Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 521

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

“No—!”

When flames sharp as the fangs of a beast with gaping jaws descended upon Alberu’s body as if to cleave him in two.
Taylor leaned over the City Wall’s railing as if he might tumble over it, his cry piercing the air like a scream.

“Your Highness!”
“Cast your magic there at once, at once!”
“What in blazes are the Knights Order doing! Open the City Gate! I must go out myself!”

Some of the retainers who had come here with Alberu, like Taylor, could not hide their shock.

‘…No, this cannot be!’

Taylor’s mind went white with panic.

Yes, from the start, His Highness should never have been allowed to venture outside.
Even if it meant being stubborn, even if it meant physically restraining him, he should have remained within the walls!

The Royal Palace Knights were too preoccupied fending off the wyverns to protect Alberu.
They were doing their utmost.

But their lack of capability was unavoidable.

‘If only Choi Han were here…!’

Had Choi Han stood in the place of those knights, this would never have happened.
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Taylor felt all strength drain from his body.

‘…This is Roan’s weakness.’

The weakness of Roan’s rapid growth on the Western Continent was precisely this.

‘We rely too heavily on too few people.’

Even as Taylor recognized this flaw, he despised his own heart for wishing Kale would arrive soon.
Yet there was nothing he could do about it.

‘I need to do my part…!’

But I had no part to play.
I was too weak.
Though I was doing everything within my power, it proved utterly useless against the White Star’s blade descending upon us.

“…What do I do?”

Taylor Sten’s strength drained from his body as he collapsed, watching the White Star’s flaming sword crash down toward Alberu.
Thud.
One knee struck the cold stone of the City Wall. An icy chill crept up through his leg.
Kneeling on one knee, he gripped the railing, his eyes fixed on the blade about to cleave Alberu in two.

‘…His Highness, a master swordsman, cannot possibly block that.’

It felt as though his very body would split apart.
His vision darkened.

Then it happened.

“…Huh?”

His vision brightened.
The darkness before his eyes began to recede, flooded with light.

“…Ah!”

His confusion transformed into awe.
Strength surged through his collapsed knees and the hand gripping the railing.
He rose to his feet without thinking.

“…Your Highness!”

His Highness had!

“No, right now, this is!”

Words failed him.
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he could not believe it.

His body leaned further out beyond the railing.
At that moment, Taylor heard a soldier stationed on the city wall, bow drawn and ready to defend against the invaders, murmur something under his breath.

“…Light.”

The soldier spoke as if entranced.

“…It’s light.”

Just as the soldier said, Taylor saw light.

Between the raging flames that seemed to devour everything mercilessly, between the cool, immense wings of the White Wyvern.
A brilliant light surged upward.

Though smaller than the two before it, this light revealed itself with striking clarity.
It was not only the soldier and Taylor who were mesmerized by that radiance.

“Oh, heavens.”

The officials who had come from the Capital with Alberu were left speechless by the sight unfolding before them.

“What, what is that?”

One of them, who handled administrative duties but had been hastily dispatched due to supply issues, grabbed hold of a general and asked.
He spoke with urgency, unable to conceal his joy.

“What, what is that black sword in His Highness’s hand? General, do you know?”

A sword forged from light.
A blade that shone brilliantly like the sun itself was gripped in Alberu’s hand.

“I, I’m not certain. Even I don’t—”

The general could not identify the nature of that sword.
Then it happened.
The Magic Battalion Commander spoke up.

“That is magic! A sword created through magic!”
“What did you say?”

Astonishment flickered across everyone’s eyes.

Magic? He could use magic?

“Then that means—”

The official who had been questioning the general muttered under his breath.

“A Mage Knight…? Your Highness is a Mage Knight?”

Suddenly, the official recalled words Alberu had spoken in the great hall, looking down upon his officials.

‘Do you think me weak?’
‘Then you are laboring under a grave misconception.’

At that moment, the general whom he had been questioning opened his mouth.

“…There are several reasons why the military follows Your Highness.”

What was this about?
The official looked toward the general.
The general, meeting that gaze, recalled what Alberu had told him in private before coming here.

‘Those who prepare for defeat can never endure.’
‘Use me. Lift their spirits.’

At those words, the general had asked Alberu.

