The Count’s Youngest Son is a Player

“What did they come here wanting in the end?”

Philip asked, clenching his teeth as he watched the elves disappear beyond the forest.

“They probably wanted to see if we planned to stay here. And they also wanted to know why Rabel wasn’t moving.”

Raul answered, feeling a twinge of annoyance.

‘They claimed not to know why the spirits went berserk, but that was a blatant lie.’

The totem inside the magic pouch. The powerful thoughts that echoed when that cursed object took effect. It wasn’t just Raul who could sense those thoughts.

There was no way the elves, with their superior affinity and sensitivity to spirits, didn’t hear those agonizing screams. Yet they pretended to be ignorant and demanded Rabel solve the problem!

‘They hoped Rabel would clash with the imperial army, and the elves would take advantage of the chaos.’

But with Rabel fainting and Raul entrenched in the Town Tree, showing no intention of moving, It was only natural that they grew anxious and came to investigate.

“Master. Should we just wipe them out right now?”

Jake, hefting a massive greatsword onto his shoulder, asked. The other officers also showed they were infuriated by the elves’ actions.

However, Raul shook his head.

“Although we currently have the upper hand in forces, what we see is not all there is. There’s no need to personally handle the elves, who are already clashing with the empire.”

He could discipline them right now, but that would be short-sighted. It wasn’t a choice a leader of a faction would make.

‘There may come a time when we will clash, but now is not that time.’

The elves needed to hold the front against the empire. At the very least, those who hated humans would make things difficult for the empire.

‘But that doesn’t mean I’ll let this slide.’

Unbeknownst to them, Raul was a regressor. He knew several secrets that the Elemental Jungle held. If he leveraged just a few of them well, ‘You will regret today’s actions for a long time.’

Raul stared coldly at the forest where the elves had disappeared, then turned around.

*

Whirr.

Knights in white armor and blue cloaks dashed through the forest without hesitation. On their chests was emblazoned the emblem of a golden hawk.

They were the First Knight Order.

Including Raul, there were twenty-five masters.

One hundred top-level experts.

Eight hundred high-level experts.

Every one of them was an armor user equipped with self-made B-rank or higher power armor.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call them the strongest knight order on the continent. Among them, high-level mages of the First Tower, all 6th circle or above, were flying without touching the ground.

They used illusion magic to conceal their presence and sound while obscuring visibility, making it impossible for imperial scouts to detect them.

Following the mages were individuals each using unique methods to keep up with the formation. These were the 『Psychic』 unit that Raul had painstakingly trained.

Among them were four high-level psychokinetics, including Bernard, who had reached the level of an advanced wind manipulator. Additionally, over a hundred mid to high-level psychokinetics who had surpassed mid-tier 7th level were trailing behind.

Thus, a force of a thousand, comprised of the strongest members of the current First Knight Order, swiftly traversed the Elemental Jungle.

“Stop.”

At the forest’s boundary, More precisely, in front of a vast plain that opened in the middle of the jungle, Raul halted the party. A massive stone fortress wall came into view in the distance.

The sturdy palisade that should have existed for an S-Grade settlement was hidden behind the stone wall.

‘Approximately 15 meters tall?’

It was clear how much effort had gone into constructing such a wall in the Elemental Jungle, where stones were not easily obtained. Building such a stone wall meant they understood the characteristics of the Elemental Jungle very well.

‘A wooden palisade could potentially be breached by elves or spirits.’

This also implied that something very important was hidden inside.

“Everyone, prepare for battle.”

At Raul’s command, the thousand-strong force quickly formed their battle formation. Given the size of the fortress, encircling its perimeter was not an option.

The superhumans took the lead, the armor users formed a solid defense, while mages and psychokinetics within the formation prepared for long-range attacks.

The strategy had already been sufficiently communicated. Without further delay, Raul gave the order.

“Commence attack! Break through the imperial fortress and rescue the fairies!”

“All forces, advance!”

