Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 273

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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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Kale Heniatus stood atop the rooftop, gazing down at the scene below. Choi Han’s voice reached my ears.

“As expected, the Libren Mercenary Guild Building remains illuminated even as night falls.”

Tonight’s target location was bustling with activity.

The Libren Mercenary Guild Building was situated some distance from the Eastern Entertainment District—a location that perfectly reflected their circumstances.

Despite the encroaching darkness, the building still blazed with light, refusing to surrender to sleep. The reason was obvious.

“They’re in quite a predicament, after all. The Mercenary Guild members have work to do.”

The Libren Mercenary Guild had established a certain relationship with Mostyu, allowing them to extend their influence into the Underworld.

Two forces divided Ribensi: the Merchant Association and the Mercenary Guild. Of the two, the Mercenary Guild possessed superior military might but lacked financial resources.
To compensate, they harbored the Mostyu Organization, channeling illicit wealth from the Underworld through them.

But then Dark appeared, gradually devouring the Underworld. The Mercenary Guild seethed with rage, yet found it difficult to take action against Dark, who moved with deliberate caution and restraint.

Dark was the supreme power of the Eastern Continent’s Underworld, after all. So the Mercenary Guild remained cautious around them.
However, this time Dark had moved with brazen openness.
When that happened, the Mercenary Guild gained justification to act—to preserve both pride and profit.

They had certainly begun mobilizing, but in truth, only a single day had passed.

“The Mercenary Guild likely hasn’t yet decided how to respond to Dark.”

With a colossal monster like the Mercenary Guild inserting itself into the small world of Libren’s Underworld, they would be plagued with uncertainty about how far to reveal their hand.
Because of this, Dark likely remained unaware of the Mercenary Guild’s hesitant atmosphere.

“Moreover, the Mosteyu Gang is certainly preoccupied hunting for internal spies.”
“What would you have me do?”

Kale Heniatus didn’t meet Choi Han’s gaze as I tucked the map I’d been holding back into my garments.
It was a newly created map, born from the information the Former Bandit Leader had provided combined with what Ron had gathered.

He pointed downward with an empty hand, the map having vanished.
Below lay the entrance to the Mercenary Guild Building, where a considerable number of people still moved about.

Kale Heniatus looked at Choi Han and issued his command.

“Turn it into chaos.”

Choi Han drew his sword and bowed his head slightly in acknowledgment.

“I shall obey your command.”

As Choi Han raised his head, a glimmer of understanding flickered across his eyes. He had grasped the true meaning behind Kale Heniatus’s words.
Witnessing this, Kale Heniatus spread his arms slightly open.

Meow.
Meow.

As On and Hong nestled into his embrace, he spoke.

“Raon.”
-Understood, human!

Whoooosh-
Kale Heniatus’s form, along with On and Hong, gradually became transparent. The moment Choi Han could no longer see anyone before him, he leaped down from the rooftop.

Whoooosh-

The early spring wind brushed across his cheek.

“Huh?”
“What is that? That… that thing?”

The guards stationed at the Guild Building’s entrance gripped their weapons as they watched the dark figure suddenly plummet from above. Those who had been passing through the entrance with serious expressions froze, their attention snapping to the mysterious intruder.

The intruder—Choi Han—surveyed his surroundings and immediately raised his sword.

“Oh, an aura!”
“Those… those guys!”

A person involved who knew about Dark and Mostyu’s affairs shouted at ‘those bastards’. That was the moment.

When a ferocious black aura surged up, unlike the calm night, casting a dark shadow beneath the magical streetlamp near the Mercenary Guild building.

Kwaaaang!

The black aura slashed down at the wall surrounding the guild building.
The curved boomerang-like trajectory cleaved the wall in two.

“Gasp.”
“Damn it! Go get the Guild Master!”
“So he really was a Sword Master. So what those Mostyu bastards said was true!”

Shouts from mercenaries at different positions scattered in all directions.

Click. Click. Click.
The windows of the closed Mercenary Guild building began to open. Those who leaned their faces through the windows to identify the source of the loud noise saw a black-clad figure standing before the guild with his sword hanging limply at his side.

“Do you know where you are? Attacking the Mercenary Guild means making enemies of every mercenary on the Continent!”

A mercenary shouted loudly across the darkness.
In the direction of his gaze stood the black-clad figure—Choi Han.
In Choi Han’s mind, the voice of the Young Dragon reached him.

-Choi Han, we’re going in and coming back out! See you in a bit!

