The Fortuitous Encounter in the Game Becomes Reality, Episode 30
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The Fortuitous Encounter in the Game Becomes Reality, Episode 30
10. Time for Revenge (2)
Look at Cedric, who always acts all high and mighty getting grabbed by a woman half his size and beaten with a turkey leg.
Is there any comedy in the world funnier than this?
"That's enough. Stop right there."
But it seems this farce is not amusing to everyone.
Because a certain person, displeased by Cedric's humiliation, approached and made the atmosphere turn nasty.
-Srng.
"Little Young Lord, you keep crossing lines you should not cross."
It was Clone, captain of the knights of House Lawrence.
He drew the force sword hanging at his waist.
The rule is that you don't wear Vanguard gear like a force sword during normal occasions, but it seems that doesn't apply to someone responsible for the safety of Anna and Cedric.
'As if he were some royal bodyguard knight.'
I did not even blink at Captain Clone's threat.
"Crossing the line? Isn't that what you people have been doing?"
Poisoning attempts, assassination attempts, intimidation, threats, surveillance, even wiretapping.
After inflicting all kinds of harm, now they talk about lines and boundaries do they not remember what they've done?
Or do they simply know no shame?
At my retort, which hit the mark, Captain Clone's eyes twitched.
"What are you doing, Sir Clone!"
At that moment.
Cedric finally managed to escape from Arcia and cut into our conversation.
"Those bastards dared to harm me, the little lord of this territory! They deserve death!"
Cedric, who had hurriedly retreated with his face smeared all over with turkey sauce, looked utterly pathetic.
Still, a knight exists to protect his master.
Even if his choices are vulgar, right now Cedric can be considered his master.
"Of course they must die."
"Yes! That's how it should be!"
Despite Cedric's disgraceful appearance, Captain Clone answered without wavering.
"However, as a retainer, I cannot harm the second young master, who is a member of the lord's family."
"What!?"
But it seems Captain Clone is not the type to lose his sense of reason even when angry.
Cedric jumped in outrage at his response, but as always, you have to listen to the end.
"However, this wench is a different story. A mere commoner daring to use violence against a noble leaves no room for leniency. Therefore, I will proceed with summary judgment."
With that, Captain Clone's force sword was leveled at Arcia.
"Did you think becoming a noble's lover made you a noble yourself? You will die here."
His oppressive presence was leagues apart from that alley-bully Cedric.
"Hm?"
-Srng.
However, Captain Clone's sword did not swing down toward Arcia.
Because William and the high-ranking knights included in the expedition all drew their swords at once.
"What are you doing? Step back at once."
"If we were going to retreat at a single word from the captain, we wouldn't have drawn our swords in the first place."
Faced with their unwavering expressions and resolute blades, Captain Clone realized he could no longer coexist with these men.
"Step away from Lady Arcia."
"Lady Arcia?"
Noticing that among these people were knights considered Cedric's and his own close associates, Clone showed his puzzlement.
The knights belonging to Cedric's faction within the order generally share similar tendencies.
'Men who prioritize profit over loyalty.'
That is why they follow Cedric, who has stronger backing than the current lord, my father.
Yet even such shrewd men are now following me?
There is no way this is something achieved by William's persuasion alone.
So it was inevitable that unease tinged Captain Clone's expression.
-Rumble!
But only for a moment.
"Oh my, reinforcements are here."
Over a hundred knights, fully armed, came running to protect Cedric and Anna.
Just as the saying goes that even a hedgehog finds its own child lovable, Anna, who is fanatical about anything involving Cedric, had been strangely quiet because she was busy summoning the knights by phone.
Quite a number, considering how hastily they were gathered.
Thanks to that, Cedric's confidence swelled once more.
"It's useless to regret now. I will see that you lot, including William, pay for your crimes in full."
Among the knights, a considerable number of Vanguards were included.
Seeing that, I kept my composure and spoke with a hardened expression.
"Lord, I am standing right here. And yet the knights of this domain dare to confront their liege from the opposite side!?"
