The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 63

Clash!!

Boom!!!

The shockwave from the collision of greatswords swept through the vicinity. Golden and pitch-black sword auras interweaved in the air, leaving trails as if trying to devour each other.

Boom!!

After another clash, Jack and Raul put some distance between them.

“Not bad! To be that skilled at such a young age. The head researcher would drool over you!”

“You’re less impressive than I thought. I had assumed you were some kind of secret weapon, given how you were hanging back.”

“Ha, the little guy sure talks big. Well, soon enough, your mouth will be the only thing left talking!”

Swoosh~ Bang!

Jack’s greatsword again aimed for Raul’s torso. Raul calmly raised his sword to deflect Jack’s blow, but it felt significantly heavier than before.

Clang! Clash! Boom!

The relentless assault, barely recognizable as swordsmanship, pushed Raul increasingly back. Riding the thrill, Jack shouted between heavy breaths.

“They say the Count Ashton’s greatsword technique is the finest, don’t they? Honestly, I’ve never been convinced.”

Whoosh!!

“Ugh!”

Raul staggered slightly under the sudden weight of Jack’s now doubly thick, black sword aura.

“Best swordsmanship from some backwater territory stuck in the kingdom’s outskirts!? What a joke. I can’t stand it. All the peace-addled nobility’s drivel!”

Crash!

Once more, a thick sword aura fell. But this time, Raul did not retreat.

“Ridiculous. Discussing swordsmanship while just pushing with brute force, without showing a proper technique. But then, what else can you expect from a rat that can’t even present its own swordplay convincingly?”

Provoked by Raul’s taunt, Jack, resting his greatsword on his shoulder, chuckled.

“Well, you’ve got a point. Thought I’d amuse myself, but you’re digging your own grave. No point in dragging this out; let’s finish it.”

With that, Jack positioned his massive two-handed sword behind him, preparing his distinctive stance. Raul, too, lifted his bastard sword to chest level, ready to face Jack’s attack.

Rumble.

A low rumble emanated from Jack’s sword as black smoke poured out like fog. The creeping black smoke soon enveloped his entire sword, hiding the pitch-black sword aura within the mist. Raul’s eyes sparkled.

‘There it is! Shadow Clipper!’

It was one of the greatsword techniques used by swordsmen from the Empire.

In his past life, he had encountered it a few times. The eerie technique involved a sinister sword aura hidden within the black smoke, attacking in unpredictable patterns.

“Heh. Let’s see you take this, you arrogant brat!”

Swoosh!!!

Jack’s sword tore through the ground, rushing towards Raul. The mass of black smoke made it seem less like a greatsword and more like a colossal pillar bearing down.

In the face of the seemingly engulfing black mass, Raul remained completely unfazed. Raul held his stance steadfastly, his eyes tinting a shimmering gold.

“Ha!”

Raul’s sword transformed into a streak of light as it penetrated the black smoke.

Clang!

“No! He figured it out?!”

Raul’s golden sword qi pushed back the pitch-black sword qi, and Jack’s greatsword narrowly missed Raul’s waist, passing by just inches away. Caught off guard, Jack hesitated for a moment, during which Raul’s sword lunged towards Jack’s shoulder.

“Not so fast!”

Thump!

Raul’s sword, nearly reaching Jack’s armor, was unfortunately blocked. The difference in basic stats and physicality was inevitable.

“This bastard~!!!”

Jack, having narrowly escaped an unexpected strike, expressed his fury as he swung his sword again. His sword, filled with a resolve not to be careless, emitted even more smoke, and his sword qi was more sinisterly concealed than before.

However, Raul was no easy opponent. His eyes, as if piercing through everything, discerned the hidden sword qi, and Raul’s greatsword, embodying the essence of Bear Crush (the sword technique of the Count Ashton family), confronted Jack’s sword.

Clang! Clash!

In an instant, over a hundred exchanges had passed. Incredibly, the battle between them was at a stalemate. Jack’s sword might have been superior in strength and speed, but he couldn’t break through Raul’s fluid swordsmanship that preemptively read and countered his movements.

‘Huh, unbelievable.’

Jack inwardly scoffed. How could he, who had reached the upper echelons of expertise, fail to handle a rookie who had just entered the realm of experts?

Frankly, it was a peculiar situation to chalk up to a difference in swordsmanship. The swordsmanship that the rookie was using did not seem particularly special or outstanding.

‘It’s as if he’s reading my mind.’

Raul blocked the sword paths at precisely the right moments, disrupting the flow of Jack’s swordsmanship. Yet, Jack wasn’t in a hurry. The real power of his Shadow Clipper swordsmanship was yet to be unleashed.

‘Rookie. Your bravado ends here.’

Jack looked at the black smoke enveloping him and Raul, a sly smile on his face.

“This is the end!”

Jack screamed as he swung his sword horizontally in a wide arc. A crescent-shaped sword qi flew towards Raul, and the surrounding black smoke rode the sword qi, crashing down on Raul like a tidal wave.

Raul, as he had done previously, swung his sword to fend off the sword qi, but could not prevent himself from being engulfed by the black smoke.

Tatatat! Thump! Thump!

Sparks flew as Raul’s power armor collided with the black smoke.

-Warning! Warning! Unknown energy is attempting to infiltrate the user’s body.

-The defensive spells of the power armor are activated.

