Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 144

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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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The soldiers instinctively retreated. A command as sharp as frost descended upon them.

“Everyone, fall back!”

It was General Tunka.
The soldiers hastily distanced themselves from Maple Castle.

Tunka issued orders to his warriors.

“Let the magic-resistant warriors advance first!”

The Tribal Warriors bearing magic resistance moved ahead of the regular soldiers and formed a formation. Their movements were swift, yet strangely awkward.

It couldn’t be helped.

Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Whoooooosh—

Lightning and torrential rain, fierce winds.
All of it swirled around Maple Castle.

The silent new moon. That was the center of the tempest.
Yet there was something that seized the eye more than all of that.

Sizzzzzzle—

“The, the fire—”

The soldier unconsciously gripped his spear tightly and muttered.

The fire was extinguishing.
The towering pillar of flame that had risen higher than the castle itself toward the heavens gradually diminished.

Obscured by rain and steam, the soldiers could barely see the castle.

“This, this is unnatural!”

A Tribal Warrior gasped in awe. Magic? As he watched the tempest that engulfed only Maple Castle, a shudder ran through him alongside his fear.

He lifted his head high.

Through the rain, two figures became visible.
Two people shrouded in black descended slowly downward.
The warrior’s gaze naturally followed them.

“Ah.”

In the warrior’s field of vision, a pillar of fire diminished below the height of the castle appeared.

Flutter, flutter.

A roof bearing the flag of the Mogur Empire came into view.
The highest pillar in the castle, the crimson roof that crowned it.

Upon that roof stood a single figure grasping the flagpole to which the banner was bound.
A person cloaked entirely in black night garments, obscuring everything beneath.

The warrior stared blankly at the man’s hand—the one not gripping the flagpole.

Whoooosh—
A colossal wind emanated from that man’s hand, extending upward into the heavens. It was as though he himself commanded these rain clouds.

A sense of oppression unlike anything he had felt when encountering the Empire’s mages or knights washed over him.
In that moment, the warrior recalled a single entity.

Nature.

As a Tribal Warrior who revered nature, he understood its power—the dominion of nature that rendered magic and humanity alike utterly insignificant, reducing them to mere insects without a second thought.

Stagger. The warrior’s feet retreated backward.

Then the warrior saw someone place a hand upon his shoulder and step forward.
It was General Tunka.

Only then did strength return to the warrior’s grip.
General Tunka—a formidable man who had contended with every force of nature since childhood. Thus the Tribal Warriors followed him, for he would not yield to nature itself.

“Who are you all!”

General Tunka’s voice rang out without hesitation.

Kale, perched on the roof and listening to that voice, had a thought.

‘His voice certainly carries well.’

The rain and wind chilled me to the bone. Even the vigor of my heart couldn’t dispel the cold. I decided it was time to wrap this up.

“Who are you!”

Tunka shouted once more. In that instant, a soft voice rang out.
A voice modulated by voice magic.

“Well, who are we?”

It was Rosalind.
Her teasing voice reached the Wipper Kingdom Army. I thought Rosalind was quite the actress as I rummaged through my magic pouch with one hand. Just then, Choi Han shouted.
At that moment, Choi Han shouted.

“We are a Secret Organization!”

Choi Han looked at me to see if I approved. This time I had instructed him. I sighed and looked down at Tunka.
Choi Han looked at Kale to see if he had done well. This time, it was Kale who had ordered it. Kale sighed and looked down at Tunka.

“What? A Secret Organization?”

The warriors calmed the soldiers while keeping their eyes fixed on these strange figures who had appeared so suddenly.
The warriors calmed the soldiers while keeping their eyes fixed on the strange figures that had suddenly appeared.

That was when it happened.

“Huh?”

The person holding the banner moved.
The person holding the flagpole moved.

“Gasp!”

The warrior inadvertently gasped in shock.

Riiiiip—

The Mogur Empire’s flag that had been fluttering atop Maple Castle.

That imperial standard was severed from its pole.
The man on the roof pierced the symbol of the Mogur Empire with the dagger he’d used to cut the flag from its pole. Then he hurled the dagger toward Tunka.

