Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight

Chapter 154

Chapter 154: Athena Hopper (1)

***

Damien and Cynthia headed towards the entrance.

Many mercenaries were already gathered near the entrance. They were all looking somewhere and cheering.

Where their eyes were directed, four men and women were riding horses and entering.

A large wagon was being pulled behind the men and women. On the wagon, a huge snake was curled up and dead.

“Isn’t that the Basilisk that ruled the Alpaca Mountains?”

“It’s really huge. You can tell it’s not an ordinary Basilisk.”

“It must be at least 300 years old. If we make armor with its leather, it would be amazing.”

The mercenaries kept admiring the snake on the wagon.

It was not just a large snake. It was a Basilisk, known as the King of Snakes.

It was a dangerous monster that was said to be able to petrify creatures just by looking at them.

The curse of petrification was not the only danger. Its leather was so tough that even a relic sword could not cut it, and its blood was as poisonous as venom.

Its strength was so great that just brushing against it could crush monsters like Ogres or Trolls.

It was a monster that even high-class knights were reluctant to face because it was too dangerous. And yet, four young people had hunted it down.

‘And they even killed it cleanly by cutting off its head. That’s amazing.’

Damien exclaimed briefly and looked at the four men and women one by one.

As expected of the 1st generation purebloods, they had a clear distinction from the 2nd generation purebloods.

It was the color of their hair.

The hair of the 2nd generation purebloods was not much different from that of other people.

However, the 1st generation, like the Mercenary King, had white hair.

However, the proportion of white hair was slightly different. Those with a lower proportion might even look gray instead of white.

And among them, only one girl had white hair as dazzling as the Mercenary King.

‘Athena Hopper. She’s exactly the same as her previous life.’

The woman who had followed in her father’s footsteps and resisted Dorugo was right before his eyes.

The four of them headed towards the Mercenary King’s tent, listening to the cheers of the mercenaries.

Then suddenly, Athena Hopper and Damien’s eyes met.

Athena Hopper passed Damien without a second glance.

“What do you think after seeing them in person?”

Cynthia asked Damien after the four of them disappeared.

“They’re all very impressive.”

To be honest, Damien was only interested in Athena Hopper. He hadn’t really paid much attention to the other three.

But even so, it felt natural. The powerful aura that the other three possessed.

“The Mercenary King is a fair person. He is so confident that he would never even consider foul play.”

It was the same in the previous life.

The Mercenary King was a man who was far from scheming. Even on the battlefield, he preferred to charge head-on rather than use complex strategies.

That doesn’t mean he would just charge at the enemy without thinking. He had a unique talent for creating situations and battlefields that were advantageous to him.

“So you won’t have to compete with the Master Class purebloods. If you just beat the four High Class purebloods you saw earlier, the Mercenary King will acknowledge your victory.”

Cynthia continued in a firm tone.

“But speaking as a senior… I don’t think that will happen.”

Cynthia was a Master Class.

That meant she could see and feel much more than a High Class.

And such Cynthia was speaking with conviction. That Damien could not defeat the 1st generation purebloods.

“Thank you for the advice. But I’m the kind of person who does the things I’m told not to do.”

Of course, Damien didn’t listen to Cynthia’s words.

Damien was currently hiding a considerable portion of his abilities and talents.

It was only natural that Damien would appear weaker than the 1st generation to Cynthia.

“…If you insist on suffering, then there’s nothing I can do. Follow me and I’ll show you to your quarters.”

With that, Cynthia started walking. Her back seemed a little angry.

***

“Welcome back safely, everyone!”

The Mercenary King looked around at the first-generation seated around him and spoke.

“To be honest, I was quite worried when I sent you out. I was afraid this mission might be too difficult.”

The Basilisk hunted by the purebloods this time had been a monster that had settled in the Alpaca Mountains and preyed on countless people.

To hunt this Basilisk, the High Class of the Grape Kingdom had set out, only to end up as the Basilisk’s prey.

With the loss of such valuable resources as the High Class, the Grape Kingdom urgently contacted the Mercenary King to undertake the extermination mission.

“But seeing what you’ve hunted, I guess I worried for nothing. Completing the mission so splendidly… You all make me proud as always.”

The Mercenary King smiled satisfactorily. The first-generation purebloods present here all wore similar expressions.

But one person did not. Deep in thought, she did not heed the Mercenary King’s words.

“Athena, is there something on your mind?”

The Mercenary King asked with a worried expression. Athena Hopper then spoke up.

“When we came in earlier, I saw a strange man. Who is he?”

At Athena’s question, the Mercenary King smiled mysteriously.

“As expected, you recognized him. That fellow is a freelance knight I’ve hired this time. His name is Damien Haksen.”

Even at the name Damien Haksen, everyone’s eyes widened slightly.

Damien Haksen was famous to the extent that even first-generation purebloods had probably heard of him.

“Do you know what that guy did while you were gone? He defeated Baltyn and Kueshi. And they didn’t even get to fight properly.”

At those words, the purebloods couldn’t help but be astonished.

Baltyn and Kueshi were skilled among the second-generation purebloods.

The fact that such two lost without even fighting properly? It was an unbelievable story.

“How dare he tarnish the name of the purebloods.”

“A very arrogant fellow.”

“Are you just going to let him get away with it?”

Except for Athena Hopper, the other three expressed their displeasure one by one. Nodding sympathetically, the Mercenary King continued.

“So, there’s something I need to ask of you.”

The Mercenary King looked at the first-generation.

“When you four and that guy competed, we made a bet on who would yield. And guess what, he challenged me,”

At the Mercenary King’s words, the bodies of the three were filled with anger.

