Trash of the Count’s Family - Chapter 683

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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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“Your Highness!”
“Saint Jack.”

Alberu offered a reassuring smile to Jack, whose expression was filled with astonishment.
Jack had certainly heard the word of the god.
That Albert Crossman would kindle light in the darkness.
Jack stammered out his words.

“B-but that was definitely divine power just now—”
“Saint Jack. I must fight now.”

The small light that rose in the night was not, in fact, small at all.
It was small compared to the sun or moon, but it was large enough to illuminate this entire Pursulsi.
Surely those in the nearby territories would see this light as well.
Though the sky remained dark, that solitary white radiance appeared uniquely sacred.

It possessed neither offensive power nor any healing ability, but pure solar force.
It felt as though the Sun God himself had imprinted the primordial aura of divinity without the touch of mortal hands.

Beneath that great light.
The Crown Prince, smiling calmly, declared that he must fight now.
Against the Lion Dragon—a monster of such magnitude that it would be recorded in history.

Saint Jack swallowed his amazement and doubt within his heart.

‘There is truly nothing to question.’

The Sun God.
For Jack, this great being held profound meaning, whether for good or ill.
That god was now witnessing this battlefield.
The god’s message to Jack meant exactly that.
And he had chosen Albert Crossman.
Why?

‘Because he possesses the answer, the path forward.’

Then Jack’s duty was singular.

“I mustn’t interfere, after all.”

I was useless on this battlefield. So stepping aside was my role to play.
Yet there was much work to be done from behind the lines.

“…I do hope no one gets injured, but should they, do not worry. I am here. I shall heal them all.”

Alberu smiled.
The Saint’s healing power was at least poison to him. Alberu tucked the necklace that peeked through the gaps of his nightclothes—his mother’s keepsake—back beneath his garments.

Saint Jack regarded Alberu’s faint, barely perceptible smile with unreadable eyes before approaching Hana.

“Hana. Let’s head down.”
“No.”
“What?”

Hana, now composed, drew her sword from its sheath.

“There’s no magic.”

Her gaze turned toward Alberu.

“So I must fight. Isn’t that right, Crown Prince?”
“I would be grateful for your assistance.”

Hana tilted her head at Saint Jack as if to say, see?
Saint Jack, resigned, bowed his head and placed a hand lightly upon the Dragon’s back where it stood.

“Would you mind lowering me down?”
“Of course.”

The Gold Dragon descended slowly.
Even as it did, Alberu observed the Lion Dragon. The monster gazed silently at the light suspended in the night sky. Its crimson eyes contracted and dilated repeatedly, as though measuring something.

As Erhafen’s body drew closer to the ground, those below scattered in confusion, fleeing from the shadow cast by the Dragon.

As Jack got close enough to the ground that he could jump down with his own athletic ability, he looked at Alberu.

“I suspect I shall receive many questions.”

Once they descended to the ground, people would undoubtedly bombard Jack with countless questions.

“Tell me what you saw.”

Jack sensed something in the Crown Prince’s response.

‘He has no intention of evading this.’

If he spoke truthfully about what he had witnessed, Jack would have no choice but to mention the Sun God.

“Your Highness, does this not burden you? Especially without Young Master Kale Heniatus present.”

All their attention and expectations would fall upon him alone.
A different kind of attention and expectation than what Choi Han, the others, and the Dragons received.

Choi Han, Hana, Necromancer Mary, the Dragons—they were rightly seen as heroes.
And Albert Crossman was a leader.
Heroes and leaders received vastly different kinds of attention and expectations from people.
People expected victory from heroes, but from leaders, they expected protection of their very lives.

‘Young Master Kale Heniatus is both a hero and a leader.’

And the Albert Crossman that Jack had observed was a man who desired to become a leader more than a hero, by his own will.
Therefore, when Jack asked if this burden troubled him, Albert answered exactly as Jack had anticipated.

“It is my duty.”
“I see.”

Jack did not entangle a man heading into battle with further questions.

“Alright, I’ll help. I’ll follow behind you.”

Hana hoisted Jack onto her shoulder and leaped down from Erhafen’s back to the ground below.
Albert watched the scene for a moment before turning his gaze without hesitation. The Lion Dragon was watching him and Erhafen.

“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”

The Crown Prince ascended back into the sky with the Gold Dragon Erhafen, returning to their battlefield.
Those who witnessed this scene hurried toward Saint Jack, who had been brought to the ground by Hana.

