Fairy Tale Survival with Ability Copying

The Silverclaw Viscount rode across his territory at full gallop with two hundred elite family cavalrymen.

These cavalrymen were nothing like the mass-produced soldiers Levi had trained in just over a month. They had undergone rigorous training since childhood, mastering all kinds of killing techniques and horsemanship. Clad in fine armor and armed to the teeth, they were true killing machines.

The cost of training each one had accumulated to well over a thousand gold coins.

Even with the Silverclaw Viscount family's foundations, it had taken several centuries to raise just over two hundred cavalrymen. Yet with these two hundred riders alone, the Silverclaw Viscount had the confidence to encroach upon the interests of the Duchy of Silverbrook, while keeping the duke from daring to retaliate recklessly.

Levi's musketeers were effective against ordinary soldiers, but against these fully armed cavalrymen, their effectiveness was far more limited.

These riders wore heavy armor. Compared to the almost "naked" kobolds, their equipment was vastly superior. Lead bullets could hardly penetrate their armor and inflict serious damage.

On the other hand, once these knights charged together, they became an unstoppable torrent. Whoever dared block their path would be crushed beneath them.

However, the expressions of these cavalrymen were all grim. Bloodstains and chunks of flesh covered their bodies, and some riders even carried light injuries.

What they all shared was the deep exhaustion written across their faces.

The reason was simple.

More than ten thousand kobolds had suddenly poured out of the Mist Swamp.

After entering the territory, they rapidly scattered into various villages, burning, slaughtering, and looting everywhere they went.

Although many villages had their own local lords, and quite a few of those lords possessed Knight-level combat strength with several well-trained knight retainers under their command, they were still far too few in number when faced with the overwhelming kobold horde.

Not to mention that among the kobolds were a considerable number of kobold shamans.

These kobolds, who had awakened the power of their bloodlines, possessed all kinds of spell-like abilities, making them a tremendous threat to knights.

After all, not everyone possessed a gigantic wall capable of keeping those kobold shamans outside.

In ordinary battles, many knights were struck by the kobold shamans' spells from the rear. Some became paralyzed, while others lost their combat ability after being corroded by acid before finally being swarmed and torn apart by kobolds.

And if even the knights died, the fate of the common people could easily be imagined.

Although quite a few people had managed to escape by sheer luck, even more had died beneath the kobolds' claws and fangs, becoming food for their frenzied feast.

This was the scene the Silverclaw Viscount had witnessed all along the way.

Everywhere lay in ruins.

The territories near the Mist Swamp had suffered devastating destruction.

The Silverclaw Viscount's heart bled at the sight.

Consumed by fury, he led over two hundred cavalrymen in relentless slaughter, killing and driving away large numbers of kobolds while reclaiming territory bit by bit.

But the dead villagers would never return to life, nor would the lost wealth ever come back.

Worse still, the kobolds were no easy opponents. While individual kobolds were nowhere near as terrifying as giants, their overwhelming numbers, combined with the kobold shamans, had still inflicted severe losses upon the viscount's force.

Thirty knights had already died.

The Silverclaw Viscount no longer felt as though his heart were merely bleeding—it felt as though a blade had been plunged directly into his chest.

"Viscount."

Grey Crow rode up beside the Silverclaw Viscount on horseback.

"How are the other areas?" the Silverclaw Viscount asked with a gloomy expression.

"Very bad." Grey Crow carefully chose his words before continuing, "The villages near the Mist Swamp have basically all been destroyed. There are too many kobolds, and they've scattered throughout the territory. A great deal of farmland has already been burned and destroyed. Also... kobolds have appeared on Black Moss Plain as well."

The Silverclaw Viscount's expression changed drastically. He abruptly turned and stared fixedly at his most trusted subordinate, Grey Crow.

"What happened to those kobolds?" he demanded.

It was no wonder the Silverclaw Viscount reacted so violently.

Black Moss Plain was the core of his territory. The land there was fertile, and more than half the grain produced across the entire territory came from that region. If anything happened there, it would not merely be a minor loss—the territory would suffer catastrophic damage.

"They've already been killed, but..." Grey Crow hesitated.

"Speak!" The Silverclaw Viscount's eyes had already turned bloodshot as he glared at him.

Grey Crow's heart skipped a beat.

"But those kobolds burned the wheat growing in the fields. One-third of the crop has already been destroyed."

The Silverclaw Viscount suddenly blacked out for a moment and nearly fell from his horse. Grey Crow hurriedly supported him.

Fortunately, the Silverclaw Viscount knew he could not show even the slightest weakness at a time like this. Forcing himself upright again, he said, "I'm fine."

"Our top priority now is to drive those damned vermin out of our territory..."

Just then, a lightly armored man came galloping over on horseback.

"My lord, there is news from Hornreach."

"Speak." A sharp glint flashed through the Silverclaw Viscount's eyes. His expression became stern, and Grey Crow realized it was already too late to stop him.

