Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 196

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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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Chapter 43. Is There a Dragon?

A shadow of war hung over the Heniatus Territory.

Since the Roan Kingdom’s declaration of war, the Western Continent had appeared quiet on the surface. Yet this was merely the calm before the storm.

Raincy, where the Lord’s Castle of the Heniatus Territory stood.
The shoulders of the territory’s inhabitants who walked through the city were hunched.

Whether walking alone or in small groups of three or four, the expressions of the territory’s people were peculiar. Fear, worry, and something else flickered between them.

A resident walking with a colleague pulled his collar tight against the cold and slowly surveyed his surroundings.

Newly reinforced, sturdy city walls came into view. Walls that were very high and thick.
And soldiers and knights moving along the top of those walls were visible.

The resident’s gaze, which had been fixed on this sight, turned toward the sky.

“…For someone with such a frail body.”

At the resident’s words, his companions also stopped walking and looked up at the sky.

The high city walls that encircled all of Raincy. Even those walls could not reach the heavens.
The residents could see the gray winter sky dimly above.

Wyverns invading through that dim sky.
Fear surged into their hearts.

Yet before the dim sky, the residents’ eyes caught sight of silver light first.

Raincy. A city on the smaller side. Beneath that sky, a faint silver shield spread wide. The fear and worry that shadowed the residents’ faces, and between them, that other emotion that showed through.
It was relief.

“…Didn’t they say he coughs up blood when he uses the shield?”
“That’s right.”

At the resident’s question, his companion nodded with as composed a face as he could manage. The resident kept his gaze fixed on the sky and opened his mouth.

“It’s already been three days.”

Ever since Crown Prince Alberu unveiled the Wyvern Knights and declared that he would never accept defeat, the most dangerous region had become the Northern part of the Roan Kingdom.
Among those areas, the Northeast Region was the most precarious.

The enemy nation of Norland—the Heniatus Territory was the closest point, sandwiched between that land and the Dark Forest.
So the residents of the fiefdom had to live with constant anxiety.

Yet after the Crown Prince’s declaration, that very evening, the sky above Raincy began to shimmer with silver light.

War could erupt at any moment.
The silver shield had not dimmed for even a single instant over these three days.

“If he keeps such a massive shield up like that, won’t he collapse? He could just deploy it when those northern bastards actually attack.”

One of the residents spoke, and his companion wiped his mouth before responding.

“Don’t you see? He doesn’t want to see our fiefdom hurt, not even a little.”

The resident had no answer to his companion’s words.
Looking at the sky, one could only understand his intention. Even the high city walls could not stop the Wyverns. The Roan Kingdom had few mages, and even fewer who could attack from the skies.

So the weak young lord Kale must be straining himself to wield the power of ancient times.
The resident’s heart swelled with inexplicable emotion. That was when one of his companions casually threw out a remark.

“They say he’s a ruffian.”

The resident couldn’t help but shout at his companion.

“Hey! What are you saying!”

Another companion continued.

“I found out he used to throw beer bottles at thugs! How is that being a ruffian?”
“But he broke things too, didn’t he? Smashed up shop doors and everything?”
“Well, I mean…”

The resident had nothing to say against his companion’s rebuttal.
In truth, a ruffian was a ruffian. The past could neither vanish nor be beautified. Yet that did not diminish the weight of his present sacrifice.

“Looks like you’ve come to your senses. Either way, he’s our young master now.”
“That’s right. Since our lord is such a good man, his son must have felt something too.”

The territory resident nodded in agreement with his colleague’s words and gazed at the proclamations posted throughout Raincy. He was one of the rare few who could read.

A proclamation issued from the Lord’s Castle.

【Until the territory finds peace, the Lord’s Castle will distribute food rations to the residents.】

The Heniatus Count Family had thrown open the doors to their storage shed.
The wealth they had accumulated was sufficient to make promises with no set deadline.

The territory resident looked toward the city gate.

An endless stream of residents arrived, drawn by rumors of the Lord’s Castle’s silver shield. Surely, when the attack began, the Wyvern Knights would concentrate their assault on Raincy before any other rural area.
Yet despite this, the residents gathered beneath their lord’s banner.

Moreover, carts laden with provisions from the Heniatus Count Family were heading to every corner of the territory. Along with the food, these carts carried farming implements.

