Chapter 16
Chapter 16
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Promised Weapon
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***
One week later.
Ban showed up carrying a long box on his shoulder, just as promised, and sought out Arthur.
“I’ve come on the agreed date.”
“You made it?”
Arthur eyed the long box with a hint of anticipation.
“Take a look first.”
As Ban started to set the box on the ground, Arthur grabbed his hand to stop him.
“Let’s move somewhere else.”
Arthur led him to the archery training grounds behind the castle.
Once there, Ban placed the box on a table.
“Go ahead and open it.”
“Hmm.”
Arthur carefully opened the box with a serious expression.
Inside lay an item almost identical to his former alter ego, the Cheytac M200—differing only in color.
“What? You actually made it!”
Arthur let out an exclamation as he pulled out the Cheytac and examined it from every angle.
After a moment.
“What’s this?”
There was something that hadn’t been on the blueprints.
Ban scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“I couldn’t make it exactly as requested. I threw in everything I had, including alchemy, to get as close as possible.”
His attitude and tone toward Arthur were markedly different from before.
He seemed to have accepted his defeat in the bet.
“Let’s see.”
Arthur inspected it closely, then grinned.
It must have been too difficult to implement automatic fire, so it was set for single shots.
Now that he looked, it resembled the rifle’s early models.
“You can’t tell just by looking.”
Arthur picked up one of the steel-ball-like projectiles from the box. He loaded it into the Cheytac, shouldered the buttstock.
‘So that’s the stance for using it.’
Ban watched Arthur’s odd posture, lost in thought.
Arthur placed his index finger on the trigger and peered through the scope.
It functioned mostly as a telescope, but it was still leagues better than nothing.
He focused on the archery target far in the distance.
After a few seconds.
Arthur held his breath and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
An enormous bang echoed as the projectile launched from the muzzle.
“Hmm...”
Arthur’s face stiffened.
The recoil jolted his shoulder back hard.
He reloaded and shouldered it again.
Bang!
Same result.
“Hmm.”
Arthur’s expression didn’t soften.
He’d tried to minimize the recoil for firing, but it wasn’t easy.
The distance to the target was about a hundred meters.
He’d missed both times.
He could hit targets precisely from 2 kilometers away, but this rifle’s performance was worlds apart.
‘To control the recoil first...’
Arthur shifted his upper body’s center forward and put more force into the shouldered buttstock.
He stared piercingly at the target, steadied his breathing, and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
‘A bit more...’
As Arthur adapted to the weapon, Millerph and Skevin came rushing over at the sound of gunfire.
“Young Master!”
“What’s going on?”
Ban bowed politely to them before answering.
“It’s the sound from the weapon I made.”
“So that’s what the Young Master requested?”
Millerph stared at the Cheytac, brimming with curiosity.
Skevin eyed the unfamiliar Cheytac with a meaningful look.
“That’s the Young Master’s...”
Bang!
“...!”
The thunderous gunshot made Millerph and Skevin’s eyes go wide.
It had been impressive from afar, but up close, it was terrifying.
The sound alone could intimidate foes.
Yet nothing special happened beyond the loud noise.
It seemed aimed at the target.
The two exchanged puzzled glances.
‘A failure after all.’
As Ban showed disappointment, Arthur grabbed a handful of projectiles from the box. He reloaded, aimed at the target.
Millerph gripped his staff tightly.
‘I need to confirm.’
He stared intently at the muzzle.
Bang!
As the shot rang out, Millerph chanted a rune spell, casting ‘Hawk Eye’ on everyone except Arthur.
They witnessed the projectile launch from the muzzle and followed its path.
It struck the target dead center, shattering it to pieces.
“Gasp!”
“What!”
“No way...”
Everyone was stunned.
But Arthur kept a stern face as he reloaded and took position again.
Bang!
With the next shot, the target beside the shattered one exploded too.
Arthur continued operating the weapon and firing.
The projectiles clustered closer to the target’s center with each shot, and the recoil lessened gradually.
The targets shattered without fail, of course.
“Now the sights are properly zeroed.”
Only then did Arthur show a satisfied expression.
Skevin stared at the wisp of smoke trailing from the Cheytac’s muzzle, impressed by its power.
‘Incredible. Up close, it’d pierce armor.’
Arthur, who’d been focused on the targets, turned to Skevin.
“Could a crossbow shatter a target like that?”
Skevin answered promptly.
“It depends on the size. Personal ones can’t manage it.”
“What about an orc’s body?”
“It wouldn’t fully penetrate, but a vital hit would kill.”
“I see.”
Arthur nodded, then turned to Ban.
“What are the projectiles made of?”
“Steel.”
“If we made them from something stronger than steel, the destructive power would increase, right?”
“Yes. But it’d double the production time, and anything beyond steel starts with mithril at minimum—which isn’t easy to obtain.”
“Mithril, huh...”
Arthur glanced at Millerph.
Millerph gave an awkward smile.