"Because Hornreach completed the construction of a gigantic wall in advance, all the kobolds pouring out of the Mist Swamp were blocked outside the walls. Hornreach has suffered almost no losses, aside from a small number of soldier casualties..." the lightly armored man reported.

"How could that be possible? A wall built in just ten days—even if it's real—it should be flimsy enough for the kobolds to smash through in a single charge. Not to mention there are so many kobold shamans among them!" The Silverclaw Viscount found it impossible to believe.

"Yes, my lord. Multiple infiltrators have all reported the same information. And apparently, they also deployed alchemical firearms—at least a hundred of them," the lightly armored man replied honestly.

Grey Crow's expression changed instantly.

'Alchemical firearms?'

The Silverclaw Viscount froze for a moment.

His mind suddenly felt blank. It was as if the world outside had become unbearably noisy, yet he could not hear a single sound.

He opened his mouth and asked, "Where did those alchemical firearms come from?"

But he could not even hear his own voice.

His trusted subordinate Grey Crow and the scout in light armor were both speaking, but the Silverclaw Viscount could not hear any of it.

He stood there blankly.

Then the world suddenly spun around him. His entire body seemed to lose all support as he slipped from his horse. At the moment he hit the ground, clarity abruptly returned to his mind, and a single thought surfaced within it.

'It's over.'

More than a hundred alchemical firearms.

Three Great Knight-level high-end combatants.

That level of strength had already surpassed the defensive capabilities of Silverclaw Territory.

Silverclaw Territory was finished.

The moment that thought crossed his mind, darkness swallowed his vision completely, and he fell unconscious.

The cavalry immediately descended into chaos.

The lightly armored man turned pale, completely at a loss.

Grey Crow jumped down from his horse and shielded the Silverclaw Viscount.

"Protect the viscount!"

"Fall back to the castle!"

...

Within the Kingdom of Valeria, the middle-aged king still remained in his garden, crushed almonds in hand as he fed the flocks of birds gathered in the trees.

The nearby attendants did not dare disturb the king's enjoyment.

After all, everyone knew that the wise king of Valeria's greatest hobby was feeding small animals. He had practically turned the royal palace into a zoo, raising all kinds of creatures—even ducks.

Years ago, there had once been an incident where a duck accidentally swallowed the queen's favorite ring. They had nearly failed to recover it. Had the chef not happened to slaughter that particular duck, the ring might never have been found, and some unfortunate attendant likely would have lost his life over it.

Yet even though raising too many animals often caused problems, the King of Valeria had never changed his ways.

At this moment, he continued feeding the birds with a smile on his face while quietly listening to their cheerful chirping.

At first, his expression remained calm.

But as the birds grew louder and louder, his face gradually darkened, and his eyes became gloomy.

Suddenly, he turned toward another direction.

The direction of Levi's Hornreach.

His loyal court steward walked over and said, "Your Majesty, word has arrived that the kobolds in the Mist Swamp have rioted and are wildly attacking nearby human settlements. The Silverclaw Viscount's territory has suffered severe losses, while Hornreach, thanks to completing its wall ahead of time, suffered only minor damage and successfully repelled the kobold assault. It's also said they deployed a considerable number of alchemical firearms."

"I already know," the king replied after a brief silence.

Then he suddenly asked, "Tell me—if I granted Levi the title and lands of a count, would he accept?"

The court steward's expression shifted slightly.

He himself had once saved the king's life, and even then he had only received the title and lands of a count. Yet this Levi had done nothing for the king personally, and the king was already willing to bestow such honors upon him.

The thought left the steward both shocked... and faintly bitter.

After pondering for a moment, he finally replied, "That gift may be a little too precious, Your Majesty. I fear he may not be able to bear the weight of a count's title."

The King of Valeria said nothing upon hearing this.

He merely tapped his fingers lightly against the tree trunk.

After a while, he finally said, "Perhaps you are right."

Then, after a brief pause, a smile appeared on his face again.

"How is little Torre doing these days?" he asked the steward.

Torre was the court steward's son.

Several years ago, he had also served as an attendant within the royal palace, attending to the King of Valeria personally and earning the king's deep trust.

Although he had nearly been punished because of the queen's ring incident—before it was ultimately proven to be a misunderstanding—the experience had inspired him to leave the palace and venture out into the wider world.

Out of guilt, the king gifted him a horse he had personally raised for many years, along with travel expenses, and personally saw him off on his journey.

Torre traveled to many places before eventually arriving in a certain kingdom.

As it happened, the king of that nation was searching for a husband for his daughter, though any suitor had to complete an extremely difficult trial first.

In the end, the young attendant completed not one, but three impossible tasks—because the princess kept raising the stakes each time.

He successfully passed every trial and married the princess.

Once the king passed away, the princess would become queen, and the former attendant would become prince consort.

Their children would become the legitimate royal heirs of that kingdom. In the future, they might even inherit the court steward's lands within Valeria as well.

Situations like this were perfectly normal in this era.

Many great nobles often possessed noble titles and territories across multiple kingdoms.

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I will post some extra Chapters in Patreon, you can check it out. >> /TitoVillar

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