Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 609

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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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“Ugh!”

At the same moment, a short groan escaped Alberu’s lips.

Crash!
His back slammed against the wall, and cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

“Why are you so weak?”

The White Star made no attempt to hide his contempt as he regarded Alberu.
He was still wielding only his flaming sword.
He pointed the blade’s tip at Alberu and spoke.

“Aren’t you going to use magic?”

Alberu, too, had relied solely on his spear technique.

‘Perhaps it’s simply impossible to overcome swordsmanship honed over a thousand years?’

It was an expected outcome, after all.
Alberu was not someone who excelled exceptionally in a single discipline.
Neither his magic nor his spear technique could be called the finest on the Continent. Yet their combination made him formidable.

“Well, I suppose you have your reasons for not using magic.”

Step by step.
The White Star approached the wall where Alberu had collided.

“Hngh.”

Alberu, his armor dented and cracked in places, attempted to push himself upright.
The White Star, regarding him with cold, indifferent eyes, let out a soft chuckle.

“But can Rowan’s sun truly afford to look like this?”

He continued speaking.

“Was that radiant and sacred appearance nothing but a lie?”

Alberu’s brow furrowed beneath his helmet.
Not because of the White Star.

-Can you really just stand there after hearing such words?

It was because of Tae-rang.

-When trash like that comes at you, as the master of an EX-grade weapon, you should show them the taste of reality’s refreshment.

‘What are you talking about?’

-It’s something the one who created me always used to say.
-Personally, I hate sweet potatoes. I pursue flower paths, money paths, and refreshment paths. Ah, of course, I acknowledge some sweet potatoes are necessary for that incredibly carbonated refreshment.

Alberu felt a sigh welling up inside.
But at Tae-rang’s next words, his expression hardened.

-Why aren’t you using all your power? I’m not just a simple spear! Use me! I’ll knock that trash’s teeth clean out. I’ll show you the greatness of EX-grade! I’ll strip every last tooth from that garbage.
-But it’s strange, isn’t it? Just as that trash said, you’re only using about half your power. And you haven’t called your allies either. Why is that?

Why indeed.
There were reasons for everything.

-Ah. Is that it?

Suddenly Tae-rang burst out in admiration and spoke.

-The protagonist hides his power. That’s it, right?

What kind of nonsense was that?
Pfft.
Laughter escaped from Alberu.

“Well, you’re not entirely wrong.”

A protagonist, though that’s not quite it.

‘I’m definitely hiding my true power.’

Me. And that bastard too.

“Huff.”

Alberu straightened his posture and fixed his gaze upon the White Star.
Meanwhile, the White Star leisurely surveyed his surroundings.
Vicross, Ron, and Bud were locked in combat at various points, and it had already been hours.
They looked exhausted, and the three of them simply couldn’t manage the sheer numbers of the White Star’s subordinates.
Observing this spectacle, he spoke casually.

“…There must be a reason you didn’t bring along your other so-called comrades.”
“The same could be said of you, couldn’t it?”

Alberu pushed himself off the wall, a smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.

‘I don’t see the Bear Tribe or the Lion Tribe. And not the Black Knights either.’

The High Priest was visible, but the other priests were nowhere to be seen.
Moreover, the Dark Elves and Black Mages were far fewer in number than what he had discerned through Duke Fredo.
And there were no Vampires at all.

‘As for the Vampires, I’ll be able to determine their whereabouts once I hear from Duke Fredo.’

The White Star’s core forces—those who could truly be called his essential strength—were absent.

‘Of course, I have a rough idea where they are.’

Alberu had a vague sense of why the White Star’s subordinates were nowhere to be found.
The White Star nodded without any particular change in expression, acknowledging the point.

“True. That’s the case.”

And he added:

“I’ve found myself in a situation where I must conserve my subordinates.”

At those words, Alberu let out a scoff tinged with derision.

“Ah. Is it because of that vampire named Nar and the Elderly Dark Elf?”

The subordinates of the White Star who had launched an attack on the Dark Forest Castle where Kale Heniatus was located had lost contact and were not returning.

“Yes. And lately, I’ve been doubting the loyalty of my subordinates.”

Alberu tossed out his words carelessly in response.

“Who would have known the Vice High Priest would betray you?”

At that moment, the White Star’s lips twisted.

“…I never imagined a follower of another god would be lurking in my own lands.”

A subtle gleam flickered across Alberu’s eyes.

Vice High Priest Cotton, who followed the War God.
She who had been protecting Erhafen and some members of the Mercenary Guild at the War God’s Sanctuary.
The White Star seemed to believe she was the traitor who had drawn Kale Heniatus into this place.