‘Your Highness, I do not understand your meaning.’
‘It is better if you remain ignorant. But should the moment come when you grasp my intent, then act accordingly.’

The general had understood what Alberu meant.

Their allies, terrified of the White Star.
He had to lift their spirits.
Only then could they endure.

The general’s mind cleared completely.
He recalled what Alberu had said before leaving the castle.

‘I may be many things, but I know how to do my part.’

Though the words were directed at Marquis Taylor Sten, the general realized just how complacent his own stance had been.
Thus, he straightened his posture and spoke to those watching me.

“One reason the military follows Your Highness is because you are a top-tier Expert.”

Gasp!
Someone drew in a sharp breath.

A top-tier Expert.
That realm stood just below the Sword Master.

Was he truly such a formidable swordsman?
None could hide their astonishment.
Simultaneously, they felt the weight of Alberu’s magic—no trivial power either.

A strange sensation began spreading from atop the City Wall, gradually permeating the allied encampment.

The general immediately opened his mouth, his gaze fixed on the Magic Battalion Commander.

“Commander! When will the barrier be complete?”
“Ten minutes! We need ten minutes!”

The general raised his voice at once.

“Ten minutes. We hold the line for that long! Everyone, draw your bows! We defend this castle at all costs!”

He shouted to the soldiers watching me.

“Look! Your Highness faces the White Star himself! So we can do this too!”

We could, and we must.
And it seemed we would.

The strange atmosphere enveloping the City Wall transformed into a burning fervor.
Then, a mage from Sten Territory serving as messenger came rushing toward Taylor in panic.

“My Lord!”

Even as he gasped for breath, he did not pause, immediately gripping the communication crystal and reporting.

“Word has come that the Heniatus Territory will be sending reinforcements!”

The Heniatus Territory?
…From such a distance?
Not from Kale Heniatus, but from the Heniatus Territory itself?
Taylor’s eyes gleamed with sudden intensity as multiple questions flooded his mind.

His heart raced.
An inexplicable sense of hope surged through him.

It could work.
He felt as though something momentous was about to unfold.
The Mage continued his report.
Everyone held their breath, waiting for his words.

The Heniatus Territory.
That place, being part of the Roan Kingdom, was itself a symbol of victory.

“Teleportation has been prepared, and he says he will send the personnel you requested in sequence, my lord!”

…He prepared this himself?
Taylor opened his mouth without even glancing around.

“Tell him I request his support immediately!”

I could not know what reinforcements would arrive from the Heniatus Territory rather than from Kale.
Yet one thing was certain.

The tide could turn.
Just as the atmosphere flowing across this battlefield was shifting, I could sense the approach of that turning point—the moment when victory itself would shift to our side.

And to ensure that tide turned toward our victory, I realized I must fulfill my role without fail.
I signaled to the general and shouted.

“Concentrate all our forces on attacking the Wyvern!”

It was at that moment.

Crash!
The deafening sound struck Taylor’s ears.
He turned in surprise, then bit his lip.

Alberu’s sword clashed against the White Star’s blade.
The White Star’s fierce flames still seemed poised to consume Alberu’s light, yet he held his ground.

Suddenly, Taylor recalled the moment when the Northern Indomitable Alliance declared its designs on the Roan Kingdom.
He remembered when the Roan Kingdom had declared war against the Western Continent.

‘The Roan Kingdom possesses the longest history of any land here.’
‘I will show you the power of those who have endured.’

Those words had been spoken by Albert Crossman.

A man who lost his mother in childhood and gradually lost the king’s trust as he aged.
Yet he persevered through it all, eventually becoming the confirmed successor to the throne and the true sun of Roan.

Taylor felt that the Roan Kingdom’s journey mirrored Albert Crossman’s life far too closely.

Roan too had endured and persevered, and now spread its wings across the Western Continent.

‘…There was never just one person to believe in and follow.’

Clad in armor and helm, Taylor turned his back as he watched Alberu fight alongside the sword of light.
He had his own duties to fulfill.
His footsteps carried unwavering resolve.

Crash! Crash!
More thunderous sounds echoed behind him, yet he did not look back.
For he had faith in Alberu.

In that moment, Alberu’s lips curved upward in a smile.
But that smile, hidden behind his helm, reached no one’s eyes.

“…You wretched fool!”

