The Count’s Youngest Son Is A Player - Chapter 45

Episode 45

“Report.”

A low, bass tone filled the room.

“There is no particular reaction from the royal family. “We have strengthened patrols in the capital security forces.”

“The Duke of Templeton is…”

“The Marquess McNeil is…”

Silver Zero, head of the Imperial Hound Reuben Kingdom branch, frowned slightly after receiving the reports one after another.

The state of troops in the capital, a key target of attack, exceeded expectations.

It was all due to the difficult-to-understand movements of the Ashton family.

“No. 6. “Was the Earl of Ashton originally a religious family?”

“Not really. Compared to other nobles, treatment at temples is better, but it is average. “I think we should rather be suspicious of the other side.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Earl of Ashton moved earlier than when the temple announced the oracle. “I wonder if there is some other source of information.”

The movement of the Ashton County troops was unusual.

Territory troops and knights dispersed in various places were summoned to reorganize their forces, while knights of the Golden Bear Knights who had been confined to the main castle were being dispatched to strategic locations.

And considering the time when mercenaries gathered in the capital, it was reasonable to assume that they moved long before the announcement of the temple.

Tap, tap.

While Silver Zero was tapping his fingers on the desk and thinking, Number 8, who was in charge of the water supply, opened his mouth.

“Maybe Gray has moved? “There were reports that the Academy had several contacts with a man named Raoul of the Ashton family.”

“That makes sense. So what is the gray in question?”

“Well… there isn’t much movement. “He seems to be concentrating normally on the academy lectures.”

Zero asked after closing his eyes for a moment and being lost in thought.

“No. 8. What is the situation of the mercenaries hired by the Ashton family? “Did our agents infiltrate?”

“There is no shame. “All of them failed to infiltrate.”

“what? “Does it make sense to hire 1,000 people but not let even one in?!”

“I passed the preliminary examination, but failed in the main examination. “It seems like this guy, Raoul, has unusual intuition.”

“Raul. “It’s Raoul…”

When Zero frowned as if he was in trouble, Number 1, who had been quiet, spoke.

“Do you really need to worry? Actually, isn’t that a good thing? I don’t know what they were thinking, spending that much money to recruit mercenaries, but there’s nothing they can gain anyway. Everyone knows this, right? “What kind of thing is it?”

“you’re right. At first, you might swallow your mouth and rush at it, but you will soon realize that it is a poisoned apple. If your parents find out that you wasted money needlessly, you might be reprimanded. “Greedy nobles will never be able to stop our great succession.”

As similar opinions continued, Zero nodded.

“What you guys said is correct. Let’s wait and see the situation for now. What was the deployment of the agents?”

“Deployment completed.”

“The Great Recession is about to begin. The day is not far when a dagger will strike the heart of the vicious pigs. Let each person be faithful to their assigned duties. For the glory of His Majesty the Emperor!”

“For the glory of His Majesty the Emperor!!”

* * *

Tick, tick, tick.

The second hand moved continuously. And finally, the moment it hits midnight.

“Oh! What is that!!”

A meteor falling across the night sky appeared in the eyes of a mercenary waiting at the training ground.

The problem was that the number of meteors exceeded tens or hundreds, filling the night sky.

Rumbling.

“It’s an earthquake!!”

Just in time, the ground shook and several frightened mercenaries fell with their heads on the ground.

Slurp.

Also, although the beings on the ground did not notice, a huge and transparent curtain was spreading silently in the sky.

And finally, the moment when the curtain completely covers the entire planet.

As if it were a mirage, the meteor shower disappeared and the earthquakes stopped.

At the same time, a large system message appeared before Raoul’s eyes.

[Update completion notice]

The pre-scenario v1.0 update has been completed successfully.

-Some of the hidden ancient dungeons have been opened. As the scenario progresses, additional dungeons will be opened.

-The Dimension Gate system has been activated. Players can now enter the gate. Earn generous rewards as you explore and clear gates. The limited-time quest [Gate Rush!] has begun.

-Some NPCs have been designated as scenario NPCs. Be careful as you may receive a penalty if you harm a scenario NPC.

-The guild system has been updated. Are you frustrated with the small number of guild members? You can now upgrade to a medium guild. Check out the new features for yourself.

“Whew. “It’s finally starting.”

Raoul opened the quest window, leaving behind the noise of mercenaries shouting outside.

〈Limited Time Quest: Gate Rush!〉

Grade: EX

Objective: Clear as many gates as possible.

Deadline: 30 days (Until June 28, 521 of the Connect Calendar)

Description: What is this? Dimension gates of unknown origin have covered the world of Connect. Clear as many gates as possible to relieve the residents’ anxiety.

PS: Are you worried about not having enough gates? No need to worry~. To commemorate the start of the scenario, the gate is regenerated every midnight.

Compensation: Paid differentially depending on rank. Any special gifts for the individuals and guilds that take first place?

Raoul’s face hardened after checking the quest.

“What kind of bullshit is this!!”

bang!

