Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 52

Chapter 52:The Plan(2)

***

“Something like this happened….”

Olivia laid out everything that had happened today to both of them.

“Brother.”

Abel looked at Damien with a face full of fear and worry.

The situation was dire, with the Earl and the Middle-class joining forces to target Damien’s life.

“We need to run away right now. Your life is in danger if we stay like this, Brother!”

While Abel seemed desperate, Damien remained calm.

‘Jacques Noiré, I must admit, when I first laid eyes on you, I held you in high regard. However, I find it hard to believe you would resort to such cheap tricks.’

He thought things were going well, but I didn’t expect Jacques Noiré to be such a jerk.

‘The Earl Copperhead isn’t any different from his past life. Just because it benefits the family, he’s willing to try to kill someone so easily.’

Indeed, everything that seemed good about him was just an act.

In reality, he was a cruel person ready to do anything for the benefit of his family.

He was much more trashy than what he had heard from his past life.

‘How do I handle this?’

Honestly, Jacques Noiré didn’t worry him much.

Dealing with him might be a bit tricky, but Damien was not going to lose.

‘Killing Jacques Noiré would be a real pain in the ass.’

Currently, Damien, who had only recently picked up the sword, was already known as a genius who had risen to the Low-class.

What if in this situation, Damien could defeat the middle class too?

What if rumors spread that he had reached Middle-Class within a few months of taking up the sword?

The whole world would try to find out his secret.

‘But how are they going to kill me? There’s no way to do it.’

Even if they were to teach techniques, mastering them would require time, and even with potions, absorption would take days. If there were a way to defeat Damien within just one day…

‘There’s only dark magic.’

Unlike other forms of magic, dark magic specialized in such nefarious deeds.

Cursing others, inflicting diseases, bringing misfortune, and more—when it came to killing or crippling someone, nothing surpassed dark magic.

Since Jacques Noiré is a knight he wouldn’t possess knowledge of dark magic, he would likely resort to using enchanted artifacts imbued with its dark power.

‘If they’re planning to employ dark magic tomorrow… then there’s no need for me to be concerned.’

Because he can dispel any form of magic with a single thought.

‘I’m also curious about the mana cultivation technique that Jacques Noire promised to hand over to the Earl.’

Currently, Damien is researching to create his mana cultivation technique.

If he could get his hands on the mana cultivation technique used by the Master class, his research would progress much faster.

“We’re not running away.”

“What?”

Abel shouted in surprise at Damien’s words.

“Brother, Jacques Noiré is the Middle-class knight! No matter how much…”

“Don’t worry. I have a plan.”

Damien said, raising the corners of his mouth. Abel looked somewhat uneasy.

“I’ll be back in a moment. Comfort Lady Olivia while I’m gone.”

“Really?”

“She must have been quite taken aback to hear about such matters of taking lives. Surely, she must require someone to calm her.”

“I, are you sure?”

Abel asked Olivia while looking worried. Olivia made a face as if asking what nonsense he was talking about.

Then, when Damien gave a hint, she began to pretend to cry.

“It… It was so scary.”

“L-Lady Olivia.”

Abel didn’t know what to do.

Damien walked out, leaving the two of them behind, and went to the next tent.

“Victor, are you sleeping?”

“No, I’m awake.”

Viktor yawned and stepped out of the tent.

“What can I do for you?”

“I need you to do me a favor.”

“What? This late at night?”

“Yes. It’s something only you can do.”

Damien whispered in a low voice in Victor’s ear.

Victor’s eyes widened.

***

The final day of the Jousting tournament.

There were significantly more people in the stands than usual.

Even nobles stood in rows at the back due to the lack of seats.

It was inevitable. The final match was a team competition, which was the most popular among the events in the tournament.

“Well then, let me explain the rules of today’s match!”

The knight of the Earl Copperhead shouted to the knights at the waiting area.

“Unlike before, this team competition will be conducted as individual matches, not cooperative!”

At the knight’s words, the participants began to murmur among themselves.

The team competition had been changed to individual matches where they fought separately.

