Chapter 1260: Screams and Crumbling Walls ( 1260 )

"We don’t know, Sire. Perhaps it’s just the wind passing by," Lurzan said with an arrogant shrug, dismissing the sound.

Mulkas smirked and tilted his head again when he heard a distant explosion.

"Did our units have training nearby?"

Bankar chuckled. "Perhaps they’re just excited, Sire. Maybe they’re testing out the new cannons and flintlock muskets that arrived yesterday."

"Good. This means our soldiers are growing stronger with the new weapons." Mulkas glanced at Bankar again. "So, did you send one of the flintlock muskets to our local blacksmith? Perhaps there’s a way to improve it further?"

"Already done, Sire. The local blacksmith has been handsomely rewarded. He’s currently disassembling and reassembling the musket, studying its mechanism to find a way to replicate or improve it. With enough time, we might be able to produce our own muskets without relying on Viscount Dasmen’s supply."

Mulkas nodded, satisfied. "Good. We need every advantage we can get. If he can improve the design, we’ll mass-produce it and give our soldiers an even greater edge."

Just as they were about to continue their celebration, the explosion sounds grew louder. Countless blasts echoed from the distance, accompanied by screams and the distinct whirling sound, now much closer than before.

"Harghh! What is it now!?" Mulkas barked angrily.

"Lurzan!"

"Yes, Sire?"

"Go check what’s happening!" Mulkas barked. "And if those idiots are playing too much with the flintlock muskets or cannons, I’ll have them punished! I don’t want our celebration ruined by their childish games!" Mulkas growled, his mood souring from the loud disruptions.

Lurzan smirked and stood up, grabbing his already reloaded flint musket and placing it casually on his shoulder as he walked toward the door with an arrogant, swaggering step.

But he paused when the door suddenly burst open.

A knight in gleaming golden armor stood at the entrance, dual golden mana guns in both hands, a golden cape flowing behind him. His full helm was golden, his presence commanding and imposing. He kicked the door open, crushing it off its hinges.

"What’s up, assholes?"

Mulkas’s eyes widened in shock and fury.

"Who are you?! Don’t you know this place is an official military headquarters? You dare trespass here without permission?"

"Eh?" the golden knight tilted his head, his voice echoing from the helmet. "Did I arrive at the wrong building?"

He shrugged, glancing at the piles of gold scattered around the room. "Well... wrong or not, you all will die here."

Mulkas gritted his teeth and pointed at the golden knight, barking a command.

"Shoot him!"

All the officers raised their flintlock muskets and fired at him, but none of the bullets scratched his armor. The golden knight stood unmoved, his armor gleaming under the barrage of shots.

"Ahh~ Now you shot first. I was going to... you know... spare all of you." Javier’s voice chuckled through the knight’s speaker, calm and amused. "But since you attacked first..."

The golden knight’s eyes gleamed as they locked onto the piles of gold.

"Well... let’s just say... rest well, traitors."

The golden knight raised both of his dual golden guns and began firing with precise accuracy. Each shot found its mark, a single bullet to the head for every officer in the room. Bodies dropped one by one, thudding against the floor.

Mulkas tried to scramble away, but two shots rang out, hitting both of his feet. He collapsed to the ground with a scream of agony, clutching his shattered ankles as the golden knight calmly stepped over the fallen bodies toward him.

"Oooh~ What’s with the scream, traitor? Hmm?"

"How dare you trespass and attack a military headquarters! I am General Mulkas of the New Mathrias Army! You will pay for this insolence!" Mulkas snarled through gritted teeth, still arrogant despite the pain.

"Oh? Who?" The golden knight pulled out a blank piece of paper and quickly drew a crude, funny wanted poster with a gold reward scribbled beneath it. "I’m a bounty hunter, you know... Ah, more precisely, a traitor hunter."

"How dare you, a lowly mercenary, defy me! I am a General!"

"Well... not so much for a general rank anyway. Compared to Armand’s General Hesbeirn... ah, no... even compared to Armand’s guards, you’re far weaker."

"A... Armand?" Mulkas stammered, his eyes widening.

"What’s with the surprise? Didn’t you recognize this emblem here?" The golden knight gestured proudly at his clean golden armor.

"W... what?" Mulkas stared, confusion and fear mixing in his eyes.

The golden knight tapped his helmet with his knuckle. "Oopsie. Forgot this one doesn’t have the Armand emblem, since I’ll be using it for... well..." He chuckled. "You don’t need to know."

Mulkas gritted his teeth, his voice trembling. "Soon my soldiers will hunt you down!"

"Ah... I don’t think so." The golden knight raised one finger to the chin of his helmet and tapped it thoughtfully. "My father’s command is simple: KILL ALL THE TRAITORS AND LEAVE NONE ALIVE."

Mulkas’s eyes widened in sheer terror.

"Ah~ Don’t worry. I really want to kill you right here, right now... but my father’s command is absolute, and I don’t want trouble with him, you know? If I disobey this command, I’m sure he’ll put me through a pain-in-the-ass training session with him. So I’d rather not."

"W... who is your father?" Mulkas stammered, his voice shaking.

"Eh? I didn’t tell you yet?" The knight stood up straight, placing both hands on his hips.

"His name is GARIUS. DE. ARMAND."

He leaned forward, his voice cold and clear.

"More precisely, the Sovereign King of Armand Nation."

Javier chuckled as he watched the look of pure terror spread across Mulkas’s face.

"Aw~ Don’t give me that look. It’s not like I’m mad that you forgot to address me as YOUR HIGHNESS."

Javier grinned, watching the blood oozing from Mulkas’s legs.

"Ooh~ That’s not good. If you die here, my father will be mad at me~ And I don’t want him to be mad at me, you know~ He’ll surely say something like..." Javier mimicked his father’s deep, authoritative voice. "’You didn’t think you were too strong now, did you? How about a practice duel with me? Hmm?’"

The golden knight hugged his body with both hands and pretended to shiver dramatically. "Wuuu~ I’d rather not. It’s too troublesome, too tiring, and I never win anyway."

He snapped his fingers, and a syringe materialized in his hand along with a small bottle of glowing liquid.

"Ah~ For now... we should stop the bleeding."

He reached for Mulkas’s leg, gripping it firmly with the knight’s powerful hand. Mulkas screamed in agony as Javier injected the liquid into the wound.

"Ah... hurt? ’So. rry.’" Javier mocked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The bleeding slowed, then stopped completely.

"Ah... I forgot. I could use healing magic, but..." Javier sneered. "You’d be able to run if I did that, and that would cause me huge trouble, you know~"

Mulkas’s eyes widened in full-blown terror. Outside, he could hear the sounds of distant screams, gunfire, and explosions, along with the crumbling of border walls and battlement structures. The sounds of his army being slaughtered echoed in the background.

"Well... that’s why you were supposed to not betray your lord." Javier chuckled darkly.

"Especially when the lord is a kind, just ruler."

He leaned down, his voice dropping to a cold whisper.

"And when he was... an ARMAND ally."

( End Of Chapter )