Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 673

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

Chapter 139. The Falling Sun

A clash between spear and shield.
The result was so anticlimactic it could be described in a single word: the spear lost.

“Ugh!”
Crash!

The spear could not pierce the shield.
The white spear, absurdly small compared to the colossal shield, was ultimately deflected away.

‘Damn it!’

The spear’s wielder was naturally pushed backward by the overwhelming force embedded in that shield.
One of the soldiers watching this couldn’t help but cry out.

“Again—!”

Again.
Was he being pushed back once more?

“…I-Insane!”

But what followed from the soldier’s mouth was a gasp of astonishment.
Beyond the shield, the Lion Dragon’s crimson eyes.
Those eyes were not fixed on the spear’s wielder who had been driven back.
Below that.

“I’m still full of vigor.”

A beige-colored dragon with a massive body collided directly with the shield.

Crash—!

A roar incomparably louder than before echoed across the battlefield.
One of the Lion Dragon’s arms holding the shield burst outward, lunging toward the dragon’s body.
Its claws were as sharp as an eagle’s talons.

Screeeech!
It happened in an instant.
Sharp claws tore through Mila’s beige scales.

“Mila!”

Alberu called out her name in surprise without thinking.
His voice carried a note of bewilderment.

“Why do you simply—”

—stand by and do nothing?
Alberu had clearly seen Mila’s eyes flicker, as if she’d noticed the Lion Dragon’s attack.
Yet despite knowing the attack was coming, she neither dodged nor blocked it.

“Once more. Hold on tight.”

Instead, she charged at the Lion Dragon again, using her massive body and front claws.

“Ugh!”

Alberu quickly hunched down, pressing himself firmly against the dragon’s back to keep from sliding off.
In that moment, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Quite reckless.’

Magic?
Martial arts?
Mila used neither.
She collided with the Lion Dragon relentlessly, using only her own body—that massive form.

Dragons, the race of magic.
True to that name, even Ancient Dragon Erhafen surrounded himself with mana when revealing his true form to fight.
But Mila didn’t even cloak herself in mana.

Because of this, Alberu came to realize another truth.

The Dragon—the mightiest race on Earth.
That name signified far more than mere magic.
Their innate physical prowess. That alone made them formidable. Mila’s battle demonstrated this vividly.
Reckless to the point of being called crude—relentless, aggressive strikes with no thought for defense or evasion.
Was that why?

Boom, boom! Crash! Crash!
Deafening roars echoed without cease.
Even Erhafen had never driven the Lion Dragon back with such relentless force.

‘It retreated…!’

The Lion Dragon suspended in the air.
Alberu watched as the Monster Lion Beast was forced back a step.
Yet his expression remained grim.

Screech! Screeeeech—!
In turn, the Dragon’s scales were sliced and torn.

But conversely, the Monster Lion Beast’s shield—and indeed its very scales—remained untorn.

“Damn it.”

Alberu’s brow furrowed.

‘As expected, this is no ordinary monster.’

Claws that could tear through Dragon scales.
Scales that resembled Dragon scales but were harder than any Dragon’s, seemingly impervious to any assault.

The Lion Dragon’s strength seemed too peculiar to attribute merely to being an “unranked monster.”
Yet if it served as the final guardian of the place where the Sealed God dwelled, that peculiarity became comprehensible.

Boom!
“Are you alright?”

As they collided once more, Alberu finally found himself asking Mila the question.
Whether she was alright.
Wounds kept appearing—could she truly continue fighting like this?

Alberu’s gaze drifted downward for a moment.
The colossal body of the Ancient Dragon Erhafen lay motionless, still as death itself.

‘Erhafen’s condition isn’t truly life-threatening, but it’s far from good.’

And now Mila was in the same predicament?
I didn’t want to imagine it.

“Mila, you must proceed with the plan.”

There was a strategy to this attack.

‘Your Highness should fight adequately—convincingly, but not excessively. Once Rashil or Mila, or perhaps both dragons, retreat, the Lion Dragon will judge there’s no threat and cease its assault. That’s when Your Highness should feign taking a massive blow, pretend to be wounded.’

The attacks were supposed to be measured, merely appearing genuine.
But from what Alberu could see, Mila wasn’t following that approach. Her relentless, ferocious assault left him barely clinging to the fight.

“Mila, ease up—”

Then Mila’s voice reached him.

“Crown Prince, don’t you see it?”

Her tone was calmer than expected. Alberu hesitated, caught off guard by the composed voice of someone engaged in such fierce combat.

‘See what?’

He surveyed his surroundings once more. The Lion Dragon and Mila clashed violently.
And—

‘Is he… laughing?’

