Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 173

Chapter 173: Untitled

***

“Why are you getting angry again?”

“You brought another man here! I’ve lost count of how many times this has happened! I begged you not to do this again… and what if you keep bringing in these mercenaries? There’s a limit to how much cleanup I can do! If our identities are exposed to the other masters…”

“You idiot. This man is not a mercenary. Look carefully.”

“…Damien Haksen?”

“As I said, I was planning on abducting Damien.”

“But I told you to melt his limbs with that potion and toss him into the somewhere.”

“That was the original plan, but circumstances have changed.”

“Let me introduce myself properly. My name is Damien Haksen. While the world knows me as a son of the Count Haksen, my true identity is different.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?”

“I am a secret agent serving under Dorugo.”

Kardak looked back at Rubia. It was as if he was asking what the hell this was all about.

“What he says is true.”

Kardak could not help but be confused when Rubia defended Damien.

“Rubia, you can’t seriously believe that nonsense, can you?”

“Sir Damien already knew your name. Not only that, but he also knows things that only a dark mage would know.”

“What…?”

Kardak’s eyes shook violently at Rubia’s words.

“If this man is his agent… then why the hell did he kill Garrot?!”

“I don’t know either. Even he doesn’t know the exact reason.”

“You’re telling me now…!”

“How can we possibly fathom His will?”

Rubia’s eyes became hazy.

“You know, don’t you? How great He is.”

At first glance, Rubia’s expression was similar to that of a woman in love.

However, Damien saw it differently.

‘He looks just like a fanatic.’

All dark mages who knew of Dorugo’s existence regarded him as a god.

Dorugo is the figure who laid the foundation for all dark magic and the first lich to be born.

Moreover, all dark mages in the present time have been taught by Dorugo, directly or indirectly, so it is inevitable that they would regard him as a god.

Of course, that was only if Damien saw it that way.

“Do you believe me now?”

Damien asked Kardak. Kardak nodded slowly. However, his eyes were still full of doubt.

“Then let’s get back to the topic at hand. I’d like to know where the Mercenary King is now.”

“Why are you curious about that?”

Kardak asked in a sharp tone. Rubia then snapped at Kardak.

“Kardak, I know you’re suspicious, and I think that’s a good thing… but Sir Damien is someone who receives orders directly from Him. Don’t be rude anymore.”

“Rubia, I just…”

“Kardak”

Rubia’s voice softened.

“You’re not going to argue with me now, are you?”

“No, of course not. I never intended to.”

“That’s right, then.”

Rubia gently patted Kardak’s shoulder.

In that moment, a smile crept onto Kardak’s lips. Despite being ignored just moments ago, he was genuinely pleased with the slight attention.

“The Mercenary King has been entrusted to someone I trust. He should have arrived near the border by now. He has agreed to meet with my master’s envoy in the neighboring country.”

“He hasn’t gone very far.”

“There are some reasons for that. It wasn’t easy to put the Mercenary King to sleep.”

At those words, Damien could guess how Rubia had subdued the Mercenary King.

‘She must have stimulated his sleep desire.’

One of the weaknesses of dragons was their strong desire to sleep.

Dragons were creatures that lived for thousands of years. The way they chose to spend that long time was through sleep.

“But why are you so curious about the Mercenary King?”

“Oh, I didn’t tell you that. Actually, Dorugo is very interested in the Mercenary King. That’s why he sent me here.”

“Oh… I didn’t know that even he would be coveting the Mercenary King.”

Damien spoke to the curious Rubia.

“My mission was to obtain a part of the Mercenary King’s body. Something like hair or nails. But now that you have already secured the Mercenary King, that changes things. Hand over the Mercenary King to me.”

At Damien’s words, Rubia fell into thought for a moment.

“I have a task from my master, but… His will is more important. I will do as you say. Instead, I have a condition.”

“You want me to tell Dorugo your name, right?”

“Oh, you remember. That’s right. That’s all it takes. Of course… you have to add a little spice to it.”

Rubia continued in a slightly excited voice.

“So that He will be interested in me.”

“I will do as you say.”

“Good. Then the deal is done. I can’t leave my post. I still have work to do with the Papnir Mercenary Corps. Instead, I’ll send Kardak with you.”

At those words, Kardak looked up in surprise.

“What?”

“Kardak, you take Sir Damien to the Mercenary King.”

“W-why should I do that?!”

