Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 327

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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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Everyone stared blankly ahead.

Thwack! Crack! Thwack!

He strikes well.
Exceptionally well, with perfect precision.

Crack!

The sword hilt strikes the exact same spot again with cunning accuracy.

“Gahhh!”

The battered body convulsed from the impact, and the sword hilt traced an elegant arc before striking the same vulnerable point again with a two-second interval.

Thwack, thwack!

Two consecutive strikes.
Those two powerful blows snapped everyone back to reality.
The surroundings erupted into chaos.

-H-human! Choi Han is incredibly skilled! Just watching this is so, so refreshing! Choi Han is truly, truly amazing!

Six-year-old Raon Mir marveled at this new technique, his exclamations flowing endlessly.

“Y-your, your, your Majesty!”
“Hahahaha, beat him down! Beat him!”

The Imperial faction’s faces turned pale, while the Dark Elves laughed heartily and cheered Choi Han on.

“Gahhh, cough! I-I-”

Crown Prince Adin summoned the black despair once more, and with his mangled hand wrapped in black smoke, he hurled a fist at Choi Han.

Snap.
But that fist was caught in Choi Han’s hand.
Choi Han applied pressure to his grip.

“Gck, gckaaahhh!”

A horrific scream pierced the air.
Regardless, Choi Han shattered Crown Prince Adin’s hand bones and resumed his assault with a refreshed expression.

“…As expected—”

Choi Han was far from normal either.
Kale watched him pummel the man with an innocent face, shaking his head side to side. Yet when their eyes met, he raised his thumb once more in approval.
This was the most satisfying thing Choi Han had done in quite some time.

Somehow understanding the profound praise in Kale’s gaze, Choi Han nodded in acknowledgment.

‘Hmm?’

As Kale’s head tilted slightly to one side at that gesture, Choi Han redirected his sword scabbard.

Wuuung—
Black aura coalesced upon the scabbard.
The aura traced a line through the air.

Shwik.
The Crown Prince’s right leg, composed of dead mana, was severed.

Crack!
No—the moment the beautiful black light touched it, the limb shattered into countless fragments. Crown Prince Adin stared at it in disbelief, and when their eyes met, Choi Han smiled wickedly and whispered so only he could hear.

“I’m not just despair.”

I have happiness too. I feel a bit more free now.
But he couldn’t voice the rest of those thoughts.

“We must save His Majesty!”
“Break through them all! Attack, and attack again!”

The Empire’s Knights and Mages pressed forward with an intensity far beyond their previous efforts, attempting to pierce through the Dark Elves. The faces of the Imperial Knights were etched with desperate resolve—they would save Crown Prince Adin no matter what.

“That won’t happen.”
“Exactly.”

However, the more the Empire’s forces struggled, the more fiercely the Dark Elves fought back. No matter how superior the Empire’s numbers were, they couldn’t break through easily.
If anything, the two sides were evenly matched, or the Dark Elves held the advantage.

There was a reason for this—every time the Empire’s swords and magic, or dark magic, drew near, the Dark Elves would cry out at the top of their lungs.

“If I get hurt, the Crown Prince gets beaten twice as bad!”
“One wound on my arm equals one bone broken on that bastard’s body!”

What in the world?
I stared at the Dark Elves with the same bewilderment as the Empire’s soldiers, struggling to comprehend their strategy.
I couldn’t fathom the intentions of Dark Elves who were rampaging about almost as recklessly as I would.

Still, I was satisfied.
Being petty and infuriating was exactly my style.

The Dark Elves had absorbed massive quantities of dead mana in this space, and upon hearing the screams of despair born from their rage over death and countless ages, they were in a state of absolute fury. Yet when Choi Han so gratifyingly shattered that despair, the backlash left them so exhilarated they could barely see straight.
Moreover, why wouldn’t they fight to the death? The particularly aggressive Dark Elves were bound to throw themselves into battle.

More than that, would they not fight to the death?
The unusually militant Dark Elves were certain to step forward as warriors.

I watched them rampage and viciously harry the Empire’s forces, when a certain sound reached my ears and I turned my head.

Choi Han was approaching.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
And he was dragging Adin along by the collar.

‘What a terrifying man.’

Seeing Choi Han’s murderous expression for the first time in a while, I furrowed my brow, but I couldn’t help but greet him as he approached with that oddly refreshed look on his face.

“Did you achieve what you wanted?”
“Yes, Kale.”

Choi Han stopped a couple of steps away from the silver shield and barrier, facing me. I nodded calmly, my expression blank.