Even after my rebuke, the knights did not budge, and Father gave a bitter smile.
This standoff laid bare the true state of the viscount's house.
"Subdue those bastards at once!"
At Cedric's shout, the knights all drew their swords.
"What are you all standing there for! Attack already!"
As Cedric's angry urging continued, the knights formed a perimeter and closed the distance.
If you included the soldiers, our side outnumbered them overwhelmingly.
But while the expeditionary force was not properly armed, over ten Vanguards were over there, and the quality of their knights and equipment was overwhelmingly superior.
Regardless of numbers, in terms of pure combat strength we were at a decisive disadvantage.
I didn't know how seriously the enemy would commit, but if a real battle broke out, it would be a one-sided slaughter.
"Then why did you do something so pointless?"
Captain Clone clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"It seems you got drunk on victory and forgot your place. This house's system cannot be changed. Because of the second young master's reckless folly, only innocent people will end up bleeding."
And his scolding gaze as he reproached me was remarkably serious.
"You won't die right away. But from here on, your life will be no better than death. A life even harsher than the one you have now."
An unexpected development born from a sudden act.
It was something neither side had anticipated, but at the same time, they probably thought the situation wasn't bad.
It would give Cedric a chance to remove the word "little" from the title "Little Young Lord" and step into the spotlight.
If this affair ended the way Cedric and Anna wanted, the domain newspaper might publish an article like this:
[The foolish younger brother Adrian, who committed treason out of jealousy toward his brother.]
[Lord Rayford Lawrence, disgusted by his child's act of treason, transfers his authority to his eldest son. The domain now shifts to the young Cedric Lawrence administration.]
A rather solid pretext, wasn't it.
"Adrian, use the artifact! And run, no matter what!"
Suddenly, but already thinking the situation had spiraled out of control, Father shouted that and shielded Mother, and Mother, with a bewildered expression, apologized to some unknown opponent.
-Clack! Clack!
-Prepare to attack!
The knights who had become enemies moved in, and Anna and Cedric planned what would come next.
Even as Father gave his orders, I could only watch these changes unfold and let out a sigh from the depths of my chest.
"Idiots."
And unlike what my opponents wanted, I grinned.
Staring down Captain Clone, whose face said he thought I had lost my mind, I shouted loudly.
"This is rebellion! Rebellion! These bastards are trying to harm the lord! Everyone, protect the lord!"
"Yes!"
A cry full of theatrical flair.
In response, my men answered with eager expressions.
"Why are those guys acting like that...."
The reactions from me and my men were not those of people backed into a corner.
Thanks to that, I said to the flustered captain of the knights,
"Wouldn't anyone look at it and say the ones committing treason are you people?"
If the other side won, we would become the traitors, but if it went the other way, the traitors would be these people.
"What is he even talking about?"
"He's lost his mind."
Those were Cedric and Anna's impressions.
But how long could that kind of act really last?
I was starting to get tired of the performance, so I decided to give them a shock.
What would follow would likely be beyond their common sense.
"Arcia. Leave the three in front to me and take care of the rest."
As I said that, I placed my hand on Arcia's shoulder.
-Swishhhhhh.
Then her figure blurred and distorted, and Arcia appeared, armed with the force armor and force sword of the Lawrence domain army she had received from William.
It had only been hidden by illusion magic; Arcia had been in combat readiness from the start.
"Understood."
A brief answer in accordance with my order.
At the same time, Arcia's figure vanished like mist.
-Slash!
Then, with a flash of white light, the five knights protecting Anna and Cedric were vertically split apart and separated left and right.
"Arcia! Even if humans can't be recycled! Equipment can be recycled! So make sure you only take off their heads as much as possible!"
The knights' equipment was not simple armor and swords forged from lumps of iron.
Even if they weren't on the level of Vanguards, they were essentially power suits packed with various forms of magic and technology.
Fully arming someone costs hundreds of millions to billions, so of course it would be a waste to lose it.
