Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 130

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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Because there was nothing to fear, everything proceeded at lightning speed. Thus, I arrived at the Dark Forest in what felt like an instant.

“Y-Young Master, allow me to lead the way!”

Vice-Captain Hilsman stepped forward to the front, gazing at the entrance to the Dark Forest. Two pairs of blunt eyes turned to regard him.
One belonged to me, and the other to Erhafen.
But another presence eased the Vice-Captain’s tension.

“That’s right! Vice-Captain, let’s go quickly!”

It was Raon.
Raon, having dispelled his invisibility, grinned widely and urged the Vice-Captain forward. Following that cheerful smile, the Vice-Captain chuckled as well.
But I interjected between their laughter.

“Vice-Captain, you’ve never ventured to the very heart of the Dark Forest, have you?”

Last winter.
The Vice-Captain, who had trained with ten members of the Wolf Tribe, had conducted his training primarily around the outer regions of the Dark Forest.

“I’ve followed Choi Han once before! Please trust me!”
“…Very well.”

I gestured to the Vice-Captain to proceed, waving him forward. The Vice-Captain nodded with grim determination and took the lead.

I followed leisurely behind, glancing to the side. Erhafen had been silent since earlier.

“Is something the matter?”

At my question, Erhafen turned his head and fixed me with a steady gaze before speaking.

“There are ten members of the Blue Werewolf Tribe as well?”
“That’s correct.”

Currently, Harris Village was home to Hans, who had returned from Ubar Territory, and ten Wolf Tribe Children living together. They had welcomed my sudden visit.
The Gold Dragon murmured.

“…Six ancient powers, all manner of demihumans, and numerous powerful humans besides. Life truly is exhausting.”

In that moment, Kale found himself at a loss for words.
Looking at it objectively, I was living quite a grueling existence.

“Tsk, tsk.”

Erhafen shook his head and clicked his tongue. Watching Kale’s face become tangled in complex anguish, he reflected silently.

‘This fellow’s life is truly unfortunate in many ways.’

Erhafen had heard all the new information regarding the Secret Organization.
Perhaps the heavens had granted this man ancient power precisely because people and incidents seemed to converge around him from every direction?
The Gold Dragon found the human before him somewhat pitiful.

Of course, he did not know that the ancient power was not divine providence, but rather something Kale had obtained entirely through his own efforts.
All manner of demi-humans, and powerful humans as well—it had all been Kale’s own doing.

The Gold Dragon naturally could not have known this.

As the dragon harbored this small misunderstanding about one human’s life, Raon’s voice reached his ears.

“But the weak human isn’t struggling because I’m here! Because the great Raon Mir exists!”

His expression overflowed with pride in himself.
The Gold Dragon turned away from such a Raon and spoke to the human who remained lost in thought.

“You’ve been through much hardship.”

Kale nodded in agreement.

“…Yes, that’s true. I need to finish everything quickly.”

Finish it all and rest. Sleep. Roll around on a bed.
Kale’s longing for a life of leisure grew ever stronger.

The ancient dragon, who had lived nearly a thousand years, watched this human agonize over the fate surrounding him and spoke with casual bluntness.

“If you’re struggling with something, try talking about it.”
“…Truly?”

A flicker of intrigue danced across Kale’s eyes before vanishing in an instant.
Erhafen clicked his tongue and nodded in acknowledgment.

“Tsk, tsk. Very well.”

In that moment, I made a decision.
I would help him this once.

A smile played at my lips. Seeing this, the Dragon felt oddly pleased that the unfortunate human seemed delighted by his words.

But there was one person.
Vice-Captain Hilsman was experiencing something entirely different.

“…Young Master.”
“What is it?”
“…The monsters seem strange.”

The monsters at the edges of the Dark Forest were behaving oddly.

Screech— gasp, squeal—

A goblin fled into the undergrowth, barely able to draw breath.

Thud. Boom, thud!

And rat-like monsters collectively buried their heads in the ground, trembling uncontrollably.

Hilsman, who had found the sight peculiar, finally understood when Kale pointed to a certain being.

“There’s a Gold Dragon here, after all.”
“Ah.”

Understanding dawned.

Erhafen spoke while looking at Raon.

“Little one, do you now comprehend my magnificence?”
“…I do not!”

Raon’s head whipped around as he darted to Kale’s side.

