Trash of the Count's Family

The crow observed the fainted rat in Choi Han’s hand. The crow on Cale’s shoulder approached the rat and thoroughly observed it.

“The Illusionist seems to control rats.”

Choi Han put the fainted rat down and picked his sword up again after hearing the certainty in Gashan's voice.

Slaaaaash, slash!

The ground underneath the entire alley was flipped over. Choi Han frowned every time he stabbed his sword into the ground. Once the sword stabbed a certain length into the ground…

‘…There’s a path!’

He felt a small underground path that small animals such as rats would be able to cross. Choi Han quickly flipped the ground over. He then raised his senses to become as sensitive as possible.

Squeeak, squeak-

He then heard a quiet noise. Choi Han turned his head. Somewhere in the dark alley… A shaded spot in the corner of the wall that even Choi Han who was hiding there had ignored…

Squeeak, squeak, squeak!

Choi Han made eye contact with a rat that started to run away. He looked around at the ground, the alley, on top of the wall, and then across the Dubori territory.

‘…We're on top of the White Star's palm!’

He had no idea where else those small rats might be hiding. He had no way of knowing where they might be hiding and observing them.

‘Since when…since when were we being observed?’

Choi Han got goosebumps on his back.

Had they been observed by those rats as soon as they entered the Dubori territory? Or were they being observed long before they even arrived at the territory?

‘The rumbling we felt in Young-en when we were meeting with crown prince Valentino. Was that rumbling from the West we felt the Illusionist's doing as well?’

Choi Han had known the White Star was strong this whole time, but for some odd reason, he had not been afraid of the White Star. He felt as if the White Star was an enemy they could defeat at any moment.

‘Why did I have such thoughts?’

The White Star and his subordinates were not people they could look down upon.

The White Star had clashed with Choi Han and the others many times, but it had been as if he had been hiding himself every time. The situation in the Mogoru was something he did by making the Empire's people move.

But now, the White Star was revealing himself without hiding at all in the Caro Kingdom’s Dubori territory. It felt as if the White Star’s power, influence, and abilities were coming out of hiding and surrounding Choi Han.

‘…Shit.’

Choi Han finally started to feel a sense of danger.

‘I didn't think I’d only realize I was stuck in a spider web until after I was already stuck.’

Since they entered this small city with the Lord’s Castle, no, since they entered the Dubori territory or even the Caro Kingdom, they had been caught in the White Star’s web and had been moving on top of his palm.

Caw, caw.

Choi Han realized he could not hear anybody speaking through the crow's cawing.

‘Even Cale-nim is quiet.’

He felt the weight of this dangerous situation even more after seeing that both Gashan and more importantly, Cale, were quiet. His gaze headed toward his silent liege.

“…Cale-nim?”

Choi Han could see the silently smiling Cale. His smiling gaze met Choi Han’s eyes. Choi Han then realized why he had not been scared of the White Star until now. Every time he was about to be shocked because of the White Star’s strength, there was someone who was always smiling as if it was nothing.

“Choi Han, there's none left around us now, right?”

Choi Han closed his eyes after hearing Cale’s question. His sensitive swordsman’s senses were activated again and he soon opened his eyes.

“There are no living creatures other than us here.”

The Illusionist's rats were nowhere to be found.

“Is that so?”

Cale then crouched down on the ground. The ground that Choi Han had overturned earlier… Cale put his hand inside the now soft dirt.

Caw, caw.

A few crows surrounded Cale and Choi Han. Choi Han's eyes opened wide as this small area outside the White Star's gaze was created.

The Western continent’s common language was being written on the ground.

< Choi Han, Gashan. They won't be able to see this. >

There were no rats nearby. That meant that they would not be able to read these words.

Shh.

Cale quickly erased the words he had just written. He then started to write something else in the ground.

< Go call your friends over right away. >

‘Friends?’

The crow looked toward Cale in confusion but Cale shook his head. Choi Han also looked confused but Cale kept on writing.

Go call your friends over right away. And then…

< Tell your friends in the desert about our situation. >

Choi Han started to move his hand.

< Cale-nim, who are you talking to? >

Who was Cale giving this order to? Cale looked at him and started to speak.

"The White Star used his head very well.”

Shhhhh.

ground were covered up once

fire with an illusion and made us rush here in shock. He

his location, as well as Gashan's existence. They were all revealed to

Cale had something the White Star did not know about. Cale tightened his grip around the golden

We’ll be

punk with you. I think it’ll be better to leave this one by your

destruction. I

brushed past Cale and rose into the

Han, you heard the soldiers earlier,

two of them made

I

soldiers had

feast today for the esteemed guests

you planning

Gashan’s voice through

“First.”

looked toward Choi Han. Cale started to write

can probably bewitch people easily,

The crow read what Cale was writing before leaving Cale’s shoulder and

Caw, caw.

crows left Cale’s

Shhhh.

of the evidence. Cale then motioned toward a direction with

where the luxurious feast was to take

a terrible territory that nobody would visit because it had the Land of Death, one of the Forbidden Regions,

never expected

suit instead of his armor raised his wine glass into

Clang!

a different glass in

first time in a long

continued to touch this new suit of his.

the lord found such talented people

agreed with his subordinate and took a sip of the wine.

of the territory. Today was the day they were celebrating these people the lord had brought over

dazzling feast to happen in

the knights, mages, and the territory's administrators all got to enjoy! There were beautiful

knew we would get to enjoy such luxuries after guarding

agreement. These two were people who guarded the city walls heading into the

Lord-nim seems extremely giving by calling everyone here

was listening to his

‘The lord’s giving?’

but those new individuals

he looked toward the

feast and had brought over

the Dubori territory? I can’t understand what they saw

Screeeech-

ear after hearing a sharp

“Ugh.”

“Sir, what’s wrong?”

“No. It's nothing.”

on his suit glowed red for a moment before returning to normal. His eyes clouded over for a moment before

you really

Shouldn't we enjoy ourselves when such a grand welcome feast is taking part in

thoughts about the three individuals had disappeared from the laughing

Plop.

“Hmm?”

looked up. He could see the

or something. There are things

will get you

the wine glass

‘That scared me.’

person hiding in the old

had created a small hole in the ceiling to look inside turned

‘Do it properly.’

Choi Han who had made the hole erased

he mouthed silently.

Han, there are

Han nodded his

are no rats in the

“Haaaaa.”

finally let out a sigh before stretching his legs out and sitting

‘These… rats!’

dirty

be this hard to move

for Cale to infiltrate the Lord’s Castle while dodging the

truly is great and

he recalled how he had to roll around in the dirt as the new employee Kim Rok Soo for the first time in a long while. He started to frown even more while looking at Choi

‘…Why! How?!’

Cale finally felt the difference between

Tap. Tap.

Han tapped his shoulder and pointed toward the holes in the ceiling. There were two holes and Cale held back his sigh as he laid on

through one of the

‘Ha!’

scoffed in disbelief. A fancy feast. He could see people enjoying themselves. Cale

the military strategy room, and the

were all empty. Only black mages were walking through the

they can't receive crown prince Valentino's calls

disturbance, which probably meant that crown prince Valentino gave up on

raise

his glass through the small hole.

over here! These are

pointed to three

‘Aigoo.’

Cale sighed.

Star, the

were smiling while wearing fancy

that person the

with short green hair was smiling while standing between the Bear King and the White

‘It’s not here.’