NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 22
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s male Disciple]
[Quality Checker – Kawaii]
Chapter 22: The Goldpixie Duke (2)
After defeating the junior knights, Damien immediately headed towards the Duke’s mansion.
To reach the mansion, one had to cross through the garden.
‘Maintaining the garden was Mother’s only hobby.’
While the garden in the Haksen estate was no larger than a vegetable patch, the garden of the Duchy was vast and reminiscent of a forest.
‘Mother would appreciate hearing stories about the Duke’s garden.’
However, Damien couldn’t leisurely wander the garden.
“Found you!”
“You were here!”
Knights emerged from various spots in the garden.
Their aura was different from the junior knights they had just fought.
Low class knights.
The Duke’s official knights had stepped forward to stop Damien.
“I don’t know where you came from, but you dare attack the Duke!”
“Cut off his arms and throw him in prison!”
The knights drew their swords, their aura enveloping the blades.
Even faced with so many low-class knights threatening them, Damien’s expression barely changed.
“Taking life isn’t difficult… but the repercussions are.”
During the journey to the Duke, Damien had gathered quite a bit of power through the sword techniques he practiced in his previous life and mana through the Supreme Absorption Technique.
Right now, there was little difference to Damien between junior knights and low-class knights.
However, if he tried to spill blood here then it would pose a threat to his relation with the Duke, in fact, he might take it as an offense.
“Is there something suitable around here?”
Damien scanned the surroundings.
Conveniently, there were tools for tending the garden nearby.
Damien picked up a shovel from among them and struck its blade with his palm.
As the shovel’s blade cleanly fell off, it turned into a decently sized staff.
Damien swung the staff around. It felt good.
“Alright. you can come at me now.”
Damien flicked their finger. Veins popped on the knights’ foreheads.
“Do we look like a joke to you right now?”
“This is no petty provocation!”
“Kill him right away!”
The knights rushed forward, expressing their anger.
The lead knight swung his sword, tracing a semicircle with the blade.
Damien attempted to block the sword with a club.
“You foolish brat!”
The knight shouted. The knight’s sword was infused with aura, while Damien’s staff… was just a staff.
If things continued like this, the aura-infused sword would easily cut through both the staff and Damien.
However, contrary to the knight’s expectations, the sword couldn’t cut through the staff.
Instead, its trajectory deviated.
“…Huh?”
The sword, which was moving horizontally, suddenly shot upward.
Without missing the opportunity, Damien struck the knight’s head with the staff.
The knight collapsed right away.
“Die!”
Another knight followed, swinging his sword down.
Once again, Damien blocked the sword with the staff.
The slashing blade suddenly twisted to the left.
“What…? Ugh!”
Damien immediately struck the knight’s forehead. The knight, screaming, lost his consciousness.
In the blink of an eye, two knights immediately lost.
Witnessing this unbelievable sight, the other knights couldn’t help but hesitate.
Damien tapped his shoulder with the staff and said to the remaining knights,
“What’s up? Coming at me?”
The knights exchanged glances. Then, one after another, they lunged forward.
The sound of clashes echoed endlessly.
***
“…Only one intruder?”
The Duke asked with an incredulous expression. The attendant vigorously nodded.
“The knights? What are the knights doing?”
“Ten junior knights had already tried to stop the intruder but failed!”
“What…. ten junior knights…?”
Even just as junior knights, they held remarkable power. Yet, ten of them failed to stop the intruder?
“Not only that, but the low-class knights also intervened and lost to him!”
The Duke felt his head spinning.
Could what he was hearing right now be true?
“Could it be that you are trying to deceive me?”
“Don’t worry! The middle-class knights have moved! We’ll soon be able to suppress the intruder!”
At the mention of “middle-class,” the Duke regained his composure. There was no reason to be afraid when there were not only lower-class but middle-class and even high-class individuals here.
The Duke glanced at the elderly knight standing beside them. The elderly knight flashed a reassuring smile and said,
“Your Grace, don’t worry. I am here by your side.”
Karl Heimlich.
One of the three high-class knights in the Apple Kingdom.
He was the pinnacle of power owned by the Duke Goldpixie.
“How many casualties are there?”
“I’ve heard there are none.”
Once again, doubt crossed the Duke’s face.
“What do you mean, no casualties? Then what about the injured?”
“They say there are only minor injuries.”
This intruder had invaded the Duke’s estate in broad daylight, fought with the knights, and yet, hadn’t killed a single person.
“Wait a moment.”
A possibility sprang to the Duke’s mind.
“I must meet this intruder in person.”
After knocking down all the low-class knights, Damien entered the mansion.
The Duke of Goldpixie was renowned as the wealthiest man in the Apple Kingdom.
To prove the authenticity of this reputation, expensive artworks were placed throughout the mansion.
“Stop him! Stop that person!”
As soon as he entered the mansion, knights rushed towards Damien. They were all low-class knights.
Damien swung the staff wildly towards the incoming knights.
The knights fell like autumn leaves. Damien charged into the mansion, trampling over the fallen knights.
He reached a wide hall after passing through a corridor. There, Damien halted his steps.
It was because of the knight standing in the center of the hall.
“So, you’ve finally made it here. You bastard.”
The knight muttered quietly. There was a vigor in his voice.
