The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player 44

Chapter 44

Unfortunately, it looked like Rabel’s joining would be delayed a bit. It seemed he needed time to adapt to his new sanctuary.

“I might need about a month. Even if I fall asleep, the functionality of the skill tome won’t change, so don’t worry.”

“There’s no rush; take your time. I just hope you wake up safely.”

“Thank you. Once I wake up… I’ll do my best to help Raul.”

With that promise, Rabel plunged into sleep within the skill tome, looking forward to a month later.

Time flew by like an arrow.

There was still so much to prepare, but now only about a week remained.

And Raul was currently facing his brother, Dylan.

“This miraculous guy. You were right. Did a message really come from the temple? A divine oracle!” Dylan messed up Raul’s hair mercilessly as he spoke.

“What did it say?”

“In a week, the lost will return, the severed will be connected again. To prevent the onset of evil, one must open the door and pluck the vacant fruit, or something like that?”

The divine oracles, being somewhat vague, came with no guarantee of accuracy, leaving believers in a perplexing situation of whether to trust or to disregard it.

“So, what does the temple ask?”

“Nothing special. Just to respond as actively as possible if any anomalies occur. They said it might be good to prepare for a significant crisis.”

Raul nodded slightly and asked again.

“How did the royal family and the nobility react? I can somewhat guess, but…”

“Just as you thought. Most are doubting, thinking the temple is spouting nonsense again, or using it as an excuse to gain something. I would have thought the same if I hadn’t heard from our youngest beforehand. There have been too many precedents, you see.”

Connect was built around a feudal society centered on the king and lords.

However, there was a place governed not by a king but a pope, known as the ‘Holy Empire.’

Although it was called an empire, it was more a small nation in reality.

The Holy Empire consisted of a union of city-states, including the capital, Garnelia, where the Holy See was located, and medium-sized cities with major cathedrals of different orders.

It was more of a religious collective than a nation, revered and deemed an inviolable sanctuary by other countries due to its religious influence and respect for the gods.

“It’s worrying. If we only respond after things escalate, it’ll be too late…”

“All we can do is what’s within our power. We’ve already issued response directives in the territories our influence reaches and have also informed allied families separately. So, stop worrying like an old man and come warm up with me. Let’s put those strange powers to good use!”

It seems this family just can’t leave anything unusual alone.

Upon seeing Raul’s psychokinesis, his father insisted on daily training, and his brother was no different.

The first thing done after the update notice was to pass the information to his father and brother. The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player 44

Despite Raul’s claims of having received a “divine revelation,” both of them were skeptical but didn’t dismiss his words outright.

In the process, Dylan, who learned about Raul’s psychokinesis, teased him as if he had found an interesting new toy.

“You’re relying on that strange power, that’s why your physical development is lagging!”

“Using that, we could probably put more strain on the muscles, don’t you think? Little brother, shall we research it together?”

“Your physical enhancement technique is quite innovative. However, there’s a significant loss of power. Let this brother refine it for you!”

With such remarks, they ended up dragging Raul to the training ground, where their sessions invariably culminated in physical training. Thanks to this, Raul’s strength increased, and his psychokinesis was restored to its former level.

However, Raul shook his head vehemently. No matter how much time passed, he never got used to the physical training with Dylan. Truth be told, he didn’t like the training, but the reason he continued to participate was actually for the sake of his brother Dylan. Dylan’s interests lay solely in the physical form itself.

This focus had crafted him a body unlike any other human’s, but left much to be desired in terms of combat skills. ‘But this can’t go on.’ A war that would engulf the entire world was impending. The enemies they were to face were by no means easy opponents. To overcome the upcoming challenges, Dylan needed to grow as well.

‘If appropriate combat skills are added to that unbelievable physique…!’

Consequently, Raul was training with and thereby challenging Dylan. He was still no match for his brother in sparring, but the gap was gradually closing. Dylan must have felt it too, the realization that soon he might reach a limit in overpowering Raul with mere physical strength.

‘When that time comes, I’ll have to find a suitable skill for him. With the dungeons opening, I can obtain a skill book that fits him.’ Raul’s face lit up with excitement as he pondered which combat style would suit his brother best.

* * *

Despite the temple’s announcement of the oracle, nothing much changed. Gathering troops and hiring mercenaries naturally required money. Very few lords were willing to waste money on an event that hadn’t even happened yet.

‘Would something really happen?’

‘It’s not the first time those temple folks have made a fuss over nothing.’

‘Might as well watch how things unfold before we make our move.’

These were expected reactions, yet Raul couldn’t help but feel disappointed. As the scenario progressed, there would be numerous situations where the strength of the kingdom was desperately needed.

Invasions by monsters through gates, chaos resulting from the breaking of seals, and wars with the empire—all these scenarios would demand a massive mobilization of troops. To prepare for these situations, it was crucial to minimize damage to the kingdom and preserve its military might. However, Raul was acutely aware of the limits of what he could do.

In reality, it might be more accurate to view it as a religious conglomerate rather than a country.

It was recognized as an ‘Empire’ and designated as a permanent neutral zone by other nations, not only out of respect for the gods but also due to the undeniable religious influence.

“It worries me. If we wait until something happens to respond, it’ll be far too late…”

“We just have to do what we can. We’ve already relayed the countermeasures to our territories and separately informed our allied families. So, stop worrying like an old man and let’s loosen up a bit. Use those strange powers of yours to the fullest!”

It seems this family can’t leave anything extraordinary alone.

