Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 143

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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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Basement Level 1.
According to Herrol, this was presumed to be where the prison and slaves once dwelled.

Tap. Tap.
As Kale’s group descended the stone stairs leading to Basement Level 1, there was little conversation among them. They were hardly ignorant of what lay ahead, and the scent of dead mana conjured only one word in their minds.

“A dead mana bomb, no less.”

Rosalind’s sigh echoed through the passage.

Thud.
With her sigh, I halted at the final step of the staircase descending to Basement Level 1.

“Rosalind, would you cast your light throughout the interior?”
“Of course.”

Rosalind conjured several orbs of light and dispersed them across Basement Level 1. The full scope of the chamber revealed itself.

“It’s a prison.”

At Choi Han’s words, I nodded.

A space filled with iron bars came into view. Multiple passages branched in different directions, each leading only to more cells.
Choi Han studied the deceptively simple yet intricate layout and spoke.

“It resembles a labyrinth. Kale, shall I venture down first to scout ahead?”
“Do you have a death wish?”
“…Pardon?”

Choi Han watched as I chuckled softly.
I gestured for Choi Han to remain still, then glanced to my side.

Sniff. Sniff.

Raon had been sniffing continuously since earlier. For a creature of draconic form, he cut a rather undignified figure, yet I gazed upon him with quiet contentment.
When Raon’s eyes met mine while he was sniffing, he paused and tilted his head curiously at my warm gaze.
In that moment, I pointed toward Basement Level 1 and spoke to Raon.

“Go, Raon!”

Raon blinked his eyes blankly for a moment before nodding his head.

“Got it, human! Just follow behind me!”

Sniff sniff.
Raon began to smell the air again.

Unlike natural mana, dead mana was difficult to detect unless one possessed the Dark attribute. Fortunately, since this was the mana of a dead dragon, Raon could track it by following the scent he was familiar with.

“Hm?”

Raon turned to look back. Kale wasn’t following him.
Kale stood leaning against the stairwell wall with his arms crossed.

“Tell me once you’ve found everything.”

Wave wave.
At Kale’s gesture, Raon nodded and moved forward. Choi Han watched the scene with restless eyes. Then, Rosalind lifted her body slightly into the air using flight magic.

“Your Highness, if I do this, I can follow behind Lord Raon, correct?”
“Yes. Please go safely.”

Rosalind smiled brightly and departed. She gently touched each path that Raon had passed through with small mana spheres, conducting a secondary verification. Choi Han, watching this scene, opened his mouth.
Choi Han, who had been watching that sight, opened his mouth.

“Mr. Kale, is it possible you stayed here because you were worried that if we followed Raon, he might touch a bomb before he could smell it and get hurt?”

Kale didn’t answer and simply stared at the sight of Basement Level 1 becoming brighter as Rosalind created several more spheres of light. Choi Han stood beside Kale with a smile, positioning himself as if to escort him.

“See, even though my words are rough, I take care of everything.”

When Choi Han thought that way, Kale Heniatus was thinking.

“Staying still is really the best after all.”

But that comfort didn’t last long.
But that comfort didn’t last long.

“Found it!”

At the center of Basement Level 1.
In the central hub where all the winding Underground Prison corridors converged—like a plaza where every path intersected—Raon cried out.

“Just follow me.”

Following Rosalind’s words as she walked from the center, Kale and Choi Han headed toward it.
As they entered, Raon was pointing at the floor with his front paw.

“The scent comes from here! A very, very strong scent!”

Kale gazed down at the corridor floor.
Unlike the iron-barred cells, the corridor floor was paved with stone slabs. His mouth opened.

“We’ll need to lift these stone slabs.”

Kale turned his head. Choi Han also turned away from the stone slabs. Kale was staring at Choi Han. Rosalind and Raon were both looking at him.

“Ahem.”

Choi Han unbuckled the sword at his waist and set it aside, then rolled up both sleeves.

“I’ll lift them.”

With those words, Choi Han reached toward the stone slabs. Then Raon’s voice rang out.

“I can do it quickly.”

Black mana surged toward the massive stone slabs.
Four stone slabs in total were enveloped in black mana.

Thunk. Thunk. The slabs lifted slightly. Choi Han hesitated.

In that instant, all four slabs rose effortlessly. Kale spoke, watching Raon.

“You truly are magnificent.”

Raon grinned widely, looking at Choi Han. Choi Han sighed and gazed at Rosalind.

“Rosalind, I think we need to lift away some of the soil.”
“Ah, I’ll handle that.”

Kale appeared between Choi Han and Rosalind. He activated Wind’s Sound at a subtle level.

Whoooosh—
A gentle breeze swept across the exposed stone slab, as if spring winds were blowing. The soil gradually scattered away. It was an extraordinarily delicate operation.

Choi Han turned his gaze to the side. Kale’s brow furrowed at the intensity in Choi Han’s eyes as he looked at me.

“Why are you staring like that?”
“…It’s nothing.”

