Episode 33: Dream in the game becomes reality

11. Archmage Adrian (2)

Raven Margrave is a great lord who owns 1 large city, 3 normal cities, and 3 border forts.

Military-wise, he owns 6 sky fortresses, and the capital of the Vanguard reaches 300, so it would be enough to call him a loser with no rivals in his region.

Considering that the maximum military power that an ordinary county can possess is 3 Sky Fortresses and 100 Vanguards, the level of military power of the Raven Margrave was 2.5 to 3 times that of an ordinary county.

No, in reality, there are only a handful of counties that have troops up to the upper limit, so the Raven Margrave's military power can be seen as more than three times that of an ordinary county.

Therefore, the maddening expression of regional losers was not an exaggeration.

"How much longer will it take before the troops are dispatched?"

"Even if I can't do it, I need one more hour."

Even for such a Raven Margrave, the number of troops that can be immediately mobilized without notice is bound to be limited.

200 Vanguards, 1 Sky Fortress.

It was at the level of 40% of the power possessed.

However, with just this level, I was confident that I would not be pushed back even if I were to join a general county territory.

Since Vanguard 50 was evaluated at a similar level to one Sky Fortress, it was no different from five Sky Fortresses moving.

"Can't it be a little faster?"

"We will do our best to shorten the time."

However, war was not something that could be started immediately even if the troops were prepared.

The distance from the Raven Territory to the Lawrence Territory was over 400km, so preparations needed to be made accordingly.

After all, isn't the key to this operation a surprise attack?

However, moving to the ground using a huge sky fortress and transportation carrying troops is nothing more than advertising that you are going to attack from now on.

For the success of the operation, all troops had to be moved through 'space movement'.

Therefore, it was bound to be difficult to immediately dispatch the entire force, including the sky fortress.

"These kids aren't running away somewhere, are they?"

"If that were the case, we wouldn't have provoked it in the first place."

"That too."

Margrave Raven recalled the video Adrian posted.

That bold provocation.

"As an adult, I have to teach this immature guy a lesson."

You will be relieved only when you are reminded to your bones who you dared to touch and how foolish your actions were.

For him, the true education of Adrian was his first goal, and rescuing his daughter Anna and grandson Cedric became his second goal.

-Crash. Crash.

The Margrave gazed at the 200 vanguards lined up on the roof of the 80-story Lord's Castle building and the sky fortress beyond, and stroked his chin, which had grown richly like a lion's brown fur.

"dismissal! dismissal!"

But that was then.

One of Raven Margrave's assistants hurriedly ran over, catching the attention of the Vanguard and workers.

Margrave Raven clicked his tongue at his flustered appearance.

"Please watch this video."

"What video again?"

And this time, the secretary opened up a hologram window to watch the video, and the Margrave, who had been giving a disapproving look, also changed his expression the moment he saw the contents of the video.

[I am announcing this today.]It was a video of a press conference.

However, the background did not appear to be the Kingdom of Reinharts, as the flag with a red moon on a bright blue background and the familiar six-pointed star flag were draped behind a woman in her early 20s who was holding a press conference.

"The Dukes of Riverdale?"

It symbolized the Duke of Riverdale, which was as famous as the royal family in the Kingdom of Lucias.

In addition, as if to prove that the Raven Margrave had a keen eye for insight, a kind caption was placed next to the woman's face.

-Olivia the Duke of Riverdale.

It was a very kind subtitle that told us who the main character of the press conference was.

But the problem here is… … .

"Why that guy, Adrian?"

For some reason, Adrian was standing next to such a famous person.

And at the Duke of Riverdale's announcement, Margrave Raven had to touch his forehead.

[I am officially announcing that my father, Viscount Adrian Lawrence, a disciple of the former Duke of Riverdale, has become a Grand Wizard of the 7th Circle at the age of 20.]Reporters at the press conference, who did not know the reason for the convocation at Olivia the Duke of Riverdale's announcement, swallowed their breath and expressed surprise, and questions poured in from all over.

However, the Duke of Riverdale completely ignored the reporters' questions and continued his speech.

[He is a rare magic genius and someone who is expected to reach the 8th circle. We at the Riverdale School will do our best to assist him and will not spare any support for his growth.]A quick movement, as if he had read Margrave Raven's thoughts.

As a result, it became difficult to eliminate Adrian without any setbacks.

After eliminating Adrian, the person who came forward to notarize was too big a figure to claim that he was not an archmage or anything.