Now the invisible Kale Heniatus and the children would infiltrate inside the Mercenary Guild building.
The mercenary’s voice rang out once more.

“Drop your sword at once! Do you wish to witness the terror of mercenaries?”

Choi Han tightened his grip on the sword’s hilt. He spoke to the mercenaries watching him.

“I’m not sure I find that particularly terrifying.”

It was the truth.
In the world Choi Han had experienced, what was terrifying was not enemies, but the collapse of those around him.

Uuuuuung—

Black aura rippled as I rolled my feet lightly forward. My body moved toward the Mercenary Guild.
No killing. Buy time. Kale Heniatus’s orders were remarkably easy to follow.

Black aura cut through the night.

Crash! Crash!

The wall surrounding the guild vanished, and the garden’s earth overturned. A true monster had appeared before the Mercenary Guild that the Underworld of Ribensi feared.

Kale Heniatus, amid the chaos, thought about the sound coming from behind him.

‘Choi Han is doing this properly.’

He was always the type to handle things competently on his own.

-Human! Choi Han is going to destroy everything! Choi Han is really good at destroying buildings!

Kale Heniatus ignored Raon, who spouted words that could be either praise or insult, and moved swiftly.

“Dark actually launched an assault?”
“Insane! The Sword Master came alone? Why is the Sword Master here?”
“Damn it, am I going to die?”

The guild building was pure chaos.
A Sword Master had appeared and was causing mayhem. How many could keep their wits in such a situation?
Everyone moved frantically, each gripped by anger, fear, and other emotions.

The common thread was that everyone moved downward.

But Kale Heniatus moved upward as he watched them. His swift movements, blended with Raon’s flight magic and Wind’s Sound, became inconspicuous.

-Human! To the left!

And Raon became his navigator.

Kale Heniatus reached a floor in quick time, and there he saw an ornate door.

-Human! The strongest person in the Mercenary Guild is here!

This must be the Guild Master’s office.
Kale Heniatus suppressed the humming that threatened to escape and approached the ornate door.

Crash!

At that moment, the door burst open.

‘Oh, how startling.’

As Kale Heniatus froze in surprise, several figures came pouring out from the ornate doorway.

-Ah! The strongest human and the next strongest humans!

The corners of Kale Heniatus’s mouth lifted.
These would be the Mercenary Guild Master and his subordinates. I pressed myself into the shadows, and the Guild Master and his men naturally failed to notice me, rendered transparent by the Dragon’s power, as they headed downstairs.

“…Boss Mosteyu’s words were true.”
“Guild Master, he’s a Sword Master. What do we do?”
“We can’t avoid it. It’s a matter of prestige. Even if we suffer some losses, we have to engage. Casualties are unavoidable.”

I heard the conversation between the Guild Master and his subordinates as they passed by me.

“Guild Master, isn’t this strange? Would Dark really kill mercenaries openly without losing their minds?”
“That’s right. Guild Master, according to Mosteyu, he said their clothes were crude too. Isn’t it not Dark?”
“We’ll know when we see them.”

Then the building shook.

Boom—

The building trembled violently from the ground up.

“Gasp!”
“Hurry, hurry down!”

The Guild Master and his subordinates rushed downward. As they disappeared, I stood alone in the empty corridor with a grave expression.

‘Just how much chaos is Choi Han causing?’

Why is the building shaking?
Kale Heniatus was puzzled, but Raon’s voice reached him, and he had to move.

-Human! There seems to be a magical safe!

Hmm.
Indeed, being a Mercenary Guild Master and all, it’s not just an ordinary safe—it’s a magical one.

-Human! If it’s a magical safe, the great Raon Mir can open it without just smashing it!

As expected, dragons were magnificent.
Kale Heniatus set On and Hong down on the floor and entered the Guild Master’s office with leisurely steps. He soon stood before the bookshelf that Raon had indicated.

‘Of course they’d hide it in a place like this.’

Surely if I push this bookshelf, there would be a safe where the wall should be. Once I crack that open, I’m done. Kale Heniatus pushed the bookshelf.

It wouldn’t budge.

-Tsk, you’re weak. Move aside.
Meow.
Meooow.

Kale Heniatus heard a voice that sounded like an average nine-year-old, but he didn’t step aside and pushed with both hands with all his might. Only then did the bookshelf slide.

-…Yes, weak human. I understand.

Kale Heniatus ignored Raon’s words. He watched the bookshelf slowly slide and waited for the safe that would soon appear.
And he was taken aback.

“Huh?”