The fact that a mere rookie dared to challenge their great father was infuriating.

“Calm down, everyone. He may be very arrogant and disrespectful… but isn’t this interesting? I wonder how many people are willing to challenge you and me.”

Most of the geniuses the Mercenary King had brought in before had yielded and been destroyed by the second-generation purebloods.

This was the first time someone like Damien challenged both the first-generation and the Mercenary King.

It was natural that the Mercenary King found it interesting.

“If you manage to make that brat yield and restore my honor… I’ll pass on to you the techniques I recently developed.”

The eyes of the three widened at the Mercenary King’s words.

Even though he was a first-generation purebloods, the Mercenary King hadn’t revealed all his techniques.

He differentiated based on achievements and talents. Opportunities like this to inherit something were rare.

“Father! Trust me! I’ll make that guy yield as soon as tomorrow!”

“No, trust me! I’ll make Damien Haksen kneel before you!”

“Don’t trust those two. They’re just talkers. I’ll show you through my actions!”

The three shouted towards the Mercenary King.

The Mercenary King looked at them with a pleased expression before speaking.

“Just hearing your words is enough for me to be grateful. It’s been a tiring day, so go rest. Oh, and Athena?”

Athena raised her head. Unlike the other three, Athena had not participated much in the conversation.

“You stay. There’s something I need to discuss separately.”

***

The three people came out of the tent.

“Damn it, he’s only calling Athena again.”

Neil Hopper grumbled. He was the man with the most dull hair color among the three here.

“Isn’t that obvious? Father only favors that girl.”

MacDowell Hopper spoke bluntly. He didn’t like the fact that only Athena was called either.

“So what are we going to do?”

Vanessa Hopper asked the two. She was the woman among the four, along with Athena.

“What about Damien? We don’t need to decide the order. Let’s just say the first one to do it is the first to become master among us.”

“But then we’ll end up fighting each other, right? The first one to go has the most chances to get hands-on father’s technique.”

The other two nodded at Vanessa’s words.

The three of them were firmly convinced that they would defeat Damien.

No, maybe the word ‘convinced’ wasn’t the right one.

To the three of them, it was as natural as water flowing down.

“How about this?”

Vanessa said with a face that said she had a good idea.

“Instead of deciding the order, let’s just do it a little differently.”

“What do you mean by doing it differently?”

“Each of us will challenge Damien in a different way.”

Vanessa looked at the two alternately and said.

“We can compete in terms of mana capacity. Or we can compete in terms of mana control. There are many ways.”

“It seems a little dangerous. We’ll still win if we fight like that, but… there’s always a chance.”

“That’s the point. It’s not fun if you always win. Wouldn’t it be more fun if there was some risk involved?”

The other two nodded their heads as if they liked Vanessa’s idea.

“Then lets each contact Damien and… let’s call it a day for today.”

With that, the three of them dispersed.

***

Once they were alone, the Mercenary King bustled about.

He brought out the desserts he had been hiding. He even boiled water in a kettle and made tea.

“Athena, come on and try it. It’s the dessert from Empire that you like. I had a hard time getting it.”

The Mercenary King spoke to Athena with a face full of anticipation. He seemed to be craving for praise.

However, Athena ate the cookie without saying a word. The Mercenary King’s shoulders drooped slightly.

“Wasn’t the journey difficult? Was there anything difficult?”

Still, he didn’t give up and asked Athena questions. Athena frowned as if she was disgusted.

“Annoyingly… Don’t you have to stop asking now? You ask me every time I go out and come back.”

It was something that would have made the other purebloods fall over in surprise.

The relationship between the Mercenary King and the purebloods was close to that of a master and servant. That’s why they were all afraid of him.

It was unimaginable to treat the Mercenary King with the same attitude as Athena.

“I see you’re very upset. Then you don’t have to say anything.”

Shockingly, the Mercenary King did not get offended and instead tried to soothe Athena.

Athena grumbled as she ate the other desserts and then asked the Mercenary King.

“But Dad, that Damien guy, did he really beat the 2nd generation kids?”

The Mercenary King frowned at his daughter’s question.

“Yes, he won, and he even provoked me. He said that if he beats you guys, he’ll get the elixir… I’ve never seen a guy like that before.”

“So you’re telling us to make that guy submit?”

“Of course! I can’t stand the fact that he insulted my bloodline, even if I don’t know anything else! If we don’t show him a lesson…”

“Shouldn’t we just leave him alone? It would be a shame if he got ruined.”

At Athena’s words, the Mercenary King’s eyes began to shake violently.

“What? What are you talking about now?”

“He’s too handsome to be ruined.”

The Mercenary King couldn’t help but be shocked once again by those words.

“S-surely you don’t have a crush on that guy, do you?”

The Mercenary King asked anxiously. Athena then brought her index finger and thumb close together and said.

“A little bit?”

At that moment, the Mercenary King felt something inside him collapse.

“Y-you brat! A man’s face isn’t everything! A guy who’s just good-looking is useless!”

“Then why do you choose women just by looking at their faces?”

“C-cough.”

The Mercenary King was speechless at Athena’s words.

“You don’t mean… you seriously have a crush on that guy, do you?”

“Don’t worry about that. I have no intention of dragging a man weaker than me into bed.”

At those words, the Mercenary King breathed a sigh of relief… and then opened his eyes wide again.

“Drag him in! Where did you learn such vulgar words!”

“From you? You always take two or three women to bed with you.”

“Ahem.”

The Mercenary King was speechless again.

“A-anyway… you’re saying you don’t have any plans for that guy, right?”

“I told you already. I said I like men who are stronger than me.”

Athena added as she ate the dessert.

“I’ve never met one before, though.”

***