Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 217

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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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Leona Fortress, two and a half times larger than Heniatus Castle.
Through the countless explosions that flickered across their vision, people saw a black wave crashing down upon them.

The moment Prince Valentino of the Caro Kingdom beheld that black liquid, his mind reeled and vertigo swept through him.

Land consumed by dead mana.
Nothing could grow upon such cursed earth.

Any soldier touched by that black liquid—whether through contact with wounds, mouth, or eyes—would perish.

Yet the words that escaped his lips were different.

“…Shield.”

Crash, crash.
Dozens of small vessels collided.

Rumble—
The ground supporting the city wall trembled.
The wall itself shook violently.

Yet there was something that did not waver.
Valentino’s mouth fell open.

“…I believe we can lower the shield now.”

Before Leona Fortress, it appeared as though another mountain had materialized. But it was no mountain—it was a shield. A silver shield emblazoned with a heart symbol. That colossal shield stood before the fortress’s face, blocking everything. The silver was so thick and lustrous, layered as though multiple barriers had been woven together, that it blazed brilliantly before the eyes.
A silver shield engraved with a heart symbol. That massive shield stood at the front of Leona Fortress, blocking everything. The silver was so thick that it shone with such clarity, as if layered with multiple shields, that it dazzled the eyes.

Of course, at that moment Kale was hearing Raon’s voice in his head.

“Humans, I really do seem to be somewhat great! It’s a quadruple silver shield! Dead mana won’t be able to touch us at all! I’ll save everyone!”

Hearing Raon’s excited voice, Kale barely unfolded his shield carelessly beneath the 6-year-old Dragon’s solid silver shield.
Because the shield had to be spread wider than ever before, the shield’s power wasn’t particularly strong. Of course, it had grown stronger than before, but it wasn’t enough to protect the entire Castle.

“As expected, Dragon is the best.”

Yet with Raon’s silver quadruple shield, my barrier had become a solid, luminous entity gleaming more brilliantly than ever before.

The Indomitable Alliance and the Empire’s forces had prepared explosions three times more powerful than the Heniatus Territory battle, using that as their baseline. Unlike the concentrated assault from the Dragon Slayer’s calamity blade at that time, this explosion was a simultaneous, multi-directional force detonating everywhere at once.
They likely believed that even my strength would be insufficient—at best, I might create a small opening or buy some time.

‘How amusing.’

But I possessed the Young Dragon, supreme in all aspects save against the Dragon Slayer’s power, which was my weakness. A satisfied smile played across my lips.

Unaware of this, Prince Valentino felt relief mingled with creeping dread.

‘Heroes are those who alter the course of history.’

Those who ultimately seize victory and reshape the continental balance. Such are the ones called heroes.
Commander Kale Heniatus had said he brought heroes to Valentino. Then who was the one leading those heroes?

“Your Highness!”

He snapped back to attention at the voice calling him, and immediately issued orders to the general.

“Bring the Priests at once! Every single light-attribute Priest—not a single one left behind!”

The enemy, having torn the land asunder with death mana, was fleeing.
To catch them, I needed to carve a narrow path through the death mana. For that, light-attribute power was essential—particularly the Sun God Church’s strength. The Path of the Sun they had displayed when annihilating the Necromancers. A path forged by sacred power was what I needed.

The Crown Prince had also noticed. Those ships departing were not simply fleeing; they were targeting the Northern Coast. He understood this fully.
Therefore, I could not let them escape. I had to hold them here.

I had to seize every moment and drag out the time.

Boom, boom.
The explosions subsided, and the tremors beneath the earth gradually diminished. The silver shield’s radiance faded as well.

“Hnn.”

I exhaled a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding.

“Ughhhh.”
“Krraahhh—”

The ground stained pitch black.
A viscous liquid spread across the earth like a Black Swamp had formed, and above it, amid the wreckage of countless shattered ships, enemy soldiers lay dying from explosions and necrotic mana poisoning.

“…Ah, this is a nightmare—”

Prince Valentino turned his gaze toward the City Wall’s railing. He could see a young soldier trembling violently, crying out that this was a nightmare. Because the Caro Kingdom had hastily conscripted soldiers, many of them were barely past fifteen years old.
For them, this spectacle laid bare the true horrors of war.

