Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 463

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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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Just keep looking ahead.
I’m only looking forward.
Kale Heniatus hunched his shoulders slightly, his gaze fixed solely on the back of the hunter Bob.

‘They say it enchants by mimicking the voice of someone you long for, so why doesn’t it work that way on me?’

Except for Ron and Choi Han, Kale was someone who didn’t cower before anyone. Yet right now, he felt considerable fear.

‘Something’s wrong.’

In his haste to turn his head away, he hadn’t gotten a proper look at the snake’s head or its overall form, but the massive serpentine body undulating before him was far larger than anything his imagination could conjure.
The crimson scales gleamed with an eerie, otherworldly luster.

‘That’s not the issue.’

But Kale’s fear wasn’t born from the red scales or the colossal body. The moment he laid eyes on that existence, dread consumed him.

‘Why is this happening?’

This sensation was new to Kale, and his brow furrowed deeply.
At that moment, Jjangdol’s voice reached him.

-It will enchant someone. It absolutely will.

The voice was filled with certainty and carried a firmness unlike his usual tone.

‘Are you saying I’ll be enchanted?’
-No. You won’t be enchanted. Never.

What?
I will never be enchanted?
Why?

But Jjangdol didn’t answer Kale’s question. Instead, he spoke rapidly, his words tumbling forth.

-If you’re enchanted by that snake, you’ll either die or find yourself driven to kill someone.

There was not a shred of hesitation in that voice.

-But right now, you have many companions traveling with you, and they are all strong. That cunning snake knows this fact, so it will make the enchanted one kill someone. Because that can bring about more deaths. It will turn the enchanted into a blood-crazed monster.

Is it some kind of cursed power or object like you’d see in a fantasy novel?

-…It’s worse than that. Be careful.

Be careful of the snake?

-No. Be careful of your enchanted companion’s sword.
Sssssss-

The moment the sound of the snake and Jjangdol mixed together.

“Ugh!”

Kale’s body suddenly jerked backward. The hand gripping his shoulder was filled with force, and Kale felt pain.

“What? What’s—”

Kale’s eyes widened and he closed his mouth. Behind him should have been the invisible Raon, and then Vicross holding On and Hong.
But now he could see that everything was in chaos.

“Hey!”

The Mercenary King Bud was shouting at Kale. Because of the earplugs, Kale couldn’t hear the sound, but the shape of his mouth and the unfolding situation were enough for him to grasp what was happening.

“Damn it, that bastard Vicross!”

Kale shook off Bud’s hand on his shoulder and rushed toward Vicross.

“Shit!”

Bud frowned at the sight but quickly approached the hunter Bob. He had to grab Bob, who was disappearing into the mist.
At that moment, Kale, who was approaching Vicross, was grabbed by someone’s hand. When he turned his head, it was Choi Han. He looked at Kale with eyes that urged him to act carefully.

But Kale soon turned his gaze back to Vicross.

-Human! Something is wrong with Vicross!

Just as Raon’s voice echoed in my mind, Vicross veered off the path alone and wandered into the forest.

“…Mother….”

He walked forward with a vacant expression, muttering only the word “mother.” I became certain of what was happening.

‘He’s been enchanted!’

He must have been bewitched by the snake.
Vicross would never move so foolishly while leading the children. And then I saw something.

-Human! Why is Vicross heading into an empty forest?

It seemed neither Raon nor Choi Han could see it.
But I could. And I could hear it.

Jingle, jingle.

The sound of bells rang out.
A small bell attached to the tip of a massive serpent’s tail swayed and chimed from a distance ahead of where Vicross was walking.

Jingle.
With each ring of the bell, Vicross took another step forward.
My face twisted at the sight.

‘Why did that stoic bastard have to be the one enchanted?’
-If someone returns home after fifteen years, and especially to the place where their mother died, their heart would be anything but steady—whether filled with joy, sorrow, or relief.

Damn it.
I realized that Jjangdol’s answer was the solution to my question.

“…Mom.”

Because Vicross was calling out for his mother as he walked toward that direction. I cursed myself for not noticing his emotional state sooner, but I couldn’t just stand idle.

Jingle, jingle.
Even now, as I followed the sound of those bells, On and Hong nestled securely in Vicross’s arms. Kale’s heart grew more anxious at the sight.
And the two cats couldn’t escape from Vicross’s embrace. They had no choice but to stay.

‘…It’s red!’

When Vicross suddenly changed direction, and no matter how much Hong pounded his arm, he couldn’t snap out of it. Hong saw something crimson in the direction Vicross was heading.

“…Red—!”

But Hong, crying out without thinking, had to bow his head low without even getting a proper look at it.
A moment later, Hong cautiously lifted his head. His sister On was holding him close, her eyes squeezed shut. At that sight, Hong quickly shut his eyes tight as well.

‘I was told not to look twice!’

