Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 591

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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 carefully observed the sharp gazes that those gathered near the Hall directed toward Kale Heniatus.

‘There’s no one quite like Lee Soo-hyuk.’

Suddenly, Choi Han’s thoughts drifted to Choi Jung-soo.
By now, Choi Jung-soo would be pushing toward his limits at the Training Ground.
The corners of Choi Han’s mouth lifted briefly before falling back into place.
He quickly composed his expression and surveyed the surroundings once more.

‘While there’s no one of Lee Soo-hyuk’s caliber, there are quite a few with abilities comparable to Park Jin-tae.’

With so many of the nation’s strongest gathered—or those likely to become strong—the atmosphere in the vicinity was razor-sharp.
Of course, none of them openly displayed their blades.

Their smiles were genuine on the surface, yet their eyes never ceased their vigilance toward one another.
Every greeting they exchanged carried an undertone of assessment.

And within that space where it all unfolded, Choi Han could detect the sharpness, curiosity, and caution contained in the gazes directed at Kale Heniatus, who had just entered.
Choi Han recalled what Kale Heniatus had said.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve received this much attention.’

Choi Han opened his mouth.

“It seems you’ve found yourself in situations like this quite often.”
“Well, during my time as Team Leader, I did all sorts of things.”

Kale Heniatus answered casually and added further.

“It’s different.”
“What is, sir?”
“I’m not sure.”

After a brief pause, Kale Heniatus looked at Choi Han and flashed a grin.

“I’m seeing quite a few familiar faces.”

Kim Rok-soo rose to Team Leader following Lee Soo-hyuk.
He lacked the achievements Lee Soo-hyuk possessed. Moreover, his beginnings were in support operations.

Perhaps because of this, when he first assumed the position of Team Leader, many people were reluctant to assist him with his duties.
Rather, most doubted his capabilities.

‘No matter that Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk designated Kim Rok-soo as his successor. He’s barely in his mid-twenties, and his abilities awakened late, didn’t they?’

Within the Company.
The Government.
Or executives from organizations including the Guild.

‘Hmm. His work certainly moves slower than when Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk was in charge. Is it because he came from support operations? There’s no decisiveness to it.’
‘He wasn’t even an awakened one in the early days of the Great Cataclysm, was he? We know better than him. We’ll just follow our Guild’s policies. Understood?’

Kale had to report to such people and request their help and cooperation.

‘Of course, I didn’t simply accept everything either.’

Later, I came to understand why Team Leader Lee Soo-hyuk chose Kim Rok-soo as his successor—I heard whispers that I was even more formidable than Lee Soo-hyuk.
And such gossip and gazes were none of my concern.
Just as now.

Yet there was a new feeling stirring in me at this very moment.

‘So those people I had to report to and request cooperation from are here.’

And still in a state of growth that hadn’t yet reached the level in my memories.

‘Then I’ll have to nurture them.’

Faster than before.
Despite the smile playing at my lips, my eyes grew cold and sharp.
Choi Han’s expression stiffened slightly upon witnessing this.

‘This must feel burdensome for him.’

Choi Han vaguely discerned Kale’s state of mind.

Today’s gathering required the cooperation of those awakened individuals now entering the hall.
What would follow was a session to persuade Kale Heniatus to take command.

To overcome the first unranked monster invasion safely, with minimal casualties.
Kale Heniatus and his companions needed as much cooperation as possible.
But this would not be easy.

‘If even half of them would help, that would be something.’

It was then that Choi Han’s thoughts continued.

“Time’s up.”

Kim Woo, who had been staring intently at Kale Heniatus, pushed himself off the entrance pillar and walked into the hall.

“Woo hyung! Let’s go together!”

The Changwon Seongsan-gu Leader who stood beside him followed in his wake.
At that action, those gathered around the hall withdrew their gazes from Kale Heniatus and began filing into the auditorium one by one.

Until then, Choi Han had remained at Kale Heniatus’s side. In that moment, he turned his gaze backward at the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Aren’t you going in?”

