Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 204

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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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Of course, the way I kept my promise was my own way.

Roooaaarrr!

A whirlpool surged upward and collided with the ship. The hull tilted and swayed for a moment.
Or rather.

“Aaaahhh!”

It shattered.
The Indomitable Alliance was shaken from both sky and sea, yet there was no visible attacker. However, for one person—the dragon slayer—an enemy existed.

The Dragon Slayer, the Knight of the Helmet, stood before the sea at a loss for words.
The sound of destruction, again and again. The screams of people.

Mages casting spells at the crimson mist and sea whirlpools with no visible enemy. Or knights who could do nothing but swing their blades aimlessly at empty air.

“Steer the ship! We must escape the mist, escape the whirlpools!”

Those who had retained their composure shouted from within the shield, trying to evade the mist. Watching this, the dragon slayer recalled one person.

‘Why isn’t the Elderly Mage taking any action?’

Why hasn’t he come to save me?
The irritating old man possessed excellent judgment. It was strange that someone like him remained silent. Surely this was a time when he should have done something.

‘Could it be?’

A voice reached the dragon slayer’s ears.

“You seem to have time for other thoughts even with your neck in my grip.”

It was Kale Heniatus.
Of course, Kale Heniatus had deliberately given the Dragon Slayer time to think of other things.

That way, he would understand his own predicament well.
The vast, boundless sea.
For Kale Heniatus’s enemies, the sea had to be a place with nothing to rely upon.
Kale Heniatus kindly informed the Knight of the Helmet of his circumstances.

“Why? Is something strange because the Mage isn’t reacting at all?”
“…How did you know about the Mage’s presence—?”

The Knight’s question hadn’t even finished.

BOOM!

An explosion of a completely different magnitude than before. The Dragon Slayer’s head turned. His eyes caught sight of a towering column of water and a massive collision of light erupting from the foremost ship leading three hundred vessels.

The Mage hadn’t done nothing.
He couldn’t.
He was under attack.

Kale Heniatus’s voice reached the Dragon Slayer’s ears once more.

“You know I have a Dragon, don’t you?”

His voice carried amusement. The Knight of the Helmet felt a chill run down his spine. His pupils fixed upon Kale Heniatus.
Who in their right mind called this man a righteous hero?

And how could he possibly harbor three ancient powers within his body?
His vessel was more pathetic than anyone else’s. The body of a mere commoner passing by—that was all it was.
Yet how?

Even with regeneration, such a person should normally suffer for years as wood and wind collided within them, only to die—that was the natural order.

‘…Could it be?’

Preposterous.
A truly absurd imagination began to flood the Dragon Slayer’s mind. And then a sensation overwhelmed his body.
Thump, thump.
The ancient power within him responded. The Calamity Sword sent out a warning.

“…What, what is this—”

His gaze dropped downward—specifically to Kale Heniatus’s hand. There, hovering above his palm, was a small, crimson lightning bolt.

Fire.
A power of flame far more potent than the volcanic force wielded by the Calamity Sword. That power emanated from the tiny lightning. The most devastating destructive force imaginable.
Fire and lightning. The strongest power that could surge from the earth, and the strongest power that could descend from the heavens. The two intertwined, maximizing the very essence of flame.

The Knight of the Helmet’s lips trembled faintly.

Preposterous.
An impossible fantasy had become reality before his eyes.

“…Surely not, surely not—”

Had he gathered all five natural attributes?
Is that why his body hadn’t burst apart?
Was that crystalline body of his holding together through regeneration and mutually wary attributes?

He could meet Kale Heniatus’s gaze as the man looked down upon him.

“How could you possibly gather so many ancient powers—”
“Because I’m different from you.”

A calm voice answered the Dragon Slayer.

“You’re an artificially created Dragon Slayer, aren’t you?”

The Dragon Slayer’s pupils wavered.
In contrast, Kale Heniatus remained composed. He recalled one of the truths that Guardian Knight Clophe Seka had revealed.