After seeing Raul’s psychokinesis, the count demanded daily sparring sessions, and the brother was no different.

The first thing Raul did after the update notice was to pass the information to his father and brother. No matter how much knowledge of the future he possessed, or that he was born into a prestigious family, that was the extent of it.

The Ashton county was just one of many prestigious families in the Connect world, and Raul was nothing more than an insignificant 15-year-old boy without any notable reputation.

“Brother’s words aren’t wrong. Let’s focus on what we can do right now. The current situation is…”

Over the past month, Raul had been incredibly busy.

On days with classes, he attended them and scoured the library for skill books.

On days off, he used portals to visit three other starter cities within the kingdom.

There were a total of four starting cities in the Ruben Kingdom.

Aside from Mira, the southern city he had already visited, there were Kessan in the east, Briant in the west, and Jusek in the north.

Raul met with the mayors of these three free cities, armed with a letter of introduction from Mayor Reynaldo of Mira, and proceeded with investment contracts.

The situation in the other three cities was not much different from Mira, so the mayors warmly welcomed Raul’s investments. Raul initiated large-scale civil engineering projects on prime lands in the cities and established branches of the [First Knight Order].

Including additional investments in Mira, a staggering total of 3.5 million gold was spent, but Raul didn’t even blink an eye.

“Judging from the update notice, there isn’t much time left until players start logging in for real. It might be a rush, but we need to make as much progress on the construction as possible.”

Securing a high guild rank through city contribution points was an added bonus.

Focusing on real estate and construction in the free cities was a long-term investment, but Raul didn’t forget to prepare for the imminent update.

He posted a massive recruitment notice in the four free cities and the capital’s mercenary guilds.

The targets were individual mercenaries of C rank or higher and small mercenary groups of ten members or less.

The contract offered double the normal hiring fee for one month from the update day, with the promise of recruitment and an opportunity to train as a knight for those who distinguished themselves.

The offer, especially the chance to become a knight, attracted countless mercenaries to line up for the opportunity.

With the number of applicants exceeding thousands, there was no choice but to conduct selection exams, and Raul personally oversaw the hiring of the mercenaries.

Traveling through portals to visit the four cities, Raul managed to hire 50 B-rank mercenaries and 950 C-rank mercenaries.

B-rank mercenaries were either sword users capable of utilizing mana or leaders of small mercenary groups who had successfully completed numerous jobs.

C-rank mercenaries were skilled enough to be considered experienced soldiers in a lord’s domain or mercenaries with over three years of experience.

Employing 1,000 mercenaries like this was unheard of, except in situations where the fate of a lord’s domain was at stake, and required a significant amount of money.

Indeed, supporting these mercenaries required Raul to spend 30,000 gold, with further expenses inevitable.

Already, the Ashton county’s mansion in the capital was bustling, accommodating the thousand mercenaries that had come from each city, along with the additional employees hired to manage their meals and lodging.

“This is insane. It’s not like money grows on trees…”

“It’s unbelievable. What if nothing happens?”

“Could there be some other motive?”

The surrounding nobles either scoffed or frowned at Raul’s actions, and some even doubted his intentions.

To make matters more complicated, the royal court even sent the captain of the capital’s guard to obtain a written pledge from Raul.

Furthermore, it was clear that Raul’s bold moves had influenced other nobles. In hopes of bolstering their defenses, an increasing number of lords and commanders began summoning a portion of their knights and domain troops to the capital, while others took to hiring mercenaries, albeit in small numbers. Furthermore, the rising demand for their services attracted scores of mercenaries and wandering knights to the Ruben Kingdom.

“Sir Philip, have the guild members been assembled?”

“All 45 members, excluding those managing the branches, have arrived.”

“It must have been a tough journey. I’d like to give you all some rest, but you know we can’t afford that luxury right now, right?”

“Yes, Young master. As per your command, they are being organized into ten groups. Once that’s done, we will commence group training.”

“And don’t forget about the operation tonight.”

“Of course, Young master.”

Another significant change had occurred during this time. The knights and their followers, who had been temporarily dispatched under Raul, were now formally under his command. Six squires had reached the expert level and were officially inducted, along with Philip, Jake, and Pierce, totaling nine knights to become regular members of the newly launched [First Knight Order]. It was Raul’s very own order, independent from the Ashton county. Additionally, the knight apprentices and soldiers had joined the First Knight Order under the public guise of squires, having all reached the stage of mana-utilizing sword users.

Thus, Raul’s guild, publicly known as the [First Knight Order], was officially launched.

[First Knight Order]

– Level: Small Lv. 10

– Reputation: Influential Local Guild

– Guild Master: Raul de Ashton

– Vice Guild Master: Philip

– Administrative Head: Bernard

– Total Members: 50

– Member Composition: 9 Regular Knights, 35 Apprentice Knights, 5 Administrators

– Guild Buffs: Experience Gain Increase 10%, Skill Proficiency Increase 10%

Their growth had been remarkably swift, considering it had only been about four months since they started accepting guild members.

‘To think they’ve exceeded my expectations, even though we only recruited those with B-Grade potential and above?’

There were even talks in the family about the necessity of sending apprentices for training in Mira, given the results. Of course, such growth would be impossible for regular apprentices without the support of a guild system.

Nonetheless, this marked the completion of their preparations in anticipation of the update. Raul waited for the update, watching the system screen with a slight look of anxiety. At the same time, elsewhere, there were those engaged in an excited meeting.

(To be continued)