The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 62

Jack, the Vice Commander of the 8th Duke’s Unit in the Imperial Hound Division of the Ruben Kingdom.

He was a renowned swordsman within the organization, famous for his skill with the great sword, and his brutal nature made even his comrades wary of approaching him.

Clad in a cold iron mask, his berserk slaughtering of enemies on the battlefield reminded one of a blood-mad warrior, yet in reality, he was incredibly cunning and meticulous in self-preservation.

Despite his exceptional abilities, he only entered the fray when victory was certain. Even long after the battle had commenced, he was merely sitting on a sawed-off tree stump, spectating without any intention to participate.

However, an event soon marred his calm observation.

“What did you say? Repeat that!”

“It appears our retreat has been cut off.”

Standing before Jack was a typical mage, robed and holding a staff, except a sinister red tattoo shone on the back of his hand like the other agents.

“Why the hell is everyone freaking out! Just do your damn jobs. Isn’t securing our retreat part of your responsibility? Tell me, what’s the issue?”

The mage, unphased by Jack’s harsh words, seemed accustomed to his manner.

“There’s no issue on our end. It seems something has happened outside.”

“Huh… So, what’s the plan? Any solutions?”

Jack slightly tempered his anger to ask, but the mage shook his head.

“For now, we can only hope that the issue outside resolves itself. Otherwise, we have no choice but to exit through conventional means.”

They hadn’t entered the gate in a normal manner. The organization possessed a ‘Gate Borer,’ a remarkable device that could forcibly enter a gate.

Though it had a limited number of uses and required someone outside to recreate an exit, its ability to infiltrate a gate undetected was a significant advantage.

Paired with this borer was a transmitter, which, held in the mage’s hands, had lost its light and become unresponsive, indicating their connection to the outside world had been severed.

“Damn. This is a problem.”

Without the borer, their only exit was through the gate itself. The issue was the kingdom’s soldiers stationed at the gate. For them, whose identities must remain hidden, clashing with the soldiers was fatal. But, the real issue wasn’t even that.

Clash! Boom!!

The battle unfolding before the fortress saw the empire’s side clearly losing. Though a chance for reversal remained, Jack had no desire to get involved.

‘I was ready to bail if things went south, but my luck’s just trash.’

Still, he wasn’t without ideas. Annihilating them and disguising as mercenaries to pass through the gate was one option. Another was taking a noble’s child as a hostage to escape. Yet, either way, they needed to win the fight first.

“Ugh. I’ll just provide some support fire from the corner. Don’t get cocky and end up dead.”

Although they weren’t exactly to his liking, the mages proved to be useful. Merely being at the 4th circle, they weren’t much help in combat, but post-battle, they were far more valuable than those who knew nothing but the blade.

Moreover, among the enemies, there happened to be an armor user capable of sniping. Relying on the buffed abilities of his tattoo and acting recklessly would surely lead to instant defeat.

“Feeling filthy, I guess it’s time to taste some blood. Ptooey!”

Jack spat out the half-chewed jerky and, holding his greatsword as tall as himself, began striding toward the fortress.

* * *

“Whoo, feels like I could fly.”

Philip and the high-ranking officials sometimes practiced in power armor, but the euphoria of mana infiltrating every cell of his body never got old. It filled him with a confidence and vitality that seemed to scream he could do anything.

“Of course, I shouldn’t get drunk on this feeling,” he mused.

A common mistake among power armor novices was exactly that, failing to adapt to their enhanced strength, and forgetting that their opponent might also be an armor user.

That’s where the distinction between a noble family and others lay. Knights from noble families could afford ample training to adapt to power armor, a luxury not available to common families.

This difference often determined the survival rates of power armor users on the battlefield. Seasoned users kept a close watch on their armor’s condition and energy levels during combat.

However, rookies, lost in their euphoria, failed to objectively assess their power armor’s condition. Wearing the same armor, they would run out of energy much sooner, becoming prey on the battlefield.

But Raul was in a different league compared to those rookies. His consistent training played a part, but importantly, a guide window on one corner of his view detailed the status of his power armor.

[Axel B-type Power Armor]

Grade: B

Base Output: 1.1 CP (Core Power)

Peak Output: 1.28 CP

Operation Time: 10h/max

Energy Remaining: 99% (9 hours 55 minutes remaining)

Operation Mode: Hybrid (Mana Stone + Self-Charging)

Defensive Spell: 6th Circle

Notes: Custom unit for Raul, integrated with [Regnator] (Overall performance +5%)

“Good. No issues at all.”

Raul had been worried that the empire’s armor users might cause [Regnator] to act up, but thankfully, it was stable. The initial activation had been incredibly unstable. The operation was erratic, and neither the maintenance time nor the output could be controlled as intended.

Philip, having experienced it firsthand, shook his head and advised Raul against using such a dangerous weapon in real combat, labeling [Regnator] as too risky.

