Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 445

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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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Choi Han gazed at Kale Heniatus’s contorted face, and in that moment, Raon came to mind.

‘If only Raon were here!’

He could have teleported me or lifted me into the air with magic.

‘Lord Kale Heniatus has the Voice of Wind, though.’

Kale could indeed lift my body into the air with the Voice of Wind. But the White Star had surrounded the hall with a thick wind barrier, making it difficult for Kale and me to escape.

‘While breaking through the White Star’s wind barrier, the people in the hall will rush at us.’

If that happened, someone would certainly be injured.
Weren’t they already rushing at me without hesitation?

“I have to save them….”

Thwack! I roughly shoved away the Knight who had grabbed my collar. Since it was just a hand strike, the Knight wasn’t hurt—he merely staggered.
Thud. The Knight fell backward. But no one paid attention.

“I’m… going to save them….”

Even a young boy—clearly a Servant—blindly tried to grab my collar. I gently pushed his hand away.
With people like this, they would certainly rush into the battle scene when I broke through the wind barrier and tried to escape.

‘They said they can’t even be knocked unconscious!’

My brow furrowed slightly. The White Star seemed to notice this, and I saw him watching my eyes with a smile.

“Why? Can’t you see a way out? Well, without anyone who can use magic, teleportation would be difficult, wouldn’t it? I wonder where the Young Dragon went?”

So that’s why he separated me from Raon.
I turned my gaze away, understanding the White Star’s intent as he spoke mockingly. The Illusionist was rising red smoke with both hands forming hand seals.

‘Why can’t I see the focal point?’

Unlike Gashan, the Illusionist bore no visible staff or talisman. His hands were empty, yet he undoubtedly carried a medium concealed somewhere upon his person.
The Illusionist opened his mouth as he regarded Choi Han.

“Why search so frantically? Simply surrender peacefully. Just let yourself be captured. It’s a small courtesy I’m extending to you.”
“…Why should I remain docile?”
“Your heart would suffer, wouldn’t it? You’re all people who cherish each and every human life, aren’t you? When these children and ordinary folk die, how much emotional trauma will their families endure?”

His voice, alternating between informal and formal speech, circled Choi Han’s ears like a musical instrument.

“That emotional trauma will become your wound, won’t it? Isn’t that right, kind Choi Han?”

Whoooosh—
At the same time, Choi Han saw the light arrow from Bear King Sayehr aimed at him.

“Try anything foolish, and I’ll kill these people one by one. They’re not our allies—merely pitiful souls who’ve been deceived.”

Sayehr’s scorn was directed at Choi Han. His gaze held absolute certainty that Choi Han would be powerless to act.

‘After all, that’s the path Kale Heniatus and his companions have always walked.’

They were the type to spare an enemy leader rather than allow a single innocent to perish.
How utterly foolish.

Clink.
Choi Han sheathed his sword. Both his hands were now empty.

“As expected.”

Indeed, they were that sort of people.
Thus, ultimately, they would be unable to withstand the power of Sayehr and the White Star. Foolish wretches who understood not that sacrifice was the price of the greater cause.

Watching Choi Han with his head bowed and Kale with his vacant expression, Sayehr felt laughter bubble up naturally. The frustration that had accumulated seemed to dissipate.
That was the moment.

Clang!
A small object soared into the air, then clattered to the ground.
Clang, clang!
Another followed, tumbling across the floor.

Two golden badges glinted as they tumbled into the dust below.
A faint hum emanated from them, a subtle red light dancing across their surfaces.

Sayehr watched as Choi Han slowly raised his head, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

“I’m a good person, they say—”

Choi Han’s hands moved once more with deliberate precision.
Rip, tear!
He reached toward the collars of those clinging to him.

“Stop!”

The moment the Illusionist cried out, Sayehr lunged at Choi Han. Choi Han opened his clenched fist.
Clink, clatter. Metal badges fell to the ground.

The badges bearing the territorial insignia that had been fastened to the collars of those wearing fresh ceremonial robes or new servant uniforms.
Choi Han tore them away with ferocious intent. From those tangling around him, from those grasping at his legs—he stripped every badge.

Rip!
In that instant, the one rushing forward froze like a puppet with its strings cut.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice something like this?”

He tore the badge roughly from the collar of a young servant rushing at him.

“A good person? What nonsense is that?”
“You bastard!”

Sayehr closed the distance in a heartbeat, appearing directly before the smiling Choi Han. Choi Han twisted his lips into a grin.

“You said you’d kill me, so why aren’t you firing those light arrows? Why come at me directly like this?”

A badge rested in the palm of Choi Han’s hand.

“Once I remove these, none of your puppets obey your commands anymore.”
“Shut your mouth!”

