-aged man who had collapsed in front of Hellot.

His condition was also strange.

A bright light, like the glow from pouring a potion, was shining intensely from his body.

What was stranger was the atmosphere of the Del Knights looking at him; it was beyond solemn, seemingly steeped in grief.

It was then.

"Father! Uwaaaaah!"

'What?'

Alteon and Bukas finally noticed Adellan behind the Del Knights, embracing someone.

And next to her, the banner of Count Kandara came into view.

"Ah..."

Only then could they understand the situation.

It seemed the people Adellan had been waiting for so eagerly had returned, but contrary to her expectations, they had been met with the worst possible outcome.

Alteon silently watched Helm, who had collapsed in front of Hellot and was being treated with a potion, assessing his condition.

"Hmm, it's a miracle he's even alive."

Arthur, who had been watching Helm, walked to the bow of the ship.

He jumped down to Khan, who was waiting below the ship. Then, he moved to where the Phoenix Knights were gathered.

There, the man who had tried to escape was bound and kneeling.

The man was terrified by the sight of a massive horse approaching, snorting fiercely.

"Heeok!"

He pressed his head to the ground, trembling in fear.

Arthur asked coldly.

"State your affiliation."

"I-I don't know..."

The man replied as he had been trained, his body trembling.

"You'd better stick to that story."

Arthur uttered the meaningful words and then shifted his gaze to the knights.

"Take him to the castle."

***

"Haaah!"

Wyman, who was looking out the window, was startled when something suddenly appeared in front of him and fell on his butt.

Jakal opened the window, came inside, and landed in front of him.

"What is this rude behavior?"

Wyman stood up, frowning.

Without a word, Jakal took a document he had received from Arthur out of his coat and handed it to him.

"What is this?"

"It's from the Count."

"From the Count?"

Wyman quickly took it and unfolded the document.

For a moment.

His eyes widened as if they would tear.

"Th-this is..."

"They were annihilated."

"That's impossible. All those troops were defeated?"

Wyman shook his head in disbelief.

"If you want to save the Count, you must meet the demands written there."

"So much..."

Wyman seemed to wear a dumbfounded expression, but he soon regained his composure. Then, he looked at Jakal with a meaningful gaze and asked.

"Did the Count say anything else?"

Jakal met his eyes and answered in a rather agitated voice.

"Our king is Marquis Valtre."

A fact that only Yarve and Wyman knew.

In other words, it was also the key that led to the secret room.

"Hmph."

Wyman nodded.

"I will proceed as planned. Follow me."

He went out with Jakal and moved to Yarve's office.

Standing in front of the bookshelf, he fiddled with one of the books on the shelf.

Then, the bookshelf split to the side, revealing an iron door.

"You probably didn't know a facility like this was installed here."

"Hmph."

Jakal put on a slightly surprised expression.

But having always been by Yarve's side, there was no way he wouldn't know.

He was only pretending to be surprised to deceive Wyman.

When he turned the round lever, the iron door opened.

Jakal, who entered with him, his jaw dropped.

The small cave was filled with gold, and next to it were piles of various documents.

"Get ready. I'll go get the knights."

Wyman went outside.

Once Wyman's presence disappeared, Jakal finally let out a low exclamation of admiration.

"Truly amazing."

He approached the gold, caressing it as he shifted his gaze to the documents.

It was filled with various land and slave deeds.

Among them, a book with a black cover caught his eye.

"What's this?"

His curiosity piqued, Jakal unconsciously picked up the book and opened it.

"…!"

He frowned instantly.

It contained a detailed list of the people Count Yarve had killed and the reasons why.

It was his murder ledger.

He suddenly became curious about how many people Yarve had killed before he was by his side, and at what age he had committed his first murder.

So, he turned to the very first page.

[Mesha. Age 21. Servant.]

'His first murder was a servant.'

Jakal looked at the reason for the murder with a grim expression.

[While I was away on a trip, she fell for another man and gave birth to a baby boy.]

'Was he in love with the servant?'

Jakal continued to read.

[The bastard's name is Adas. I was about to kill him along with that bitch, but a brilliant plan came to mind. I'll raise the bastard, whose eyes look just like his mother's, to be an assassin... ]

"…!"

In that moment, Jakal's eyes shook uncontrollably.

"Th-this is..."

His hands trembled so violently that he dropped the book.

At the same time, his legs gave out and he collapsed to the floor.

"This can't be. I'm..."

Until now, he had believed he was born to someone in a beggars' village, but that wasn't true.

As the secret of his birth was revealed, an uncontrollable rage surged within him.

"Yarve, you bastard..."

He heard the sound of knights entering from outside.

Jakal stood up, exuding killing intent. Then he drew a dagger from his waist.

"I'll get rid of you all."

He disappeared.

A moment later.

Swish!

"What! Keuk."

The knights collapsed without knowing what hit them.

Wyman, who entered the office late, was horrified to see the fallen knights.

"Wh-what is this!"

"You."

