Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 208

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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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On a small iceberg positioned where the Paern Coastline could be seen in the distance, Kale heard a bright voice.

“Weak human! Will you smash things again?”

Raon fluttered his wings and asked in an excited tone. Kale wrapped a fur collar around himself and replied.

“Probably?”

Since it was still February, I could see the frozen coastline.
I stared at five outposts scattered sparsely across the landscape.

The northernmost front of the Paern Kingdom. In the past, its defenses against the Whale Tribe had been superior to any other location. But now that the Whale Tribe’s existence had been forgotten, the frozen coastline’s defenses were pathetic.

The Black Dragon’s voice reached my ears.

“Should we take this one too?”

This one.
At that word, the Whale Tribe members beside me on the small iceberg froze.
Orca Arch, Humpback Whale Witira, and Paseton. All three of their gazes slowly shifted in one direction.

A white-haired man in a wheelchair with a vacant expression on his face.

Guardian Knight Clophe.
He sat in the wheelchair with that vacant, absent-minded expression.

My gaze turned toward Clophe. In that moment, focus returned to his previously vacant eyes. I asked with genuine warmth.

“Clophe, you’re coming with us, right?”

At that gentle tone, Orca Arch flinched, then shuddered even more at what Clophe did next.

Clophe lifted his limp arms. Then, clasping both hands together toward me, he bowed deeply from the wheelchair.
It was as if he were prostrating himself before a god.

‘What is the meaning of this?’

Archie’s gaze turned toward Paseton, the whale hybrid. Yet Paseton was equally bewildered, shaking his head with an expression of complete confusion.

Then Kale Heniatus’s voice reached Clophe.

“You know what you need to do, don’t you?”
“…I… understand, sir.”

Understand what?
Archie’s expression turned peculiar.
Regardless, Kale stared intently at the fear reflected in Clophe’s pupils before turning his gaze away.

Clophe, whose arm had been severed by Choi Han.
His remaining arm cut off by Ron, and his two legs pulverized beyond recognition.

Yet now they hung from his body intact.
The two legs remained motionless, but they existed; the two arms moved sluggishly.

Witira’s voice reached them.

“Young master, you’re certain you’re capable of this, yes?”

She was not asking whether Clophe’s condition was acceptable. There was no room for compassion toward an enemy.
It was merely a question of whether he could accomplish this task properly.

“Don’t worry.”

At Kale Heniatus’s calm response, Witira asked nothing further. If he said it was fine, then it was fine.

Kale turned his gaze from Clophe and let out a scoff.
I knew full well that this wretch was now revering me as though I were a god.

‘Could it actually be genuine?’

And I believed that his behavior was merely an act tinged with fear.

Why?
Because it was Necromancer Mary who had created Clophe’s two arms and two legs.
I had instructed her to create them, and I added one more thing.

‘The two new arms and legs I create will be bombs.’

Necromancer Mary understood immediately.

‘Should I infuse dead mana into them?’

Dead mana—a poison to the living.
A vicious force from which even Sword Master Hana had barely survived with Mary’s aid. That same power now lingered in Clophe’s arms and legs.

Kale Heniatus recalled what Mary had said.

‘When I give the signal, or if someone attempts to heal Clophe, both arms and legs will detonate. He’ll die instantly.’

Clophe’s life rested in Kale Heniatus’s hands.

‘He’ll do anything to survive.’

This was why Kale Heniatus could scoff at Clophe with such ease.
That bastard had deceived the entire continent, claiming to be a Wyvern Knight. What performance could such a man not pull off before someone who held his life in their grasp?

Kale Heniatus never trusted his enemies, and he had no intention of releasing the leverage he now possessed.

Black Dragon Raon glanced briefly at Kale Heniatus and Clophe before approaching Witira. Then he whispered something to her.

“That white-haired bastard’s a bit unhinged. But he can still do what needs doing.”
“Understood, Dragon.”

Only then did Witira stop worrying about Clophe. If both Kale Heniatus and Raon said it was fine, there was no reason for concern.

Yet Witira did not fully grasp what Raon had meant with those repeated glances at Clophe.

‘A bit unhinged.’

She did not truly understand those words.
Six-year-old Raon sighed as he watched Clophe staring at Kale Heniatus’s back.

