Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 313

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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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My open palm closed into a fist.

Crack!
In that instant, black wooden tendrils burrowed deeper into the underside of the airship.

“No, this can’t be happening!”

The Alchemist’s hands trembled. He bit down on his lips.
Blood trickled down. But there was no time to worry about that.

“Captain, it’s tilting!”

Screeeech.
With a bone-chilling sound, the airship tilted slightly to one side. The Alchemist gripped the railing to steady himself, his eyes fixed on me with barely contained fury.

Tap. Tap-tap.
I walked forward slowly.
Knights rushed at me like wildfire, but none could reach me.

Whoosh—
I stepped into the air. Black wooden tendrils rose to meet me, forming stairs beneath my feet.
I ascended the spider-web-like wooden path I had created.

—Human, are you coming?

And I ran.
Wind whistled as the Voice of Wind stirred the air beneath my feet. I surged forward rapidly toward the airship, riding the wind.

The Alchemist, watching with bloodshot eyes, immediately opened his mouth.

“Activate the magic circle!”

Hummmmmm.
The magic circle, already fully prepared, began to emit light.
Red energy gathered above the massive magic circle.

The Alchemist swept his hand through the air. For a brief moment, black mana coiled around his neck, and then a resonant voice poured from his mouth as amplification magic—dark magic—unfurled.

“All soldiers, fell the vines! Target the enemy! Fire your arrows!”

His commands poured forth in rapid succession.

“Search the surrounding residential districts for kindling! Burn it all down!”

The soldiers, who had been standing in a daze, began to move. The thought that they might truly face defeat if they made a single mistake spurred them into action. Especially for the common soldiers unfamiliar with dead mana bombs, the sight before them was both awe-inspiring and terrifying.

Still, they had to survive.
The soldiers drew their weapons.

“F-fight! We have to fight!”
“We need to go! We have to reach the airship before the enemy does!”

The soldiers began felling the vines and unleashing volleys of arrows at the warriors moving through the earth and sky along the wooden trunks.

The Alchemist deactivated the amplification spell and issued orders to his subordinate.

“Summon the Knights. And have the Mages not assigned to the magical formations prepare offensive spells!”

Summon the Knights?
As doubt flickered in his subordinate’s eyes, the Alchemist whispered into his ear.

“Throw the remaining dead mana bombs and magical bombs beneath the airship. That will at least block the vines and prevent the enemy from advancing. Furthermore—”

The Alchemist’s gaze was cold and calculating.

“We take off immediately.”

The doubt vanished from his subordinate’s eyes. He understood why the Alchemist was summoning only the Knights while leaving the soldiers behind. The soldiers would be sacrificed to pin down the enemy while they made their escape.
The Alchemist activated the amplification spell once more and shouted.

“Hold your ground! Hold them back until the very last moment!”

At the same time, the three most skilled Mages among those managing the magical formations raised both hands skyward.
With a tremor, crimson flames erupted upward.

Whoosh.
Flames twisted upward in the shape of a serpent’s gaping maw, rising higher and higher with each passing moment.
A crushing pressure emanated from them—as though everything in their path would be incinerated.

The Alchemist felt that tingling surge of power and turned his gaze toward a single point.
He saw a smiling woman. The Alchemist pointed at her and shouted.
This was precisely why he had instructed the mages moments earlier to prepare their offensive spells.

“Rain attack magic down on Commander Rosalind!”

That command was the signal.
Serpentine flames blooming in the hands of three Imperial mages surged over the airship and descended below.
Simultaneously, alchemists under his command opened the windows along the airship’s underside and began hurling bombs.

Dead mana bombs and standard magical explosives.
They were hurled toward the black wooden vines gripping the airship’s belly.
They were hurled toward the enemies rushing down those vines.

“Fire arrows!”

Arrows from the soldiers streaked toward the Jungle Warriors.

Whooooom—
The remaining Imperial mages’ offensive spells tore across the night sky, hurtling toward Commander Rosalind.
The Alchemist, the orchestrator of this entire barrage, watched the spectacle unfold with gleaming eyes.

“Yes! Destroy it all!”

His original orders were destruction, after all. So long as everything was obliterated, what did it matter?
To his ears came the sounds he had longed to hear.

Boom! Crash! Crash!

Beneath the airship.
Bombs detonated.

“Taking off!”

Whoooosh—
The airship’s engines gradually hummed to life. In the cockpit, the highest-grade mana stones gleamed in the Alchemist’s hands as preparations to lift the vessel skyward were well underway.

‘Yes, just keep it up like this!’