At Philip’s command, the elite troops of the First Knight Order began charging toward the imperial fortress.

“Brave warriors, be filled with valor! Gain faster agility! Strength! Tireless stamina!”

Rabel spread various mana buffs over the allies, enhancing them.

Whoosh, clang!

“Descend, rain of Amplification!”

Nakia tossed hundreds of vials into the air, which exploded, showering the allies with buff potions.

Then the mages of the First Tower, who had gathered in groups, activated their alchemy magic circles.

Rumbling!

“Gaaaooo!”

Giant golems made of entwined mud, wood, and vines from the Elemental Jungle roared as they charged toward the fortress wall. The enormous golems, as tall as the wall itself, charged forward, causing the entire plain to tremble as if an earthquake had erupted.

Nakia stood atop the largest golem, casting her developed alchemy magic while overseeing the wall.

Boom! Crackle!

Enhanced flasks fired from her magic gun collided with the protective magic formations of the wall, creating tremendous explosions.

“Enemies!”

“Commence firing!”

“Keep them off the wall!”

The imperial forces began their counterattack. Arrows flew from the archers. Various spells from the mages lit up the sky above the plain.

However,

Boom! Ding!

“It’s not working!”

“Do you think that petty magic can stop us?”

The psychokinetics of the First Knight Order showcased their true abilities. Telekinetics created invisible force fields in the air, deflecting the arrows. Elemental manipulators intercepted the incoming spells one by one.

The imperial forces’ long-range attacks failed to deal any damage.

Meanwhile,

“Guoo!”

Boom! Crash! Kaboom!

The golems that reached the wall began pounding it with their massive fists.

Of course, the wall wasn’t immediately affected. The various defensive magic formations and force fields deployed in front of the imperial wall absorbed all the impact.

But the golems kept swinging their fists undeterred, followed by the mages’ spells and the psychokinetics’ elemental attacks battering the magic formations.

“This can’t be! The magic formations can’t hold! Mages, fortify the defensive magic formations!”

“What about the knights? Aren’t the mounted troops ready yet?”

The sight of the imperial commanders’ panic was visible. Though it was a surprise attack, the overwhelming firepower unleashed at once made it challenging for the imperial forces to respond promptly.

Furthermore, for some reason, the number of high-ranking troops seemed insufficient compared to the scale of the fortress.

Crack. Crackle.

“What’s happening?”

“Everyone, take cover….”

Boom!

Then, the real deal made its appearance. The 25 masters, led by Raul, ignited their aura blades and slashed at the wall, shattering the defensive magic formations like glass. Raul’s legion of weapons poured over the wall, mercilessly impaling the imperial forces.

“We’re advancing! The primary objective is to secure the settlement core! Report any fairy sightings through guild communications!”

Whoosh!

The unprecedented simultaneous assault of 25 masters easily crushed the imperial front line. Armor users followed, climbing the golems attached to the wall and entering the settlement continuously.

‘Hmm.’

Raul scanned the interior using his sensory abilities from atop the wall, his expression hardening. Though they breached the wall, it was still an S-Grade settlement.

The endless stream of troops pouring out from the surrounding walls and interior looked like a swarm of ants. Including mounted troops and the undead, the enemy’s numbers seemed to exceed 100,000.

But numbers didn’t matter. The important thing was the number of superhumans and high-level forces. If there were more than two imperial warlords here, it would be a tough battle.

But the situation seemed odd.

‘Five superhumans. Four. Three. This is….’

Just as they assessed the enemy’s strength, the enemy seemed to gauge theirs. The strong presences felt inside the settlement were suddenly disappearing.

‘A portal?’

Due to the surprise attack and the size of the settlement, they hadn’t set up an anti-teleportation barrier. Although the mages of the First Tower were installing coordinate disruption magic circles on the wall, it was too late to catch those who had already fled.

However, they could prevent reinforcements from arriving via portal from other settlements.

Yet, Raul sensed something odd.

‘That place…?’

