Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 151

Chapter 151: Fafnir (1)

***

“Good. Then let’s go together right now.”

“Ah, that won’t do.”

Damien flatly rejected the Mercenary King.

“I was on my way back to my family. I will visit you again after meeting my family.”

“You mean you’d prioritize your family over my offer right now?”

The Mercenary King spoke with an angry face. Damien spoke nonchalantly.

“It seems you don’t, Mercenary King.”

With those words, the Mercenary King was rendered speechless.

“Sigh…… You’re a boring guy to the end. I thought I’d have some fun with you.”

The Mercenary King scratched his head and spoke to Damien.

“I’ll give you 5 days. Come to the Pel Plains by then. I’ll be waiting there.”

After leaving those words, the Mercenary King disappeared into the forest with his men.

Once the Mercenary King was gone, Damien headed for Haksen county.

***

When Damien arrived at the Haksen county, he couldn’t help but be surprised.

There was a line of people from the entrance of Spring Castle.

There were many nobles and merchants mixed in. They were all looking at Spring Castle with longing faces.

“Was it always this crowded?”

It couldn’t be. When Damien left for the Almond country, Spring Castle was quiet.

“When did so many guests start coming?”

Damien passed the line and headed for the entrance. However, he couldn’t get in because it was full of people.

“Excuse me, I need to get through.”

When Damien spoke to the people blocking his way, one of them with a quick temper shouted angrily.

“Where are you from, you brat! Wait quietly in the back!”

“That’s right! Do you think we have time to waste!”

The people shouted at Damien in angry voices. Then Damien said with a loud voice.

“I don’t have to wait.”

“What nonsense are you talking about!”

“You shouldn’t try to deceive people like that, young man!”

The nobles and merchants were angry even after Damien’s explanation.

One of them looked closely at Damien’s face.

“Wait, is this…!”

“Young master Damien!”

A voice came from inside the castle. Victor was waving at Damien.

“Are you just now returning? Come in quickly!”

Victor pushed through the people and approached Damien. Thanks to him, Damien was able to enter the castle comfortably.

“What is this sudden commotion? Why are there so many visitors all of a sudden?”

“It’s all thanks to Lady Olivia! The family’s power has grown thanks to Lady Olivia’s efforts while you were away.”

Victor said with a proud face.

“Everyone is here to establish a relationship with our family. Or they are merchants who have come to buy the wheat produced in the territory.”

He knew that Olivia was very capable, but he didn’t expect it to be this much.

‘Abel really met a good person.’

Damien had a great influence on the marriage of the two. So he couldn’t help but feel satisfied.

“But what are you doing here?”

“I am receiving the guests on Lady Olivia’s behalf. I am also making a list.”

“Oh, your job has been upgraded from cutting firewood.”

“Hehe, isn’t it all thanks to my good looks?”

Victor said with a silly smile.

“Oh, by the way, has anything happened recently? I mean, to you, not the family.”

“Yes? Nothing happened. Oh! Someone from the Church came looking for me.”

“From the Church?”

“Yes, they said they were investigating someone named Victor. What… were they looking for a dark mage?”

Damien opened a subspace and handed Victor a silver coin. Victor was confused when he received the coin.

“Why are you giving me this?”

“For the name. Good luck.”

Damien headed for the mansion… and then looked back at Victor.

“Oh, and let those four people in a little later. They said they came to our family, but they didn’t even recognize my face properly.”

At Damien’s words, the faces of the four people turned pale.

“Anyway, you’re always so thorough.”

Victor muttered, shaking his head.

***

“Damien!”

As soon as he entered the castle, his mother hugged Damien. Abel and Olivia, who were drinking tea with his mother, also got up from their seats.

“Brother! Where have you been this time?”

“You don’t know how much Abel worried about you, Brother-in-law.”

“T-That, don’t talk about that.”

Abel blushed and protested to Olivia.

“I’ve been traveling here and there. Where are father and sister?”

“Your father is greeting guests in the study! Louise went out with Ballad. I think they are about to start preparing for their marriage.”

His mother said with an excited face.