When the Alchemist turned his head, his gaze locked with Rosalind’s. He burst into laughter at the sight of her engulfed in the Empire’s offensive magic.

“Kahahaha! No matter how supreme a mage you are, you won’t be able to block all of these! Your end has come!”

At the same moment, he sidestepped Rosalind and caught sight of the serpentine inferno plummeting below—its savage form unmistakable.
The trees would burn to ash.

“Kahahaha!”

The Alchemist’s bloodshot eyes could not contain his mirth.
Then it happened.

A subtle smile.
The corners of Rosalind’s mouth curved upward.

“…Why are you smiling?”

The Alchemist’s laughter died abruptly, his face contorting. In that instant, the Empire’s spells descended upon Rosalind.

Boom! Crash! Boom!

Like fireworks, light erupted across the night sky.
When the dust settled after the cascade of explosions, the Alchemist saw Rosalind crouched with her shield fully deployed.

‘…That’s what I expected.’

Of course, a mage of Rosalind’s caliber would have the strength to defend against other mages’ attacks!

‘But she won’t have the power to block both this level of assault and that fire serpent!’

The Alchemist thought as much, but his face drained of all color.

“…What?”

The serpent of flame—the fire that had been directed at the black wooden tendrils—halted.

“What? Why isn’t it attacking?”

Behind him, the Mage’s voice rang out.

“Cough!”
“Ugh! What is this!”
“Gasp!”

It was not a voice.
It was a scream.
The agonized cries of the three Mages standing upon the magic circle.
He wanted to turn his head and witness the sight, but he could not.

“…This cannot be.”

Whoosh.
The burning serpent, suspended in mid-air, slowly pivoted its direction.

The serpent’s jaws, which had been aimed downward at the wooden tendrils, now turned the opposite way.
The serpent opened its maw toward the Airship.

The target of the attack had changed.
Was such magic even possible?

And there was one who caressed the serpent’s head, stroking the flame.

“…Who—who is that man?”

The Alchemist’s eyes fell upon a platinum-haired man.
A being wreathed in platinum-hued mana, shimmering like a star. He had made the Empire’s magic his own.

“Rosalind, are you alright?”

Rosalind lowered her shield and straightened from her crouch, nodding in acknowledgment.
She positioned herself behind Erhafen, the platinum-haired man. Her role today was support.
There was no other choice.
The Dragon—the pinnacle of magic itself—had entered the fray.
Moreover, it was the oldest Dragon on the Continent.

Erhafen flicked his fingers with casual grace.

Snap!

At that subtle sound, the colossal inferno vanished.
The demonic fire serpent dissolved into golden dust and ceased to exist.

“This… this can’t be—”

The Alchemist felt a chill run down his spine at that serene magic. This was no ordinary spell.
Dread washed over him.

Then it happened.

BOOM!

A deafening roar tore through the night.

“Argh!”
“Hold on!”

Simultaneously, the airship lurched violently.
The Alchemist glanced at his subordinate, who cried out in desperation.

“It’s useless!”
“What?”

Useless? What did he mean by that?
His subordinate’s face twisted in anguish as he shouted.

“All our attacks are useless!”

Screeeech—
The airship shuddered violently once more beneath the assault.

“The Dark Elves—they’re destroying everything and climbing up!”

My subordinate spilled out the report in desperate haste.

Even as the Alchemists hurled the remaining dead mana bombs, the Dark Elves held their ground. More than that—they absorbed the dead mana and surged forward with renewed ferocity.
At the center of it all, Tasha, drenched in black liquid—dead mana itself—bellowed her command.

“Absorb it all! Show them the true power of those who know how to wield dead mana!”

Simultaneously, Ritana and the black panther Ten attacked the airship along the path the Dark Elves had carved open.
And the black vine tendrils showed no sign of stopping.

My subordinate continued relaying incoming reports through the video communication channel to the Alchemist.

“The Jungle Warriors have nearly all closed in, sir!”
“What about the soldiers? They must be holding them back somehow!”

My subordinate shook his head at the Alchemist’s question.

“The vines are shielding them, sir!”
“What?”

The Imperial soldiers fired arrows and swung their blades at the warriors ascending the vine tendrils toward the airship, yet their attacks found no purchase.

“Block everything. Don’t stop them.”

Kale’s words reached the vine tendrils that enveloped all of Sector 7.
The tendrils—an unbreakable shield—shifted and moved with purpose.
The shield protected our warriors.

“Blocked again!”
“Damn it! Those vines!”

The Empire’s arrows and blades could not pierce the vine tendrils that had woven themselves into a shield formation.