A dragon who had undergone the Awakening possessed an aura of absolute authority that emanated from within, independent of Dragon Fear itself. Monsters sensitive to instinct reacted most intensely to that presence.

-Human, I’m entering my first growth phase soon! So I’m becoming even greater!

Sure, whatever.
I let Raon’s indignant voice fade into the background as I addressed Hilsman, who stood in a daze.

“Keep moving forward.”

Erhafen asked me a question.

“Kale Heniatus, are you heading to the center of the Dark Forest to locate the position?”
“Yes. It seems I’ll need to use the ancient power first to discern the location.”

By using the Destruction Fire and following the direction its power responds to, I should be able to find the guardian’s dwelling where the “terrifying rock” resides.

-Human! You’re going to use that lightning again?! You’ll get hurt doing that!
“I’ll use it gently.”
-If you cough up blood even once, I’ll destroy every single rock in existence! I’ll smash them all!
“All right, all right.”

As Raon spoke urgently, I responded with calm reassurance.
Erhafen watched the exchange with an expression of utter exasperation. Yet instead of voicing his astonishment, he posed another question.

“By the way, you retrieved a dragon’s corpse from the Black Swamp here?”
“Yes. You mentioned you’d never visited the Dark Forest before, correct?”
“Right. I had no desire to come see monsters.”

A straightforward answer.

“Would you like to visit that location later?”
“Why would I? Too much trouble. I don’t care how another dragon died.”

Erhafen spoke with undisguised indifference. Before him, Raon appeared. The Black Dragon tilted his head curiously.

-Really? I’m curious about the Gold Dragon! I want to know about the Gold Dragon!

Gold Dragon. Erhafen’s lips twitched momentarily before vanishing into a thin line.

“Ahem, if you’re curious about my story, I’ll tell you next time, little one.”
“Understood! I’ll wait!”
“Ahem, ahem.”

Erhafen cleared his throat repeatedly before deftly steering the conversation elsewhere.

“Well, the Dark Forest is quite peculiar, so it’s worth visiting at least once. That’s why I came to see it.”
“The Dark Forest is peculiar?”

Kale Heniatus nodded at my question.

“The five great mysterious regions known to humans today were designated several hundred years ago. Among them, the Dark Forest, The Path of No Return, and Lake of Despair—these three have existed since ancient times.”
“Since ancient times?”

This was the first I’d heard of such a thing.

“Yes. These three places have existed for ten thousand years. Ten thousand years is an eternity even for a dragon.”

Ancient times typically referred to ten thousand years ago.
Kale Heniatus felt inclined to ask Erhafen more about this rather fascinating topic. That was when it happened.

Grrrrr—
“M-My lord!”

Clang.
Hilsman drew his sword and called out to me. I turned my gaze forward.

My current position was at the boundary line entering the Dark Forest’s interior. Hilsman had already crossed it.

I had visited the Dark Forest’s boundary before, but this was my first time stepping into its interior.

‘Of course, I’ve seen it while flying through the sky.’

This was the first time I’d ventured inside on foot.

Even the skull-filled cave of the Necromancer Merry had been on the outer edges.

I had no desire to encounter powerful monsters unnecessarily.

I crossed the Boundary Line.

Grrrrr—

The moment I stepped through, a colossal monster came into view. It resembled an ogre, yet possessed a far more grotesque and twisted form, emerging from between the trees.
Its exposed tusks were as long as my forearm, and its pitch-black skin made it appear even more ferocious. The stone club it wielded in its hands was carved from solid rock.

Yet its eyes were sharp and lucid.
This creature possessed both madness and the capacity for rational thought.

“Young Master, please get behind me!”

Hilsman, as if he had never hesitated, quickly urged me to hide behind him and raised his sword toward the monster.
To him, I replied:

“What are you doing?”
“…Pardon?”

Hilsman stood bewildered at my skeptical gaze. That was the moment.

Thud.
The monster dropped the club from its hand to the ground.
And then—

Boom, thud!

It slammed its head into the earth.
Only then did Hilsman look around. Silence. An eerie, unnatural silence surrounded us.
At that moment, a voice resonated through the air.

“Ho, so this one possesses reason.”

It was Erhafen.
At his call, Hilsman flinched. Soon after, he witnessed a sight he had never seen in his entire life.

“Hey.”
Grrrr.
“Guide me to the center.”
Grrrr.

The monster sprang to its feet with surprising speed.
Hilsman thought he was watching a newly enlisted knight of the Knights Order move with such quickness.