‘We must farm come spring.’

The words Count Derth spoke as he distributed the farming tools to the residents spread like wildfire among them.

Because of those words, one certainty was etched firmly into the minds of the territory residents.

After the war.
When late winter passes and spring arrives.
They realized that their lives would continue exactly as before.

The territory resident looked up at the sky once more.

“I heard he works hard despite being in pain.”

I hope it isn’t too difficult for him.

Kale Heniatus.
The one who had taken on the role of Northeast Military Commander was known to be struggling through with great difficulty.

And this rumor was spreading beyond the Heniatus Territory, throughout the Northeast Region, and across the entire Roan Kingdom.

* * *

Of course.

“Too bothersome.”

Kale Heniatus. It was a rumor he had started himself.
I was using my own bedroom within the Count’s Mansion as my office.

I leaned back against a plush sofa and opened my mouth.

“Eric Wheelsman must be handling things well?”
“He should be doing splendidly.”

Watching Ron smile benevolently, I thought he was a frightening old man. Of course, I myself was no better.

I held military command authority and issued orders.
Then Eric Wheelsman and the Lord of Ubar would follow those orders, create detailed guidelines, and relay instructions to each territory.

Furthermore, the verification of those guidelines was conducted first by Ron, and secondly by Crown Prince Alberu.
Ron, the patriarch of an Assassination Family that ranked among the top five on the Eastern Continent, possessed superior military knowledge compared to me. Additionally, Crown Prince Alberu was concentrating everything on the Northeast Region, which had the highest likelihood of being invaded first.

‘Indeed, it’s convenient when others handle everything.’

I found it comfortable.
However, Ron’s expression grew cold the moment my gaze disappeared, despite his benevolent smile. His eyes turned toward me, buried in documents, meticulously reading the guidelines and issuing precise instructions regarding the larger strategy.

My face had turned pale.

Tap. Tap. Tap.
The third day. In the corner of the room, Raon struck the floor with his tail. On and Hong were the same. The Black Dragon’s dissatisfaction was accumulating.

“…Foolishly kind human!”
“Right. Stupid.”
“…This time it’s frustrating.”

Even with On and Hong’s agreement, Raon only stared at my back as if trying to bore holes through it.
Raon had said he would step forward and destroy everything himself.
Then I answered.

‘I can’t allow it. If your existence is revealed, it could put you in danger.’

I was resolute.
Raon found my words frustrating. Who in the world could possibly endanger a great dragon?

However, I hadn’t yet uncovered the truth about the crown that consumed dragon’s blood, so I had no intention of revealing Raon openly. I hadn’t even found the opportunity to meet the ancient dragon Erhafen.

Moreover, I needed to create a hero this time.
That way, I could pave a comfortable path for them.

Only then would the Roan Kingdom grow stronger.

Dark Elves.
Necromancer.
Tiger Tribe.
And the Heniatus Territory.
These were the names of the heroes I would create.
I wanted to shake the hearts of the people across the kingdom and continent. To do that, I needed a moving story.

I skimmed through the final document and leaned back against the sofa.

The unbreakable shield had certainly grown stronger than before.
Since it wasn’t about supporting or blocking something, simply manifesting it didn’t require much effort.
Of course, this was thanks to my heart’s vitality. These days, I could function perfectly fine without sleep. Even just an hour or two left me refreshed.

I gazed out the bedroom window with satisfaction. I could see the overcast sky and the shield.
That’s when it happened.

“Kale, are you not finding this difficult?”

It was Choi Han.
I turned my gaze slightly to the side.

‘Why doesn’t this guy age?’

I found it odd that he still looked like a high school student, but I was too lazy to dwell on it further and answered Choi Han’s question.

“It’s not particularly difficult. Right now, I’m writing a new chapter of history.”

Yes, absolutely.
The birth of a hero has already been ruined. So why not create a new history instead?

Such matters had always been tedious.
Of course, it was merely troublesome—my body wasn’t particularly strained.

I turned my gaze back toward the window.
Choi Han, his face drained of color, leaned against the sofa and watched me gazing out the window, his brow furrowing slightly.

‘How can a person be like this?’

Choi Han found me utterly incomprehensible. He fell into thought while adjusting his sword sheath. New history. That phrase captivated his focus.
Regardless, I leisurely accepted the warm tea Ron offered me.