‘Vicious bastards.’

Valentino’s teeth clenched at the cruelty of the Indomitable Alliance, which sent its own soldiers to their deaths only to slaughter others.
At the same time, fear washed over him.

Will I need to drive my own soldiers to their deaths like this to win?

This was Prince Valentino’s first war as well.
Yet as a prince, he had to maintain his composure—a burden shared by all the Caro Kingdom’s leadership standing beside him.

To avoid that fate, we must fight.

The Staff Officer’s voice rang out.

“Your Highness, we cannot let the enemy escape.”

The enemy ships were rapidly preparing to depart, taking on the Bear Tribe, soldiers, and knights once more. More than ten vessels had already set sail.
The Grand General’s voice followed.

“We must hurry. Even if the Priests cleanse the dead mana, the wreckage of shattered ships and enemy soldiers will make it difficult to reach the coastline.”

The Grand General was right. Dead mana alone was an obstacle, but the shattered ships and enemy soldiers scattered below the City Wall and throughout the area blocked their path.

“Priest! Summon the High Priest!”

The prince called for a Priest while simultaneously instructing the Communication Mage.

“Establish visual communication with the North Tower and South Tower!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”

At that moment, the prince heard the sound of several footsteps ascending the Stone Stairs.

Tap, tap.
He confirmed those ascending to the Central Tower, and his expression brightened slightly.

Priests. The light-attribute Priests dispatched to Leona Fortress were all standing upon the City Wall, led by the High Priest of Sun God Sect.

The Crown Prince welcomed even the High Priest of Sun God Sect, whom he had been angry with for his previous rudeness. He quickly approached the High Priest ascending the Stone Stairs.

“High Priest!”
“Your Highness.”

The High Priest bowed respectfully. But the Crown Prince, having no time for such formalities, grasped the High Priest’s shoulders and spoke urgently.

“Create a path through that dead mana for us. I’ve heard light-attribute Priests can do it. I beg of you.”
“Of course we must clear it. Such filthy dead mana cannot be tolerated.”

Prince Valentino found the High Priest’s calm response reassuring in this moment.

The Path of the Sun.
When the Sun God Church set out to annihilate the Necromancers, they carved a path across the land shrouded in dead mana. It was said that the Holy Knights followed that path and clashed with the Necromancers in a final battle.

At that moment, a communication channel connected.

-Your Highness.
“Ah, Duke Hooten!”

Duke Hooten of the Mogur Empire. He, who oversaw the North Tower, connected before the Roan Kingdom side.

-I’m relieved everyone is safe.

At the Empire’s words, Valentino felt gratitude surge within him even as he hastily opened his mouth.

“The Priests will soon carve a path through the dead mana. We cannot afford to lose the Indomitable Alliance, so I ask for your vigilance against them.”
-Understood.
“But Your Highness.”

It was the moment the Duke was responding. The High Priest’s mouth opened.

“Why do you say that, High Priest?”
“At minimum, one month.”
“…What?”

Only then did Prince Valentino sense the awkwardness concealed beneath the High Priest’s seemingly gentle smile.

“To purify dead mana, we must dispatch personnel from the Central Temple. And given the various preparations required, a minimum of one month is necessary.”
“…You’re saying we cannot create a path to pursue the enemies immediately?”
“Ahem, that is correct.”

Prince Valentino unknowingly furrowed his brow and opened his mouth.

“But isn’t there the Path of Light?”
“That requires the presence of the Saint, I’m afraid.”

The Saint.
At those words, Prince Valentino found his voice catching in his throat. Observing the High Priest’s gaze that avoided his own and the Priests with their heads bowed, he barely managed to speak again.

“…Then is it not possible to create even a small path using light-attribute holy power? Cannot holy power burn away dead mana?”

Prince Valentino spoke with urgency.

“A small path would suffice. A very small one. Just enough for our knights to pass through in single file. We have limited numbers of knights who can be transported via flight magic, you see. Is it not possible?”
“Ahem, well, you see…”

The High Priest hemmed and hawed. His evasiveness only deepened Prince Valentino’s suspicion.
It was then that Duke Hooten’s voice came through the connected video communication channel.

