Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 283

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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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Boom!
The Alchemists conjured another earthen pillar alongside the Mage.
Kale Heniatus didn’t need to witness it to envision the process unfolding before his eyes.

When Sir Rex and his companions had employed magical explosives to demolish the pillars of the Imperial Palace, the Alchemists and Mages had appeared to shore up the collapsing roof.
As they poured an incomprehensible liquid upon the earth, the soil responded to the Alchemists’ and Mages’ mana, surging skyward. Then the Alchemist wound a mysterious black cord around the pillar.

As the black cord seeped into the earthen pillar, its color transformed, and a solid black pillar materialized.

Kale Heniatus spoke, his gaze fixed upon the Dwarf.

“Alchemists are always birthing something new, aren’t they?”

Boom!
The black pillar expanded progressively, eventually transforming into a tower.
The obsidian tower multiplied in number, eventually reaching a total of seven.

Soon, atop those pillars, the Mages and Alchemists would ascend to unleash their ranged assault.

Whooooosh—
Between the blasts of the war horn, Kale Heniatus gazed upon the Dwarf Tribe leader.

Alchemy.
The alchemy of this realm resembled that of Earth.
The goal was to forge gold.

Yet the methods differed.
The Alchemists of the Western Continent sought to extract the essence of nature to create gold. Thus, they inevitably gravitated toward mana—the purest manifestation of nature’s essence.

‘But according to the Dragon Hybrid’s account, the alchemy pursued by the White Star was not aimed at ‘gold’ at all.’

The voice of the Ancient Dragon Erhafen echoed through my mind.

‘Do you know why they researched dead mana?’

Dead mana bombs—entities utterly divorced from alchemy’s pursuit of gold. Yet the White Star’s Alchemy Tower had collaborated with the Empire, dedicating over two decades to researching dead mana bombs.

‘I thought their intention was simply to weaponize dead mana, but hearing the Dragon Hybrid’s words, I realized that wasn’t it.’

I had never seen the ancient dragon’s face so grave before.
The ancient dragon Erhafen spoke with an expression of both bewilderment and dread.

‘What the Alchemy Tower desires is not gold, but ‘mana’ itself.’

My expression hardened at those words.
The reason they researched dead mana.

‘They want to create mana.’

Water, fire, wind, earth, wood—mana existed like the fundamental attributes of nature itself.
One of the forces that formed the foundation of the world.
And an organization attempting to create it.

‘Upon hearing the Dragon Hybrid’s words, I understood that the Alchemy Tower was a higher organization than Dark.’

I fully grasped it now.
I couldn’t fathom what that madman White Star ultimately desired. But he had committed every conceivable atrocity, and among them was the creation of mana.

If that madman—the one who even dabbled with chimeras—actually created mana, what would become of the world?

‘Complete chaos.’

There had never been confusion of such magnitude.
So I made my resolve once more.

I would obliterate the Alchemy Tower.

This moment was the first step toward that annihilation.
I met the gaze of Kanel, the Tribal Chief of the Flame Dwarves, and opened my mouth with considerable solemnity. I could see the wavering light in the chief’s eyes.

Yes, I understood.
War would be terrifying.
Understanding that, I intended to become a composed commander and speak with dignity.

But Tribal Chief Kanel’s reaction was strange.

“…Tribal Chief, where are you looking right now?”

Kanel’s gaze had slipped past me, fixing instead on something behind my back. But someone else rushed toward me with urgency.
It was Choi Han.

“Sir Kale!”

He called out my name in alarm. Simultaneously, Tribal Chief Kanel’s muttering reached my ears. The Tribal Chief was afraid.

“The king— the king of beasts—”

What?
I spun around urgently. Along with the sight of the battlefield, I heard Choi Han’s voice.

“It’s the Lion Tribe we saw back then!”

Several figures stood atop the black tower created by the Alchemist, having ascended via flight magic.
Two of their faces were familiar.