“Saint! What is happening right now?”

The first to approach was Prince Valentino of the Caro Kingdom.
With a bewildered expression, he gazed at Pursulsi, shrouded in mana distortion, and the light hovering in the sky.
The light that Alberu had shot upward did not disappear and remained suspended.
Like a lamp.

“Saint, has Young Master Kale awakened?”
“I must hear this as well!”

The one who posed the follow-up question was Ritana, the King of the Jungle, and Tunka, the Grand General of the Wipper Kingdom.
Saint Jack closed his eyes for a moment.

“I’m going.”

Hana offered a brief farewell and headed toward where Necromancer Mary was located.
Left alone and surrounded by people, Jack opened his eyes again and spoke. His voice was firm.

“The White Star has disguised itself as Duke Derth.”
“What?”
“What did you say?”

Silence fell at the unexpected statement. Sometimes, shock so overwhelming steals away all sound.

“Then—”

Just as someone began to stammer out words about the current situation, Rosalind pushed through the crowd and approached Saint Jack.
Behind her stood the Royal Knight Captain of Roun.

“Then the White Star deceived people into fighting monsters. And Young Master Kale is currently confronting the White Star? The mana distortion is also caused by Young Master Kale?”

There were more detailed circumstances, but Jack, lacking time, simply nodded in response.
Those surrounding Jack were primarily representatives from each faction, and they fell silent, absorbed in thought to comprehend the situation.
Of course, only Tunka was stamping his feet on the ground, hurling curses at the White Star.

“You, you worthless piece of filth! Worse than rotting excrement! How dare you impersonate our father and deceive me? I’ll squeeze every last drop of blood from your wretched body and beat you to death!”
“There, over there! Saint!”

That was when it happened.

“Saint!”

It was the Knight Commander.
Passing by Rosalind and approaching with considerable urgency, he opened his mouth, his expression laden with indescribable emotion.

“I, I beg your pardon, but may I ask what that is floating up there?”

Saint Jack, perceiving the desperate yearning in the Knight Commander’s eyes, answered according to what Alberu had instructed him to say—what he himself had witnessed.

“It is light imbued with the power of the Sun God.”

Once more, all eyes converged upon Jack.

“The Sun God has commanded Prince Albert Crossman to illuminate the darkness.”

Ah.
A sigh escaped from someone.
Whether it came from the lips of the various nations’ representatives or from the leaders who protected and supported them, none could say, but the moment the Knight Commander’s trembling voice reached their ears, their hands instinctively clenched with renewed resolve.

“…Pursulsi will not fall, then.”

The Knight Commander’s eyes fixed beyond the barrier, upon Alberu as he advanced toward the monster.

“His Highness is here. Commander Kale is here. So many heroes stand with us. Surely everything will turn out well.”

Rosalind, who had been watching the Knight Commander, opened her mouth.

“We must divide into three groups.”

It was night, when magic could not be used. Rosalind’s stomach churned as though she were seasick, but she swallowed hard and spoke to each of the representatives. She knew well that in this situation, without the Crown Prince or Kale, she alone possessed the knowledge to navigate what lay ahead.
Rosalind knew well that in a situation without the Crown Prince or Kale Heniatus, she was the only one who understood the current circumstances best and could step forward.

The first squad will provide support and attack in the battle between the Lion Dragon and our forces. The second squad will help our forces who are currently causing this mana disruption state.

Rosalind had pinpointed the origin of the mana disturbance.
The underground chamber beneath Pursecity Hall.
She had a vague inkling of why the mana disturbance had occurred, and she intended to venture there herself.

“I’ll help Prince Kale, who will face the White Star one last time.”
“I’ll go.”

Tunka stepped forward.

“I’ll stay here.”

Ritana chose the battlefield.
Each of them selected their respective battlegrounds.
Whoooosh—
Once more, the sound of wind reached their ears. Rosalind gathered her windswept hair into a loose knot as she gazed toward the ramparts.
The Beige Dragon. Mila was offering her back to Choi Han. He mounted her and looked down at the chaos below.
What had seemed chaotic moments before was now settling as everyone found their purpose. Choi Han’s gaze met Rosalind’s, who stood at the center of it all.
A nod.
She nodded reassuringly, as if to say there was nothing to worry about.
Choi Han nodded in return and followed Erhafen alongside Mila.

