NOVEL NEXT
Chapter 4
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s male Disciple]
[Quality Checker – Kawaii]
Chapter 4: Came Back for Revenge (3)
The distance between Damien and Ted was roughly 10 metres.
Ted cleared that distance in just a single leap.
“His leg strength is quite impressive.”
As the distance between them closed, Ted immediately swung his longsword.
A blade over a metre long aimed at Damien’s neck, soaring through the air.
Damien stepped back a pace.
The longsword narrowly grazed past the tip of his nose.
“Even with such broad movements, the blade doesn’t waver. His skill is quite high for a squire.”
Despite the first strike missing, Ted continued to attack without flinching.
Consecutive strikes targeted Damien.
With just one step at a time, Damien evaded the attacks.
“Good physical ability, excellent swordsmanship, sharp reflexes. Evidence of continuous training.”
Despite being employed by a group like the “Black Serpents,” he was a skilled individual.
“He’s gradually exerting force.”
Damien’s swordsmanship had long surpassed the realm of a master.
However, his physical stamina did not match up to his swordsmanship.
He was already short of breath, sweat pouring from his body.
“I really need to work on my stamina when I get back.”
Continuing to evade attacks and running out of stamina would become dangerous.
Damien decided it was time to counterattack.
“This little rat!”
Ted yelled in anger, raising his longsword high.
“Let’s see if you can dodge this too!”
He positioned the hand holding the longsword next to his face, aiming the blade at Damien.
A typical stabbing stance.
But Damien immediately read Ted’s intention.
“He is using ‘Vision.'”
Vision.
It refers to the secret technique possessed by one or two renowned swordsmen at a time.
When combined with Aura, Vision possesses immense power, capable of bringing down mountains or breaking down fortress walls, resembling natural disasters.
As he was still just a squire, it was evident that the young man’s use of Vision was only at an ordinary skill level.
Yet, even that was deadly.
Originally, Vision techniques were devised in times without Aura to ensure the opponent’s certain death.
“Hah!”
As the youth lunged forward, slashing with his sword, Damien attempted to parry the technique, at that moment the young man twisted his body.
The body, accelerating in a straight line, completed half a rotation.
The following longsword struck Damien’s nape.
It was an astonishing sequence of attacks.
However, Damien’s assessment of it was brief.
“Not much.”
Damien casually leaned backward, evading the longsword.
The longsword swept through the air.
At that moment, Damien lifted the apple knife.
He brought the apple knife to where the youth’s hand would pass.
The wrist was severed, muscles cut apart.
The longsword fell to the ground, slipping from his fingers.
Ted groaned, clutching his wrist.
“T-This can’t be! How did you… with my technique…”
Damien thrust the apple knife into the young man’s neck, and he collapsed to the ground.
“That was somewhat enjoyable.”
Wiping the blood off the apple knife, Damien turned to Andersen Holm.
“Your trusted man is dead now. What do you plan to do?”
Andersen Holm froze, his hand hesitantly pointing at Damien, trembling.
“D-Do you realize what you’ve just done? That squire was the boss’s trusted aide from the Black Serpents! If you kill him, the Black Serpents…”
Approaching Andersen Holm, Damien spoke,
“Instead of worrying about the Black Serpents, you should worry about yourself first.”
Placing the Apple knife on Andersen’s shoulder, a warning of imminent dismemberment, Andersen’s face turned pale.
“I-I think there might have been a misunderstanding…”
“A misunderstanding? Isn’t there something more immediate to address before resolving such misunderstandings?”
Andersen knelt before Damien, shaking.
“Y-You… Do you know what you’ve done? That squire was a loyalist of the Black Serpents’ boss! If you kill him, the Black Serpents will…”
“Enough of these pointless questions. You should think about your own situation first.”
Satisfied, Damien lightly patted Andersen’s head with his palm, leaving him looking disgusted.
“Why do you look so unhappy?”
“I-I couldn’t possibly…”
“Your words are quite brief.”
“I-I couldn’t possibly…”
“Alright, now I find you somewhat likeable.”
Damien sat down in the chair previously used by Andersen.
It was quite a luxurious and comfortable chair.
“Victor. Why are you standing there all fidgety? Come and sit.”
Damien addressed Victor, who hesitantly stepped inside.
“M-Master… What did I just witness? H-How could you… with the squire?”
