Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 202

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

The Ubar Territory, situated along the Northeast Coastal Area of the Roan Kingdom.
Poplina Ubar, the Lord of Ubar who governed that land, gazed around while the cold sea breeze caressed her face. Her successor, Amir, observed her carefully from nearby.

Splash, splash.
The sound of waves striking the Naval Base’s dock echoed through the harbor.
The port that had been dark and silent was dark tonight, yet far from quiet.

Whoosh!

Light poured forth from the teleportation gate once more.
Lord Poplina Ubar extended her hand to offer a greeting.

“Welcome, Baron.”
“Ahem, it is an honor, Lord.”

The one awkwardly grasping the Lord’s hand was a Northeast noble who had followed the Southeast Aylan Marquis Family. Yet now he stood here in full armor, attempting to blend in.

He departed from the Lord’s side and quickly slipped among the other nobles. Their expressions were grim.
The Baron did not even acknowledge the nobles of his own Southeast faction, his attention fixed solely upon the Naval Base.

And he gripped his trembling heart.

A single voice still echoed in his ears like a haunting refrain.

‘The shield did not shatter.’

That tremendous battle.
Having witnessed that vivid spectacle from the Lord’s Castle office, the Baron had no choice but to rush here. Because he would come tonight.

Kale Heniatus, the Northeast Military Commander.

He would arrive here tonight.

The words Kale Heniatus had spoken as he departed from the long round table came flooding back to the Baron’s mind.

‘If clinging to the strong is the essence of nobility, then soon will come a moment of choice—a moment to decide whom you must serve to survive.’

To survive, to endure—one must cling to power.
This moment was the only opportunity.

The nobleman’s eyes, along with those of his peers, darted ceaselessly, taking in every detail of their surroundings.
And they could not hide their astonishment.

Through the darkness, a faint spectacle became visible.
Countless fleets arrayed along the coastline, naval forces standing in disciplined formation. Their very posture spoke of years of rigorous training and preparation.

‘We have fallen behind.’

The nobles realized they had been outpaced, that their power was insignificant, that they might already be beneath notice. And so they waited for the strong.

At that moment, the communication crystal in Amir’s embrace glimmered. She opened her mouth, her gaze fixed upon her mother.

“They have arrived.”

The nobles tensed at her words.
Was it Kale Heniatus?

The teleportation circle trembled.

Whooooom—

A teleportation spell of an entirely different magnitude from any the nobles had witnessed at the Ubar Coastline before.
This signified a large-scale transfer.

The nobles swallowed hard.

Whoosh—ah.

Light erupted as figures began to materialize within the teleportation circle. When their forms fully revealed themselves in the Ubar Territory, the Lord spoke.

“Welcome, Knight Commander, and Mage Battalion Commander.”

The Royal 1st Knight Order, bearing the crest of the Rowan Royal Family upon their pauldrons.
And a presence making its first appearance before the world.

The nobles had certainly heard it from the Lord’s own lips.

The Mage Battalion Commander.
Before them stood dozens of figures draped in robes, their faces concealed.

Crown Prince Albert Crossman’s Mage Battalion—only the finest of the first battalion had gathered here.
The Mage Battalion revealed itself to the world for the first time.

The commander of the Mage Battalion grasped the hand of the Lord of Ubar.

“A pleasure to meet you.”

The face hidden beneath the hood was that of Tasha, the Dark Elf and Crown Prince Albert’s aunt, in her human form.
Though she was not a mage but a spirit summoner, she led the Mage Battalion. Yet the spiritual leader of the mages was Rosalind—she was the one.

In her stead, currently away in the Breck Kingdom, Tasha had assumed the position of commander.

“Will they arrive soon?”

At Tasha’s question, the Lord of Ubar nodded.
At that gesture, Tasha silently led the Mage Battalion to their position. Beside them stood the Royal 1st Knight Order.

The Royal 1st Knight Order. They were unusually quiet. Tasha understood perfectly why they had to be.

The Mage Battalion naturally possessed a scrying crystal. She led both the Mage Battalion and the Royal 1st Knight Order, showing them the battle of House Heniatus.

That breathtaking spectacle.
A clash of beings beyond even Tasha’s imagination. Especially the battle between the Dragon Slayer and the others—it shook her very soul.
Tasha found herself nearly mad with worry for Necromancer Mary and Kale’s party.