‘Hmm?’

It was a sweet tea that suited my palate perfectly. When I glanced at Ron, he smiled kindly. At that sight, I thought to myself.

‘That old man must be tired too.’

Forgetting to add the sour ingredient.
I regarded Ron with a mixture of resignation and sympathy before turning away and taking a sip of the tea. Since it was sweet, I drank it deeply.

“Pffft—!”

And I spat it right back out.
The Black Dragon rolled its short front legs and shot up into the air.

A small black dot appeared in the distance.
Immediately after.

Boom!

The sky roared.
I wiped away the spilled tea and stood up.

The black dot arrived in an instant and collided with the shield.

A Wyvern.

One, two. Black dots began flying in from the distance, growing closer.

Boom, crash!

A deafening roar echoed across the sky.

Whiiiing— whiing—

Emergency alarm sirens began wailing throughout Raincy in the Heniatus Territory.

The enemy had arrived.
A peaceful afternoon had become the opening salvo of war.

“Everyone, stay calm! Follow the guidance soldiers and move in an orderly fashion!”

A knight of the Heniatus Knights Order raised his voice, ushering the terrified residents to safety. Following the drills they had practiced beforehand, several soldiers guided the territory’s people back to their homes.

Click. Click. Click.
Doors throughout the territory’s homes shut firmly. Locked tight. Yet the sound of latching bolts never came.

Click. Click. Click.
Armored knights and armed soldiers moved swiftly around the city walls, taking positions throughout the territory.
But their sounds too were drowned out.

Boom— crash!

The thunderous sound of silver shields being struck was overwhelming.

Roooaaarrr!
The wyvern’s cry was the only sound that pierced through the deafening noise. The residents’ faces had turned deathly pale.

The sheer size of the wyverns seen with their own eyes.
The smallest among them was roughly five meters long. The knights who commanded these colossal monsters appeared as mere specks in comparison.
Knights clad in snow-white armor skillfully controlled the ferocious wyverns, and the soldiers and knights stationed around the city walls could only swallow hard at the sight.

Click. Click.
Windows in the residents’ homes creaked open slightly.

Will the shield break?
Will we die then?

They gazed at the city wall in fear.

That was when it happened.

“…It’s the Young Master!”

A territory resident who had been peering out the window cried out without thinking.
Kale Heniatus appeared on the city wall.

A blinding silver radiance poured from both his hands. Kale stood at the center of the city wall and stretched his hands toward the sky.
Those closest to witness this were the knights and soldiers.

They were experiencing war for the first time in their lives.
A voice as sharp as frost descended upon them.

“The shield will not break!”

It was Count Derth, clad in armor.
The count’s face, which always appeared gentle and ordinary, was fierce today.

“Everyone, focus!”

Neither the sound of shields striking nor the cries of wyverns rang as loudly as this voice.
Kale smiled as he heard Count Derth’s voice.

‘He has more talent than I thought.’

It was the moment I highly evaluated my father Derth’s abilities.

Boom—!

A sound larger than ever before resonated within the shield.
Kale’s face contorted.

15 meters.
An enormous wyvern beneath the shield stared down at me, its maw gaping wide.
A 15-meter wyvern—theoretically impossible.

The snow-white wyvern appeared to be a mutation.

My lips parted.

“So you’ve come.”

I knew you would.
The figure atop the snow-white wyvern. Paern’s guardian knight.
Clophe Seka, silver-haired.

He pulled the wyvern back and gazed down at me.

Our eyes met.

Clophe Seka opened his mouth as he looked down upon me.

“Destroy the shield, and everything crumbles.”

The footage released by the Roan Kingdom.
The moment Clophe saw that video, he decided to topple the Roan Kingdom first—a nation that had merely survived all these years without any real strength. To strike anywhere else before Roan would be a blow to his pride.
It would look as though he feared Roan’s declaration.

Thus, he and the Indomitable Alliance had targeted Roan.
Moreover, he recalled someone who had recently gained some renown in Roan.

A noble youth wielding a silver shield.

“How amusing.”

Clophe Seka gazed upon the shield that emitted a faint silver glow.
Eliminating both this shield and that red-haired bastard would mark an excellent beginning to victory. That is why Clophe had come himself.

He would be the one to write a new legend through overwhelming power.

He raised a pipe to his lips.

