Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 592

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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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The man beside Jo Min-ye’s expression hardened.
His mouth opened.

“…How did you know about the survivors from the Initial Central Shelter—”

The Hall, which had grown quiet, fell silent as the gathered people finally began to comprehend what the numbers flowing from Kale’s lips meant in light of Kim Tae-hu’s words.

Those assembled here were leaders or key figures of the New Central Shelter.

Which meant they had likely been leaders or administrators of the previous Initial Central Shelter or other Shelters.

And the owners of the names Kale had called out were the leaders of the now-collapsed Initial Central Shelter.
Kim Tae-hu felt cold sweat break out across his back in an instant.

‘176 people. The number of survivors from our Shelter!’

Moreover, the numbers flowing from Kale’s lips were the count of those who had survived that hellish day when the Initial Central Shelter collapsed.

Of course, the New Central Shelter where Kim Tae-hu now held the position of leader had far more survivors.
But the survivors from his first Shelter, now in ruins, numbered barely over a hundred.

“…How could you possibly know that?”

How did this man know such a fact?
As the Ability Users’ expressions grew rigid, Kale opened his mouth once more.
He was looking at the man beside Kim Tae-hu.

“Ability User Park Young-hun. Quite a number of survivors. 412 people.”

Park Young-hun’s mouth fell open.

Kale swallowed the bitterness rising within him as he observed the people unable to hide their shock.

Kang Il-rae, Jo Min-ye, Kim Tae-hu, Park Young-hun.
I had no knowledge of what they endured when the Initial Central Shelter collapsed.
What monsters appeared, which buildings were destroyed.
How they managed to survive.
I did not know.

I remembered every event that occurred across all of Korea that day, but I had not recorded it.

However, I had retained the numbers.
Numbers were the data that could not express every detail of the situation, yet allowed me to grasp the general circumstances.

The survivor count from the Initial Central Shelter.

In merely a few sheets of paper, that hellish time had been recorded.

And the dead were not recorded.
I could not check each one individually.

There were far too many.

When the world first underwent upheaval.
Countless people perished.

And when the Initial Shelter collapsed.
The population plummeted once more.

This was why those who entered the New Central Shelter—which could accommodate at least tens of thousands—numbered fewer than ten thousand.

Thus, only the survivors were recorded.
The dead left no record behind.

The Initial Central Shelter.
I slowly reviewed those who had at minimum established themselves as leaders in that single place and spoke.

“Do you wish to hear more?”

The Hall fell silent.
Jo Min-ye spoke softly.

“Is this the power of foresight?”

The number of survivors.
It was hardly an apt description to call it foresight.
Yet the man standing between the young prince and the youth knowing the survivor counts across the entire nation—there was no other word to describe such an unbelievable power besides foresight.
And Kang Il-rae beside Jo Min-ye stood rigid, his gaze piercing through Kale Heniatus as if he could bore holes through him.

Kale Heniatus surveyed his surroundings before speaking.

“Then let’s wrap this up here.”

Kale Heniatus took his place at the center of the podium. Choi Han, positioned against the podium wall for his sake, stood like a bodyguard while observing the crowd.
Kale Heniatus opened his mouth.

“Not everyone here shares the same resolve. Some came merely to gather information, while others may or may not be willing to fight alongside us in Busan Seomyeon.”

Why should I fight alongside you to slay the unranked monster appearing in Busan Seomyeon?
Why should I?
I’m struggling just to survive. I’m struggling just to take care of my own people.

Without Kale Heniatus needing to voice it, countless doubts took root in the hearts of those gathered.
Everyone was acutely aware of this truth.
Yet the atmosphere within the hall shifted in an instant.

“From now on, I will make a prophecy.”

Prophecy.
That mystical word captured the attention of everyone present.

“The future.”

Kale Heniatus began to speak not of prophecy, but of the reality he himself had experienced.

“Humanity will once again see its population grow and society take shape, centered around this new shelter.”

Several people nodded in agreement.
They were those who had recognized the defensive capabilities and vast developmental potential of the New Central Shelter.

“Furthermore, the power of Ability Users will continue to grow. And beyond that, data.”

Kale continued speaking with a subtle smile playing at his lips.

“By obtaining data on how to confront these monsters, we’ll be able to conduct systematic monster hunts.”

The expressions of those who had felt a chill run down their spines at Kale’s ability moments before began to brighten at his optimistic words.

“Once that happens, starting from the areas closest to this shelter and moving outward, we’ll gradually expand humanity’s domain just as our ancestors once did.”

More and more people nodded in agreement with Kale’s words.
It was as if they desperately hoped for such a future.

“The devastated environment will gradually be restored to its original state.”

Kale finished speaking and fell silent for a moment.

I needed to bring everyone along—as many people as possible.
Both the selfish and the greedy had to come with me.

Everyone needed to gain experience confronting unranked monsters.
Only then could I accumulate the data necessary to endure an uncertain future.

So.

Kale spoke with a smile.

“Half of the people in this hall will die in that process.”

The temperature in the auditorium seemed to plummet, and silence descended like a heavy shroud.
From the center of that silence, Kale continued speaking, his smile still in place.

“More than half will die.”

It was the truth.
It was a future I had witnessed.

“The altruistic perished. The selfish perished. Some died chasing greed, others pursuing righteousness, some sacrificed themselves, and others fled alone to their deaths.”

The smile faded from his lips.

“Only fifteen years.”

Kale gazed down at the people gathered beneath the podium.

“However, I wish to change that prophecy.”

Kang Il-rae’s mouth fell open.

“…You say it’s a prophecy, but how can you change it?”