“Your Highness.”
“Oh, Master, you’ve arrived?”

There stood Alberu in his nightclothes, wearing a refreshing smile despite the chill.

“Shouldn’t you put on some armor?”
“I forgot to bring it.”
“How boastful of you.”
“What can I do about it?”

Alberu laughed with evident delight.

“How could I dawdle when that beast has been waiting so patiently?”

The Monster Lion Beast. The entity that had been quietly gazing at the light in the night sky now fixed its attention solely on Alberu.
It made no move to attack first, merely standing in silence.
Yet Choi Han could clearly see the Monster Lion Beast’s eyes burning with an ever-deepening crimson glow.

Click.
At the same moment, the weapon in Alberu’s hand was transforming once more.

It was beginning.
Two dragons approaching in silence. The humans upon their backs. The monster awaiting them.
Choi Han sensed that this would be decided before dawn broke.
And so he asked before the battle commenced.

“Your Highness, is Kale Heniatus alone?”
“…He’s alone.”
“That troubles me.”
“That’s why—assess the situation and go to Kale if needed. He clearly returned from the World Tree and seems to be hiding something.”

Tae-rang’s voice echoed in Alberu’s mind.

—The surrounding environment is unstable, but there is no impediment to converting the owner’s mana. Assessment complete.
—Transformation according to the owner’s will.

A gun—smaller in form than when it had fired light moments before.

—In exchange for reducing the weapon’s size, the bullet’s destructive power increases.

Click.
Alberu fixed his gaze upon the Lion Dragon’s crimson eyes.

Twang—.

And he fired.
Simultaneously, a deafening roar erupted from behind him.

Craaaaaash—!

A thunderous boom that engulfed everything reverberated through the air.
Heh. Without even turning, Alberu discerned where the sound originated.

“They’re fighting quite fiercely.”

The room where Alberu had been lying—its wall facing the window shattered completely, and flames surged outward into the night.

Crackle. Pop.
Fire that harbored lightning the color of gold.

“Ha, haha!”

The White Star burst into laughter upon seeing that fire, as if finding it absurd.

“How relentless, charging in without mercy?”

The moment those words left his lips, the White Star immediately had to raise his arm.
Boom!
His fire sword and spear collided.
A spear containing swirling water. Kale Heniatus wielded that spear and thrust it toward the White Star once more.
There was no hesitation.

Boom, crash!
Simultaneously, whirlpools swirled around his feet.
The moment Kale Heniatus locked spears with the White Star, he drove his foot toward his opponent’s legs.

Crash—!

The whirlwind and wind barrier collided, each losing its form.
The White Star’s brow furrowed.

“If this becomes a battle of attrition, only you will suffer losses, won’t you?”

Kale Heniatus paid no heed and his left hand moved.
The seed Alberu had planted in the door—the tree seed sprouted anew, and the wooden vines that extended from it surged toward the White Star.
Simultaneously, Kale Heniatus thrust his spear toward the White Star.

Tree, wind, fire, water.
Without discrimination, Kale Heniatus swiftly shifted between these natures, attacking the White Star.
Since using them simultaneously would strain his body, he switched between the Ancient Powers with a speed that seemed almost imperceptible, and Kale Heniatus paid no mind to the minor wounds he sustained.

Boom—
And the White Star blocked every single attack.

“…You know as well as I do, Kale Heniatus, that attacks of this small scale cannot kill me or even wound me.”

The White Star touched his reddened cheek, the part the mask couldn’t quite conceal, and muttered under his breath.
Only then did Kale pause his assault and speak.

“I have nothing more to say to you.”

The White Star nodded in agreement.

“Indeed. There’s no need for further words now. One of us must see this through to the end.”
“That’s all there is to it.”

The White Star slowly lifted his gaze.
He looked toward the ceiling of the room.

“Fighting like this now is truly a small scale for you and me. We are those who command nature itself. This room is far too cramped.”

Yet from the White Star’s perspective, Kale Heniatus clearly intended to keep him confined within these walls.

“True enough—if I venture outside, both the battle with the Lion Dragon and my fight with him would surely fall into chaos.”

But then.

“However, you should know this: even bound within this room, can I not strike at what lies beyond?”

In the night sky, within the darkness that illuminated Pursulsi, a sound erupted.
Rumble— Rumble—
Thunder.