Shrieeeeek—

Dozens of wyverns descended rapidly from the distant sky.
The soldiers of the Heniatus Territory gripped their spears tightly.

Unlike the broadcast, dozens of wyverns now occupied the skies above the Heniatus Territory. The Guardian Knight gazed down at the red-haired man below.

‘So this is Kale Heniatus?’

He would soon meet his end.
Ancient power had its limits, after all.
The Guardian Knight raised his hand.

“Drop.”

That was the moment.
Massive figures began descending from the wyverns that followed behind. They unfurled unfamiliar descent devices and descended smoothly below.

Thud. Thud. Thud.
Colossal beings landed one by one outside the walls of Raincy.
Their numbers easily exceeded a hundred.

A soldier’s throat went dry.

“…The Bear Tribe.”

Among the beastkin, they ranked among the strongest, yet their population was the most abundant.
Frenzied colossal bears began encircling the city wall. They had been able to arrive here using descent devices crafted by dwarves.
Seeing this spectacle, Guardian Knight Clophe lowered his hand that he had raised and issued his command.

“Attack.”

Simultaneously, the wyverns surged toward the silver shields.
The white wyvern also charged toward the shields.

Guardian Knight Clophe could see the faces of the people upon the city wall.
The soldiers’ faces had turned ashen. Surely the territory’s residents within the Lord’s Castle bore the same expression.
He assured himself of an easy victory.
There was no need to expend great effort in attacking this small, isolated fiefdom. This level of assault would suffice.

His gaze, which had been pouring down like a shield, collided with mine.

It’s over.

Kwaaang! Kwang!
The sound was enough to shatter eardrums.

“…How is that even possible.”

A soldier with weak nerves collapsed against the city wall.
The shield should have shattered.
That’s what I thought.

The soldier’s gaze turned toward me. I could see a young noble so pale he looked ready to collapse at any moment.
Countless eyes poured down upon me.
In that moment, I thought to myself.

‘The North really does have overpowered beings.’

They were incredibly strong.

But here’s the thing.

-Human, wyverns are only large in size but weak. Those tiny things are cute.

There’s a dragon here.

The shield would never shatter.
Because there was a dragon’s shield enveloping it.

Wyverns could never break through a dragon’s shield.

‘Raon can’t be exposed, but I still need to use it, right?’

I unfurled my shield amid the deafening roar.

Kwang, Boom!
Like that, dozens of times. To everyone’s eyes, the shield appeared to be struck repeatedly.

“…Ah.”

An exclamation escaped the soldier’s lips.

Once, ten times, dozens of times. No matter how many blows rained down, the shield refused to shatter.
Instead, it blazed with even brighter light.
The Count’s words spilled from the soldier’s mouth.

“…The shield does not break.”

The young noble, who looked as though he might collapse at any moment, did not fall.

“Ha!”

Guardian Knight Clophe burst into laughter tinged with admiration. Stronger than expected. Unlike his frail appearance, this young noble’s ancient power exceeded my calculations.

Yet it mattered little.

In the end, shields shatter when struck. And there were plenty of other targets to strike besides the shield.
Clophe Seka. The guardian knight maintained his composure as he looked down upon Kale Heniatus.

That was when it happened.

Kale Heniatus.
He was smiling.

In that same instant, a chill ran down Clophe’s spine.

Behind.

The white wyvern spun around in panic.

At first, I thought it was a white cloud.
I thought a white cloud was descending from the highest reaches of the sky.

But it was not.

“…Bone?”

Skeletons.
Hundreds of them.
Monsters stripped to bone descended from the sky, their corpses beginning to blot out the heavens.

Kale laughed.

“Well, this is just the beginning.”

He gazed upward, unable to suppress his laughter.

The Dark Forest.
From the Black Swamp within, a presence began to rise.

The sole entity bearing bones of black.
Without flesh, bone alone began to beat its wings.

Hundreds of corpses.
Between them, a colossal form revealed itself.

“…That is!”

The guardian knight’s pupils dilated.

A Dragon.
Though composed only of black bone, it stretched twenty meters in length.
Its sheer magnitude stole the breath from those who beheld it. Massive wings of black, spanning several meters, unfurled toward the sky.
Even in death, it remained a sovereign.

Kale observed the sight.

Overwhelming battles were always entertaining.

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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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