It was Heo Sook-ja, who shared the center of the Seomyeon Shelter with Kim Woo and Lee Soo-hyuk.
Beside her stood Ma Seung-jin, who would one day become the master of Daejeon’s Largest Guild.

“We should head in soon.”

At Kale Heniatus’s response, Heo Sook-ja stepped to his side and opened her mouth.

“Do you think they’ll cooperate well?”

Choi Han’s brow furrowed slightly before relaxing. Heo Sook-ja harbored the same concern as he did.

‘If even a third of them would help.’

That was the minimum number needed for cooperation when Kale Heniatus’s plan was presented.
The worried gazes of the two and the curious gaze of Ma Seung-jin turned toward Kale Heniatus.

At that moment, Kale took another step forward.
His voice reached the three of them as he advanced.

“I’m not offering cooperation—I’m offering an opportunity.”
“Hm?”

Heo Sook-ja faltered, and Ma Seung-jin opened his mouth to ask what that meant.
But they could ask nothing of Kale, who stepped into the auditorium without hesitation. Only Choi Han followed with a smile on his face.

“Sister, let’s go.”
“Yes. Let’s head in for now.”

Heo Sook-ja and Ma Seung-jin both lingered for a moment, pondering his words before entering the auditorium.

There, Kale was ascending the podium, his footsteps echoing on the staircase.
And as expected, the auditorium erupted in murmurs.
That was the moment.

“I wondered who had summoned us all here, but it’s just some scrawny brat?”

A particularly loud voice cut through the auditorium, silencing it.
All eyes turned toward the source of that voice.

A middle-aged man sat in the center of the front row, closest to the podium, his arms crossed as he regarded Kale with obvious displeasure.

Changwon Seongsan-gu Leader Kim Gang-hun observed the scene with keen interest.
He sat in the middle section, separated from Kim Woo, who occupied the front row.

‘How will he react?’

He glanced down at the black invitation and waited for the response of this young man named Kim Rok-soo.
Then, he heard a sigh from the woman seated beside him.

“If you don’t know anything, just keep your mouth shut.”

Kim Gang-hun’s gaze shifted toward her.

“…Do you know who this Kim Rok-soo person is?”

At his question, the Young Woman furrowed her brow. Her expression asked why he was suddenly speaking to her.
When Kim Gang-hun offered an awkward smile at that expression, she sighed again.

“I saw you when you passed near our Shelter.”

She recalled the moment when Kale and his group had passed near her Shelter.
Kim Rok-soo’s group, who had come to deliver invitations personally on their way to Busan.
Whenever she thought of that moment, goosebumps ran down her spine.
At that moment, Kim Gang-hun asked carefully.

“What did you think?”

It was a question laden with meaning.
Kim Gang-hun waited with an expression full of curiosity as her lips slowly parted.
And the Awakened ones near those two felt the same way.

The Young Woman’s mouth opened.

“They’re insanely strong.”
“Pardon?”

For a moment, a bewildered question burst from Kim Gang-hun’s lips.
But the Young Woman was lost in memories of the past. She ruffled her hair and muttered.

“I actually… watched those people fight monsters. Man, seriously.”

Another Awakened one beside the Young Woman spoke up.

“Could you explain in more detail what you mean?”

And as if she’d been waiting for that question, the Young Woman began pouring out words rapidly.

“First of all, they’re absolutely insane. And they have absolutely insane monsters on their side. On top of that, some crazy person leads them! When he shouts like this, people become even more, even more ridiculously strong… Man, I’m really glad I was in my right mind back then. If I’d been drunk, I would’ve thought my mind did a complete 360.”

A complete 360 would bring you back to the same spot.
Kim Gang-hun wanted to say that but held it back and asked instead.

“So that person is strong too?”

His gaze turned toward Kim Rok-soo.

A deflating laugh escaped her.
The young woman looked at Kale with a sound like air leaking from a punctured balloon.