Fearing they might glimpse the crimson scales twice while fleeing. And since they couldn’t abandon Vicross, On and Hong chose to close their eyes while clutching at his collar.

‘What do I do?’

Choi Han bit his lip as he watched On and Hong’s forms and Vicross walking in a daze. Should I stop Vicross now? I worried that any hasty movement might trigger something catastrophic.

But if that were the case, I needed to understand the current situation first—and that was the problem.

‘I can’t see it!’

The snake was invisible, and I heard no sound whatsoever.
I couldn’t determine where the enemy was at all.
That was when it happened.

Whoosh!
I saw the hunter Bud tear off his blindfold. His face twisted as he shouted at Vicross.

“Damn it! I knew this would happen!”

He pulled an arrow from the quiver slung across his shoulder and quickly nocked his bow. Then he surveyed his surroundings. He showed no fear in looking at the Red Snake.

“Where is it? Where’s this damn Red Snake?! I can look once!”

The hunter Bud deliberately raised his voice, acting as though he were ready to fight the Red Snake. So the moment the crimson scales appeared, he planned to immediately turn and flee in the opposite direction, dragging this bewitched human along with him.

‘That’s right. Since I’m blocking my ears, I won’t be charmed. With so many strong people here, grabbing that charmed person and escaping would be child’s play.’

Elderly Man Bob’s piercing gaze swept through the mist like a net, searching intently.
Then, without thinking, the old man lowered his drawn bow and cried out.

“No! Have you lost your mind?”

In Bob’s eyes, flustered and forgetting even to maintain formal speech, the image of Merchant Bob was reflected.

Thunk. Thunk.
Kale Heniatus removed his earplugs with an indifferent expression and discarded them on the ground.

-Human! You’ll be charmed too!
“Kale Heniatus.”
“Hey!”
“Mm.”

I could see the bewildered gazes of my companions, but I was filled with nothing but irritation.

Jingle, jingle.
“…Mother….”

Vicross was likely hearing his mother’s voice right now and falling under its spell. After fifteen long years, he had reclaimed the place where his mother had passed away and the home they had shared together.
So even that emotionless human must have developed a crack in his heart, and that Red Snake bastard was exploiting that gap to charm people.

‘…How irritating.’

I was truly furious now.

-Human! This will end badly!

I ignored Raon’s words.
I’d already discarded the earplugs and seen the red scales twice. I hadn’t seen the serpent’s head yet, but what of it?

‘I can just do as I please, can’t I?’

Jingle.
When the bell rang once more.

-Aren’t you overexerting yourself?

The voice of the Sky-Devouring Water reached my ears, and at the same moment, Choi Han, startled by my actions, tried to grab my arm. But I was moving too quickly.

Whoooosh—
A thin spear made of water left my hand and flew forward.
The spear traced a straight line, flying in one direction.

Crash!
It collided with the bell attached to the serpent’s tail.

“Huh?”

The group’s eyes widened at the water spear exploding in midair and the deafening sound that followed.
And I quickly dashed through the gap between my startled companions toward Vicross.

“…Mom, ugh!”

Then I gave Vicross a satisfying smack on the back of his head. Though my blow wouldn’t hurt him much, Vicross let out a groan as if in shock.

“Ugh, who suddenly—! Ugh!”

At the same time, I dumped a round water bomb directly over his head.

Meow.
Meow!

On and Hong, reading the situation well, quickly escaped from Vicross’s embrace.

“Cough, cough!”

As Vicross coughed away, he glared at me with eyes full of complaint. It seemed he had no memory of being charmed at all. And my assumption proved correct.

“Thank goodness.”

Vicross stared at me as if I were a madman—me, who had just struck the back of his head and doused him with a water bomb, now awkwardly patting my wet hair with a disturbingly affectionate expression.
But soon, Vicross’s complexion turned pale.

Kiiiiieeeee—!

A horrifying screech pierced the air—so deafening that earplugs proved utterly useless. Bud’s head snapped around in alarm, and he witnessed a sight that made his blood run cold.

“What… what is that?”

A serpent’s tail covered in crimson scales. At the tail’s end, a cracked rattle gleamed.

‘That’s exactly where Kale threw the spear!’

The Mercenary King’s gaze snapped toward Kale. In that same instant, Kale lifted his head and looked upward.

The screech came from above.
Through the mist-shrouded forest, Kale spotted an enormous serpent’s head looming down at him. Its scales gleamed like crimson eyes, as if ready to devour him whole.
Then the serpent opened its maw.

Kiiiiieeeee—!

Bud clamped both hands over his ears, pressing the earplugs harder against them.

“Ugh!”

His complexion drained to an ashen pallor.
The monstrous cry caused his body to involuntarily recoil. What was this? Why did I feel this way? There was no need to deliberate long.

Fear.
The moment that sound reached my ears, dread consumed me.