A door appeared.
Not a safe, but a door. Was the safe inside this?
Just as he was about to assume that—

-Human, move! I’ll break the locking magic! But the safe is huge! These mercenaries are loaded!

Yes.
Kale Heniatus’s lips curled higher and higher. The moment a full smile bloomed across his face, Raon Mir opened the magical vault’s door.

Creeeeak—

The heavy iron door swung open. A space the size of a small inn room materialized before us.
It gleamed brilliantly. Gold, jewels, and currency filled the room-sized vault to bursting.

—…Oh… what a glorious sight. In all my life, *sob*, no, I never thought I’d see this even in death! *sniff*, oh, how beautiful!

Destructive Fire’s trembling voice reached my ears. Kale Heniatus stepped slowly into that golden chamber. Then he pulled out a burlap sack.

“Let’s fill it.”

Meow meow meow.
Meow meow.
—I’m excited! No, understood, human!

Though I couldn’t see Kale Heniatus, I could hear from his movements alone that the average nine-year-olds were absolutely thrilled. He suppressed the corners of his mouth and casually began shoving gold bars into the potato sack.

‘How delightful.’

The stress from the recent war was washing away in waves of joy.
Then, I felt a hand tapping against my leg. With everyone cloaked in invisibility, I could hear On’s voice.

“This seems important.”

On held out a small glass box containing papers.
Though I couldn’t see On, when the glass box shifted into my view, I picked it up. After examining it for a long while, I closed my eyes, then opened them again.

Then I extended a single gold bar toward where On stood. Silence fell.

“It’s yours.”

A sharp intake of breath sounded.

“I don’t understand why you’re doing this! I don’t get it this time either!”
“Something’s off! Older sister, I don’t think you should take that!”
“Human, are you okay? Don’t lose your mind from too much happiness! Haven’t you seen what happened to Clophe when he went mad? He becomes strange when he loses it!”

The average nine-year-olds were startled.
But Kale Heniatus burst into laughter as he cradled the glass box in his arms.

“Hahahaha!”

His hearty laughter echoed through the vault.
Beyond the glass box lay documents.
Papers drafted approximately five years prior, their title simple and direct.

【Agreement on Eastern Libensi Industries】

And the organizations that had participated in signing.

【Merchant Association, Mercenary Guild, Mostyu】

Kale Heniatus’s eyes gleamed with intensity.

‘These bastards have been scheming behind the scenes all along.’

What possible agreement could merchants and the Mercenary Guild have regarding Underworld operations?
And with gangsters like Mostyu at that?
It meant they had conspired together and scraped together every last dirty coin.

‘Whether here or back home, there are always a few rotten ones in every guild.’

Corruption looked the same in Korea and here alike. This was why the majority of decent guilds suffered. And one of Kim Rok-soo’s duties was to quietly eliminate guilds with tainted backing. It reduced chaos that way.

‘I can handle this quietly.’

Kale Heniatus envisioned a future beyond the Market Master election two months away. This would be useful then.

The vault had emptied before long.
Raon, startled by the gold bars Kale Heniatus offered, had swiftly placed them in a pouch using magic, fearing he might do it again.
Kale Heniatus picked up the gold bars the average nine-year-olds were deliberately ignoring. He placed them in another small subspace pocket and spoke.

“I’ll leave this here. Let me know if you need anything. I’ll give it to you.”
“We don’t need it!”
“I’m thinking the same as my sister!”
“I didn’t even taste it!”

Even when given plenty, there’s always a fuss.
Kale Heniatus couldn’t understand the average nine-year-old’s logic. So, gazing around the empty vault, he spoke to Raon.

“Are there people on the floors above and below?”
“No! They all went down!”
“Is that so?”

Kale Heniatus, reassured, pointed into the vault and spoke with casual indifference.

“Blow up only this place.”

The prelude to true chaos was about to begin.

* * *

“Aaaahhh!”

A mercenary collapsed to the ground, clutching his leg. The Guild Master glanced at him and raised his voice.

“Everyone, gather together! Don’t scatter! For now, we stop any further advance!”

The mercenaries huddled tightly under the Guild Master’s command, their blades all directed at the black-clad figure bearing the crimson star insignia.
Mercenaries lay strewn about in various places, bleeding or unconscious. In truth, had anyone approached closely to examine them, they would have found the injuries were not severe—but those in chaos had no capacity for such inspection.

Rather, Choi Han maintained an unrelenting, fluid motion throughout, making the mercenaries feel as though they faced a terrifying madman.