‘The knights seem mad in a different sense, though.’

Tasha glanced sideways at the Knight Commander.
A face stubborn yet radiating a sense of duty. The Knight Commander, a man in his forties, stared silently at nothing but the teleportation formation.

The knights were the same.

They had witnessed the Sword Master.

The lineage of Sword Masters had long since ended in the Rowan Kingdom. Yet a new Sword Master had suddenly appeared.
One who rode upon dragon bone.

Tasha understood their feelings—no, the feelings of everyone who had witnessed this battle footage. So she waited quietly.

Splash, splash.

Through the sound of the waves, the final resonance of the teleportation magic circle rang out.

Uuuuung—

The sound they had been waiting for.
The nobles shifted their gaze from the Royal 1st Knight Order and the Mage Battalion toward the teleportation magic circle. White light swirled as figures began to appear one by one above the circle.

Ah.
An exclamation escaped someone’s lips.
The first to appear was a swordsman with bandages wrapped around one shoulder. Someone’s voice identified him.

“…Sword Master.”

That person whose name had never been revealed.
Beside him stood a figure in a black robe. It was Necromancer Mary, who had been invisible during the previous battle, but people could guess easily enough.

So that’s the Necromancer.

And so, one by one.
Ron in assassin’s garb with a masked face, Vicross dressed as a swordsman with a greatsword strapped to his back, Mueller, a rat-tribe hybrid dwarf, surrounded by two cats with his head hung low.

Kale Heniatus’s companions revealed themselves one after another.
And finally, Kale Heniatus himself.

He appeared above the teleportation circle. People swallowed hard.
One of the nobles muttered unconsciously.

“…Blood, there’s blood.”

Kale still bore the same appearance as before.

The battle that had been fought while the sun hung in the sky today.
Covered in the blood he had shed during that battle, looking disheveled and worn, Kale stood there as he was.
His gaze fixed upon the assembled crowd.

Yet the nobles saw nothing shabby or soiled in his appearance.
Rather, they felt the overwhelming presence of one who had endured the battlefield and survived. Moreover, they now fully grasped that the war was only beginning.

That was when it happened.
The Lord of Ubar’s mouth opened.

“Salute.”

At those words, the nobles shrank back.
Behind them, a thunderous voice erupted.

The naval soldiers, who had stood in disciplined formation until now, opened their mouths.

“Hail!”

The naval soldiers bowed their heads in salute to Kale Heniatus.
Their voices were so resounding they shook the coastline itself.

Their salute was a greeting to Kale Heniatus, the Northeast Regional Military Commander.

As the nobles faltered at the sight, they heard yet another sound.

Clink, clink.

Sword blades glinting in the night sky began to appear.

The Knight Commander drew his sword.
Followed by the knights, who drew theirs as well.

Instead of speaking, they let their blades move.

Ching.

The swords pierced the sky, radiating their presence.

The knights’ salute.
A greeting to those they must follow.
Small orbs of light began to rise into the air one by one. The flames kindled by the Mage Battalion soon ascended above the nobles and soldiers.

Light bloomed across the darkened coastline.
Kale Heniatus observed the sight in silence before slowly opening his mouth.

“Now I can see clearly.”

His words carried no formal politeness—only the natural cadence of command.
Yet no one found it strange. It felt entirely natural, and so they failed to notice the shift.
Or rather, they had no time to notice.

“Quite a few.”

Kale fixed his gaze upon the nobles and uttered a single phrase.
The nobles felt the weight of his eyes acutely—that piercing gaze from the illuminated coastline, looking down upon them with the contempt of one who stood above.

Yet the nobles dared not speak freely.
The quality of Kale Heniatus’s power rivaled the Royal Family itself. In certain respects, it surpassed them. Moreover, he was now a hero.

Everyone in the Roan Kingdom was still speaking of the battle that had taken place this afternoon, even now that the sun had set.
His name flowed from their lips constantly.

Above all, his presence had transformed.
An aura entirely different from the Grand Conference Hall—the bearing of a ruler. Those most sensitive to strength, they bowed their heads.

‘Amusing creatures.’