Though partially obscured behind the Town Tree, he felt a location with distorted mana. And three of the imperial superhumans’ presences vanished there.

‘Could it be a gate?’

Realizing something, Raul jumped off the wall and flew towards the palisade, shouting.

“The imperial superhuman forces have all retreated! Ignore the common soldiers and focus on subduing high-level forces! Battle Groups 4 and 5, secure the settlement, while the rest follow me!”

Jake, Pierce, and Kane immediately followed, along with Dalton and executives from Battle Groups 1 to 3, heading straight for the Town Tree.

Boom! Crash!

No one could obstruct Raul and his party. Raul’s weapon legion, glowing with aura, sliced through anything in their way, and Raul’s powerful psychokinesis hurled obstacles left and right.

“Rabel, are you okay?”

“Yes. Having gone through it once, I can manage.”

The presence of the totem could already be felt everywhere. If they were elves, it would be quite problematic.

“We’ve already deployed a pursuit team to follow the totems.”

As Philip said, a unit of armor users was advancing towards the totem.

“Do you sense anything unusual?”

Raul asked, and Rabel shook her head weakly.

“Not yet….”

Seeing Rabel biting her lip pained Raul.

‘These bastards, did they really not leave anyone alive?’

However, it wasn’t time to lose hope just yet. Having entered the vast interior of the Town Tree, Raul could feel a clearer presence.

“There it is!”

Near the top of the towering tree, seemingly about 100 meters high. A shimmering green rectangular gate was hovering in midair.

‘This is different!’

It felt unlike any gate he had seen before. Its shape was rectangular rather than round, and the mana emanating from it was unfamiliar.

“Let’s go!”

Raul lifted dozens of knights simultaneously using psychokinesis and soared into the air. Climbing up the tree trunk felt too slow, and he had an ominous premonition that something might go wrong if they didn’t hurry.

“Raul, this is it! This is the dimensional gate that our people were caught in.”

As they neared the gate, Rabel shouted, her eyes shining. It glowed just as it did when it swallowed her people thousands of years ago.

“Only masters and above are to enter! The rest secure the area around the gate and take control of the Town Tree! Vice Captain Alias, coordinate and relay instructions through the gate, and dispatch reinforcements if necessary.”

“Yes, master!”

“Enter!”

With that simple command, Raul and 12 masters stepped into the glowing green gate.

*

“Princess, I’m scared! What do we do now?”

“Are we all going to die here?”

“We didn’t come back to see our homeland for this, waah.”

Hundreds of small beings huddled together, trembling with fear. Judging by their faces, they seemed no older than six or seven-year-old children. Among them was a girl fluttering her two sets of colorful wings, trying to comfort them.

“It’s okay, everyone. The elders and our parents are doing their best to hold off the attackers. They will never let them hurt you!”

“But, but… Many aunts and uncles have already been taken. What if our parents are taken too, sob sob.”

The fairy princess Cora could only embrace the crying children.

‘Who could have predicted this would happen?’

Deciding to return to their ancient homeland based on the prophecy was entirely her decision. The other two of the three fairy princesses had chosen to remain in their original world.

‘Was my decision wrong?’

She sighed, touching the sapphire necklace around her neck. This necklace, passed down through generations, bore the emblem of the queen who waited for them in their ancient homeland.

When she saw that dormant emblem regain its light, she had no choice but to step through the gate. But it had been reckless. They should have ensured their safety before making a move.

“Pahaha! How long do you think you can hide there, you little pests? If you crawl out now, I might spare the little ones!”

Crash!

The sound of yet another spirit tree being shattered filled the air. And another of their kind would be taken by these cruel humans. This had been their reality for months.

Hundreds of fairies, serving as shields bonded with the spirit trees, had already fallen into those brutal humans’ hands.

‘Oh, please, someone help us.’

She infused all her power into the spirit tree barrier, silently weeping.

(To be continued)

TL’s Corner:
Poor fairies.