The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 12

“Good. I’ve completely taken the initiative.”

Jeremy and the knight felt a premonition of victory. Although they were still defending, their attacks were gradually reaching vital points.

It seemed only a matter of time before they would pierce through this arrogant young upstart’s defense.

And after about thirty exchanges of offense and defense,

“I’ve got him!!”

The knight visualized a path for his rapier to reach Raul’s throat. The neck guard was slightly in the way, but it seemed like he could pierce through it in no time with a bit of effort.

With renewed confidence, the knight slightly slowed his flurry of consecutive attacks and thrusted his rapier powerfully.

Swoosh~ Pfft!!

He felt the sensation in his hand. Blood spurted from Raul’s neck.

However, Raul’s sword had somehow pierced the knight’s neck in a loose moment.

“Still, this is our victory!”

With his head nearly severed, the knight smiled and closed his eyes as his vision spun.

* * *

“That idiot!!!”

Jeremy cursed silently and quickly stepped back. A wide bastard sword whizzed past, barely missing his chest.

The smug youngster pulled his rapier out from the neck guard with an almost mocking ease.

He managed to make a hole in the boy’s lower abdomen at the last moment, but it wasn’t fatal.

It was definitely a golden opportunity.

The boy’s guard was down, and all that was left was to accurately stab him in the neck.

“But how could my hand tremble at the last moment?”

Had he developed a tremor from not training and only drinking since coming here? He only had to thrust straight…

Jeremy wouldn’t even dream that Raul had slightly pushed the rapier away with psychokinesis at the last moment.

Either way, because of one fool’s smiley departure, the offensive was broken. It didn’t look easy to seize the chance again and penetrate the distance of the bastard sword.

And there was another thing that irked Jeremy.

No matter that it wasn’t fatal, his rapier had certainly pierced the boy’s lower abdomen.

Blood was trickling from the hole in the armor as evidence.

“But why is he so composed?!”

There was no trace of pain on Raul’s face.

Even with a hole in his abdomen, he swung his sword without hesitation. It was hardly believable that such a performance could come from a youngster with little real combat experience.

Jeremy’s face was filled with a drained expression as he dodged the swinging sword again.

* * *

Raul vigorously swung his sword, pushing Jeremy back and calmly surveyed the battlefield.

Remaining were the bodyguard captain Jeremy, the young noble of the Randal household, Jerry, and five knights—a total of seven men.

He had already dealt with more than half of the enemy.

Since he had taken care of the three most troublesome knights of the Randal household, the contest was almost decided.

“Now, shall I clean up the rest of the trash?”

Raul dashed towards Jeremy.

A powerful downward strike that seemed to tear through the air came towards him, but Jeremy side-stepped to avoid it.

Normally, one would retract their sword to cover the opening for a counterattack, but Raul instead increased his speed, passing the spot where Jeremy had been.

Chang, Thunk! Thunk!!

It was not Jeremy who was watching. Reflexively, the rapier he thrust out created shallow puncture wounds on Raul’s flank and thigh. However, Raul paid no heed. After all, this was the Free City, where even the dead could be resurrected, so minor wounds were quickly healed.

As if to prove it, the wound he had suffered on his lower abdomen just moments ago had already healed without a trace.

‘So, in this place, you must aim for a fatal blow, a heavy hit!!’

Ignoring Jeremy’s startled expression, Raul aggressively charged towards the prey in front of him.

“Tahat!”

A powerful diagonal slash split the upper body of a knight in two. Followed smoothly by a horizontal strike that severed another knight’s thigh and passed through.

“Kuh! Die!!”

The surviving knights attacked Raul in turn, but he easily deflected their swords.

Instead, with a few more swings, the remaining knights all fell to the ground.

“What, what happened??”

Jerry, who had seemingly escaped, whispered in a slightly trembling voice from behind Jeremy.

Raul flicked his bastard sword to shake off the blood and turned to look at them.

“Two left.”

His face remained expressionless. However, his eyes revealed a ferocious killing intent, shimmering like those of a wild beast.

Facing those dreadful eyes, Jeremy sighed and said,

“Huh. I admit, it’s hard to believe you’re only 15. Such impressive skills, and with relentless speed and quick decision-making. Remarkable!”

Jeremy extended his rapier forward, aiming at Raul as he continued,

“Honestly, I was caught off guard. Who would have thought you would charge at us alone? And being unafraid of getting hurt…. One would think you’re a veteran warrior who has spent years on the battlefield.”

Was it because he couldn’t find an opening? Unlike before, Raul did not interrupt Jeremy and simply maintained his posture.