"After all, it's Riverdale. If you do this, you will definitely leave the royal family."

"… … ."

The opponent is the Riverdale family, which created as many as seven great wizards.

This announcement was enough to wash away all suspicions about Adrian at once.

Olivia the Duke of Riverdale, who was called a rare genius after achieving the 7th circle at the age of 22, has no hesitation in being called a genius.

Of course, the royal family would not want Adrian's talent to fade away.

If Adrian is hit in this situation, it is highly likely that not only public opinion but also the royal family will be held responsible.

Moreover, the problem wasn't just the royal family... … .

[Please keep in mind that if anyone tries to harm him, they will turn the Riverdale School into an enemy.]He couldn't have known that the Duke of Riverdale's threats were directed at him.

Looking at Adrian's embarrassed appearance in the video, I could sense that this line was not agreed upon in advance.

After the short press conference, the comments below the video caught my eye.

-If you are a former disciple of the Duke of Riverdale, even ridiculous levels are acceptable.

-I definitely think he can make his disciples into great wizards, no matter what situation they are in.

- Haha, what about Raven Margrave?

-That's right, I can't mess around anymore.

-You probably don't want to turn Riverdale into an enemy.

Have you ever had a moment where you felt this annoyed recently?

Adrian's provocation made him angry, but the Raven Margrave had to scream out of the frustration rising from inside his chest.

"Damn it!"

Thanks to this, all of the men who were preparing to go on the rooftop of Yeongju Castle had to shrug their shoulders.

Although many of them were knights, there was nothing as scary to them as the Raven Margrave's wrath.

"We must stop sending troops."

The staff was equally afraid of Margrave Raven, but their role was to make appropriate decisions in this situation.

The margrave, who was huffing at them, turned his murderous eyes towards them.

"No, we will deploy as planned."

"yes?"

However, what followed was an instruction that made the staff doubt their ears.

"Didn't you hear? "It's moving as planned."

"But obviously in the royal family…" … ."

"What in the royal family? "Did you notice our expedition and give us instructions not to attack Lawrence's territory?"

"That's not true, but the risks are too great."

"are you okay. "As long as you achieve your goal, you can overcome it in any way."

Of course, it will be difficult to avoid harm without harm.

No matter how powerful the Margrave is, he cannot shed the royal wrath carelessly.

However, even if the immediate damage was great, we decided that if we took over the Lawrence territory through Anna, we could reap benefits in the long run that exceeded the damage we received today.

"Sir, behind Adrian Lawrence, there is also the Riverdale School."

"They are foreigners anyway. doesn't care."

The staff noticed.

The Margrave's statement now is nothing more than an excuse.

He was merely providing a reason to eliminate Adrian, which he had set as his goal.

It's a kind of self-justification.

"When was this press conference held?"

"About an hour ago."

"Has Adrian returned to the estate?"

"Yes, it is."

"Good. On the contrary, Adrian will be relieved that we won't be able to hit him, so the surprise effect will be excellent."

I knew in my heart that I had to stop him, but no one could stop the Margrave.

If he said this, he knew there was nothing more they could do.

"We must complete preparations and go to war as quickly as possible. got it?"

"Yes, we will speed up the work further."

The staff obediently bowed their heads.

All they could do was hope that the royal family would act quickly to protect both Adrian and Arsia.

-Whoa!

As if laughing at the worries of these people, a 'black eagle' leisurely floated in the orange sky where the sun was starting to set, examining the Raven Margrave's lordship castle.

* * *

At that time, Adrian had just returned to the territory after finishing a press conference in the Kingdom of Lucias.

"Sin, the sinner has escaped!"

The Lawrence estate was turned upside down.

The reason is that Anna and Cedric, who should have been rotting in the dungeon of the castle, disappeared after only three hours of detention.

"Damn it! Even in this situation, are there idiots who follow these two idiots!?"

"Those humans might still be hiding here. You guys explore this place. "I'll go up and request an exploration force."

"I understand."

If those two disappear forever, a troublesome situation is bound to arise.

Then, Adrian's anger will be poured out on the knights and soldiers responsible for guarding the castle.

In the past, I would have laughed off Adrian's anger, but I couldn't do that anymore.

He was the disciple of the famous Duke of Riverdale and the fifth Grand Wizard of this country.

Thanks to this, the expressions of the knights and soldiers in the security team turned white.

"Did you inform Lord So and Lady Arsia?"

