The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 88

“Effective, indeed.”

The combination of a stun grenade-like flash magic and a concussive sound magic was bound to be shocking for those experiencing it for the first time.

It was a shock not only to civilians but also to knights, who would be affected if they were caught unawares.

Even those wearing power armor were not fully protected against such indirect magic when it wasn’t a direct magical attack.

“How about my skills?”

“Excellent. Truly reliable, aren’t you?”

Rabel’s magic was splendidly free of any superfluities.

In reality, there were no such spells as flash magic or sound burst magic among the circle magics. Rabel had innovated by modifying the 1st circle magic ‘Light’ and the 4th circle ‘Explosion’ to create those effects.

And by taking advantage of the confusion to activate Blink (short-range teleportation), she successfully rescued the royalty, making it needless to say that Rabel’s joining was a great help to Raul.

“Could you treat the royals for now?”

They would recover over time, but she didn’t want to hear any complaints.

“Leave it to me~.”

Rabel fluttered her wings, approached the disoriented royals, and began chanting with a gesture.

“Recovery Winds, let the pain fly far away~.”

A green light enveloped them, healing the 4th prince’s thigh wound as well as restoring his eyes and ears back to normal.

“Gasp, gasp. Oh, who are you?”

The 4th prince, upon opening his eyes, was startled to see Raul.

“Have you come to?”

“Sir Raul, how are you here?”

“I had placed the 6th prince in a safe location and followed, just in case. I’m glad I’m not too late.”

“Ah, I was foolish. I should have listened to Gerard… My apologies, Sir Raul.”

Prince Jonas bowed his head in apology.

“It’s not your fault. It was my mistake for not noticing sooner.”

‘Not such a bad guy after all.’

Raul smirked warmly at his readiness to apologize and helped him up, then said,

“For now, please stay behind. It’s time to hold them accountable. Homer, take responsibility for protecting the royal family!”

“Yes, Master. Leave it to me.”

Homer was among the fastest to progress in the First Knight Order, excluding the officers. Being an expert-level knight and a D-Grade power armor user, he was well-equipped to protect them.

‘Maybe it’s time for me to make a move?’

Wondering just how good the knights of the kingdom’s supreme Royal Knight were, Raul dashed towards the enemies with a slight thrill.

* * *

‘Damn it….’

Bang!

As a ferocious sword qi collided in front of him, mana shards scattered. He felt a strong repulsion that made his grip ache, a feeling he hadn’t experienced often lately.

He thought he could match even the captain of the Royal Knight if he went all out, but where did this guy come from?

‘The Ashton Estate. Should I have dealt with it sooner?’

“Ho. So, this is what sets apart a high-level knight of the Imperial Guard? Having the luxury to entertain stray thoughts during battle?”

Suddenly, the sword’s aura transformed into something resembling the jagged edges of a saw, ferociously gnawing at No. 1’s sword aura.

“Urgh.”

His sword, caught by the saw-like sword aura, was slowly pushed back until it was almost in his face.

‘Damn it. Is he an Ogre or something? What kind of ridiculous strength is this?’

Boom!

No. 1 forcibly exploded the mana infused in his sword, creating distance between him and his opponent.

“Why would someone of your caliber stay in such a newly formed knight order? You’re too skilled to be just cleaning up after some noble’s brat…”

Upon hearing No. 1’s words, Philip, the Commander of the First Knight Order, laughed heartily and swung his sword down.

“Hahaha. And you, why serve the empire’s deranged emperor with your exalted skills? Wielding your sword for someone who doesn’t see people as people, I simply can’t understand it.”

Clash!

“Shut up, you dare speak of His Grace! His noble and pure intentions are beyond the comprehension of mere mortals like you.”

In the blink of an eye, tens of blows were exchanged. Both were at the brink of becoming masters, and thus, the battle was fierce.

Philip had the upper hand in strength, while No. 1 was slightly faster.

However, No. 1 had a power armor of B-Grade, issued to senior Imperial Guards, while Philip was wearing a standard C-Grade armor provided by the Golden Bear Knight Order. This meant that in a prolonged fight, the advantage was predicted to lean towards No. 1.

‘Damn it. I should have pulled out sooner… Should’ve just quickly dealt with those royal brats.’

He felt like he had stepped in it out of greed. Even now, his men were falling one by one. Despite not being a force to be easily overwhelmed, the situation was tipping bizarrely fast.

‘That damn brat!’

As expected, the problem was Raul. Contrary to intelligence reports that placed him barely at expert level, he had already surpassed a matured intermediate level.

Not only was he adept in chaotic combat, moving across the battlefield as though he had spent decades as a mercenary, diving here and there.

The rain of arrows he unleashed was as if alive, finding every gap and irking his soldiers, and his swordsmanship seemed to toy with the opponent’s skills as if anticipating their moves.

And crucially, the difference in the number of armor users on both sides was acutely painful.

‘Where on earth did he gather so many?’

Regardless of their quality, twenty heads were not to be underestimated, plus five royal knight knights making twenty-five.

