Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 334

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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 eyes met the White Star’s gaze directly.
In that instant, I felt an inexplicable sense of kinship.

‘Is he truly of the Dragon Slayer Family bloodline?’

I recalled the ancient dragon’s words from when I first met Erhafen in the past.

‘Long ago, the Dragon Slayer Family existed. A mad clan, they were. They possessed the strength to face dragon fear without flinching, to stand against it boldly. That power was passed down through generations to only the heirs of that family.’
‘But the last heir of that family disappeared, and the power was severed.’

Yet that vanished power had reappeared around me once more.

Dragon Slayer. Also known as the dragon tamer.
Power related to that very existence.

The aura I command.
The Calamity Sword of Sirem, the false Dragon Slayer currently imprisoned in the Underground Prison of the Roan Kingdom, barely clinging to life.
And finally, the white crown resting in my arms.

Two of these three were firmly within my grasp, and the last one was as good as mine.

‘Is that why?’

Because I possessed the bloodline of the Dragon Slayer Family who wielded those powers. Was that why I felt this familiar sensation now?

“Kale!”

I could see Choi Han urgently grasping my shoulder. His expression as he evacuated the Empire’s people freed from Tower Master Bernhard’s control was—

‘Fierce.’

I snapped back to attention.

“Is that man the White Star?”

Seeing that fierce glint in his eyes as he pummeled Adin, I naturally stepped aside from Choi Han’s grasp and answered.

“According to Erhafen, that’s the case.”
“I see.”

Choi Han’s grip tightened around the sword’s hilt. Kale’s expression grew peculiar as he observed this.

Perhaps this was the moment when the final enemy Choi Han was destined to face in the hero’s awakening had materialized before his eyes.

-Who exactly are you?

The problem was that this final enemy continued to speak to Kale. And there was another problem as well.

‘How am I supposed to answer when you keep asking like this?’

Kale’s expression grew irritated.

Am I Erhafen or Raon Mir? Someone who can transmit words directly into another’s mind?
And I can’t exactly raise my voice in the middle of all this and declare ‘I am who I am!’ can I?

Kale opened his mouth while meeting the gaze of the man in the white mask watching him from afar.

“Choi Han, go.”
“…Will it be alright here?”

Choi Han could see Kale rolling up the sleeves of his brown robe. Still watching the White Star, Kale answered with a faint silver gleam gathering in his palm.

“Yes, it’s fine.”

At Kale’s demeanor suggesting he would step in if necessary, Choi Han resumed his pace.

-Don’t worry, Choi Han! Go help the golden dragon grandfather! The great Raon Mir is here!

Rather than respond to the six-year-old dragon’s words, Choi Han moved at rapid speed toward the Imperial Palace. In that instant, Kale saw the White Star tilting his head to one side.

In a brief moment, his voice resonated loudly within Kale’s mind.

-That swordsman’s axis of time is twisted.

What?

—Not a being of this world.

Kale Heniatus’s expression darkened.

I understood.
The White Star had discerned from a single encounter with Choi Han that Choi Han was fundamentally different from the inhabitants of this world.
Recognizing that wasn’t the real problem. After all, both Choi Han and I now belonged to this world.

But a different realization made me tense.

‘Even the two dragons failed to notice this.’

Erhafen might not know for certain, but at least Raon Mir hadn’t discerned Choi Han’s true nature. Yet the White Star had.

In that instant, Raon Mir’s voice reached me.

—Human! What are you going to do about that White Star— No! That’s our grandfather!

Uuuuuuuung—
The night sky blazed with platinum light so brilliant it obscured the stars.

“…Hah.”

I couldn’t help but gasp.

Swish—

Dozens of platinum arrows streaked toward the White Star with a sharp whistle. It was accomplished with nothing more than a gesture from the ancient dragon Erhafen.
Unlike the White Star on the Imperial Palace roof, I could see Erhafen’s cold expression as he stood suspended in the night sky.

“Hah—”

And once more, I found myself gasping.

Water.
The White Star unfurled a curtain of water toward the empty air.
Like an unbreakable shield.

