The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel

His senses were as sharp as a honed blade.

They were so good they were comparable to his senses from the past.

It seemed his potential had awakened from continuously responding to Hellot's fearsome attacks.

‘With senses like these…’

Seeing Arthur, who had been desperately dodging, now smiling, Hellot wondered if he had lost his mind to fear.

“You're going to get seriously hurt.”

“Try me, if you can.”

Arthur charged and threw a punch.

Far from dodging, Hellot raised his arms to firmly guard his face. This was because he had confirmed that Arthur's attacks couldn't damage him.

“No matter how much you attack, it won't work on me.”

“Is that really so?”

Arthur struck his side.

Thwack!

Hellot grinned and swung his fist.

Arthur quickly dodged and once again drove his fist into the same side.

Thwack!

“I told you it's useless!”

Hellot threw another punch.

But it only cut through empty air.

For some reason, Arthur's movements seemed to have gotten faster.

Meanwhile, Arthur struck the same spot again.

Faster and more powerfully.

Thud!

Finally, a heavy impact sound was heard.

“...!”

Hellot's face hardened slightly.

“That's gotta sting.”

Arthur's lips curled up as he unleashed another attack.

THUD!

Hellot grimaced.

“Dodge this!”

He powerfully brought down a fist raised high above his head.

It flew like a flash of lightning.

But to Arthur, who had achieved an awakening of his senses, it wasn't threatening at all.

He dodged the fist and again threw a punch at the side.

Of course, faster and harder.

Crack!

“Ugh!”

Along with the dull sound, Hellot let out a groan for the first time.

“Damn it…”

“You're not giving this your all either, are you?”

“Not yet!”

Hellot shoved his shoulder into Arthur.

Arthur turned sideways and tripped him with his foot.

Thump-.

“Damn it!”

Just as Hellot punched the ground and tried to get up.

Arthur quickly got on Hellot's back and wrapped his arms around his neck.

Then, he whispered in his ear.

“Keep your word.”

After saying that, he mercilessly choked him.

“D-don't be ridiculous…”

Just as he was about to grab Arthur's head, his airway was cut off, and his consciousness faded.

In the end, Hellot collapsed to the side, against his will.

Thump!

“H-Hellot…”

“H-how could this happen…”

“Am I supposed to believe this?”

The people watching the duel were astonished.

While everyone was in a state of shock, a smile spread across Millerf's face.

“What do you think?”

“It's the result I expected.”

“A simple answer.”

“Only today did I realize my blood ran this hot.”

Skevin, radiating intense fighting spirit, walked toward the fallen Hellot.

        *        *        *

‘What is he doing?’

‘Damn it! How many hours has it been?’

The Trainees' faces were full of dissatisfaction.

Since lunchtime ended, they had been gathered in the Sparring Arena, standing at attention.

Just standing still made their bunched-up muscles cramp even more, causing pain.

Their legs and backs lost all feeling, hardening like stone; it was hell.

Arthur also stood on the platform, silently watching them.

‘What is he thinking?’

Millerf couldn't fathom Arthur's intentions. He could only watch silently with a face full of curiosity.

Arthur opened his mouth, his voice heavy.

“Trainee Number 1.”

Skevin, being called out, answered immediately.

“Ack!”

“How can you be so tired just from standing still!”

Arthur spat out the words coldly and shifted his gaze to Hellot.

He, who had fainted for a moment and then immediately rejoined the formation after waking up, was sweating like rain and trembling.

“Trainee Number 2.”

“Ack!”

“I believe I told you not to move?”

“I'm sorry!”

He tried to stop his trembling, but it wasn't as easy as he thought.

He was just bewildered that his mind and body were moving completely separately.

“Isn't this what you wanted? What's the point if you can't even rest properly!”

“I have no excuse!”

“Did your thoughts change after our duel?”

“I was wrong!”

Hellot shouted at the top of his lungs.

“So what will you do from now on?”

“I will do my best!”

“Remember this. I'm forgiving you this one time because it's the first.”

“Ack!”

Arthur looked at the Trainees and continued.

“As the Knights must have realized through the night training, to become stronger, physical training must be accompanied by mental growth.”