“The crime of causing a disturbance in the duke’s estate is severe. I’ll personally tear your body apart and scatter it as food for the rats.”
The knight pulled out the spear he had stuck in the ground. His sharp aura filled the entire hall.
“Impressive.”
Damien exclaimed briefly. The energy emanating from the knight was considerable.
“I’m Damien Haksen. What’s your name?”
Fighting without formal introductions felt unsatisfactory.
In response to Damien’s question, the knight scowled. Despite showing reluctance to answer, he said,
“Middle-class knight Ernest Horowitz.”
A big fish had appeared.
The status of a knight is divided into five major stages: Junior Knight, Low-Class knight, Middle-Class knight, High-Class knight, and finally, Master.
The gap between each stage increases exponentially as one progresses.
It’s more challenging for a Low-Class to become a Middle-Class than for a Junior Knight to become a Low-Class.
Hence it is said that one becomes a true knight only after reaching the stage of a low class knight, possessing the strength of a hundred men.
So, what about the more elusive Middle-Class knight?
“Strength of a thousand men.”
They can face over a thousand soldiers alone.
The Middle-Class, who transcends natural disasters with their human body, was a formidable existence.
“This has become quite troublesome.”
Damien tapped their shoulder with the club.
“Troublesome?”
Ernest Horowitz’s expression changed as if bothered by those words.
“Seems like fear made you say something stupid. You should have said you want to run away instead.”
Ernest Horowitz raised their momentum.
The ground began to split around where they stood. The cracks spread across the entire room, even affecting the walls and ceiling.
“What will the Duke say if you wreck the building like this.”
Honestly, Damien didn’t want to fight Ernest Horowitz.
It hadn’t been even a month since Damien came back. Thus, his stamina and mana were still significantly lacking.
There wasn’t anything he couldn’t fight, but it was becoming quite an exhausting battle.
“Above all, only low-class knights can participate in the duel.”
To take part in the duel, he had to suppress his level as a low-class knight. Hence, engaging in a fight with Ernest Horowitz, a middle-class, might cast doubts on his low-class knight status.
“If you keep hesitating, I’ll make the first move!”
Ernest Horowitz’s posture slightly lowered, ready to lunge forward.
Damien clicked his tongue briefly.
Under these circumstances, it seemed best to engage moderately and then retreat.
That’s when the door behind Ernest Horowitz swiftly opened.
“Both of you, stop!”
A middle-aged man walked in, shouting. Ernest Horowitz looked surprised.
“Your Excellency?”
“You, there, should be thinking of catching the intruder, but what if the entire building collapses?”
The middle-aged man tapped Ernest Horowitz’s shoulder.
Ernest Horowitz immediately lowered his head and apologized,
“I’m sorry. I was not attentive.”
“It’s fine. We’ll just summon the mages to repair everything anyway.”
After saying so, the Duke approached Damien.
“Your Excellency, it’s dangerous!”
“It’s alright.”
Despite Ernest Horowitz’s attempt to intervene, the Duke didn’t stop.
“Young friend, what’s your name?”
Just a few steps away.
The Duke asked, standing at a distance where Damien could easily draw his sword and cause harm to him.
He was indeed a man with a demeanor befitting his status as the duke.
Damien lowered the staff he was holding and said,
“I am Damien Haksen, Your Excellency.”
“Damien Haksen? Are you by any chance the troublemaker from the Haksen family?”
“Thank you for recognizing me.”
The Duke’s expression subtly changed.
“I thought the rumors were false or exaggerated… I never expected them to be true.”
“That’s a bit unfair. Because of that misunderstanding, everyone I meet tends to underestimate me.”
The Duke chuckled at Damien’s words.
“You came all this way and didn’t kill a single member of the Duchy’s knights. No one suffered fatal injuries.”
“I went through some trouble to handle things appropriately.”
“What? Appropriate? You’re quite an interesting character.”
A smile crept onto the Duke’s lips.
“So, what do you want from me? You didn’t cause this uproar for no reason.”
Finally, the moment Damien had been waiting for arrived.
“I owe Your Excellency a debt.”
“A debt?”
The Duke wore a perplexed expression. He couldn’t fathom what Damien was hinting at.
“I borrowed money from the loan firm you operate. I have to repay 30 gold coins, principal plus interest.”
“Ah, that’s what this is about. Are you here because of that?”
“I don’t have the money right now, so I want to repay the debt in another way.”
The Duke nodded in response to Damien’s explanation.
“Another way?”
“I’ll offer victory by defeating Michael Ryan Bloom instead of repaying the debt.”
The Duke’s eyes widened at that response.
Michael Ryan Bloom.
Someone had emerged to resolve that troublesome issue.
“…Interesting. Truly interesting.”
The Duke rubbed his chin, examining Damien.
He was likely mentally comparing Damien and Michael Ryan Bloom.
“Michael Ryan Bloom is considered a monster who will one day become a Master. Are you confident?”
“If I lose, you may take my life without hesitation.”
Damien replied without a hint of hesitation.
The Duke burst into laughter at that response, forgetting his manners as he laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! I’ve never seen someone so spirited.”
Extending his hand, the Duke said
“Let me trust you for once.”
Damien shook his hand firmly, saying
“You won’t regret it.”
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s male Disciple]
[Quality Checker – Kawaii]