Clophe gazed at Kale Heniatus’s back.
Though Kale Heniatus’s hair was red, to him it appeared white.

The Guardian Knight had not yet abandoned his faith in legends.

He recalled the voice of the Necromancer who had grafted onto me arms and legs as explosive as bombs.
A voice so cold it was hard to believe it came from a human spoke without emotion.

‘We must not obstruct the Young Master’s path.’

Of course, Necromancer Mary’s voice carried resolute emotion, but it was so subtle that only those close to her would notice.

‘The Young Master is… he is a remarkable person.’

Necromancer Mary spoke to the Guardian Knight about Kale Heniatus in her mechanical voice.
To her, Kale Heniatus was a grateful person who performed difficult tasks with a pitiful yet virtuous heart.

Softly and gently. She conveyed her honest feelings about Kale Heniatus. Being pure-hearted, she expressed what she felt purely through words.

‘He always sees everything.’

With a meticulous gaze, he embraced the wounds of his comrades. Indifferently, yet tenderly. The magnitude of his compassion was truly as vast as a mountain.
Necromancer Mary’s wounds had been embraced in that same way.

However, those words reached Clophe differently.

He always sees everything.

The moment he heard those words, Clophe felt a sudden flash of clarity.

‘He truly knows everything. That is why he appeared before me.’

Even now, the sight of his red hair turning white remained vivid before his eyes.
Clophe recalled the legend. A legend the Seka Family had manipulated, yet part of which was truth.

【God’s Tears. The Lake God departed to the south.】

This was the truth.

‘Then the god who went south—’

Clophe’s heart began to pound. Then, another voice reached him and his mind cleared. Within the prison, only Necromancer Mary’s voice echoed.

‘He never abandons his righteous heart, and in the end, he accomplishes what is right.’

Clophe understood.

So that was it.
In the end, the world moved according to his will.

Necromancer Mary had merely praised Kale Heniatus for preparing for war one step ahead and his noble heart to protect everyone, including the people of his territory.
However, that praise reached Clophe in a different direction.
And perhaps a bit too intensely.

Unaware of this, Kale Heniatus rose from his seat.

“Let’s go.”

Splash.
The winter sea churned violent waves.
Beneath the iceberg, the sea was dyed a darker shade than usual.

Whales.
Massive whales slowly advanced toward the Paern Coastline.

* * *

“Ugh, why is it so cold today?”
“Indeed, sir.”

At the Central Outpost on the northern border coastline of Paern, a soldier beside the Communication Mage offered him a warm cup of tea in response to his grumbling.

The Communication Mage accepted the cup with practiced ease, took a sip, and set it aside.

“Ahh, now I can breathe. There’s no one foolish enough to attack here, so what are we even watching for?”
“That’s what I’m saying. There’s no way the kingdom in the south could break through the ice on this coastline.”

The south was consumed by war, but it was of no concern to the northern coastal outpost.

After all, who in their right mind would attack here?

The Communication Mage leaned back in his chair and gazed out at the sea beyond the outpost window. Far across the water, the surface rippled, but near the coastline outpost, only frozen seawater stretched endlessly.

This useless sea that served no purpose. Who would dare attack such a place?

“The next report is in an hour, right?”
“Yes.”
“Sigh, this wretched life.”

The Communication Mage sighed at the outpost’s situation—unable to accomplish anything meaningful, merely killing time. Yet he couldn’t afford to be negligent either.

After all, they were technically in a state of war now.
The Central Military, more vigilant than ever, existed and demanded meticulous reports.

The Central Military.
Led by Rock Seka, the current Duke and head of the Seka Family, who commanded them.
He prioritized intelligence and security, transforming his war room into the Central Military Information Communication Center, which he shared with the Communication Mages.

“Ugh, with the Duke listening directly, I can’t even give a half-hearted report.”

The Communication Mage sighed again.
Since Duke Rock Seka was present where he delivered his reports, he couldn’t afford to be careless.

“True enough. Unless the Whale Tribe descends, what would there be to report?”
“Ha!”

The Communication Mage let out a wry laugh at the Soldier’s words.

“The Whale Tribe? How amusing that you’d remember such a forgotten existence. But that won’t happen. Why would that quiet race attack us? What could we have possibly done wrong?”
“You’re right. I spoke without thinking.”

