Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 595

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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 Jung-soo pushed himself up from the Training Ground floor with his hands.

“…So easily!”

His true feelings spilled from his lips.
Choi Jung-soo lifted his head and stared straight ahead. There stood Choi Han, sword hanging loosely at his side, watching him intently.

‘How many times is this now?’

I’d long since stopped counting.

I’d sparred with Choi Han countless times. Yet I could never defeat him.

‘Just his sleeve…! If I could just touch his sleeve, even once, I’d win!’

The condition for Choi Jung-soo to defeat Choi Han was simple: cut even the slightest bit of his clothing, even a single millimeter.
Yet for days now, Choi Jung-soo had rarely managed to properly block Choi Han’s blade, let alone graze his garments.

“…Tch.”

My clenched fists trembled.
Fury at myself.

Then a calm voice reached my ears.

“Do you two eat and then fight?”

Choi Jung-soo’s shoulders flinched.
I hadn’t even noticed someone arriving. My head whipped toward the source of the voice.
Choi Jung-soo and Kale’s gazes met.

“…You’re covered in dust.”

At Kale’s flat voice, Choi Jung-soo turned his gaze away.
Choi Jung-soo’s appearance was a sight to behold—and not in a good way.
His training clothes and body were caked with dust, drenched in sweat. Worst of all were his bloodshot eyes with burst capillaries and his disheveled expression.
Choi Jung-soo himself was acutely aware of his wretched state.
That’s why he avoided Kale’s composed gaze.
At that moment, Choi Han’s voice reached them.

“He’s eating his meals properly. I’m ensuring he receives balanced nutrition to the best of my ability.”

Kale’s expression became subtle.

‘That ruthless man. He looks so fresh and clean by himself.’

Choi Han appeared immaculate, without a single bead of sweat.
Suddenly, I recalled Choi Han training the Wolf Tribe Children and Rak.
Back then, the children’s condition had been similar to Choi Jung-soo’s now.

‘Not a single injury on him.’

Kale’s gaze shifted to the wall Choi Jung-soo had collided with.
It wasn’t an ordinary stone wall, but one covered with soft cushioning.
Only that wall bore deep indentations from repeated impacts, while the other stone sections showed no signs of collision whatsoever.

‘And he feeds him nutritious meals on schedule too.’

Despite the grueling training, Choi Jung-soo’s complexion was remarkably healthy.
Save for the bloodshot eyes that betrayed his frustration.

A glance. Kale’s gaze shifted toward Choi Han.

The light in Choi Han’s eyes as he watched Choi Jung-soo transcended mere kindness—it held warmth and contentment.

‘He’s absolutely doting on him.’

Kale’s expression grew increasingly peculiar.

‘Damn it.’

Choi Jung-soo lowered his head deeply at the increasingly troubled expression.
It was the look of someone pitying him, lamenting the sight of his pathetic state.

He couldn’t even lift his head to meet Choi Han’s gaze.

‘How weak am I…!’

How feeble and easy an opponent he must be—Choi Han was handling him with such ease, a faint smile playing on his lips the entire time.

Beyond the chill that had run down his spine watching Choi Han’s combat prowess, the moment their blades had clashed, he’d understood just how terrifyingly skilled his opponent truly was.
It was like facing an immense, unscalable wall.

Kale glanced back and forth between the head-bowed Choi Jung-soo and Choi Han’s satisfied gaze before speaking bluntly.

“Just sparring?”

Choi Han opened his mouth in response.

“Physical conditioning is fundamental.”

Choi Jung-soo’s shoulders twitched slightly at that moment.
The words Choi Han had just spoken—he’d heard them before, somewhere.

And after a moment’s thought, the memories Choi Jung-soo had buried and tried so hard to forget came flooding back.

‘Physical conditioning is fundamental!’

Father.

‘Jung-soo. Training your body is something every martial artist of the Choi Family must do as a basic principle.’

And Grandmother Baker.

‘Hey. How do you expect to beat this older sister? I’ve trained my body for two more years than you. My fundamentals are more solid than yours—how could you possibly win?’

And his cousin.
The words those close to him had worn into his ears came back to him now.

At that moment, Choi Han continued, looking toward Kale.

“And you must gain experience through sparring.”

Choi Jung-soo’s father had said so.

‘Gain experience through sparring!’

