The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 77

A B-Grade monster. And not just any monster, but an elite guardian of the gate—a formidable opponent that was not easily encountered.

[Lion Mane Boarman Champion Lv77]

Grade: B

Traits: Armored. Morphing tusks. Mane.

“Grrraaaaah!!”

As the champion, whose stature reached almost 3 meters, let out a monstrous roar, the elite boarmen gathered around him, forming a battle formation.

‘Is this the appearance of a raid boss?’

The champion, wielding a ludicrously large halberd (a spear with an axe blade attached) over 4 meters in length, swung it through the air, increasing his momentum.

In a past life, I would have gathered hundreds of players for a raid to take down this beast, but now, there was no need for such measures.

Raul calmly issued an order through the guild’s communications.

“First Knights Squadron, activate your power armor. Take down the gate’s guardians at the front.”

“Yes, Master!”

Some of the First Knights stationed atop the barricade donned their power armor and charged towards the enemy lines.

“Out of my way!”

Swoosh! Thwack!

Five knights clad in power armor cut through the horde of monsters in a straight line, wielding their huge sword qi.

Before the sword qi amplified by the power armor, even the elite C-Grade boarmen were mere prey. Finally, the armored users confronted the champion.

“Grrraaaahh!!”

“Shut it, pig!”

Boom! Clang~clang!

True to a B-Grade guardian, the champion’s halberd emitted a black spear aura, fending off the attacks of the armor users.

However, blocking five with one hand was too much. The knights’ blades gradually inflicted wounds upon the champion’s body.

“Squeal!”

Enraged, the champion spun his halberd like a windmill, pushing back the knights before launching into a skillful series of stabs, reminiscent of a veteran spearman.

Thud~thwack!

“Ugh.”

A knight who took a stab head-on grunted softly as he was pushed back. A few dents appeared in his armor, but he suffered virtually no real damage.

Had a player been on the receiving end of such an attack, they would have either died or been forced to retire.

‘This is one of the advantages of power armor.’

It elevated their tanking capability to the level of boss monsters. At least until a Grade S monster appeared, even the standard issue power armor provided sufficient defensive capabilities.

The Boarman champion flailed, but the confrontation was one-sided. While the champion’s attacks could not harm the armor users, he kept accumulating injuries. But to collapse now would mean he couldn’t call himself a Guardian.

Groooo.

With a beastly scream, the Champion’s body was engulfed in dark energy streams.

“Phase 2. Spread out and prepare for unpredictable attacks,”

Raul warned, prompting the knights to spread out. Throwing his halberd, the Champion transformed into a form resembling a real wild boar, walking on all fours.

Furthermore, hundreds of razor-sharp teeth sprouted thickly like brambles from his head and front, and at the end of his tail, now like a whip, was a crescent moon-shaped bone blade attached.

“Regular troops, fall back behind the barricades!”

His attack pattern was easily predictable.

“Focus on the flanks while being cautious of charge attacks. Zeke, you’re on tail duty!”

Davison, the squad leader of the first group, quickly ordered, and five knights took positions on all sides except the front, diverting the Champion’s attention.

“Groooaar!”

The Boarman Champion, seemingly irritated, shook his head from side to side, targeting the knights.

Whoooosh!

The massive, razor-sharp teeth made a deadly swishing sound as they craved for prey, but the knights circled around the Champion, dodging his attacks.

Swoosh, thwack!

No matter how frantically the Champion thrashed in place, he couldn’t match the speed of the armor users.

Even though his whip-like tail could cover a wide area, it wasn’t very effective since a dedicated knight was marking it closely.

The Champion, starting to accumulate injuries, had his eyes turn blood red. Ignoring the knights, he suddenly charged towards the front, seemingly looking for an easier target.

‘Not on my watch!’

But Raul was not one to just stand by. He had prepared steel spears and continuously threw them towards the Champion’s path.

Thunk. Thud-thud-thud.

The steel spears didn’t hit the Champion. Actually, they weren’t aimed at it to begin with.

Under the guidance of psychokinesis, about twenty steel spears planted themselves in the ground in front of the Champion, blocking his charge.

Clang! Crash!

Of course, the actual stopping effect was minimal. Considering the Champion’s size and power, it was only natural for the solid steel spears to snap like twigs.

However, it succeeded in slightly slowing him down and distracting his attention, providing enough time for the knights to catch up.

“Aim for the legs!”

Suddenly at pace with the Champion, the knights’ sword qi targeted its four legs.

Crash bang bang!

Having his relatively less protected legs attacked, the Champion tumbled to the ground, and the knights seized the opportunity to launch a focused assault.

‘Swoosh!

At that moment, something black burst forth from behind the champion, scattering in all directions and repelling the knights’ attacks.

“Everyone, be careful!”

Squad leader Davison shouted as he fended off the monster, but it seemed a bit too late.

Crack. Thud!

A knight was seized by the black entity around his ankle, lifted into the air, and then slammed to the ground.

“Charge!”

Suddenly appearing, Raul’s spear spun like a small tornado, piercing through the black entity that had grabbed the knight’s ankle.