“But that’s as far as it goes. This situation won’t end unless you manage to defeat me. And you don’t really think you took down our knights with your skill alone, do you?”

But Raul showed no reaction, and his eyes seemed to waver as if pondering something else.

Noticing this, Jeremy chuckled and said,

“Ah, thinking now, are you? In the end, all the knights you took down will be resurrected. And from now on, no one will let their guard down. Can you really handle it?”

Finally, Raul spoke, but his words were not what Jeremy expected.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Stop with the clever tricks and come at me.”

Jeremy’s expression slightly soured. But, he had no intention of resolving the situation through words. He just needed time.

‘Still so young. If it were me, I wouldn’t have given time for talk and continued the fight immediately.’

Enough time had been bought. The presence of the knights who had fallen at the beginning of the battle began to be felt. Not only them, but other subordinates were also resurrecting and joining the fight.

“A foolish choice. There’s no helping it. Now, everyone, rise! We will form up and take them on!!”

At his stern command, the valiant knights of the Randal household were supposed to rise… but none did.

“Rise, I say! Are you not following orders!”

Jeremy’s voice echoed in panic, but still, no one responded to his command.

“Hmph.”

For the first time, a hint of a smile appeared on Raul’s face. It was a clear mockery.

As Raul shook his head in feigned pity and shrugged, Jeremy turned slightly to look at his subordinates.

‘……!!’

“We heard you arrived at Mira much earlier than us, but it seems you haven’t properly trained, huh??”

Raul’s mocking words struck deep into Jeremy’s heart.

“Grrrgh!”

“Grrrr.”

All of his knights were struggling on the ground, foaming at the mouth and shaking terribly, apparently in great pain.

The Free City of Mira. It heals wounds and even resurrects life, but it does not alleviate the pain and suffering. Would those who had suffered pain leading to death indeed regain their sanity upon resurrection? Unless one had exceptional mental strength, it was naturally challenging. This was the reason Raul had aggressively pushed his enemies from the start.

“Have you grasped the situation now? Shall we begin again? This time, with your true skill minus the ‘carelessness’.” Raul’s words made Jeremy’s face redden. Indeed, he had to use whatever tricks he had to escape this situation with his own power.

“This insolent fool!! I’ll slice off that arrogant mouth of yours!!” Jeremy drew a small dagger from his left waistband, gripping it in his left hand. It was a parrying dagger, also known as a main gauche, distinctive for its slight curve on the blade-side from the handle, designed to deflect an opponent’s blade.

He stretched his right-hand rapier forward while lowering the main gauche in his left, a unique stance synonymous with the Count of Randal’s swordsmanship technique, the ‘Shooting Star.’

Jeremy made the first move. Sliding across the floor in a low stance, he rapidly thrust his rapier at Raul, who countered with the long reach of his bastard sword. Previously, Jeremy would have dodged backwards, but this time was different. Twisting his body slightly, he continued his thrusts while using his main gauche to deflect Raul’s bastard sword. Jeremy’s thrust didn’t hit its mark, as Raul knocked the rapier’s tip away with the back of his gauntleted hand.

But Jeremy’s assault was far from over. He whipped his rapier like a lash, striking at Raul in a Z-shaped pattern. Raul, utilizing the slant of his armor, parried the rapier’s edge and swung his bastard sword fiercely, pushing Jeremy back. Without a moment’s rest, Jeremy lunged forward again, his blade creating a dazzling trail as if a meteor shower were pouring down.

Raul nodded slightly, blocking the sword trails as best he could. ‘It indeed deserves to be called the strongest one-on-one swordsmanship technique.’ Unlike the Count of Ashton’s swordsmanship, which evolved through battling monsters, Randal’s was honed through duels between people, designed with the purpose of targeting vital points.

Moreover, the opponent was an expert knight, physically superior to Raul. It was naturally a challenging fight. Raul’s armor began to show signs of damage, and slashes started marking his skin. Yet, Raul appeared composed, even counting an unknown percentage in his mind. ‘88%, 89%….’

After a one-sided exchange, the moment Raul’s mental count reached 100, boom! Jeremy, trying to block Raul’s sudden strike with both his main gauche and rapier, was pushed back. In that instant, Raul swiftly moved to a fallen Randal knight, seizing a rapier and main gauche.

“What are you doing??” Jeremy shouted, bewildered at the sight of Raul, who had discarded his bastard sword for the same weapons as his.

“What am I doing? Using what I’ve learned,” Raul replied, a slight smirk on his face, adopting the stance of ‘Shooting Star’ that Jeremy had used.

(To be continued)