‘*Cough*, he’s a Dragon Slayer created artificially, they say. *Hack*, and furthermore, among the leadership of the Dark organization that stands alongside him in the Indomitable Alliance, there is a Mage and a Healer.’
‘Two hundred years ago on the Eastern Continent, *cough*, he grew by consuming an ancient dragon that died most recently, they say.’

An ancient dragon on the verge of death was far superior sustenance compared to a living one. Especially for one who possessed the Calamity Sword—a dragon’s body was the finest tonic of all.

However, the Dragon Slayer required one more thing alongside the Calamity Sword to achieve completeness.

A relic passed down through generations.
A crown.

The Dragon Slayer must obtain the crown that drinks dragon blood to gain a body like that of a dragon.
Kale Heniatus recalled what Clophe had said to him in indignation, as if tattling.

‘But then those bastards went and— huff, huff— stole it— cough!’

And as Clophe spoke those words, Vicross lashed his head with a whip once more.

‘Because that thieving bastard is me.’

I suppressed my laughter.

Thump.
Boom.
Inside my body, my heart pounded fiercely once again. The Glutton Goddess, my shield, continued to speak to me.

-Will you eat this too?

The ancient power currently most active within my body.
Wind’s Sound.
The shield coveted that talent. She yearned for it endlessly.
But regrettably, I could only shake my head at the goddess’s question.
Why?

‘Because my own greed is quite substantial.’

When the master of an ancient power dies, it seeps into a specific place or object.

The unbreakable shield seeped into a tree.
The vitality of the heart seeped into a stone tower.
The destructive flame seeped into a pig statue.
Wind’s Sound seeped into a spinning top beneath a rock.

It quietly settles in, waiting for the next master.
Killing the bearer of an ancient power does not immediately transfer that power to the one who killed them.
If it did, there would be no reason for ancient powers to vanish from the world or remain buried for ages.

The Glutton Goddess’s voice reached my mind once more.

-You really won’t eat this?

Wind’s Sound. Another talent. The Shield’s greed for ancient power knew no bounds.
Yet Kale Heniatus shook his head inwardly.

No.
Not today.

My vessel was still insufficient. I could not afford to overextend myself any further.

Above all, today I had nothing to give the Shield.
But I had something to give myself.

If ancient power did not transfer directly but instead manifested through specific locations or objects—

‘Then I need only claim it for myself, don’t I?’

If I possess it, that is all that matters.

Kale Heniatus’s eyes fixed precisely on the Dragon Slayer. His mouth opened as a hunter who had found prey.
He recalled the thought he had resolved to act upon whenever he found his quarry.

Kill Pae.

Yet regrettably, my strength was insufficient for such a task. This body’s muscles had withered, growing ever more fragile. In moments like these, I found myself missing the raw power I had possessed as Kim Rok-soo.

But had I not rejected such grueling training precisely because I despised it, choosing instead the comfort of ancient power?

Kale Heniatus’s finger pointed at the Dragon Slayer. At that gesture, the Dragon Slayer’s body stiffened.
In that instant, Kale Heniatus’s mouth opened.

“Throw him.”

What?

Before the Dragon Slayer could even register confusion, he felt his body being lifted.

“Yes, Young Master.”

With a gentle voice, the dragon hunter was hurled into the air. His eyes widened.

“W-what?!”

A deep rumble echoed across the sky.

Beyond the crimson mist.
The sound of the heavens weeping reached my ears.
The Dragon Slayer’s eyes widened.

In the instant I thought the night sky had been painted blood-red—

Kwaaaang!

“Aaaahhh!”

I was pierced straight through by the crimson lightning descending upon me. I unleashed the Calamity Sword’s volcanic attribute, but it was useless.
A far greater power consumed my body.

‘How does that monster possess such strength…!’

