The Count's Gun-Shooting Scoundrel

After the spar with Skevin, Arthur pushed himself even more harshly.

Seeing this, Millerf found it relentless and couldn't understand him.

His current growth rate was unbelievably fast.

To be acknowledged by the Knight Commander after only a month of training was a huge development.

Of course, it was partly due to Teheran's Mana Training Method, but Skevin was the guardian deity of the House of the Count.

Having reached the highest level of Sword Expert, he was a man destined to one day become a Sword Master.

Although Skevin hadn't given his all, the mere fact that Arthur had finished the spar unscathed was astonishing.

And yet, Arthur, unsatisfied and putting even more pressure on himself, was nothing short of marvelous.

‘Even so…’

A slightly worried expression appeared on Millerf’s face.

There was an order to everything in the world.

There were things that could only be obtained by climbing the stairs step by step.

A prime example of this was strength.

To obtain it required long hours of effort.

Yet Arthur was trying to break that natural order.

He pushed his body to its limits, using magic to minimize his rest time.

Sooner or later, a backlash would surely occur.

There was a need to put a stop to it at least once, and it seemed now was that time.

“Hah, hah, hah.”

Arthur came up from below the castle wall, panting for breath.

He had been going up and down the stairs all day while wearing plate armor that weighed roughly 20kg.

The way he overworked himself was not just relentless, but horrifying.

Drenched in sweat, Arthur didn't lie down on the floor upon reaching the top of the wall.

He drew the dagger from his back and thrust and swung it as if an enemy were before him.

With every movement, beads of sweat scattered in all directions.

Only after doing that for a good while did he stop and approach Millerf.

“Heal.”

“I need to talk to you.”

“If you're going to tell me to take it easy, don't bother.”

“If you keep this up, not just your body but your mind could collapse.”

“That won't happen.”

Arthur looked out beyond the castle, recalling old memories.

Before entering Tier 1, America's strongest special forces unit, he had moved through various units and undergone numerous training regimens.

Among them, the training he received while serving in the Navy SEALs was enough to make him shudder even now.

In full gear, he had gone a week without sleep, repeating shooting drills and 20km runs.

As soon as that was over, he would immediately enter tactical training that was practically a real battle.

It was an infernal training where the moment you lost focus, you'd be turned into a beehive by bullets flying from all directions.

It truly allowed one to experience the limits of a human being.

And the thousand-li march he'd done during his time in the Special Forces was no less grueling.

It was a 400km march over a week, and when combined with tactical training, it was hell itself.

Compared to that training, what he was doing now was nothing.

Moreover, since he was even getting help from Millerf's magic, it was no different from an emperor's training.

“Hmph.”

Arthur gave a bitter smile and asked Millerf.

“Do you know how strong humans can be?”

“You speak as if you've reached the very pinnacle.”

“Do I?”

“I never knew you had such a talent for making people curious, Young Master.”

“A talent for making people curious…”

Arthur looked at the distant sky with a meaningful expression.

A moment of silence passed between the two.

After several minutes had passed.

Arthur opened his mouth.

“I have a favor to ask.”

“Please, speak.”

“I'm curious about Wesley's status. It's been quite a while since he led the Knight Order to the western mountains, hasn't it?”

“That is true.”

“We should assume there's about a month left until the domain war. To get the domain in order, he and the Knight Order need to return as soon as possible. It's too much for Aild or me to handle, isn't it?”

“You were thinking that far ahead?”

Millerf had thought he was only absorbed in training, but a smile spread across his face at the fact that Arthur was looking at the bigger picture.

“From now on, I'm changing my training method, so you don't have to stick by my side.”

“Understood.”

Just as Millerf bowed his head.

“Sir Millerf!”

Andrew's urgent voice was heard.

Millerf and Arthur turned around.

Andrew came panting up the stairs and continued his words.

“Y-Young Master Wesley…”

“...!”

Millerf quickly cast a Feather Fall spell and jumped down.