Rashil, the Dragon Hybrid, stood atop the black-helmed dragon, watching.
He was simply observing.
Alberu had thought perhaps there was no opening to join the fierce battle, but that wasn’t it.
His shoulders trembled subtly. Though hidden by his armor, that movement was unmistakably the gesture of someone laughing.

‘Has he lost his mind?’

Is that dragon insane?
Though Alberu had entertained such a thought about a dragon that seemed somewhat unhinged, he soon realized something as he followed the gaze of the Dragon Rashil.

“Ah.”

Whoooosh—
The scales tore open again.

“…Blood—”

Yet no blood flowed.
And strangely, the number of wounds wasn’t increasing.
Only then could Alberu perceive the faint beige aura settling over the lacerated wound.

‘…Mending!’

Mila’s characteristic ability—Mending.
The dragon’s trait he’d once heard about in passing from Kale finally came to mind. An ability that couldn’t repair what was broken, but could mend what was torn or shattered.
Alberu swallowed his admiration.

‘So this was the optimal strategy for this dragon all along!’

Then, Mila’s quiet voice reached his ears.

“Among dragons, I’m probably the only one who has trained in strength and endurance.”

Mila had continued her training, refining the body she was born with.
It was the result of devising the most efficient way to utilize her unique trait.

“As long as I don’t tire, I can keep colliding.”

Dragon scales were so durable that the impact of attacks rarely transmitted all the way to the bones beneath.
Therefore, Mila’s power to continuously recover the wounds on her scales was far from something to be taken lightly.
Her lips curved upward gently.
Those who had disregarded her trait and underestimated her always exhausted themselves first when facing her.
A strength that never fell first.

“How terrifying that truly is.”

That was when it happened.

“Truly terrifying.”

The moment Mila heard a voice tinged with both boredom and fascination, she could see Rashil in the black helmet swinging his sword toward the monster’s flank.

“Kekeke.”

Rashil couldn’t suppress his laughter.
He had to act as Choi Han, but from a distance, those watching wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
He made no effort to hide the laughter spilling from his lips.

‘This old-timer has a funnier trait than I expected, doesn’t he?’

Watching Mila’s battle, Rashil’s fingers itched.

It was a funny trait.
Terrifyingly funny, even.
To Rashil, who had mastered martial arts, it was far too appealing to resist.

So he couldn’t help himself—he had to charge at this monster immediately.
The sword Choi Han had given him flew toward the monster.

Kwaaaang!
“Kek, kekeke! You’re not even blocking? Kekeke!”

The sword clashed against the monster’s flank.
But not a single scratch appeared.

Because neither aura, nor magic, nor any special trait was infused into the blade.

“Tsk.”

Rashil clicked his tongue briefly.
The fact that he had to act as Choi Han.
The greatest constraint was that Rashil couldn’t unleash his own power—if he wasn’t careful, his grey mana or his trait ‘Indomitable’ might manifest, and the White Star could see through this deception.

That was the moment.

“Dodge!”

At Alberu’s shout, Rashil tore his gaze from the blade.
The Monster Lion Beast’s hand, which had been slashing at Mila’s scales, lunged toward Rashil at terrifying speed.

Crash!

Rashil’s mouth opened.

“Oh. You didn’t have to save me, you know?”

The Dragon Hybrid’s foreleg—now nothing but black bone—intercepted the Monster Lion Beast’s hand.

“Damn it. Do this properly.”
“A mere skeleton has no right to speak to one as magnificent as I?”

The Dragon Hybrid’s irritation flared at Rashil’s playful tone.

‘This fool has no idea how strong that monster truly is…!’

The Dragon Hybrid, having witnessed the battle between Erhafen and the Monster Lion Beast from closer than almost anyone else, knew that the Monster Lion Beast hadn’t yet deployed magic or any other exceptional power. Simultaneously, I understood the creature’s physical strength better than anyone.

Erhafen was playing dead, but in truth, even after using his traits, magic, and body to their fullest, he could do nothing but buy time.

“If you keep grinning like that while—”
“I’m actually quite serious right now.”
“What?”

The Dragon Hybrid’s gaze shifted to his own shoulder. A glimpse of Rashil’s face inside the helmet became visible.

‘Hmm!’

Inside the black helmet, Rashil’s face was drenched in sweat.

“You see.”

Rashil whispered to the Dragon Hybrid, his voice barely audible.

“My trait is one that grows stronger the more unfavorable my circumstances become.”

The trait Unyielding was powerful for that very reason.
It also aligned perfectly with Rashil’s nature.

“Isn’t this a situation where I can’t use it right now? I need to pretend to be Choi Han and then withdraw.”
“…So?”
“But right now the trait keeps trying to activate on its own.”
“What?”

Rashil swallowed hard.

“I’m breaking into a cold sweat just trying to control it. My trait is warning me that the current situation is dangerous.”