“I’m glad Abel and Olivia are here. You two, come with me for a moment.”

The two followed Damien, looking confused.

“Is there a place in Spring Castle to store important items?”

“Ah, there is a secret room in the basement.”

Olivia guided Damien to the secret room in the basement. After entering, Damien spoke to the two.

“You must never tell anyone about what I’m going to show you.”

Damien opened the subspace of his necklace. He took out the artifacts he had obtained from the ruins.

The eyes of the two widened as they saw it.

“T-This, brother…… W-Where did you…….”

“Don’t ask me the details.”

“Is there a reason why you can’t answer? Don’t worry. I will definitely keep it a secret…….”

“I’m just too lazy to explain.”

Abel’s face became sullen at Damien’s words.

Damien was being sincere. He couldn’t tell them everything that happened in the ruins, and he had to make up a lie. It was just too much trouble.

“This and that are armor and weapons for the soldiers to wear, and that is a war weapon. It explodes, so don’t touch it carelessly.”

Damien briefly explained, pointing to the artifacts one by one.

“Do not use these artifacts carelessly and only use them in times of crisis.”

Before leaving the Almond country, Damien went back to the 6th floor and gathered artifacts for the soldiers to use.

Unfortunately, there were not many great items. This was because the real treasures had already been excavated and sold long ago.

Even so, the remaining items were still impressive. If the soldiers wore them, their combat power would be greatly increased.

“And these are the swordsmanship and mana cultivation techniques I wrote. Make sure all the soldiers learn the swordsmanship and give the mana cultivation technique only to those you can trust.”

Damien handed out the books he had written while returning from the Almond country.

The reason he prepared these was to secure the safety of his family in preparation for the clash with Pandemonium.

“Brother, why are you giving us these…….”

“Because you two will be leading the family in the future. I’m just telling you in advance.”

The person who would inherit the Haksen county would be Abel. However, in terms of ability, Olivia was more likely to be the real power.

“I’m counting on you to take good care of the family in the future.”

Damien spoke sincerely to the two, who still looked dazed.

***

After that, Damien spent leisurely time with his family, going hunting with his father and playing chess with Abel.

A few days passed before he packed his bags and headed to the Pel Plains, where the Mercenary King’s mercenary company was located.

“Wow… this is amazing.”

Upon arriving at the Pel Plains, Damien couldn’t help but be impressed by the size of the mercenary company.

Dozens of tents were lined up on the vast plain.

Dozens of horses were grazing, and many more people were moving busily.

The Fafnir Mercenary Company.

It was named after the legendary evil dragon that once burned half of the continent.

The size of the mercenary company was enormous, befitting its reputation as the largest and strongest on the continent.

‘This is like an entire territory moving as one.’

Damien approached the Fafnir mercenary camp.

Two mercenaries guarding the entrance to the fence approached and blocked Damien’s path.

“This is the territory of the Fafnir Mercenary Company.”

“If you don’t want to get hurt, leave immediately.”

Surprisingly, these two were learning the mana cultivation technique. It seemed that they were at the level of knight trainees.

The fact that even the gate guards could use mana showed the depth of the Fafnir Mercenary Company.

“My name is Damien Haksen. I’m here to see the Mercenary King.”

The two mercenaries’ eyes widened slightly at the name Damien Haksen.

Perhaps they had been instructed by the Mercenary King beforehand. The two mercenaries stepped aside.

“Follow me. I will guide you to the Mercenary King.”

Damien followed the mercenary into the camp.

The place where the mercenary stopped was a circular open space in the middle of the camp. Many people were already surrounding the open space as if some kind of event was being held.

“Hahaha! Good job! Keep pushing!”

“Hey! Your reaction speed is slow! Can’t you move faster?”

In the open space, two young boys were fighting with training weapons.

The people sitting around the open space cheered as they watched them.

‘They’re all purebloods.’

Both the mercenaries fighting in the open space and the mercenaries watching were all purebloods.

“Kukukuku! Both of you are quite skilled!”

Damien turned his gaze at the familiar voice. The Mercenary King was among the people.