-Light-attribute Priests experience a pain akin to being scorched by fire itself when burning away dead mana through their holy power, or so I’ve heard.

Purification.
The divine did not grant power without cost. Nature was an existence that required compensation for all things to function properly.

“Ah.”

Prince Valentino immediately understood the Priests’ behavior now.
Duke Hooten’s voice continued.

-During the previous Necromancer extermination, the Priests wielded their power while enduring such pain, calling it justice. Of course, none of them were injured or killed from using their strength in such a manner, but I’m told many Priests suffered from the aftereffects for the rest of their lives before passing away.

Each time Duke Hooten spoke, the expressions of the Priests standing in the rear grew darker. Valentino and the people of Caro Kingdom watched them carefully. Because of this, no one noticed the faint sneer that flickered across Duke Hooten’s eyes on the communication crystal screen.

‘Kale Heniatus’s shield proved stronger than expected, so no one was injured.’

Regardless, I had managed to ensnare them. It was a success.

‘Even with a Necromancer present, they’ll struggle alone.’

The enemy force was not of a scale that could be pursued by the magical attacks of Caro Kingdom and Roan Kingdom, or by the flight magic granted to a few Knights.
Duke Hooten composed his expression and returned to his role as one genuinely concerned for Caro Kingdom, watching the scene beyond the communication crystal.
The High Priest opened his mouth, looking toward Prince Valentino.

“Ahem, there is a method to purify slowly and safely, so it is difficult to do so immediately. Your Highness, I beg your understanding.”
“…But if we let the enemies go like this, surely all the people and merchants of the Northern Region will perish. And if there is more dead mana in their ships—”

Whoooooo— Whooo—
Prince Valentino heard the sound of the enemy’s horn trumpet directing their course toward the sea.

“The Northern lands may also be consumed by dead mana.”

If that happened, it would be truly catastrophic.
Valentino was honest with himself—he hoped the Priests would make even a small sacrifice. They said they wouldn’t die, after all. Even if it was selfish, he wished they would sacrifice just a little, just a little.

“Is even a very small passage impossible? There are many Priests, so couldn’t you share the pain?”

But the High Priest pretended not to hear.
He had no desire to suffer. It wasn’t as though he would die—why should he sacrifice anything at all?

“If dead mana covers the Northern Coast, we can purify it slowly again at that time. For now, wouldn’t it be better to prepare for the Northern decisive battle as quickly as possible?”

The High Priest continued.

“Ah, and even if you abandon Leona Fortress and depart, you must leave some soldiers for the purification work. We will also need Knights to protect the Priests who will perform the purification.”

His tone was one that had already concluded further combat at Leona Fortress was impossible.
Valentino’s expression visibly hardened.

“…Must you speak such words at a time like this?”
“What can we do? Only we light-attribute Priests possess the qualifications to perform purification work. Being precious beings, shouldn’t we be protected?”

The High Priest’s gentle smile burned itself into Valentino’s vision.

It was wrong.
There were far too many errors in what the High Priest said.
Certainly his words seemed correct on the surface, yet to the Crown Prince they felt fundamentally flawed.
But he could neither cast them out now nor punish them. Without them, there was no way to eliminate the dead mana.

Whoooosh— whoosh—
The sound of horns still echoed in his ears. The laughter of the Bear Tribe from moments ago haunted him like an auditory phantom.

Fleeing enemies—or rather, enemies heading elsewhere to wreak destruction. Was he truly powerless to do anything but watch them go?

The faces of Prince Valentino and the leadership of the Caro Kingdom grew dark. No—anger began to etch itself across their features.
That was the moment.

“What?!”

Exclamations erupted from several soldiers near the walls of the Central Tower.

Tap.
A figure descended lightly from the railing atop the spire. Prince Valentino’s expression shifted. A casual voice reached his ears.

“More nonsense.”

Commander Kale Heniatus. It was him.

“…Commander.”

Valentino called out to Kale in surprise. Kale approached the Crown Prince and opened his mouth, his expression as composed as always.

“I came over using flight magic. I felt I needed to say something.”

