The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

Chapter 11

As Raul stepped forward, his men sheathed their swords that had been pointed at their foes. Their razor-sharp killing intent slightly waned, allowing the knights of the Randal household to catch their breath and gaze at Raul with perplexed expressions.

“What’s this? Is he proposing a spar?”

“What is he thinking? Surely, he can’t mean to take us on all by himself?”

But such questions were fleeting.

Slash!

“Aaargh!”

Raul, who had dashingly charged in, swung his bastard sword, severing the arm of one knight who stood there foolishly. A subsequent horizontal slash sliced through another knight’s thigh.

“What, what the hell! He’s really going for it?!”

Jerry, who had never imagined Raul would actually attack alone, hastily backpedaled, shouting in panic.

While the knights of the Randal household hurried to aim their swords again, Cale, the youngest, charged at Raul swinging his morningstar.

“Presumptuous brat!”

Cale, who had reached the peak realm of seasoned sword users, never once thought he would lose. Rumor had it that Raul was nothing more than a 15-year-old kid who could barely wield a sword.

The moment Cale saw Raul block his morningstar with the bastard sword, he smirked maliciously, imbuing his weapon with mana.

It seemed certain that his mana-infused morningstar would shatter the bastard sword and smash down on Raul’s head.

Clang!!

“Eh…!?”

However, things did not go as Cale had planned. The morningstar was deflected weakly to the side, and the blunt blade of the bastard sword loomed before his eyes.

“Wha…!”

Thud!

Cale, wearing a face of grievance, tried to utter something, but Raul’s bastard sword had already crushed half of his head in its passage.

‘Fool. Everyone knows you can’t use sword qi within the Free City.’

Raul glanced at Cale with a look of contempt, then stepped towards his next prey.

In Free City of Mira and other starting cities, there were restrictions on mana-using skills to protect novice users from indiscriminate PK (Player Killing).

The techniques such as Mana Sword, Mana Blade, and Aura Blade utilized by NPC knights were naturally not activated.

Raul had stepped forward alone for that reason. No matter how genuine knights they might be, with their primary weapon, the skill of sword qi, being sealed, they were not much different from Raul.

“What are you doing! Take that bastard down!!”

Jerry, who had retreated to the very back of the formation, screamed furiously. However, the knights of the Randal house still hesitated.

The notion of many knights ganging up on a single person did not sit well with them, encircled as they were and considering the opponent was merely a 15-year-old child.

But with two of their charges already down and their comrades under attack, further hesitation seemed difficult.

‘No choice then.’

Jeremy, the captain of the count Randal’s guard, slightly frowned and gestured to the knights around him. Following that, some of the knights began to take action against Raul.

Their priority seemed to be to subdue Raul, who was rampaging in front, and then negotiate their way out of this situation with the opposing guard captain.

‘What are those guys thinking? Following orders is one thing, but to just stand by and watch…. Well, it does make things easier for us.’

The soldiers of the Ashton county, who had surrounded them, appeared to have no intention of moving. Moreover, a few who seemed like knights were not even worried, but rather wearing smiles and uttering exclamations of amazement.

‘What…?’

Feeling a sense of unease, Jeremy turned his attention back to the battlefield, only to widen his eyes in shock.

In the brief moment he looked away, several knights had fallen to the ground.

Clang!

“Ugh!”

Furthermore, other knights were splattered with blood, being pushed back here and there.

Even if they were knights of a cadet branch rather than the main part of the count’s knights, the idea that a mere 15-year-old could so completely overpower them was beyond comprehension.

‘This is too different from the rumors!’

How could this be the frail, weak child who supposedly couldn’t even wield a sword properly? Even now, the young lad of the Count’s family was forcefully pushing back two knights with his bastard sword. No matter how one looked at it, it was a scene so characteristic of the brutish Count Ashton’s family. The swordsmanship of the Ashton family was known for its use of a large two-handed greatsword, characterized by its powerful destructive force and wide attack radius. This was because it had been developed through real combat against monsters that were larger than humans. Moreover, the members of the Count’s family had the physical advantages suited for wielding a greatsword. They were exceptionally tall, with an average height exceeding 2 meters and long limbs; in fact, Raul’s father and two brothers were also over 2 meters tall, with muscular physiques.

However, immediately after his reincarnation, Raul found the family’s swordsmanship to be unsuitable for him. His slender and feeble muscles, although not skeletal, couldn’t support the powerful movements required. Thus, he hadn’t been able to properly utilize the family’s swordsmanship, but now things were different. Thanks to ample training and leveling up, he had accumulated enough stats to handle the heavy sword.

That was when it happened.

“Argh! Who the hell is this guy!”

Ramon, whose head had been crushed, had recovered somehow and yelled out.

The captain of the guard, Jeremy, regretfully realized he had forgotten about the person he was supposed to be protecting, as the situation had turned critical so quickly.

‘He should have just quietly assessed the situation.’

Sure enough, upon hearing the shout, the young lad from the Count Ashton’s family stepped back and neatly split Ramon’s mouth with his bastard sword. Shaking his head, Jeremy sighed and then turned to the three knights beside him.

