The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 119

Bang! Boom.

“These idiots.”

Go Garyong licked his lips while watching the high-level combat scene unfold. The 3-meter-wide bridge was narrower than he had imagined.

It was so narrow that not even three players with weapons could pass through at once.

If a top ranker like Bae Dohyun stood on such a narrow path, shouldn’t the others have at least held their formation and advanced carefully?

But the reckless fools charged in without a second thought.

Swish, thud, boom!

Bae Dohyun’s spear easily pierced through the players. Some of them were pushed off their feet and swept away by the rushing waters below.

They became easy prey for the archers on the castle walls. Moreover, with the bottleneck at the bridge, even long-range attacks couldn’t be properly executed.

The assault had already failed. Sure enough, when about six players fell to Bae Dohyun’s spear, the others quickly stopped in their tracks.

Arrows and bolts rained down from the archers on the wall at these players.

“Aack, don’t push!”

“Goodness, it’s a monster!”

As the hesitating players tried to regain their balance, a minute had passed. When the pillar of light disappeared, the players who had charged in realized the situation and decided to retreat.

“Quick, retreat!”

“Wait and see.”

Bae Dohyun stood resolutely on the stone bridge without bothering to chase the retreating players. However, the Korean players on the castle walls relentlessly shot arrows to secure their kills.

The players who retreated in disarray thought they were safe when they saw the city in the distance, but they were greeted with a shower of arrows.

“Wow!”

“Annihilate them all!”

And as the Chinese players poured out, the only option left for the retreating players was to flee once again. In the end, out of nearly forty players, not even ten survived and scattered in all directions.

* * *

“Is it time now?”

Bae Dohyun leaned against the wide-open castle gate and watched the players slowly coming out of the city.

It had been quite some time since the statue battle had ended. The defeated players had scattered and fled, with the Chinese players hunting them down.

Now, there were about 20 minutes left. Once 10 minutes passed, all the zones except for one would disappear.

1st place – Bae Dohyun (Korea), 50 kills

2nd place – Go Garyong (China), 10 kills

3rd place – Park Seongjun (Korea), 9 kills

……

Number of survivors: 34

In the current situation, this battle is expected to be the final one determining the ultimate qualifiers.

The players currently occupying the fortress are Bae Dohyun, Park Seongjun, and three others. The remaining 29 are players from China and other alliances.

Despite being outnumbered, Bae Dohyun’s face remained calm and composed throughout.

“The number of heads doesn’t matter.”

This is not reality, but a fantasy world where extraordinary abilities imagined can be directly displayed. Through this battle, he intended to show the world how much a player has grown.

“Good luck.”

“Let’s show them the power of Korean players!”

“Show off the skills of the strongest!”

Park Seongjun and the players greeted and cheered for Bae Dohyun.

“I hope you all achieve great results.”

And they each took their positions. As expected, Bae Dohyun positioned himself alone at the entrance of the castle’s corridor.

As the first gate opened in Zone 1, once opened, the players couldn’t close it again by themselves.

Thus, the corridor was completely open, but with a width of 3m and a length of 10m, it was the optimal place for Bae Dohyun to block the enemies alone.

“They’re coming!”

The tense voice of a player echoed from the castle tower. Unlike the chaotic rush of the players before them, the Chinese players were forming a formation and gradually closing the distance.

As there was no need to worry about penalties in combat situations, the sight of them slowly advancing behind their shield wall was indeed menacing.

Finally, as they approached within 30m of each other, their advance halted.

Shoo, ping!

Fwoosh!

Various long-range attacks started pouring out from behind the shield wall crafted by the Chinese team.

Thunk, thud.

However, most of the attacks posed no significant threat. The players on the castle wall fired arrows and crossbow bolts through the holes they had prepared for attacks while hiding behind the low parapet.

Anticipating such a scenario, Bae Dohyun securely fixed a large tower shield to the ground, creating an improvised defensive barrier.

