The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 81

“Damn it. How is this even possible?”

Viscount Plank cursed under his breath while continuously casting magic spells. Just moments ago, the same foe who had been cornered and immobilized by a barrage of magic was now easily deflecting spells and advancing towards him.

“What in the world are you?”

It was one thing to become an Armor User at a young age, but suddenly there were rumors about being a messenger of the gods.

He had thought such absurd rumors were the result of the nobility’s scheming, yet here was that very person, effortlessly performing broad-range holy spells.

That much he could understand. It wasn’t unheard of for someone to become a holy knight at a young age.

But magic, now?

According to the consensus in the academic world, divine power and magic power were fundamentally incompatible.

Divine power, aligned with nature and divine providence, and magic power, which manipulates the flow of nature, were completely different by nature.

It was common knowledge that a mage could not wield divine power, just as a priest could not wield magic power.

“And what exactly is this guy? A knight who uses holy spells and now magic too?”

More than that, it wasn’t even a low level of skill. He was displaying a level of proficiency that would earn him acclaim in either domain, which naturally astonished Viscount Plank.

But his astonishment only went so far. After all, he just had to capture the guy and see for himself.

“Actually, this is good. He would make an excellent test subject. Maybe I could even improve our soldiers…”

Such a success could raise his rank and even earn him the Emperor’s trust. Viscount Plank’s face found its smile again.

Raul had by now approached close by, but Plank was not the least bit worried.

The moment they failed to bring a competent mage, their defeat was sealed.

“Idiot. What did you think would change by coming all the way here? Kekeke.”

Watching Raul charge furiously, Viscount Plank leisurely activated the fly spell.

Levitating into the air, he shouted, “Scum belongs on the ground. You’ll regret daring to challenge a great manipulator of nature, a mage, for the rest of your life!”

And so, Viscount Plank began to unleash more magic, mocking Raul. The power armor used by mages had several spells pre-installed.

The most notable were the 5th Circle spells: Fly (Levitation) and Blink (Short-Distance Teleportation).

These were essential spells designed to ensure the survival of mages, who were vulnerable in close combat.

Though they consumed a significant amount of mana, being able to attack from a distance without threats posed by enemies was almost cheating under certain circumstances.

Especially in situations like now, where the enemy lines consisted only of knights, it allowed for completely one-sided attacks.

Of course, the newbie who had climbed up the cliff was targeting not him but his remaining subordinates.

After all, unless they had wings, how could they possibly attack him floating carefree on the ceiling of the underground cavern?

Whoosh.

A suddenly launched arrow aimed for him, but it wasn’t in vain that he wore power armor. Unable to penetrate the defensive force field, the arrow was deflected.

“Should we wrap up this little amusement here?”

Even for a mage, time was a constraint when donning power armor. With distance already between them, it seemed prudent to bring matters to a close.

Beneath the brass mask, red tattoos began to spread across the face of the Count of Frank, as he commenced casting the most potent spell within his arsenal.

***

“Ha!”

Upon reaching the cliff’s edge, Raul, without a second thought, swung his great sword from right to left with ferocity.

The blade, enhanced by power armor and measuring two meters in length, swept through the air before him. As a result, within a 3.5-meter radius, five cavalry and two mages were sliced in an instant.

Although Count Frank had taken to flight using a levitation spell just before Raul’s arrival, Raul paid him no heed.

Frank might have been spouting something, but Raul didn’t even pretend to listen, focusing instead on the remaining enemies.

“There’s no need to deal with him first. After all, my goal is to disperse the enemy’s attack.”

Boom, bam!

With Rabel intercepting the magic fired from midair by Count Frank, Raul had no need to be concerned. Continually swinging his great sword while also launching flying daggers with psychokinesis, Raul downed his opponents.

With all the enemy armor users pinned down by Philip, no one was left to block Raul’s path. In a matter of moments, Raul had cut down over twenty cavalrymen and headed towards Jake on the left, causing the magic attacks to scatter in his direction.

This led to Jake’s legs giving way, and the battle line of the Imperial Hounds began to collapse uncontrollably.

As Jake approached the cliff, the mage power armor user on the left also tried to create distance with blink and flight spells, but in that very moment…

Ssszak!

A streak of yellow lightning that pierced up from below went straight through the mage’s power armor.

“Agh!”

The identity of the yellow flash was none other than Pierce’s arrow.

Having reached the expert class, Pierce was able to imbue his arrows with mana, culminating in the skill [Piercing Arrow (A-)].

To activate this ability, one had to wear power armor and concentrate for about 20 seconds, channeling mana into the arrow, with the downside being its severe recoil limiting it to three shots per day.

However, as evident, it boasted the tremendous power to even penetrate power armor.

The struck mage, with his concentration shattered, failed to maintain his flight spell and fell to the ground, where the knights below turned him into a pincushion, marking his end.

The balance was irrevocably lost.

With the armored users now swiftly making their way up the cliff, and ordinary knights beginning to climb to join the fray, the Imperial Hounds, lacking armor users, seemed incapable of resistance.

The concern was now Count Frank, levitating near the ceiling of the underground cavity and casting a spell, the amount of mana gathering around him, activated tattoos and all, indicated ominously.