A sudden wind blew, wrapped around his body, and he dropped swiftly to the ground below.

Arthur, who had only ever received healing magic, was inwardly surprised to see a different kind of spell.

But he soon came to his senses and asked Andrew.

“What is it?”

“He has returned in an unconscious state.”

“Hmm.”

Arthur frowned and descended.

        *        *        *

At the castle entrance, the Knight Order and Wesley had arrived.

Everyone was in a sorry state, and a third of them were like defeated soldiers, leaning against the wall or collapsed on the ground, groaning in pain.

Hearing that Wesley had arrived, Madeline also came outside.

“Wesley is here?”

Leusanna approached her, her eyes welling with tears.

“My Lady, the Young Master, *sob, sob*.”

“What is it? Where's Wesley?”

Just as Madeline was becoming flustered.

Millerf landed from the sky and moved toward the knights.

They moved aside to both left and right, clearing a path, and the figure of Wesley lying on a stretcher was revealed.

“Ugh…”

Millerf’s face hardened.

His entire body was gruesomely torn as if clawed by something sharp, and the wounds had a dark brown tint.

“This is!”

He was poisoned.

But the wounds were too large and deep to have been caused by a Goblin.

‘Then by what in the world…!’

In that moment, something flashed in his mind.

Orcs!

One could receive such wounds from the magical attacks of an Orc Shaman.

‘If it's Orcs…’

Just as Millerf's face was hardening.

One of the knights shouted.

“There were Orcs!”

“As I thought.”

His ominous premonition was correct.

If so, the Goblins must have come down to the domain to escape the Orcs.

First, he decided to treat the poison.

As he chanted ‘Cure,’ his staff glowed and enveloped Wesley's body.

He followed it with recovery magic.

But the light showed no signs of fading.

“Don't tell me?”

Millerf stopped the magic and quickly inspected Wesley's wounds meticulously.

Decay was progressing from the inside.

“Ugh…”

Millerf let out a low groan.

“Wesley!”

Madeline approached and collapsed next to Wesley, gripping his hand tightly.

“What happened! Open your eyes.”

Arthur, who had just come down from the castle wall, also approached Wesley.

He frowned upon seeing his condition.

It reminded him of when his old comrades had been struck down by monsters.

With wounds like that, the chance of survival was slim.

He hadn't grown deeply attached to Wesley, but a wave of sorrow washed over him as he was one of the few who had bothered to speak to him.

“Do something!”

Madeline looked at Millerf, her voice choked with tears.

“...I'm sorry.”

“Then, Wesley is…”

As if in shock, Madeline collapsed on the spot and fainted.

Just as Millerf was about to quickly cast a spell, Arthur approached and grabbed his arm that held the staff.

“Leave her.”

“...?”

“It might be better for her to stay unconscious.”

Arthur examined Wesley's wounds and asked Millerf.

“I want to talk to him. Is it possible?”

“It will be possible, if only for a short while.”

Millerf chanted in the Runic language and cast the 5th-circle magic, 'Great Heal'.

A pure white light enveloped Wesley's body, and he opened his eyes.

“Ughh…”

Arthur knelt on one knee at his head.

“What happened?”

“I'm sorry for letting you see me like this…”

“What did this to you?”

“An Orc Shaman…”

“Hmm…”

Arthur's face hardened.

In the monster food chain, Orcs were the higher-level predators of Goblins.

The Goblins must have come down to the village to escape the Orcs.

He suddenly recalled the strange cry he had heard back then.

It was unlikely that Orcs would make such a sound; it seemed there was something else in the western mountains.

He decided to check on that later and ask about the Orcs for now.

“How many?”

“At least five hundred…”

“Hmm.”

Arthur's gaze deepened as he clenched his fist and met Wesley's eyes.

“Leave the rest to me.”

At his determined voice, the light in Wesley's eyes wavered.

He was certainly not the man he used to be.

The sight of him now was as reassuring as facing Skevin.