At a height of 1.60 meters, the tower shield made of three layers of steel plates and leather showed enough defensive power to block ordinary projectiles without mana and low-level magic spells.

Thud, thud!

Both sides exchanged long-range attacks for a while, but neither side landed a significant blow. Eventually, it was the Chinese side that made the first move.

If they failed to breach the defenses within the time limit, they would face annihilation.

“Half of the shield warriors and melee fighters, deal with Bae Dohyun. The rest of the ranged troops, continue to suppress the crossbowmen on the wall here!”

In response to the high-volume commands, half of the group tightly huddled behind the shields and began crossing the stone bridge.

As the three shield warriors formed a scrum and walked slowly, the corridor felt crowded.

“Are they trying to push me back like this?”

Behind the shield warriors, the spear and sword infantry guarded Bae Dohyun’s approach, while the players behind them aimed their crossbows at the front.

The formation was set up in two layers, intending to push through even if one layer was breached.

“They’ve prepared such a formation in a short time. Are they truly high-caliber players?”

High-caliber players were officials of the Chinese large guild, “Wang Chopae,” who also acted as strategists.

Not only were they skilled themselves, but they were also recognized for their quick thinking and ability to command players.

Naturally, from Bae Dohyun’s perspective, they were formidable opponents. Even with lower-skilled guild members, they managed to hinder him, and during large-scale battles, they often trapped Bae Dohyun in a disadvantageous position.

Most irritatingly, they never easily stepped forward to face him directly. Like most officials of large guilds, they tended to send their guild members ahead rather than taking the lead themselves, making it difficult for Bae Dohyun to get close to them.

Moreover, they would only show up slyly after wearing Bae Dohyun down with sustained attacks, making it hard not to feel resentful.

“But this time is different.”

The gap in skills was incomparable to before, and in this life, Bae Dohyun was not alone.

“First things first, deal with the enemies in front of me.”

Approaching confidently, the enemies were wary of Bae Dohyun but had self-assured expressions, seemingly believing that their sturdy defenses were impenetrable.

However, that was just overconfidence.

Clang, clang, clang!

As Bae Dohyun aimed his 3-meter-long spear at the shield warriors’ heads, they hurriedly raised their shields to block the thrust.

Thanks to this, the formation paused, allowing the crossbowmen to target Bae Dohyun.

But with swift movements, Bae Dohyun dodged the bolts and, like applying adhesive to the soles of his feet, jumped up the wall, bouncing off it straight to the ceiling.

“What, what’s happening?”

“Watch out above!”

Amidst the Chinese players’ surprised exclamations at his simple acrobatics using gravitational force, Bae Dohyun flung his hidden needles between his fingers.

The eight needles, guided by the gravitational force, ignored the shield warriors and plunged into the vital spots of the players behind them.

Thud, thud.

“Gah!”

“Thud!”

“Ah!!”

Five players let out their last breaths with a grunt, and Bae Dohyun ran along the ceiling, leaping down to the second formation.

Thud!!

With a loud crash, Bae Dohyun flattened one player with a shield he pulled out from midair, turning them into a lump of minced meat.

Zip, thwack!

Around Bae Dohyun, a storm of blood erupted. His hands, now holding two hunting knives, swiftly sliced through the surrounding players in a dance-like fashion, where crimson streams spurted up like fountains.

It was the result of learning [Swallow Waltz (A)] from the dagger specialist Kane.

Having swept away the players except for shield warriors, Bae Dohyun wasted no time in attacking the shield warriors.

“Son of a…!”

Whoosh.

As the shield warrior swung his shield frantically, narrowly missing Bae Dohyun’s face, another shield warrior, tackled in the leg, fell, allowing Bae Dohyun’s knife to slash past his neck.

“Ugh! Don’t come near!”

The shield warriors whose formation had completely collapsed desperately resisted by wielding their shields and weapons, but they were ruthlessly overwhelmed by Bae Dohyun, who had grabbed a spear once again.

