The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 19

Clang! Thud!

Four imperial knights, their bodies (faces excluded) covered in red worm-like tattoos, frenziedly leaped into action. They attacked relentlessly, as if not caring about being stabbed by a sword, their ferocity was palpable.

Despite their intensity, they couldn’t break through Philip’s solid defense, yet the fact that they were pressuring Philip was astonishing to Raul.

Philip, an expert knight surpassing level 90, was currently serving as Raul’s escort. Known for his exceptional skills, he was considered one of the top knights within the order and was even quietly touted as a future leader of the knights.

His assignment as Raul’s head of escort wasn’t just due to a burgeoning interest in Raul but also at the request of a count. It was Philip who took it upon himself to oversee Raul’s swordsmanship training as they departed from the domain.

Following that, Raul sparred with Philip every evening, receiving swordsmanship instruction—ending, of course, in defeat every time.

No matter the memories of his past life, defeating Philip—who had dedicated decades to the sword—was impossible.

‘Even using my psychokinesis and all my skills, I couldn’t win.’

His level, stats, and proficiency were still far from sufficient.

Moreover, having acquired new skills and combat techniques while accompanying Raul, Philip had been building a different kind of reputation since leaving the domain.

Yet, to think that three people could pressure such a Philip.

Considering their original levels as low to mid-rank experts, this was an impressive feat.

[Name]: McDowell

[Level]: 71

[Occupation]: Knight (Sword Expert Intermediate)

[Affiliation]: Cranen Empire, Imperial Hound Mira Branch Chief

[Title]: The Red Hound

[Stats]: Potential (B-Grade)

[Strength 72(+5)]

[Agility 71(+5)]

[Stamina 73(+5)]

[Intelligence 55(-10)]

[Willpower 68(-5)]

[Magic Power 68(+7)]

[Sensitivity 73(+5)]

*Unique Traits

Blind Loyalty (B), Fear Resistance (C)

‘The increased added stats. Probably the effect of those red tattoos.’

The tattoos covering the bodies of the imperial knights, including McDowell, were sometimes seen among the empire’s knights and soldiers in battles.

Of course, the full significance of those tattoos and their bearers would come to light only in the later stages of the war with the empire, and for now, few knew what they meant.

“Are these guys all hopped up on something? What the hell is this, ugh!”

Jake was frantically defending against the demon soldiers’ attacks, confused about what was happening.

The tattoos affected not only the knights but also the demon soldiers before him, who displayed bulging, reddish muscles and rushed in fiercely.

Unlike the previously naked demon soldiers, these ones were armored and wielded weapons, showing some level of reason with their coordinated attacks.

Despite this, Jake was sweating profusely, focusing on defense to prevent any of them from getting past.

“Young master, can’t I just draw the greatsword and cut them down? These puny things just aren’t cutting it…”

Jake sent a message, sounding frustrated, to which Raul replied regretfully.

“Sir Philip and Sir Pierce seem to be managing, but it looks like Sir Jake is struggling. If it’s really that difficult, we have no choice. Sir Jake, you’re permitted to use the greatsword. I had faith in your abilities when I made this plan; this is disappointing.”

“What? Struggling, you say? It was just jest. I’m facing these small fries. No need for me, just let the archer use it, haha.”

Jake quickly sent another message, then snorted as he glared at the demon soldiers.

“Because of you lot, I’m losing face. Die, all of you!”

As if his previous actions were just a tease, mana sparked around Jake like blue flames, surging towards his shield and rapier. And…!

Bang! Boom! Bam!!

A mana-enveloped elliptical spike shield (a shield with metal spikes attached) tore a demon soldier’s body to shreds and slammed it against the wall.

And a rapier, covered with a mana blade much thicker than its original size, drilled fist-sized holes through the bodies of two demon soldiers.

Whoosh.

As the rapier tore through the air like a great sword, the demon soldiers hastily retreated to put some distance between them.

“How do you like that, you monsters? For the crime of charging in fearlessly, pay with your bodies!”

Jake began to attack the demon soldiers in turn, eliciting a chuckle from Raul.

Jake, light-hearted and even lighter of tongue, was nevertheless a knight chosen by Raul.

Despite being in his early thirties, he was a true expert, having crossed into the upper levels from the mid-expert level.

Pushing forward with power and leaking mana like that wasn’t exactly an ideal combat style, but it was a reasonable choice given the limited number of enemies at the moment.

After all, Raul himself had drawn almost all his power at the start of the fight to capture a fifth-circle mage for a similar reason.

About five minutes passed, the dizziness subsided, and his body felt back in condition.

‘Should we start moving?’

It felt too wasteful to just stand back and watch when there was a fight laid out before him.

In the meantime, Pierce had taken down the last mage and was facing off with a knight, while Philip was still mingling with three of the enemy knights.

And Jake had taken down four demon soldiers and was now facing six, but the remaining demon soldiers seemed likely to be disposed of soon, as they all bore injuries here and there.

Raul wanted to settle the situation a bit faster, knowing this wasn’t the end.

Raul drew his rapier and main gauche and joined Jake.