The swirling spear technique was characteristic of the Riva Spear Art (B) he had learned from the Mira. Freed from the restraint, the knight quickly distanced himself from the champion.

“Thank you, master.”

He seemed mostly unharmed thanks to his power armor, but slightly dizzy, shaking his head side to side to regain his bearings.

“That’s probably the last phase. Don’t let your guard down and calmly aim for the ‘mane’!”

What soared into the air from the back of the champion’s neck, like the feathers of a peacock, was a black mane.

The mane, as if each strand had a life of its own, clustered and then scattered, changing into various shapes. Thinking back to earlier when it had grabbed a knight, it seemed capable of extending to some length.

Moreover, the mane that had just been cut off by Raul had returned to its original length, indicating remarkable regenerative abilities.

It was a tricky form to contend with, even for multiple opponents, but Raul had considerable experience dealing with such enemies.

‘Normally, finding a non-regenerative weakness is standard, but there’s no need for such effort if our firepower is overwhelming.’

The regeneration of the mane was not ‘infinite.’ It naturally consumed the main body’s mana.

Raul and the knights engaged the champion while maintaining some distance.

Thunk. Swish. Clang!

The mane was quite tough, making it difficult to cut through with a single strike of the sword. But it was impossible to continuously defend against the high output, power armor-enhanced sword strikes.

One by one, pieces of the mane started to get sliced off, eventually being cut off in chunks, and the regeneration speed could not keep up with the pace at which it was being cut. And with that, the battle was decided.

Squeal.

The Boarman champion, with all four legs and its tail cut off, seemed to sense its end was near and let out a coarse cry.

Raul, with a calm expression, infused his spear with mana and delivered the final blow.

Swoosh-thud!

The spear pierced through the back of the champion’s neck, turning its brain to mush.

Grade: B

Objective: Subdue the Lion Mane Boarman Champion that appeared with the monster wave

Reward: Experience. 28,000 coins, random B-Grade material box.

The elite guardian was dealt with more easily than expected.

The total time taken was just over 15 minutes.

Without the power armor, the struggle would have lasted much longer.

– You have handled the Elite Guardian of the Rampaging D-Grade Gate. The D-Grade Gate will cease to exist permanently.

As I confirmed the system message, the expanded D-Grade Gate shrank into a tiny speck in the void and then vanished completely.

No more monsters were replenished, and with the Armor users joining in, it didn’t take long to annihilate the nearby monsters.

“Completed the subjugation of the second D-Grade Gate.”

“The third…”

“The fourth D-Grade Gate as well…”

Thanks to the concentrated deployment of the First Knight Order, the four D-Grade Gates that appeared in the capital were quickly subdued.

It seemed that officers like Philip, Jake, and Pierce had played an active role.

However, dealing with E-Grade and F-Grade Gates was still a desperate situation.

Where to deploy the surplus forces now depended on Raul’s decision.

That’s when a communication came from Bernard.

“A message from Kane. Creatures resembling Imperial Cavalry and forces with unidentified insignia have appeared in the target area. Some follow the underground passages towards the castle, while others head towards the Gate in the first outer city.”

‘They’ve finally made their move.’

The Imperial Hounds wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. It seemed Kane’s hunch about their hideout was right.

“The enemy’s force is approximately 2,000 strong; 1,500 being cavalry and 500 regular troops, including about 50 knights. Kane is returning to his original position to monitor the target and waits for Master’s orders,” Bernard reported.

Raul deliberated for a moment upon hearing Bernard’s report.

‘Are there primarily three options?’

The first was to ignore the likes of the Imperial Hounds and focus on clearing the remaining Gates.

If Raul and the Knight Order joined forces, it would considerably reduce the citizens’ casualties and better handle attacks from outside the walls.

‘But there’s hardly any real benefit.’

The rewards for clearing Gates below E-Grade were not significant. And it was something that could be managed without necessarily needing the elite knights’ brigade.

The second option was to immediately pursue the Imperial Hounds to the inner city where the royal palace was located.

Although their intentions were unclear, thwarting them would surely hit back at the Empire.

And it was highly probable to gain access to a main quest related to the pre-scenario.

The risk was the issue.

Could Raul and the First Knight Order handle the true might of the Imperial Hounds, considering their cavalry alone numbered over 1,000?

Lastly, there was the option of attacking the hideout of the Imperial Hounds instead of the castle.

‘The plan was initially to scour the manor with the church’s cooperation after the Gate situations were handled….’

The scenario had changed dramatically. The hideout was confirmed, and many forces had left it for the attack.

This might be the best time to rescue those kidnapped or taken prisoner.

However, this route was equally dangerous. No matter how many forces had departed for the operation, a basic defense force was expectedly stationed.

While the royal side had allies like the royal knights and knights, here it was solely the might of the First Knight Order to rely on.

Raul’s contemplation was brief.

As Raul’s orders were conveyed through the guild communication, the elite of the First Knight Order began to move swiftly.

And the direction Raul headed was…

(To be continued)