Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 199

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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 highest point in the Heniatus Territory.
The Lord’s Castle Spire.

“Brother, Brother—!”

The scream of Basen, the second son, pierced through the air. With one hand gripping the railing, he looked as though he might leap from the spire at any moment.

Where the light had passed.

When Basen Heniatus’s vision returned after the light swept through, the first sound he could hear was—

A shattering crack.

The colossal sword that had fractured.
The blade slowly split apart and dissolved into the air. Several wyverns that touched the disintegrating remains crumbled away without a trace, like dust. Before fear could even take hold—

A shield came into view.
The small shield remained unbroken. Yet where the blade’s edge had struck, cracks spread as if it would shatter at any moment. The shield was fissured everywhere.
It looked precarious.

And there—my brother, Kale Heniatus, was visible.

Beep beep— Beep beep beep—

The Communications Center.
Emergency messages were pouring in from all directions.
Especially from the Northeast Region, countless reports flooded in.

Numerous video communication channels connected to the Heniatus Family.
The scenes of war transmitted through those video communications.

Basen heard none of the noise. In the distance, he could only see his brother, barely standing, barely holding on.

He could see the black blood pouring from his brother’s mouth. For seventeen-year-old Basen, war and its agony were etched into his mind for the first time.
That was the moment—

—Basen Heniatus.

Alberu Crossman’s voice—the Crown Prince’s voice—reached him.
At first, Basen hadn’t heard his voice properly. But the distinctly parched tone soon jolted him back to awareness.

-What did your brother command you to do?

Basen lifted his head.
Basen, and what he had to accomplish.

He turned his gaze toward the Communications Center. This was where all the Roan Kingdom’s communication networks and visual transmissions converged—where every piece of intelligence vital to the war effort, as crucial as the Royal Court itself, was gathered.

-If you wish to avoid shame, if you wish to harbor no regrets, do not forget what you must do.

Alberu spoke words meant for himself alone.
In the video transmission screen, Alberu’s eyes were bloodshot, the whites completely suffused with crimson veins as he watched the panorama of the Heniatus Territory without missing a single moment.

He conveyed a single message to Basen.

-The Royal 1st Knight Order and the Magic Battalion 1st Company depart for the Heniatus Territory immediately.

Kale Heniatus had told him to wait.
Yet the Crown Prince, determined to avoid shame and harbor no regrets, had begun to fulfill his own duty.

The magic battalions of the Roan Kingdom took their first steps into the world, revealing themselves for the first time.
Basen also issued orders to the dazed communication mages.

“…From this moment forward, we transmit the enemy’s strength accurately throughout the entire Roan Kingdom.”

Three days prior, on the evening when the Crown Prince made his declaration, his brother Kale Heniatus had told Basen:

‘We are the beginning.’

Those words now echoed vividly in Basen’s mind.

‘They say the beginning is half the battle. If we survive and show the kingdom that we’ve protected the castle, the morale of Roan will shift.’
‘We must carve victory into the hearts of the kingdom’s people.’
‘Only then can we endure this war and emerge victorious.’

His brother, speaking those words, had been characteristically composed as always.

‘Everyone can survive.’

My older brother had said that, yet now he was barely holding on.
Basen commanded the communication mages.

“And convey to them exactly how we endure this.”

From this moment forward, Roan’s momentum would shift.
Basen had no doubt it would be so. He lowered his gaze toward the City Wall.

Upon that wall stood Mueller, the half-breed rat-tribe dwarf. The moment his vision returned, his eyes widened at the faint sound he heard.

Crack.

The City Wall.
Fissures were spreading across it.

‘The wall I designed…!’

Though fearful by nature, the half-breed dwarf possessed considerable pride. Now, instead of fear, a different emotion swirled in his eyes. Yet Mueller, whose neck was seized by the Countess, could only gasp for breath.

“Ugh!”

He was hurled. Mueller felt his body being thrown. And he could hear screams.

“Kale!”

It was the scream of Countess Viollan. Simultaneously, a cry that sounded almost like a shout erupted from Count Derth.

