Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 370

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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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A translucent shield enveloped the White Castle.
Countless magical bombs descended upon it.

Before those bombs detonated, Kale witnessed an enormous shield descend upon the White Star.

“Ha!”

Simultaneously, he saw the White Star’s low laugh and the curtain of water that enveloped the White Star’s surroundings.

After that, Kale could see nothing.

Boom—

A massive explosion sent sand and wind surging violently into the air.
Yet goosebumps rose across Kale’s arms.

‘…Not a single…’

There was no change whatsoever.

Explosions roared from all directions, the earth trembled beneath the onslaught, and sand spiraled skyward in towering plumes.

Yet this space, enclosed by the translucent white shield.
The White Castle remained completely untouched.

Perfect protection.

Kale heard Raon’s murmur.

“…protection….”

When he turned his head slightly, he saw Raon staring blankly beyond the white shield. With a dazed expression, Raon continued to murmur, seemingly unaware of his own words.

“…This is… Mother’s… power….”

In that instant, Kale’s and Raon’s eyes met.
As Raon’s gaze came into focus, he flinched in surprise and clamped his mouth shut. Then he buried his face against Kale’s shoulder.

Kale spoke to Raon in that moment.

“What are you doing? I told you to watch.”

Watch carefully.
Raon recalled the words the White Dragon Sherit had spoken.
The small dragon’s head slowly lifted.

Whoooosh—

A gust of wind swept away the remnants of the explosion.
And the scene revealed after the blast.

“Ha, haha—”

White Star burst into laughter.

“How entertaining.”

He brushed off his hand.
His left hand, which had unfurled a water barrier using Ancient Powers.

Not a single wound or drop of blood was visible.
Yet he repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist.

His hand trembled.

The explosion of that colossal shield that had struck the water barrier. The shockwave from that blast caused his hand to tremble finely.

From that sudden, overwhelming force—from just the first attack alone—White Star’s entire left arm from the hand upward trembled.

“…Truly….”

White Star lacked the power of earth among the five attributes of Ancient Powers.
Because of this, his internal state was always imbalanced.
So when fighting, his insides would often twist and cause him suffering.

‘Yes, there were many such instances.’

But to think my arm would go numb just from a single shield exploding.

“Truly, it has been ages since I experienced something like this.”

Even when fighting the Ancient Dragon Erhafen, my body had never suffered strain from the first attack.
No, such a thing hadn’t happened in nearly several hundred years.

“So even an illusion possesses the power of a Lord?”

He laughed.

“With this level of power, it’s quite entertaining.”

He gazed at his still-trembling left arm with a sense of wonder.

And there was one more person startled by this situation.
Kale looked toward Raon.

Lord Sherit. Her illusion was said to possess power equal to Raon’s growing strength. This fact, combined with the current situation, formed a hypothesis in Kale’s mind.

Did this mean Raon now possessed enough power to inflict substantial damage on the White Star with his first attack?

Kale watched Lord Sherit descending slowly to the ground.
Her face bore no marks of injury whatsoever. If anything, the gentle smile playing across her features felt all the more ominous.

Kale also saw Raon gazing down at his own front paw with an odd expression.

‘Is Raon’s potential truly at that level?’

It was at that moment.

-Kale.

Erhafen’s voice reached him.

-Do not look toward me.

He urged Kale urgently not to direct his gaze in his direction.

Why?
The answer came swiftly to that question.

-Lord Sherit is fighting right now, wagering everything.

Kale’s body stiffened.

-She must have certainly foreseen that with our forces, we cannot defeat the White Star’s forces in battle, or at the very least, we would suffer grievous losses.

Erhafen had found that aspect strange from the beginning.
He had confirmed that Lord Sherit’s power was comparable to Raon’s level. Yet her stepping forward alone struck him as odd.

Because she was a Dragon Lord.
A Dragon Lord was a being who must be cold and whose judgment of circumstances must be more rational than anyone else’s. She would have clearly grasped the current disparity in power.

‘The Lord must have stepped forward despite foreseeing our defeat or grave injury.’

Upon realizing that and observing the current situation, Erhafen could discern the truth.

-Lord Sherit is wagering everything right now.

The translucent woman appeared outwardly unharmed.

-Perhaps if Raon truly risked his life, genuinely risked his life in battle against the White Star, he might even deal a blow to the White Star in the first strike.

Speaking of risking one’s life in battle and truly risking one’s life in battle were different things.

Erhafen could not help but discern Sherit’s intention.
He too intended to prepare during his remaining lifespan and wager everything—even his life—when fighting the White Star.
His remaining year of life was meant for that purpose.

-She stepped forward wagering her own annihilation. She is fighting.

Nearly ten thousand years had passed before Sherit met Raon.
What else would such a being do?

-The reason she stepped forward like this must surely be to protect us safely and keep us alive.

In that moment, Kale saw Sherit standing at the boundary line of the open City Gate, her translucent white shield lowered. That was the farthest distance she could reach.

At that same moment, an unwelcome sound reached Kale’s ears.

Rumble, rumble—

Thunder.
The White Star’s lightning—the very bolt that had nearly obliterated the Imperial Capital.

