The Returned Lord Is a Genius of Gun Law - Chapter 8
chapter 8
The Knight Commander’s Perfect Victory
The Returning Lord: Gun Law Genius – Episode 8
Episode 8
For Sir Manuel, the Knight-Captain of Primrose, this duel against Crocus was his chance to cover his mistake.
If the Lord of Primrose, his liege, hadn’t given him this opportunity, he would have been branded incompetent, unable to protect the heir due to his carelessness.
Therefore, Manuel’s goal was singular:
I must achieve a flawless victory.
An ordinary win wouldn’t suffice.
It had to be a perfect victory, flawless and beyond reproach!
Otherwise, he would have no face to show Baron Gorban Primrose, the Lord of Primrose who had given him this chance.
Screech—!
Drawing his sword, his gaze settled on his opponent.
Baron Eugene Crocus…
Manuel’s eyes blazed with fury at the sight of the man who had humiliated him in the Black Forest.
Of course, even in his rage, his mind was already analyzing his opponent for the duel.
Manuel’s gaze focused on the black rifle slung across the man’s chest.
He intends to use an Earth weapon.
This was somewhat expected.
From their encounter in the Black Forest, Manuel had seen that Crocus, the newly appointed lord, seemed to possess considerable knowledge of Earth weapons, particularly firearms.
Such a man would never pass up the opportunity to use an Earth weapon in a duel.
The rumors that the new Lord of Crocus is an Earthling seem to be true.
Otherwise, why would he bring an Earthling weapon to a sacred duel? This was especially true considering how poorly firearms were treated by knights on the Amir Continent.
Earthlings can’t manipulate magic, so this was probably the only choice he could make… but it’s hardly significant.
It was true that firearms had killed countless knights during the Great War, but that was during full-scale battles where tens or hundreds of thousands of soldiers clashed. In small-scale duels, especially one-on-one, the role of firearms was ambiguous.
Their power is undeniable, but without the ability to hit the target, they’re meaningless.
It had been forty years since firearms first appeared in Amir’s history.
It was only natural that the knights of the Amir continent would attempt to counter this new weapon, especially after the Great War that had occurred during the early days of dimensional connection.
And after forty years, the knights had reached a universal conclusion:
Firearms and bows differ little in function. The crucial factor is to evade the straight trajectory of the bullet.
By their nature, bullets fired from firearms traveled in nearly straight lines.
The impact area of a small bullet was essentially a single point. Therefore, if one could simply evade that straight line, they could easily avoid the enemy’s attack. This was the conclusion they had reached.
“If he were some kind of demon like the one in ‘The Demon in Your Eyes,’ it might be different. But otherwise, I have no reason to lose.”
Like most knights of his era, Manuel had been trained to counter firearms. While he remained wary of the gun’s muzzle, he felt no fear.
And so,
“From this moment on, the duel between Primrose and Crocus shall commence!”
The moment the royal representative declared the start of the duel,
Whoosh!
Manuel immediately lunged to his opponent’s left.
I must avoid the gun’s aim at all costs.
His body, enhanced by aura, possessed senses, strength, and speed far beyond human capabilities, making this task relatively easy.
By using his superhuman agility to approach while ensuring his opponent could never get a proper bead on him, victory was all but assured.
I’ll make him regret challenging me with such arrogant confidence.
Whoosh—!
As Manuel darted and weaved with blinding speed, azure orbs of energy erupted from his sword in shimmering tendrils.
Now, I just need to close the distance and strike. My opponent, unable to manipulate magic, won’t even be able to react.
This is the end.
Certain of his victory, the knight raised his sword, the orbs around it growing increasingly fierce as he approached.
Rattle-!
Just then, Manuel noticed something rolling at the feet of his opponent, Baron Eugene Crocus.
A cylinder?
A brown, metallic cylinder was rolling towards him.
At the same time, Manuel quickly saw Eugene turn his back and flee.
What the hell is this?
Soon, he understood what the cylinder was.
KWAANG-!
The deafening roar of the explosion filled his ears, and the blinding flash obscured his vision.
BEEEEEP-!
Only when the ringing in his ears left him completely blind and deaf did Manuel realize what had happened.
A flashbang…
Bzzzzzz!
A piercing ringing filled the world, like a death cry.
But Yujin couldn’t stop.
No, he mustn’t stop.
If he missed this chance, victory would slip through his fingers forever.
Whoosh!
Yujin spun around, locating his opponent.
Unlike the man who had temporarily lost his sight and hearing, Yujin still had his vision.
About 20 meters.