Whoooosh—
Along with the whirlpools, the dagger flew swiftly toward Tunka.

“General!”

Several warriors called out to Tunka in alarm. But Tunka remained motionless, his gaze fixed solely on the figure atop the roof.

Thunk.
The dagger embedded itself in the ground.
It was right in front of Tunka.

To those watching in astonishment, the distorted voice of the man who had severed the imperial flag rang out.

“The fire is extinguished.”

Fwoooosh—
The pillar of flame vanished completely.

Pitter. Patter.
Rain began to fall gently.
Water droplets carried on the wind touched the soldiers’ cheeks.

Then, the soldiers could hear Tunka’s voice.

“Kahahaha!”

Laughter that filled the space where the tempest had ceased.

Riiiiip.
Tunka tore the Mogur Empire’s flag in half with both hands.
The shredded flag was trampled into the ground.

Tunka’s calm voice rang out across the battlefield.

“Advance on the castle.”

The fire was extinguished.

“Capture every last one of them—the soldiers, the Empire, everything that remains.”

Tunka issued his command. And he was the first to charge forward.
His battles were always like this.

He sprinted toward Maple Castle, where the steam was slowly dissipating.
Then he brought the iron club in his hand crashing down upon the castle’s first-floor gate—the largest wooden entrance.

Boom—

The gate shattered.
There was no need for aura. His innate divine power was more than sufficient.
Through the destroyed gate, the interior of the castle became visible.

“Move, all of you! Advance!”

Tunka roared, and Pelia, his right arm, raised her spear high. Behind her, the warriors who were as essential to him as his own limbs charged forward.

Uaaaah!
Pelia and the warriors rushed toward the castle’s main gate.

Whoooosh—
A tremendous wind erupted once more.

“Ugh!”

A violent gust swept through Maple Castle, forcing Pelia and the warriors backward. Among all those struck by that wind, only Tunka remained unshaken.

“General, above!”

One of the soldiers shouted, and Tunka looked up as well.

There, suspended in the air, was Kale.
He had somehow risen into the sky alongside Choi Han and Rosalind.

“Raon, turn us invisible.”

Raon’s response came from right beside me.

“Understood.”

Kale’s group gradually faded from sight.

“There, there!”
“Are they fleeing!”

I paid no mind to the clamoring voices below. Cloaked in invisibility, I soared toward my tent using swift flight magic.

“They’ve vanished!”
“General, what are your orders?”

“Search the castle thoroughly! Begin a full sweep of the area!”

I dismissed Tunka’s gruff, feigned fury as I gracefully dispelled the invisibility within my tent.

“Ah, I’m freezing.”

I was bitterly cold. All that rain—just to maintain appearances with that ridiculous flag. Two towels suddenly materialized before me.

“Young Master Kale, here are towels. Shall I cast a drying spell?”
“Master Kale, if you catch a cold, you’ll collapse.”

Collapse, they say.
I accepted the two towels with a reluctant expression.

“Hmm?”

A warm, drying breeze swept across my body. Raon’s voice suddenly erupted in my mind.

-Human, you’ll catch a cold like that! You can’t collapse while coughing up blood again!

With desiccation magic, I was soon completely dry, with no trace of rain upon me. I dressed in priest robes over my night clothes and looked toward my companions.
They had all removed their masks and were wearing priest robes over their night clothes.

I went to the tent and pulled back the entrance cloth.

Chief Strategist Herrol Codian stood there.
Behind him stood a warrior who served as his escort and was one of Tunka’s trusted men.

“Priest, I hope the sudden commotion didn’t startle you?”

At Herrol Codian’s question, I smiled beneath my white mask.

“Not at all. Since I’m awake now, I thought I might resume treatment. Are there any other injured patients?”
“There are none.”
“I see.”

The three priests, awakened by the late-night commotion, returned to the tent with the patients and spent the night there. Though the soldiers witnessed this sight, they were too preoccupied with the chaos caused by the extinguished castle lights to pay much attention.

Nevertheless, the soldiers felt grateful to the priests.

Of course, Herrol Codian, one of those most grateful, whispered to me.