My body began to char and blacken.
Yet the lightning struck only me, hurled skyward with precision.

Boom!

My thrown body crashed back onto the deck.

“Cough…!”

The Dragon Slayer’s body writhed. Like an earthworm, like a serpent, I twisted and convulsed.

Ssshhiiiick—
The remnants of the crimson lightning did not extinguish. They continued burrowing into my body. Like a serpent slithering across the ground as I writhed, they gnawed away at me piece by piece.

Yet the body of the Dragon Slayer, who had consumed an ancient dragon provided by another, remained strong.
My eyes still saw, my ears still heard, my nose still smelled. And I could still speak.

Tap.
A shoe appeared before the Dragon Slayer. My writhing body froze. Through ears that could still hear, a human voice reached me.

It was Kale Heniatus.
Kale Heniatus recalled the ancient power possessed by the Dragon Slayer.
One: a sword containing catastrophe. Another: the power that had moved the wyvern.

Along with that, he recalled what the World Tree had conveyed to him.

‘The one who gathers ancient power possessed a total of three ancient powers.’

Kale Heniatus’s voice seeped into the Dragon Slayer’s ears.

“Why aren’t you using the last ancient power? You have one more, don’t you?”

Fear permeated the Knight of the Helmet.

…How much does he know?

The Dragon Slayer’s body writhed with a different kind of dread.
He had believed that Clophe Seka, that contemptible guardian knight, had squandered everything. Yet the fact that there were three ancient powers was known only to himself and that madman.

But how?

His charred face slowly turned toward the sky. In his sky stood the smiling face of Kale Heniatus looking down at him.

“Show me quickly.”

Kale Heniatus spoke with considerable gentleness.

“I’ll be taking that as well.”

Since his eyes still functioned, the Dragon Slayer could see clearly the gaze of Kale Heniatus bearing down upon him. Simultaneously, he gasped in shock.

“…How could you possibly—!”

Each time he opened his mouth, the burns tore at his lips and blood flowed, yet he could not close it.
A power slowly overwhelming him. An aura that seemed to belong only to one who dominated all things.
This aura—the one who dreamed of becoming a perfect Dragon Slayer recognized it instantly.

A dominating aura.
A power born of illusion alone, utterly useless in substance.
Yet that very power now suffocated him. His body, crawling across the ground, could not even bear the weight of such phantom force.

‘…I cannot let myself know this alone.’

The thought came with genuine conviction.

A dominating aura.
Combined with his regenerative prowess and the ancient power of the Five Great Attributes.

A being who disregarded the vessel entirely, as if it were nothing.
This was the shattering of natural law itself.

Even the Dragon Slayer, transcendent as he was, understood this truth.

The world, nature itself—exceptions had always existed. And no one could foresee what those exceptions would create.

He thought he must report this to Am. But that thought dissolved instantly, replaced by another realization.

Could he survive?

This mad Kale Heniatus. The one who had concealed his ancient power from all, masquerading as virtuous, hiding the capacity for such brutal cruelty.
Could he himself escape alive?

With a cunning mind sharp in darker directions, the Dragon Slayer grasped Kale Heniatus with perfect clarity.

Deceived.
Yes, deceived by this monster.
He could not say what the deception entailed, yet his instinct screamed that everything had gone wrong precisely because he had been deceived by this one.

“I-I’ll tell you everything!”

And so he began desperately searching for a path to survival.

“This will benefit you too! With a dominating aura, a crown would be invaluable to you. You know of crowns, don’t you? I’ll bring one to you! And I’ll reveal all our secrets! I swear it!”

Words tumbled from his lips in desperation, his body’s agony forgotten. Simultaneously, he found solace in Kale Heniatus’s stillness—listening intently, as if considering every word.

That was when it happened.

“Whether you speak or not.”

Kale Heniatus slowly withdrew the crown from his embrace.
Whether the dragon hunter before me would speak or not.