“Everyone, snap out of it!”

Mueller lifted his head. The Count’s face, which always appeared calm and gentle, had twisted into something grotesque and scarred.
The Count barked orders, his voice strained with fury.

“Launch the catapults immediately!”

The Lord drew his sword and approached the wall’s railing, looking down at everyone below. His voice carried mingled anger, sorrow, and dread.

“Leave not a single one alive!”

Along with that sound, another noise reached Mueller’s ears.

Crash!

What appeared first was silver light.
It was not a silver shield. Yet like the Milky Way, something silvery continued to manifest across the sky above Raincy.

Shields.
Shields that seemed to mimic Kale Heniatus’s silver shield continued to appear.
One, two, three, four. Silver shields kept manifesting, covering the sky again and again.
Though only half-dwarf, Mueller immediately grasped what power this was.

A Dragon.
Only such a being could accomplish this.
The Young Dragon living in this territory.
These shields were cast by the Young Dragon.

Beyond that silver light, Mueller saw someone he knew well.

Choi Han.
He was locked in combat with the Helmeted Knight. A black aura rippled fiercely. Though darkness still lingered with only faint light remaining, the aura burned with fury more intense than ever before.

“Ha, haha—”

And there was a sword that easily parried that aura.
The Helmeted Knight, laughing, blocked Choi Han’s aura with an ancient power taking the form of a blade. Though his sword had shattered once, he showed no sign of strain.

Crash!

A single collision.
Choi Han retreated, his feet finding purchase.

Thud.
In the sky above, there were beings supporting Choi Han’s footing.

Countless skeletal hordes that had been fleeing.
They returned, or rather, Merry created ground for Choi Han to stand upon. Choi Han, surrounded by countless white bones, and the Wyvern the Helmeted Knight rode—both were obscured by the constant movement of those bones.

Yet there was one who could see this spectacle most clearly.

Merry.
She trembled uncontrollably, her entire body wrapped in dead mana. The problem was that she could see everything far too clearly.

“Kale!”

The Countess barely managed to support Kale as he struggled to remain standing. She swallowed a scream.
The moment she caught him, Kale staggered and collapsed to his knees.

Black blood poured from Kale’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth—everywhere. He was coughing up blood so violently that even breathing seemed beyond him.

The Countess felt her son’s body growing cold in her arms. His warmth was fading.
A healer and a Priest rushed toward them from a distance.

“Kale, j-just hold on a little longer. Just a little longer.”

She massaged his arms and body frantically. The blood flowed so profusely that she feared he would bleed out entirely.

Then, she heard Kale’s faint voice, barely audible through the blood he was spewing.

“…I’m… I’m fine.”

What?
Her pupils trembled as she stared at Kale. The Priest and healer who had just reached his side froze momentarily.

A voice echoed through Kale’s mind.

-Human, you’re losing too much blood. Human, this is different from usual. Human, please, human. Don’t bleed anymore. I won’t allow it! Even if I die, I won’t allow it.

“I’m here.”

Kale’s hand clenched as if grasping something.
The Countess’s eyes twisted at the sight of his hand grasping at empty air. Kale must not be in his right mind. He was likely seeing things that weren’t there.
She looked at Kale, then at the Count who seemed to have lost his sanity, and barely managed to steady herself. She had to keep her wits about her.
But his next words made it difficult for her to contain her emotions.

“…If you leave, you’ll get hurt….”

The Countess struggled to suppress the surging emotions at Kale Heniatus’s barely audible words. He was coughing up blood, clearly not in his right mind!
Even in such a moment!
Her heart felt as though it were being torn apart.
Then Kale Heniatus’s lips parted once more, barely.

“…Stay by my side— *cough*!”

A cough mixed with blood. Blood spilled forth again.
Kale Heniatus could only mouth the rest of his words.

‘Kill them.’

Kill them by my side.

Only one creature understood those words. Kale Heniatus’s pant leg was soaking in something other than blood, though no rain fell.
And the creature drenching his pant leg understood his words perfectly.