The trait Unyielding reacted so strongly to the present circumstances that it was overriding Rashil’s control as its caster.

“I know.”

Rashil’s gaze turned toward the Lion Dragon. The monster’s crimson eyes briefly caught his.
Thump. Thump. My heart pounded.

“I know better than anyone just how strong that monster is.”

Even if Rashil used magic, martial arts, and his trait all at once, he couldn’t leave a single scratch on it. His trait Unyielding made that abundantly clear.

‘So I’m supposed to capture this thing?’

And the only one capable of wounding such a monster was that figure in white armor?
Rashil’s eyes shifted toward the one clad in white armor.

“Fascinating.”

It truly was fascinating.
The Guardian Lion Dragon protecting the Temple. Only a combined assault from Ancient Dragon Erhafen or Dragon Mila alongside Rashil possessed enough power to provoke that monster.
Yet those dragons now could confront the monster but couldn’t inflict a single wound upon it.

“The world really is strange, isn’t it?”

Which was precisely what made it so entertaining.

“Shall we go?”
“Of course.”

Rashil and the Dragon Hybrid immediately sprang into action.
And in that same instant, Mila surged forward with her massive body toward the Lion Dragon once more.

CRASH!
Mila’s body collided with the Lion Dragon.

“Ugh. I won’t miss this time.”

Her two front claws seized the Lion Dragon’s shield.
The moment the Lion Dragon’s crimson eyes flashed as it glared at her, the Monster recoiled slightly and twisted its body to one side.

CRASH!
“Kugh!”

The Dragon Hybrid stifled a groan as his solid black bone collided with the Lion Dragon’s right flank.

“Ugh, I—I’ve got it, can’t hold for long—!”

And his front claws grasped and hung from the Lion Dragon’s remaining arm, sharp talons and all.
The moment two colossal beings clung to the Lion Dragon’s body.

Rashil, clad in black armor, entered the Lion Dragon’s field of vision.
Rashil flew toward the Lion Dragon’s maned face, sword in hand. Or rather, he shot forward like a rocket.

“Kahahaha! If I can’t cut through it, I’ll just crush it! I’ll smash that face to pieces!”

The Lion Dragon and Rashil.
Between them lay Choi Han’s sword. The one gripped in Rashil’s hand did not miss this moment when his vision was blocked forward, backward, and to both sides.

WHOOOOSH—
When a grey aura erupted from Rashil’s sword.

“….”

In that instant, the Lion Dragon’s mouth opened.

“!!!”

Rashil’s eyes widened.

‘Insane!’

Something red was forming inside the Lion Dragon’s mouth.
A tremendous force, much like a dragon’s breath, emanated from within. That power felt ominous and sinister.
Rashil’s mouth fell open.

“Too late, kid.”

A sinister smile spread across his face.
The moment his lips curled upward.
Rashil’s gaze fixed forward.
More precisely, beyond the Lion Dragon’s shoulder.

“Truly, this is entertaining.”

Behind the Lion Dragon’s back.
Someone the monster had deemed insignificant and ignored was positioned there.
The spear that had been in that person’s hand had vanished.

A metallic click.

Instead, a gun barrel was now aimed at the Lion Dragon’s back.

-Albert Crossman. Preparations are complete. The only weapon capable of piercing the Lion Dragon’s scales. We’ve infused that power into the bullets.

The Lion Dragon with eight dragon wings.
The Lion Dragon’s back, slightly exposed between those gaps.
The gun barrel was aimed precisely there.

A bead of sweat rolled down Albert Crossman’s forehead.
In that instant, Tae-rang’s voice reached Albert’s mind.

-Fire now.

Albert’s index finger moved.

Bang—!

A single gunshot echoed across the sky above Pursulsi.
The Lion Dragon flinched, spinning its head around in panic.

Thud.

The bullet pierced through the gaps between its wings and lodged itself into the Lion Dragon’s scales.
Alberu opened his mouth.

“Detonate.”
-Detonating the projectile.

Boom!
The moment the bullet embedded in the monster’s back exploded, Mila, the Dragon Hybrid, and Rashil scrambled backward in alarm.
That was when it happened.

“Graaaaahhh—!”

For the first time, a scream tore from the monster’s jaws.

‘It worked…!’

In that instant, my grip tightened unconsciously around the gun in my hand.
And I had to face it.

“…Hazardous… object… detected….”
The Lion Dragon muttered, turning slowly around. Its eyes, which had been blazing red, darkened to a crimson hue, radiating a sinister light.

“…Must… eliminate… threat level… beyond classification….”

In the monster’s gaze, only I existed.
A smirk twisted the corner of my mouth.

“It actually works. Should I just take it down myself?”

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