-A sudden consumption of energy is detected. Please be aware of the power armor’s operating time. Energy levels at 81%, 80%, ….

A warning window popped up before Raul’s eyes. He noticed a dramatic drop in energy reserves after being engulfed in black smoke.

However, Raul dismissed the warning window as if it was nothing and silently focused on the battle.

“The vile nature that craves mana is still the same. I never knew it could even burn through power armor’s energy.”

Raul had already suffered at the hands of this terrible smoke in his past life. Yet, why would he willingly fall victim to it again?

Below the dismissed warning window, a percentage bar was racing towards 100%. Jack looked at Raul, who showed no particular movement, and let out a sinister smile as if he was looking at a prey he had captured.

“Heh, you’re no different after all.”

This is why traditional knights were easy to deal with. Their swordsmanship might be excellent, but their ability to respond to unexpected variables was lacking.

The knights he had encountered before were no different. There were some who showed considerable effort, but all of them were captured by Shadow Mist.

“Cowardly magic? Who says there’s dishonor on the battlefield?”

Those fools who amused him till the end are probably meeting with the angels in the laboratory by now. Though wearing rather expensive power armor offering tough resistance, the young one before him would soon fall to the ground.

“Got the young one, now what? Did the mage think he’d use brainwashing magic?”

While Jack thought the battle was already over and got lost in his thoughts, Raul’s sword began to show significant changes. Rumble. The sword vibrated once.

“This is the feeling.”

Simultaneously, a popup window appeared before Raul’s eyes.

-Synchronization rate has reached 100%.

-Copycat Quest [Observation, Experience Sync] has been completed.

-Total 323Combo, Time 3 minutes 22 seconds. Rank S.

-Rank S Bonus. [Swordsmanship: Shadow Clipper (A-)] proficiency adjusted to Intermediate Lv.1.

-[Swordsmanship: Shadow Clipper (A-)] has been successfully engraved into the skill book.

“Finally, a big catch!”

Until now, the [Copycat] skill had only managed to steal C-rank and lower, mediocre skills without much opportunity to shine. However, today it made a significant achievement.

But, as he was about to activate the stolen skill to surprise him with a thank you, an unexpected event occurred.

Sparks flew from the sword as mana flowed into it according to the skill’s guidance, and the skill was canceled.

“Damn it! What’s this!”

Simultaneously, a burning sensation flowed out of Raul’s bracelet and into his heart.

-ERROR! ERROR!

-[Regnator] has detected a forbidden attribute skill.

-Under the covenant, the user’s skill [Shadow Clipper (A-)] has been discarded.

-Searching for replacement skill.

-Replacement skill [Radiant Aura (A+)] acquired. Raul, who had slightly frowned in pain, widened his eyes in shock.

‘Why is this coming out here?!”

The skill [Radiant Aura (A+)] was not a sword technique, but in fact, a top-tier active skill of the Holy Knights!

“Hehehe. Finally thinking of giving up, are you? If you disarm and surrender, I’ll spare your life at least!”

As Raul staggered back, Jack, mistaking him for mana-depleted, shouted loudly.

“Sigh, unlucky.”

As Raul sighed and lamented, Jack, slinging his greatsword over his shoulder, spoke arrogantly.

“Yeah. To meet me of all people, you’re indeed out of luck! No need to be ashamed. After all, there are few in this kingdom who can beat me. Mwahahaha!”

Raul chuckled softly as he watched Jack spout nonsense.

“No, it means YOU are the unlucky one for meeting one of those few today. You dumb imperial mutt!”

“Has this brat lost his mind?!”

Raul didn’t bother to reply but instead activated his newly acquired skill.

Swish~.

A gentle breeze, centered around Raul, swept out once.

“Uh…!?”

At the strange sensation, Jack tilted his head in confusion. Bang!! A radiant golden light burst from Raul’s body, sweeping across the battlefield.

“What?!”

Temporarily blinded by the dazzling light, Jack hastily stepped back, covering his face with his arm. Meanwhile, some mercenaries observing the battle from atop the ramparts, shocked by the wave of light, hunched over then showed surprised expressions.

“Oh! The wound on the back of my hand is halfway healed!!” “I suddenly feel like all my fatigue has been washed away?”

One mercenary stood up, weapon in hand, and said, “Doesn’t feel like I would lose if I fought now!”

He slightly leaned forward, and the mercenaries on either side grabbed his arm.

“Hey, you’ll die if you do that!”

“That’s probably true, right?”

Although it was somewhat foolhardy, they indeed felt a surge of courage. “What the hell just happened?”

“That was the direction our employer went in…” “Could it be! Were the rumors actually true?” “What rumors?”

“Well, there had been some talk among the villagers that our employer might actually be an apostle of the gods.”

“Nah, that’s a bit much. I mean, our employer does look unnaturally handsome and exudes a dignity that doesn’t match his age, but an apostle of the gods?”

“Haha, right? Shouldn’t an apostle of the gods be bursting with halos from their body, and their sword overflowing with holy energy or something? Like, exactly like that… Wait…?!”

With a boom, trees in the distant forest burst apart, revealing two figures. And among them, one person’s body shimmered with a golden radiance while his sword blazed with a brilliant golden aura.
“……”

“……”

Watching the terrifying clash of black and gold, the mercenaries were speechless for a while.

(To be continued)