The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 185
Episode 185
“I am Baron. It’s urgent! It is said that Darien Village has finally been taken over by monsters!”
“Ugh….”
Gerdo, the lord of a small baronial territory, crumpled the map he was holding and let out a sigh.
The Barony of Gerdo consisted of one baronial castle and 12 small villages.
The total population was barely over 10,000, and there were only about 300 full-fledged soldiers.
However, as luck would have it, no gates occurred near the castle or village at the time of the gate incident.
Thanks to this, I thought I was having a somewhat peaceful time, unlike other territories.
‘I never thought monsters would become so rampant in just six months…’
The consequences of leaving gates far away from the village were fatal.
As the gate became fixed, turned into a dungeon, and was abandoned, monsters poured out at some point and began to encroach on the area.
Of course, the Baron was unable to defend the village due to his lack of troops.
A year has already passed since the villages began to be taken over by monsters one by one, and finally, as of this morning, all the villages were taken away.
“Any news about the cow? “Has none of the messengers returned?”
“…I apologize.”
The Baron closed his eyes tightly as he saw the guard captain lowering his head with a gloomy expression.
‘I should have listened to the temple’s advice from the beginning. Wouldn’t it have been a little better if the troops had been trained at least from then on?’
By the time Baron Gerdo realized the crisis, it was already too late.
A few months after the Gate incident occurred.
The news delivered by the subordinate who had been sent to the capital with great difficulty was despairing.
The royal family only cared about the area around Turium, the capital, and had no intention of sending troops outside.
They tried to hire mercenaries by squeezing out their non-existent assets, but the number of mercenaries in the capital was drying up, and the price of even F-class mercenaries, which were lower than soldiers, more than doubled.
Also, with gates appearing throughout the kingdom, no family seemed willing to care about other distant territories.
I visited the famous First Guild just in case, but the only reply I got was that they were already full of requests and had no troops to dispatch.
‘It was the only place where I heard an answer saying they would help if they could afford it.’
However, seeing as there was no news for over 6 months, it seemed like it was the same as anywhere else.
Now, the Barony is surrounded on all sides by monster territory and has become stranded.
All that was left was to hold out within the baron’s castle and hope that somehow someone would help.
Everyone in the castle who can hold a weapon has already started training.
The only consolation is that we were able to secure enough food before the territory was taken over by monsters.
‘Haa, is it really the end like this? Will my family be destroyed in my generation?’
The barony, which was maintained solely through farming, was a worthless fiefdom.
Thanks to this, the family has continued without threats from surrounding lords, but now I wonder what it would have been like if there had been something.
Then at least the residents of the territory could have been saved.
“How many horses are left? “I will write you a personal letter, so you can send a messenger again.”
In the first place, there couldn’t have been much talk in the small baronial territory.
Because the messengers disappeared one by one, there were only a few horses left.
But even so, sending a messenger again was just a struggle to somehow save the territory.
Then I heard someone running down the hallway.
Bang bang.
“Baron! A messenger has arrived!”
“…! “Where are you?”
After hearing what the Baron said, he stormed out of the room.
* * *
“Are you sure? Does that mean that we will provide military support under that condition?”
“of course. “The Viscount wanted to send troops without paying anything, but you have to pay compensation to the strangers.”
“Ah thank you God. God bless Viscount Raoul.”
Baron Gerdo was so moved that he put his hands together and prayed to God, even though there was a messenger in front of him.
“Then will you accept the offer?”
“Are you saying that now? Please, please send reinforcements as soon as possible. And if the stability of the territory is restored, I will make sure to repay this debt to Viscount Raoul, no matter what it takes!”
The person who came to the Baron’s Castle was a messenger sent by Raoul.
He could not pretend not to notice the crisis in the Barony, so he announced that he would dispatch troops and attached a few light conditions. In the Baron’s opinion, it was an incredibly merciful offer.
