Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 173

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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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What had been nothing more than saplings mere moments ago swiftly transformed into towering giants before my eyes.

“…Good heavens!”

The one most astonished was Je Ha-jeong herself—the very architect who had sown the seeds and coaxed forth these wooden sprouts.
She possessed a similar ability, which only magnified her shock.

‘How is such power even possible!’

Beyond Choi Jung-soo, Je Ha-jeong’s gaze fixed upon me, her eyes blazing not merely with alarm but with undisguised admiration.

How many abilities did I possess?
Each one formidable beyond measure!

Yet as she observed the burgeoning trees, her pupils gleamed with even greater intensity.

‘It’s different!’

The power I wielded now was fundamentally distinct from what I had demonstrated during the initial Shelter battle.

‘An entirely different dimension of strength!’

The very momentum of the ascending trees conveyed a force incomparably greater than before—a power that transcended all previous comparisons.
Her luminous eyes wavered at the realization.

“Cough!”

Blood erupted from my lips once more.
Je Ha-jeong’s heart seized—this was becoming dangerously grave. My condition was deteriorating rapidly.

“…Haa. Sister.”

Yet I merely wiped away the blood carelessly, dismissing my own peril.
Or rather, I forced myself to ignore it.
What came next was far too critical to falter now.

I needed to concentrate my focus.
For that, it would be better to position myself closer to where I could channel my strength rather than remain suspended in the air.

“Please bring me down.”
“Huh? Little brother, are you sure you’ll be alright?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, understood! I’ll do as you say!”

Steel Hawk moved at rapid speed toward the location I indicated.
My body swayed momentarily from the velocity, but Choi Jung-soo quickly steadied me.

“Thank you.”
“…Yeah.”

Steel Hawk came to a halt at the tree positioned directly before the Shelter City Gate among the five trees.
I descended onto the topmost branch that had grown like a watchtower.
Choi Jung-soo and Je Ha-jeong were with me.
However, those stationed on the City Wall above, particularly at the City Gate where the monsters had surged through, could only see my figure.

“…This is…”
“Heavens…”

Words failed them as they beheld my true condition—not merely a glimpse from before, but a proper view.
It was then.
The people heard someone murmuring.

“…Truly… they see my back the most.”

They recalled the promise that young commander had made.

‘And at the very least, those of you present in this battle will see my back more than anything else as we fight.’

The commander had kept that promise.
And witnessing it, they felt the true weight of that vow.

“Should we remain as we are?”
“No. We must devise some strategy as well.”

The atmosphere atop the City Wall had shifted.
We could not remain idle.
We had to do something.
Such emotions surged through their hearts. The sight of a leader fighting at the very front had always set the hearts of those who followed ablaze.

“What is that!”

And there were those whose hearts burned hotter than anyone else’s.
No—the heat rose all the way to the tips of their hair.

They were Kim Min-ah and Bae Pureun. Having trained with Kale Heniatus, they could now finally see his state up close.

“This won’t do!”

Bae Pureun readied himself to charge toward the treetop where Kale Heniatus stood.

“There is no time.”

But a single voice stopped them all.
It was Choi Han.

“I go first.”

With those words, Choi Han moved.
And Kim Min-ah and Bae Pureun witnessed it.

Kwaaaaa—!
Choi Han leaping onto one of the enormous tree roots that grew with a deafening roar.
And that root surged forward at tremendous speed toward the yellow monster.

“Tssssst! Tsst!”

The monster seemed bewildered by the roots and tendrils binding me from all directions.
It tried to evade them, but it was not easy.

“I cannot burrow into the ground!”

Bae Pureun saw the roots densely embedded in the earth.
Only then did he understand what Kale Heniatus was attempting.

‘It’s trying to bind me!’

That monster!

‘That means we’ll have an opening to attack!’

The yellow monster could wield water, electricity, and poison, but it was still Kale Heniatus who controlled water and electricity.

‘This is worth trying!’

Finally, we could launch a proper attack!
Bae Pureun realized this fact last of all.

Lee Soo-hyuk and Kim Min-ah were already climbing onto different tree roots, heading toward the yellow monster.

At that moment, the first massive tree root made contact with the yellow monster.
No—it began to constrict.

“Roooaaarrr!”

A cry unlike any before erupted from the monster’s maw.
It had no choice.

Earth wrapped around the creature’s body with the hardness of stone.
Beneath it lay scales of equal rigidity.

Yet this serpentine tree extending toward us sought not to wound the monster.

To strangle its breath.
To render it immobile.
The monster understood.

Crackle!
Golden current lanced toward the wood like a spear.
Kale Heniatus’s lips curved upward.

“I can’t let you do that.”
-Will you be alright?
“Yeah.”

Boom!
A golden lightning bolt streaked through the air like an arrow, colliding with my spear before detonating in a violent explosion.
In that instant, I crouched low, bracing myself against the watchtower.
Drip. Drip.
Blood streamed continuously from my nose.

While fully channeling the wood power of the unbreakable shield, I had drawn upon some of the destructive fire—a force I could normally only access at half capacity.
Naturally, my body paid the price.

But I laughed.
That explosion had given me an appetizing opening.

“Grraahhh!”

The first root seized its tail.
In the golden monster’s blue-yellow eyes, I could see dozens—no, hundreds—of tree roots and branches surging toward me.

It was on an entirely different scale from any ability wielded by a human.
It was as though the creature commanded nature itself.

Then, the golden monster’s eyes met mine.
It had begun.

“Roooaarrr!”
“Grrgh!”