Choi Han quietly sheathed his sword. Rosalind chuckled softly and assisted with my work.
It was merely the tedious task of clearing away soil bit by bit, nothing particularly strenuous. As the earth gradually scattered, I found my thoughts wandering.

‘Why did the Stone do that?’

The terrifying Stone.
I recalled the voice of the Stone’s master from moments ago.

‘Is it trying to make a sacrifice?’

That thought sent a chill down my spine.
Why?

Because joy resonated beneath that grave tone.
The Stone’s master spoke as though urging sacrifice forward, with a voice that made my skin crawl—not the voice of someone who enjoyed pain or suffering, but something far more unsettling.

‘I have no sense of what the Stone’s power truly is.’

Since obtaining it, I had never once used it.
And I had no intention of doing so.

Even in the ancient texts I had read about the Stone, there was no description of its power.
Only this:

‘The Stone was mighty.’
‘It protected everyone by putting its own body forward.’

That was all the message contained.
After deliberating for a moment, Kale reached his conclusion.

‘I’ll ignore it.’

He would simply dismiss that voice as madness and move on.
Sacrifice myself?
Why would I?
Kale had no intention of doing so.

“Human, human!”

It was then that Raon called out to Kale.

“Right.”

Kale immediately released his hold on the Wind’s Sound power.
The object that had been waiting inside the shallow earthen pit appeared.
And a single sound reached his ears.

Tick-tock.

It was the sound of a second hand advancing.
Raon cried out.

“This is it! This is the scent I detected!”

Rosalind crouched down and began examining the object that had emerged from the earthen pit.

A sphere made of thin glass.
Centered around it were unfamiliar mechanisms she had never seen before. But above all, the liquid filling the glass sphere captured her attention.

The sphere was completely filled with black liquid.

“…This is strange.”

She swallowed hard as she spoke.

“…Yes. It is strange. What is this liquid?”

Raon descended beside Rosalind and furrowed his brow as he peered into the pit.

Roughly ten bombs centered around a sphere of black liquid were visible.
And beside them, alongside magical bombs I’d never seen before, were orbs containing purple liquid.

What in the world was this purple substance?

Rosalind and I stared at the purple liquid. Dragon spoke first.

“This doesn’t appear to be a standard natural element. We’ll need to break the orb and examine the liquid inside to know for certain.”
“That’s right. Raon, we need to investigate this.”

Yet despite their words, both the Mage and Dragon wore expressions of suspicion. They exchanged glances before looking up at Kale.
Kale met their eyes and spoke.

“It’s fire.”

As expected.
Neither the Mage nor Dragon denied it. Rosalind opened her mouth.

“The Empire erected pillars of fire, but it seems their true intention was to lure Tunka and the Wipper Kingdom Army into the castle.”
“Exactly! Even the magnificent me can see the Empire intended to detonate this dead mana bomb and this purple liquid—likely the source of the fire pillars—to kill everyone!”
“Right. Once the fire spreads, everything will burn black, making it easy to hide evidence of the dead mana bomb detonation.”
“Precisely! Since Herrol found nothing investigating the castle, they’ll eventually enter. And then this castle goes—boom!”

Boom!
Raon traced a large circle with his front paw.

“Everything explodes and everyone dies!”
“Exactly. Even if not everyone dies, if someone among the leadership gets infected with dead mana, that alone would be a victory. Then Tunka’s side, without a mage, would have to escape the fire pillars while infected.”
“That’s impossible for anyone except that fool Tunka!”

Raon stopped there and looked up at Kale. Tap tap. He gently tapped Kale’s calf with his front paw. Kale stroked Raon’s round head.

“Well done.”

Hehe. Raon grinned with satisfaction.

“As expected, I am great and clever! Even if my first growth was slow, I’m still great!”
“Yes, yes.”

Kale nodded along. Even as he did, the sound continued.

Tick, tick, tick.

Kale’s gaze turned toward the magical bomb.

It was not an ordinary magical bomb.
A new device was attached to the magical bomb. A mechanical apparatus with a mana-filled orb suspended from it, trembling with restless energy. And time counting down relentlessly.

27 : 13 : 44.

Rosalind opened her mouth.

“It appears to be a magical bomb developed jointly by alchemists and mages. It seems designed to store a mage’s mana beforehand and detonate at a desired time.”

Magical bombs typically required a mage to detonate them manually—a cumbersome process.

“They’ve cleverly confined only a minimal amount of mana within the orb, so it would only be detectable by an advanced-tier mage or higher.”

Despite its trembling appearance, the mana contained within the orb was remarkably scant.

“Of course, judging by the mana quantity in this sphere, the explosive force of the magical bomb would be quite limited. Enough to shatter a boulder the size of an adult’s head, perhaps.”

Yet the new magical bomb before them now was sufficient for their purposes.

“Regardless, it possesses enough explosive power to ignite dead mana and kindle flames.”

Tick, tick, tick.

27 : 12 : 07.

Rosalind, Raon, and Choi Han looked toward Kale.

Kale was smiling with an expression of profound satisfaction.

“Let’s gather them all.”