Choi Jung-soo’s lowered head slowly lifted.
At that moment, Kale asked while looking at Choi Han.

“It seems more like actual combat than sparring, doesn’t it?”

Choi Jung-soo’s mind conjured an answer to that question.
It was something his mother had once said.

Choi Jung-soo’s gaze turned toward Choi Han.
His eyes trembled slightly.

Then, Choi Han looked at Kale, who had posed the question, and answered.

“The intensity of sparring may appear severe, but actual combat is where death walks. The weight of that cannot be compared to this sparring.”

Choi Jung-soo’s mother’s voice echoed in his mind.

‘My son. The weight of actual combat cannot compare to mere sparring like this. Actual combat is a situation where death stands close to you.’

Choi Han continued.

“In actual combat, on the battlefield, we carry both my life and my comrades’ lives as we fight. For this reason.”
‘Jung-soo, so that you protect yourself and your people then.’

Choi Jung-soo’s lips parted.
For myself and my people.

“…I must practice fiercely.”

Choi Han and Kale’s gazes turned toward Choi Jung-soo.
Choi Jung-soo smiled at their gaze.
Choi Han quietly observed him before opening his mouth.

“That’s correct.”

My mother, my father, and the family members who taught me swordsmanship all said the same thing.

‘You must train fiercely to protect yourself and your people.’

In this moment, I gained an inexplicable certainty.

My family’s swordsmanship and Choi Han’s swordsmanship shared the same foundation.
No—they shared the same foundation, but Choi Han’s had evolved into something far more practical.

‘There is.’

Staring directly at Choi Han, who bore the same surname, I added certainty to the suspicions I had harbored all this time.

‘There must be some connection between this man and me.’

A glimmer of light kindled in my eyes as I gazed at him quietly.
Then Choi Han’s eyes swiftly averted from my gaze.
In that instant, the corners of my mouth lifted.

Kale Heniatus, observing this exchange, felt the corners of his mouth rise slightly as well.

‘A battle of perception—Choi Han won’t come out ahead against Choi Jung-soo.’

Could that gentle Choi Han truly keep the thread of connection between them hidden from Choi Jung-soo, who was cunning and sharp-minded?

‘Well, they’ll figure it out on their own.’

The best course of action was for me to simply observe what unfolded between these two.

“Choi Han, you understand, but we’re scheduled to depart tomorrow at noon.”

Choi Han regarded me with a calm expression, while Choi Jung-soo looked at me with a hint of tension.

“Prepare yourselves accordingly.”

With those words, I left the training ground without hesitation, stepping back outside.
Before I could even close the door behind me, I saw a figure emerging from the adjacent training ground.

“…Hmm.”

The man drooling was Lee Chul-min.
Kale gazed at him and spoke calmly.

“You look like a mess.”

Lee Chul-min clenched his lips tightly.
Then a voice came from behind him.

“Not moving?”

It was a considerably exhausted voice.
Lee Chul-min flinched and hurriedly stepped out of the room, and the figure standing behind him emerged from the doorway.

It was Park Jin-tae.

“…Kim Rok-soo.”

Kale’s and Park Jin-tae’s gazes collided, and both simultaneously released the doorknobs they held.

Thud!
Both training room doors closed.
The two stood silently facing each other with their backs to the closed doors.
But soon Park Jin-tae turned his gaze away and began to walk.
Lee Chul-min hesitated before hurriedly following Park Jin-tae.

Kale slowly took in the sight of Park Jin-tae and Lee Chul-min.

‘What a mess.’

Compared to Choi Jung-soo, Lee Chul-min and Park Jin-tae were in far worse condition.
Park Jin-tae was particularly severe.

‘…His hands.’

Park Jin-tae’s hands were wrapped tightly in bandages, and blood was still seeping through them.
That was when—

Boom!

A deafening roar echoed through the corridor.
Kale’s gaze shifted to the wall directly beside the Training Ground door where Park Jin-tae had emerged.

The wall bulged outward, fractures spiderwebbing across its surface.
Kale’s mouth opened.

“The Training Ground wall is going to be a mess.”

Park Jin-tae’s footsteps halted.
Yet Kale continued to observe the cracking wall of the Training Ground.