—I will kill them.

A deep rumble echoed.
The overcast sky began to convulse.

A sword that had contained the essence of natural calamity.
Raon and the Dragon could not match that sword’s true nature, but they could come close.

An imitation, at least.
And that was why the Dragon was a Dragon.

A tempest.
And a tidal wave.

The Dragon began to unleash a force that would sweep away everything. The sky darkened to black.
At the same time, Raon—the Young Dragon—recalled words he had heard from the Ancient Dragon. Now everything made sense, and he understood why Kale Heniatus was doing this.
Words the Ancient Dragon Erhafen had spoken in passing during his teachings.

‘Little one, have you heard of a Dragon Slayer? They’re also called dragon hunters.’

Raon had despised that word. How dare anyone be called a dragon hunter, as if they could capture a great Dragon.

‘Well, you little brat won’t get hurt by a Dragon Slayer even if you live forever. The Dragon Slayer will probably do everything in his power to keep you alive.’

Erhafen, the ancient dragon who believed Kale Heniatus had inherited the power of the Dragon Slayer lineage, had not spoken these words with such a day in mind.
It was merely knowledge he shared with Raon based on common sense.

‘Dragon Slayers are peculiar beings. They have transcended human limitations. They are existences that resemble nature itself.’

Humans who resemble nature. Raon reacted to those words.

‘Even us weak humans resemble nature!’
‘That’s why you weak human— Anyway, since he’s trying to hide it, I should just pretend not to know.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Nothing. Anyway, little brat, if a Dragon Slayer comes after you, run away.’

At those words, Raon let out a scoff. However, Erhafen spoke quite seriously.

‘Those bastards grow by consuming dragons.’

Dragons, each bearing different colors and different attributes. Beings that embody and resemble nature. If you wish to resemble nature, you need only consume a dragon.

‘Especially young dragons—you need to be careful with them. Their bodies haven’t fully developed and they can’t breathe fire yet. You’re fortunate to have a blessed one by your side, so you can grow at your leisure.’
‘I, the great one, could never be hurt!’

Erhafen let out a hollow laugh and spoke.

‘There is no such thing as a great being in this world, little one.’

Only now did Raon, the Black Dragon, truly understand.

I am not great.

I still have far to go.
Raon stared at the hand grasping his transparent front paw. Blood dripped from the hand. Raon poured his will into magic.

Patter, patter.
Rain began to fall from the sky.

The surviving wyverns still charged with their silver shields. The Bear Tribe rushed toward the cracked City Wall while evading catapults and arrows.
The Tiger Tribe aimed for the Bear Tribe’s rear, but the Bear Tribe’s numbers exceeded the Tiger Tribe’s tenfold.

That was when it happened.

A deep rumble echoed across the sky.

The rain began to change.
It transformed into a tempest, morphing into a tidal wave of water that came crashing down with merciless force.
Lightning bolts descended from the heavens.

A piercing shriek tore through the air!

Dozens, hundreds of lightning strikes rained down upon the wyverns, the knights riding them, and the Bear Tribe below. Each bolt showed no mercy, striking with precision at the enemy’s vital points.
Like that blade which mimicked nature itself, the lightning sought to cleave through everything with razor-sharp intensity.

Yet there was one who effortlessly dispersed both the tidal wave and the tempest with a single slash of his sword.

“This is genuinely entertaining. Is this magic imitating me? Who could it be?”

The Helmeted Knight.
He licked his lips as if searching for something, his blade cutting through both the storm that resembled a tidal wave and the lightning itself. That ancient power Raon had sensed.
A fragment of natural calamity.
His sword, which wielded the tempest, the tidal wave, and the volcano—those three forces—easily crushed the false magic conjured before him.

The Helmeted Knight’s gaze turned toward Choi Han. He smiled as he watched Choi Han spit out the blood pooling in his mouth. The black aura rippled endlessly around its master.
The Helmeted Knight’s eyes met Choi Han’s.

“If you had obtained darkness, it might be different, but you’re still far from it.”