“Sir Kale, they are the ones we encountered in the North!”

The Lion Tribe—those arrogant warriors who had confronted my group at Sir Clophe Seka’s mansion when we came to steal the crown, only to kneel before Choi Han’s blade in the end.

Those Lion Tribe members now appeared from the Imperial Army’s encampment in the form of ordinary humans without any berserk transformation.

Without Choi Han, me, and the Dwarf, no one would have recognized them.

“C-Commander!”

Tribal Chief Kanel’s expression grew desperate.

The beastfolk excelled at group warfare and possessed superior command abilities.
Unlike the Tiger Tribe, scattered across mountains, they formed groups of considerable size and displayed their power through unity.

“Commander, those bastards are even worse than the Bear Tribe. This generation of Lion Tribe has two king candidates—they’re that strong!”

Dwarf Tribal Chief Kanel’s eyes trembled completely, unable to find their bearings.

If the Bear Tribe were those who tormented the Flame Dwarves in Dark daily, then the Lion Tribe treated the Dwarves as if they didn’t exist at all.
They disregarded them as though they were nonexistent, unworthy of even a glance, and carried themselves as if they were the supreme race.

And it was true.
If the Whale Tribe ruled the seas, then the Lion Tribe ruled the land.
Had it not been for their individual temperaments, the Tiger Tribe might have been considered, but until now, the prevailing assessment was that the Lion Tribe, naturally forming cohesive groups, held the advantage in combat.

‘I never thought the Lion Tribe, who didn’t appear in the Indomitable Alliance War, would show up from the Empire!’

As the Dwarf saw not only the Empire’s might but also the Lion Tribe, his fear surged dramatically.
Why?

‘Roun, that Sword Master, and even the Commander!’

They couldn’t step forward!
A war without those who had been the architects of victory.
It was like charging forward with only a torso, stripped of limbs.

“…Commander.”

The Dwarf’s expression grew resolute.
He had already cast his lot with Kale Heniatus. He had chosen this place to survive. Then he absolutely had to win this war.

“We must conduct a defensive siege. I will create siege equipment—catapults, whatever is needed—together with the Dwarves currently waiting inside the castle.”

Rosalind had brought several Dwarves, Mages, and Merry to the Spire Tower, but there were still considerable numbers of Dwarves who had followed the Tribal Chief inside Maple Castle.
By now, they would be assembling the ‘wings’—not preparing for a defensive siege.

The Tribal Chief, unaware of the true might that the Lion Tribe and the Empire had genuinely prepared, bit his lip hard as he thought of the Dwarves who would be sweating profusely to make the ‘wings’ succeed this time.

But in the current situation, the wings were useless.

“Commander, controlling Alchemy alone won’t help now! The Lion Tribe, the Mages, the magically-enhanced Knights, tens of thousands of soldiers—they’ll come pouring in!”

The Dwarf was terrified. How could they possibly win against such overwhelming numbers with the Wipper Kingdom—which didn’t even have ten thousand warriors, let alone a hundred thousand, and whose fighting force was pathetically thin?

The only method was to seal the city gates shut and endure.

Rosalind agreed with that assessment.
Beyond the current military forces of the Wipper Kingdom, the only person who could openly fight was practically Rosalind herself. Thus, she opened her mouth to convey her thoughts.

“That’s right. Your Highness, for now we must proceed safely.”

She continued, looking toward General Tunka. Her mind conjured images of General Tunka and the tribal warriors under his command.
Their armor and weapons were pitiful compared to the Knights’, and they hadn’t even received magical enhancement—they were practically fighting bare-handed.

“As General Tunka and Chief Advisor Herrol well know, we must preserve our warriors.”

First, we defend the position and exhaust the enemy’s forces. When signs of a counterattack emerge, we deploy the warriors and soldiers to fight.
We must save the strength of the Dwarves and Merry for that moment.

