The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 159
Episode 159
Boom!
“What a mess…!”
Viscount Jayden, holding the report in his hand, smashed the tabletop.
Naturally, the report was about the results of Raoul’s territory war.
‘Why do idiots get such support and then push for results like this?’
The number of knights he supported for the Baron Alliance during this Territory War was as many as 90.
Among them, there were 50 armor users.
No matter how low-level knights and cheap power armor were organized and sent, it was a huge force equivalent to the regular knight corps of most count families.
“So how many came back alive?”
“Seven, including Lord Deoric.”
“Aaaah!”
Wajangchang kudangtang!
While Viscount Jayden was furious and destroyed everything in the room, the messenger who delivered the news could only kneel on the floor and tremble.
20% of the knight power he had was gone.
It might be possible to replenish the knights anyway, but the loss of power armor was painful.
Nevertheless, there were still 200 armor users under his command, and including regular knights, close to 300 knights were following him.
‘But if this happens…’
His plan to outnumber the Count’s family was virtually in vain.
“Hey messenger. Tell the knights who came back alive to come into this room right away. “I need to hear your story.”
“Yes, yes!”
I couldn’t understand how Raoul defeated nearly 300 knights of the Baron Alliance when the count’s main knights didn’t move.
And after listening to the story of the nine knights who returned, the Viscount’s mind only became more complicated.
‘A knight corps containing at least 100 expert knights appeared in each battlefield?’
Calculating that there were four battlefields and that there were more knights on the Calypse battlefield, it meant that there had to be at least 500 expert knights…
‘That’s nonsense. Isn’t that more than the count’s knights?’
There must have been some misrepresentation of information or some trick was used to inflate the number of articles.
Suddenly, it occurred to me that Raoul was close friends with Sage Gray.
‘okay! Magic. It was magic! This guy kept moving the knights around using teleportation magic.’
It was a pretty novel deduction.
Actually, that seemed more credible than the fact that Raoul’s personal articles numbered over 500.
And that held him back.
If I had known that Raoul had more than 500 knights, I would have left my attachment to the count’s house right away.
“Convening an operational meeting. “Tell everyone to gather together.”
Viscount Jayden strengthened his resolve.
‘It’s not over yet.’
He invested so much not to miss this opportunity.
He received a loan from the Brennan Republic using the mansion and business he had built for 15 years as collateral.
And with that money, he hired knights and purchased power armor from sponsors.
Upon returning to the Kingdom of Ruben, the amount of money spent on the nobles and the royal family was considerable, and the costs incurred for various operations were beyond imagination.
But are you giving up here and going back?
The enormous sunk costs and loan repayments will drive him into bankruptcy, and now all the knights who follow him will disperse and go their own ways.
Of course, it wouldn’t completely fail, but I didn’t know how long it would take to recover.
‘Melvin. Stop holding on and go in peace. For the glory of the count family, relics of the old world like you must disappear quickly!’
Viscount Jayden was possessed by the stubborn belief that only he could achieve the glory of the earldom.
Whether it was true or not, he truly believed it.
* * *
Cornford, Earldom of Ashton.
The count’s prominent officials were gathered in the mansion’s conference room.
Viscount Ernest de Vogel, commander-in-chief of the territory.
Viscount Trevor de Hesse, commander of the Golden Bear.
Baron Carlo de Ashton, commander of the Silver Bear Knights.
And the Iron Bear Knight Commander, Carson Chain Knight Commander, Brayden.
Among the important figures related to the military, naturally, Raoul’s eldest brother and heir to the count’s family, Dylan de Ashton, was seated at the head of the table.
“Viscount Raoul has arrived.”
With the security engineer’s report, the door to the conference room opened and Raoul and Philip entered proudly.
Clap clap clap.
The officials in the conference room, as well as Dylan, stood up and clapped to welcome Raoul.
“You worked hard. Congratulations on your victory!”
“Congratulations on your great victory!”
“You have achieved truly remarkable results, Viscount Raoul.”
“It’s all thanks to your help. “I’m sorry for causing you unnecessary concern.”
After some good words and humble words were exchanged, they took their seats.
Before the full-scale meeting, Viscount Trevor, commander of the Golden Bear Knights, smiled brightly and said,
“Haha. I heard that there was no seal under the amulet, and I was really impressed with Viscount Raoul. To be looking at the ‘Gyeongji’ at the age of 16! “Where else can you find slopes like this?”
Viscount Trevor, who was over 50 years old, was practically a mentor to all the knights of the Earl of Ashton.
During the integrated training period, he personally observed the training of not only the Golden Bear Knights but also all knights, and the first person to be interviewed when a knight trainee joined was Viscount Trevor.
Raoul also received direct instruction from Viscount Trevor in the early stages of his swordsmanship training.
Although it was a privilege obtained because he was a direct blood relative of the count family, it ultimately did not leave a good impression at the time.
However, during his recent visit to the mansion, he had several opportunities to exchange swords with him, and Viscount Trevor was both surprised and delighted by Raoul’s completely unexpected growth.
‘Still, I never thought it would reach the level of becoming a master!’
Just by reaching the level of expert at the age of 16, you are called the genius of the century, and you are a master! Who would have imagined?
“It can truly be said to be a great blessing from the count family. “Even though it is a bleak situation in which the head of the family has fallen, what is there to worry about since we have such talented sons?”
The commander-in-chief of the territory, Viscount Ernest, also smiled and laughed.
Viscount Ernest is the oldest (58 years old) among the active-duty courtiers and has reached the highest level of expert as a knight.
