Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 383

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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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Crash!
A stone spear and the wind barrier collided.
It was a small sound compared to the previous thunderous impacts.

But that sound became a signal.

Boom! Crash!
The sharp tip of a stone spear shot toward the wind barrier.

“…Ugh!”

The White Star watched the stone spear attempting to pierce the wind barrier and thickened the water curtain further.

“My lord!”

The Mage, carried on the back of a Bear Tribe warrior, approached the White Star’s side.

Retreat.
At the White Star’s command, his subordinates were all moving away from the White Castle. The Mage also approached the White Star before making his escape.
More and more blood was trickling from the corners of the White Star’s mouth.

Though it was less blood than what Kale Heniatus had shed, this was the first time the Mage had ever seen the White Star bleed like this.

“Damn it.”

This was the first time the White Star had ever failed to contain his anger.
The White Star, who always observed situations with a detached, weary demeanor, now displayed his fury as he looked upon Kale Heniatus.

Yet that anger did not seem directed at the current situation of being attacked and forced to retreat.
The Mage, knowing the White Star’s state better than any of his other subordinates, could discern what had truly provoked his wrath.

‘Rage at what he could not possess.’

The power of earth.
He had heard that his lord had spent a thousand years gathering the Ancient Powers of the sky attribute and the five natural attributes, yet the White Star had failed to obtain the final power of earth.
Despite all his efforts, his lord remained unable to find it.

Yet the White Star had never anticipated that Kale Heniatus would gather all five natural attributes to stand against him, and that realization ignited a fury that burned through his veins.

Boom! Crash! Crash!

Stone spears hammered relentlessly against the wind barrier.
With each impact, cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

“Cough!”

And with each strike, the White Star bled a little more.
His body, unable to gather all five natural attributes, had lost its equilibrium.
The strain upon that fractured form grew heavier with every passing moment.

Crackle!
Simultaneously, the turbulent wind barrier began to fray at its edges, growing gossamer-thin. Yet the stone spears pressed forward without hesitation toward the water veil beyond.

“My lord!”

The Mage finally spoke to the White Star.

“You must withdraw! You must obtain it at once!”

It.
The final power of earth.
The fury that had blazed across the White Star’s face gradually gave way to composure.

The power of earth that the Ancient White Star once possessed.
After a thousand years of searching, he had finally found its thread.

‘…If only I could have read the entire account of the hero’s birth.’

The First Dragon Slayer, Neran Berow. His record was written in two languages.
One was the common tongue of the Eastern Continent, and the other was utterly incomprehensible.

Neran Berow claimed that script was the language of his homeland, and he never taught it to anyone. He decreed that should someone appear who could read that tongue, the book was to be given to them.
Surely the text written in that mysterious script contained many clues about the power of the Ancient White Star.

‘But such matters are irrelevant now.’

I have now found a clue to the power of the last land, and soon I will have that power within my grasp.

The White Star stepped back, calming the turbulent chaos within as his balance shattered and twisted.

“…My liege.”

The Mage finally saw signs of the White Star’s retreat, and gazed upon his liege with both a smile and sorrow. That was the moment.

“I cannot end it like this.”

The White Star looked beyond the water barrier, beyond the wind wall, beyond the stone spears pouring down upon him—at one person.

He could see Kale’s smiling face.
Behind him, Kale’s companions were slipping into the White Castle.

Tap.
The White Star retreated once more.
Simultaneously, he swung his left hand.

“Devour them.”

Kiiiiiii!
A strange sound echoed through the air.
In that instant, the wind wall transformed.

Whoooosh!
The wind, now a colossal serpent, began to surge forward.

Crash! Crash! Boom!
The stone spears collided, but the wind serpent paid them no mind and pressed onward.
The serpent moved at tremendous speed, piercing through the stone spears, which failed to react in time and crashed into the water barrier instead.

Boom! Crash!
Leaving behind the sounds of the water barrier and stone spears colliding, the wind serpent crossed the ground covered in white granules.

Kale saw the wind serpent approaching him.
Only then did the White Star turn and retreat. Through the white mask covering his face, Kale could see the corners of his eyes smiling at him.

The mouth not hidden by the mask curved upward slightly.

‘Dodge well.’

Kale Heniatus laughed as well.

“Evade them.”

He shouted.

“Chase them to the very end!”

Whoooosh—
Half of the stone spears struck against the water barrier, while the remaining half bypassed it and surged toward the White Star. Unwilling to let them escape, the White Star retreated while contorting his face in displeasure.

“My apologies, my lord.”

The Mage offered words of apology to the White Star even as poison ravaged his body, twisting his insides.
The White Star made no particular response to those words, simply sweeping his right hand through the air.

Whoooosh—
The wind serpent’s speed accelerated even further.

Kale Heniatus watched as the wind serpent bore down upon him with increasing velocity, its jaws gaping wide in a savage display.
In that instant, Jjangdol’s voice echoed in my mind.

-Using more power would be problematic.

My entire body trembled faintly.

Thanks to the White Crown’s power, I had withstood the White Star’s lightning assault.
Since I had barely expended my own strength, my body still brimmed with power.