But Raul had no intention of giving up on the power armor, and he repeated the activation of Regnator even if it meant vomiting blood every time. The solution appeared from an unexpected place.

It was when his older brother, Dylan, came to the capital and brought a gift for Raul. The Count of Ashton, Count Melvin, had a tradition of gifting power armor to his children when they became adults.

Even if they couldn’t use it right away, it was expected to inspire them to improve their swordsmanship skills. In Raul’s case, there was an intention to give a different gift, but after seeing Raul win the adult ceremony tournament, a late order was placed, and it finally arrived.

The B-Grade power armor was among the highest-performing products currently on sale. Moreover, the products from Axel Corporation were expensive due to their custom manufacturing system.

To compensate for Raul’s lack of physical strength, the Count made a significant expenditure to specially order a model with enhanced output.

“That’s the good thing about being a rich man’s son.”

Even the cheapest, F-Grade power armor costs about 10 million gold, a luxury item. Given that an average knight’s monthly wage was about 100 gold, it would take over ten years for a regular knight to afford power armor on their own.

Receiving a B-Grade power armor as an adult ceremony gift highlighted the privilege of being born with a silver spoon. Anyway, the B-Grade power armor that Raul received was the solution to [Regnator].

Regnator naturally integrated with Raul’s new power armor, allowing him to control it stably. Whizz. Raul stealthily avoided the scene where armor users were clashing and soared down the hill.

His goal was not to rush into the battlefield and suppress the enemies. The battlefield was already tipped in favor of his knight order, and with Dalton joining, it would seal the victory.

“Over there?”

Raul’s target was the mages. Victory in battle would be meaningless if any enemy managed to escape. Although prepared for a clash with the Imperial Intelligence Agency, the Imperial Hounds, there was no need to reveal their strength to the enemy.

Raul’s sharpened senses detected the displeasing presence of magic. It seemed that figures who were presumed to be mages were gathered in one place.

“Good. Let’s clean them up all at once!”

His power armor was engraved with defensive spells that could block up to the 6th circle. Even for mages who used 5th circle magic, it posed no problem.

Raul, having spotted his prey, charged at the enemies even faster. And the moment he spotted the mages and drew his greatsword—

Bang!!

Skid.

Someone ambushing from the side pushed Raul back significantly.

“Damn! They weren’t just simple escorts.”

A rare misjudgment from Raul had occurred. He aimed to deal with the mages first since he didn’t feel a strong presence from the attacker, who turned out to be a skilled expert capable of concealing their energy.

“Ho. What a windfall! For the young master to come all this way alone! But this is a bit unexpected. An expert, and an armor user at that, was not something I heard of.”

With a bitter smile spreading across his face at the thought of dealing with those intelligence officers once he returned, Jack advanced towards Raul without hesitation.

After all, whether an expert or not, his opponent stood no chance against him. Swinging his greatsword casually as he walked, Jack’s figure was enveloped in a pitch-black suit of armor.

Both Raul and Jack wore black armor, but while Raul’s armor shone as if light would reflect directly off of it, Jack’s armor was a dull matte black, appearing to absorb all light.

Among the two contrasting figures, Jack’s presence was overwhelmingly dominant. Up until he donned his power armor, it seemed like mere child’s play; now, a black aura flared and swirled around his armor.

In contrast, Raul wasn’t emanating any aura. He simply stood quiet and calm, his sword pointed towards Jack. However, his eyes had turned a golden hue, piercing through Jack as if seeing everything.

[Name]: Jack (44)

[Level]: 81

[Occupation]: Knight (High-level Sword Expert)

[Affiliation]: 8th Duke Battalion Vice Commander of the Imperial Hounds of the Cranen Empire, Ruben Kingdom Branch

[Stats]: Potential (A-Grade)

[Strength 79]

[Agility 77]

[Stamina 73]

[Intelligence 71]

[Mind 61]

[Magic Power 73]

[Sense 68]

*Unique Traits

Blood-covered (A-), Shrewd (B), Narcissism (C+)

Considering his stats and level, he was a typical upper-level sword expert knight, seemingly at the level of Jake or Pierce.

“But activating the tattoo would transform him into a monster surpassing upper levels.”

Without a doubt, he was the strongest enemy they had faced so far. Moreover, his power armor wasn’t just some low-quality mass production model, but the real deal.

[Empire K-C Type Commander’s Power Armor]

Grade: C

Output: 1.0 CP (Core Power)

Operation Time: 6h/max

Operation Mode: Self-Recharging

Defensive Spells: 5th Circle

Notable Features: Equipped with Command Communication Equipment

Raul, even after checking the information, was not perturbed. He knew that stats in the status window were mere reference materials, and the outcome of a battle was never determined solely by who had superior stats. Raul steeled his resolve, recalling the battle experience he had accumulated in his past life and the relentless training he had undergone.

“I’ll show you, imperial hound, just how overpowered a player with both regression and equipment advantages can become!”

Golden light sharpened to a fine edge began to blaze from Raul’s greatsword.

(To be continued)