Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 271

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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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Straight ahead.
At that single word, Choi Han’s already serious expression grew even more grave. He unleashed his aura with renewed intensity.

“Th-th-th-”

The Action Commander’s words caught in his throat.
That thing undulating so violently—like a living serpent, or rather a demon—was unmistakably an aura.

‘Why is a Sword Master in the Backstreet?’

The Action Commander’s eyes darted about frantically.

The attacking force numbered roughly twenty.
A pittance, really.
The Branch had approximately one hundred personnel total, which meant in terms of sheer numbers, they held a five-fold advantage.
But the other side had a Sword Master.

“Branch Chief, surely this doesn’t seem like the real Arm?”

The Action Commander didn’t answer the Staff Officer’s words, yet his mind kept arriving at the same conclusion.

The Dark—the supreme ruling organization of the Eastern Continent’s Underworld.
Even the Mosteyu Gang knew of them. So the thought crossed his mind: ‘What if they truly possess a genuine Sword Master?’
Of course, he also considered that they might not be the Dark at all.

‘Then why would a Sword Master bother wearing such shabby clothes and pretending to be the Dark?’

If one’s status as a Sword Master became known, considerable prestige would be guaranteed for life.
So why would such a person use such peculiar speech patterns and appear in such shoddy garments?

The Action Commander’s mind grew increasingly tangled.
But within Kale’s consciousness, only one voice resonated.

-Human! Human!

It was Raon’s voice.

-Human! I will do good deeds too! I will save the Eastern Continent!

What a truly altruistic dragon.
Raon was now an entirely different being from the dragon Kale had learned about in ‘The Birth of a Hero’, different even from that berserk dragon.

‘Well, that’s Raon Mir for you.’

Just as I wasn’t truly Kale Heniatus but was now Kale Heniatus nonetheless, it was the same thing.
Kale tossed out the words carelessly.

“Find the money.”

The bandits standing with Kale flinched and looked toward him. The Former Bandit Leader showed the most pronounced reaction.

“Not you lot. You just keep moving forward.”

Kale brushed past the bandits’ reactions without concern. The bandits and the Bandit Leader were curious about who Kale was addressing if not them, but they didn’t ask.
Kale ignored the bandits and continued speaking.

“Find the jewels too.”

Find the money and jewels.
Raon responded to Kale’s words.

-Human! Are we taking the wicked money from wicked people? I thought something was off lately, but you really are good!

Kale added indifferently.

“I’ll give you three gold coins.”

Silence descended briefly in Kale’s mind. But soon a determined voice rang out.

-…I will! Human, I will work very hard!
“On and Hong come with you. Each of you gets three gold coins.”
-Human, wait! I am great and will find them quickly! I will find everything!

The strongest detection dragon moved into action.
And the enemies moved as well. The Action Commander shouted once more. But unlike before, his expression had grown calm and resolute.

“Is it the real Arm? Why did they attack the branch building?”

Kale was about to step forward himself. Unfortunately, Choi Han, who had been ordered to charge straight ahead, was slightly faster. He took a step forward and spoke calmly.

“W. E. A. R. E. T. H. E. R. E. A. L. A. R. M.”

Oh dear.
Just as I unconsciously covered my forehead with my hand, only one person moved swiftly without panicking at the situation.
The Former Bandit Leader of Riben, he surged ahead of Choi Han and shouted recklessly. His movements appeared unrestrained, but his eyes darted shrewdly between the masked Choi Han and me.

“Hahahaha! You stupid fools! Can’t you see?”

The Former Bandit Leader wore a mask, but he confidently pointed to the white star and red star emblems on his chest as he shouted.

“We are the real Arm! We’ve come to crush you all! Kahahaha!”

Thud. Thud. Thud.
The Former Bandit Leader, whose massive frame rivaled Tunka’s, charged toward the Main Gate. His force was so tremendous that the ground trembled. The Action Commander, startled by his assault, cried out.

“Close the gate!”

Screeeech— Slam!
The organization members near the Main Gate quickly shut it. Thanks to their constant state of alert, fearing the ever-expanding power of the Arm in recent times, such swift action was possible.

“Good! They won’t be able to break through the iron gate immediately!”

The Action Commander immediately pointed to three organization members.

“You, you, and you! Go to the Boss and the Branch Chief right now, and to the Mercenary Guild! Deliver this news!”

A Sword Master had appeared.
This couldn’t end with just calling in a combat unit.
That was when it happened.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

The sound of running footsteps continued beyond the iron gate.