Sayehr’s fist, suffused with light, drove toward Choi Han’s heart.
Kwaaang! The deafening impact sent everyone around Sayehr and Choi Han sprawling backward. Yet those not fully freed from the illusion still pressed toward Choi Han.

At the center of it all, Choi Han caught Sayehr’s fist with a single hand.
Sizzle. His palm burned.

“What—what is this!”

Sayehr tried to wrench his fist free, but it wouldn’t budge. Instead, Choi Han’s hand pulled his fist closer.
Then, right before Sayehr’s eyes, he revealed a badge that exhaled wisps of crimson smoke.

“I couldn’t destroy this, so I couldn’t fire the light arrows. This thing traps people in illusions and controls them. Isn’t that right?”
“You bastard!”

Sayehr’s other hand, wreathed in light, struck down at Choi Han’s palm.
Clang, clatter. The badge tumbled to the ground again.

“Ugh!”

Sayehr’s body was driven backward. He glared at Choi Han, who was already swiftly tearing badges from the people around them.

“Stop him!”

At the Illusionist’s urgent cry, Sayehr bit his lip and turned his gaze to the White Star. Then he froze. His eyes met those of Kale Heniatus, who stood locked in confrontation with the White Star.
Slowly, Kale’s lips parted.

“I thought you had something truly impressive hidden away.”
“…What did you say?”

Before Sayehr could even respond, Kale’s gaze shifted to the White Star and the Illusionist.

“Is this all you have? Hm?”

He approached the White Star. His eyes lingered briefly on the sight of Choi Han rapidly removing badges, but his expression twisted again as he turned toward the White Star.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice they were under an illusion? Hm?”

His face was twisted with exasperation.

“…You were aware of the illusion?”

The Illusionist stared at Kale Heniatus in shock, but Kale’s gaze remained fixed solely on the White Star.

“You told me when I first fell into the Banquet Hall, didn’t you? ‘Kale Heniatus, you look like a mess.'”

The moment I heard those words, I realized something immediately.

“I’m reluctant to boast about my own name, but I’m rather famous, you know?”

Ordinary citizens of the Caro Kingdom might not know, but even in the outskirts of Dubori Territory, the knights, administrators, mages, and even the lord himself would inevitably hear gossip about how the kingdom was faring.
Especially a lord or key administrator would have not only heard my name but also seen my face in portraits—someone who had greatly contributed to protecting their own land.

Yet you don’t know me?

“The fact that everyone here fails to recognize my name is proof enough that they’re not in a normal state, isn’t it?”

It’s awkward to say it myself.

“I’m something of a hero in the Caro Kingdom, after all.”

A lord with a famous relative in the central government couldn’t possibly be ignorant of Kale’s name.

“Ha, I thought something serious was happening.”

In the moment when the White Star and Kale Heniatus’s eyes met.

“Is that all?”

And Kale Heniatus vanished before the White Star.
A whistling wind echoed through the hall.

“Gasp!”

The Illusionist felt a force seize the back of her head. Her head was forcibly twisted around. Kale Heniatus, having moved in an instant, smiled down at her.

“Release the illusion from the people if you want to live. Got it?”

The Illusionist’s pupils trembled.

“I’m not as good a person as you think I am. Do you really believe I’m some sort of saint or hero?”

I prefer it when people don’t get hurt or die, generally speaking.
But I don’t want to save someone’s life by sacrificing my own people. That’s why I know I’m selfish and wicked.
So I said it.

“Stop. Now.”

Whiiiiish—
A fierce wind bloomed above my other hand. I spoke to the Illusionist while looking at Sayehr and the White Star.

“If you don’t want to die. I don’t threaten people. I only speak the truth.”

The Illusionist’s pupils trembled. Having spent her life casting illusions on people, she was more sensitive to human emotion than anyone. That’s how she recognized that my words were sincere.

Her mouth slowly opened.

“E-everyone, remove your badges!”

Those rushing at Choi Han stopped in their tracks. Then they quickly removed the badges attached to their clothes.
Clink. Thunk. Golden badges fell to the ground one by one.
The moment the badges touched the earth, those who had surrounded Choi Han slowly collapsed to the ground and lost consciousness.

Choi Han exhaled in relief at the sight.
But soon his pupils began to shake.

“What is this?!”

Countless metal badges scattered across the ground.
The badges that had fallen from those surrounding Choi Han formed a perfect circle with him at its center when viewed from a distance.

Huuuuung— Huung—
Red smoke erupted from the badges in an instant.
I moved the wind.

Boom!
With a sharp explosion, the Illusionist’s hands, which had been forming hand seals, stopped moving. The Illusionist flashed me a bright smile.

“What good does it do to restrain my head? My hands are still moving. The hand seal is already complete.”

What?
Kale Heniatus opened his mouth immediately upon seeing the crimson smoke rising.