“Save those useless questions for later.”
Damien turned to Andersen.
“Shall we continue our conversation from earlier? The humiliation I faced at this tavern not only tarnishes my reputation but also our family’s. How do you intend to compensate for that?”
Andersen swallowed hard.
“J-Just wait a moment, please.”
Andersen approached a safe in the office and took out a few gold bars.
“Th-This is a token of apology for causing trouble to Viscount Haksen. Would this be sufficient compensation?”
“Not enough.”
“What?”
“There’s more inside. Bring it all out.”
“B-But if you take everything, I won’t have anything left for the Black Serpents’ dues.”
“That’s your problem. If you don’t like it, I could just kill you and take it.”
Andersen bit his lip.
Damien flicked his finger at Andersen’s actions.
“Ta-Take it, please!”
Andersen fetched all the gold bars and coins from the safe, finally eliciting a satisfied response from Damien.
“Victor. Gather everything.”
“Yes, yes!”
Victor hurriedly collected all the items.
Andersen looked on with a bewildered expression.
“Now, let’s settle the remaining debt.”
“T-The remaining debt?”
“I said I would sever one of your arms.”
Damien stood up from the chair.
Andersen panicked and shouted,
“W-Wait! Didn’t I give you the money?”
“That was for the affront to me and my family. This is a separate matter.”
Damien approached Andersen without hesitation.
Andersen’s face turned ghostly white.
Andersen Holm was on the brink of licking Damien’s shoes.
“If you don’t like it, pay for the loss with something else.”
“I-I have no more money left now.”
“If you can’t pay, then it’s time to cut.”
Damien raised the apple knife.
Andersen Holm extended both hands, yelling,
“Wait! Just wait a moment!”
He dashed off somewhere.
He pushed aside the drawer in the office, revealing a small safe embedded in the wall.
“H-Here, please take it.”
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s male Disciple]
[Quality Checker – Kawaii]
Andersen Holm took out ten vials from the safe.
“What’s this?”
“Potions made by the Alchemy faction!”
Damien examined the vials with a fascinated expression.
The Alchemy faction was a renowned group specialising in alchemy.
They were the only ones capable of producing the Elixir, a universal remedy, at the current time.
Potions made by the Alchemy faction were said to be traded for gems of equal weight.
“What do they do?”
“They’re potions knights use for training. They greatly enhance stamina and vitality.”
He’d heard of it.
Some knights would consume potions to maximise the effects of their training.
It was a privilege reserved for wealthy families.
“Why do you have these?”
“As I’m getting older, I’ve been buying them to maintain my health.”
“You seem to have bought quite a lot. Moderation would be wise.”
Damien clicked his tongue.
Secretly, Andersen Holm clenched his fists.
“With this, it should be enough for an arm’s worth.”
“T-Thank goodness.”
“Cut off your ear as payment.”
“What?”
Before Andersen Holm could understand, Damien struck with the apple knife.
The apple knife grazed his ear, which fell to the ground.
“Aaaah! You bastard!”
Andersen Holm held his ear, writhing in pain.
His furious eyes glared at Damien.
“You! Do you think you can get away with this? After causing such trouble and killing a member of the Black Serpent, they will…”
“Speak.”
“W-What?”
“Tell them clearly that Damien wrecked this place and took your money.”
Damien continued in a monotone voice.
“I know well how your gang operates. Am I wrong?”
During his mercenary days, Damien had learned a lot about the world.
One of the lessons was to ruthlessly crush enemies when they emerged.
“I’ll visit the Black Serpents soon. If they dare to issue a warrant against me, I’ll wipe them all out.”
Damien hurled the apple knife.
The apple knife brushed Andersen Holm’s nose and thudded onto the ground, accompanied by a shrill scream.
“Make sure you understand and relay my message accurately.”
Saying so, Damien left the tavern, followed by Victor.
On their way back to Haksen Manor, Victor, with a worried expression, asked from the carriage,
“Sir, can we really go back like this?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve killed so many people. Won’t the authorities in Landwork City come after you?”
Damien casually responded to Victor’s question.
“When we left the tavern, were the guards blocking our way?”
“N-No, they weren’t.”
“Organizations as big as the Black Serpents usually make arrangements with guards. They tend to ignore incidents in their area.”
Originally, it would have been a request not to be apprehended by guards, but this time, it worked in Damien’s favor.