“…Ancient power.”

That was unmistakably ancient power.
Kale Heniatus understood it instinctively.

‘So it’s him.’

The words he had heard when first meeting the World Tree came flooding back.
The World Tree had spoken of three things in total.

Find Raon’s parents.
Find the Judging Water.
And lastly.

‘The one who gathers ancient power possessed exactly three ancient powers.’

Kale Heniatus’s expression became peculiar.

That creature possessed Dragon Slayer bloodline and was estimated to own three ancient powers.
And Kale Heniatus possessed the power of the Dragon Slayer and had acquired ancient powers as well.

“…Isn’t it too similar?”

The corners of Kale Heniatus’s mouth twisted upward.

“Wouldn’t it be strange if he wasn’t familiar with it?”

If they possessed similar powers, wouldn’t it be odd if that creature wasn’t familiar with them?

-Who are you?

So the White Star was asking Kale Heniatus now. Who are you? Who are you to be so familiar with this?
Just as the World Tree had asked Kale Heniatus who he was.
And Kale Heniatus answered that question by spitting out words carelessly.

“A madman.”

The water veil unfurled by the White Star easily blocked the platinum-hued mana arrows.

A human who effortlessly defended against the Dragon’s massive assault with an equally massive barrier.

Not a single thunderous sound echoed. A tremendous exchange of blows unfolded silently above the Imperial Palace—a terrifying sight precisely because nothing shattered or broke.

-…Human, that White Star is no joke.

Tell me about it.
I was agreeing with Raon’s assessment.

“Hahahaha! My master has arrived! My master is here!”

Bernhard, the Tower Master and Lich.
He was cackling wildly from the center of a black tempest. Hundreds—no, thousands of black threads bound the skeletal dragon at countless points.

“Ugh!”

I turned my head.
That groan had come from Merry.

Whiiiish—

The Lich Bernhard unleashed an even fiercer black whirlwind. In response, Merry’s black threads gripped the skeleton even more tightly.

A dark mage and a Necromancer.
Dark magic and the power to command bone.
The two clashed in a deadlock, force against force.

“Merry, are you alright?”

I asked Merry, and she answered while trembling, her hands shaking but her black threads gripped firmly.

“…I can hold on.”

At that moment, I closed my eyes and opened them again.

-Kale Heniatus, finish that from there. I’ll take over here.

As Erhafen’s voice reached me, several scenarios flashed through my mind.

The White Star effortlessly deflected the ancient dragon’s assault.
The Lich unleashed power without restraint.
Countless observers watched from below.

He lifted his head.

“Damn it!”

Sword Master Hana couldn’t approach the Lich Bernhard because of the ferocious black whirlwind surrounding him.
The White Dragon she rode stumbled, unable to maintain its balance.

It couldn’t be helped.
All of Merry’s strength was concentrated against Bernhard.

A Lich who had lived a thousand years against Merry, not yet thirty.
For a Necromancer weak to dark magic to hold out this long meant Merry was already doing her part admirably.
That left only one thing to do.

“Tasha!”

Kale Heniatus’s voice pierced through the plaza filled with the roar of the black whirlwind.
The Dark Elf Tasha and Kale Heniatus’s eyes met, and he opened his mouth.

“Break through!”

With those words, Kale Heniatus kicked off the ground.
Whoosh—
A small wind compared to the black whirlwind wrapped around his feet, lifting him into the air.

-Human, shall we join in?

Of course.
In a situation like this, I can’t afford to retreat and hide my identity from the Empire’s citizens, can I?
Kale Heniatus gave a rough nod in response to Raon’s question.

“…Young Master!”

The Dark Elf Tasha soared upward like Kale Heniatus. A wind spirit would surely remain at her side. Immediately, Kale Heniatus issued his command.

“I will carve a path through the wind.”

Tasha’s eyes reflected the small whirlwind gradually coalescing in Kale Heniatus’s two hands. It took shape like an arrow, appearing capable of piercing through anything.
Soon her gaze followed where Kale’s eyes were directed.