“Choi Han, get away!”

But Choi Han couldn’t move. For reasons he couldn’t fathom, his body had gone rigid, completely immobilized. In that moment, his trembling voice reached Kale’s ears.

“Why… why is it suddenly dark—!”

A chandelier fell, yet the Banquet Hall remained bright. Brilliantly so. Kale’s face twisted mercilessly as he seized the Illusionist by the back of the neck.

“What is the meaning of this?”

Only then did Kale Heniatus truly meet the Illusionist’s gaze. And he realized his mistake.
The Illusionist was different from the White Star’s subordinates he had encountered thus far. Kale saw the eyes of a predator that had not yet surrendered.
She whispered with ease.

“Kale Heniatus, if you want to make a deal with me, it has to be fair. So I’ve created an equitable situation.”

Choi Han, engulfed in crimson smoke, grew increasingly frantic.

Whoooosh—
Kale attempted to unleash a whirlwind of wind toward the crimson smoke.

“Ah, but if you attack, Choi Han will be gravely injured, won’t he?”

Yet he couldn’t move recklessly at the Illusionist’s words. She spoke with evident pleasure as she watched him.

“Now, I’ll threaten you too. Unless you want to watch Choi Han slit his own throat with his own hands, release the hand you have on my neck. Understood?”

At that same moment, the White Star’s voice echoed.

“…Merely this much. It cannot be.”

The White Star, who had been carefully observing Kale Heniatus’s rigid expression, finally spoke with a somewhat satisfied look.
Having endured so much, he had prepared thoroughly.

“Did you think I prepared only fakes?”

Boom! Crash!
The ground trembled.
This vibration resembled the one I had felt in Yengen City.
No—it was stronger. As if the earth itself were splitting apart.

“What in the world—!”
“Why am I here?”
“Ugh, where is this place?”

Several people regained consciousness from the tremor, their bodies convulsing with dizziness. Their eyes darted frantically about, searching for the source of the disturbance, and soon they found it.

Whoooosh—
The White Star’s wind barrier slowly dissipated. Beyond the Lord’s Castle walls, a serpent of flame became visible.
Yet the flame serpent soon ceased its movement.
The people were not even looking at the flame serpent.

“…Good… heavens—”

Boom!
The ground shook as a colossal pillar of fire erupted from the western reaches of Dubori Territory.
The fierce inferno that tore through the earth was no mere flame.

“…Is that… lava?”

When someone uttered the name of the phenomenon most resembling what they witnessed.
Boom—crash, boom!
The tremors continued as massive pillars of fire erupted from all four directions.

My eyes caught sight of the White Star opening the western window and moving toward the terrace.
With an expression that dismissed both Choi Han and me entirely, the White Star raised a hand. My gaze locked onto that hand.

Whoooosh—
A sword of flame burned in the White Star’s grasp with a crimson intensity unlike any I had witnessed before.

‘…It’s different.’

This sword of flame differed from any I had encountered thus far. The blade before me radiated a strength on an entirely different plane. This must be the true sword of flame.
That must be the true Sword of Fire.

“Kale Heniatus, you’ve crossed blades with Sirem before, so you know the Calamity Sword, don’t you?”

The half-broken Calamity Sword that the fake Dragon Slayer had wielded. How devastating had its power been?
During the Heniatus Territory battle, Kale and Raon had struggled immensely to block that blade. Raon’s shield shattered, and Kale was driven to his absolute limits, barely managing to endure.

“I’ve added fire to that sword. Isn’t fire the symbol of calamity?”

The White Star, the final Dragon Slayer, had infused the Calamity Sword with the fire attribute of an Ancient Power.
The fire that the ancient White Star had possessed was calamity itself.

Fire was one of the things humans feared most easily.

“I shall rain down true calamity of fire upon you.”

His blade pointed beyond Dubori Territory, toward the Land of Death itself.
The Land of Death. The only region among the Western Continent’s mysteries said to have been created by human hands.
The desert that came to be called the Land of Death after the death of the final Necromancer.
And beside that desert lay Dubori Territory.

The White Star spoke plainly, as if greeting a passing breeze.

“Let me create another mystery upon this land.”

This time, a calamity wrought of fire would bring death to that place.

“So, what will you do? Kale Heniatus, your young dragon isn’t by your side. You can’t even flee.”

The White Star anticipated it. He was genuinely curious to see what form this man—left to fight alone, pushed to his absolute limit—would take.
He leisurely admired Kale’s vacant expression.

In that moment, Kale’s mind was chaos.

-That ear-flicking bastard! That trash deserves curses until he’s erased from this world! I should beat him down with nothing but insults! Argh!

A crystalline voice spewed crude profanities.

-I’ll kill him. That son of a bitch.

An Ancient Power—the Sky-Devouring Water.

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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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