The Soldier nodded awkwardly. Even he knew his words were absurd.
Though he’d heard many tales of the Whale Tribe from his grandfather while growing up on the coastline, they were ultimately nothing more than a mysterious, nearly forgotten people.

“Hmm?”

Then the Soldier froze, gazing beyond the outpost’s window.

“M-Mage, sir?”
“What?”

The Communication Mage, who had been sipping tea, turned to look at the Soldier with a sullen expression. Yet the Soldier remained motionless, his gaze fixed beyond the outpost’s window.

“Why are you acting like that?”

The Communication Mage peered out the outpost window with irritation.
The Soldier pointed beyond the window.

“Sir, what is that in the sea?”

Far out in the distance, water columns erupted skyward from the sea. The gray-tinged waters, already dark, had now turned pitch black.

Waves were visible.

No—they weren’t waves.
Massive forms surged forward, causing the sea surface to undulate.

“…Huh?”

A vacant sound escaped the Communication Mage’s lips.
At that moment, the Soldier, recognizing the identity of that presence, cried out in a voice like a scream.

“W-Whales, sir! Communication Mage, they’re definitely wh-!”

Boom!

The Soldier’s words never finished.
At the coastline where the outpost stood.
Something from below was pounding against the sea surface of the frozen coast.

Boom, crash!

“W-What, what is this-”

The Communication Mage unconsciously stumbled backward.
From the depths of the sea beneath the ice, something was rising.

Crash. Crash. With each impact, cracks spiderwebbed across the ice on the sea surface.
The Soldier grabbed the Communication Mage and shouted.

“Whales, the Whale Tribe, sir! Communication Mage!”

The moment those words were shouted.

Crash!

With a deafening roar incomparable to anything before, the ice on the sea surface shattered. The frozen ocean cracked open, and a colossal whale emerged.
A humpback whale bearing an X-shaped scar on its back. Its massive body rose above the water’s surface.

The soldier and the mage locked eyes with the humpback whale. The chilling gaze made their entire bodies stiffen. In that instant, the whale’s enormous tail moved.

The tail that had soared to pierce the heavens plummeted vertically downward.

Boom!
And it began shattering the frozen sea.
This was the beginning.

Whales surrounded the sea. The Whale Tribe began destroying the frozen ocean in its entirety.
A force that shattered nature itself.
Savage and ferocious power advanced without restraint.

“What… what is this?”
“Mage, we must send word immediately! We need to alert them that the Whale Tribe is attacking!”

The soldier cried out urgently, and the mage finally came to his senses.
An invasion by the Whale Tribe.

The mage felt the terror of a forgotten existence.
They destroy the sea.
The Whale Tribe—masters of the ocean.
His trembling hand hastily seized the communication crystal.
Then, a tremendous explosion echoed.

Crash!

The soldier’s voice followed in succession.

“The Eastern Outpost… the outpost has been destroyed!”

The mage poured mana into the communication crystal and looked up. The sight of the outpost collapsing unfolded in real time before his eyes.
Simultaneously, the humpback whale bearing the X-shaped scar rose, releasing a plume of steam.

And when that steam dissipated.

Splash.

A member of the Whale Tribe wielding a massive water whip appeared. The whip, crafted from water itself, swung without restraint, shattering the ice.
The humpback whale humanoid was treading upon the shattered ice fragments, advancing in a straight line toward the outpost.
Though clearly distant, the mage was certain of one thing.

That Whale Tribe member is looking directly at me.

Fear seized my body.

Crackle, crackle.

The sound of the video communication channel connecting reached my ears. The mage hurriedly lowered my head, turning my gaze toward the communication device.

-It’s not even report time. What’s the matter?

The voice of my superior, a Communication Mage from the Central Military, came through. The mage cried out urgently.

“The Whale Tribe—the Whale Tribe is attacking!”
-What are you talking about?

Sensing that my superior hadn’t properly understood the sudden outcry, the mage shouted desperately.

“The Whale Tribe has arrived! They’re overturning the coastline!”

The mage was terrified.
I might die. Consumed by that thought, I gripped the communication device as if to shatter it, screaming.

My desperate voice flooded the Central Military Information Communication Center.
One person reacted to that voice.

-What did you say?

Duke Rock Seka.
Known to the people of the Paern Kingdom as the current Guardian Knight and the father of Clophe Seka. He appeared on the communication device screen.

