The Returned Lord Is a Genius of Gun Law - Chapter 14
chapter 14
The Assassin’s Guild
The Returning Lord: Gun Law Genius, Episode 14
Episode 14
The Assassin’s Guild.
They had wielded considerable influence even before the gate connected Earth and Amyr. Amidst the chaos following the Great War, they had further expanded their power.
With the gate’s connection, they absorbed various technologies from other realms. This enhanced their already formidable assassination skills, which they then turned against the very realms and Amyr that had nurtured them.
This was why the Assassin’s Guild, which had still used medieval-level equipment just decades ago, maintained its formidable reputation.
And now.
Thud, thud
The assassins prowling Crocus Castle were a living testament to what modern-day guild assassins looked like.
Instead of daggers and crossbows, they carried silenced pistols. In place of masks to conceal their faces, they wore stab-proof masks and old-fashioned night-vision goggles. They advanced slowly but steadily toward their target, making no sound.
Their target was none other than Baron Eugene Crocus, the new lord of this castle.
The assassins knew nothing of the reasons for his death or who had ordered it. For foot soldiers like them, such details were irrelevant.
They simply carried out their orders.
Click
The assassin in the lead signaled, and the two behind him naturally spread out.
Soon, they stood on either side of the massive gate blocking their path.
They already knew from the map provided by their client that the lord’s bedroom lay beyond this door.
All that remained was to breach the tightly locked gate, end the lord’s life within, and make their escape.
It didn’t matter if they couldn’t return. They had been brainwashed to fear death no more anyway.
Clack
They casually attached a substantial amount of explosives, brought from Earth, to the massive door and crouched down in preparation for the explosion.
Beep, beep, beep
Now, the moment the beeping stopped, the door would explode, creating an opening for them to enter. An opening for the grim reapers who would send the lord to the underworld.
Clutching the pistols in their hands, they silently waited for the explosives on the door to detonate.
But there was one thing they hadn’t anticipated.
Screech—!
Before the explosives could detonate, the door swung open from the inside.
Though this was an unexpected development, the assassins didn’t panic. They immediately retreated.
Contrary to their expectations, the lord seemed to be awake, but it would still take time for the bomb they’d planted on the door to explode.
If the explosion killed their target, that would be ideal. If not, they’d simply finish him off themselves. After all, the Earth weapons in their hands were symbols of trust, having sent countless souls to the afterlife.
KWA-ANG!
Finally, the bomb they’d planted on the door detonated.
The assassins, who had turned their heads to protect their eyes from the blast, immediately spun around and charged into the lord’s bedroom as the searing heat subsided.
Roll-roll-roll…
Until they spotted a long, cylindrical object rolling out of the bedroom toward the door.
“…!”
The assassins froze at the sight of the unidentified cylinder.
Faaah-!
A light brighter than the sun blinded their eyes and obscured their night-vision goggles.
“Aaaaargh—!”
The moment a horrific scream echoed from beyond the door, Yujin didn’t hesitate. He hurled himself through the now-shattered entrance.
The scene outside matched his expectations perfectly.
“Ughhh…”
“Haaah…”
Amidst the green-tinged world, assassins with single lenses protruding where their eyes should have been rolled on the ground.
As if in excruciating pain, blood trickled from their eyes and ear canals as they struggled to remove their night-vision goggles.
It was proof that the flashbang Yujin threw had worked as intended.
As expected, something you can get in Amir wouldn’t survive intact.
Light-amplifying night-vision goggles, designed to enhance ambient light in darkness, were vulnerable to intense light sources like flashbangs.
Of course, a standard military night vision device would normally have safety mechanisms to prevent it from harming the user, even if it malfunctioned. But for a device that had endured decades of battlefields and been sold to another world, it was more bizarre that its safety mechanisms were still functioning perfectly.
“Aaaah…!”
The result was the assassins writhing on the ground before me.
“L-Lord!”
It was at that moment that Captain Jerome and the guards rushed in.
“My Lord, are you safe… Gasp!”
Jerome, who had raced to Eugene’s bedroom in shock from the explosion, abruptly swallowed his words.
Before his eyes stood a monstrous figure clad in the lord’s robes.
Most striking were the goggles connected to the man’s helmet.
Instead of human eyes, four elongated, protruding circles were arranged horizontally.
As Jerome faced the utterly inhuman form before him, a single word came to mind:
The Demon of Your Eyes.
It was a legend, one that had swept through Amir for over a decade, tales of the Earth-dwellers. Among these legends were absurd stories of individuals who single-handedly swept through earldoms or defeated the dragon guardians roaming beyond the northern border. Jerome, too, had dismissed these tales as mere fables spun by wandering bards and drunkards.
But…
…Could it really have existed? The Demon of Your Eyes?
The moment a monster with four eyes materialized before him, Jerome could no longer dismiss the legend as mere fiction.
And then…
“You’re late.”
Click.