A black maelstrom. A place as fierce as a tempest.
A calamity born from the Lich.
Hana, unable to advance, was being pushed back.
Merry, barely holding onto Bernhard.

Tasha immediately took her place beside Kale Heniatus and spoke to her comrade and friend, the spirit of wind.

“Help me.”

Help me carve a path through the wind.
Wind began to gather in Tasha’s two arms. Even as it did, she could not hide her admiration.

“…As expected.”

I could see the wind Kale Heniatus was creating. It must be the ancient power he possessed—pure wind, similar yet distinct from what the spirit created.

Whoooosh—
Two enormous wind arrows, forged by Kale Heniatus and Tasha, materialized in the sky. And Tasha faltered.

Whoooosh—
A third arrow appeared.
Naturally, it was Raon Mir who had created it.

-I’m joining in too!

When Tasha smiled at that voice, Kale Heniatus’s question reached her ears.

“Ready?”

As Tasha nodded, Kale Heniatus spoke tersely.

“Let’s begin.”

In that instant, three colossal wind arrows left their masters’ hands and shot forward. Simultaneously, Kale Heniatus cried out.

“Hana!”

Calling her name once was all it took.
Hana immediately redirected the skeletal dragon’s trajectory. The White Dragon’s body surged forward at tremendous speed, moving behind the wind arrows.

“Mere wind!”

Bernhard tore his gaze from the black threads binding me and glared at the wind arrows hurtling toward me. His crimson eyes blazed with explosive intensity as the black tempest grew even more ferocious.

Whoooosh—
Tasha’s wind arrows struck the black tempest first.

Boom—

The collision of wind against wind erupted with a deafening blast. Tasha’s wind dissipated immediately.

“There we go!”

Yet Hana smiled and began to laugh once more.
The black tempest wavered.

And another wind arrow struck the spot where Tasha’s wind had been trying to pierce through. It was Kale’s wind.

Boom, crash! Crash!
Kale’s wind arrows collided with the black tempest, unleashing thunderous roars. Hana, gripping her white sword, spoke to the White Dragon as the scene unfolded.

“Go!”

Raon’s wind seeped into Kale’s wind.

Boom! Crash! Crash!

The wind arrows created by Kale and Raon, now merged with Hana’s, struck the black tempest with even greater force. Within it, Hana saw something.

A gap.
A small opening had formed in the black tempest.

There.
That’s where I need to break through.

Whoooosh—
The White Sword began to sing.

Hana surged toward the gap. If I could pass through that opening my allies had created, I could finally strike down the enemy.

Crash!

With the final deafening roar, Kale Heniatus and Raon’s arrows vanished. In their place remained a black tempest pierced with a gaping hole.

Hana crouched low, compressing her form.
The skeletal dragon plunged through that opening.
As Hana lifted her gaze slightly, her vision cleared. She saw her prey, wrapped in threads of shadow.

The center that had pierced through the tempest.
The Lich at the heart of that serene maelstrom.

Hana’s smile faded. Her eyes, those of a swordmaster seizing a precious opportunity, turned glacial.

“Damn it!”

Bernhard thrashed, unable to release the black threads. He tried to maneuver the black tempest, but the White Dragon bearing Hana pierced through the storm faster, closing the distance to Bernhard.
Hana raised her blade toward the Lich Bernhard.

A Lich.
A being that wears the form of a black skeleton, its soul imprisoned within a heart-shaped orb.
The only way to destroy a Lich is to find and shatter that heart orb.

No one could know where that heart orb was hidden.
That was the accepted truth.

But I could sense it.

Whoooosh—
The White Sword in my hand sang out its revelation.

Aim for it.
Bernhard, the black skeleton clad in knight’s armor.
The chest hidden beneath that armor.
Specifically the right side.
That is where the Lich’s soul resides.

“I cannot show weakness before my lord!”

Bernhard moved his arm with great effort, resisting the black threads. His skeletal right arm aimed toward Hana.
Black mana gathered there, and in the next instant, it shot toward Hana.

“You half-baked Saint!”

Hana burst into laughter as she watched the approaching black sphere descend upon her.
It was absurd, after all.