That lightning was a force that could only be barely contained by Kale’s shield combined with the strength of Raon and all his companions.

The lightning could strike down upon this White Castle at any moment now.
If the White Star so desired it.

Of course, after wielding that power, the White Star would suffer strain upon his body as he had before. His form still lacked the power of earth to maintain balance.
But now the White Star had over a hundred allies at his side.
The White Star had something to lean upon.

Rumble, rumble—

Along with the sound of thunder drawing near.

-Kale. For now, let us follow Lord Sherit’s will.

Kale heard Erhafen’s voice, striving to remain as composed as possible.
Erhafen spoke of following Lord Sherit’s will a while longer, even knowing that she was prepared to fight unto her own annihilation.

Because these children were just as precious to him as they were to Lord Sherit.

Erhafen, who considered himself second only to Lord Sherit.
Around him, mana began to gather silently, bit by bit.
That was the moment.

“I never thought I would see the face of my benefactor.”

The White Star’s voice rang out.
He spread both arms wide toward Lord Sherit.

“Thanks to you, I was able to gain an endless life. Since you are someone I respect, should I perhaps speak to you with formal courtesy?”

Crack.
I felt Raon’s front paw grasping at my collar.
At the same time, I sensed the White Star’s gaze turning toward me. Yet to be precise, the bright brown eyes revealed between the half-mask were fixed not upon me, but upon another presence.

“Hmm, I never imagined that dragon was the black egg.”

He was looking at Raon. I recalled the black egg I had thought shattered so long ago.

‘…Did that chimera defy my command?’

I remembered the child I had sought to transform into a dragon. The Dragon Hybrid that became neither one thing nor the other—a creature that would soon prove worthless.
The White Star found this situation quite amusing. In nearly a thousand years of existence, so few things had ever unfolded beyond my grasp.
He spoke to Sherit with evident delight.

“Lord, how does it feel to see the child after nearly ten thousand years? At least you can take comfort in this—you will die together with the child.”

Clang!
I saw Vicross draw his greatsword and fix his gaze upon the White Star. My companions’ faces twisted as if they might charge forward at any moment.

Yet no one could move.

“Ha, hahahaha!”

Laughter shook the surroundings.
The source of that laughter was Sherit.

She spoke toward the White Star with a smile playing at her lips.
Her finger pointed at the White Star.

“You cannot sleep. Every day, you will feel as though your heart is being torn asunder, and yet you cannot rest. The moment you do, death will find you again.”

The smile that had graced the White Star’s lips vanished.

“Why? Why aren’t you laughing?”

Lord Sherit spoke to the White Star, who no longer smiled.

“Laugh, you wretched thing.”

Conversely, the smile etched upon Sherit’s lips deepened.

“You can’t taste anything you eat, can you?”

Kale began to understand, piece by piece, what curse the Oath of Death had wrought.

A life incapable of creating anything precious.
It was no mere curse.
It was not simply a life rendered weary and exhausted.

“You can’t feel the seasons change, can you? You’ve forgotten what warmth is, what cold is? You’ve even forgotten what body heat feels like?”

Only Sherit’s voice filled the space. She continued speaking with measured calm.

“Surely during those endless cycles, you had family. And the moment you harbored affection for them, they all died.”

Sherit’s deep blue eyes fixed upon the White Star’s gaze.

“Everything—any living thing you ever cherished—all of them perished without exception.”

A dragon who had lost his children, lost everything, asked the one who had stolen it all, his smile radiant.

“Is life worth living?”

The light in the White Star’s eyes gradually faded. The more it did, the more Sherit laughed with delight.

“Why? You chose this curse knowing everything, didn’t you?”

Lord Sherit had to make a bargain—a transaction of sorts—with the Death God to fulfill that Oath of Death, and she had surrendered something equivalent to the Dragon Slayer and his village.
Perhaps it was Sherit’s sacrifice.

She asked this question to the human who had broken the oath and chosen the curse despite knowing all of this—a question she had harbored for a thousand years toward one who understood this curse as intimately as she did.

“Is it fun? Your life—it must be so much fun, right? Hmm?”

A low rumble. Another rumble.
Kale fixed his gaze upon the White Star as the sound from the sky grew ever louder. The smile vanished, revealing a face etched with deeper exhaustion.

The White Star, his expression utterly vacant, opened his mouth.

“Amusing.”

It was a life the White Star had chosen for himself.
He spoke calmly to the being who gazed upon me with laughter.

“An illusion, nothing more.”

Hahahaha—
Sherit burst into loud laughter once more.

“My illusory life seems far more real than your empty existence.”

The White Star’s face twisted.

“Tsk.”

With a sharp click of his tongue, he raised his hand.
Dozens of figures surged upward from within the mist that shrouded the City Wall.

“Insolent.”

In the same instant, Sherit’s hands rose as well.

Boom! Boom! Crash! Crash! Crash!

Deafening roars shook the surroundings.

“Ugh!”
“Grrr! This pathetic shield!”
“Argh, my arm!”

