The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 302
Episode 302
“Invoke an emergency mobilization order immediately and inspect the defense line!”
“Yes Master!”
Crash.
The conference room of Calypse Castle.
It wasn’t like a war broke out right away, but everyone was busy moving around.
“Inquiries continue to come in from the lords. Is it true that player support is being cut off? There are many complaints that it is not easy to mobilize troops right away.”
Raoul frowned slightly after hearing the report.
“Communicate clearly. “In two months, expand your troops so that you can protect your territory!”
“All right. “I will definitely warn you!”
There was a saying that if a favor continues, it is mistaken for a right.
It was clearly a favor that Raoul paid more attention to the surrounding lords.
‘Why don’t you pay taxes to me?’
I’m sorry to say this, but Raoul was busy organizing the First Guild’s territory right now.
“What is the reaction of each kingdom?”
“The kingdoms’ response is that it doesn’t really matter. If you see them preparing their troops as if they had been waiting, you might think that it went well.”
“Well, that’s probably true. “It would be an opportunity to expand the influence that was lost after the change of throne.”
Raoul spoke calmly, but he couldn’t help but feel a little bitter.
The First Guild and the Purple Association have been responsible for dispatching players to each territory.
Naturally, the First Guild’s influence was bound to spread throughout Connect, and even the kingdoms took notice.
‘But this was going to happen someday.’
Anyway, the main stage of the players was moving to Geumyeok.
A land of opportunity where you can develop your own power with little influence from existing connections.
So, in the end, each territory was going to manage its dungeons and gates through its own efforts.
‘I never thought things would happen so suddenly.’
Each royal family will make up for the lack of troops.
The kings will expand their influence over local lords and try to establish the prestige of the royal family as in the past.
But honestly, it didn’t really matter.
Regardless of how the kingdoms moved, the First Territory and Guild had already completed building their own power.
Perhaps the players who were responsible for a large part of that power might disappear.
‘It still felt a little burdensome.’
Players growing at an incredible rate.
Moreover, the number has already exceeded 200 million.
No matter how large the population of Connect is and how large the land is, it is not easy to completely handle an armed group of over 200 million people that suddenly appears.
It was not for nothing that Raoul pushed the players into Geumyeok and mobilized them to the front line against the Empire.
The problem was that it was difficult to predict what choices players would make regarding this Connect announcement.
Raoul looked at the notice again with a feeling of frustration.
[Notice]
-Thank you to the players who have used us so far. Connect System’s open beta service will end in 70 days.
-[Scenario: Coexistence or XX] ends with the end of the open beta service.
-Connect’s official service will begin as soon as the open beta service ends.
-All players must choose whether to disconnect from Connect or continue to use the official service before the end of the open beta service.
-Players who choose the official service will become regular residents of Connect in exchange for severing their connection to Earth.
-Official service users will be able to inherit the character (avatar) they have developed so far and live a new life in Connect.
-Unfortunately, players who choose to terminate Connect will not be able to access Connect again.
-However, in return for participating in the open beta service, we will send some of your character’s abilities to the main body of Earth.
-Once again, we would like to thank the players who have used the Connect system. I hope the future of Earth and Connect will be filled with blessings.
Connect’s intention was clear.
Earth or Connect?
The player must choose one of the two.
In normal times, there would be no need to worry about this.
‘I guess that means I knew it would happen like this from the beginning.’
Raoul turned his head with a slightly tired expression.
The current state of the Earth was displayed on the magic screen.
“The second gate wave has just begun!”
Waves of monsters were pouring into the Earth again.
* * *
Quagwang Puck!
“Jaehyun, no!”
“You crazy bastard, come back!”
Mmm woah!
blood. blood. blood.
There was blood everywhere.
I thought it would be different this time.
The defense line was thoroughly reorganized, and the Awakened unit was also organized and fully prepared.
However, modern weapons and inexperienced awakeners were helpless in the face of overwhelming violence.
thud. thud.
A giant bull-headed monster with a height of 5 meters.
The Minotaur, known as the owner of the labyrinth, was recklessly swinging his large ax and smashing everything around.
puck.
Even the top 10,000 rankers who were putting a lot of strain on their necks in Connect couldn’t withstand one blow from the guy’s axe.
‘Damn it, he’s a guy I can easily deal with inside Connect!’
So what do you do?
I can’t fight back at all against the guy in front of me right now.
At that time, an order hurriedly came from the crew members’ in-ears.
“Everyone retreat! Grade B gates are abandoned. Repeat once again. Power retreat. “Get out of there right now!”
Ugh.
The awakened people turned and began to flee in all directions.
“Hmm?”
Was it surprising to see the annoying guys suddenly running away?
The Minotaur’s eyes suddenly turned red as it tilted its head for a moment.
Wow!
Suddenly, I fell.
Perhaps thinking that the prey was running away, the Minotaur’s entire body muscles expanded and the creature went berserk and rushed toward the awakeners with a roar.
“Ugh! help me!”
The awakened person who could not escape was grabbed by the Minotaur and screamed.
Wow.
But it soon disappeared into the guy’s mouth.
“Fuck you. “Where have all the real rankers gone!”
“Jump out, you are not our opponent!”
“Ahh, why come this way?”
Just when another victim was about to occur.
Suddenly, Push!
Ummmmm!
The back of the Minotaur’s hand was cut by something, and drops of blood flew out.
“Retreat quickly. “I will take care of everything.”
“iced coffee. thank you!”
Before I knew it, Ilwoo had appeared there.