That was why I made a rather tricky request, which resulted in an unreal scene where the knights' heads popped off neatly like a joke.
It was a clean job, very Arcia-like.
"Come to think of it, Captain Clone. What did you say just now?"
I asked the flustered captain, who was hesitating.
"Huh? Uh, uh?"
Then I slapped Captain Clone's cheek, his mind still entranced by Arcia's divine might.
Not with my bare hand, but with a magic staff I pulled out of subspace.
The force armor tried to protect its wearer, but the mana imbued in the magic staff neutralized it and pierced through, sending his cheek flying.
If I felt like it, I could have blown his head off, but I settled for just enough damage to be unpleasant.
"A traitor mouthing off like he's giving a lecture."
Getting slapped must have brought him back to his senses.
He had been struck dumb by the sight of common sense collapsing, but now, with a face tense to the utmost, he gripped his force sword tightly.
"H-he's an Aura Master! Form up around the Vanguards and engage! If we keep our cool, we can handle him!"
"Giving those kinds of orders to your men in the middle of this… you're quite the knight-captain. Of course, it's pointless."
"What the hell are you?"
Captain Clone asked what I really was.
The fact that I had dealt damage through force armor alone was enough for him to be wary of me.
"What else? I'm your life teacher, here to give you a proper education."
A mage can use spells two tiers lower than their own realm without casting.
That means a 7th-circle mage can use 5th-circle magic with no casting.
I slammed every buff of 5th circle and below Haste (reflex boost), Strength (physical power boost), and the like onto myself.
As light flashed and magic was granted, then flashed again and another spell was granted, over and over, Captain Clone blinked rapidly.
"N-no way?"
Seeing that, it seemed one possibility had surfaced in his mind.
Captain Clone desperately shook his head, denying that possibility, but I used the technique that served as proof of a Grand Mage something that let a 7th circle, just one step above 6th circle, utterly overwhelm Vanguards, the mage-killers.
"Flame Blast."
-Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble!
A 7th-circle grand magic that is cast instantly without any chanting.
It was done by using a casting storage spell called Memorize.
Depending on the type, 7th-circle spells require anywhere from 30 seconds to 5 minutes of casting time.
However, Memorize lets you cast a spell in advance, store it, and then later recall the stored casting to manifest the spell instantly when needed.
You can store up to ten spells at once with Memorize, and each spell used is deleted from the list.
So the Grand Mage's combat style is to mix 5th-circle spells that can be used without casting with 7th-circle spells stored via Memorize, while continuously casting 7th-circle spells during the fight to refill the consumed Memorize list.
"Aaargh!"
In other words, the moment you become a Grand Mage, the weakness called "casting" practically disappears for a mage.
Even with the force armor's defense power cranked up to the maximum, it is impossible to fully absorb the damage from grand magic erupting at close range.
Captain Clone screamed and was blown away, and behind him, Cedric and Anna went pale and collapsed where they stood.
"I think things are going to be very fun from now on. Don't you agree?"
I gave the two of them a refreshing smile.
I was at least wearing the shell of a pretty boy, so shouldn't that be charming?
But their eyes trembled without rest, as if they were facing the Grim Reaper.
"You bastard!"
Just then, instead of staying meekly rolling on the floor, Captain Clone sprang to his feet and lunged in a surprise attack.
Thanks to his body being enhanced by force armor and aura, his movement was like lightning.
Ordinary mages tend to panic at a knight's agility.
-Swish! Swish! Whoosh! Swish! Whoosh!
At least, that did not apply to me.
Compared to the Death Knight I faced at the end of stage 7 of the Fortuitous Quest, Captain Clone's attacks were nothing.
I was the one who fought that Aura Master-class Death Knight as an evasion-type mage.
So I dodged Clone's attacks lightly.
"What the…."
When his proud five-hit combo was avoided by a mage not through teleportation but purely with physical movement, his expression twisted in a very satisfying way.
No matter how much you enhance your body with magic, a mage is still a mage.
How would my appearance outside, which is so far from common sense, look to him?