Raon naturally expected this and casually placed the dead mana bomb into the subspace. Rosalind picked up a sphere containing purple liquid and handed it to Raon.

Rosalind hesitated as she reached for the magical bomb, then asked Kale.

“What about this timer? If we remove it, the magical bomb might explode along with the crystal sphere.”

Kale continued speaking with that smile on his face.

“Then just detonate it.”
“Pardon?”

Clap. Kale clapped once, drawing everyone’s attention.

“We’re going to create a typhoon anyway, so detonating one bomb along with it isn’t difficult, is it?”
“Right! Let’s detonate it! And we’ll keep the timer mechanism!”

Raon beamed with delight at the idea. Kale patted Raon’s head, pleased that his thoughts aligned so perfectly with his own, and gave his orders.

“Choi Han, Rosalind. Let’s begin.”

Now it was time to extinguish the flames.

* * *

“Sigh, night watch duty is always the hardest.”
“Still, it’s better than fighting, isn’t it?”
“That’s true.”

Among the soldiers standing watch along the pillars of flame at Maple Castle, those stationed to the east of the Wipper Kingdom Army’s camp exchanged brief conversation to shake off sleep.

One soldier spoke while gazing at the patient tent that still glowed brightly.

“They’re truly kind people.”
“Indeed. Weren’t they acquainted with the General?”
“Yes, that’s what I heard. They stopped by to provide treatment on their way through.”

The ‘people’ the two were discussing were five Priests.

“So you’re taking turns treating them starting tonight?”
“Yeah. Everyone stayed up all night yesterday, so it must have been exhausting.”
“That makes sense. Still, it’s kind of them to help when they gain nothing from it.”

The soldier nodded at his comrade’s words, then turned to gaze at the pillar of flame. Even from a distance, the fire was suffocating to breathe near.

“Exactly. If only we could extinguish this fire somehow— huh?”

The soldier watching the pillar of flame froze. Beyond the sound of his own voice, he heard something else.

Whoooosh.
The crackling of flames. But there was another sound layered beneath it.

Rummmble.
Like the sound before thunder and lightning strike.
The soldier lifted his gaze skyward.

A new moon. Yet the starlit night sky had transformed.
The sky, now devoid of stars, was blanketed by dark clouds.
Rummmble. The sound before thunder drummed against the soldier’s ears.

“What?”

Above that night sky.

BOOM!
Lights collided, and an explosion erupted.

“What… what is that!”

It was not lightning.

Two figures clad in black masks and black night clothes were engulfed in crimson light.
One of the two figures hovering higher than the pillar of flame hurled fireballs skyward.

Boom, crack!
The fireballs collided and roared.

“Hahahaha—!”

And their booming laughter echoed across the night.
The soldier turned to his comrade beside him.

“Go, report this at once!”
“Understood!”

The comrade soldier sprinted toward the Military Camp. But there was no need.

Whoosh, crack.
Lights ignited throughout the tents. The commanders and soldiers emerged from the darkness. The soldier gripped his spear tightly at the sight.

Rumble, rumble, rumble—
The night sky began to convulse violently. Small sparks erupted from the black clouds.

A tempest, a typhoon seemed imminent.

“Hahahaha!”

They continued laughing while unleashing their menacing magic.
The very sorcery that had been both the object of their hatred and their terror. Fear and fury blazed simultaneously in the soldiers’ eyes as they confronted it anew.

And another figure watched the one casting magic.

From the peak of Maple Castle, Kale observed the pillar of flame that towered even higher than the castle itself, then glanced at Rosalind and Choi Han.

“Impressive, as expected. Rosalind performs beautifully. And Choi Han as well.”

Rosalind unleashed her magic while Choi Han laughed at the top of his lungs.
They looked like typical mad villains.

Kale gazed upward at the sky.
The storm clouds gathered precisely above Maple Castle and its surroundings.
A tempest seemed ready to descend at any moment.

Whiiiii—
The fierce wind grew progressively stronger.

“Raon is impressive too.”

Kale finished his brief contemplation and gently opened his palm.

Uuuuuung—

A blue radiance began to swirl from the necklace hanging around Kale’s neck.
Dominating Water.

Those waters began to gradually manifest into reality.

One droplet. Another droplet.
Countless water droplets began to form in the sky above the dark clouds. Kale spoke as he multiplied the droplets.

“Begin.”

—Understood.

Raon removed the timer.

Tick, tick, tick—!

The timer stopped. Raon then sent the magical bomb higher than where Rosalind and Choi Han were positioned.
Moments later.

Kaboom!

A tremendous explosion thundered across the sky.
Between the smaller detonations of the magical bomb, lightning began to strike with a deafening roar into areas devoid of people.

Simultaneously, Kale opened his eyes.

Patter. Patter.

A few drops of rain began to fall.
That rain soon obscured his vision.

Whoooosh—

The ‘Dominating Water’ accompanied by fierce winds and lightning poured down upon the region surrounding Maple Castle.
A violent tempest engulfed Maple Castle.

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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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