“Congratulations.”
“Thank you very much.”

The brief greeting and response were all that passed between them, but only then did Choi Han’s heart find complete peace. Kale Heniatus studied that expression for a moment before turning his gaze elsewhere.

Shhhhh—
The silver shield slowly faded away. With it, the silver barrier vanished as well.

-Keep it transparent!

Raon wrapped three layers of transparent shields around Crown Prince Adin instead of the silver one.

‘Truly clever.’

I mused that Raon was indeed a brilliant dragon as I stepped outside the barrier and crouched down. My perspective now aligned with Adin’s.

“Haa, haa, ugh, gasp.”

Crown Prince Adin gasped for breath.
He continuously attempted to emit black aura smoke, but the Expert-rank aura smoke shattered pathetically at a gesture from Sword Master Choi Han.
I asked Crown Prince Adin a question.

“I’m in a bit of a hurry, so let me ask just one thing. How are you feeling?”

How was he feeling right now?
Adin’s distorted eyes turned toward me. Choi Han had beaten him thoroughly everywhere except his face, which remained unmarred.
I smiled at the sight and spoke.

“Dark Mages are fascinating creatures. You don’t feel pain when you die, do you?”

Unlike Necromancers, Dark Mages don’t experience pain when consuming dead mana except for the first time. After that, they absorb dead mana without suffering.
Moreover, they feel no pain even in death.
Therefore, the only way to make a Dark Mage suffer was to keep them alive and in agony.

Adin smiled despite the blood trickling from his lips and spoke to me.

“You really are different from me. I cannot comprehend you.”

Adin spoke with genuine incomprehension written across his face.

“Kale Heniatus, what do you gain by eliminating Dark Magic? Wouldn’t it be more profitable to expand your power alongside Dark Magic and the Empire?”

Kale smiled brightly and shook his head.
As expected, there was no point in conversing with this madman. Kale rose to his feet and turned away.

“Why do you insist on living so foolishly and making things difficult? I truly cannot comprehend it.”

Crown Prince Adin spoke, but Kale did not answer. Instead, someone else did.

“You, who merely gazed down at the bone piles and dead mana of this Underground Cavern—you could never understand. What could someone like you, who only takes and possesses, possibly know?”

It was Choi Han.
The refreshing expression vanished from his face, replaced by vacant, cold eyes that looked down upon Crown Prince Adin. At that moment, Kale’s voice reached Choi Han.

“Choi Han,”
“Yes.”
“The second—”

But Kale’s words came to a halt.

“Kehehehe.”

Crown Prince Adin laughed.
It was of little consequence. Yet at his next words, Kale turned his head.

“This dead mana belongs to me?”

Kale saw Crown Prince Adin staring at him with a look of utter exasperation.
Having returned to his usual affable, inscrutable expression, Crown Prince Adin coughed blood while laughing, his bones in both hands twisted and beyond his control.

Kale bent down once more to meet his gaze.

“Then does it belong to the Necromancers? Does the Tower Master possess it?”

Ha!
Crown Prince Adin let out an exclamation.
And he spoke.

“No. This is tribute. These are things the Imperial Family and the Tower Master must offer up.”

A tribute.
My lips parted.

“The White Star?”

Adin’s eyes spoke volumes.
Why ask when you already know?
Haven’t you already pieced it together?

My gaze turned toward the vast Underground Cavern.
Dead mana.
A tribute for the White Star, no less.

‘Does the White Star also possess the attribute of darkness?’

Yet he had clearly said the White Star was human.
Or perhaps a being merely wearing the guise of humanity?

“…Is he a Lich?”

I asked, recalling the Tower Master.

“A Lich? The White Star? Hah, hahahaha!”

Adin laughed heartily before turning to me with a gentle expression.

“No. He is human.”

And he added:

“Just like me.”

My mind grew tangled with confusion.

Human, like Adin?

The Dragon Hybrid was also called human. Yet while he lived for over a thousand years, I kept him confined in a cave, occasionally bringing him the hearts of other dragons.
But could he truly be human? How was such a thing possible?

I recalled the red hair that Kale Heniatus shared with me. The more I thought about it, the more my mind grew tangled.
In that moment, Crown Prince Adin’s voice reached me once more.

“Isn’t it amusing? That someone who holds Dark and the Alchemy Tower beneath their feet is human like us?”

A soft exhale.
Crown Prince Adin let out a shallow sigh before speaking matter-of-factly.

“No one can defeat him.”

What?

“No living creature, no one—absolutely no one can defeat him.”