Kardak protested loudly. Rubia bowed her head slightly and spoke pleadingly.

“…Can’t you do it?”

“Of course I can! Just trust me! I’ll take this man… no, Sir Damien to the Mercenary King and come back!”

Kardak shouted with a bright smile.

Damien looked at Kardak and tsked.

Damien looked at Kardak and shook his head with a clucking sound.

***

“This way.”

Kardak, who had come out earlier, brought the horses he had hidden in the forest. The two men got on their horses and started to ride.

They didn’t rest on the way because the journey was long. It wasn’t until after sunset that they stopped their horses.

Kardak gathered firewood and built a fire. The two men sat down together by the campfire.

Silence stretched between them despite the deepening night. Neither Damien nor Kardak had any interest in the other.

‘I wonder how Athena is doing.’

Damien worried about Athena silently.

Just like in the conference hall, Athena currently had no allies within the mercenary corps.

No, worse than having no allies, it was filled with people who harbored hatred for her.

‘In her previous life, Athena broke things off with the Mercenary King and wandered the outside world.’

But reality seemed to be different from what Damien knew.

‘It seems the rumors are heavily distorted.’

Regardless of the truth, Damien’s mission remained unchanged.

It was to free the Mercenary King and prevent the Fafnir Mercenary Company from succumbing to internal strife.

“Drink this.”

Kardak suddenly offered Damien a steaming soup from an iron pot he’d been using moments before.

“Thank you.”

Damien replied, accepting it.

“Rubia asked me to bring it.”

Kardak said, his tone implying an alternate reality.

“What happened with Rubia today?”

Damien asked while sipping the soup.

Kardak’s voice was dry as he replied.

“Nothing happened.”

“Really? As you know, the person she’s interested in is not me. It’s Dorugo.”

“……That’s true.”

The conversation died down for a moment. Kardak tossed a few more logs onto the fire before speaking again.

“But it’s strange. Why do you call him by his name?”

“Why? Is it offensive?”

“It can’t be helped. I’ve never seen anyone address the great one so casually.”

Kardak said in a sharp tone. Damien shrugged.

“The person in question doesn’t seem to mind.”

“Don’t spout nonsense.”

“Don’t try to measure everything by your common sense.”

“…Are you truly going to tell Dorugo about Rubia?”

Kardak asked, unable to argue further. He changed the subject.

“A promise is a promise.”

Kardak stared into the bubbling soup pot before speaking.

“…On the journey here, I kept thinking. If things stay this way, Rubia’s attention will surely be stolen by someone else.”

“That’s inevitable…”

Cough.

Damien coughed without realizing it. Blood came out of his mouth.

“What……happened……”

Damien coughed repeatedly. Blood dripped to the ground.

“You should have known that you shouldn’t eat food carelessly if you knew I was from the Venom Sect.”

Kardak said with a calm face. Damien’s body fell to the ground.

“You… you bastard…” Damien rasped weakly.

Kardak’s voice turned cold. “Rubia belongs only to me. I can’t give her to anyone.”

A moment later, Damien’s head lolled to the side, lifeless.

Kardak did not pay attention to Damien’s body. He just stared at the soup he had boiled.

“I need to think of an excuse to tell Rubia on the way back.”

“Surprise suprise motherfucker.”

Kardak could not help but be startled by the voice that came out of nowhere.

Damien, who he thought was dead, was getting up without any trouble.

“You… how…!”

“As you said, it’s only a fool who would eat food given by the Venom sect.”

Damien spat out black saliva. It was the poison that had been contained in the food that he had drawn out and spat out.

“…That’s nonsense.”

Kardak looked at him with an incredulous face.

Once you reach the high class level, you can use mana to expel poison that has entered your body.

However, that was only referring to ordinary poisons.

The poison created by a grand dark mage like Kardak could not be expelled so easily.

“…You idiot.”

Kardak quickly regained his composure. The poison he had put in the food was not very potent by his standards.

If he revealed his true strength, he could turn even someone like Damien into pool of blood in an instant.

“I thought I would kill you painlessly, but you’re resisting.”

Kardak spread his hands. Green energy began to gather in his palms.

“Do you know why I pretended to be poisoned?”

“What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden…”

“To put you at ease.”

Kardak frowned at the sudden words.

“Be careful.”

No sooner had Damien’s words ended than a sword pierced through Kardak’s abdomen and came out from the other side.

***