“But what if they issue a warrant for you in Landwork City later on?”
“If we let these gangsters dent our pride, what will be left? They got everything from a single person. Would they ask the guards to arrest me?”
Damien’s reason for sparing Andersen Holm’s life was also for this reason. Shouldn’t they quickly assess the situation from the Black Serpents’ side to avoid trouble with the guards?
“If it’s the Black Serpents, they’ll definitely try to eliminate us themselves. They might even attack our territory.”
Upon hearing this, Victor’s expression darkened.
“Don’t worry. I’m here.”
Damien’s reassurance brought a glimmer of hope to Victor’s face.
“But, sir, when did you learn swordsmanship like that? I understand about the tavern’s guards, but I didn’t expect you to defeat even a squire.”
“I’ve been training whenever I had the chance.”
Damien casually brushed off the query.
It was too much of a hassle to come up with a convincing excuse.
“Wouldn’t it be better to attack the Black Serpents today?”
“Ha, have you seen such a fearsome guy? Shouldn’t we just get rid of him altogether?”
“Oh, n-no, that’s not the way. From what I saw of Lord Damien’s skills today, the Black Serpents won’t be a problem.”
“That’s true.”
But today, Damien chose to step back.
His weak stamina continued to hold him back.
Even a brief skirmish would leave him breathless with his inferior physique, making a full-scale fight against the Black Serpents quite uncertain.
“Do you have something urgent? There’s no rush, let’s take our time.”
Damien murmured as he took out the potion he obtained today.
A potion crafted by the Alchemy Faction. He had made a significant acquisition today.
With this potion, training could be accelerated, honing the body at a much faster pace.
Just a bit more improvement in stamina was all he needed.
He intended to go straight to Landwork City as soon as he felt a bit better, to annihilate the Black Serpents.
“Ah, we’ve arrived.”
Victor said, looking out the window.
The two got off the carriage.
“Damien! You rascal!”
As soon as they alighted, their father came running from a distance.
Their mother, sister, and brother were also present.
“Where in the world have you been until now? I have no idea what you might do next, and I…”
Father’s voice gradually lessened.
He noticed bloodstains on Damien’s clothes.
“You, you… where in the world did you…?”
“Victor, show him.”
Damien said to Victor.
Whimpering, Victor placed a large pouch in front of their father.
As Victor opened the pouch’s mouth, gold bars came into view.
Father was so shocked that he made a strange noise.
“W-What is this!”
“I went to the tavern I was thrown out of and apologized. This is the price for it.”
“P-Price?”
“Yes, soon all the negative talk about our family will disappear.”
Even if it was the Black Serpents, they couldn’t stop the rumors.
In a few days, everything that happened today would spread throughout the city.
“I’m a bit tired, so I’ll go up now.”
Damien moved his steps. Father couldn’t continue speaking.
“…What exactly happened just now?”
Father asked his wife and daughter.
Both of them were clueless as well.
“…Brother!”
As Damien tried to go to his room, his younger brother, Abel Haksen, grabbed him.
“Is what you just said true? You went to the tavern and received payment?”
“It’s true.”
“How in the world did you get payment? Did you, by any chance, kill their guards?”
“Yeah, I did.”
Abel’s expression hardened at that statement.
“Are you telling me you stabbed them from behind with a knife?”
“Do you think I would do such a cowardly act? I went through the main entrance and killed them all.”
“I’m not joking right now!”
Abel didn’t believe Damien’s words.
It was indeed unbelievable.
A man who only squandered the family’s wealth suddenly killed dozens of people.
“Do you know what the situation in Landwork City is right now? The Black Serpents, a new organization, have taken control of everything. If you act like this, the Black Serpents won’t stay quiet!”
The reality for the Haksen Manor was having to fear organisations like the underworld.
Their territory was small, and the number of people defending the estate was minimal. It was natural to worry about such a thing.
“Why do you keep causing trouble? You’re putting our family in danger!”
“I can trust you to handle everything on behalf of the family.”
“What? What did you just say… Stop it!”
Damien vigorously ruffled Abel’s hair.
Though Abel tried to resist with both hands, Damien deftly avoided him.
“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”
Leaving those words behind, Damien ascended the stairs again.
Abel looked at Damien with a bewildered expression.
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Demon God’s male Disciple]
[Quality Checker – Kawaii]