“Getting it right away would be tough.”
“How long?”
“At least six months, and we don’t know how much we could secure.”
“Can’t we buy it with money?”
“We could ask merchants, but most rare ores are pre-reserved by other territories. It won’t be easy for you, Young Master.”
“I didn’t realize it was that precious.”
“The territory hasn’t traded much in ages...”
“Enough. It’s usable enough for now.”
Arthur slung the Cheytac over his shoulder with a satisfied look.
The feel against his body was similar to his old one.
‘It lives up to the hype.’
He’d heard it was exceptional, but not to this degree.
Without showing surprise, he calmly asked.
“Don’t you have one more thing for me?”
“I made it from the leftover mithril.”
Ban opened the bottom of the Cheytac’s box and pulled something out.
A kukri knife.
“Ah~.”
The blade gleamed as if reflecting the entire sun, sharper than any weapon Arthur had seen.
Above all, it matched his vision perfectly, leaving him unable to hide his amazement.
“Not bad.”
Arthur thrust and swung the kukri through the air.
Swish, swish.
The sound of cutting wind was utterly satisfying.
“Very good.”
Despite the praise, Ban kept his head bowed.
Arthur smirked at his reaction and tucked the kukri into his waistband.
“You accept the results?”
“I’ll become your servant as promised.”
“...!”
Millerph and Skevin’s eyes bulged.
Ban was ferocious, but a master smith inheriting dwarven craft.
His pride soared as high as any dwarf’s.
For him to serve Arthur as a servant.
They stared at Ban in bewilderment.
“But I have a condition.”
“A condition?”
“I didn’t make it perfectly, but I did produce it, right?”
“Not wrong. Go on.”
“I’ll be your servant as a blacksmith. Nothing else.”
He was clinging to the last shred of pride.
“I wasn’t planning to assign you other tasks anyway. Treat the castle forge as your home.”
“Understood.”
Ban dropped to one knee and bowed deeply to Arthur.
“Ban Natalia, I swear to serve Arthur Julius until my dying breath.”
That evening.
Arthur summoned Skevin to the ramparts and asked about the knight order.
“How does the Phoenix Knight Order compare to other territories’ orders right now?”
“Pre-training, they were above average. Now, they’re probably in the empire’s top five.”
“And the other aspects?”
“In scale, they’re about half of others.”
“Then tell me what you know about Yarve Count’s knight order.”
“The Rose Knight Order is over half mercenaries. We’re superior in skill, but they’re at least twice our size.”
“What about comparing the captains?”
“Well...”
Skevin hesitated before speaking cautiously.
“According to intel, they’re recruiting a Sword Master.”
“A Sword Master...”
Arthur’s face hardened.
If he were Yarve, he’d aim to conquer Grada in this territory war.
Their ace was obvious.
The Julius Count side had only the Phoenix Knight Order and trainees.
Even combined, they fell short of the Rose Knight Order’s forces.
The situation was graver than expected.
“Hmm...”
Arthur’s gaze deepened.
Skevin waited silently for him to speak.
Minutes passed.
Staring at the village, Arthur spoke.
“We need to form a new knight order.”
“...!”
Skevin asked in surprise.
“You’re not disbanding the Phoenix...”
“We’ll keep it as is.”
“Then...”
“I’m thinking a knight order specialized in guerrilla warfare. You’ll resume instructor duties from now.”
“Weren’t you going to keep doing it?”
“I’ll scout trainees for the new order while observing. Physical training’s done. Now it’s weapons training—you’re better suited.”
“But...”
Skevin recalled Arthur’s dagger skills against the orc.
Perfect for ambushes or quick kills.
He’d hoped to learn it during weapons training, but decided to postpone.
“When do we start?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Understood.”
“Don’t mention the new order to the trainees yet. I’ll announce it when the time comes.”
“Yes.”
Skevin bowed respectfully and left. Soon after, Millerph arrived.
“You’re still here this late?”
“Had some questions. What brings you at this hour?”
“I couldn’t sleep after seeing that weapon today, Young Master. Please satisfy my curiosity. How do you know of such a weapon?”
Arthur had prepared an answer, expecting the question.
“It’s one Teheran used.”
“I knew it. May I know its name?”
“Cheytac.”
“Hmm, sounds like it carries deep meaning.”
As Millerph’s eyes deepened, Arthur reminisced and added.
“You’ll see—it’s a beast.”
“With Teheran’s weapons in Julius hands now, the family’s rise is all that’s left.”
“Too many hurdles first.”
Arthur gave a wry smile and continued.
“By the way. Do people have aptitudes tied to their temperament too?”
“Of course. Temperaments come with specialized abilities.”
“First I’ve heard. What’s mine specialized in?”
“Bloodlight neutralizes all temperament abilities. But it requires reaching a certain level to use.”
“Fitting for a tyrant.”
Arthur smiled contentedly and turned toward the training grounds.
“That’s where we start.”