Unlike the others, he was lying in a hammock, looking very comfortable, and two women in thin clothes were fanning him.

He looked more like a rich man than a mercenary.

“Hahaha! I won! I won!”

“Aaaah… I lost all my money.”

Just then, one of the boys fighting in the open space dropped his weapon. As the outcome was decided, the purebloods watching the fight sighed.

The boys picked up their weapons and retreated. At that moment, the mercenary who had guided Damien shouted.

“Lord Hopper! Sir Damien Haksen has arrived!”

At those words, everyone’s gaze turned to Damien.

“This guy! He finally came!”

The Mercenary King jumped out of the hammock with a smile.

“What are you doing coming here exactly on the 5th day! Come this way quickly.”

The Mercenary King said as he walked out onto the open space. Damien approached the Mercenary King’s side.

“Let me introduce you! This handsome young man is Damien Haksen! I’m sure you’ve all heard a lot about him!”

The purebloods’ gazes focused on Damien. They were very familiar gazes to Damien.

Back when he was a good-for-nothing, the people who ignored and looked down on him had those kinds of eyes.

‘No, maybe it’s more than that?’

Perhaps it was because they were proud of being recognized by the Mercenary King, an absolute being.

Or perhaps it was because all the geniuses the Mercenary King had brought in from the outside were nothing special.

The purebloods all looked at Damien with a mocking expression.

“Since he’s a friend I hired with difficulty, show some respect, everyone. Got it?”

Unlike the Mercenary King’s words, the purebloods’ gazes did not change.

“Oh, look at the way these guys are looking. It’s clear they have no intention of listening to me! This is really embarrassing. Mercenaries don’t recognize anything unless they see it with their own two eyes.”

The Mercenary King’s expression turned troubled as he made a suggestion to Damien.

“It seems like these guys don’t believe in your skills… Can you show them your skills?”

Of course, he was asking Damien to show his skills, but in reality, he was trying to test Damien.

To see if he was really a genius who could compete with the purebloods.

‘Is it not enough that I showed my abilities last time?’

Or maybe it was a decision made out of the purebloods’ pride that even they could do that much.

After all, they were the ones who inherited the dragon’s bloodline.

‘Come to think of it, I seem to be tested like this every time.’

Thinking about it, Damien always had his abilities tested whenever he got involved with a group.

However, this time was a little different from the others.

‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been looked down on so blatantly.’

Since Damien had risen to the middle class, there had been people who doubted his abilities, but no one had looked down on him.

However, the purebloods here were different. They looked at Damien with expressions that were sure that he wouldn’t even reach their ankles.

‘I can’t just stand by and let this kind of insult go.’

From Damien’s point of view, it was a very, very unpleasant thing.

So much so that he wanted to crush their arrogance right away.

“I’d be happy to show you that much.”

“Hahaha! You’re a really likable young man. Who wants to be the first to experience Sir Damien’s skills?”

At the Mercenary King’s question, one of the purebloods jumped up from his seat.

He was a man with broad shoulders and very long forearms.

“Grandfather! I’ll go first!”

“It’s Baltyn. You’re qualified. I’ll allow it.”

The man called Baltyn came out onto the open space. Then he picked up a training spear from the weapon rack in the corner of the open space.

“Damien Haksen, I’ve heard a lot about you. They say you’re a great genius?”

Baltyn said, raising his head slightly. He looked like a superior looking down on a subordinate.

“But those on the outside use the word genius too often to be believable. So I’ll check it myself. Whether your evaluation is real or not.”

His arrogance oozed out of every word, from his eyes to his tone of voice.

There was no way he could just sit back and take this kind of treatment.

Damien also approached the weapon rack. He looked over the training weapons and thought for a moment.

‘Let’s see… how should I show them a lesson?’

After a moment of deliberation, Damien picked something up from the weapon rack.

Baltyn made a strange expression when he saw it.

“…A spear? I heard you’re a swordsman?”

“You purebloods are curious about my abilities, aren’t you? I should show you something a little special.”

Damien said nonchalantly in response to Baltyn’s question.

“From now on, I’ll face anyone who comes out with the same weapon.”

***