Trash of the Count’s Family

e layers of shields around it! This is like eating lukewarm soup for the now great and mighty me!

Cale could hear Raon ’s excited voice.
Cale continued to cast the shield with one hand while moving his other hand to pull a bread roll out of his pocket.

“I can’t do anything these days because I ’m so hungry.”

He became hungry whenever he used an ancient power.

Cale started to munch on the bread roll as he needed to keep the shield activated for a long time.

The Empire’s side could not help but be confused at this peaceful sight.

‘What could it be?’
‘Is he not attacking?
Why did he surround the pile of skeletons instead of surrounding Choi Han or the Dark Elves?
Why over there?’

They started to hear loud laughter at that moment.

“Hahaha! Our young master Shield-nim truly is the best!”
“He knows everything! Pwahahaha.”

The Empire ’s side could not help but scream in shock.
The black beings were charging toward them.

“Y, you damn Elves! Attack!”
“Get in defensive formation!”

The Dark Elves started their attack on the Empire ’s people.
The mages and black mages stepped in as the knights were afraid of the dead mana surrounding them.

“There is nothing we need to worry about now! Just make sure they don ’t die!”
“It is the commander-nim and Tasha ’s order! Sweep them all away!”

The Dark Elves had only attacked the containers with dead mana since coming into this underground hall.
They had no choice.

It was because of the skeletons.

The Dark Elves could deeply feel what those skeletons left behind here had felt.

They were a race that had the darkness attribute since birth and always lived with both nature and death by their side.
They couldn ’t mess around with things left by the dead.

The skeletons that the dead left behind had to return to their remaining families in this world.

That was a law of nature.

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They needed to return to the people of the slums who were probably evacuating the Empire’s citizens right now, as well as to the people around the continent who were waiting for their family members who had suddenly disappeared.

That was the only way for death to not end just in death but instead to continue to tomorrow.

The pile of skeletons was the only thing in the Alchemists’ Bell Tower that the Dark Elves saw as something to protect.

There was someone from the Empire who figured that out.

“Pwa, hahahaha!”

It was Adin.

He was laughing so hard that he moved back from fighting against Choi Han and almost bent forward from laughter.

Cale Henituse was stiffly standing there while eating a bread roll.
However, Cale ’s eyes were serious unlike when he was trying to slam Adin to the ground.
It was a gaze that seemed to be saying that he knew what was most precious in this hall.

“Hahahaha-!”

Adin raised his head and looked toward Cale.

He started to speak with the smile now gone from his face.

“You ’re different than me.”

He heard someone other than Cale, who was picking his ear, respond to his statement.

“Of course.”

It was Choi Han.
He pointed his sword at Adin with a stiff expression on his face.

Cale and Adin.

How could someone who always chose the difficult path be the same as someone who only chose to take the easy path?

Adin straightened back up and looked around.

He looked around the wide underground hall.

The Empire ’s side and the Dark Elves were fighting in the southern side.
The Dark Elves seemed to be getting pushed back because of the number difference at first glance, however, the Dark Elves who were running wild as if they were in a berserk state seemed to be getting stronger and stronger for some reason.

Cale was to the North protecting the pile of skeletons.

And finally, the center.

It was pretty empty there.

Only Choi Han and himself were standing there.

Adin started to smile.

“How unbelievable.”

It was as if this empty area was made just for the two of them.

Adin smiled as he shook his head.

“Choi Han, you may be a sword master, but…”

Adin was a beginner black mage and a highest-grade expert swordsman.

Choi Han was a sword master who was said to have transcended human limits.

However, this fight was different than normal.

Adin calmly explained that fact.

“You cannot defeat someone like me, who has achieved perfect despair.”

Adin was different than regular beginner black mages who only had dead mana.

The black despair.

In Adin ’s perspective and based on what he could see, he was a different class than regular black mages after having absorbed the black despair.

This was the same when it came to the sword as well.

Adin seemed to be looking down on Choi Han as he continued to speak.

‘Your attribute is lower than me.”

Choi Han’s aura was useless to Adin now.

“Your aura will be eaten up by me.
I ’m sure you can tell by our clash just now.
A highest-grade expert like me was able to block a sword master ’s attack.
It was quite easy too.
Isn’t that enough for you? Do you think you can beat me if I fight seriously?”

Adin asked Choi Han with a shocked expression on his face.

“But your owner still gave you permission? He is letting you fight me?”

Choi Han thought about a few days ago as he looked at the relaxed Adin.

The conversation he had with Cale was going through his mind.

‘Choi Han, you ’re going to do it?’
‘Yes, Cale-nim.’
‘Raon said that your attribute will be eaten up.’

Choi Han recalled his answer to Cale once more.

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‘Cale-nim.’

Rosalyn, Lock, Mary.

All of them were getting stronger.

He had thought about Harris Village after seeing Rex break down in tears.

He had a feeling at that moment.

‘I want to fight in this battle.’

‘I am…’

He honestly explained to Cale.

‘I am someone who survived by killing the things that wanted to eat me.’

The Forest of Darkness.

Monsters that were stronger than him.

Monsters that were faster than him.

Monsters that were superior to him in every way.

All of the monsters were stronger than Choi Han and had aimed for his life.

‘I am someone who defeated them all in order to get here.’

‘Cale-nim, survival is not determined only through strength or weakness.’

This was the first time something Choi Han said put a bitter expression on Cale ’s face.

‘You ’re right.
That is what it means to live.’

Cale had then returned to his normal expression before giving him the order.

‘Then you take on the Imperial Prince.’

Choi Han had lowered his head with a stiff expression on his face.

Imperial Prince Adin.

He was an enemy they definitely had to take care of, not just for this operation but for the future.

That was why Choi Han could only lower his head at the fact that Cale was giving someone like him with a significant weakness the task of defeating such an enemy.

Cale had continued to speak at that point.

‘It’s too easy to just kill him right away.’

‘Beat him up a bit.’

Choi Han had raised his head.

‘And retreat if you think you can’t do it.
Someone else can beat him up too.’

Choi Han had chuckled as he responded back.

‘Yes Cale-nim, I will do that.’

Choi Han thought about that conversation as he looked toward Adin.

‘He asked if I got permission?’

“That’s right, I got permission.”

“Ha!”

Adin could not hide his disbelief.
However, his expression soon stiffened up.

Ooooooong-

A violent darkness was rising up from Choi Han’s sword.

It was filled with imperfect darkness and the similarly imperfect despair within it.

It then started to rise up, not just from his sword, but from all over Choi Han’s body.

He made a proclamation with a calm expression.

“I will grow today.”

His new life that had started from the Forest of Darkness.

He had always had to fight against strong enemies.

“And I will survive.”

Choi Han pointed the tip of his sword at Adin.

Cale started to smile.

He had felt this quite often these days.

‘The Birth of a Hero,’ the story in the novel, was something that did not exist anymore.

All that existed was the reality in front of him.