– I will dispatch troops to protect the territory from monsters and help you reclaim it.
– Instead, it allows the installation of a portal and transfers the management and ownership of the gate (fixed dungeon) in the reclaimed territory.
– Since the dispatched troops include foreigners, their treatment must be left to the First Viscount first.
– ….
– ….
It was impossible to manage the gate with the Baron’s troops in the first place, so I felt like asking for a favor.
Moreover, any strangers who came to help the territory could be welcomed, and it was not a problem to provide facilities or land for them.
Of course, it was still unknown how many troops would be sent and how, but to show such favor (as the Baron thought) without receiving almost anything in return.
‘I didn’t believe the rumors, but it’s really different.’
Guardian of Turium.
God’s representative.
They say that other prestigious families are busy waging wars over their territories for their own benefit, but seeing them take care of neglected territories like this doesn’t seem to be wrong at all.
Kuuk.
Baron Gerdo put his family’s seal on the simple contract.
“So, roughly when do you think reinforcements will arrive? “It’s a shame, but if the monsters begin a full-scale siege, our castle won’t be able to hold out for long.”
When Baron Gerdo asked with a slightly anxious expression, the messenger smiled brightly.
“Don’t worry. “It will arrive ‘soon’.”
“…?”
At that moment, the door burst open and a soldier came in, looking thoughtful.
“My lord! “There were reports of a cloud of dust rising outside the castle… It might be a monster attack!”
“Oh my. “Hurry up and gather your troops!”
However, the messenger stopped the lord for a moment and asked the soldier.
“Where are the directions?”
“yes?”
“By which gate?”
“That’s the direction to the south gate.”
Then the messenger smiled and said.
“Oh, then you don’t have to worry about it. “Because they are our troops.”
“Is that true?”
When the Baron asked incredulously, the messenger nodded.
“How about we go out to meet you together?”
So when they headed towards the castle wall towards the south gate.
“It’s a certain monster!”
“Everyone lift your bow!”
There was chaos on top of the castle walls.
This is because I began to vaguely see things approaching.
“Woe wilderness hyena!”
“The number is approximately hundreds or more!”
The wilderness hyena (D), which crawls up a wooden fence with its sharp claws as if walking on flat ground, was an object of fear to the territory soldiers.
“Everyone, come to your senses and prepare to fire!”
When the castle wall guard shouted, the soldiers hurriedly shot arrows.
At that time, a person who appeared to be a lieutenant spoke with a strange expression.
“But it’s a little strange. That’s like…”
“…?”
“Don’t you feel like you’re being chased by someone?”
As the distance gradually narrowed, I realized that the adjutant was right.
The wilderness hyenas were running aimlessly with their tails between their crotches.
There seemed to be quite a few people rolling around on the floor, trying to move independently without any leadership, and some of them were stained red as if they were soaked in blood.
“But we can’t let them approach the castle! Everyone take aim!”
The exact moment when the guard commander gave the order.
Swooooooong Kwakwang!
Rumbling!
Puk bub buk!
A large fireball flew from behind the hyenas and exploded in the middle of their camp.
At the same time, the ground shook slightly as if there had been an earthquake, tying up their legs, and arrows flying from somewhere were piercing their bodies without mercy.
“It’s reinforcements!”
“Wow!”
“I survived!”
Behind the hyena pack, a cavalry force of nearly a thousand men was approaching, showering arrows.
In addition, various types of magic flew from the horse, breaking through their formation, and before we knew it, the accelerated assault force swung spears and hunted down the hyenas.
The cavalry had a variety of uniforms, but one thing they had in common was the cloak.
Blue cloaks with golden falcons on them fluttered behind them.
* * *
Kane’s means were certainly surprising.
Once sufficient support was provided, informants were planted throughout the Kingdom of Ruben in just one and a half years.
Thanks to this, Raoul was able to understand the situation throughout the kingdom without difficulty.
“Have the troops arrived safely?”