‘He’s not stopping?’

The Action Commander’s pupils trembled for just an instant.

Crash!

A tremendous boom echoed through the air.
At the same moment, part of the iron door bulged outward.

To anyone’s eyes, it was clearly the mark of an axe. A massive axe blade had torn through the metal plating. Beyond the door came a hearty, booming laugh.

“Kahahaha! Our Real Arm only charges straight ahead! We destroy everything in our way! Straight ahead, always straight ahead! Kahahahahaha!”

The Action Commander found words spilling from his lips unbidden.

“These insane Real Arm bastards.”

And another person let out a small exclamation.

“Oh.”

It was Kale Heniatus.

‘As expected, he’s quick to catch on.’

Kale was thoroughly satisfied with the Former Bandit Leader’s actions. This was indeed how one should cause a proper commotion.
Choi Han also grasped something from watching the Former Bandit Leader’s actions. The Former Bandit Leader, about to strike the iron door once more with his axe, glanced toward Kale but instead locked eyes with Choi Han.
The moment their eyes met, Choi Han spoke calmly.

“I’m getting a sense of things.”

A sense of what?
Before the Former Bandit Leader could ask back.

“Move.”

Gasp!
The Former Bandit Leader inhaled sharply and hurriedly stepped aside. Moments later, astonishment escaped his lips, but his voice was drowned out by everything else.

Crash!

The destructive sound created by the black aura consumed all surrounding noise.
A violent aura, unlike the refined one, tore the iron gate apart completely.

Whoooosh—

Wind and fragments of the iron gate scattered through the air.
The iron gate that had existed in this world vanished from it. The Former Bandit Leader scrambled to his feet, gazing at the silent surroundings before hastily opening his mouth.

“H-hey, ahahaha! Do you see our power now?”

The Action Commander heard none of the Former Bandit Leader’s words.
He had only heard of a Sword Master, never actually seen one. He had witnessed those at the highest Expert level, but they were in a different league entirely from Sword Masters.

The Action Commander looked not at the laughing Former Bandit Leader, but at the masked Sword Master—the man with a single red star engraved upon him—and opened his mouth.
His expression was grave.

“Behind us stand the mercenaries of Riben. Are you not afraid?”

Riben, one of the few free cities on the Eastern Continent. Its Mercenary Guild held profound significance for mercenaries throughout the Eastern Continent.

Dark was naturally stronger than individual mercenaries.
Though the Mercenary King resided in the Western Region of the Eastern Continent, mercenaries were generally weaker in military strength compared to other armed organizations. Most of them had learned martial arts haphazardly, after all.

Yet mercenaries existed in every conflict.
They were employed even in wars between nations.

There was no war without mercenaries. Mercenaries were one of the roots of the tree called war. Knowing this, even Dark could not openly target the Mosteyu Gang, who maintained friendly relations with the Mercenary Guild.

But now, the Action Commander faced those who dismissed mercenaries entirely, claiming themselves to be the Real Arm. The Sword Master, whose eyes met his, walked in a straight line toward them and answered the question about whether he feared mercenaries.

“History is written anew. There is no fear on the path to legend.”

Kale observed Choi Han with slight admiration.

‘His acting isn’t terrible. He’s improved a bit.’

But the Former Bandit Leader, whose instincts were exceptionally sharp, immediately grasped the meaning behind those words.

‘He means it! That’s genuine! Who exactly have I gotten myself entangled with?’

The Former Bandit Leader felt a pang of melancholy. But he followed the rhythm.

“Yes! Our Real Arm will create legends! Krkrkrkr!”

Kale Heniatus revised his assessment of the Former Bandit Leader upward. This man was exactly what Real Arm needed. A satisfied gleam flickered in Kale’s eyes as he recognized someone so useful.

-Human! Mission complete! Found it! There’s a safe in the Secret Room!

I see.

-Opened the safe door too! I, Raon Mir, am magnificent! We have so much money!

Kale proceeded slowly as he listened to the location Raon Mir was relaying.
Of course, his path was direct.

The Action Commander retreated hesitantly as he saw them approaching, shouting.

“…Everyone get inside the building! We hold out until reinforcements arrive!”

He felt the power of the Sword Master and retreated into the building. The structure was sturdier than an iron door, so he judged that even a Sword Master couldn’t destroy it.

Of course, I could have destroyed the building, but I had no desire to do so.

“Hide and seek?”

Cold sweat broke out on the Former Bandit Leader’s brow at Kale’s words.