The knight brought his blade down lightly. Blood trickled from the back of his hand as he did so.

A wound created by the black aura.
Yet the Knight of the Helmet showed no particular fear. The dwarven armor protected his body.
A masterwork of the dwarves who desired to slay dragons.

Dragon-slayer’s armor was sufficient.

‘Of course, I cannot afford to let my guard down against this one!’

Clang!
Blade met blade.
The black aura that had closed in without warning carved a shallow wound across the knight’s left cheek, while simultaneously, the primal force of a volcano crashed down upon the black aura.

Boom!

The sound was so tremendous it drowned out thunder itself.

“You can’t win.”

The knight laughed, and Choi Han clenched his teeth. He understood perfectly what the knight meant.

‘If I had perfected it…!’

The black aura. If I had completed the darkness, I could at least put up a fight! But what in the world is that sword?
My aura couldn’t overcome it. Setting aside matters of advantage and disadvantage, the gap in power was simply too vast. I stood atop one of the monster skeletons, of which only dozens remained, catching my breath.
Aura couldn’t withstand the sword. Setting aside concepts like elemental advantage—the difference in power was simply overwhelming. Choi Han stood atop one of the remaining dozen or so monster skeletons, catching his breath.

I’m out of breath.

It’s strong.

One more step.
If I had taken just one more step forward, I would have defeated him!
If only Ten had taken just one more step, he would have beaten Iza!

“Gasp, gasp.”

With each breath I exhaled, blood dripped down, and I couldn’t wipe it away.
Coughing up blood after so long, I felt this sensation anew. And in that moment, I realized something.
After coughing up blood for the first time in a while, Choi Han found the sensation strangely unfamiliar. At the same time, he realized one thing.

Every time, Kale Heniatus coughed up blood in amounts that were incomparable to his own.

This man was strong.
Ija is strong.

However, Choi Han had no thought of losing in his mind. Choi Han’s face contorted even more, and the Knight continued speaking with a scoff.

“I heard there was someone with ancient power, but I didn’t expect them to actually cough up blood like the rumors said. Did they obtain ancient power without having the proper vessel or body for it?”

His words grated against Choi Han’s nerves.

“Nature granted that bastard ancient power?”

The way he spoke made it sound as though Kale Heniatus had obtained something he should never have possessed.
Choi Han’s mind grew turbulent because of it.

In truth, the most fascinating existence to the Helmeted Knight right now was Kale Heniatus.

Only those blessed by nature—those who possessed the proper vessel—could obtain ancient power.
Among the beings of this land, it was commonly known that one needed fortune akin to heavenly blessing to gain ancient power, but in reality, it was nature’s selection made through meticulous calculation.

Yet that wretch had been given not one, but two ancient powers?

To someone with such a small vessel?

The vitality of trees and humans.
These were Kale’s powers, which the Helmeted Knight immediately discerned upon encountering his shield.

Next, Choi Han also fascinated him.

A being with a vessel comparable to his own in magnitude. It was strange that nature had not bestowed any ancient power upon Choi Han.

Choi Han charged at the knight who seemed lost in thought. Once more, the Helmeted Knight’s blade and Choi Han’s sword collided.

Crash!

The impact alone shattered the skulls nearby and sent tremors through the surrounding air.
The translucent blade and the black aura clashed as they glared at each other. Through the helmet’s opening, Choi Han glimpsed brown eyes. The corners of those eyes curved upward.

Dangerous.

Choi Han tried to retreat backward.
It had been a long time since he felt such a sensation.

A power that reminded him of the ancient dragon Erhafen. The knight’s eyes bored deeply into Choi Han’s gaze. The knight whispered to him.

“…You’ve lived a long time as well.”

At those words, my body stiffened.

As well?

The Knight of the Helmet’s lips curved into a sinister smile at that brief hesitation.
His arm moved.

“Kugh!”

My neck was seized. But that grip meant nothing. Merry’s monsters suddenly tore into the wyvern the Helmeted Knight rode.