Say what? What could he possibly have come to tell them?
An inexplicable sense of anticipation bloomed within Valentino. Strangely, this man whom he’d only seen days ago seemed certain to resolve something.
Then the High Priest’s voice rang out.

“Did you just call us priests—the only ones capable of purifying this dead mana—nonsense? Commander Kale, how dare you speak to us in such a manner at a time like this—”

But that wrathful voice could not continue to its end.

“I will seize them.”

Conviction resonated in those resolute words. Prince Valentino turned his gaze outward from the Central Tower, following Kale Heniatus. Already, more than thirty ships had risen upon the waters and were advancing forward. Their bows pointed northward, as expected. The Bear Tribe members had now arrived near the coastline and were boarding the vessels one by one.
In that moment, Kale’s voice reached them.

“If we leave things as they are, all the northern residents and merchants will perish. Their dead mana bombs—this will not be the end of it.”

It was a truth everyone already knew. Nothing differed from the bleak situation thus far, save for the fact that the one speaking was from the Roan Kingdom.

Yet what Kale said next was something no one had conceived of, a tale heard for the first time.

“Your Highness, are you aware of those who flee toward the Land of Death?”

The Land of Death?
The Desert?
Why would he suddenly bring up such a thing?
Prince Valentino regarded Kale intently as he spoke these unexpected words. He was not a man to utter frivolous remarks.

“They find it difficult to sustain themselves within their fiefdoms, cannot bear the taxes, and instead flee to the desert. They rush toward that desert from which none are said to emerge alive.”
“What? To the Land of Death? And you say the fiefdom’s people are fleeing because the taxes are too high?”

It was a truth none had known. The Crown Prince’s voice rose involuntarily.
Then, he could see a smile forming at the corners of Kale’s lips.

“Yet there are those who survive in that desert.”

Merry is one of them.
I swallowed the rest of my words. Merry was no longer a citizen of the Caro Kingdom.

“Those who do not know how to give up can rise above the darkness.”
“…Commander.”
“I will seize them.”

I don’t know how to give up.
I don’t know how to give up.

His voice filled the very peak of the Central Tower.
His voice filled the top of the central spire.

His voice filled the top of the Central Tower.

“Without question, we will capture them.”
At that moment, the bottom of the castle wall shook.
A deep rumble echoed across the stone.

Was it the aftershock of the explosion? Prince Valentino’s mind raced with the thought.

“What?”
Then, the crown prince and the leaders of the Karo Kingdom saw a clear sunset coastline.

In that instant, the Crown Prince and the leadership of the Caro Kingdom beheld a vivid twilight coastline.

“…That is—!”
A ship on the shore, and the bears heading to the ship.

Ships at the coastline, and the Bear Tribe rushing toward them.
The sound of horns still blaring.

The horn blasts continued their relentless call.

Through the cacophony, an alien sound pierced toward the shore.

Whistle— Whistle—
Dozens of arrows made of wind were headed towards the bears and their ships. And it just stuck.

Dozens of wind-forged arrows streaked toward the Bear Tribe and their vessels, finding their marks with devastating precision.

Boom, crash!

Sand from the coastline erupted skyward.
“What kind of attack is this!”

“What—what kind of attack is this!”

Panicked cries and screams engulfed the shore. Yet Valentino’s gaze remained fixed not on that chaos, but on something else entirely.
It was a land of death.

The Land of Death.

“…Those… those beings—”

The desert painted in the hues of sunset. A dark mass rushed across the crimson sands, their skin gleaming like black pearls even from a distance.
There is only one such race in the Western Continent.

On the Western Continent, there existed only one such race.

“…Dark Elves?”

I continued to gaze upon the Land of Death, its sands as crimson as blood.

“Dead mana is no obstacle.”
In front of them, the dark elf Tasha was running with wind wrapped around her body. Arrows made by the wind spirit were hovering above the heads of several dark elves, including her.

At their vanguard, Tasha raced forward with wind swirling around her form. Above her and several other Dark Elves, arrows conjured by wind spirits hovered in the air.

I turned my head, regarding the people of Caro Kingdom at the Central Tower and Duke Hooten beyond the communication channel.

“All of Roan’s forces have now assembled.”

I felt the trembling earth beneath me and spoke with certainty.

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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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