Crash!
The monster seized a club and swung it at a tree trunk that was slightly shorter than itself.

Crack. Boom.

The tree toppled. Hilsman gasped at the tremendous force, but he was even more astonished by what the monster did next.

The monster advanced forward, obliterating every obstacle in its path.
Trees, small boulders, and towering grass—it uprooted them all with its own hands.

In this manner, it carved a path with remarkable efficiency.
A perfectly straight line that required only Erhafen to move forward in a direct course.

“Let’s go.”

At Erhafen’s words, I sheathed my sword. The majesty of a dragon suddenly felt palpable.
Yet I could not move.

“…Young Master?”
“What’s wrong with you?”

Erhafen turned to look at me with a puzzled expression. Raon, meanwhile, was flustered.

“Human! That tiny thing in your hand right now—isn’t that a lightning bolt?!”

A small flame was rising from my palm.

“Why are you using it without saying anything? You can’t collapse again!”

But I could not hear Raon’s words.

Thump. Thump.

My heart began to pound heavily the moment I stepped inside.

I lowered my head.

The ground.
Something rose from the earth. It was an inexplicable force. At that energy, a small flame ignited in my palm.

Thump. Thump.
My heart’s vitality surged wildly.

“…What?”

A bewildered sound escaped my lips.

Whoooosh—

Wind swirled around my feet. The Wind’s Sound was faintly creating whirlpools.

And finally.

Snap.

A small shield materialized in my left hand.
An unbreakable shield.

…This is strange.
This is very strange indeed.

A sentence from an ancient tome suddenly came to mind.

【Before he last protected people from darkness, he left everything of himself and his companions in his homeland.】

My companions drew closer. Erhafen regarded me as if witnessing something peculiar, and Raon spoke urgently.

“Human, what’s wrong? What is this? Has the ancient power malfunctioned?”

My lips slowly parted.

“…I have a feeling about this.”

The word “seen before” surfaced in my mind.
I quickened my pace and spoke to Erhafen.

“Let’s go.”
“I’ll lead.”

Erhafen, who had been watching with an enigmatic expression, took point. The monster, which had been clearing a path at Erhafen’s gesture, fled instead.

“Follow me.”

At his command, I nodded and headed toward the heart of the Dark Forest.

Erhafen moved with remarkable speed. I kept pace swiftly behind him, drawing upon Wind’s Sound.
Raon cast a Haste spell on Hilsman as he followed.

I spoke up.

“Turn left.”

Thump. Thump.
The ancient power inscribed upon my body and the very earth beneath my feet guided my direction. It was something beyond words.

“Northwest now.”
“Now northeast.”

Finally, I came to a halt.

The northern boundary line within the Dark Forest.
There, I could see a boulder.

Just a massive stone.
A rock three times my size.
The kind of enormous stone commonly found throughout the rocky Heniatus Territory.

“Is this it?”

Erhafen looked at me and asked. But he had no need for an answer.

“This must be the place.”

Kale was smiling.

‘They’re going wild.’

The four ancient powers belonging to Kale were raging.

‘…Is this really-‘

Were these truly the masters of the ancient powers that the Stone’s owner’s friends had obtained so far?

The corners of Kale’s mouth began to curl upward.
That was the moment.

Whoooosh—
The fire in Kale’s right hand flew toward the stone of its own accord.

Fire met stone.
Then it happened.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—

The stone began to vibrate.
Kale felt the ground beneath his feet trembling.

Crack, crack, crack—
The stone began to split open on its own.

In that moment, an unfamiliar voice echoed in Kale’s mind—a voice that immediately conveyed a solemn and righteous nature.

You have found your way here correctly.

Kale’s lips itched with anticipation.

-Friend of Fire, have you finally come? I, who was your eternal rival and companion, I— hm?

The owner of the solemn voice was bewildered.

-Huh?

A deep, measured voice responded with bewilderment.

-…What in the world is happening?

That deep, measured voice again.
The owner of the “Scary Boulder” spoke in a tone of utter confusion.

-Why are the Stingy One, the Thief, the Crybaby, and the Glutton all together-

The Stingy One must be the Fire of Destruction.
The Thief would be Wind’s Sound.
The Crybaby must be the Vitality of the Heart. And the Glutton would be the Unbreakable Shield.

-Who are you?

Kale Heniatus opened his mouth.

“I am Kale Heniatus.”

I had seen it all.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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