Even with Lee Chul-min and Park Jin-tae having exited, this thunderous sound—originating from within the Training Ground and reverberating through the fractured wall—belonged to someone else.
That someone was Lee Soo-hyuk.

Lee Soo-hyuk was conducting training with Lee Chul-min and Park Jin-tae.

‘Though Lee Chul-min seems to view it as torture rather than training.’

Lee Chul-min deliberately avoided meeting Kale’s eyes.
Still facing away, Kale glanced at the motionless Park Jin-tae and spoke curtly.

“Training is always worthwhile.”

At Kale’s following words, Park Jin-tae’s shoulders stiffened slightly.

“But becoming a liability in actual combat would be problematic.”

Park Jin-tae’s expression darkened, and upon witnessing this, Lee Chul-min quickly turned his gaze toward Kale, only to find his pupils wavering under the even colder glint in Kale’s eyes.
Moments later, Park Jin-tae’s mouth opened.

“…I’m managing my stamina.”

Tap. Tap.
Park Jin-tae caught sight of Kim Rok-soo passing by his side.
The receding figure of Kim Rok-soo registered in his vision, and simultaneously, Kale spoke.

“Yes, that’s the foundation.”

And he bluntly spoke.

“See you tomorrow.”

With that, I didn’t spare a glance at Park Jin-tae and Lee Chul-min as I opened the door to the third Training Ground and stepped inside.
People were there to greet me.

“You’ve arrived?”
“You’re here?”

Bae Pureun, who rode the wind, and Kim Min-ah, who possessed tremendous strength.

“Rok-soo, you made it?”
“Rok-soo, have you arrived?”

Joo Ho-sik, whose faith became his power, and Jang Man-su, the barrier of defense.
I moved toward the center of the four people who were training.
I opened my mouth to address the four of them watching me.

“We depart tomorrow, so let’s train for about two hours and wrap it up. The training is—”

Bae Pureun and Kim Min-ah cut me off and spoke.

“Efficiency!”
“Efficiency, right?”
“…Yes, that’s correct.”

I chuckled softly and spread both hands wide.
Crackle. Whoooosh—
Electricity and water.
Both elements began to bloom from me simultaneously.

“Let’s keep it light today.”

I gestured toward the four of them with my hands.

“Come.”

The day before departure.
Final training exercises were unfolding across the entire Shelter.

* * *

Creeeeak—
The massive City Gate slowly swung open.
Early November. Even in the middle of the day, a biting wind swept forth from the City Gate toward the world beyond the Castle.

Boom!
And finally, as the City Gate opened completely.

“Brother, let’s go.”
“Yes, our younger brother.”

A massive tiger with an elegant black mane swaying gracefully, its sleek body commanding and powerful, revealed itself.

Upon that tiger sat a young man dressed in a black military uniform.
Between boy and youth.
A man standing at that boundary line. Kale’s gaze turned toward the City Wall.

Upon the City Wall.
As they departed to wage war against an unranked monster, Heo Sook-ja, who would bear responsibility for defending this Seo-myeon Shelter, stood there.

Kale nodded, and Heo Sook-ja raised the horn pipe in her hand and blew it with force.

Whiiiiii—

In that moment, a colossal bird shot skyward from within the Castle Wall.

“Screeeee—”

The Steel Hawk, bearing feathers of steel, cast its shadow over the Castle with a rider upon its back.
The Steel Hawk’s gaze fixed upon a single point.

Where that gaze fell.
The Dark Tiger slowly turned its body backward.
Then Kale’s eyes took in the countless figures arrayed behind him.

Those who had followed Kale, led by Choi Han.
The people of Seo-myeon Shelter positioned behind Lee Soo-hyuk.
And those who had willingly joined this war, following representatives from all corners of the nation.

Kale gazed down upon them, slowly stroking the Dark Tiger’s mane.
The Dark Tiger’s body gradually turned to face forward once more.

Kale closed his eyes, feeling the tension and anticipation rising from the people behind him.

‘Now it begins.’

Just as I changed one thing, I would change another.

‘I will completely transform the future.’

No—I will erase despair itself.
Kale opened his eyes once more.
The Desolate City. Yet the path I must walk was crystal clear.
His lips parted.

“Everyone to your positions.”

In that instant, countless people rapidly divided into multiple groups, departing Seo-myeon Shelter and beginning their movement toward their designated operation zones.

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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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