The Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality, Chapter 31
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The Opportunity in the Game Becomes Reality, Chapter 31
10. Time of Revenge (3)
'We're screwed.'
Crude as it was, this was the thought that had risen in the minds of everyone who followed Cedric and Anna alike.
Adrian Lawrence had become an Archmage?
It was a story so absurd it deserved nothing but a scornful laugh...
-BOOM!
"Aaaargh!"
-THWACK!
"Kuh!"
Watching the knight commander, who was now a plaything for Adrian, being gleefully beaten to a pulp in the distance, one couldn't help but believe it, no matter how unwilling.
There was no need to bother questioning how such a thing was possible.
If they wanted to live, this was the moment to make a choice.
"T-that's not something we can fight."
Arcia, the woman with the hazy silhouette who had captured the knights' attention, was a reaper delivering certain death to them all.
Five vanguards had already fallen, and the casualties among the regular knights were too many to even count.
Worse still, if she ever fell into danger, Adrian—currently busy tormenting the knight commander—would step in.
A single Aura Master was already a calamity; if an Archmage joined in on top of that?
The outcome was practically already decided.
"W-we surrender!"
"I surrender!"
"I lose!"
In the end, the knights following Cedric and Anna had no choice but to lay down their weapons if they wanted to live.
"Spare anyone who surrenders!"
"Yes!"
At the order from Adrian, who had been watching the situation from behind, Arcia's sword stopped just before one knight's throat.
"Gulp!"
The knight, realizing Arcia's approach a moment too late, gasped in shock and prostrated himself flat, while those who had surrendered let out sighs of relief at Adrian's magnanimous decision.
For now, at least, their lives were saved.
"What's going to happen to us now?"
"Who knows..."
The surrendered knights worried about their future.
But when the situation itself was already unbelievable, how could they even begin to predict what came next?
To the question everyone wondered about, no one could answer, and they only shook their heads.
The power over their life and death had now passed into Adrian's hands.
Whether they lived or died would depend on his mood.
"We should be grateful if we're not just executed."
"I suppose so."
"History belongs to the victors. Especially since we've ended up looking like we opposed the lord himself—we've lost all moral ground."
For personal gain, they had tried to replace their lord; for personal gain, they had tried to harm their comrades.
Being quick to calculate, they understood their own position with cold clarity.
"By the way..."
"Young Master, what on earth is he?"
Countless knights had been slaughtered without even a chance to cry out.
The garden of the lord's castle, where the welcoming ceremony had been underway, now reeked of blood, and countless comrades had become headless mannequins, gruesomely decorating the garden.
But why was it?
Adrian—the cause of all this, their enemy—somehow appeared far too mysterious.
They still couldn't make sense of the situation, but there was one thing the knights could grasp clearly.
The terrifying, formidable nature of the man named Adrian, who had thoroughly hidden his true self all this time...
"Now that an Archmage has been born, the future of Viscount Lawrence's house will surely be bright. Not that it has anything to do with us."
"But how? Were there any signs of this at all?"
"That just means he's been hiding it all along."
A fact that sent fresh chills down their spines.
What's more, that Young Master had even drawn an Aura Master onto his side.
A complete irregular.
To those who had been defeated, it was nothing short of a natural disaster.
"What does it even matter now?"
"True. We just walked a tightrope and failed."
The surrendered knights wore bitter expressions at the sight of the expedition force's knights looking at them with triumphant satisfaction.
All they could do now was lament their wrong choice and pray for merciful treatment afterward.
* * *
"What is this?"
"Embarrassingly, the footage is spreading across multiple platforms."
The northern city of Ereiven, in the Kingdom of Rhinehearts.
This city, whose main industry was the production of military supplies, was the largest of the four cities held by Margrave Raven, and served as a major northern stronghold with a population of three million.
At the center of Ereiven stood an 80-story building-shaped lord's castle that allowed a full view of the city, and in the sky above floated a lavish three sky fortresses—something even minor lords could only dream of possessing even one of.
It was a sight that revealed the power held by Margrave Raven, the owner of Ereiven City.