* * *

I walked leisurely through the corridors of the Branch Building located on the outskirts.

“Cough!”

Hmm.
I observed a Mosteyu Gang member collapse with a gasping sound and paused briefly. But I couldn’t linger on him for long.

A gang member burst from a room along the corridor I was walking through. The one who had attempted an ambush suddenly found himself face-to-face with Choi Han.
And Choi Han struck the back of the gang member’s neck, rendering him unconscious.

The unconscious organization member was thrown back into the hidden room by Choi Han, who had grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, and the door was shut firmly as if it had never been opened.

Bang!

‘…This is no joke.’

Whenever anyone jumped out in front to block the path, Choi Han would swiftly eliminate them. Moreover, following Kale’s instructions, he only knocked them unconscious or broke their arms—no one was killed.
That’s why Kale found himself troubled.

‘This is too easy.’

It couldn’t possibly be this easy.

Currently, I was on the top floor of the building.
But hardly any sounds of fighting reached my ears from below.
It couldn’t be helped. I had left everyone outside the building.

Currently, I was moving with only Choi Han. The moment the Action Commander fled into the building, I had the bandits pretend to invade for about five minutes before ordering them all to return to the Inn.
Why?

‘I needed to move quickly.’

I had to strike and retreat before reinforcements arrived.
So I needed to neutralize the enemy swiftly. Some might say I could neutralize them faster by bringing the bandits along, but I already had reliable little ones by my side.

Inside the quiet building.

Meow.
Meow.

Two cats burst through the white mist.
On and Hong.

On and Hong, whom Raon had brought, began slowly spreading sleep poison and paralysis poison from the first floor the moment the Action Commander rushed into the building. The Action Commander, unaware of this, made the worst possible decision by entering the building.

Creak. Creak.
I walked across the wooden corridor. Now only one door remained ahead. I had deliberately made On and Hong spread the sleep poison slowly.

I gave the strong and powerful time to escape across the rooftops.
And all of them had to fall unconscious by Choi Han’s hand.

Squeak.

I stopped walking. On and Hong quietly retreated backward, concealing themselves in the darkness.
As I looked at Choi Han, he lifted his foot.

Crash!

The door shattered into pieces.
With the obstruction gone, I moved forward again, and I could see a person.

“Th-this!”

The Branch Chief was trembling violently.
In his pupils, he could see Choi Han dressed entirely in black and me. Choi Han, enveloped in black aura, was staring at him with dark eyes.
And behind the two of us, white mist was seeping in.
He, who had fled to the highest floor first, saw his subordinates collapsing one after another below the stairs.

“Th-th-”

The Branch Chief watched as the white mist slowly turned red.
Red. It was ominous.

“Th-ah, you demonic bastards!”

Now it didn’t matter whether they were Dark or anything else—who they were was irrelevant.

Could he survive?

A Sword Master and poison. Fear welled up. The Branch Chief saw the man with dark brown eyes who had been under the Sword Master’s protection crouching before him.

“Demonic, you say.”

His expression was one of disappointment. Yet he continued as if he felt wronged instead.

“We’re people who love justice and peace.”

The Branch Chief was terrified of the man spouting nonsense. Why?
The more the man’s eyes narrowed darkly, the more the crimson mist enveloped the Branch Chief, creeping closer toward his nose and mouth.

But he couldn’t move.
A Sword Master’s black aura was pressed against the base of his neck.

“Ugh, ugh, ugh—”

The mist crept up to his throat.
When fear bloomed in the Branch Chief’s eyes, he could see where the man with dark brown eyes was looking. The Branch Chief’s pupils dilated.

Boom!

A small explosion erupted.

“H-how did you—!”

He was so shocked he cried out, momentarily forgetting even his fear.
Kale with dark brown eyes stood before one wall of the Branch Chief’s room, and suddenly mana gathered there, shattering a single point.
A small chamber was revealed.

A secret chamber.
It was a secret place shared among the Boss Mosteyu and the Branch Chiefs ranked up to fifth in the hierarchy.
A place where all manner of documents and black money were stored.

The enemy had targeted that location precisely.
The Branch Chief’s and Kale’s eyes met.

‘Mana gathering. Is he a Mage?’

The Branch Chief briefly entertained that thought as he recalled the mana gathering, but that wasn’t the problem. He glanced at the crimson mist and spoke urgently.

“How did you know about that place! Unless someone told you—”

The Action Commander’s voice cut off abruptly. He replayed his own words in his mind.