His family, the Vogel family, has served as the commander and commander of the Golden Bear Knights for generations.
And in recognition of its achievements, it was a prestigious family that ran the largest estate in the county after the count and produced numerous knights.
The Vogel family of Viscount Ernest and the Hesse family of Viscount Trevor could be said to be the two major loyal families supporting the Earl of Ashton.
From their perspective, Viscount Jayden’s actions to throw the Count family into chaos were unacceptable.
It’s already an emergency situation as the border of the forbidden ‘Monster Forest’ has weakened due to the Gate incident, but it’s a civil war within the Count family.
It was like saying we should all die together.
So how proud Raoul must have been of crushing the conspiracy and driving out Viscount Jayden without any significant damage.
In addition, it couldn’t have been more exhilarating to have raised the name of the family by destroying the baron writers who took advantage of the chaos to challenge them.
“This is true. “I’m glad that such talented people continue to appear in the family, but I’m worried about what to do with this guy, Jayden.”
Viscount Ernest frowned slightly.
“I thought it would cause trouble because of his temperament, but he ended up being really annoying.”
Viscount Trevor received his words.
“Why not just sweep it away? If the troops are tied up like this because of him, something big could happen to the entire county.”
Baron Carlo, the leader of the Silver Bear Knights, proposed while clenching his fist.
Immediately, gate management became lax, and the fortress troops near Geumyeok were accumulating fatigue without being able to shift properly.
I couldn’t even imagine how big the damage would be if a wave exploded at the gate or monster forest in a situation like this.
“That can’t be said.”
Dylan shook his head.
“First of all, there is no justification yet. And although we may be able to win the battle, we are not sure we can capture him.”
Looking at it objectively, Viscount Jayden was just an older brother who came from afar to see his fallen younger brother.
Of course, the number of knights accompanying him was beyond common sense, but the cause he put forward was not a major problem and he did not actually cause any harm to the earl’s soldiers.
In other words, there was insufficient justification for a preemptive attack on this side.
That was exactly what was troubling to Viscount Ernest and Trevor.
Moreover, even if a battle broke out, there was no confidence that Viscount Jayden could be put to an end.
If defeat becomes more difficult, they will definitely escape through the portal, but doing so will not only leave behind annoying consequences, but could also cause further problems.
‘He seems like a shrewd guy.’
From the perspective of orthodox knights, it was an extremely obnoxious act.
It’s difficult to launch a preemptive attack, and if things continue like this, problems may arise throughout the county.
Then Raoul opened his mouth.
“I have an idea. Would you like to hear it?”
“Is there any way?”
“Come on, tell me.”
Raoul said as he stood up.
“Now that things have come to this, how about clearing up all the unrest in the county once and for all? First of all, it was difficult to do so because we needed the consent of one more person.”
When Raoul gave a slight signal, the conference room door opened and someone wearing a hood entered.
“…who?”
“Everyone has worked hard.”
“omg! Lord! “Are you safe?”
“dismissal!”
Everyone in the conference room jumped up from their seats.
The identity of the person who took off the hood is Melvin de Ashton.
Count Melvin, who was known to have collapsed, appeared in the conference room.
“We will discuss the details later, but first, let’s hear about Raoul’s plan. Go on, Raoul.”
“Yes, Count.”
The very next day the Count attended the meeting.
A rumor quietly spread around Cornford Castle.
-The current head of the Ashton family. Melvin de Ashton eventually died.
The county began to shake once again.
* * *
“Have you checked?”
“yes. I guess it’s true. Entry and exit to the mansion has been completely restricted for the past few days, and the number of messengers leaving through the castle gate is unusual. Even in the Senate…”
As the messenger’s report continued, the corners of Viscount Jayden’s mouth gradually turned upward.
‘at las!’
The opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.
“Let’s find out more details! Where the messengers headed, if there are those heading to Cornford Castle, who they are, and even the movements of the knights and troops! “Gather all the information you can find!”
“yes!”
As the messenger left, Viscount Jayden made eye contact with the nobles gathered in the conference room.
“Now is the beginning. Even though there were minor operational failures, the outcome we wanted was achieved. From now on, we start moving in earnest! Let’s gather as many people as we can.”
“All right.”
“Baron Tate. Mobilize all the spies in Cornford Castle and surrounding castles to create rumors about the Count’s mistakes and problems. “We need to instill in residents the awareness that a new successor is needed!”
“Yes, please leave it to me.”
“Dylan might get angry and move his troops, so be on full alert. And once again, send messengers to nearby lords to see if there are anyone willing to join. “Now that Melvin is dead, there will definitely be people who have changed their minds.”
Viscount Jayden returned to his office after the meeting and clenched his fists.
Dillon should have moved his troops before Melvin died.
At that time, he would have had the authority to move all troops.
However, if it becomes a battle for succession, commanders and nobles who do not want a civil war will not follow his orders.
And that cause will be created by his sponsors.
‘You may be the rightful heir within the Count, but will you still be so after the royal family raises objections?’
They say they are reluctant to let outside forces interfere in their family’s affairs, but it’s a different story when it comes to the royal family.
No matter how much he is a margrave and has guaranteed autonomy, the fact that he is ultimately a noble of the kingdom does not change.
The royal family respected the family’s decision and recognized the succession to the title, but there was no law that required this.
Unless the royal family goes crazy, they should not deny the next successor to the count family.
‘I can do at least a little bit of mischief.’
How much money did you spend for that?
Now is the time to taste the fruits.
But he didn’t know.
The fatal fact that he was dancing on someone’s palm from beginning to end.
(Continued in the next part)