And this torment was not Bud’s alone to bear.

“Gasp! I’ve never… never heard a sound like this before…!”
“Ugh.”

Bob trembled violently, his body curling inward, while the Dragon Hybrid barely managed to remain standing, his legs threatening to give way beneath him.
On and Hong clung to Vicross once more, their bodies quaking.
Kale’s expression twisted as he witnessed the scene.

-H-human! I, I’m also a little frightened! And I’m a great dragon!

Damn it.
The moment I heard even the youngest Raon’s voice trembling with fear, I resolved once more to summon the ancient power dwelling within my body.

I’m afraid.
He was afraid too.
As the otherworldly screams continued without pause and grew louder with each passing moment, Kale felt his terror deepen.
Yet he couldn’t simply stand idle.

“…This is terrifying.”

I hated this incomprehensible fear.

-Because it’s blood.

In that moment, Jjangdol’s voice reached me.

-A stone soaked in blood. The very earth where the dead are buried. A weapon itself that kills people and living creatures. Fear is only natural.

Jjangdol said that fear was only natural.

-Do you know why you feared the Ancient White Star?

I had feared the White Star partly because it wielded the power of the Sky attribute and because the White Star was formidable.

-The power of that earth grants people a primal terror of death as a weapon.

The ancient peoples had to tremble and submit before the Ancient White Star who wielded that power.
Just as all dead things return to earth, people instinctively feared that earth’s power—a weapon crafted to specialize in the nature of earth that embraces the dead.

I began to understand why the White Star had spent all this time searching for that earth’s power.

Dominion.
No power rivaled dominion born from fear.

‘Then what should I do?’

My brow furrowed.

-Kale.

In that moment, Jjangdol spoke.

-Do you know why I brought Neran Berow, powerless as he was? Do you know why I tried to keep him alive?

Neran Berow. The First Dragon Slayer and a Korean named Choi Jung-gun.
At Jjangdol’s sudden revelation, Kale’s mind began to race rapidly. Jjangdol wouldn’t speak nonsense, after all.
Even so, Jjangdol continued.

-I protected him partly because he was young. But that bastard possessed a power that was nothing but an empty illusion. Perfect for deception. However…

Ah.
An exclamation escaped Kale’s lips.

-That power is sometimes called bluster, but at other times it’s courage.

A dominating aura.
A power I thought was perfect for deception and bluffing.

-That bastard, normally he’s full of bluster, but he has the courage to face fear. And that courage became an aura. With that bastard’s aura, we could stand against that terror.

Only then could Kale understand why Jjangdol had boasted that he wouldn’t be bewitched by that snake.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The dominating aura within Kale’s body slowly began to unfurl from its coiled state.

-Share your aura with the others.

The corners of Kale’s mouth rose.
In that moment, everyone’s gaze shifted.
A tremendous aura was felt. An aura that evoked the presence of an absolute being, a ruler, yet somehow felt like a reassuring pillar of support.

The group, who had been drowning in inexplicable terror and vague dread, slowly lowered the hands they’d pressed to their ears and straightened their hunched shoulders.
A powerful aura that felt like warmth and courage rather than fear. An invisible force that supported them steadily, as if commanding them to trust and follow.

-Human! I’m not scared! But human, you look so strong! You look frail but so dependable!

Kale listened to Raon’s words as he wrapped the dominating aura around his entire body.
And he lifted his head.

Sssssss

Kale looked at the snake glaring at me and spoke.

“I’ll kill you, you snake bastard.”

At the same moment, another water spear shot toward the snake’s tail.

Boom!
The spear collided with a tree and exploded.

Sssssss—
The snake’s tail, having evaded the spear, shot upward into the sky before descending toward the ground.
With a thunderous crash, that massive body lunged toward me.

“That’s right, come on. You pathetic snake, worse than red pepper paste!”

The Voice of Wind wrapped around my body, and I sprinted rapidly in one direction.
That direction was toward the summit of Nake Mountain—a peak covered entirely in granite.

At that moment, I heard Choi Han’s voice from behind me.

“Kale Heniatus.”
“What? Don’t interfere! I must face the Ancient Powers alone to claim them!”

I didn’t spare him a glance, sprinting toward the summit instead.
I had to lure the snake to a place with no people. With so much to do, I quickened my pace while mapping out my future plans in my mind.
Then, despite my warning not to interfere, Choi Han caught up and took his place beside me.

“Choi Han, I told you I have to do this alone.”
“But the balance of your vessel will collapse, won’t it?”
“…What?”
“You already know this.”

I was left speechless.
My vessel, which I had barely managed to balance by acquiring the five elemental attributes.
But my plan was to gain one more earth-based power this time.

I looked at Choi Han, who wore a sorrowful smile.

“Kale Heniatus, are you about to sacrifice yourself again?”

I was left speechless once more.

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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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