Lord: I can see loyalty.

Chapter 265 The Enemy's Musketeers!

The battlefield was filled with smoke and the sounds of battle cries echoed everywhere.

Vio's gaze was fixed on the small hill to the east, his knightly aura like an invisible hand, taking in every detail of that area.

There were about a dozen people on the hill. They were dressed in light blue robes and half-armor, and their weapons were not bows and crossbows, but those long, thin iron pipes—firearms.

They stood on high ground, overlooking the entire battlefield, like a group of venomous snakes lurking in the shadows.

"Alec," Vio said in a low voice.

"Here." Alec followed his gaze and saw the group of people in his gray eyes.

"That thing is called a musket. It's powerful enough to penetrate ordinary armor, but it reloads very slowly. Their shot just now caught Russell off guard, and they're definitely reloading now." Vio gripped the Demon Feather Sword tightly. "We must take care of them first and not let them fire a second shot into the battlefield."

"Leave it to me, Your Excellency." Alec drew his greatsword, his platinum armor gleaming in the sunlight.

"No, we'll go together." Vio dismounted and tossed the reins to his guards. "Jimmy, Gina, you stay in the ranks and command. Leon, take the Grey Wolf Clan's giant wolf riders and continue pursuing those rangers. Don't let them get close to our flanks."

"My Lord Earl, please let me go with you!" Jimmy's voice was full of worry.

"Jimmy, don't be reckless at a time like this. You're too slow." Vio didn't turn around. "I don't know if you can stop those bullets—even with first-level breathing techniques, you might not be able to withstand them."

"Alec and I are both fourth-tier, so we're very fast. Even if we can't block it, we can dodge it."

Jimmy opened his mouth, but ultimately kept it closed.

He knew Vio was right; the gap between the first and fourth orders couldn't be bridged by courage alone.

He could only stand there and watch the two figures rush off toward the hill to the east.

Vio and Alec, one after the other, traversed the chaotic battlefield, bypassing the cavalry and infantry locked in combat.

Their speed was astonishing; the fourth-level breathing technique was operating at full power within their bodies, maximizing their physical strength, speed, and reaction time.

The soil beneath their feet was kicked up and pebbles shattered on the soles of their boots. In just a few breaths, they had rushed out of the main battlefield and arrived at the foot of the hill.

The hill is not high, with a gentle slope, and is covered with withered yellow grass.

The group of musketeers, about fifteen or sixteen men, were on the hilltop. They were dressed in uniform blue robes, with half-body armor over them, and simple iron helmets on their heads.

They lined up in two rows, the front row crouching and the back row standing, pointing their muskets directly at the battlefield.

The musket had a long, slender barrel with a wooden stock, its surface gleaming with a dull metallic sheen, and wisps of smoke were rising from the muzzle.

"My lord, it seems they've discovered us," Alec whispered.

Vio saw it too. Several musketeers in the front row had already turned their heads and were looking in their direction.

They reacted quickly, immediately adjusting their guns and aiming them at Vio and Alec, who were going uphill.

"Scatter!" Vio shouted, his figure suddenly flashing to the left.

Alec also jumped to the right in response.

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, rushed up the slope in a zigzag pattern, so fast that it was almost impossible to aim.

"Bang!"

A gunshot rang out!

Vio felt a burning sensation near his ear, as if a bullet had grazed his helmet and struck a rock behind him, sending shards of rock flying.

His heart was racing, but he didn't stop; he just kept sprinting upwards.

The second and third shots rang out in quick succession, bullets whistling around him, some hitting the ground and kicking up dust, others flying overhead with a sharp whistling sound.

However, none of them could hit him. His first-level speed and perception allowed him to anticipate the bullet's trajectory the moment it left the barrel and dodge it in time.

It's pretty much the same on Alec's side.

His movements were as swift as lightning; several bullets flew past him without even touching his armor.

In the blink of an eye, the two had reached a point less than thirty steps from the top of the hill.

"Load! Load now!" a musketeer captain roared.

He was a burly man, towering over everyone around him by more than half a head, with broad shoulders and thick arms.

He wore finely crafted half-plate armor, with a standing iron hammer engraved on his breastplate—the emblem of the Ironhammer family of the North.

He had a gruesome scar running from his brow bone to his chin, his lips were tightly pressed together, and his eyes were full of calm and ruthlessness.

Unlike the other musketeers, he didn't panic. Instead, he calmly took a paper packet from his waist.

He then bit open one end, poured the gunpowder into the barrel, took out a lead bullet from another pocket, stuffed it in, and pressed it down with a cleaning rod.

His movements were skillful and fluid, almost twice as fast as the others!

Vio's gaze fell on the musket in his hand.

The gun was clearly custom-made; it was longer and had a thicker barrel than other people's ordinary muskets, and a dark metal plate with intricate patterns was inlaid on the stock.

It's not a magic rune, but some kind of decoration.

Vio didn't have time to look closely, because the captain had already raised his gun, the dark muzzle pointed at him.

"Dodge!" Vio shouted sharply, his body suddenly lunging to the left.

"Bang!"

The gunshots were deafening. The bullets grazed his shoulder, struck the ground behind him, and blasted a small crater.

Vio rolled on the ground once, then sprang up suddenly.

Alec also dodged the shot; he was closer to the top of the hill than Vio, less than twenty paces from the group of musketeers.

"One more round! Release it now!" the captain roared.

The remaining musketeers finally finished loading their rifles and raised them, aiming a dozen or so muskets at the two figures that were rapidly approaching.

"Bang bang bang—!"

The dense gunfire was like popping beans, with bullets coming from all directions, sealing off all space for Vio and Alec to dodge.

Without hesitation, Vio immediately raised the Magic Feather Shield. The purple magic shield instantly unfolded, deflecting several bullets, but small cracks also appeared on the shield's surface.

Alec was some distance from Vio and had no shield, so he could only rely on his speed to dodge. A bullet grazed his shoulder armor, leaving a shallow scratch.

But they remained standing, and then charged at them!

"Damn it, they're too fast!" a musketeer cried out in alarm.

"Hold your ground!" the captain shouted sharply, raising his musket again and yelling, "First platoon, draw your swords and prepare for close combat!"

The musketeers in the first rank threw down their muskets and drew their short swords or daggers from their waists.

Their swordsmanship was not as good as the knights', but they had received special training in close combat, and each of them was confident that they could survive.

The captain stood at the front, gripping his short sword, his gray eyes fixed on Vio, a slight smile playing on his lips.

He wasn't afraid of close combat; in other words, if Vio got close, as long as his men could hold him off, he was confident he could kill this southern count with a single shot.

Vio and Alec have also reached the top of the hill.