“We have completed dispatching 1,000 troops to four or five territories.”
A mixed corps consisting of 500 central troops from the First Territory and 500 players was dispatched.
Five golden falcon marks were embedded in the magic map on the wall of the conference room.
These were baronies corresponding to remote areas of the kingdom.
Until now, it was considered a worthless place and no one paid any attention to it, but that wasn’t the case for Raoul.
‘Even in places with low productivity, there are geographically important points.’
Looking closely at the map, I found that the locations of the baronies were exquisitely located near the boundaries of each prestigious family and power.
Moreover, there was a dungeon with some useful by-products, so there was no reason to leave it alone.
‘I was busy taking care of my territory until now, but not anymore.’
The territory was stabilizing faster due to the influx of players.
As some of the dungeons and gates managed by Raoul’s elite soldiers were transferred to the players, spare troops were created.
Additionally, the 10,000 players with economic power were also contributing to revitalizing the city.
“All lords of the five territories agreed to the contract. “As soon as we drive out the monsters, we will prepare infrastructure and create an environment where players can settle down.”
In order to consistently attract players, we had to provide them with various hunting grounds and quests.
The First Viscounty would suffice for the time being, but for the future, the plan was to plant the First Guild’s flag throughout the kingdom.
‘Then now…’
Bernard, who realized Raoul’s thoughts, manipulated the magic screen.
Faaat.
Four of the kingdom’s territories were dyed blue.
“These are the territories that have currently received applications for territory warfare. “All four are baronies and are ruled by neutral lords who do not belong to any special faction.”
Red territories were displayed near your territory.
“This is the place where I applied for territory. Three barons and one self-author. Although they claim to be neutral on the surface, upon investigation, one barony was related to the Earl of Randall and the other three were related to the Marquess of McNeil.”
“Tch, you dirty bastards.”
Jake blushed and cursed softly.
Pivit.
Several areas of the territory were dyed purple and black.
“The purple territory was taken over by Count Randall after the Gate incident. Likewise, the black one is occupied by the Marquess of McNeil. You can see that the Randall family absorbed 6 baronies and the Marquess MacNeill absorbed 8 baronies and 1 viscounty.”
“This is true. “It’s very dark inside.”
Dalton clicked his tongue as he looked at the clearly increased size of the two forces.
“Like this, they are blatantly increasing their power, and in addition to the four places where territory wars have been announced, more than a dozen places are going through territory war procedures. “If they complete their expansion as they wish, approximately 30% of the entire kingdom will be in their hands.”
As Bernard’s report ended, the expressions of the executives in the room hardened slightly.
No matter how famous the royal family is becoming, if these prestigious families continued to expand recklessly, the result would be obvious.
‘civil war.’
There are already many people suffering due to the Gate incident, but if humans start a war among themselves…
clap clap.
“Everyone pay attention.”
Raoul clapped his hands to attract the attention of the executives.
“Until now, I ignored it because I didn’t have the resources, but now I won’t sit idly by. “Bernard!”
“Yes Master.”
“Send a messenger to your territory ahead of the territory battle. Perhaps you desperately need a helping hand. And Kane.”
“Yes Master.”
“Please thoroughly investigate the background of those who applied for territory warfare. If they receive support, what is their number? If there is an order of knights, who is it? Do you understand?”
“Please leave it to me.”
Kane nodded confidently.
“Dalton.”
“yes. master.”
“Notify the players as soon as the operation is established. “We need their strength as we cannot come forward openly.”
“All right. “Maybe there will be enough applicants.”
Raoul, who gave the order, looked around the audience and said.
“For the time being, we will maintain the balance of the kingdom through players. In the meantime, do not neglect the training of knights and troops, and prepare for connections with each branch and cooperative territories in case of an emergency.”
“I will follow your orders!”
Raoul looked at the map with sharp eyes.
The day is not far when the continent will burst into flames again.
(Continued in the next part)