In that moment, the black mana sphere engulfed Hana.

Boom!

The massive explosion sent the black storm trembling.
The Lich with crimson eyes, who had been watching with tense anticipation, suddenly heard laughter.

“Hahahaha.”

Above.
In the Lich’s vision, bound by black threads and unable to lift his head properly, Hana appeared.
She was descending toward the Lich from above.

Before colliding with the black mana sphere, Hana kicked off the White Dragon’s head and leaped into the air. The skeletal dragon threw its entire body at the black mana sphere instead of Hana.
In that momentary opening created.

Bernhard saw the white sword thrusting toward his right chest. The knight bearing the spider-web scar, gripping the white blade, spoke with a smile.

“I was never a Saint to begin with, you fool.”

Half-baked Saint, indeed.
She had never been a Saint in the first place.

“…D, dammit all!”

Bernhard tried to move his hand again. But it was blocked.
The Lich saw the Necromancer looking up at him from the ground. A thin black thread had caught the Lich’s ankle.

Crack.

The Lich Bernhard lowered his head.
A white blade pierced through the armor.
A plain white sword with no aura, nothing else.
It easily shattered the armor and broke Bernhard’s black ribs.

Crack.

Finally, it reached the heart-shaped black orb.
Hana gazed at the Lich with its crimson eyes and smiled deeply.

Now it was over.
This Lich’s life.

Hana squeezed out every last ounce of strength and thrust the white blade forward.
Deeper, driving the white blade in.
So that the Lich’s heart orb would shatter.
Hana’s hand extended forward.

“Now it’s over-”

That was the moment.

A chill.
Goosebumps rose across Hana’s back.
And she saw it.

“Ah, my lord-”

The Lich was smiling.
Hana tried to turn around, seized by an ominous feeling.
But a voice pulled her consciousness back.

“Do as I say!”

Kale Heniatus.
It was his voice. At the same moment, a thunderous roar of an entirely different magnitude than before struck Hana’s ears.

Boom!

Hana didn’t turn to look back and extended her hand further.

Screech—
It pierced through.
With a grotesque sound, the heart orb was impaled by the white sword and began to crack gradually. The orb started to slowly crumble.

The moment Hana sensed that feeling, she turned her head back.

“…Kale Heniatus.”

Kale came into view. In front of the black tempest—more precisely, Kale stood before her. Along with him, a silver shield and a silver barrier caught her eye.

And beyond that shield.
Kale continuously conjured new silver shields while Raon continuously conjured new silver barriers, both aiming at the figure beyond the shields.

A man wielding an enormous flaming sword in his hand.
The red-haired man spoke to Kale beyond the shields.

“Kale Heniatus, who are you?”

A voice worn with exhaustion.
It was the White Star.
Kale could see Erhafen being driven into the rubble of the shattered Imperial Palace roof beyond the White Star’s shoulder. The Ancient Dragon was being pushed back in the exchange with the White Star.
Kale heard what seemed like a warning alarm in his mind. In that instant, the barely audible voice of the Ancient Dragon resonated through his thoughts.

-I understand now.

The Ancient Dragon’s voice carried a gravity Kale had never heard before. No, surprise dominated it even more.

-By clashing with him, I think I understand. Yes, now I know.

Erhafen’s trembling voice filled Kale’s mind.

-…The author’s body is twenty years old, but what’s inside has exceeded a thousand years.

A body of twenty years, yet the soul within has surpassed a thousand.
The moment Kale Heniatus grasped the meaning, his pupils trembled.

The beings that have appeared in this world thus far.
Choi Han, the dimensional traveler.
And myself, Kale Heniatus, the possessed one.

He gazed at the man in the white mask.
Crimson hair.
Yet eyes of a slightly brighter brown than Kale’s own dark brown gaze.

Erhafen revealed the identity of the White Star.

-A reincarnator.

A being whose life continues endlessly.
An existence that, even if slain, is reborn elsewhere with memories intact.

The White Star, holding the ancient power—a sword forged of immortal flame—in his grasp, questioned Kale once more.

“Who are you to be so similar to me?”

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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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