“Tsk. Go take care of it.”

With that, the three knights shrugged and pulled out thin rapiers from their waists before stepping forward. The family head of the Count Randal, Hudson Count, favored the rapier as his primary weapon. He had become a sword master with the rapier, which resembled a thin steel skewer, and his swordsmanship was passed down only to his kin and the official knights of the Randal household, including the Randal knights.

Among those of the guard, only four, including the captain, wielded rapiers. This meant that the knights stepping forward were the cream of the crop within the Count Randal’s Household, recognized for their skills.

By that time, more than half of the knights had already been defeated by Raul’s hand.

One of the Randal knights frowned slightly and thrust his arm forward.

Swoosh, clank!

For the first time, Raul was pushed back by the knight, blocking the sharp tip of the rapier with his sword blade. Raul’s eyes sparkled slightly.

[Name]: Jeremy (37 years old)

[Level]: 65

[Occupation]: Knight (Sword Expert Beginner)

[Affiliation]: Count Randal’s Household, Randal Knights

[Stats]: Potential (B rank)

[Strength 66]

[Agility 72]

[Stamina 68]

[Intelligence 48]

[Mind 63]

[Magic 70]

[Sense 55]

*Unique Trait

Cruelty (C)

Jeremy, the captain of the guards, was at level 65. The levels of other Randal knights hovered in the early 60s. Considering that the boundary between a user and an expert was level 50, it was clear these were somewhat experienced expert-level knights. The rest of the guard knights were around levels 45-50; most were only at the upper to peak levels of sword users. Hence, the other knights hadn’t caught his eye from the start. Not all knights were equal, after all.

“Phew.”

Raul took a moment to catch his breath, swinging his sword in the air once before assuming his position again. In the meantime, the three Randal knights, as if there was no rush, slowly advanced towards Raul with their rapier tips pointed to the ground. Their expressions were not just overconfident but downright arrogant. The one standing in the middle began to speak.

‘Perhaps it’s time to stop. You’ve had enough satisfaction for a vendetta, haven’t you?”

“Why should I?”

“I’ve turned a blind eye so far, but if you really come at me, you’ll get hurt. Honestly, I have no interest in getting involved in a quarrel between swordsmen.”

Despite his words, his rapier dripped with blood. There was no need to ask whose blood it was.

Raul, without a flicker of hesitation, retorted, “Stop spouting nonsense and come at me. Do you plan to fight with words?”

“Really now. Relying on the guards backing you up, I see. Randal’s sword may be swift as the wind, but – urk!”

Thwack!

Raul’s bastard sword overpowered the knight’s rapier and shattered it to the forehead.

The rapier’s slender blade stood no chance against the might of the nearly 5kg heavy bastard sword coming crashing down.

‘You should have attacked instead of wasting time talking.’

Starting trouble, then seeking reconciliation when the situation turned against him?

If he thought this could have been resolved with words, he wouldn’t have started fighting. He didn’t plan on ending this fight until he achieved the outcome he desired.

“You coward!”

“It’s too late for regrets now!”

The knights standing by stabbed at him with their sharp rapiers.

Using his neck guard, Raul deflected one and knocked aside another rapier with his bastard sword, then charged forward using his shoulder. A thud echoed as one knight staggered back groaning, and Raul spun, wielding his sword.

Swoosh.

But they were indeed sword experts. In that brief moment, a rapier grazed between Raul’s shoulder blades.

Ignoring the searing pain, Raul charged at the knight retrieving his rapier.

“Haah!”

He swung his bastard sword from low to high in a diagonal slash.

The knight, daunted by the ferocity, dodged backwards.

But it was a feint.

Sand kicked up by the wind pressure blinded the knight, and during his moment of hesitation, Raul’s roundhouse kick landed squarely on his chest.

‘Now’s the chance! Bear Strike!!’

Raul leaped towards the staggering knight, bringing down his sword with a mighty force.

Boom!

Like a bear slashing with its paw, the bastard sword’s brutal force not only smashed the rapier but cleaved the knight in two.

Even without mana enhancing the skill due to restrictions, the destructive power was terrifying.

That’s when he felt it.

Hiss!

Sensing a sharp presence behind him, Raul quickly darted forward.

Just barely, a zapping sound filled the air as sharp lines etched across the backside of Raul’s armor.

Rolling on the ground and coming to a stand, swords clashed again, sparks flying amidst the sound of metal.

And between those sparks gleamed Jeremy’s cold face.

Clang clang clang!

Each thrust from Jeremy, acting the role of the guard captain, vibrated the sword’s tip, targeting three vital points at once with a technique known as ‘Seven Shooting Stars’ from Count Randal.

Driven back, one knight saw an opportunity and stabbed at Raul’s exposed side.

With the 1.5 meter long bastard sword, deflecting the continuous stabbing from the roughly 80 cm long rapiers was challenging.

Especially since the two knights had closed in too much.

Thus, Raul found himself on the defensive, unable to block as the rapier began to graze his armor.

(To be continued)