The Knight’s blade was embedded in my shoulder.
A force like a tidal wave carved through the wound, a tempest that howled and raged, a volcanic heat that consumed my shoulder.

The Helmeted Knight smiled while gripping my neck, holding me suspended precariously in the air.

“That was entertaining. It was worth venturing out after so long. I’ll see you again soon enough.”

The Knight chuckled at my contorted expression—a face unable to hide its rage and pain. His grip gradually loosened as he savored the sight.

But then, he saw my expression vanish.

In a flash.

The hand on my shoulder—the one with the blade embedded in it—seized the Helmeted Knight’s wrist. My other hand grasped the sword lodged in my own shoulder.

It happened in an instant.

A searing sound tore through the air.
My palm burned as if touching molten lava.
For mere seconds, I stared at the Knight of the Helmet with an expressionless face.

This was my true face.
The hesitation had been deliberate—I had revealed my authentic self.

An empty expression. The hardened visage of one who had lived far too long.

Thwack!

Choi Han’s foot struck the wyvern’s neck.
Then, gripping the Knight of the Helmet and his sword in both hands, he leaped into the air.

The skeletons hesitated before quickly scattering. Lightning immediately descended upon the wyvern now abandoned by the knight.

Screeeee—! Boom!

The final wyvern plummeted from sky to earth.
The Black Dragon had slain the last wyvern. Then it stepped beyond the silver shield it had created. Now only the dragon remained in the sky.

Choi Han fell alongside the Knight of the Helmet.

“Are you insane?”

The Knight of the Helmet kicked at Choi Han as they fell, channeling ancient power more intensely.
Choi Han refused to release the ancient-forged blade, his hand wielding black aura unwavering.
The Knight of the Helmet felt no fear of the fall. That was not the problem.

But behind him.

Dead mana.
That which stood in opposition to nature coalesced, forming a singular point.
At its center lay a small skeletal minion.

The Knight of the Helmet, though the gathering power was insignificant compared to his own, furrowed his brow.

Behind him.
He sensed a small arrowhead taking aim at his back.

The Necromancer gathered his power.
The dead mana enveloping the skeletal minion sharpened like a blade.

And a force emerged to support the coalesced dead mana. False, yet resembling tidal waves, tempests, and volcanic eruptions—magic itself.

The Young Dragon, cloaked in invisibility, added its power to the dead mana. The dead mana, once compressed into a short blade, became an arrowhead, and Raon’s power shaped it into a lengthy arrow.

The Knight of the Helmet could see the veins bulging on Choi Han’s hand as it gripped his own. There was an absolute refusal to let go.
At this rate, he’d get hurt. The knight grimaced and shouted.

“Are you insane? If that hits me, I won’t die. Only you will!”

The arrow was aimed precisely at the Knight of the Helmet’s back. The arrow continued to take on a more complete form. That arrow seemed as though it would pierce through both the Knight of the Helmet and Choi Han with ease.
Choi Han, who had been staring at that arrow, looked at the Knight of the Helmet.

“I’m already insane.”

Already insane.
Long ago, a very long time ago.
In the Dark Forest, I went mad. To survive alone for decades, there was no choice but to lose one’s mind somewhere.

Choi Han hated how composed this knight remained. It felt as though his anger would only subside if the knight got hurt.

A smile bloomed across my expressionless face.
It was gratitude for Merry and Raon, who had understood my intention.
Indeed, many were stronger than one alone.
Raon’s voice echoed in Choi Han’s mind.

-You will never die. Stupid Choi Han.

And then the arrow struck down.

“…Insane!”

Along with the Knight of the Helmet’s curse, a tremendous sound crashed down once more, this time upon the ground outside the Heniatus Territory Castle.

Kwaaaang!

Kale Heniatus let out a hollow laugh as he watched the explosion obscure his vision once again.

“Reckless fools.”

The vitality of the heart.
The tenacious regeneration purged all the dead blood dwelling within Kale’s body.

Kale slowly rose to his feet. He had not yet fallen.

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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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