His clothes were stained with blood, probably because he had already fought once.
Whiuuung! bang!
Rumble.
As Il-woo quickly dodged the ax blow from the angry Minotaur, a commercial building accidentally collapsed after being hit by the axe.
“You are like an ignorant cow. “Let’s see how strong we are!”
Ilwoo jumped like a grasshopper between the walls of a building that was over several meters high, drawing blood lines on the Minotaur’s body.
The Minotaur’s ax was so swift that it repeatedly cut through the air.
But Ilwoo’s expression wasn’t very good.
‘It’s shallow. Is it still too much?’
As the gate wave exploded, the power of the awakened people, including Il-woo, also rose sharply.
Thanks to this, I was now able to fully use the Mana Blade, but that was too much to deal with the Guardian of the B-grade gate.
As evidence, the Minotaur’s skin, which had blood lines drawn on it, had healed and was no different from the first time, and the angry Minotaur’s movements were becoming faster and faster.
Whilick.
The moment Il-woo, who narrowly avoided the speeding axe, was about to turn.
puck!
“Ugh.”
Quagwang! puck! puck! puck! Crunchy.
The minotaur let go of the ax it was swinging and struck Il-woo with its palm.
And the guy continued to punch Il-woo, who had fallen, mercilessly.
“Mmmwoah!”
The Minotaur howled in victory after seeing the floor covered in nothing but blood.
Soon, the guy looked around to see if there were any other prey, and then turned towards the gate, seeming to have lost his excitement.
He then used an ax to break down one axis of a large shopping mall building and went inside.
* * *
“are you okay?”
“Heoheok heoheok.”
Recovery magic and skills poured into Ilwoo, who was dripping with cold sweat.
If the alter ego that copied the main body’s abilities disappeared, the reaction would be severe.
Ilwoo, barely able to catch his breath, stroked his chest.
‘At least I survived because he was insensitive.’
If they had a strong sense of detection, Ilwoo’s true identity hidden nearby might have been discovered.
Anyway, thanks to this, the awakened unit that was deployed retreated safely, and the military unit also retreated.
“What is the situation?”
“It’s no different from here. I guess the B-grade gate is still there…”
The complexions of the rankers gathered around darkened.
We were able to block the C-grade gate without any significant damage.
And I thought I could easily stop this wave until regular monsters popped out of the B-grade gate.
So, the B-grade gate guardians appeared while the rankers were away to deal with the C-grade and lower gates.
That was a catastrophe that we cannot handle at the moment.
Humanity lost half of its major cities to monsters in just the second wave.
* * *
“The casualties have definitely decreased compared to the first wave. But the actual damage is….”
A world map of Earth unfolds on the magic screen.
Dozens of red circles were dotted all over the map.
This was the area occupied by monsters through this wave.
‘The area itself is not that big, but….’
The locations were exquisite.
Due to the fact that they are located in the middle of large cities in each country, cities are no longer able to fulfill their role.
How many people can eat and sleep there when a monster that no one can handle is staying just a few hundred meters away?
Fortunately, because gates occurred mainly in densely populated areas, rural areas and industrial areas were relatively unharmed.
But no one knew how long it could last.
“The good news is that the awakening and growth rates of awakened people are accelerating. This is probably because mana has become more abundant since the gate wave exploded. We may not know it right now, but soon we will be able to deal with B-rank Gate Guardians as well.”
Although Kane spoke of a positive outlook, the expressions of the meeting attendees did not brighten much.
Ilwoo said with a deep sigh.
“Whew, if the next wave doesn’t explode in the meantime. “We should have realized our power sooner.”
When he spoke as if he was blaming himself, Raoul patted his shoulder and comforted him.
“You tried hard enough. And if it weren’t for you, the Earth might have turned into a den of monsters by now.”
These were not empty words.
Currently, there are only a few gates remaining on Earth.
Except for the African continent, where transportation was cut off after the introduction of the gate, all gates below grade D have disappeared in other continents.
This is because the gate attack team led by the Purple Guild continued to clear out lower-level gates.
Thanks to this, the number of gates remaining, excluding Africa, was about 100 C-grade gates and about 30 B-grade gates.
The only problem was that it was located in the center of the city.
“Now, there’s no need to be so pessimistic. This is because the government is still intact and the core production functions of each country are operating normally. “Let’s do what we can now.”
The meeting ended like that, and Raoul stopped Il-woo, who was about to leave, for a moment.
“Let’s talk for a moment.”
Raoul, who had moved from his seat, asked directly.
“What do you plan to do?”
“what?”
“I mean the official Connect service.”
“….”
Ilwoo’s face was engulfed in agony.
Raoul cautiously opened his mouth again.
“If you’re worried about living here, you don’t have to worry. No matter how the Connect system changes, we have no intention of discontinuing support. I plan to establish an autonomous district in Geumyeok for those who chose this place. After all, we can’t ask Earthlings to follow the laws of the medieval kingdom. and.”
Raoul said, looking straight into Ilwoo’s eyes.
“I would like you to take the position in charge. After all, you are the one I can trust the most, and you have already proven your qualifications, right? how is it?”
“I…”
Ilwoo couldn’t answer easily.
“I’m not asking you to answer right away. I’m not forcing you to take charge of it. But don’t forget. “We don’t have much time.”
“Phew, okay. I’ll think about it and decide.”
Raoul bit his lip slightly as he watched Ilwoo leave the room with a dark expression.
What choice would you have made if you were yourself?
Raoul’s heart seemed to become heavy as well.
(Continued in the next part)