Yet his opponent could not hide his fury as he glared at Alberu within that helm.
The White Star vented his rage as if exasperated.

“You… you’re a Dark Elf?”

I couldn’t fathom how he’d concealed it, but there was no doubt—he was definitely a Dark Elf.
Even if others hadn’t noticed, I had clearly witnessed Alberu creating light from dead mana.

The White Star’s flames surged toward Alberu’s shoulder like a serpent in an instant.

Boom!
But before the flames could touch his shoulder, Alberu’s sword of light forced them back.
In that moment, I heard Alberu’s voice, tinged with amusement.

“A Dark Elf, you say. Who? Me? Would you like me to give you the answer?”

His voice seemed to be mocking the White Star.

“Do you know what that means?”

The sword of light held in both of Alberu’s hands shifted to his right hand.
In the next instant, from his empty left hand, dark mana lingered briefly before dissipating, and a spear of water materialized.

Whoosh!
The spear rushed toward the White Star without hesitation.
The White Star quickly twisted his body and aimed his sword of flames at the water spear.

Then Alberu spoke again.

“Amateurs reveal everything, but masters conceal more than half.”

Boom!
The sword of flames cleaved through the water spear.
It cut through it cleanly.
But the moment the water spear was severed, sharp light pierced through the cascading water like an arrow, shooting straight toward him.
The White Star could hear Alberu’s voice, brimming with laughter.

“In that sense, I’m a master.”
“You bastard!”

Clang!
The White Star and Alberu locked blades, their eyes meeting in confrontation.

Those brief few seconds.
In that fleeting moment, the White Star could gauge Alberu’s power.

‘He wasn’t fighting at full strength, yet he blocked my attacks multiple times.’

The Crown Prince before me wielded swordsmanship at the highest expert level, just below a Sword Master.
And his magic was assessed somewhere between advanced and highest tier.
He was not a highest-tier Mage.

‘…The dead mana he possesses is abnormally abundant.’

I couldn’t fathom how the Crown Prince of Roan possessed the nature of a Dark Elf.
Nor could I understand why the dead mana he harbored was so vast.

Yet one thing was certain.

‘Troublesome.’

Kale Heniatus possessed an abnormally large amount of Ancient Power, but his body was weak.
Choi Han was exceptionally skilled with the blade. But magic was entirely beyond his reach.
Rosalind was renowned for her magic, but she was no exceptional swordsman.

Albert Crossman before me was not as overwhelmingly powerful as those three.
Yet he was.

‘Excellently balanced.’

Perfectly equilibrated.
That’s what made him troublesome.

“…I must take this seriously.”

I couldn’t afford to be caught off guard by such a nuisance.

‘I don’t know when Kale Heniatus will arrive, so I was trying to conserve my strength.’

The White Star had intended to preserve his power since he couldn’t predict when Kale Heniatus and his group—currently fighting the Eastern Continent’s nobles—would return, but he changed his mind.

Whoooosh—
Vibrations erupted around White Star’s body.
The sword of fire grew progressively smaller.
Yet despite its diminished size, its aura became incomparably more ferocious than before.
White Star spoke to Alberu in a flat tone.

“Since we must converse, I shall destroy everything but your mouth.”

That was when it happened.

“You, against me?”

Ha!
Alberu laughed.

“How amusing.”

With those words, White Star heard the sound of the City Gate opening.

Creeeeak—
The gate swung open.

White Star’s eyes widened.
In that instant, an extraordinary light flickered across Alberu’s gaze.

“They’ve arrived.”

Warriors emerged beyond the City Gate, reflected in Alberu’s pupils.

Boom. Boom. Boom.
The earth trembled beneath their advancing footsteps.
The leader at the front spoke to the one beside him.

“We have resolved to answer his request. Are you certain about this?”
“Yes. I am fine, Grandfather Gashan.”

Berserk Tiger Tribe warriors emerged beyond the castle, their hands clasped behind their backs, their wide robes fluttering in the wind.
Shortly before, Duke Derth had sent a messenger to Harris Village, and the Tiger Tribe who had settled there received word of the Crown Prince’s request through the messenger and willingly came to Sten Territory.

“I will join you as well.”

Beside Gashan stood Rak, a young Blue Werewolf Tribe warrior clutching an enormous shield.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————