In that moment, Kale’s gaze met Kang Il-rae’s.
Kang Il-rae felt his shoulders shrink slightly beneath those eyes he had once dismissed as naive.
Kale, whose gaze held unfathomable depths, opened his mouth.

“Zero.”

Before anyone could even contemplate the meaning of that number—

“The death toll at the Initial Central Shelter where I stayed.”

Sighs escaped from various corners of the hall at Kale’s answer.
Zero deaths—not survivors, but deaths.
No one had perished.

“Originally, fewer than a hundred should have survived.”

That was the record of the past that Kim Rok-soo had experienced.

“But as the present changed, so too did the future.”

Kim Rok-soo—I had changed things. Changed people.

“I wish for everyone here to survive.”

It was sincere.
Why?

“The greater the foundation we build for humanity’s numbers to grow, the higher humanity’s survival probability becomes.”

I want to save as many people as possible.
Of course, some will become the worst of humanity, but I can simply hand that list to Lee Soo-hyuk as ‘foresight’.
Lee Soo-hyuk will manage those people sufficiently.

“Do you know what they say?”

Kale Heniatus drew a smile once more.

“Nothing overcomes numbers.”

Whether unranked monsters are strong or not, whether monsters continue to appear or not.

“That’s right. There isn’t. No monster overcomes numbers.”

That is why the humans of the future still survived.
The people in Kim Rok-soo’s memories ultimately endured and lived on.

“Unranked monsters will be humanity’s greatest enemy as we rebuild society going forward.”

All eyes concentrated on Kale Heniatus’s words.

“Why? Because they are enemies with power beyond imagination—power that can destroy new Shelters.”

His voice grew quieter, yet it reached the ears of those who listened in silence.

“And because we cannot know when or where that enemy will appear where you are.”

That meant we could not know when or where we would die to an enemy of unimaginable strength.
For those who had begun to believe Kale Heniatus’s words, that statement carried considerable weight.
Then, one of those listening cried out urgently.

“Then couldn’t you foresee that?!”
“Do I know when I will die?”

The one who had asked suddenly hesitated and closed their mouth.
Kim Woo, Heo Sook-ja. And Choi Han’s eyes turned toward Kale Heniatus.

“My foresight is not omniscient. I only see fragments, and I do not know when I will die either. That is why I simply move forward in the best direction I can discern.”

Heo Sook-ja, who had been listening intently, parted her lips.

“…The best path forward….”

Then.
Thump.
Kale Heniatus tapped his foot lightly against the ground.
All eyes refocused upon him.

“I will now offer you an opportunity.”

Opportunity. At that single word, the expressions of everyone present shifted.
Kale observed each nuance of that transformation as he opened his mouth to speak.

“How to hunt an unranked monster.”

A method to topple an adversary of unimaginable might.

“I will grant you the opportunity to experience that method. And that experience will dramatically increase your probability of survival in an uncertain future.”

Standing at the center of the Podium, Kale no longer resembled a gaunt youth.
Instead, he extended his hand toward the crowd as he spoke.

“Will you seize this opportunity?”

In that moment, as silence seemed poised to shatter, a fervent atmosphere began to permeate the Hall.

“Ah. Allow me to share one more fact.”

Kale calmly revealed one additional truth.

“So long as I remain. The Busan Central Shelter will not crumble as the Initial Central Shelter once did.”

Several of them froze.
Zero casualties. The words Kale Heniatus had spoken echoed in their ears.

If they fought alongside him now, might they not discover a path to achieve zero casualties in the future—for themselves and for the Shelters they inhabited?

And the strongest individuals from across the nation had gathered here.
Such a concentration of powerful warriors was rarely seen anywhere.

With them at my side?
Wouldn’t it be considerably safer?

As Kim Rok-soo had said, wasn’t this moment—more stable than any uncertain future—the perfect opportunity to face an unranked monster in battle?

“And at the very least, in this fight, everyone present here will see my back more than anyone else’s.”

Those words meant fighting at the very front, most fiercely of all.

“Let me grant you an experience of victory, not mere survival, for once.”

Kale’s words struck the ears of these people like thunder—those who had clawed and scraped their way through hellish circumstances, striving merely to endure and continue enduring.

An experience of victory.
To defeat those cursed monsters that had plunged them into hell in less than a year.
And to defeat the strongest among them.

Several faces began to shift more rapidly.
The people in the hall watched as Kale’s outstretched hand seemed to grow larger and larger before their eyes.

“Choose.”

Kale’s words had ended, and now it was time to hear their answer.

Screech.
Moments later, one person rose to their feet.
Screech, screech—
One by one, others began to stand.

Silent affirmations—declarations of willingness to fight together—filled the hall.

Watching this sight, Heo Sook-ja clenched her fists tightly.
At this rate, more than a third would rise—easily surpassing half.

Her gaze turned toward Kale.

‘There’s no need to discuss the commander issue.’

Originally, after this moment, there was supposed to be a process of persuading people that Kim Rok-soo was the appropriate commander for the Busan-class monster operation.

But as long as I exist, the Busan Seomyeon Shelter will not fall.
I will fight with the utmost ferocity.
I will give you all the opportunity to experience victory against me.

With those words, Kale was already the commander and the leader of this place.
Author’s Note

Hello, this is Yoo Ryeo-han.
I hope you’ve all been doing well.
Thanks to all your encouragement, I’ve been drawing strength and moving forward.

Starting today, I’m resuming serialization.
Like the first day of serialization, my heart is filled with anticipation.

I hope this story brings you all a small joy and happiness today as well.

Thank you.

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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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