Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 281

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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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Chapter 60. What the Spring Wind Carried

Screech.
With the sound of a chair scraping backward, Kale rose from his seat. As he left, he turned to Tunka with a question.

“When do we depart?”

Maple Castle—the battlefield where the decisive confrontation would unfold.

“Tomorrow. After the King’s address.”

The Empire had declared war first.
Then, for the Kingdom’s honor—or rather, for the morale of the people and soldiers—the King had to respond with his own address.
Only then would the people’s anxiety and the soldiers’ fear diminish.

Kale nodded and left the room.

“I’ll see you at the speech venue tomorrow.”

Tomorrow, everyone would march toward war.

* * *

The spring wind had arrived.

-Human, human! I can see soldiers and warriors standing far ahead! It looks like we’re really going to fight now!

Kale inhaled the scent of spring as he made his way toward where countless Wipper forces were assembled.

“Priest, I hope I’m not hastening my pace too much?”
“Not at all. It’s fine.”

Kale answered gently, and at his response, the Thousand-Man Commander smiled faintly. The commander observed Kale and the Priest behind him, whose form was concealed by a white robe, his fists clenching tightly.

The Thousand-Man Commander had been assigned to guide Kale, who had become a Priest.
He had seen Kale before, and the commander carefully brought up that previous encounter.

“I had the honor of seeing you during the battle at Maple Castle last time. It is a privilege to meet you again, Priest.”

The Thousand-Man Commander had not forgotten the priests who visited Maple Castle. Those who devoted themselves to healing with all their heart and soul. Their dedicated appearance, as if truly called by the divine, remained vividly etched in his mind.

The one who appeared to be the leader of those priests had returned to the Wipper Kingdom.

‘You said you know General Tunka?’

He said he had come at General Tunka’s request. And he mentioned that other priests would arrive soon.

“Thank you so much, Priest.”

The Thousand-Man Commander was genuinely grateful to the priest who had found the Wipper Kingdom to fight against the Empire.

“Not at all. I am simply where I ought to be.”

Hmm!
At the humble priest’s words, the Thousand-Man Commander swallowed an exclamation of admiration.
Meanwhile, Kale found it burdensome.

‘Why is he staring at me with such gleaming eyes?’

The Thousand-Man Commander’s gaze, filled with respect, made my skin crawl.
I wanted to hurry to where the soldiers were, listen to the King’s speech, and head to Maple Castle. But as the Thousand-Man Commander who had to escort two priests, I could neither rush nor show any urgency, so I guided the two priests with apparent leisure.

Even so, I carefully opened my mouth.

“Priest.”

At the slightly earnest tone, I flinched. That was when it happened.
As I, Choi Han concealed in robes, and the Thousand-Man Commander turned the corner toward the vast training ground ahead.

-Human! I sense Tunka’s presence behind the corner! He’s walking toward us with such joy!

Ugh, how annoying.
I felt irritated at the news that Tunka was approaching me with such delight.
However, I skillfully donned and maintained my priestly smile. Of course, the Thousand-Man Commander, unable to sense Tunka’s presence, spoke to me cautiously.

“I appreciate your help again this time.”
-Human, Tunka is right behind the corner! Is he trying to surprise me? I want Tunka to be surprised! I think I’ll faint when I see Tunka! I want to try it!

Oh, my head.
Kale nearly let out a sigh. But that sigh could not escape.
It was because of the Thousand-Man Commander’s cautious voice.

“I know it must be burdensome for me to speak of such things.”

Kale looked toward the Thousand-Man Commander’s face.

There were no Priests coming to the Wipper Kingdom on the Western Continent. Since potions were expensive, the Wipper Kingdom Army’s greatest concern was “healing.”

Yet the Thousand-Man Commander felt grateful for these Priests who had arrived carrying potions despite lacking healing power.

He, who stood at a position commanding roughly a thousand soldiers, felt the weight of this war pressing heavily upon him.
So after receiving orders yesterday to attend to these two Priests, he had spent the entire night deliberating before carefully uttering words he had wrestled with.
His voice carried the anxiety of wondering whether someone of his station had any right to speak such things.

“Priest, most of these men once held farming tools, became soldiers because making a living was difficult, and though they’ve experienced war several times, they remain inexperienced and lacking in many ways.”