Swoosh~ Thunk!

Raul, observing the movements of the demon soldiers calmly from behind Jake, suddenly thrust his rapier like a ray of light, piercing a demon soldier’s left thigh.

Jake clicked his tongue as the demon soldier slumped to the ground, powerless.

‘Amazing, how does he so easily pinpoint the monsters’ weak points?’

While Jake could punch five holes and yet see them stand up fine, Raul’s were one-shot one-kills, surprising indeed.

Raul, whether Jake was surprised or not, calmly targeted one demon soldier after another from behind him, and it wasn’t long before all the demon soldiers were dealt with.

Then, the empire’s knights stopped fighting and gathered near McDowell, the regional leader. Philip and the knights also paused, not pressing too hard, and caught their breaths across from them.

Raul stepped back slightly, but with the remaining forces now four against four, considering the situation so far, it was clear who had the advantage.

“Where have you come from? You don’t seem like mere mercenaries, given your skills. And Reynaldo, the coward, surely wouldn’t send his knights outside the city…”

McDowell cocked his head, eyeing Raul’s group sharply.

“You must be from a knight order of a nearby domain. Given your skill level and the fact that your faces aren’t well-known, you must be from one of the five major martial houses, right? If you reside in Mira and use a rapier, then it looks like you belong to the Count Randal’s House, but…”

McDowell trailed off, observing their expressions. However, seeing no reaction from the group, likely due to Raul’s prior coaching, he continued.

“There’s just a slight clumsiness to your swordsmanship. And my intuition tells me you’re not from the Count Randal’s House.”

Then, Jake chuckled.

“What use is knowing who we are if you’re about to die? Enough talk, let’s resume, dogs of the empire!”

Without delay, Jake thrust his rapier, and Philip and Pierce reengaged in battle as well.

‘It’s a pity. But, this might give me a chance to find a way out. It’ll be enough to uncover their identities from the outside.’

McDowell glanced at Raul, who was somewhat set apart, with an enigmatic look.

Though he appeared to be standing in the rear for support, the arrangement of the three knights clearly seemed to be protecting that one man. It wasn’t too difficult to guess what that entailed. And McDowell issued his final command.

“Spill your blood for His Majesty!!”

“For the glory of the Emperor!”

The momentum of the Imperial knights surged once more.

Flames of dark magic wrapped around their bodies, causing their muscles to swell and their stature to increase by about 1.5 times. Their pupils dilated, and their eyes turned a dark, blood-red.

“Kwaaak!!”

With a cry resembling that of a beast, three Imperial knights charged, causing Jake and Pierce to grimace and continuously retreat.

“What kind of power is this?!”

“What kind of monster have the Imperials created?!”

Initially, they were merely on the lower levels of experts, but now they were displaying physical abilities close to those of high-ranking knights. Their astonishment was understandable.

However, Raul knew exactly what this phenomenon was.

It was the last struggle of the Imperial soldiers, known as [Black Sacrifice]. A self-sacrificial technique that allowed them to burn their life force along with mana for a very brief moment, exerting a monstrous strength transcending limits.

The duration was short, from a minimum of 30 seconds to barely a minute. Afterward, their bodies would melt away as if consumed by a high fever, resulting in loss of life.

The use of such a desperate tactic meant there had to be a motive behind it.

Though three knights had activated Black Sacrifice, Raul’s knights were managing to hold them off. Then, what could be the objective??

“My lord, be careful!!”

There was no need for Philip’s warning. McDowell, now donned in dense, steel armor, was already charging towards Raul.

“Power armor!!”

Startled, Jake and Pierce attempted to block McDowell but couldn’t break through the Imperial knights’ defense.

Only Philip, wielding a blue mana blade, managed to slice at the side of the power armor, but…

Tssszzt!

A semi-transparent barrier over the black armor neutralized the mana blade, leaving but a minor scratch.

The imposing sight of the 2-meter tall, heavy power armor, spewing boosters and charging, was indeed daunting.

No matter how expert the knight, facing it head-on with bare body would unquestionably lead to injury.

Yet Raul didn’t seem particularly tense. With calm, golden eyes, he observed the approaching power armor.

[Imperial K-E Type Standard Issue Power Armor]

*Grade: E

*Output: 0.8 CP (Core Power)

*Operational Time: 2h/max

*Operational Type: Mana Stone Consumable

*Defense Spell: 3rd Circle

It was the standard-issue power armor of the Empire, a sight common in his past life.

Despite its clunky appearance, it was a model faithful to function, boasting performance perfectly fitting an E-Grade and priced affordably.

It came equipped with a physical barrier that nullified magic below the 3rd circle and could only be scratched by a mana blade, essentially making it a walking tank.

However, due to its consumable core mechanism rather than rechargeable, the maintenance cost was prohibitively expensive, and during intense combat, it could hardly last 10 minutes, limiting its effectiveness on the battlefield.

Nonetheless, power armor was still power armor. Raul, who had only recently become an expert, was not supposed to be able to confront it.

McDowell, aware of this fact, looked at Raul blocking the passage and sneered.

“This is the end!”

Bang!

(To be continued)