‘Does Duke Fredo not suspect anything?’

Duke Fredo was still unconscious at the Mansion.
The problem was that he had not been in his bed for the past three months, yet the White Star had not visited the Mansion during those three months.
Therefore, Alberu did not make hasty judgments.

‘Hmm.’

The Endable Kingdom had been a place where magic was difficult to use, except for the few spells employed at the War God’s Sanctuary during this time.
So in such circumstances, one should not attempt to understand everything.

‘In any case.’

I could only move forward in the best direction possible.
Alberu spoke to the White Star with a sardonic tone.

“You wouldn’t have known that Vice High Priest Cotton followed the War God.”

One corner of the White Star’s lips twisted upward and opened.

“It might have brought pests to this land.”

Pests. That was what she called Kale Heniatus.
That was when it happened.

“We humans are not pests!”

A colossal black spear hurtled toward the White Star.
Simultaneously, the White Star’s gaze shifted to the black sphere where Kale Heniatus resided.
The Black Dragon was nowhere to be seen.
Only something that covered the silver shield was visible.

“You’ve arrived.”

Gold light engulfed the silver.

“Where are you looking?”

The White Star turned his head toward the direction of the voice.
Erhafen, wrapped in golden radiance, swung his hand.

“Now the dragons are attacking.”

Erhafen frowned at White Star’s words as if to say, “What are you talking about?”

“Attacking? I am personally instructing you.”

Then he spoke into the empty air.

“And Little One, you stay out of this.”
“I don’t want to!”
“Stay out.”

Screech.
Raon’s black spear was sliced by the White Star’s flame sword.
And it exploded.

Boom!
Golden particles shot through the gaps, targeting all sides of the White Star.

Whoooosh!
A curtain of water unfurled, and the White Star blocked the golden dust.
Beyond it, he could see Albert Crossman aiming his spear at him once more.

“So you’re finally using your second power?”

And beside him, Erhafen as well.
The White Star recalled the invisible enemy too.

‘The Black Dragon must be nearby in invisibility as well.’

It was a three-against-one fight.
Even the White Star found this troublesome.

‘I can’t afford to use more power.’

He gauged the extent of the power he could wield.
But his opponent gave him no time to think.

“Stop thinking.”

The golden dust transformed into countless arrows, firing toward the White Star.

“Let’s just fight. I haven’t battled in months—my blood’s itching for it.”

Then Erhafen rushed toward the White Star at tremendous speed.

Boom! Crash! Bang!
The arrows collided with the water curtain and exploded, and through the detonations, the White Star glimpsed a fist wrapped in golden radiance.

Boom!
With a sound of a different magnitude, the curtain shattered.

“Brute strength alone won’t—!”
“A dragon is strong because of its power. Would it be weak? Are you a fool?”

The White Star evaded the second fist aimed at him, quickly ducking his body.

Whoosh—
A white spear streaked through the empty air, passing through where White Star’s heart had been.

“What a shame.”

Albert Crossman’s voice came through, tinged with amusement.
Immediately after, a man and a dragon pressed their assault, giving White Star no opening to breathe.

“Nuisances!”

Watching White Star’s brow furrow, Alberu pondered.

‘If this continues, White Star’s subordinates will surely appear.’

Or perhaps I would discover why White Star was using so little of his power.

—Crown Prince! I’m going!

At the very least, Raon would have the freedom to move.
Within the golden shield.
Raon’s silver shield had vanished from there.

‘I can do this!’

Raon moved swiftly, cloaked in invisibility.

He departed the battlefield, passed through the White Royal Castle, and headed toward somewhere else.

Around Raon’s neck hung a white necklace.
It was a magical artifact crafted by Lord Sherit.

‘Lord Raon.’

The Black Dragon recalled Alberu’s words as he moved.

‘Our objectives are twofold. First, everyone survives.’

And.

‘Second, steal the statue.’

Kale Heniatus and Alberu were determined to steal the statue during this opportunity.

‘Even if we survive today, we must obtain that statue for the future.’

Alberu’s words echoed through Raon’s mind.

‘Each monster that manifests from that statue will be extraordinarily powerful. Given the substantial damage they would cause, we must absolutely prevent that statue from materializing into reality.’

Raon’s blue-green eyes gleamed.
We had arrived.

War God’s Sanctuary.
The place now lay in ruins, devastated by Erhafen’s rampage.
I approached, moving through the shadows cast by the destroyed walls.
This was the designated meeting place.

-You came!

Rosalind and Rak were waiting there.
Caw.
And a single raven besides.

While Erhafen created his chaos, Rosalind had brought Rak along.
Simultaneously, the raven had infiltrated the Endable Kingdom.
Surely, the Tiger Shaman Gashan was positioned in another shadowed location.