As such matches could easily become lackluster if not careful, both the participants and the audience began to wonder what was going on.

Soon, most people understood the intention.

“The one who defeats the most competitors will be the winner of this match!”

The knights looked at each other with rolling eyes.

“They’re all so blatant.”

Damien thought, feeling the gazes of the knights.

Every knight harbored resentment towards him.

Some knights exchanged glances. Damien could easily guess their intentions.

‘Look at this, they’re uniting against me?’

It was an unfair act, but he had no intention of accusing them.

Just because a few joined hands, they couldn’t do anything to Damien.

Although if everyone did, that would be another story.

“Well then, the match will start soon. I hope you’re all prepared.”

The knights armed themselves and mounted their horses. Damien also took up the spear offered by Victor and mounted his horse.

“Please do your best today as well.”

Damien said while patting his horse.

“Well… let’s begin!”

The door of the waiting area opened. The knights rushed out to the arena.

The knights scattered across the entire arena.

“Wow! Go for it!”

“Sir Alonso! Show them the might of Baron Alter’s sword!”

“Damien Haksen! You can do it!”

The audience cheered fervently for the knights.

But the knights had no time to respond to the audience. They all looked at each other with tense faces.

‘Now, who’s going to come at me first?’

Damien observed the knights’ gazes and demeanor.

Then, he suddenly realized something strange.

Most of the knights were directly targeting him.

“…Huh?”

Even Damien couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Start the final match!”

As soon as the Earl’s shout came down, the knights all rushed at Damien.

***

Watching the knights converging from all directions, Damien let out a bitter laugh.

‘I didn’t realize they’d all formed alliances.’

Strictly speaking, not all knights had agreed.

It was just groups of about six knights who were usually friendly, gathering together and forming alliances.

The problem was that the target of these alliances was exclusively Damien Haksen.

“Isn’t it disgraceful for knights to act like this?”

Damien said, hoping to provoke the knights. But the knights didn’t show any sense of shame.

“If we don’t do anything now, you’ll win the tournament with an overwhelming score!”

“It’s far better to do this than to be mocked for sitting on the sidelines and watching you win!”

Damien’s performance was so overwhelming that other knights couldn’t perform well.

Among the nobles who came to watch the jousting tournament, some even mocked the knights as wooden dolls.

For this reason, the knights agreed to focus on Damien Haksen and suppress him.

“We can’t let you take first place in this match!”

“We’ll obstruct you in the name of the Malta family’s honor!”

“I swear on the name of Viscount St. Troller, I’ll defeat you!”

The knights surrounded Damien and charged at him. Weapons rain down on him from all directions.

‘Doing this while shouting out family names… Have they all lost their minds?’

Damien sighed inwardly.

‘Well, this should be fun.’

He loosened the reins, but there was no problem. Damien could move the horse with his will alone.

“Let’s go!”

The horse stamped the ground. It galloped to the weakest point of the encirclement.

“Here comes Damien Haksen!”

“Knock him down to the ground!”

The knights brandished their spears. The sight of knights charging in armor was eerily imposing.

Unlike Damien, who was lightly dressed, the knights were wearing armor.

Moreover, unlike Damien holding a short spear, they were wielding long spears.

It was clear who would suffer more in a collision like this.

Damien didn’t stop the horse. Instead, he commanded the horse to increase its speed.

After riding the horse for two days, his understanding of horse anatomy and ‘Inmate mastery’ had increased.

Thanks to this, Damien could pull off another trick.

He infused mana into the horse.

The seeping mana strengthened the horse’s muscles. With each step the horse took, its hooves left clear imprints on the ground.

“Huh? What?”

“What?”

The knights’ faces showed confusion at this unusual scene.

“Wha, What…?”

With a roar, the knights and horses flew together. The knights tumbled to the ground.

“Cou… cough… What… What kind of horse is that…?”

“W, We… We have to… stop… Damien Haksen…”

So shocking was the scene where other knights forgot they were in the middle of a match and stared at Damien Haksen.