Upon seeing that face, the mage spoke even more urgently.

“The Whale Tribe is attacking and destroying the entire coastline!”

The Communication Mage immediately shifted the focus of the video communication screen toward the coastline. In the distance, he could see the completely destroyed coastline and the outposts that had been demolished or were in the process of being destroyed.

-When did the attack begin? What is the current situation?

Duke Rok’s urgent voice came through. Yet despite the urgency, his tone remained composed, and the Communication Mage steadied himself before speaking.

“The attack began five minutes ago. The Eastern Outpost has fallen, and the other locations are under attack as well. And our outpost-”

The Communication Mage paused.

“…What?”

Beyond the outpost window, he sensed something amiss.

That whale?
Where had the Whale Tribe member heading here gone?

The Humpback Whale humanoid was nowhere to be seen.

-Why are you silent? Why aren’t you responding?
“Ah, um, I-”

The Communication Mage couldn’t find his words. He had just realized something else.
The Soldier.
The Soldier who had been standing beside him was now silent.

Why was he silent?

Thud.
The Soldier collapsed at his feet without a sound. He fell unconscious without a single wound. The Communication Mage’s eyes slowly turned.

The blue-haired woman who had been heading toward this outpost. Blue hair resembling that woman. But this time, it was a man.
Even as he watched the man’s hand moving toward the back of his own neck, the Communication Mage could do nothing.

Thud.
The Communication Mage was gently knocked unconscious by Paseton’s hand.

Clang, clang!

The communication crystal fell to the ground.

-What is happening! Are you unable to report!

Duke Rok’s voice came from the communication crystal that hadn’t gone dark.
A single person picked it up.
Kale Heniatus. He passed the communication crystal in his hand to someone else.

“Here.”

Clophe accepted the communication crystal that Kale offered with trembling hands. Duke Rok’s voice came from the crystal, its screen flickering.

-Communication Mage! Is the visual transmission not working? What is the scale of the Whale Tribe?

His voice was grave and urgent. Yet, contrary to that tone, Kale remained composed.

“Do you remember my order?”

At Kale’s words, Clophe’s pupils trembled.

The order Kale had given.
Paern Kingdom is to become our spy.

Kale pressed firmly on Clophe’s shoulder while gesturing toward the communication crystal. It was a silent pressure to carry out his command.

‘If he wants to live, he’ll do it.’

Kale quietly observed Clophe, knowing that one as cowardly as him would value his own life. Clophe trembled as he held the communication crystal up to show his face.

-What is the situation now, hmm?

Duke Rok fell silent.

White hair came into view.
At the sight of white hair like his own, he momentarily lost his words.

-Ah, my son.

Clophe Seka.
His son, who had gone missing during the Roan Kingdom battle days ago and been recorded as a casualty of war. Duke Rok could not comprehend what was happening.
However, being a man of a family with sharp intellect, he raised his hand and signaled to the Mages.

Security Level 1.
At the hand signal indicating this, the Communications Center quietly carried out the order.
The Duke did not watch this, instead keeping his gaze fixed on his son.

That was when it happened.

“Greetings.”

Another figure came into the Duke’s view.

-You, you are!

A person the Duke knew well.
The man who had rendered the Roan Kingdom operation futile.
The red-haired man.
Kale Heniatus came into view.

He stood with his hand resting affectionately on Clophe’s shoulder, beaming brightly. The Duke’s expression became that of someone confronting something utterly incomprehensible.

The Whale Tribe, the Northern Border, his son, and Kale Heniatus.
What in the world was happening?

In that moment, Duke Rok’s pupils trembled.

“Father.”

His son, Clophe, smiled brightly.

Kale observed this quietly. Clophe would follow his words to survive.
Surely, since the Roan Kingdom appeared stronger than the Indomitable Alliance, he would say they should align with them to protect Paern’s territory and family.

Kale was certain of this as he watched Clophe’s lips.

“God.”

Huh?
Kale Heniatus froze.
Clophe spoke brightly to his father.

“This person is a god.”

…What the hell is this guy talking about?
Kale Heniatus stared at Clophe in genuine bewilderment.
Clophe spoke as though his dreams had come true.

“Father, I have brought you a legend.”

…Has he truly lost his mind?

Kale Heniatus found himself at a loss for words.

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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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