Kale swept his gaze across those desperately clinging to survival, then turned his attention to the soldiers.
Faces etched with tension and worry, yet beneath it all, a glimmer of hope.

Kale opened his mouth.
His quiet voice reached hundreds of ears.

“Prepare for departure.”

Those words were the beginning.

The atmosphere of the coastline shifted entirely. An order they had anticipated. Tension swept across the shore.
Yet Kale’s words were not finished.

“Tomorrow night.”

Without the slightest hesitation, a voice rang out with absolute certainty.

“We will annihilate our enemies.”

Annihilation.
Kill them all.
That word etched itself deeply into the soldiers’ minds.

In that moment, someone’s resounding voice rang out.

“We obey your command!”

The Knight Commander of the Royal 1st Knight Order. He raised his sword and pressed it over his heart as he cried out, his voice carrying the resolve to execute the order without fail. As if answering that voice, the Lord of Ubar gestured, and the soldiers shouted.

“We obey your command!”

In the dark night, the coastline began to move with unprecedented urgency. Yet alongside the tension came an inexplicable thrill and exhilaration.

Annihilation.
We will complete that order.
Kale Heniatus’s command was seared into everyone’s mind.

* * *

The following night, Kale stood on the deck in pristine attire, listening to Ron’s report.
The sea breeze tousled his hair.

“The fleet consists of medium to large vessels, estimated at over three hundred ships in total.”

Information provided by the Whale Tribe flowed steadily into Kale’s hands. He listened intently to every detail.

I would not let my guard down again. This battle was the manifestation of that resolve.

“Furthermore, though not currently visible, the vanguard ships that led them at the beginning of their voyage displayed an unfamiliar design, and it is believed those vessels broke through the ice of the Northern Coast.”

Surely crafted by Dwarves. I lowered my head.

“Explain.”

Mueller gasped in astonishment at his words, quickly opening his mouth to speak.

“It appears to be a ship crafted by the Flame Dwarf Tribe. They are weak with magical devices, but I’ve heard they are quite renowned for creating pure mechanical contraptions.”
“Weak, you say?”
“In truth, it would be more accurate to say they cannot create them at all.”

Dwarves incapable of crafting magical devices—much like Elves who cannot manipulate spirits. Thus, Mueller’s expression grew somber as he explained that tribe. They were a somewhat pitiful race, after all.
Yet this was of no concern to me.

‘I can simply obliterate them with magic.’

If they were antithetical to magic, the Mage Battalion could eliminate them.
However, simultaneously, my mind recalled the magical scrolls that the Knight of the Helmet and the Bear Tribe members had been carrying.

Magical scrolls. This meant the enemy possessed considerable magical power as well. Surely the Knight of the Helmet had been teleported to that ship because there were mages and healers aboard.

Then those would need to be eliminated as well.

Beep beep— beep beep—

“Commander!”

Amir rushed toward me in her leather armor. A communication crystal gleamed with crimson light in her embrace.

Simultaneously, I spotted a small boat approaching my ship.
From that vessel came a familiar sound.

Meow meow meow.
Meow meow.

At the cry I had been waiting for, I smiled.
On and Hong were nestled in the arms of Choi Han and Vicross. Their small boat drew near to mine.

Whoooosh—

An ominous wind sound swept past my ears.
Through it came Amir’s voice reporting.

“The enemy fleet has crossed the third boundary line, sir.”

Of the four boundary lines in total, the third boundary line.
The enemy would soon approach the fourth boundary line.

Kale Heniatus stood on the deck of a ship positioned at the fourth boundary line, gazing down at the sea.

It was complete.

A collaborative work of nine-year-olds on average.

Whissshhh—

Like leaves rustling in the wind, an unusual sound drifted across the sea—a sound rarely heard over water.
That whisper gradually enveloped the waters near the fourth boundary line.

Fog.
Mist was consuming the sea.

The fourth boundary line, marked only by buoys to indicate its position.
Shrouded in fog over the Night Sea, the fourth boundary line had become invisible.

To the enemy, the fourth boundary line would become an unseen boundary of death.

Kale issued his command.

“Silence the sound.”

The operation’s codename was Ghost.

Beginning with his ship, sound began to vanish from the Rowan Kingdom fleet.
Only silence filled the sea.

Ghosts awaited the approaching enemy.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————