-Let’s go!

Rak wore an expression of tension while Rosalind remained composed. I cast invisibility magic on both of them.
The three of us moved swiftly, each employing magic and physical strength.

‘Lord Raon. Move together with Rosalind and Rak. Gashan will follow from behind, providing support.’

I agreed with the Crown Prince’s judgment.

Rak, capable of close-range combat and tanking.
Rosalind, capable of long-range and wide-area attacks.
Gashan, skilled in martial arts and shamanism.

‘And the magnificent me!’

A most fitting combination.
Of course, it was regrettable that Choi Han and our human weren’t here, but it was certainly worth attempting.

The three beings moved swiftly in silence.
Alberu did so as well.

‘Young master Raon, we must first locate that statue.’
‘And surely the White Star has stationed considerable forces there. Or at least high-quality troops. They would need to guard the statue, after all.’

Raon believed that prediction would prove accurate.
So to find the statue, he recalled what the human had said.

‘That’s what the human did!’

Survey the battlefield.
Thus, Raon observed the Endable Kingdom alone while guarding the black sphere.

The Bear Tribe, the Lion Tribe, nor the Black Knights were visible.
They were surely guarding those statues.
Even if the High Priest was here, it was likely a deception.

‘And the White Star’s power was weak! It seemed like he was restraining it!’

Raon believed his assessment of the White Star’s condition was correct.
Because he had learned it at the side of our human.

‘The White Star must be plotting something!’

The White Star, having continued fighting all this while, must have concluded that things could not continue as they were.

‘So simply attacking the black sphere where our human is won’t be all there is to it!’

Raon’s lips twitched upward.
There was no helping it.

‘If our human were here, he would surely think the same thing! I’m certain of it!’

The thought of Kale Heniatus, who would undoubtedly reach the same conclusion, crossed my mind.

Raon moved swiftly, his thoughts cascading one upon another.
And watching the small black dragon’s back, Rak and Rosalind followed in pursuit.

Rosalind, noting that no one else was nearby, whispered her question to Raon.
None of those around had noticed the three rapidly moving figures.

“Raon. Do you have any idea where the statue might be located?”

Alberu spoke to the three of them.

‘The statue is likely not in its original location. They’ve discovered its position.’
‘So we must deduce—no, we must find—the statue’s location by observing the battle situation.’

Raon echoed those words as he spoke.

“The black sphere containing the human burst upward from the underground, destroying the ceiling in the process. It was quite a substantial explosion.”

Rosalind immediately continued his thought.

“Then the probability of the statue being there, as we suspected, would be quite low.”
“True. If the statue were there, it would not have been destroyed so completely. But the probability is merely low—it could still be there.”

Rosalind regarded Raon with an odd gleam in her eyes as he calmly stated his thoughts.
Rak felt the same way.
That composed demeanor resembled a younger version of someone in particular.
But Raon, unaware of this, continued.

“So we will investigate that underground chamber as well.”

Raon’s gaze turned toward the distant location where Alberu and Erhafen were engaged in battle.
The statue had originally been in the underground chamber near where that battle was taking place.

“But.”

There was a building along the path leading to that battlefield.
My plump front paw pointed to one location.

“Let’s check out that White Castle first!”

Strangely, it was quiet, and not a single light leaked from the building.
Unlike its white exterior, the interior seemed tranquil, as if steeped in darkness.

“It’s so quiet that we’d overlook it in all this chaos!”

I had witnessed everything near the black sphere today.
The homes where ordinary citizens of the Endable Kingdom dwelled—even those had been noisy with tension throughout the night’s battle.
Light seeped through curtain gaps, windows were firmly shut, or people peered outside to assess the situation.
Every single one showed signs of habitation.

Yet this place—the largest and most populated location in all of Endable.
It had remained eerily silent ever since the battle began.
Not once had it shown any sign of life.

That made no sense.
Unless they were deliberately hiding.

“If I were human, I would have suspected that place from the start.”

The White Royal Castle lay directly in my path before reaching the battlefield.

“I’m going to that castle first!”

I headed toward it.
For some reason, I had a feeling a statue would be there.

I recalled what Alberu had told me.

‘The moment you discover a statue, send me a signal.’
‘Then all our forces will advance to Endable.’
‘At that point, we will all retreat outside the Sinkhole, bringing Kale Heniatus with us.’

Alberu spoke with a smile.
After we retreat with everyone alive.

‘Then we’ll fight on favorable ground. Safely.’

One corner of Raon’s mouth twitched upward.
It was a smile that seemed to mock someone.

—————
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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