Ping, thwush!

A long-range attack came from the remaining Chinese player in the formation, but it was already over.

“Phew, exhale.”

Taking cover behind the tower shield, Bae Dohyun regulated his exhausted body with deep breaths.

‘Just as I expected.’

The one-sided outcome of this battle was due to their formation. Where does the strength of players come from? For now, one could not deny the existence of ‘skills.’

Modern people who haven’t even experienced a proper fight naturally rely on skills. However, such a tight formation hindered the activation of skills.

‘Their intent was good, but they dug their own graves.’

In hindsight, it might have been more threatening if players had utilized their individual characteristics and skills to attack instead.

Even for someone like Bae Dohyun, blocking all skills in a state of limited ability was no easy feat.

“Ah!”

“Clank.”

Meanwhile, there were casualties among the Korean players on the castle wall. Apart from Park Seongjun, there were no long-range classes, so this outcome was to be expected.

‘Should I start cleaning up now?’

There were still 14 players remaining on the Chinese side, but all except for the three shield warriors were long-range classes.

It seemed that they could quickly wipe out the enemy if they launched a proper attack. Anyway, even if I stay here, they will come to me eventually, but wouldn’t it be more impactful to offer a visiting service instead? Moreover, he had the skills to match it.

‘Flicker!’

As soon as his skill activated, Bae Dohyun appeared above the formation of Chinese players.

“Haah!”

As Bae Dohyun descended and delivered a piercing attack, three Chinese players had holes pierced through their chests.

“Whoa!”

“Block it!”

Startled by Bae Dohyun’s sudden appearance, the Chinese long-range class players scattered in all directions, but…

Swish, swoosh!

The 3m long spear mercilessly pierced through their backs and torsos.

Furthermore, even if they tried to create some distance, with a swish sound, the thrown dagger flew through the air and penetrated the forehead of a Chinese player.

“Shield charge!”

A shield warrior who realized the situation late rushed towards Bae Dohyun, but as Bae Dohyun struck the ground with his spear, he performed an acrobatic move, soaring into the sky to avoid the shield and landed behind him.

Swoosh.

The small blade at the other end of the spear, Jun, neatly pierced the back of the warrior player’s neck as he charged.

“You!”

“Die!”

The remaining two shield warriors brandished their sword and mace at Bae Dohyun, but the difference in basic skills was too significant.

Bae Dohyun effortlessly knocked aside their weapons with his spear, kicked the shield to knock down one of the warriors, and then thrust the spear into his neck.

The last warrior had the dagger embedded in his forehead and collapsed on the spot.

Whizzing.

In the chilling wind sweeping through the battlefield, all that remained were Bae Dohyun with a composed expression and the crimson-eyed Go Garyong.

“This… this is unbelievable. How can he handle this alone…?”

Go Garyong muttered to himself, his eyes filled with disbelief.

Swoosh.

As a dagger brushed past Go Garyong’s cheek, a thin trickle of blood appeared.

“Aren’t you going to fight back?”

In response to Bae Dohyun’s cold voice, Go Garyong, with his eyes suddenly focused, pointed his sword at Bae Dohyun and shouted, “Don’t think you can easily defeat me! I am Go Garyong, a high-ranker from the People’s Republic of China!”

With a cold wind blowing, his body slightly floated in the air. He was the owner of the A-Grade trait ‘Wind Manipulator.’

He boasted that there were hardly any who could withstand the power of his sword infused with the strength of the wind.

“Haah!”

As he wielded his sword, empowered by the force of the wind, Go Garyong’s swift and sharp movements were formidable.

Thud.

“Too easy, isn’t it?”

Despite his confident demeanor, Go Garyong ended up with a hole in his head from Bae Dohyun’s swift thrust.

And a little while later, the preliminary match of the last group, Group H, came to an end.

(To be continued)