But Raul, looking at Viscount Plank, displayed a contemptuous expression, seemingly unfazed by any sense of crisis.

“Mages are usually smart, I’ve heard… What on earth is that idiot thinking?”

It was odd, to say the least, for Raul, as intimidating as he could be, to just let his subordinates be abandoned and run off alone from a distance.

And having taken the trouble to put some distance between them, he should have started with a powerful spell right from the start.

What was the reason for blabbering to Raul with ineffective magic and then belatedly beginning to cast?

“Moreover, what exactly is he counting on that he’s preparing such a long and grand spell? Does he really think he’s safe floating up there?”

The place where the man was located was over a hundred meters above the cliff, high up in the air.

Under normal circumstances, it would be beyond the reach of knights, but knowing that Raul could use magic, why didn’t he realize that place was far from safe?

“Tch.”

Disdainful of the situation, Raul clicked his tongue while Rabel spoke up.

“Hmm. The expected spell is a 7th circle area magic, ‘Fire Storm.’ About 30 seconds left until the casting is complete.”

As Raul analyzed, Rabel had the ability to discern the opponent wizard’s magic. Thanks to this, Raul could afford not to worry about whatever Viscount Plank was plotting.

“He really thinks lowly of us. A 7th circle spell that takes 3 minutes to cast.”

[Master, shall I shoot?]

Pierce was already aiming at the man with piercing arrows from below.

[The javelin is also ready.]

By now, Philip, who had cleared the surroundings, was holding a small javelin.

[Just be ready. I’ll take care of this.]

“Should I prepare the flight magic?”

Rabel asked, but Raul shook his head.

“No need. I have something better.”

At this point, the only threatening enemy left was Viscount Plank. Raul did not hesitate to activate Regnator.

Concentrating mana behind his back, beautiful golden wings sprouted. It was the recently unlocked special ability of Regnator, [Phantasmal Wings].

“Wow~. Are you going to fly with these wings?”

Rabel caressed Raul’s wings with sparkling eyes and asked.

“No. Unfortunately, these wings are for ground use only. But it’ll still be interesting to watch.”

“……?”

[Phantasmal Wings], contrary to its appearance, was not a flying technique but a kind of charging skill.

When the wings were spread wide and the skill was activated, it would charge forward at a tremendous speed like activating a booster, and at that moment, the wings would become a type of mana blade, slicing through all enemies in its path.

The reason for deploying such a charge in this situation was clear.

‘Combine this with psychokinesis, and it becomes a powerful combination move.’

Raul smirked slightly, spread his wings wide, and then slightly leaned forward to angle himself and thought to himself with a shout in his heart.

‘Phantom Wing Charge!’

As soon as the command was issued, Raul’s body glided towards Viscount Plank like a golden hawk, tracing a sleek, straight trajectory that should have, by all means, plummeted downwards.

However, psychokinesis supported his falling body, allowing it to fly straight instead. And so swiftly did he move that in less than 3 seconds, he had covered the distance of over 100 meters to reach the viscount.

Swish. Swoosh!

Viscount Plank had no time to react as Raul brushed past him. In mid-air, a fountain of blood erupted, and the viscount’s limbs were severed, falling away from his body.

“Arrrggghhh~!”

The viscount’s delayed screams of agony filled the air as his dismembered body began its ungainly descent.

* * *

The battle came to an end.

Ironically, none of the enemy remnants could escape since Viscount Plank had sealed all the entrances at the battle’s onset.

Besides the viscount, the enemy’s command structure was entirely annihilated, thanks to the knights who took bold action, fearing a potential rampage or self-destruct scenario.

While his subordinates worked to breach the closed entrances and search for prisoners and survivors, Raul coldly gazed down at Viscount Plank, who was barely clinging to life, limbs severed.

“You… bastard. You think you can get away with doing this to me.”

Even in his dying moments, the viscount’s spirit was unbroken. Raul, however, was hardly concerned.

“I won’t expect an answer, but I’ll ask out of courtesy. Who is your superior?”

“Pah. I’ve got nothing to say to a filthy noble like you.”

“I thought so. Kane!”

“Yes, Master.”

Not wanting to waste time on someone unwilling to speak, Raul coolly handed the man over to Kane.

Previously, lacking an expert in such matters meant they struggled to extract information. Now, having capable subordinates meant an opportunity to utilize them properly.

Moreover, Kane had lost many comrades like brothers to the Imperial Hounds, so without needing to be told, he’d know exactly what to do.

“Don’t kill him, but beyond that, do as you please.”

“I shall make him spit out everything, even memories from when he was suckling,” Kane assured.

At that moment, the viscount let out a mocking laugh.

“Hah… You think you’ve won? Enjoy your moment. By tomorrow, every royal in this country will be wiped out. Let’s see if you can still laugh then.”

“Take him away.”

Raul ordered nonchalantly, ignoring the viscount’s dying threats. Kane grabbed the viscount by the hair and dragged him away.

“Hey, you hear that? Your king is going to die! All the royals, gone! Hey~!”

Even as he disappeared, Viscount Plank’s shouts echoed, but not once did Raul look back.

‘So what?’

Raul merely smirked.

(To be continued)