“I will protect this place, no matter what.”

At Arthur's continued words, Wesley felt the worry and anxiety that had filled his heart stabilize, and a smile unknowingly formed on his lips.

“Thank you.”

“Brother!”

Aild, also having heard the news, rushed over in a hurry and collapsed beside him.

“What is going on! Get up, now!”

Aild wailed, shouting at the top of his lungs.

Skevin, who was at the training ground, also heard the news about Wesley and rushed over with the Knight Order.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and heal him…!”

Seeing Millerf's grim face, he seemed to realize the situation and wore a look of utter despair.

“Y-Young Master…”

Everyone was at a loss, faced with the sudden tragic news.

Among them, only Arthur was assessing the situation with a cold gaze.

If Skevin was the guardian deity of the House of Count Julius, Wesley was its spiritual anchor and pillar.

If he died, the count's family would surely be shaken.

If there wasn't someone to hold things together at a time like this, they might self-destruct before even fighting the domain war.

“Hmm.”

Arthur looked at Wesley. Sadness and apology crossed his face.

He was surely grieving for the people submerged in sorrow and feeling sorry for not being able to protect them.

Seeing him thinking of them until his last breath reminded Arthur of his old comrades.

They had departed in the midst of fierce battles, so he had never been able to give them a proper send-off.

Because of that, it had always remained a debt in his heart.

That was why he didn't want to send Wesley off like that.

Arthur stood up and approached Skevin.

“Assemble the Knight Order.”

“Sir?”

“We are sending him off.”

“...!”

In that instant, something clicked in Skevin's mind.

He cleared his throat and shouted with all his might.

“Everyone, fall in!”

At his shout, the eyes of the Knight Order flashed.

As if Skevin's feelings had been conveyed, all the knights lined up in rank and file before him.

The trainees also went and stood behind the Knight Order.

Arthur shifted his gaze to Millerf.

“Wake my mother. Leusanna, I'll count on you when she wakes.”

He didn't forget to add a word to the crying Aild.

“Let him go with a smile.”

“O-okay…”

Aild wiped his tears with the back of his hand and said to Wesley.

“Brother, don't worry about Mother. And I'll be sure to get revenge on the bastards who did this to you.”

“...Yes, and this…”

Wesley removed the ring from his finger and handed it to Aild.

It was the ring symbolizing the head of the family.

“B-brother, *sob, sob*.”

Aild nodded, tears streaming down his face endlessly.

Once all preparations were complete, Millerf cast a spell and woke Madeline.

As soon as she woke, Madeline hugged Wesley and wailed.

“Wesley! You can't die! Millerf! Don't just stand there, do something!”

“My Lady, please calm down.”

Leusanna also comforted her while crying.

‘Mother…’

Wesley looked at Millerf and Skevin with a sad expression.

Then, his gaze finally came to rest on Arthur.

Wesley, whose eyes met his, conveyed his feelings through his gaze.

‘The Grada domain, and the House of Count Julius... please protect them. And I'm sorry.’

There was no way it could be conveyed, but he still wished his feelings would reach him.

Arthur nodded, as he had already guessed what Wesley would say even without him speaking.

“I know.”

“Thank…”

Wesley closed his eyes with a faint smile.

Simultaneously, Arthur shouted.

“Everyone, attention!”

Shk!

The knights snapped to attention with razor-sharp precision.

“To Wesley Julius, salute!”

Shhk!

The assembled Knight Order and trainees raised their swords in unison before their faces.

A single tear streamed down from Wesley's closed eye.

“Wesley!”

Madeline screamed and fainted again, while Aild cried out as if his throat would burst.

“Brother! No!”

Millerf quietly chanted in the Runic language, blessing Wesley on his final journey.

And.

Arthur looked up at the sky with a contorted face.

He had thought the war with those monsters was over...

Not only anger, but his blood felt like it was boiling in reverse.

It truly made him shudder.

‘What a fucking destiny.’