Ack-!

“No matter how good your physical abilities are, they're useless if your mind collapses.”

Ack-!

“And war can never be fought alone. You must join forces with your comrades to defeat the enemy and protect your own life and your precious family. Anyone who only thinks of their own survival has no right to be here. Trainee Number 1!”

Skevin answered immediately.

“Ack!”

“During training, have you ever once thought about the other Trainees?”

“…”

“The other Knights are the same. You were so focused on your own survival that you paid no attention to your comrades.”

The atmosphere in the Sparring Arena grew heavy and solemn.

Arthur shouted resolutely, as if reprimanding them.

“Even if you get stronger by abandoning your comrades, you cannot win a war!”

Ack-!

Skevin, the Knights, and the Trainees all answered in unison.

“Consider your comrades as you would your own life! If a comrade falls, it is as if you yourself have died!”

Ack-!

The Trainees continued to shout in response.

The duel with Hellot had erased their distrust of Arthur, and since he was strong enough to defeat the Vice-Commander, they could no longer look down on him.

They could only obey the orders of their superior.

At the same time, seeing the stronger Arthur, their faith in the training grew.

‘I can become stronger too!’

Arthur could clearly feel the change in their attitude toward the training.

‘I suppose we can move on to the next stage.’

Arthur moved on to the next training and taught them the PT Exercises.

Everyone was busy memorizing the movements, and whenever they made a mistake, they invariably had to go touch the East Castle Wall and come back.

***

As the afternoon's activities were ending.

A golden sunset was spreading across the once-blue sky.

The Sparring Arena was boiling with heat like a furnace, and the sounds of shouting never ceased.

“Make sure you memorize the movements you learned today.”

As Arthur's words fell, the Trainees answered with voices full of spirit.

Ack-!

“That's all for today.”

***

Arthur, who had left the Sparring Arena with Millerf, climbed the East Castle Wall.

Just as he was about to look around.

Ack-!

The thunderous response of the Trainees could be heard.

Millerf looked carefully toward the Sparring Arena and smiled.

“It seems they're planning to do supplementary training.”

“Preparation for tomorrow, I suppose.”

“Thanks to you, Young Master, their solidarity will improve greatly.”

“It should, naturally.”

Arthur grinned and looked toward the West Mountain Range.

If there was an Orc habitat there, there was no telling when the bastards might attack the village.

Preparing for the Territorial War with Count Yarve was important, but dealing with the Orcs before that was the top priority.

“Hmm…”

“Are you thinking about the Orcs?”

“We don't know when they might invade.”

“Unless we provoke them first, they won't attack the village.”

“That may be, but what if stronger ones appear?”

“That…”

Millerf's face hardened.

Indeed, since monsters that had disappeared were now appearing, there was a high possibility that other monsters would appear as well.

Especially the West Mountain Range, which had long been known as a habitat for monsters.

If the Orcs, like the Goblins, were pushed toward the village…

A countermeasure was indeed necessary.

“Do you have something in mind?”

“Before that, there's something I'm curious about.”

Arthur met Millerf's eyes and continued.

“Can you handle Orcs by yourself?”

“As long as dozens of them don't rush me at once, it's no problem.”

“Then I have a favor to ask. I plan to install watchposts on all the paths leading to the West Mountain Range. You go to the site and protect the workers from monsters.”

“Will you be alright without me?”

Arthur gave a meaningful smile and turned his head toward the Sparring Arena.

“From now on, all I need is a whistle.”

        *        *        *

A week later.

“Shout to the front for five seconds!”

Aaaaaah~!

The Trainees shouted with all their might.

Arthur spoke in a voice devoid of any emotion.

“Today's training is a mountain run.”

“...!”

It was completely out of the blue.

They all looked puzzled for a moment, then smiles appeared on their faces.

To them, who had been doing PT Exercises for a whole week, this news was as welcome as rain in a drought.

“Before the run, we'll start with warm-ups. Prepare for PT number 1! A light 10 reps. How many reps?”

10 reps!

“Omit the last count. Begin 10 reps!”

Tweet-tweet! Tweet!