“I am the one who decides that.”

The dragon hunter’s eyes widened as he gazed upon the crown. His expression became hollow, as though his very soul had departed. His mind turned white, and terror consumed him entirely.

‘…He, he surpasses even that one!’

The White Star of Dark. I had seen him only once, yet this surpassed even that.
Why?

“Sirem, have you ever seen the leader’s face?”

That one did not know of Kale Heniatus’s existence at all.
But I knew of his existence. That gap was immense.
The dragon hunter hastily nodded at Kale’s use of his name, signifying that he had indeed seen it.

“I, I wear a mask so I don’t know his face, but I saw, I saw it!”
“Your body cannot bear the strain of displaying the power of the Ancient Age right now, can it?”
“T, that’s right! But if you wish it, I will show you!”

The dragon hunter Sirem attempted to continue the conversation with the most servile expression he could muster, sensing that dialogue was possible. However, his face, bearing burn wounds and still smoldering, could not properly convey his expression.

Aaaahhhhh!
Craaaaaash!

Still, only the screams of people and the sounds of destruction echoed.
Yet among these sounds, there was no voice of the Roan Kingdom’s enemies.
Only the cries of our poisoned allies and the sounds of shattering ships remained.

Sirem gazed at Kale Heniatus with desperate eyes. Kale opened his mouth.

“Not necessary.”
“…What?”
“I don’t need to see your ancient power.”

Kale Heniatus turned his gaze away from Sirem.
Whatever I’m going to pick up, I’ll figure it out when the time comes.
Kale Heniatus walked toward those standing behind him.

“Ron, make sure he can only speak.”

Ron smoothed his son’s white gloves with a benevolent smile. Kale Heniatus had no intention of letting the dragon slayer Sirem, who had touched the beings within his domain, leave unscathed.
And this was not a thought he harbored alone.
Kale Heniatus added,

“Leave portions for Raon, Choi Han, and Merry. The final blow is mine.”
“Young master, understood.”

Ron passed by Kale Heniatus and approached the dragon slayer.
Kale Heniatus walked to Choi Han’s side, taking in the full vista of the Night Sea.
His lips parted.

“They’ve arrived.”

Perfect timing. Kale Heniatus began moving through Wind’s Sound.

“Aaaahhhhh!”
“Push the ship, push it a little further! It’ll be over soon!”

The Indomitable Alliance’s mage shouted to the navigator while blocking the poisonous fog with a shield. The navigator’s ears caught the mage’s voice tangled with the screams of soldiers falling from the damaged ship.

“Cough, hack!”

And on the deck where he stood, he heard a comrade gasping and dying. His hands trembled at the helm.

I have to survive.
With only that thought, he barely navigated through the poisonous fog, evading the raging whirlpools.

“Yes, just a little more!”

The Mage shielded himself, the navigator, and the elite knights, offering reassurance. If they could just escape this crimson poison fog, there was still hope.

The red poison fog began to thin, becoming visible at last.

“Just a little further now!”

A faint smile of relief crossed my lips.
But then, without thinking, a hollow voice escaped me.

“…What?”

Beyond the thinning red mist, a deep crimson color emerged.

“We’ve evaded the Whirlpools!”

The navigator cried out in exultation.
But he soon found himself face to face with red ships at the edge of the Whirlpools.

Countless vessels encircled the boundary of the poison fog like a perimeter.
Red ships that mirrored the crimson mist.

And at the forefront of those red ships, a golden vessel came into view.
On the deck of the golden ship, Kale Heniatus—who had returned to his rightful place—touched the bow carved with the golden turtle, the symbol of House Heniatus, and spoke to those who had barely escaped from hell.

“I’ve been waiting.”

The enemies who had barely escaped the poison fog now faced true ghosts. Those who sought their death—they were the real phantoms.
Kale issued his command.

“Annihilate them all.”

Countless arrows and spells descended upon the sea.

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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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