Crown Prince Adin lifted his head.
Without sunlight, his ordinary brown eyes gazed up at the ceiling of the Underground Cavern.

“I—”

Both Kale Heniatus and Choi Han’s expressions grew subtle.
This was the first time.
An emotion neither anger nor laughter flickered in Crown Prince Adin’s eyes.

“I am not afraid of you, nor of the Dragon.”

It was fear.

“But the White Star terrifies me.”

Crown Prince Adin was gripped by dread.

“He is life itself.”

I was certain of it.
The Crown Prince knows.
Who the White Star is.
What manner of being he is.

“Crown Prince Adin, who is the White Star?”

That was when Kale urgently called out to Choi Han.

“Choi Han!”
“Yes!”

Choi Han hastily grabbed Crown Prince Adin’s shoulders.
Suddenly, Adin’s body trembled violently. His entire complexion drained to a ghastly white. It was far from normal. He appeared utterly unable to control himself. This was no performance—it was genuine.

Yet even as he shook uncontrollably, Adin’s eyes remained cold and calculating.
He surveyed his surroundings.

He could see the Empire’s subordinates falling one by one to the Dark Elves.
The Alchemy Tower likely presented a similar scene. The Capital must be in complete chaos as well.

What would benefit me most?
But as Adin’s eyes darted about, they eventually fixed upon a single point.

“Don’t look at useless things.”

Adin stared intently at Kale as he spoke, his voice trembling as violently as his body.

“Kekeke, I’m the type who only finds satisfaction in controlling everything. I only enjoy myself when I hold all the pieces in my grasp. Do you know why?”

Because you’re a madman.
Kale swallowed the words that nearly escaped his lips. Then something unexpected came.

“Our golden eyes are a symbol of receiving the sun god’s protection.”

Golden eyes under the sunlight became a symbol of the Mogor royal family at some point.

“Ugh.”

Blood flowed from Ardyn’s mouth.
He had been born with an unusually robust body and exceptional swordsmanship talent within a royal family whose bloodline had grown weak over generations. Because of this, he had received everyone’s attention. It seemed he could grasp anything he desired.

However, the moment he entered the alchemy bell tower 15 years ago and faced reality, he realized.

I can’t control my body.

So I chose it.
That’s why I chose this.
To place everything else beneath my feet.

“But in reality, it’s a symbol of subordination, huh.”

A handful of blood flowed from the corner of Ardyn’s mouth.
A handful of blood trickled from the corners of Adin’s mouth.

“Are you saying that the royal family is subordinate to the White Star?”

Choi Han’s voice was also heard. He said quite seriously.

“Kale, every time you talk about the white star, it feels like your body is under pressure.”

As if trying to keep Ardyn from dying, Choi Han tried to calm Ardyn’s body. The attitude was that the white star, that valuable information, could not be missed.
As if to keep Adin from dying, Choi Han attempted to calm his body. His attitude was clear—he couldn’t afford to lose such precious information about the White Star.

“Yeah, that’s right too.”

That’s also true.
That’s ‘also’ correct.

Ardyn’s trembling body.
Adin’s body trembled violently.
An abnormal reaction.

Always doubt the enemy’s words one more time.
Always doubt an enemy’s words one more time.

“Are you just wasting your time talking to me? Until the owner comes. Right? Then, don’t you think you’ll win?”

In contrast to his trembling body, Ardyn’s calm eyes flickered for a moment.

I got caught.

He heard Cale’s voice whispering in his ear.

“But what should I do? I’m also waiting for the owner of the tower, White Star.”

what?
What?

“Drag it.”
“Drag him along.”

Ardin’s hair was caught by Choi Han. Ardyn was dragged into an even worse situation than before. Kayle’s smile was reflected in Ardyn’s eyes.

“Don’t worry, Ardyn. I plan to find out anything I want to know about you from you, no matter what.”

ah.
Ah.
Crown Prince Adin understood once more.

“I told you. I’m similar to you.”

Cale, who was smiling brightly, walked without hesitation. He raised his voice and shouted.

“Go up!”

The moment he shouted that, the dark elves shook the blood off their weapons. There was no one in the empire standing still.
The moment he cried out, the Dark Elves shook the blood from their weapons. Not a single Imperial citizen remained standing.

Imperial capital. It was still noisy up there.

“Run! It’s dangerous here!”
“Flee! This place is dangerous!”