It was the White Star’s power over the heavens.
The thunder was incomparably greater than when the White Star had wielded his sky attribute before. The night sky rippled like a tidal wave.
The raw, unrestrained power itself—no longer requiring control from one who had achieved perfect balance.

“If I so desire, I can destroy this entire game board as much as I—”

The White Star paused mid-sentence.

Normally, in such a situation, Kale Heniatus would either rush forward to prevent the White Star from using his sky powers, or unfurl a shield to protect the people below.

“You—”

But now it was different.
Kale Heniatus, saying he had nothing more to discuss with the White Star.
He pulled out a badge and affixed it to his collar. Without looking at the White Star, he muttered to himself as if speaking aloud.

“Right, it hasn’t been that long.”

Kale was genuinely furious.
The true Kale Heniatus—the one who had become Kim Rok-soo—had only recently accepted this world and the people within it after meeting him.
Yet the White Star had kidnapped Duke Derth and endangered countless lives.

“At least we’re alone now.”

Having uttered those words to himself, Kale turned his gaze toward the White Star.
In that instant, the White Star involuntarily stepped back, his composure faltering.

“You, you—”

Kale Heniatus appeared different from usual.

“What are you doing right now—”

Certainly, Kale Heniatus looked the same as moments before.
Yet something was unmistakably different.

As though he were drenched entirely in blood.
Though the stench of blood did not physically exist, it seemed to emanate from the space around where Kale Heniatus stood.

Kale Heniatus, wrapped in an aura of blood.

The White Star sensed something emanating from him.

Essence.
Something far too primal and instinctive.

It carried fear within it.

Not the ordinary kind of fear.
Something deeper. Something that evoked the very image of blood.

It was death itself.
The primal fear of death that every living creature possessed emanated from Kale Heniatus.

The White Star cried out without thinking.

“…Blood-Soaked Stone!”

There was only one power that radiated such an aura.
The earth-attribute power that the White Star had originally sought—the Blood-Soaked Stone.

A smile spread across his face.
Kale’s lips curled upward.
When he had tried to seize this power that the White Star sought using his ‘Embrace’ ability, Jjangdol had spoken.

‘All things die and return to the earth, becoming soil. That is why the earth holds so much death within it.’
‘Blood-Soaked Stone. That is what I called this other power of the earth.’

The White Star too had named this power the same way, calling it blood-soaked.

‘Because it is blood.’
‘Because it is the Blood-Soaked Stone. Because it is the very earth where the dead are buried. Because it is the weapon itself that kills people and living creatures. It is natural to be afraid.’

The smile that had formed on Kale’s lips gradually faded.

‘Do you know why I feared the Ancient White Star?’
‘This earth power, as a weapon, bestows upon people the primal terror of death itself.’

The Ancient White Star had used this primal fear to instill dread in people and dominate them.

Uuuuu—uuu—
Then, another transformation occurred within Kale’s body.
The earth power flowed from the badge, coursed through Kale’s form, and spread outward.
Atop that power, another force that Kale originally possessed merged together.

Jjangdol had mentioned one more thing while speaking of the Blood-Soaked Stone.

‘Kale. Do you know why I brought along Neran Berow, who had no power at all? Why I made the effort to keep him alive?’

Neran Berow. The First Dragon Slayer, the one who bore the name Choi Jung-gun.

‘I protected him when he was young, but that bastard possesses nothing but a hollow, illusory power. Perfect for deception. But here’s the thing.’
‘That power is sometimes called bluster, but at other times it becomes courage.’

The name of that power was a dominating aura.

‘That bastard, normally he’s full of bluster, but when facing fear, he has the courage to stand against it. And that courage became his aura. With his aura beside us, we could stand against that terror.’

An aura woven into a power that contained the primal fear of death itself.
A power that would not bow its head even before Dragon Fear.
It carried the bearing of a sovereign.

Ancient times.
Those powers that could stand against one another knew each other so well that they intertwined and grew in magnitude.
Merely an aura, nothing but an invisible terror.
Yet it contained a power whose end could not be fathomed.

Rummmmmble—rummmble—
The sky’s roar echoed from beyond the room.
But within this space, that sound felt like nothing at all.
Only one person.
The voice flowing from Kale’s expressionless lips was the sole force that dominated the space.

“Shall we begin.”

Thud.
The moment Kale stomped his foot.
The room where they stood.
That space began to be engulfed by crimson earth.
A space entirely dominated by Kale was being created.

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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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