Originally, minor lord was a word referring to Cedric, but they had no hesitation in using the title minor lord to Adrian.

"It looks like you went out for a while. "I can't see you anywhere."

"Should I call this a blessing?"

But no matter how hard they searched, Anna and Cedric could not be found.

At that time, when the guards were stamping their feet.

"Huh. "Huh."

Anna and Cedric, who succeeded in escaping prison, reached the spire, the top floor of the castle, accompanied by three knights.

There was an artificial island with a huge body floating right above the spire... … .

Its identity was Rondel's best strategic weapon, the 'Sky Fortress'.

"If it continues like this, even if I survive, I haven't lived. "I'm sure my father won't let me go."

"Mom, are you sure you want to do this?"

"So you're saying we're going to suffer like this!?"

"Oh, no. "I don't like that either."

"Then don't talk nonsense and follow me."

In Anna's hand was a small key, which was the manager's seal that controlled the sky fortress of Lawrence's estate.

The sky fortress at Lawrence's estate was an old model, purchased from Anna's parents' family, Raven's estate, from a used aircraft scheduled to be retired.

Margrave Raven semi-forcibly handed over the Sky Fortress to the Lawrence Territory, even placing one condition on it.

That is, the final manager of the Sky Fortress had to be registered as Anna.

Because this was a one-sided request made through coercion, Viscount Laurence did not dare refuse.

Thanks to this, Lawrence's territory had a sky fortress, rare for a Viscounty, to protect the sky, but it could not be considered the lord's.

- Click.

Anna lifted the seal high and placed her thumb on the central jewel of the key.

Then, a message appeared in front of her asking if she wanted to board the Sky Fortress, and Anna immediately selected boarding.

-Fit!

Accordingly, as if a UFO was kidnapping a human being, blue light poured down from the sky fortress and enveloped the two mothers and the three knights who helped them escape.

The view changes in an instant.

The dizzying sight of the spire had been replaced by the interior of a sky fortress filled with various equipment.

"I will definitely kill that lowly bastard."

The reason Anna and Cedric invaded the Sky Fortress is because of one goal.

It was not for a sit-in protest or escape, but to blow up Yeongju Castle under their feet.

To be precise, they wanted to eliminate all the people inside the Yeongju Castle at once.

When Viscount Lawrence, Adrian, and Adrian's mother, Sylvia, disappear, the reason for their imprisonment also disappears.

That's why this extreme choice was made in hopes of turning things around.

"You idiots, you should have first checked where the key to the Sky Fortress was hidden."

Anna smiled and inserted the authentication key into the top of the captain's seat.

[Checking seal.] [Confirmation complete.] [Confirmation of administrator biometric information.] [Verification complete.] [Voice confirmation.]"Anna Lawrence."

[Confirmation completed.] [The current administrator's biorhythm is unstable. Are you trying to operate the Sky Fortress due to the enemy's threats?]"no."

[Check the facts. Confirmed.] [Sky Fortress 'Janet' switches to normal mode. welcome. Administrator.]And Anna shouted with venom.

"Prepare the main gun firestorm! Target Lawrence Lord Castle! Departure as soon as preparations are complete... … ."

"Stop, stop there!"

But her shouting stopped just before completing the command.

This is because my mouth was covered by the hand of the man who appeared as if color was being added to the empty space where there was nothing.

Anna was scared as if she had seen a ghost.

"Your actions did not deviate from expectations one bit. Thank you. "For easing the security of the Sky Fortress."

The person who covered Anna's mouth was none other than Adrian.

"Ugh... … ."

"Oops!"

At the same time, Cedric and the three knights were thrown out and became stuck on the inner wall of the Sky Fortress.

Adrian was not the only one hiding inside the sky fortress.

Arcia appeared next and subdued Cedric and the knights.

"Attempting to bomb the Lord's Castle with a sky fortress, the sins continue to increase."

Adrian's grip on my mouth was uncharacteristically strong, and I felt as if my jaw would be torn apart.

Thanks to this, Anna had to shed a few tears.

However, at Adrian's next line, she opened her eyes wide and struggled.

"They say the Raven Margrave's soldiers will attack within the hour. I think it would be okay for my eldest mother and older brother to protect the territory by sacrificing their bodies."

Adrian had fully grasped the Raven Margrave's situation and had even prepared a preparedness plan.

And although I didn't know exactly what that preparedness plan meant, I couldn't help but notice that Anna herself would be used for it if she had the wit.