Groans erupted from the mouths of Bear Tribe members, Cat-Human Race, and Dark Unit Members scattered across the field. Before them stood a barrier.

The White Star gazed upon the scene in silence before speaking.

“I’ll have to destroy the Castle itself.”

Rumble, rumble rumble—
The sound pouring from the sky grew louder still. Kale lifted his gaze.
The heavens darkened in an instant.

‘Can Sherit stop this alone?’

If she risked her life.
The Ancient Dragon’s words echoed in my mind.

“…Human.”

I heard Raon calling out to me. But I couldn’t respond.
Instead, all I could see was Sherit speaking calmly toward the White Star.

“Before that, I need to eliminate you.”

She gripped enormous shields in both hands and aimed them at the White Star.
In that moment, a voice echoed in Kale’s mind.

-You’re searching for that creature’s weakness, aren’t you?

Sherit spoke to Kale through their minds.
I could only stare at her back in silence.

-That creature doesn’t know one secret.

A secret the White Star doesn’t know.

-There isn’t just one entrance to this castle.

…There’s another passage that leads into this castle?
The moment my eyes flickered with realization, she hurled her shields.
Yet her voice still reached me.

-There’s a secret passage to the Dragon Slayer Village. A path only the first Dragon Slayer and I know.

Crash! Crash crash!

Two shields flew toward the White Star and collided with him.
The White Star’s lips curled upward.

“…Weaker than before?”

He blocked the shields with his right arm and gazed at Sherit as if he understood.

Crash! Crash! Crash!
The Cat-Human Race, Bear Tribe, and Dark Unit Members continued clashing with dozens of shields. The White Star licked his lips as if he’d found prey, then whispered to Sherit.

“…You’re not as strong as all that?”

Sherit continued smiling at those words.
And she spoke to Kale.

-Go through the secret passage I showed you. And head to the Dragon Slayer Village.

But Kale couldn’t see Sherit’s smiling face.
He could only see her back as she ceaselessly created shields and hurled them toward the enemy.

Unable to leave the castle, she stood at the gate’s boundary line and could only attack from there.

Rumble—rumble,
Now Kale heard Sherit’s voice louder than the sound of the weeping sky.

-If you go to that village, you’ll surely find that creature’s weakness. He can no longer enter his homeland. That’s why it’s the safest place for you now.

Step. Step.
Kale’s footsteps gradually moved forward.

-His homeland is precious to that creature. And because he cannot possess what is precious, he cannot enter that village. I can tell you that with certainty.

Sherit’s voice continued to reach him.

“…Human.”

Raon’s voice calling out to Kale and me rang out once more.

-Go now. I can hold him off well enough.

Ha.
Kale let out a dry chuckle at Sherit’s words.
Yet his pace quickened all the more.
But Kale’s steps came to a halt.

-You were the one who gave my child a name, weren’t you?

Rumble, rumble—
White light began to flicker between the black clouds.
Lightning would strike soon.

A soft and careful voice reached into his mind.

-Thank you. Truly.

Kale’s steps resumed once more.

-Go now. I will guard this place until your return.

Lying like that.
Trying to sacrifice yourself alone.

In that instant, Kale extended his arm.

Tap.
His hand came to rest upon the shield gripped in Sherit’s hand.
I could see the gaze of the Lord looking down at me.
Semi-transparent blue-green eyes.

Kale answered with a stubborn expression.

“I don’t want to.”
“…What?”

Lord Sherit stared at Kale with a bewildered face.

She did not know Kale well.
Kale did not know Lord Sherit well either, but Raon knew her well.

“Raon.”

Raon finally stepped back from behind Kale with a bright expression on his face.

Uuuuung— Uuung—

Black mana began to rapidly surge around Raon.
His small front paws turned toward the White Star.
By the time Raon had finished taking his battle stance.

“On, grab Hong and fall back.”

On and Hong descended from Kale’s arms.
On positioned Hong behind herself.

“I don’t want to.”

And she summoned mist. Simultaneously, crimson seeped into it. Hong’s poison.

“I, I don’t want to either!”

Lord Sherit stared at this in bewilderment.
In that moment, she saw Kale’s stubborn gaze fixed upon her.
His mouth opened.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m somewhat notorious as a reckless fool, and my temperament is rather foul.”

This place was Raon’s homeland and his roots.
In other words, his home.

He extended his hand.

“I simply cannot stand by while someone destroys a home.”

Even he, a reckless fool, would not destroy another’s home.
Well.
He had destroyed the homes of human traffickers.
But Kale deliberately overlooked that fact. After all, he was a reckless fool.

Kale turned his gaze forward.

How could he allow this place—allow Sherit—to crumble?
It was impossible.

Kale drew a smile across his face.

“Attack.”

As if they had been waiting for those words, Choi Han, Ron, and Vicross surged forward. They broke through the translucent white shield that had been protecting them.

The White Star saw Kale.
Kale met his gaze and opened his mouth.

“Ignite.”

Rumble, rumble—
The sky roared without restraint.

Crack! Boom!

The White Star lifted his head.
Black clouds.
Toward the clouds cradling white lightning, golden lightning began to swirl.

—————
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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