On the top floor of the 80-story lord's castle was the lord's office, and befitting the ruler of the region, numerous secretaries and advisors were gathered there to offer counsel.
Margrave Raven had to let out a deep sigh upon checking the title of the footage a secretary showed him.
[The Tragedy and Hope of Viscount Lawrence's House!]
The video, roughly 10 minutes long, spotlighted an incident that had occurred in Viscount Lawrence's territory.
It began with an edited compilation of news reports announcing the outbreak of war between the Kingdom of Rhinehearts and the Croysen Empire.
[A battle between sky fortresses has broken out on the western front bordering the Croysen Empire!]
The breaking news, carried by the anchor's urgent voice, was enough to instill tension in anyone watching.
This was followed by a brief summary of how the war was progressing, highlighting the mounting casualties and property damage from the enemy's reckless attacks, conveying the war's brutality.
[Six sky fortresses destroyed by explosion! Approximately 32,000 friendly casualties!]
[What justice is there in an attack method that only maximizes damage?]
[Suicide attacks—there's a limit to how anachronistic something can be.]
But dark, mood-dampening news has a way of sapping a video's appeal.
So, at the right moments, elements of national pride were woven in to keep the flow steady.
[The Kingdom of Rhinehearts army, not giving an inch against the Croysen Empire.]
[Young heroes of the Kingdom of Rhinehearts emerging in these troubled times.]
And just as there is an end to every beginning, once the three-month-long war's conclusion was declared, the video shifted to a new format.
It became, in essence, a vlog-style recording of one unit's return home.
It was in this segment that Adrian's existence was first revealed.
[Colonel, you've worked hard.]
[Hm? What are you filming?]
[A commemorative video of our safe return.]
[Be careful not to include any military secrets in the footage.]
[Yes, sir!]
With his looks rivaling any celebrity, combined with the premium of noble birth and the charisma of a battlefield commander, no small number of viewers left comments declaring themselves fans.
-Wow, gorgeous!
-Oppa! Take me!
-I'm a guy too, why is my heart racing?
-Same, but I'd totally make an exception.
On top of that, with his accumulated war achievements, awarded medals, and the recognition of fellow commanders piling up, it left the impression that he wasn't just handsome but capable as well.
[Count Otis: Colonel Adrian? Highly capable. I was the division commander, but it was he who decided the outcome of the division's battles. If Colonel Adrian is willing, our house is ready to welcome him as family.]
[Young Lord of Baron Aden's House: He doesn't like to boast. He simply does his duty quietly. If he had been greedy for glory and thoroughly pursued his own gain, he would have received rewards many times over.]
[Young Lord of Viscount Lesty's House: He made sure the commanders within the same unit could share credit evenly. I hope to repay that kindness someday.]
Even though it was only footage, the goodwill the viewers felt toward Adrian came through clearly.
Thanks to this, viewer curiosity about Adrian surged greatly, making them intensely eager to know more about him.
But afterward, an unexpected incident involving the Lawrence expedition force delivered a shock to viewers.
[We're under attack from a group consisting of 3 Vanguards and 5 Armored Golems!]
It was an ambush that struck while everyone was joyfully making their way home.
This was the part that made viewers realize this wasn't simply a vlog or a promotional video for the house.
[W-what is this? An ambush!?]
[The enemies are targeting Young Master Adrian!]
[Don't tell me it's happening again!?]
[At least we're lucky! Sir Billiam is desperately holding them off! It seems Young Master Adrian had the Vanguards standing by in rotation just in case!]
[Vice Captain Billiam fought well! The rest of the Vanguards are deploying now!]
The footage, streamed from a soldier's point of view, captured the ambush with such immediacy that it made viewers hold their breath.
But sharp-eyed viewers paid attention to one soldier's line here: "Don't tell me it's happening again?"
It sounded as though it implied someone had been repeatedly targeting Adrian's life.
Moreover, this time the force involved was more than enough to accomplish an assassination, if that were indeed the goal.