Raoul couldn’t hold back his anger and slammed the desk.

There was no such thing as compensation in sight. Anyway, the only player currently is Raoul, and there is only one guild.

There was another reason why Raoul was angry.

The gate respawns every midnight.

In other words, no matter how many gates were destroyed, it was useless.

Raoul’s plan to eliminate all gates in the Ashton domain and the kingdom’s capital was foiled before it even began.

‘No way…’

A word came into Raoul’s mind as he sighed.

[Scenario Force]

It was Connect’s defense system that prevented plays that would nullify the scenario itself or interfere with the occurrence of linked scenarios.

Like now, there are cases where special conditions are attached to the quest itself, but there are also many cases where players are encouraged to take action through additional quests or unexpected quests during the scenario.

‘damn. It’s not easy, right? If this happens, we have no choice but to go in the direction of minimizing damage.’

Raoul bit his lip and quickly walked to the operation room.

* * *

Murmur.

Although it was past midnight, the streets of the capital city of Turiam were overflowing with people.

People who were anxious about the strange phenomenon just before took to the streets.

“Oh, what is that?”

In the middle of the road, a translucent rectangular object was waving in the darkness.

A rectangular object about the height of an adult man was floating in the air with an ominous red haze.

The man who first discovered the object approached it without realizing it.

gulp.

Feeling an inexplicable attraction, the man slowly stretched out his hand.

And the moment the man’s hand touched the object, his appearance disappeared completely.

“Ugh!”

A person who witnessed the scene from a short distance shook his butt in surprise.

Then, other people appeared in his eyes.

As if possessed by something, people touched the monster one after another and disappeared.

“What is it? why.”

At that time, he thought he should avoid this place because he thought it was dangerous and was about to take a step back.

“Oh! No way Dicky!! Come on!”

His 6-year-old son was fearlessly approaching the monster.

The man hurriedly ran, grabbed his son, and threw him backwards.

“Hurry up and get out…”

Fortunately, someone in the back held my son down.

But he himself was not so lucky. Before he knew it, he was walking towards the monster.

* * *

「Gate found in Sector 32, Area B of the 4th Outer Fortress! Damn, a few people have already been sucked in. We will take protective measures.”

“The gate to Sector 21, Area F of the 3rd Outer Fortress, has been discovered! Fortunately, there doesn’t seem to be anyone here. I will hand it over to the security team and continue the search.」

「4th outer castle, sector C, sector 14…」

「1st outer castle, noble residence district, sector 3…」

Reports came in non-stop through guild communication.

A large map was attached to the front of the small 100-seat auditorium where the operation room was located.

It was a map of the capital city of Turium.

There were various marks all over the map.

Blue dots are dispatched guild members.

The red dot is the discovered gate.

The green dot was the location of the capital security force’s base and troops.

Below the red dot marking the gate, the approximate number of victims was written.

“Dispatch 10 people to Sector 32 in Area B of the 4th Outer Fortress and 5 people to Sector 14 in Area C!”

“For Sector 21, Area F of the 3rd Outer Fortress, only 3 people will be sent to confirm placement and then move to Sector 19!”

Following Philip’s instructions, Bernard decided on the members to be dispatched from the unit list, and the messengers rushed out in a panic.

The number of red dots on the map had already exceeded 30.

‘Damn it, how much is sticking out!’

Raoul was looking at the situation board in front with a stern expression.

In the first place, there was no information about this scenario and quest in the Link Cafe.

It’s just a historical fact that is recorded in the background description of the game: ‘The gate appeared in the year 521 of the Connect calendar and caused enormous damage to each kingdom and territory.’

I was in a situation where I didn’t know anything about the number, location, or grade of the gates that appeared in the capital.

He wanted to rush out right now and clear the gate and save those who were sucked in, but he was not alone.

Because the priority was to minimize the number of victims by efficiently deploying guild members and thousands of mercenaries.

Just as I was relieving my resentment, a seemingly urgent guild message came in.

“Second Outer Fortress, District 3, Sector 17! Found the yellow gate mentioned by the master! “Yellow gate discovered!”

“Never approach! “Be careful because the members may get sucked in,”

Raoul said after directly warning them through guild communication.

“The target is referred to as the first D-class gate and is under special management. Deploy three B-class mercenaries and deliver the letter directly to the guard captain of the area.”

After giving instructions, Raoul clenched his fists.

‘I can’t believe even D-class appeared…’

It was a gate that could somehow be cleared with soldiers up to F-class and E-class.

However, starting from the D grade gate, monsters appear that cannot even inflict damage unless you are a sword user who can handle mana.

It was said that the problem that could be solved with the number of people was up to grade E.

Moreover, unlike the FE grade gate, which is just a simple subjugation battle, special clear conditions appear from D grade onwards.

So, the D-class gate was a place where even a knight could not escape if he entered without permission.

‘Is Yeongji okay?’

I felt sick to my stomach at the situation that seemed more dangerous than I thought.

Before I knew it, there were more than 40 red dots on the map.

(Continued in the next part)