“T, Tha… That…”

“W, What… How…”

Then, the horse carrying Damien changed direction. After looking back, it scraped the ground with its hooves.

It wasn’t like a horse at all, more like a charging bull.

“T, Tha… That…”

“S, Surely not…”

A foreboding feeling crept into the knights’ minds.

Sure enough, the horse charged at the knights again.

The knights scattered in disarray, shouting, “B, Back off!”

“Stop, don’t resist!”

However, the speed of the horse was faster than the knights’ attempts to evade.

“Agh!”

“Eek!”

With a crash, three more knights and their horses were sent flying.

“Here it comes again!”

Whenever Damien spurred his horse forward, knights flew and fell off their horses.

“Surround him! Don’t give him space! If you do, he’ll charge again!”

Only one knight, still reeling from the chaos, stepped forward to block Damien.

This time, the horse stooped before ramming with its head. The knight fell to the ground along with the horse.

“I got his back!”

A knight emerged behind Damien. This time, the horse extended its hind legs, sending the knight flying after taking the full force of the armor.

“What… what is that?”

A knight who had long fallen from the horse murmured while lying on the ground.

“It’s like… it’s not a horse, but a monster.”

As the knight said, the horse Damien rode on rampaged like a monster.

Its speed and power were impressive, but its massive size was even more intimidating.

Instead of wielding weapons against Damien, the knights were being thrown by the horse.

Within an hour of the start of the tournament, most of the knights had been eliminated.

“Wow! Damien! Damien!”

The nobles cheered for Damien, calling out his name.

Although many jousting tournaments had been held before, Damien’s remarkable performance with horsemanship skills made him stand out, leading to even louder cheers from the audience.

Damien stopped the horse and enjoyed the cheers of the crowd.

“Sometimes, this kind of attention isn’t so bad, is it?”

Damien patted the horse’s head and asked. The horse seemed to understand Damien’s words, nodding its head.

However, not all knights had been eliminated yet.

“Damien Haksen!”

At that moment, one of the remaining knights shouted.

Shout infused with mana reverberated and shook the entire arena.

The nobles in the audience were startled into silence and then turned their attention to the shouting knight.

“I am the Oger Slayer Jackson Cutter!”

He yelled, pointing his longsword at Damien.

Damien raised an eyebrow as he looked at Jackson.

“So, you finally decided to challenge me.”

Damien turned his horse toward Jackson. Meanwhile, Jackson continued to shout.

“You may not know it, but I do! I know what an asshole you’ve been in the past!”

Damien felt puzzled by the unexpected accusation.

Was he out of his mind to cuss another knight in public like this?

“A bastard like you has somehow gotten stronger, but don’t think you’re invincible just because you’ve improved a little!”

Jackson Cutter raised his weapon high.

“I, the Oger Slayer Jackson Cutter, will expose your true nature!”

***

“This is my last chance.”

Jackson Cutter thought to himself as he rode forward on his horse.

“Today, I will defeat Damien Haksen and gain fame!”

It was embarrassing to rely on his reputation rather than his own skills, but Jackson forced himself to forget about it.

As long as he could get revenge on Damien, he was willing to throw away his pride.

“Make him pay for ignoring me!”

Jackson unsheathed his sword, aiming the tip at Damien’s face.

Just before the blade could touch him, Damien turned his head, skillfully avoiding the attack, and grabbed Jackson Cutter’s wrist.

More precisely, he grabbed the bracelet on the wrist.

“As expected, it was dark magic.”

At Damien’s words, Jackson Cutter’s blood ran cold.

“W-What are you talking about?”

Damien exerted force on his hand. The bracelet twisted, and simultaneously, dark magic surged outwards.

The spectators’ eyes widened as they witnessed the scene.

“I-It’s dark magic!”

The audience exclaimed in astonishment.

At that moment, hooded figures in the stands rose up in unison.

They leaped over the stands and descended into the arena.

Then, they all removed their hoods, revealing pristine white robes.

As the audience saw their attire, they once again gasped in shock.

“They’re the Paladins from Church!”

***