That was why the Jungle Warriors ran without hesitation.
They had recognized the presence of a shield protecting them.

And so their enemies trembled with fear.
They could not break through.
Every attack proved futile.
This was the true power of defense.

Realizing this, an enemy soldier cried out to his commander.

“Commander, the underside of the airship is being held down! We can barely take off!”

Damn it!
The Alchemist’s face drained of all color.
Then he saw the gray orb he had received from his subordinate gleaming brightly.

“…Your Highness.”

A message from Crown Prince Adin had arrived. The order he had given his subordinate to contact him earlier had finally come through.
He trembled as he activated the video communication channel. Like a rat trapped in a vat of poison, he desperately needed something to lean on.
The video communication channel connected.

-What is happening? Why did you send an emergency message?

Crown Prince Adin’s voice came through.

“Your, Your—”
-…Compose yourself. Just give me a report.

Adin spoke in a surprisingly gentle tone, soothing the Alchemist and encouraging him to speak freely.

“Your, Your Highness—”

Yet the Alchemist still could not speak properly.
He could not find the words.

The sight before his eyes had stolen his voice.

Screech—screeeech.
The only sound echoing through the now-silent airship.
It was a noise born from that thing rising up from beneath the vessel.

It was dark as night itself.
A colossal bird forged from black bone.
The Black Bone Bird’s dark eyes gleamed as it glared down at the people on the airship’s deck.

And standing upon that Black Bone Bird—

Choi Han’s sword blazed with black aura, pointing toward the enemies on the airship.

Crack.
Crackle.
Along with the sharp sound of railings shattering, black figures ascended.
Dark Elves drenched in dead mana liquid climbed the airship’s exterior alongside spirits, reaching the deck.
Following them came a massive black leopard, Ritana, and the Jungle Warriors, ascending silently.

The black figures that had clawed their way up from below were all silent. They simply drew their weapons and aimed them at their enemies.

-…Why is it so quiet?

Crown Prince Adin’s voice resonated across the airship’s deck through the video communication channel.
He could only see the Alchemist’s face—the one who had hastily activated the video communication while clutching the device to his chest, so only his nearby face was captured on screen.
The battlefield scenery and surroundings were not visible at all.

-Turn the camera toward the battlefield.

Crown Prince Adin’s voice dropped, his command turning cold.
Yet the Alchemist’s hands continued to tremble, unable to move at all.

“Your Majesty—”

He merely called out to Adin.

The Alchemist’s eyes turned toward the video communication device.
The video communication channel connected to Adin showed only a black screen, with only his voice audible.
He must have covered the device with black cloth—either to hide his injuries or to conceal the current operation in progress.

Instead, Adin would be able to see his own image through the screen floating above the video communication device.
Even knowing this, the Alchemist’s wavering eyes slowly shifted to the side of the video communication device.

It happened in an instant.
A man stood beside him.

A platinum-haired Mage.
The moment his platinum-colored mana enveloped the Alchemist, the Alchemist’s body froze solid.
Only his face remained free to move.

With eyes turned to the side, the Alchemist could see the platinum-haired Mage’s smile. The Alchemist drew in a sharp breath.
They were clearly the pupils of an ordinary human.
Yet in an instant, they became the eyes of something utterly alien.

‘N-not human!’

Primal terror flooded through him.
Adin’s voice came through once more.

-…Can’t you hear my orders?

When Adin saw only the frozen face of the Alchemist with no response, an uncomfortable feeling prompted him to shut off the video communication device.
That was the moment.

“I hear you loud and clear.”

A familiar voice came through.
The video communication screen flickered, and Adin saw a face appear.

-…Kale Heniatus.

The last person to board the airship.
Kale greeted Adin, who was calling out to him, with a bright smile.

“Lost your right leg and injured your heart, I hear? Lucky you managed to survive.”

Yet his eyes were colder than ever before.
He continued speaking toward the video communication device, where only a black screen was visible—Adin’s face nowhere to be seen.

“Adin, let me see your face. Are you truly alright? I was genuinely worried you might die, you know?”

His voice was thick with concern.
Yet that bright smile twisted in an instant, transforming into an utterly vicious expression.

‘I will kill you with my own hands.’

Kale recalled the words he had spoken.
He had etched into his mind everything the Empire—no, the Imperial family and dark magic—had attempted in this war.
Kale whispered toward the video communication device.

“You must die by my hand. It would be such a waste if you died first, wouldn’t it?”

Kale’s expression, twisted into a sinister grin, was utterly villainous.

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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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