The monster thrashed desperately while I gripped the uppermost branch of the tree I stood upon.
One fought to escape; the other to contain.

What they shared was that both of us fought with our lives on the line.
And both of us were utterly desperate in our struggle.
We both knew time was running out.

But there was one difference.
I had comrades.

“Min-ah.”
“Yes.”
“After Choi Han comes me.”
“And Pureun and I will enter together.”

In Kim Min-ah’s eyes, Choi Han stood foremost in her vision.
But Lee Soo-hyuk gazed upon Kale Heniatus. Unlike Kim Min-ah, who could not bring herself to look, Lee Soo-hyuk etched every detail of Kale Heniatus’s form into his memory.

“I never thought I would fight while watching that back.”

Lee Soo-hyuk’s lips twisted upward into a smile.
His gaze turned forward.
The moment Choi Han’s back came into view, a voice drifted away like the wind.

“Horns.”

Leaving only that single word behind, Choi Han kicked off the tree roots and launched himself into the air.

Tap!
His feet landed upon another tree root.
It was the very same root that bound the yellow creature’s tail.

‘I cannot afford to miss this.’

Choi Han was desperate.
There was no time to look back, no time to hesitate.
He understood how precious this window of opportunity that Kale Heniatus had created truly was.

And so he began climbing rapidly across the creature’s body.

“Roaaaah! Krrgh!”

The creature thrashed wildly.
It unleashed electricity, but Kale Heniatus blocked it time and again, until finally the creature twisted and contorted its own body to its limits.

Boom! Boom!
The creature’s body and the trees collided, creating dull, heavy sounds.

“Krrgh!”

Choi Han collided with several trees in the process.
He nearly fell to the ground.

But he did not stop.
Instead, he laughed.

“You were aware of me all along.”

The yellow monster glanced at him.
The enemy had already sensed Choi Han’s presence.
That was why it thrashed about even more desperately.
Because it knew that what Choi Han carried was a hidden blade meant to wound it.

But Choi Han had already drawn close enough to the monster’s head that their eyes could meet.

‘This is enough!’

Choi Han made his decision and pushed off into the air.
A sorrowful smile flickered across his face before he suppressed it.

Wind coiled around his ankles, and wooden branches extended through the air to create footholds beneath him.
Choi Han felt Kale Heniatus’s presence—the one who paved his path forward and granted him strength.

Whoooosh!
A violent black aura wrapped sharply around the blade.

“Roooaarrr!”

The monster’s jaws gaped wide, baring its venomous fangs at Choi Han.
Crack!
But wooden branches blocked its mouth.
Thanks to his ally’s power that defended against this final assault, Choi Han finally reached his target.

The places unprotected by scales or earth.

Scrape.

Choi Han’s blade drew a long horizontal line.

Whoosh!

The blade failed to pierce the scales.
But what lay in the path the line had carved through—

“Shrieeeeeek!”

Cyan-yellow blood erupted from the monster’s two eyes.

“The eyes first.”

Choi Han’s blade moved again.
He could not stop.
Now, at last, the true battle had begun.

* * *

“Ha!”

White Star’s face twisted.
Simultaneously, a blade of fire and a white spear collided.

Boom!
The sound was incomparably louder than the battle cries erupting from all around.
It spoke to the sheer magnitude of the forces clashing together.

“…Holding up better than expected.”

A peculiar light flickered in White Star’s eyes.
His gaze turned toward the knight in black armor—Alberu.
Within the helmet, Alberu’s lips curled upward.
His distorted voice emerged.

“Strange.”

Yet Alberu’s eyes remained cold and sharp.
Conversely, the voice flowing from his lips was light.
As if probing for something.

“White Star. You seem unusually weak today?”

A soft chuckle escaped.
White Star let out a laugh.

“It’s reconnaissance. Those from Kale Heniatus’s side always bring something extra prepared. So shouldn’t I confirm what it is before fighting to reduce variables?”

Alberu didn’t believe that explanation at all.

White Star was weaker than usual.
When I had actually fought him before. Combined with the intelligence gathered on White Star’s combat capabilities over time.
Compared to all of it, he was noticeably weaker now.
Normally, this place would have been extremely advantageous for White Star.
Because I had to both fight and defend in this location, I came fully prepared, which only deepened my suspicion about White Star’s current state.

But instead, I had to meet White Star’s suspicious gaze.
White Star’s flame sword pointed to one location.

“What kind of weapon is that?”

Despite its thinness, the white spear bore not a single scratch from all our exchanges.
White Star asked about its identity, and I answered.

I hadn’t come as the Crown Prince today.
The only one nearby was that white bastard.
So I’d be honest.

“What good would it do you to know?”

And how irritating.

“Could someone like you, White Star, ever comprehend the greatness of an EX-rank item?”
“…What rank?”
-What an excellent statement, sir. I am honored that Alberu Crossman recognizes my great value.

A soft chuckle.
I smiled beneath my helmet—a smile that Kale or Raon would have found quite insufferable.
White Star couldn’t see the smile clearly, but the deflating sound of my laughter was enough for him to sense it.

Alberu watched White Star’s face contort in real time, then gestured dismissively toward the window.

“Come at me. I’ll give your esteemed self a proper fight.”

White Star’s lips twisted at those words, as if they had struck a nerve.
Alberu laughed with genuine satisfaction despite the oppressive atmosphere, thinking to himself.

‘Just as Kale Heniatus said, it really is amusing to turn White Star inside out.’

Keep it up. Drag out the time.
Alberu adjusted his grip on the spear.

Dawn would arrive soon.
He contemplated the long day still stretching ahead.

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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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