“That way, the disparity in troop numbers will narrow. With our hands tied in this current situation, the only way to effectively overcome the Empire’s overwhelming forces is to do exactly that.”

Rosalind’s assessment was cold and calculated.
Her gaze fixed upon Kale Heniatus with equal coldness, while the Dwarf Tribal Chief stared at him with a mixture of fear and grim determination.

That was when it happened.

“Heh.”

A laugh escaped from one person’s lips.
Rosalind’s eyes widened.

“…General?”

General Tunka was laughing like a madman, like someone utterly carefree.
Rosalind and Tribal Chief Kanel felt no anger at this behavior. The laughter was not directed at them in mockery.

Chief Advisor Herrol was smiling as well.
And one more person.

“…Your Highness.”

Kale was also smiling. He couldn’t help but laugh at the feeling he was experiencing for the first time in a long while. He heard Raon’s voice, who had been quietly turning invisible.

Why are you like that, human?

Why was I like that?
I was remembering the old days. When Kim Rok-soo was just a newly hired employee, not even a team leader, he went out to work with the former team leader at the time and got beaten to a pulp.

Naturally, the mission failed. Kim Rok-soo lay sprawled on the ground, beaten, and spoke to the former team leader.

‘Team leader.’
‘Ah, look at the way you talk, Kim Rok-soo you bastard. What?’
‘When will we be able to fight with overwhelming power? Is it possible?’
‘I don’t know. Don’t say impossible things.’
‘That’s a shame.’
‘What is?’

Back then, I felt that regret keenly.
My company was always short on personnel, and we had to fight against massive organizations or powerful enemies while in a weakened state. So we were always lacking in strength.

I had never once fought an enemy with overwhelming power on my side.
So I told the former team leader.

‘I prefer to crush my enemies with overwhelming force.’
‘You crazy bastard.’

Crazy bastard.
The former team leader’s voice echoed past Kale Heniatus’s ears.
That regret stayed with me, and it continued even after I succeeded the former team leader to become team leader myself.

The Empire possessed an overwhelming difference in military strength.

“Rosalind.”

I looked at General Tunka and Herrol Codian. Then, looking at her, I continued.

“Do you know what makes the Wipper Kingdom so terrifying?”
“Pardon?”

A voice reached Rosalind as she was about to respond—the voice of the Mage who had come with her, the one who had fled the Wipper Kingdom. He spoke calmly.

“What makes the Wipper Kingdom terrifying is that it has no defense.”

No defense?
There is… no defense at all?
The Dwarf Tribal Chief and Rosalind’s eyes widened when Kale’s voice reached them.

“The warriors of Wipper possess magic resistance.”

Ah!
Rosalind gasped as she recalled the forgotten detail, while the Dwarf Tribal Chief’s eyes widened at this revelation.

Among the tribal warriors of the Wipper Kingdom, those born with magic resistance appeared regularly. And their numbers grew steadily.
After the Magic Tower’s cruel experiments on their bodies, those with magic resistance were born in ever-increasing numbers.

The pinnacle among them was Tunka.
While his divine power was exceptional, his magic resistance surpassed even that.

Magic-enhanced armor?
To the Wipper warriors, it was nothing more than scrap iron.
Magic was merely a force they could endure and withstand several times over.

With such bodies, they charged forward without fear.

Regardless of their carelessness, during the battle at Maple Castle, the Wipper Kingdom Army had indeed fought against the Empire’s Knights and Mages.
And Wipper emerged victorious.

An overwhelming difference in military strength?
Why had the Empire needed to prepare this extensively to conquer Wipper?
Because this level of preparation was necessary to defeat the Wipper Kingdom.

Chief Advisor Herrol, whose eyes met Kale’s, opened his mouth.

“Wipper possesses only offense.”

Krkrkrkrkr!
Tunka’s laughter shook the Spire Tower.

The Imperial Army became visible.
While the Lion Tribe and the Alchemist did not step forward, Knights and Soldiers clad in magic-enhanced armor, along with Mages, prepared for battle.