The Thousand-Man Commander recalled the soldiers under his command.
Most had begun in the Non-Mage Alliance—they were either tribal warriors who had been scorned or commoners oppressed by mages.

“Most of them must return home to farm after the war ends, so they need their limbs intact. Please, I beg you earnestly.”

For roughly two years, the Wipper Kingdom had endured constant war.
They had always charged at enemies and achieved victory, but this time the enemies were the ones charging.
And now it was time for the war to end.

The Thousand-Man Commander and his soldiers were, knowingly or unknowingly, contemplating and worrying about peace after the war.
And they longed for it.

—…Human, General Tunka has stopped at the corner and isn’t moving.

Kale swallowed his sigh. He looked toward the Thousand-Man Commander. The desperate gleam in those eyes made Kale uncomfortable. He had received such looks many times from Kim Rok-soo as well.

“Thousand-Man Commander.”

When Kale called to him in a low voice, the Thousand-Man Commander quickly waved his hand and spoke.

“It was just… just a story about their circumstances. So please disregard what I said, Priest! I’m worried I’ve burdened you with unnecessary words! Of course, this wasn’t an order from above. I simply spoke out of baseless concern—”
“It will be fine.”

The Thousand-Man Commander stopped his rambling at the Priest’s words. The Priest’s gentle smile filled his vision.

“I hear the grain harvested in the Wipper Kingdom is of exceptional quality. I would love to see fields overflowing with ripe crops.”
“…Priest.”

The Thousand-Man Commander felt nothing but gratitude toward the Priest before him. However, Kale found the moved expression burdensome and averted his gaze, looking ahead as he spoke.

“Please guide us.”
“Yes, yes!”

The Thousand-Man Commander stepped forward with vigor.
Kale swallowed a sigh and followed behind, while Choi Han glanced back around the corner before pressing down his robe’s hood and moving forward.

-Human, Tunka is frozen!

As expected, Kale let Raon’s words pass through his ears.

* * *

Soon Kale arrived at a place where countless soldiers and warriors stood in formation.

The scent of spring carried on the wind was absent here.
Only the acrid smell of dust-laden air permeated the space.

And that was exactly as it should be.

The Thousand-Man Commander who had guided Kale moved toward his unit, while Kale stood beside Choi Han among the staff officers, including Herrol.
Herrol stepped closer to Kale and opened his mouth.

“The numbers are smaller than expected, aren’t they?”
“The rest must be at Maple Castle.”

Herrol smoothly responded to the Priest Kale’s casual tone.

“That is correct. More than half were relocated to Maple Castle when the Empire declared war. The remaining forces are scheduled to move today.”

Kale lowered his voice so that others couldn’t hear.

“Remarkable that the soldiers accepted the teleportation magic scrolls.”

With the Empire’s invasion imminent, we needed to move as quickly as possible, and nothing surpassed teleportation magic for that purpose.
When Herrol Codian saw Kale gesture toward a soldier and direct his gaze at him, he averted his eyes and answered.

“…The people of Wipper Kingdom despise and hate magic. But they fear death more.”

The soldiers didn’t want to die.
They were the very ones who had witnessed the majesty of the inferno pillars at Maple Castle. Thus, they understood the dangers of alchemy and magic better than anyone.

So with the reasoning that as long as they weren’t using mages themselves, they accepted the use of magic scrolls, including teleportation magic circle scrolls.

A contradiction.
Herrol Codian himself was a contradiction, and so were the soldiers. Knowing this, both the leadership and the soldiers tried to keep quiet about the magic scroll usage and prevent word from spreading beyond the Royal Palace.

“You made the right call.”

And the foreign commander praised that very contradiction.

“Survival comes first, after all.”

At Commander Kale’s words, spoken as though they were absolute truth, Herrol Codian swallowed the laughter threatening to escape. Yes, one could only attempt anything if they survived first.

Herrol Codian had been contemplating something lately.

Did I want to create a world without magic?
Or did I want to create a world without forces that oppress through magic?

The two were different.
If I chose the latter, I could accept magic.
But if I chose the former, Wipper Kingdom was currently walking a path of contradiction.

“Chief Advisor, the Grand General has arrived.”

At that moment, Herrol Codian lifted his head at the Staff Officer’s voice.