However, on their side, including the imperial knights in ambush, they numbered only fourteen. With the cavalry and regular agents already down, it was clear that the armor users would be washed away the moment their mana was exhausted.

No. 1, while fending off Philip’s aggressive attacks, looked for an opportunity to escape.

But escaping through the entrance they came from seemed impossible.

‘No choice then. I’ll probably catch an earful but…’

Stealthily gauging the timing while on the lookout, No. 1 blocked Philip’s sword with his shield and at the same moment, threw a small bottle he fetched from his bosom to the ground, shattering it.

Crash!

From the broken bottle, black smoke surged like mad, engulfing the lounge.

“Poison, huh? Useless effort…”

The poison was no match for the armor user in a power armor. However, in the moment Philip instinctively stepped back, No. 1 was already making a run for it.

“Chase after him!”

Woosh~.

Using psychokinesis, Raul instantly compressed the billowing black smoke and dashed off, with Philip also starting to chase after No. 1.

“Jake will take care of finishing off the battlefield. Pierce, follow and secure our retreat.”

“Yes, Master!”

Contrary to other members of the Imperial Hounds, Jose did not use dark mana.

And from the fact that he did not activate any tattoos even in retreat, it seemed he hadn’t received the Emperor’s Brand either.

This meant that if they could capture him, they could get enough information from the enemy.

‘I won’t let you escape.’

Raul swiftly followed No. 1’s trace down into the depths of the palace’s underground.

* * *

‘How deep does this go?’

It felt like they had descended over ten floors underground, yet the stairs still continued.

Rumble.

Intermittent vibrations that appeared now and then became stronger the deeper they went, shaking the entire space as if an earthquake was happening. Finally, the stairway ended, and a long corridor appeared.

“There’s such a place beneath the royal palace. It’s almost like a temple?”

The corridor was made entirely of marble from floor to ceiling. Sculptures were engraved at regular intervals on the walls, but their content was indistinguishable, likely worn away by the passage of time.

Raul slowed his pace. Due to how quickly Jose had fled, even though it was a straight corridor, there was no sight of him.

‘There might be traps, so let’s proceed with caution.’

While they cautiously moved along the corridor, Pierce also joined them. After a while, the corridor ended, and they were greeted by a building reminiscent of the Parthenon temple.

“What is this place?”

“Who knows. One thing’s for certain, something is happening inside.”

Even from outside, an immense pressure could be felt.

“Master, perhaps it’s best if we only track up to here? It seems too dangerous.”

Even without Philip’s words, the danger was palpable. Yet, turning back now also felt regrettable.

Woom.

At that moment, the space near the entrance of the temple warped, and something burst forth.

“Demons!”

The creatures that appeared were twenty or so hellhounds and imps, similar to those seen in the inner sanctum. With a flurry and aggressive barks, the monsters seemed to have noticed Raul and his party and attacked without hesitation.

However, no one was phased by these C-Grade monsters. Raul easily dispatched the monsters and then made a decision.

“We’ve come this far, might as well check it out. If it seems too dangerous, we’ll retreat.”

As he said this and was about to step into the temple, another message appeared before Raul’s eyes.

-[Warning] A mandatory scenario is currently in progress. Players cannot enter.

-[Warning] This area is extremely dangerous. For the safety of your data, it is recommended that you leave the area.

‘Can’t enter?’

When Raul extended his hand, an invisible barrier blocked it.

“Pierce. Can you go in first?”

“Yes, Master.”

Pierce entered the temple without any trouble.

‘Hmm….’

After pondering for a moment with his arms crossed, Raul asked Rabel.

“Is there any way to temporarily stop the connect system?”

“Well, I can’t stop it entirely, but the auxiliary systems can be paused.”

“Then, please do it for a moment.”

“Okay~.”

At that, all the augmented reality interfaces that were displayed in Raul’s field of vision disappeared. Taking a deep breath and reaching out his hand again, Raul this time passed through without any obstruction.

‘Just as I thought.’

Raul was not only a player but also a resident of the connected world. He was curious if the restrictions applied to players would work differently on him, and his prediction was right.

In fact, during the battle in the lounge earlier, there were some dubious aspects.

Ever since entering the area of the mandatory scenario, some characters had an [Invincible] marker above their heads.

These were the royalties specified in the quest to be rescued.

‘But they were affected by the flash and the loud noise. If they were invincible, that shouldn’t have happened.’

Although more verification was needed on how the system applied, what was clear was that Raul was exempt from the constraints imposed on typical players and NPCs.

‘This could be useful. Maybe….’

He realized that he might be able to twister even a mandatory scenario that was thought to be unchangeable. The only downside was that although he entered a restricted area, he couldn’t activate the auxiliary system.

Inventory, status window, interface, and other system menus did not work.

“It seems like the connect system is also subject to restrictions here. Luckily, there’s no issue with the skill manual.”

He had to converse with Rabel out loud rather than in his head, but Raul could live with this kind of penalty.

After all, unlike other players, Raul embodied his skills and used them without the system’s assistance, so his combat ability wouldn’t be significantly reduced.

‘Shall we go in?’

Raul stepped into the temple cautiously with the two knights.

(To be continued)