Unless someone told you.

That’s right—otherwise, it would be an unknowable space.
Only the Boss Mosteyu and the organization members ranked up to fifth knew of that place. Originally, those ranked up to seventh knew, but those two died in the previous battle against Dark, losing the branch building in the process.

“Could it be?”

Do we have a spy among us?
Among the Boss Mosteyu and those ranked up to fifth?

The Branch Chief, who was both fifth-ranked and the Action Commander, stared at Kale Heniatus, and I could see the corners of his eyes twitch.
Kale Heniatus looked at the Branch Chief and spoke the truth.

“That’s right. Someone taught me.”
-That’s it! I taught him! I am the great Raon Mir! I didn’t do it faster than usual because of three gold coins! I became greater and that’s why I’m faster!

Kale Heniatus heard Raon’s voice, but the Branch Chief did not. Suspicion about an internal spy seeped into the Branch Chief’s pupils and grew in volume.

Kale Heniatus had been waiting for this moment.

That’s why I didn’t kill anyone. The Mosteyu Gang would slowly crumble on its own. As a bonus, conflict would begin between the Mercenary Guild and Dark.

Kale Heniatus whispered to the Branch Chief, who would do important work for us in the future.

“Sleep peacefully.”
“Uuugh.”

A crimson mist began to engulf his face.
The Branch Chief’s body became paralyzed. Whether sleep poison was mixed in or not, he gradually lost consciousness. With the sight of Kale Heniatus entering the Secret Room as his last memory, his entire body was consumed by the crimson mist and he lost consciousness.

He had to surrender his mind while feeling rage toward the spy and those Real Arm bastards.
So he didn’t see it.

Click.

Kale Heniatus removed the safe door in the Secret Room.
Thanks to Raon having already destroyed it, the door fell away with a small sound.

“Hmm.”

Kale Heniatus superhuman­ally suppressed the corners of his mouth from rising.

-Human, gold! Jewels! And so many gold coins! These bastards have a fortune!

The amount of money was substantial.
Especially the gold bars—there were an absurd number of them.

-But human! Didn’t you say this was the weakest point? Does that mean we’ll take even more of the bastards’ money next time?

Along with Raon’s voice in Kale’s mind came another solemn voice.
The master of Destructive Fire spoke in a low murmur.

-Money splurging. Honorable money splurging.

Kale’s lips gradually curved upward.

-Happy money splurging.

The moment Destructive Fire’s voice reached him, Kale could no longer hold back.

“Hahahaha!”

It was delightful.
I laughed heartily for the first time in a while. Exhilarated. Indeed, acquiring free money was always a joy.

-Human! You look happy!
-Happy money splurging. Hehehehe.

Raon and Destructive Fire’s voices blended into beautiful harmony. I savored that harmony gladly as I spoke to Choi Han and the average nine-year-olds.

“Withdraw.”

We smashed the door, spread poison throughout the building.
In less than twenty-five minutes, one of the Mosteyu Gang’s branch buildings was reduced to ashes. Yet the reinforcements and Mercenary Guild members who arrived late saw no one seriously injured or dead.
Only the Branch Chief’s bloodshot eyes.

“Those damned demons! We have to catch them!”

And the Branch Chief met Boss Mosteyu and mentioned the ‘spy.’ A great upheaval was about to strike the Ribensi Underworld.

* * *

Separate from all that, the next day, Kale Heniatus stood before the Bread Shop with a bright smile, dressed in a crisp white shirt and beige trousers that were neat yet unassuming.

“Oh my, isn’t that the young man from before?”

Grandmother Baker, who ran the Bread Shop near Kale’s Inn, had somehow recalled their encounter from a few weeks prior. Though she had taken over an establishment with a rather troubled history, she held fond memories of that diligent young man who had promised to work hard at it. She greeted him warmly.

“Are you finally opening the Inn?”

Kale, who appeared to have been raised with some refinement yet dressed modestly, politely accepted the hand Grandmother Baker extended toward him.

“Yes, Grandmother. We’re opening this afternoon.”

Grandmother Baker could see behind Kale the decorations for the grand opening of the 【Inn of Hope and Adventure】, adorned quite beautifully for the occasion.
Kale stood before the entrance of his Inn.

Today, he had opened the first Inn on the Eastern Continent and the inaugural base of the Real Arm.

-The human smiles like Saint Jack! Now we make money with our Inn!

Hearing Raon’s voice, Kale began his performance as a sincere innkeeper.

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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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