Tunka appeared alone, shuffling forward.
Without a word, he took his place at the very front of the soldiers and warriors.

“The King will arrive soon.”

Kale murmured softly to himself, his gaze fixed on the platform positioned before Tunka.

Once the King bolstered the soldiers’ morale, Tunka would cry out the order to advance. I imagined the sight of tens of thousands of people roaring in unison.
It was quite a magnificent picture.

So I waited for the King.

‘…Hmm?’

But something felt off.
Everyone was here, yet the King had not arrived.

The Royal Guard escorting the King was nowhere to be seen either.

One minute. Two minutes.
Ten minutes had passed.

The appointed time was slipping away.

No one spoke.
Yet the eyes of the soldiers standing at attention and the commanders darted anxiously around their surroundings.
In particular, the expressions of the staff officers gathered on one flank, unlike the soldiers arrayed in formation, were grim.

“Chief Advisor!”

One of the staff officers called out to Herrol Codian, his expression filled with confusion.
Meanwhile, Herrol Codian remained unmoved, only his eyes flashing with a fierce light. At that wrathful gaze, the staff officer fell silent.

Then it happened.

“Ahem.”

A knight entered the Training Ground.
It was the Vice-Captain of the Royal Guard.

He approached the staff officers standing near the entrance the moment he arrived.

“What is the matter?”

The Vice-Captain hesitated at Herrol’s cold question directed at me, then unfolded a parchment as he spoke. His voice was quite loud.

“His Majesty the King is indisposed and unable to deliver the address.”

A sigh.
I heard Choi Han exhale behind my back.
It wasn’t just Choi Han.
The staff officers’ eyes darkened.

The same man who came to the War Room yesterday and shouted suddenly fell ill? Too ill to deliver a speech?

‘Preposterous.’

The Chief Advisor’s gaze grew increasingly fierce.
He couldn’t possibly be ill. Wasn’t he the type who treasured his own body above all else, deeming it most precious?

Far from being ill, he was perfectly fine—he was simply avoiding the speech.

Was this because of what Herrol and General Tunka did yesterday?

‘No, that’s not it.’

The King treasured his own dignity as much as he treasured his own body.
Would such a king refuse to appear here simply because he was frightened by General Tunka’s threats yesterday? That made no sense.

‘He fears the Empire.’

If the King delivered a speech here, it would be tantamount to accepting and declaring total war against the Empire.
But if he avoided the speech here—if no official words came from his mouth—even if Wipper Kingdom fell and the Empire stormed the Royal Palace, the King would have an excuse.

The King was evading this situation to create a pretext for the Empire, just as he had during the conflict between the Mage Alliance and the Non-Mage Alliance.

That was why Herrol’s anger surged.

“…Vice-Captain, do you understand the significance of this situation?”

I could sense the soldiers’ confusion.

They marched to fight.
To protect the kingdom.
To defend this land.

Yet the supposed master of the kingdom was so ill that he couldn’t even send off those willing to risk their lives in battle, let alone offer them his presence.
He wouldn’t even offer them encouragement.

What did that convey?
How would it appear to the soldiers, to the people?

Were the soldiers fools?
Anyone could see that the King was afraid.

When the leader loses his nerve, even the strongest warriors under his command will have their morale shattered.
Both the King and the Vice-Captain standing before me understood this.

Herrol Codian’s eyes grew savage, just as they did when he targeted the Magic Tower.
Being the madman he naturally was, Herrol made no effort to conceal his nature as he glared at the Vice-Captain, who avoided his gaze and continued reading from the documents before him.

“Ahem, thus he cannot deliver a speech. I am instructed to convey his encouragement.”

Encouragement?
Encouragement instead of a declaration of victory?
Herrol was exasperated.

‘That bastard deserves to be beaten to death.’

Worse than the Tower Master.
Herrol’s madness, his cruelty, began to turn toward the King. His eyes burned with the desire to kill him on the spot.

Yet Herrol could not move freely at this moment.

The soldiers’ murmurs began to rise one after another.
Anxious voices could be heard.

‘The soldiers are wavering!’

The momentum was breaking.
Herrol Codian’s face twisted. If I had known it would come to this, I should have just dragged everyone straight to Maple Castle!

That was when it happened.

Boom—

A sound that shook the earth reverberated across the field. Herrol Codian saw Priest Kale pointing toward the platform.
Kale was smiling.