Yet, defying everyone's expectations, the ambush ended in failure due to the emergence of two variables.
[Y-Young Master?]
[Why is Miss Arcia here!?]
It was the extraordinary appearance of an Aura Master and an Archmage.
The scene revealing their identities was made even more dramatic with the addition of various visual effects, becoming a point that sent chills down viewers' spines.
The appearance of a young yet beautiful Aura Master and Archmage.
-Woooohoo!
-Big brooother!
-Big siiister!
-What!? What is this!?
The comment section absolutely exploded.
The battle was swiftly wrapped up by Adrian and Arcia, and only the attackers, who hadn't expected this, lost their lives instead.
They kept one attacker alive for questioning, but since he committed suicide, they failed to obtain any meaningful information.
However, the method of suicide was reminiscent of an assassin, making it easy to infer that someone had hired a large assassin's guild to eliminate Adrian.
Thus, after much twists and turns, Adrian and the Viscounty of Lawrence's expeditionary force finally arrived at the territory.
"..."
But then a second situation arose that left viewers puzzled — there was no welcoming crowd at all, let alone a parade, for the warriors who had survived such a grueling expedition.
Given the achievements they had accomplished, it was an absurdly poor treatment.
Naturally, the comments exploded once again, and as the lord of Viscounty Lawrence and Adrian's mother came out to greet them forlornly, accompanied by only a few retainers, anyone could sense that something was seriously wrong with the household.
[A-Adrian?]
Then, when Anna appeared, accompanied by knights and attendants in a far more lavish display than the lord himself, viewers cried out firmly.
-It's her! That woman must be the culprit!
-Look at that face, like she's seen a ghost!
-Anna Lawrence, the lady of House Lawrence and third daughter of the Marquis of Ereiven.
-And also Adrian Lawrence's stepmother.
-Whoa, chills. So there's no denying it now?
-On top of that, Adrian Lawrence was the target of a poisoning attempt at age 7.
-Yeah, that's right. He was originally famous as a child prodigy, but became mediocre after the poisoning attempt, they say.
-Then... don't tell me that was also—?
This all unfolded because Anna's shocked expression upon seeing Adrian looked far too real.
Having watched the footage up to this point, the Marquis of Ereiven pressed his forehead and clicked his tongue.
"What in the world is this idiot doing. I told her to take control of the viscounty, and she's putting on a comedy show."
But the footage that followed was far too intense to be dismissed as mere comedy.
This was because Anna, unaware that Adrian and Arcia were an Archmage and an Aura Master, ended up using the territorial army to attack the expeditionary force.
After that, Adrian and Arcia once again displayed their overwhelming might, and Anna and Cedric were easily subdued.
The highlight of it all was Arcia landing a groin kick on Cedric, and Adrian personally sealing Anna's mouth with tape as she screamed and repeated the word "how dare you" over and over.
The footage ended with Anna and Cedric being thrown into prison.
-That's some sweet relief.
-Unbelievable....
-Justice served.
Thanks to this, the viewers who watched it were delighted, saying they'd just had a satisfying drink of cool relief.
However, a few thoughtful people didn't view this footage as simple comeuppance, because they could easily predict the disaster that would follow.
-Isn't the reason Anna Lawrence can act like that because she has the Marquis of Ereiven backing her?
-Huh? Then what happens after this?
-It's going to be a war between a powerful great lord with immense military strength and a frontier viscounty.
Setting aside the truth of the assassination attempt on Adrian, the act of drawing a blade against the lord himself was inexcusable.
Naturally, Anna and Cedric would be treated as traitors who violated territorial law, and people predicted a bleak future, certain that this would lead to friction with the Marquis of Ereiven.
No matter how powerful an Archmage and Aura Master might be, it would be difficult for them alone to withstand numerous floating fortresses.
Because of this, many people cheered for Adrian and cursed the Marquis of Ereiven for trying to use his daughter to ruin another territory.
They said how could such injustice be allowed.
-BAM!
Having watched the entire footage, the Marquis of Ereiven slammed the desk and rose from his seat.