Throughout the hall, there were others who regarded Kale with the same gleam in their eyes as she did.

Unlike those who had received formal invitations, these were people who had encountered Kale directly during their journey to Busan.

‘Is this person really being counted as strong?’

Her mouth opened.
Her voice carried absolute conviction, without a shred of hesitation.

“Absolutely.”

He was extraordinarily powerful.
And then.

“If it were just some brat’s word, I wouldn’t have moved at all! Are you really telling busy people to come and go as you please?”

The man who had been speaking loudly before still hadn’t stopped talking.
About half of the majority of ability users who hadn’t encountered Kale gave subtle nods of agreement to his words.

It wasn’t wrong, after all.
They truly were busy.

A single day wasn’t enough to establish themselves at the New Central Shelter and face off against monsters.

Black invitations had reached them through various means.

Hello. I am Kim Rok-soo, one who possesses the ability of foresight.

The word “foresight” captured attention from the very beginning.

A monster of an entirely different caliber from those encountered when the initial Central Shelter collapsed will soon descend upon Busan.

The content that followed contained information about unranked monsters.
Additionally, a brief request for cooperation in the battle against the unranked monster was included.

Upon reading all of this, the leaders and executives of the New Central Shelter had no choice but to make the journey to Busan.
It was information far too significant to dismiss casually.
Determining that the truth absolutely had to be verified, if the leader couldn’t make the trip, at least one of the executives visited this place.

Yet upon arrival, seeing a mere boy—barely twenty years old, someone who didn’t look strong in the slightest—step onto the platform, they wondered if they’d made a wasted journey.
One man in particular raised his voice, expressing his anger at having been swayed by this frail creature’s words all the way to Busan.
It was also an attempt to seize the initiative.

‘Information. I’ll listen to the prophecy and then leave.’

The man was the type who only cared if his own shelter remained safe, regardless of whether monsters appeared in Busan or not. Now that he’d finally found a safe place to play king, why would he need to involve himself in dangerous battles?

That’s why he needed to control the atmosphere and seize dominance.
Since the boy was young, if he felt even slightly pressured in a situation like this, he might spill everything he knew.

‘And if the others go along with this atmosphere, I’ll bow out gracefully.’

His plan was to remain inconspicuous afterward, extract only the information he needed, then quietly leave and return to his shelter.
That’s why the man raised his voice as he saw people nodding in agreement with him.
It was his final statement.

“Coming all this way for something as absurd as foresight. Tsk! Just tell us the prophecy already! Don’t waste our time! We’re all busy people!”

Choi Han, who had been following Kale Heniatus, furrowed his brow.

Tap.
And Kale Heniatus’s footsteps on the platform came to a halt.
His gaze slowly turned downward from the platform.

It fixed precisely on the man who had been raising his voice toward him.
The man spoke as he looked at Kale Heniatus.

“Hmph! Even your eyes are those of a greenhorn.”

In that moment, Kale Heniatus’s mouth opened.

“Awakened One Kang Il-rae.”

Kang Il-rae froze.
His name had been called out.

“One hundred thirty-nine survivors.”

At Kale Heniatus’s following words, Kang Il-rae’s shoulders trembled slightly.
His face had gone rigid.

One hundred thirty-nine.
It was a number he could not fail to understand.

However, the majority of the ability users who didn’t know that number, who couldn’t comprehend Kale Heniatus’s words, squinted their eyes slightly.
In that moment, Kale Heniatus’s gaze shifted to the person beside Kang Il-rae.

“Ability user Jo Min-ye.”

The middle-aged woman froze.

“Three hundred ninety-eight survivors.”

At Kale Heniatus’s words, her pupils dilated.

“…Surely not.”

She had grasped the meaning of that number.
Even as that realization struck, Kale Heniatus continued speaking.
He turned his gaze to the man beside Jo Min-ye.

“Ability user Kim Tae-hu. One hundred seventy-six survivors.”

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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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