As Jerome met the cold face of the young lord revealed behind the spider-like four eyes, he froze, unable to utter a word.
The situation was finally resolved just after dawn, as the sun began to rise in the east.
“All the assassins who attacked the Lord are now imprisoned in the underground cells. Thanks to their unconscious state, we managed to remove their suicide poison, so we should be able to uncover their backers through interrogation.”
Eugene shook his head at Jerome, who was reporting after the cleanup. “They’re just low-level members of the guild. They wouldn’t know anything about the client.”
Eugene was well-acquainted with the assassins’ guild; he had even faced them directly before. Though this was the first time he had fought one, his PMC experience had given him ample knowledge of their organizational structure.
Based on his experience, interrogation would likely yield nothing from these men.
“My Lord, then what shall we do with them?”
“Dispose of them. We can’t afford to have our soldiers injured by some brainwashing trick.”
“Yes, yes, my Lord.”
Jerome nodded, a slightly flustered expression on his face as he looked at his Lord.
The night’s commotion had kept him from sleeping a wink, yet not a trace of fatigue could be seen on Eugene’s face.
Seeing this, Jerome recalled the night’s events.
And the image of the Lord before him.
Could it be… my Lord, are you the demon in your four eyes?
The four-eyed helmet Eugene wore.
As the image surfaced in his mind, Jerome involuntarily shuddered.
“Is something wrong?” Eugene asked, frowning at Jerome’s strange demeanor.
“Ah, no. I’m just a bit tired,” Jerome replied, forcing a shake of his head.
He doesn’t seem to want to hide it, but it wouldn’t be proper for me to ask directly.
After all, I can’t just ask, “Could it be… the demon in your eyes?”
Jerome decided it was best to keep the secret until the Lord explained it himself.
“Where’s the Knight Commander?”
“He’s currently leading the knights in a search of the entire castle. He said we should be on the lookout for any hidden enemies.”
“That’s a pointless waste of time. Tell him to come back.”
“But…”
“If there’s a second assassination attempt, is it wise to have the territory’s best forces out on patrol?”
“…”
“Besides, there’s no need to broadcast that assassins have stormed the place. Tell the knights to continue their training as usual, except for the few needed for guard duty.”
“…Understood, my Lord.”
Unable to refute Eugene’s logic, Jerome nodded and sent soldiers to the knights’ barracks.
Just then—
“My Lord.”
Beruf, the head steward, approached Eugene.
“Are you feeling alright? I heard there was a major incident last night…”
“I’m fine.”
The butler, his face etched with worry, asked about Eugene’s well-being. Eugene nodded lightly.
“Those despicable bastards… First they threatened the previous lord, and now they’re threatening you too. And with Earth’s weapons, no less!”
The butler, his frail fists clenched and his face flushed with anger, looked surprisingly fierce, his stance rivaling that of any seasoned knight.
But then…
“Hmm.”
At the butler’s words, Eugene’s expression turned icy.
His lips parted.
“Butler.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“I don’t recall mentioning that they possessed Earth’s weapons.”
As Eugene met the butler’s aged eyes with his own, the butler stammered.
“Ah, ah…”
Beruf froze, his face a mask of panic, as if he had committed an unforgivable mistake.
Yujin watched him expressionlessly for a long moment before smiling as if nothing had happened and speaking.
“You must have heard it from the soldiers on the way here.”
“Ah, ah, yes, that’s right! The soldiers told me about it when we were entering the castle.”
Clutching the rope Yujin had lowered, Beruf let out an involuntary sigh of relief.
He seems to still trust me, judging by the way he’s talking. All that acting on the first day paid off.
Although the lord’s eyes didn’t smile, it didn’t matter to Beruf, who had just been given a chance to escape the crisis.
The important thing was that he’d narrowly avoided being exposed for his actions.
“I see.”
Of course, he had no idea that Yujin had already suspected him all along.
And then…
“Since the butler is here anyway, let’s discuss something else.”
The moment Yujin noticed, the outcome was sealed.
“Ah, yes. Please tell me if you need anything at all.”
Yujin looked down at the butler, who bowed with a warm smile. He picked up a stack of documents from his desk.
And then…
Whoosh!
He hurled the stack of papers straight at Beruf’s face.
Thud!
“Aaargh!”
Beruf screamed as the thick stack of papers struck him squarely in the face.
“L-Lord… What is the meaning of this…?”
Just as Beruf was about to protest against the lord who had suddenly struck him,
…Huh?
Beruf’s expression froze as he glanced at the first page of the documents scattered on the floor. The sentence at the top read:
…Upon investigation, the actual cost of constructing the stone bridge within the territory is only 28% of the budgeted amount. The whereabouts of the remaining funds remain unconfirmed…
Th-This is…
The flush on Beruf’s face vanished as he read the contents of the documents he’d been struck with, leaving his face as pale as a corpse.
Yujin spoke curtly.
“Explain yourself.”
To Beruf, the voice sounded like that of a grim reaper.