“Do you truly wish to make an enemy of the Mercenary Guild?”

The Guild Master’s eyes burned with fury.
As a high-level Expert, he could inflict no harm upon a Sword Master. The other mercenaries fared even worse.
To such opponents, the black-clad figure—the man in the crude Dark uniform—spoke calmly.

“Weak.”

Grind.
The Guild Master gnashed his teeth. A situation where he could neither attack nor flee. Faced with an enemy who provoked his pride, the Guild Master made no effort to hide his rage.

“How dare you—”

What did you say?
I was about to speak those words.
But I couldn’t.

KABOOM!

A tremendous explosion erupted from behind.
The Guild Master spun around.

“…Huh—”

His office had exploded. Brilliant flames soared upward, painting the night sky in a terrible beauty. Yet to someone, it was nothing but catastrophe.
His office—the one containing the safe—had been obliterated.

And from within those infernal flames, a figure descended with unhurried grace.

Identical black garments and a mask, with a crimson star emblazoned across the chest. This person took position beside the Sword Master. The Guild Master recalled Mostyu’s report.

‘The Sword Master has a master he serves. That person was the true center. Whether they belong to Dark or not remains unclear, but they are presumed to be a high-ranking Mage.’

The Guild Master’s mouth fell open.

“…You bastards! Seize them! I said seize them! Seize them!”

The two masked figures began fleeing with remarkable speed.

His office. The location of the safe.
The Guild Master recalled the documents within. They were agreements he had forged five years ago when he assumed the position of Guild Master. Thanks to them, he had accumulated immense wealth, but it was a secret no one must ever discover.

Those bastards had emerged from that very place.

“You must capture them! On the pride of the Mercenary Guild, capture them!”

Roooaarrr!
The mercenaries roared and began pursuing the two fleeing masked figures.
A midnight chase had begun.

“Where are we heading?”

Choi Han adjusted his pace while watching the Guild Master and mercenaries with bloodshot eyes pursuing him.
The two of them ran swiftly, but they maintained a speed that others could keep up with.

In other words, they were deliberately leading the mercenaries on a chase.

This was Kale’s command.
Choi Han looked at Kale, and Kale recalled the path he’d seen on the map earlier before speaking.

“Libren Cancer Base.”

When Choi Han hesitated at the thought that suddenly came to mind, Kale became like the Pied Piper, leading the mercenaries toward a single destination.

The only Dark branch known only to those connected with the Underworld.
Kale rushed toward that place.

Since the Mercenary Guild was located at the entrance to the Underworld, the distance to the Libren branch wasn’t far.

The Dark branch was an ordinary five-story building.
Kale saw many people bursting out of the building with its lights shining brightly like the Mercenary Guild, and he ran toward them with even greater urgency.

“What? Why are mercenaries attacking us?!”
“Who are those bastards?!”

Those who emerged from the Dark building had to face two figures rushing toward them and the angry mercenaries following behind.
The Cancer Branch Master overseeing the Libren branch twisted his face upon seeing them.

“Could they be the ones who attacked Mostyu yesterday?!”

There was no way the Cancer Branch Master wouldn’t know about what happened yesterday.
Though he didn’t know the details, he roughly understood that ‘someone had infiltrated the Mostyu branch, and because of that, mercenaries mobilized.’ He knew this because he’d detected the movement of mercenaries rushing toward the Mostyu branch.
So wondering what was happening, he’d been holding his breath since yesterday, watching the Mercenary Guild’s movements and pondering the situation ahead.

The Cancer Branch Master fell into confusion.

“But why are they wearing clothes that mimic ours?!”

Yet the opponents fleeing from the mercenaries wore clothing similar to his own.
And they were adorned with red stars.

The Mostyu Organization kept information under wraps until they found the spy.
The Mercenary Guild, its pride wounded, moved in silence.
As a result, the Cancer Branch Master had access to precious little information.

The Cancer Branch Master’s eyes met those of the dark-eyed man rushing toward him. The man in shabby clothes spread both arms wide at the sight of the Branch Master.

“Oh! You came to greet me! Thank you!”

What? Thank you?
The Cancer Branch Master was bewildered.

Aaaaaaaah!

He could hear the mercenaries’ anguished cries. Along with that, he could also hear the dark-eyed man’s hearty laughter.

“Hahahaha! So glad to see you, truly delighted!”

He meant it sincerely.
Kale Heniatus, who was running with mercenaries in tow, was genuinely pleased to see the Cancer Branch Master.
Backstabbing was always such a joy.

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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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