He spotted the man staggering forward, still trying to reach him. Yujin raised his HK416 assault rifle.
The flash and sound may have paralyzed him, but I haven’t completely subdued him.
That was the terrifying thing about knights who wielded the Aura, a supernatural power.
A normal person would be unable to stand after the flashbang’s deafening roar and concussive force, their semicircular canals paralyzed.
However, the aura that accumulated in the knight’s body not only enhanced his physical durability but also significantly mitigated the damage he sustained. Moreover, his enhanced senses beyond sight and hearing would undoubtedly allow him to dimly pinpoint Eugene’s location.
Thwack-!
As proof, the knight, staggering from the shock, was already moving left and right, trying to evade the direction of Eugene’s gun. This was the terrifying advantage a knight skilled in using aura in small-scale combat possessed. Had the flashbang failed to momentarily slow him down, Eugene’s gun and body would already have been split in two by the knight’s sword.
Therefore, Eugene had no intention of losing the hard-won advantage he had gained.
Click-!
Eugene’s left hand moved to the underside of his rifle.
More precisely, he was aiming for the secondary weapon mounted in front of the magazine.
To suppress a knight, you need to overwhelm them with area denial, not a single point.
The straight-line trajectory of rifle bullets had limitations when facing a knight moving at high speed in unpredictable patterns. No matter how fast the rounds flew—faster than sound itself—they were useless if they missed their mark.
And since the knight’s reaction speed far surpassed that of a human, aiming a rifle barrel precisely at their body was nearly impossible.
Therefore, to suppress a knight, he needed a means of attacking a wider area at once while minimizing damage to himself.
Click!
Just like the M26 MASS shotgun mounted beneath Eugene’s rifle.
Bang!
When he pulled the shotgun’s trigger, eight thick lead balls hidden inside the loaded shell burst forward, propelled by the gunpowder.
The eight lead balls, spreading out in all directions, raced toward the knight who was zigzagging to evade the aim.
Then—
Thud!
Three of the lead balls struck the knight’s metal-armored body.
“Gah…!”
Though only three of the eight had hit, the massive kinetic energy contained within those three lead balls momentarily halted his body with a dull, throbbing pain.
Originally designed as buckshot to take down large animals like deer, the rounds proved sufficiently effective even against a knight with superhuman physical abilities.
And then.
Clack-!
Yujin’s attack wasn’t over yet.
Bang-! Clack! Bang-!
In less than three seconds, Yujin repeatedly pulled and released the shotgun’s bolt four times, firing and reloading in rapid succession.
The forty steel balls contained within the five shells slammed into the slowed knight’s entire body in quick succession.
Thump-thump-thump-!
The impact of the steel balls, which flew at him too quickly to even scream, left Manuel staggering and unable to move. He couldn’t even raise his hand to block Yujin’s rifle, which was now aimed at his body.
Rat-tat-tat-!
The moment his right hand pulled the trigger, four 5.56mm NATO rounds burst from the barrel of the HK416.
Pfu-fu-fu-fu-fu!
The four-legged high-speed rounds, easily piercing thin steel plates, tore through the knight’s metal armor, burrowing into his skin, muscle, and bone.
No matter how much he enhanced his physical abilities with aura, there was no way to move a leg riddled with holes.
Finally—
Thud!
Manuel, losing the strength to stand, collapsed backward from the impact of the bullets.
“……”
All that remained was a silence as heavy as death.
Beep!
Still ringing in his ears, Eugene looked around.
The explosion and light surrounding the dueling area should have been contained, yet most of the spectators, including the referee, remained dazed.
“The result?”
Finally, Eugene approached the referee and asked, only then snapping to attention as the referee declared:
“I, I declare the Grand Knight’s Duel concluded! The victor is House Crocus!”
Leaving the announcer, who announced Eugene and Crocus’s victory in a trembling voice, behind, Eugene passed by the fallen knight and headed toward the place where Primrose’s retainers had gathered.
More precisely, he headed toward Baron Gorban Primrose, the lord of Primrose, who stood trembling in the center of the group.
“H-how, how could this happen…”
As if unable to believe his defeat, Gorban muttered the same words with a dazed expression.
As Eugene watched him, he met the eyes of the opposing lord.
In that moment—
“Gasp!”
Gorban’s hairs stood on end from the sharp killing intent radiating from Eugene’s eyes, and he involuntarily gasped.
“I won. Any objections?”
“K-kuh…”
Under Eugene’s cold gaze, which seemed to look down on him like a predator, all Gorban could do was tremble.