However, accepting such tremendous force, channeling it directly, and then expending my own power once more naturally imposed considerable strain.
Moreover, if I were to employ not merely the stone spears but other Ancient Powers as well, the burden would inevitably become immense.

-It seems like a situation where I cannot afford to lose consciousness.

The moment Jjangdol spoke with concern, I shrugged my shoulders.
Toward me, the wind serpent’s fangs descended.

Crack!

But the wind split apart.

-Hmm, needless worry.

Jjangdol muttered as if embarrassed, but I paid no attention.
Instead, I found myself carried on someone else’s back.

“I’m not the kind of person to be carried around like this!”

The Mercenary King Bud grumbled as he rushed toward the White Castle with me on his back. I opened my mouth.

“Thank you, Choi Han.”

Choi Han’s blade sliced through the wind serpent’s snout.
Choi Han immediately followed behind Bud, continuing to harass the wind serpent by launching gleaming black aura strikes while calmly responding to me.

“No, Kale Heniatus.”
“Wow! I’m the one carrying you! And you don’t even thank me! How am I supposed to live with this heartbreak!”

Bud complained while moving toward the White Castle as fast as possible.
As they approached the open city gate at the center of the city wall, children who appeared to be around nine years old rushed out and shouted toward me.

“Human! Come quickly!”
“You need to hurry!”
“The wind is right behind you!”

Raon’s acceleration magic took hold of Bud and Choi Han’s feet. Their speed increased further.

Whoooosh—
But the wind serpent chased after them with ever-increasing speed. It seemed as though it could seize them by the neck at any moment.

“Prepare yourselves.”

Erhafen gathered mana as he watched the scene unfold. Sherit also raised her shield. Simultaneously, Ron’s body surged forward.

“Father?”

Vicross was puzzled by the sight before him.

“Hong!”

On’s sharp cry pierced the air.
From beside the direction the wind serpent was approaching, several daggers hurtled toward Hong at tremendous speed.

On rushed forward in alarm to shield Hong, and Raon moved in front of them both, hastily attempting to deploy a protective barrier spell.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

But there was no need.

Clang! Clang!
The daggers struck a white shield and embedded themselves in the ground.
At the same moment, several figures emerged from the shadows of the City Wall.

Cat-Human Race soldiers.
They were the ones who had been holding back from the battle, waiting for the right moment to hunt Hong—the weakest among On and Hong.

“Damn!”

One of the Cat-Human Race soldiers cursed roughly and retreated.

Thunk!
A dagger embedded itself in the ground.
Ron appeared atop the City Wall and hurled a dagger toward the Cat-Human Race soldiers and the shadows of the wall.

“Tch!”
“Blast!”

The Cat-Human Race soldiers retreated.
Though disappointment crossed their faces, when the Tribal Chief gave a hand signal, they turned without hesitation and began to flee. The Tribal Chief withdrew last, his gaze fixed on On and Hong.
He saw On glaring at him.

“I’ll have to kill you next time.”

A smile played across his cold, expressionless face.

“An opportunity to kill you will surely come.”

The Tribal Chief swung his arm.
The short blade in his hand moved.

Clang!

The short blade flying toward him bounced away.
The Tribal Chief glanced at Ron, who looked down at him, then turned and fled after the tribal warriors.
At that moment, a voice reached Ron’s ears.

“Close the gate!”

Creeeeak—
The City Gate began to close.
Bud increased his speed even more as he watched the gate shutting.

Whoooosh—
He felt the wind serpent approaching right behind him.

“Argh! What is this madness!”

Bud cried out as he rushed through the closing gate.
Choi Han followed immediately after him.

Boom!
The City Gate slammed shut.
Crash!
The sound of the City Gate colliding with the wind serpent echoed out.
Lord Sherit’s white shield was already erected in front of the City Gate.

“Huff, huff.”

Bud gasped for breath.
The wind serpent slowly dissipated. Only then did Bud’s expression crumple.

The White Star’s wind serpent could not have vanished so easily.

“That crazy bastard was just buying time!”

The White Star had created a Wind Snake to buy himself time for a comfortable escape, launching it at Kale Heniatus.
The moment Bud realized this, he set Kale down from his back.

“Hey! You know the White Star used that Wind Snake to buy time, right? Huh?”

With Ron’s support, Kale descended to the ground and opened his mouth.
This was not to answer Bud.

“In about ten minutes, the stone spears chasing the White Star will disappear.”

Kale approached On’s side and lifted Hong, who stood behind her, cradling the creature and stroking it gently. Hong buried its face in Kale’s embrace, its front paws gripping his collar tightly.

Pat. Pat.
Kale softly tapped Hong’s back, and Bud, watching this scene, spoke.

“Of course they’ll disappear. You don’t have unlimited power—how could you keep making those stone spears chase the White Star indefinitely? The farther they get from you, the harder it becomes to maintain their strength.”

The stone spears pursuing the White Star would eventually vanish.
Kale had no way of knowing how far the White Star would go, and maintaining the stone spears’ power indefinitely without end in sight was beyond his capacity.
Bud naturally understood this.