One-!

Tweet-tweet-tweet! Tweet!

Two-!

Arthur blew the whistle Millerf had made for him in time with the rhythm.

The Trainees synchronized their movements to the sound of the whistle with military precision.

Watching from a distance, Andrew and Leusanna looked on in wonder.

“Isn't it cool?”

“It is. How do they get their movements so perfectly synchronized?”

“I was talking about Young Master Arthur?”

Andrew looked at Leusanna.

“Ah…”

Leusanna, slightly embarrassed, shifted her gaze toward Arthur.

He had the hat she made for him pulled down low, continuously blowing the whistle.

He had changed so much that his former self was unrecognizable, and he now exuded a powerful image.

“He's certainly changed.”

Just as Leusanna nodded.

“Ten!”

One of the Trainees shouted the last count loudly.

“Hmph.”

Andrew grimaced and shook his head.

“There's always one.”

“Right. If only they'd focus a little.”

The two looked at the Trainees with pity before heading back inside the castle.

Meanwhile, a heavy silence fell over the Sparring Arena.

‘Aish!’

‘Damn it! Which bastard was that!’

‘Fucking moron! How could you mess this up!’

They couldn't say anything, but they were fuming inside.

Arthur stared intently at the Trainee who had shouted the last count and said.

“Can't get your head in the game, huh? One hundred reps.”

One hundred reps!

Arthur blew his whistle.

Tweet-tweet! Tweet!

After that, the last count kept being shouted, and the warm-up only ended after they had done one hundred reps each of PT 1 through 8.

Arthur led the sweat-drenched group on the mountain run.

Leaving the castle, he ran toward the West Mountain Range.

The Trainees following behind were startled, and questions clouded their faces.

‘The West Mountain Range?’

‘Why are we going this way?’

‘What if we run into Orcs without any weapons…’

Worry began to pile up on everyone's faces.

Skevin, having received no notice from Arthur, was also extremely curious.

‘What is he thinking now…’

Everyone's mind was filled with worry and questions, but that was short-lived, as they soon became busy just trying to keep up with Arthur.

About 30 minutes passed like that.

Arthur's steps came to a halt.

The Trainees following him also stopped and looked at Arthur.

Skevin, who had been closely following Arthur, came up beside him and asked.

“Why the sudden stop?”

“Look over there.”

Where Arthur pointed, a huge tree could be seen, and on top of it, a small watchtower had been built.

“Huh? Since when was that there?”

“I ordered Millerf to do it.”

“Ah, so this is why Sir Millerf has been absent.”

“Today's mountain run will double as an inspection of the installed watchtowers, so tell the Trainees to remember the locations well.”

“Yes, sir.”

Just as Skevin was relaying Arthur's orders to the Trainees.

‘This is!’

The moment he felt killing intent, a Goblin suddenly popped out of the forest.

“Gasp! It's a monster!”

“A Goblin has appeared!”

The Trainees' eyes went wide, and even the Knights were so flustered by the sudden situation that they could only stare blankly.

Only Skevin, who had sensed the killing intent, ran toward the Goblin.

The Goblin rushed at the closest person, Arthur, and swung a small knife.

Arthur, having also felt their killing intent, calmly dodged the knife.

From the space behind where he had dodged, another Goblin jumped out and swung an axe with all its might.

The axe fell toward Arthur's head.

A life-or-death moment!

No!

Just as everyone's faces contorted.

Arthur's Sixth Sense activated.

An alarm bell rang in his head as if warning of danger, and his body moved instinctively, narrowly dodging the axe by a paper-thin margin.

“Get lost!”

He quickly drew a dagger from his lower back and plunged it into the Goblin's nape.

Keo-ek!

The Goblin screamed and collapsed with a thud.

“Are you alright?”

Just as Skevin approached to check on Arthur.

The alarm bell rang again.

‘Something else is coming!’

Simultaneously, Skevin also sensed killing intent and threw himself to the side with Arthur.

Thwack!

From where the Goblin had jumped out, something like an arrowhead flew and embedded itself in a tree.

“These bastards!”

Hellot exploded with rage and plunged into the forest.