The people of the slums were shouting at the top of their lungs, and the people of the empire, who were rushing to leave the castle, followed them.
The people of the Slums screamed at the top of their lungs, and Imperial citizens rushed frantically in their wake, desperate to escape beyond the castle walls.
The collapsed City Wall, which the Imperial citizens had believed to be a safe barrier, now appeared as nothing but an obstacle. Beyond the City Wall, a considerable number had already managed to escape.

“Anyone who leaves will be seen as an accomplice to these terrorists!”

But that wasn’t easy either.
Yet even this proved ineffective.

“…Rex! Are you blocking me again!”

However, there were also those who blocked such knights and soldiers.
Yet there were those who stood against such Knights and Soldiers.

Quite a number of people left the castle.
A considerable number of people had made it outside the Castle.

Even if Rex and the wizards on the airship helped, order was broken due to the chaos, and it was also because of the imperial knights who stopped it faster than expected.

“I still believe in you!”
“I still believe in His Majesty!”

There were also some who did not yet trust Rex or who could not bear to abandon their home.

Rex understood their feelings.
Sir Rex understood their hearts.
Who would willingly abandon their own home and flee the Castle in the dead of night?

That’s why Rex raised his voice once more. A hoarse voice echoed around.

“The black magic attack will begin soon! Run away!”
“Dark magic attacks will begin shortly! Flee now!”
“Sir Rex! Is that what a terrorist should say!”

The knights raised their voices, drowning out Rex’s voice.

“Damn it!”

Rex bit his lip.
Sir Rex bit his lip.

Mei profit-
Creeeeeak—
The Main Gate of the Imperial Palace opened.

Coo!
Boom!

“…this.”

Rex’s eyes wavered.
Lex’s pupils trembled.
His gaze fixed on the front of the group. His body, which had been moving actively, stiffened slightly.

“The Tower Lord has come with His Majesty’s will!”

One who wears the Alchemy Bell Tower Robe with the Emperor’s seal. His face was covered with a hood, but his robe had a pattern symbolizing the head of the bell tower drawn on it.

Rex heard his colleague’s urgent voice.

“Rex! Why is the head of the tower leaving the imperial palace? This is unexpected!”

Rex’s eyes twisted.

I didn’t know.
He hadn’t known.

Centered around the head of the tower in front, there was an alchemist on the left and a knight on the right.
To the left of the Tower Master at the front stood one Alchemist, and to the right, one Knight.
The three of them led Imperial Knights and Alchemists adorned in armor bearing the Empire’s symbol, heading from the Imperial Palace toward the Capital Square.

“…Is that strange?”

Someone among the people of the empire stopped running away.
One of the Imperial citizens halted their escape.
Should they flee? Doubt flickered across their face. And more and more people began to hesitate.

“no!”

This kind of atmosphere is not allowed!
This atmosphere wouldn’t do!
The momentum was shifting.
That couldn’t happen.
If they hesitated now, the evacuation would slow further, and people would be injured or taken hostage and die.

Knowing this, Rex’s hand holding the shield strengthened, but his eyes still wavered. His eyes turned to the airship.

Should I go to Erhaven or Rosalyn?
Should I go to Erhafen or Rosalind?

“Rex, what should I do?”

Rex heard his colleague’s urgent voice.
Lex heard his comrade’s urgent voice.

‘How do we change the flow?’

It was then.

Dang- Deng- Dang-

It’s a bell.
The sound of a bell.

Everyone’s eyes were focused on one place.
Everyone’s gaze turned toward one place.
Knights and Soldiers alike.
Imperial citizens fleeing in panic.
Those remaining in their homes.
The Tower Master and his group of Knights.
Sir Rex as well.

The only place in the empire where bells can be rung. The sound of a bell ringing from the highest point on the Western Continent.

Dang- Deng- Dang-

Alchemy Bell Tower.
The Alchemy Tower.
The bell at its peak had rung.

A person wearing robes who looks sacred, although his face is covered with a hood pulled down.
A figure in a sacred-looking robe, their face hidden beneath a deeply pulled hood.

“Huh? Huh?”

At that moment, the eyes of the people of the empire widened.

Tad-tap, ta-da-tak!
Tap, tap-tap-tap!

They were Phrygia and her attendants.
They were Frigia and her subordinates.

Dang- Deng- Dang-

Cale stood on top of the bell tower and looked down, listening to the sound of the bell that woke him up at night. I saw a person wearing a robe with the symbol of the tower owner and people standing next to him.
Standing atop the Bell Tower, I gazed down at the night-piercing bell tolls. Below, I could see a figure dressed in robes bearing the Tower Master’s insignia, flanked by his companions.

-Human! That’s not it!

know.
I know.

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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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