“Anyway, it’s good that the White Star fled in such a state! We didn’t really suffer any damage! And you didn’t lose consciousness this time, did you?”

Bud’s face showed satisfaction as he reviewed the battle.
That was the moment.

“Is that truly the end? Did you not intentionally let him escape?”

Bud saw the Ancient Dragon Erhafen.
The Ancient Dragon was watching Kale.
In that moment, a smile played at the corners of Kale’s mouth.

He retrieved something from his embrace.
A golden spinning top.

“Chase after him.”

And he gave the same command he had given to the stone spears.

“Chase them to the end.”

At that moment, several voices rang out.

‘Yes! I’ll chase after the White Star!’
‘Kahahaha, just wait! I’ll uncover every detail of where the White Star’s hideout is!’

I stroked Hong as I spoke.

“Ah, and chase after the Cat-Human Race as well.”

Hong flinched and looked up at me. I spoke with an indifferent expression.

“Crush them first.”
‘Don’t worry! I love crushing things! I’ll chase the Cat-Human Race! Kahahahahaha!’
‘The Cat-Human Race is heading north! Hehe, destruction, annihilation! Hehe!’

The Wind Spirits, who seemed particularly unhinged, appeared to be chasing after the Cat-Human Race, but I simply continued stroking Hong with an impassive face.
Pat. Pat.
On’s front paw tapped against my calf for no particular reason.
Regardless, I spoke to my companions.

“We should be able to discover the White Star’s base location soon.”

I already knew the location of the Dark’s secret base through the Dragon Hybrid.
However, I had no way of knowing where the Bear Tribe, Lion Tribe, and the White Star were staying.

This time, I would find out their locations.
And simultaneously, there was something I needed to do.

‘The earth-attribute Ancient Power.’

The power of earth that the Ancient White Star once possessed.
I had to find it.
The clue to it was left in Choi Jung-gun’s Korean records.

However, I did not speak of this matter aloud.
Instead, I turned my head and looked at Choi Han.

“Let’s head back to the Village right away and examine the book.”

A record written in Korean.
I was currently someone who could not read it.

Only Choi Han could read it.

“Yes, I understand, Kale Heniatus.”

Choi Han answered with a composed expression.
But I could see Choi Han’s fists clenched with tension.

“Open the passage.”
“Yes.”

Choi Han immediately turned around and headed toward the room where the Dragon Slayer Village passage was located.
I quietly observed Choi Han’s back as he left.

‘How much will he tell me?’

Would Choi Han truly tell me everything he had read?

He could have hidden it.
But that would stem from a desire to sacrifice himself rather than any malicious intent.

At the same time, a question arose in my mind.

When I was Kim Rok-soo, who wrote the Birth of a Hero that I had read?

The author of that book was also Neran Berow.
But it was not the book left by Choi Jung-gun.
In the Birth of a Hero left by Choi Jung-gun in the Dragon Slayer Village, there was no mention whatsoever of Choi Han.

My expression became peculiar.

‘Interesting?’

Kim Rok-soo asked his colleague from his company orientation with a dumbfounded expression.
His colleague nodded while waving the book.

“Huh, completely. Kim Rok-soo, didn’t you read those back in middle and high school?”
“I read them back then. But now this world has monsters, magic, and swords—it’s become a fantasy. What’s the point in reading them now?”
“Hmm.”

Choi Jung-soo, my colleague from the same cohort, pondered for a moment before responding.

“Most fantasy novels have happy endings. That’s why I read them. I like happy endings.”

I watched Choi Han’s back and found myself thinking of Choi Jung-soo.

Choi Jung-soo.
His family had practiced martial arts for generations, particularly studying the swordsmanship of Joseon. Thanks to that, he wielded a blade with remarkable skill.

Choi Jung-soo polished his sword as he spoke to me.

“Hey, didn’t the team leader say he’d quit work and farm? Same with me.”
“Yeah. Why?”
“Well, didn’t I tell you I’d go back to my hometown and farm?”

I had heard about Choi Jung-soo’s hometown a few times.

“That village where your family has lived for generations?”
“Yeah. A rural village.”

A senior from one year above us who was nearby asked Choi Jung-soo a question.

“But why does your family live in that village?”
“Well, you see…”

Choi Jung-soo thought for a moment before answering.

“We haven’t always lived there. Um, I’m not sure which generation started it, but anyway, our family can never leave that land.”
“Why?”

The image of Choi Jung-soo polishing his sword with a bitter expression was etched in my memory.
He spoke matter-of-factly, but his face could not hide the emotion beneath.

“Simply put. My family said there must be a place for them to return to. So someone must always remain to guard that land. For generations, the elders of our house have said this land must be protected.”

Kim Rok-soo pondered the three Chois: Choi Jung-gun, Choi Han, and Choi Jung-soo.

The Birth of a Hero that Kale Heniatus had read was written by Choi Jung-gun.
The Birth of a Hero that Kim Rok-soo had read.
Whose memoir could it be?

Kale Heniatus fixed his gaze upon Choi Han’s retreating figure and summoned strength to his legs.
There was far too much left undone to stop now.

Damn it.
When would I ever get to rest?

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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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