Herrol Codian turned his head.

The figure who had stomped the ground to create that tremendous vibration was now heading toward the platform.

Tunka.
He stood upon the platform.
And immediately, he bellowed.

“I am ignorant.”

Oh, for heaven’s sake.
Kale let out a soft laugh and wiped his eyes with his hand.
Even as the soldiers murmured amongst themselves, his distinctive booming voice drowned out their whispers entirely.

“I do not know refined words, and my mind does not work well. But there is one thing I know.”

The soldiers and warriors looked up at Tunka.

“Why did you follow me?”

Most of the warriors were Tribal Warriors, once scorned as savages.
Most of the soldiers were ordinary Kingdom citizens who had been engaged in their livelihoods.

During the civil war with the Mage Alliance, they had followed Tunka in a frenzy of fervor.

“Why did you follow me, wielding farming tools, gripping stones with your bare hands?”

Tunka’s question filled the Training Ground.
Unlike the restrained yet charismatic speeches delivered by seasoned rulers, his tone was crude and his posture ungainly.
Moreover, his eyes gleamed with a murderous intensity that seemed ready to devour his opponent.

Tunka was furious.

“Why did we fight!”

Why had they charged madly at the Mages, at the strong?

The expressions of the kingdom’s people, who two years ago knew nothing of battle, had transformed—just as the Tribal Warriors who once lived oppressed in the shadows had changed.

The Staff Officers watched Tunka intently.
Herrol found himself walking toward Kale without thinking. In response, Kale whispered to him in a low voice.

“This is an opportunity. Tunka doesn’t realize it, but this is what he’s doing.”

A hushed yet warm voice that reached only Herrol’s ears.

“This is the chance. For the Tribal Warriors and the kingdom’s people to truly unite for one another.”

A forgotten objective began to resurface in the minds of those who had been consumed by madness and the thirst for blood.

A different light began to settle in Herrol’s eyes, which had blazed with rage and frenzy.
Tunka and Herrol.
The pillars of the Non-Mage Alliance, now the pillars of the Wipper Kingdom itself.

Then Tunka’s voice reached Herrol’s ears.

“I will move forward once more!”

The tyrant cried out with the same fervor that had once drawn the maddened masses to him.
The Soldiers and warriors remembered.

Their commander, who had always looked only ahead as they fought.

“Your will does not matter.”

Yes, captivated by that image, they had followed him even through their wounds.

“Follow me.”

The eyes of the soldiers and warriors widened in an instant.
The leader who had been moving forward alone, eyes fixed ahead, had spoken.

“Chase after me.”

He was telling them to follow.
These were the words of a leader who had always seized victory.

A slowly intensifying heat began to flow through the soldiers—a fervor that resembled madness yet carried something distinctly different.

Tunka’s eyes were blazing with fury so intense they seemed ready to invert.
He was enraged at the Empire, at the King.
He wanted to destroy everything.

Yet Tunka had undeniably changed from before.
His gaze turned toward one figure. Kale came into view—his face relaxed in an easy smile. Seeing that expression, Tunka’s own lips curved into a smile that would have sent chills down an enemy’s spine, and he spoke once more.

“Don’t worry about what’s behind.”

Look only ahead. Don’t worry about what’s behind.
Tunka remained as he was, yet he had transformed.

And to this transformed leader, his subordinates—those who resembled him—sent their answer.

Boom. Boom. Boom.
Roooaaarrr—

The thunderous sound of warriors’ feet pounding the earth as they prepared to charge back into battle, mingled with the soldiers’ fervent roars, shook the very air around them.
To outsiders, it appeared to be a gathering consumed by madness.

-Human! Are you bringing the Bear Tribe and the Dwarves now? To Maple Castle?

Kale nodded.
This collective force—the very madness that had terrified people from other nations across the Western Continent—was now unified by a different emotion. There was nothing left but to sweep everything away.

‘No, that’s not quite right.’

Kale corrected his thoughts.

All that remained was to burn everything away.

It was then.

-Are you trying to create a sea of fire?

Destructive Fire, which had been silent for a while after being shocked by the hundred billion, suddenly burst forth.

-My heart is pounding. What do I do.

…This madman.
Kale ignored Destructive Fire.

—————
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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