However, General Tunka turned his head to look at Kale Heniatus.
Kale Heniatus nodded to him.

Don’t worry about what comes after.

Somehow, General Tunka understood that signal.
So he moved.

He leaped.

His massive frame soared out of the Spire Tower.

“Kahahahahaha!”

A voice filled with madness pierced the ears of the Imperial Army soldiers and the Wipper Kingdom soldiers. Unlike warriors, these ordinary soldiers had no magical resistance.
They watched their leader plummet toward the ground below the castle.

Boom—!

General Tunka landed on the earth with a thunderous crash.
Outside Maple Castle.
He faced a hundred thousand Imperial Army soldiers.
In the distance, Duke Hooten was visible.

“Kehehehe—”

An overwhelming difference in military strength?
Wasn’t it the same when I fought the Mage Alliance?

It was far worse then.
We fought with nothing at all.

Yet I won.
No—we won.

General Tunka opened his mouth and roared.

“Open the City Gate!”

Defense?
Holding the line?
There was no such thing.

Screeeeeech—

The City Gate swung open.

Like General Tunka himself, warriors intoxicated by battle, relentless and fearless, emerged into view. Soldiers followed in their wake.
The garrison had been minimized.
The rest, brimming with venom and madness, all marched behind General Tunka.

General Tunka recalled the words Kale Heniatus had spoken to him before Choi Han and Rosalind arrived. He glanced down at his waist.

A small but sturdy leather pouch was tied securely there.
Inside it lay a single small orb.

Every soldier carried the same.

“…Orbs?”

Rosalind spotted the pouches on the Wipper Kingdom Army advancing toward the Imperial Army. As she flinched and looked toward Kale Heniatus, he held an orb in his hand and spoke.

“Erhaben has gone through considerable effort.”

Inside the orb, a liquid the color of Raon’s eyes shimmered and swirled. He turned his gaze toward Kanel, the Dwarf Tribal Chief.

“You’ll see soon enough.”

The Dwarf Tribal Chief flinched at Kale Heniatus’s gaze. Eyes that had widened in shock at the Lion Tribe now truly beheld the commander’s eyes.

They remained unwavering still.
The commander spoke without hesitation.

“What you must do.”

Seize the Alchemy Tower.
As that sentence flashed through the Tribal Chief’s mind, Kale Heniatus’s voice continued.

“And how the weak overcome the strong. You’ll see it soon.”

The Tribal Chief’s body trembled slightly.
The Lion Tribe, who had treated the Dwarves as nonexistent, the Empire with its overwhelming military power, and the Wipper Kingdom, which appeared weak in comparison to the Tribal Chief’s eyes.

The Tribal Chief, always the weak one among the Dwarves, felt his fingertips trembling inexplicably.

How the weak overcome the strong.

“What is that?”
“Going mad. And fighting with your eyes fixed only ahead.”

Tribal Chief Kanel unconsciously held his breath at the light in Kale Heniatus’s eyes.
But Kale Heniatus turned his head away.

There are times when one must charge forward with tunnel vision.
That was the Wipper Kingdom’s situation now.
Because Kale Heniatus understood the hearts of the Wipper Kingdom Army in such circumstances, he cried out.

“Priests, move!”

Yet in truth, both Wipper and the Empire were mistaken.

“Merry, you return into the castle as well! Command the Dwarves!”

Activity atop the Spire Tower began to quicken. At its center, Kale Heniatus watched General Tunka advance toward the Imperial Army and spoke.

“And Choi Han.”
“Yes.”
“Follow me.”

As Kale Heniatus had told General Tunka, the warriors and soldiers would have no need to worry about their rear.

-Human, I’m going to save him too! I’m definitely going with you!

Because I had prepared overwhelming power.
I, Kale Heniatus, did not need to fight the way Kim Rok-soo once did.

In my palm, Destructive Fire began to flicker and dance.

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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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