"…!"

The hair on the back of Wyman's neck stood on end like thorns.

Jakal, who had appeared behind him, held a dagger to his neck and continued.

"You've been with the Count's family for a long time, so you must know about most of the incidents, right?"

"Wh-why are you suddenly doing this...?"

Thwack!

"Ugh!"

Wyman clutched his side and staggered, struggling to regain his balance.

Jakal whispered in his ear.

"If you want to live, answer my questions."

"I-I understand."

"You know who Mesha is, right?"

"Mesha..."

After thinking for a moment, he raised his hand slightly and answered.

"I know. She was the Count's servant."

"Did she have a family?"

"Y-yes, she did..."

"Where can I go to meet them?"

"The head steward would know that. But why are you suddenly asking?"

"Go ask your master."

Jakal mercilessly slit his throat and threw him to the floor.

Then, he gave the dead Wyman, whose eyes were wide open, a cold stare and disappeared.

And a short while later.

"Uwaaah!"

"Help me!"

"Aargh!"

The Count's estate was stained with blood amidst the screams of people.

***

"How did it go?"

Arthur asked Aild, who had finished treating Helm and entered the office.

Aild answered with a grim face.

"I've treated all the injured areas, but his wounds were so severe that I think Sir Millerf will have to step in."

"I see."

"Still, he's past the critical stage, so you can rest easy."

"That's a huge relief."

Seeing Arthur's relieved expression, Aild asked cautiously.

"I heard he fought you in that condition...?"

"Yeah."

"I've heard that a Sword Master's mental fortitude is incredible, but this is beyond imagination."

"I was very surprised too."

He didn't know much about Sir Helm, but he was the only person to have reached the level of a Sword Master with a bow.

He had launched powerful attacks even while severely injured, so his destructive power would have been immense if he were in normal condition.

In a situation where he had to face powerful enemies, having Helm on his side would be a great help.

Just as a look of anticipation appeared on Arthur's face, there was a knock on the door.

Hellot came in and bowed politely.

"We've finished cleaning up, and the man has been locked in the dungeon."

"How is Adellan?"

"She is preparing for Count Hoiron's funeral on the coast with the Knight Order."

"Is there anything we can do to help?"

"I asked, and she requested that I tell the Young Master that she will be staying on the eastern coast for three days."

As Arthur nodded, someone else knocked and entered.

It was his servant, Andrew.

"Young Master."

"What is it?"

"A visitor has arrived... It's a young child."

"A child came to see me?"

Arthur looked puzzled, and Hellot spoke with a displeased expression.

"The Young Master doesn't have time to worry about such things. You should handle it yourself."

"I was going to, but the atmosphere around him isn't ordinary..."

"What are you talking about?"

As Hellot frowned slightly, Andrew quickly bowed his head and answered.

"He seemed like a noble!"

"A noble?"

"Yes, and he seemed like the heir of a very high-ranking family, so I couldn't treat him carelessly."

Arthur asked Andrew.

"Was he alone?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, he came to see me alone in times like these..."

Arthur seemed to ponder for a moment, then nodded.

"I should meet him. Lead me to where he is."

"Understood."

Andrew quickly took the lead and went outside with him.

When Arthur entered the reception room, a child who looked about ten years old was sitting in a chair, drinking juice.

Andrew pointed to the child with his hand.

"That's the child."

Arthur looked at the child.

When someone entered the reception room, the child also put down the juice he was drinking and turned his head.

Behind Andrew, who had guided him here, stood two well-built men.

At first, the aura they both exuded felt like that of knights, so he thought they were Count Julius's escort knights.

But the attire of one of the two was a bit unusual.

At a glance, it looked like armor, but upon closer inspection, it was a red garment made of a very thin cloth, like leather.

Moreover, there was splendid golden embroidery on the shoulders, and the symbol of the House of Count Julius, a gold dragon, was engraved on the chest.

The child said with a smiling eyes.

"So you are Count Malcolm's youngest son, Arthur Julius."

"…!"

For a moment, Arthur's gaze wavered slightly.

He realized the child was from a noble family from the way he spoke down to Count Malcolm so naturally.

And of a rank at least that of a marquis or higher!

Despite his complicated thoughts, Arthur looked at the child calmly.

'Who on earth is he?'

As a question formed on his face, he felt a very faint presence from behind the child.

It was dark and cold, as if he had an assassin like Jakal as an escort knight.

'Someone stronger than that guy...'

Curiosity arose and he wanted to check immediately, but he held back for now and stood before the child.

"You came to see me?"

The child nodded.

"You seem to be the child of a noble family. Who sent you?"

"As arrogant as I've heard."

The child grinned and met Arthur's eyes.

"Ingenium Barotas."

"What!"

Arthur's eyes flashed.

The smile completely vanished from the child's face, and he spoke with a very stern expression.

"I am the sole bloodline of Emperor Ruan and the heir to the Oscar Empire. I have come a long way to meet you, the heir of the House of Count Julius."