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

I looked at my companions and the priests working inside the tent as I spoke to Herrol Codian.

“You owe me a debt. Remember that.”
“I will not forget.”

* * *

Atop Maple Castle. The banner of the Wipper Kingdom fluttered in the wind.

“…Are you leaving?”
“I must.”
“Ah, thank you.”

A soldier grasped Saint Jack’s hand, offering endless words of gratitude. The situation was much the same around Crazy Priestess Kage. Soldiers bowed their heads before Kale as well.

Two days after the pillar of fire vanished, five masked priests of Hana stood before the castle, prepared to depart. Soldiers lingered at their side.

Tunka approached through the crowd.

“It’s a shame you won’t stay longer and rest properly inside the castle.”
“That won’t be necessary, General.”

Kale declined Tunka’s offer and glanced around. His eyes met those of each soldier, one by one.
The white-haired priest’s lips parted.

“Comfort is not befitting for us. Even now, there are those who suffer and endure pain.”

Kale spoke while gazing up at the clear sky.

“That is where we belong.”

The companions standing behind him responded in agreement with his words. Tunka, resigned to the inevitable, spoke to the soldiers.

“Clear the path. Do not obstruct the priests!”

The soldiers reluctantly made way. These priests had not slept properly for days, dedicating themselves entirely to healing. They had even given potions to the Wipper Kingdom Army soldiers, urging them not to be injured.
And with their miraculous healing power, they had saved patients who were on the brink of death.

The soldiers felt reverence as they watched the priests pass. One soldier cried out without thinking.

“Priest!”

The white-haired priest at the front turned his gaze toward the soldier. Emboldened by that attention, the soldier spoke earnestly.

“I’m curious about the god you serve. Though I don’t believe in gods, I still wish to know!”

Though he was a tribal warrior by birth and trusted nature more, he wanted to know the priest who had sweated to save his life. He wanted to offer a prayer of gratitude to their god.

And the soldier was able to see the god the priest indicated.

The priest pointed to the sky.
The sun was visible.

The soldier lowered his gaze from the sun.
The Priest smiled faintly, then continued walking. As he moved, he left behind a single remark.

“The sun shines without discrimination upon all life.”

Ah.
An exclamation escaped the soldier’s lips.
The Sun God Church, worshipped by the Empire. Though currently crumbling, it remained the state religion. Only now did the soldiers understand the masked Priests.

Then Tunka spoke calmly.

“If you are grateful to them, remember their departing figures. We too suffered discrimination for our magic, and we have stepped forward to overcome that discrimination and create an equal world. Do not forget that as well.”

The soldiers reflected on Tunka’s words, watching the five Priests until their figures faded into the distance and vanished from sight.
And the five Priests removed their masks once the soldiers could no longer see them.

Kaige looked at Kale and spoke.

“Young Master, what were you thinking when you spoke of the Sun God?”
“I had my reasons.”

Later, I intended to place white masks on the Saint and Saint Maiden and have them enter the Empire. But there was no need for Kale to mention this.
The Mad Priestess was curious but refrained from asking further, speaking playfully instead.

“But Young Master, you would make an excellent Pope someday, wouldn’t you?”

Saint Jack nodded with a benevolent expression. He gazed at Kale with sparkling eyes.

“That’s right. Even without divine power, Kale is kinder and warmer than anyone, so you would surely become a great Pope who touches people’s hearts. To shine without discrimination upon all life—I’ve learned something precious today.”

The Crazy Priestess Kage fell momentarily silent upon hearing Jack’s words.
Regardless, Kale spoke to Raon, whose invisibility he had just dispelled.

“Let’s go home.”
“Understood, human!”

* * *

Early winter.
Kale Heniatus ended the video communication and rose from his seat.
He made his way to the Saint Maiden’s room and knocked on the door.

Click.
Sword Master Hana, the false Saint Maiden, opened the door.

“What is it?”
“Let’s go.”
“…Where to?”

Kale Heniatus spoke calmly.

“To take our revenge.”

Combat Squad 1 of the Dark. They were heading toward the Sea soon.
Sword Master Hana. A cruel smile gradually bloomed at the corners of her lips.

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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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