Chapter 4: The Doomsday Death Knight Returns

Chapter 4. I've Come for Revenge (3)

The distance between Damian Hassen and Ted was about 10 meters.

Ted leaped over that distance in a single bound.

‘Not bad, those leg muscles.’

As the distance closed, Ted immediately swung his longsword.

The longsword, over a meter in length, aimed for Damian Hassen's neck.

Damian Hassen took a step back.

The longsword narrowly grazed his nose and passed by.

‘Despite such a large movement, the tip of the sword doesn’t waver. For a squire, his skill is quite high.’

Even though the first strike missed, Ted didn’t flinch and continued his attack.

Consecutive strikes aimed at Damian Hassen.

Damian Hassen took only a single step back each time to avoid the strikes.

‘Good physical abilities, and his sword skills are top-notch. His reaction speed is sharp too.’

It was evidence that he never stopped training.

‘I underestimated him because he was part of that trash group, the Black Snakes. He’s actually quite capable.’

‘I’m starting to feel the strain.’

Damian Hassen’s sword skills had long surpassed the realm of mastery.

But his physical abilities were not on the same level.

He was already breathing heavily, and sweat was pouring down his body.

‘If I really go back, I need to improve my stamina first.’

Continuously dodging would eventually drain his stamina, making him vulnerable.

Damian Hassen decided to counterattack.

“You little rat!”

Ted raised his longsword high in anger.

“Let’s see if you can dodge this!”

He brought his sword-holding hand to the side of his face, aiming the tip at Damian Hassen.

A typical thrusting stance.

But Damian Hassen read Ted’s intention immediately.

‘He’s planning to use a secret technique.’

Secret Technique (秘伝).

It refers to the special skills that renowned martial arts possess.

When combined with aura, a secret technique can cut through mountains and destroy city walls, possessing the power of a natural disaster.

As a squire, the young man’s secret technique would undoubtedly be at a basic level.

But even that could be fatal.

Secret techniques originally started as methods to ensure the death of an opponent in an era without aura.

“Haa!”

The young man lunged forward and swung his sword.

Just as Damian Hassen was about to counter, the young man twisted his body.

His body, which had been accelerating in a straight line, made a half turn.

The longsword that followed sliced Damian Hassen’s nape.

It was an astonishing combination attack.

However, Damian Hassen’s evaluation was very brief.

‘Not bad, but not impressive.’

Damian Hassen effortlessly leaned back to avoid the longsword.

The longsword grazed the air and passed by.

In that moment, Damian Hassen raised his dagger.

He positioned the dagger where the young man’s hand would pass.

The wrist split, and the muscles severed.

The fingers loosened, and the longsword fell to the ground.

Ted clutched his wrist and groaned.

“No, no way! How did you… how did you counter my technique…?”

Damian Hassen plunged the dagger into the young man’s neck. The young man’s body fell to the ground.

“It was somewhat enjoyable.”

Damian Hassen wiped the blood off his dagger and looked around the Andersen Home.

“Now that the guy you trusted is dead, what will you do?”

Andersen Home froze, halfway through taking out a cigarette.

He trembled and pointed at Damian Hassen.

“D, Do you know what you just did? That squire was a favorite of the Black Snakes’ boss! If you kill him, the Black Snakes will….”

Damian Hassen approached Andersen Home.

“You should worry about yourself before worrying about the Black Snakes.”

Damian Hassen placed the dagger on Andersen Home’s shoulder.

Only then did Andersen Home’s face turn pale, realizing the threat of having his arm cut off.

“L, Listen, there seems to be some misunderstanding between us.”

“Misunderstanding? Shouldn’t we deal with that later?”

Andersen Home immediately fell to the ground in front of Damian Hassen.

Damian Hassen smiled in satisfaction.

“You’re quick. I like that.”

Damian Hassen patted Andersen Home’s head with his palm.

Andersen Home’s face twisted in disgust.

“Why do you look so dissatisfied?”

“No, no way.”

“You’re being a bit too brief.”

“No, no way.”

“Alright, now you’re starting to please me.”

Damian Hassen sat in the chair Andersen Home had been using.

It was a plush, high-quality chair.

“Victor. Why are you just standing there? Come and sit down.”

Damian Hassen spoke to Victor, who was standing by the door.

Victor hesitantly entered.

“M, Master… W, What did I just see? H, How did you… how did you defeat the squire…?”

“Save those pointless questions for later.”

Damian Hassen turned to Andersen Home.

“Shall we continue our conversation from earlier? I’ve suffered a great deal of humiliation at this tavern, and it has tarnished my and my family’s reputation. How do you plan to compensate for this?”

Andersen Home swallowed hard.

“J, Just wait a moment.”

Andersen Home approached a safe in the corner of the office.

He opened the safe and took out a few gold bars.

“I, I apologize for causing harm to the Hassen family. Is this amount of gold sufficient compensation?”

“It’s not enough.”

“P, Pardon?”

“There’s more inside. Bring it all out.”

“But, if I give you all of this, I won’t have any gold to pay the Black Snakes.”

“That’s your problem. If you don’t like it, I’ll just kill you and take it.”

Andersen Home bit his lip.

At that, Damian Hassen flicked his dagger.

“I, I’ll bring it out!”

Andersen Home brought out all the gold bars and gold coins from the safe.

Only then did Damian Hassen show a satisfied reaction.

“Victor. Take it all.”

“Yes, sir!”

Victor hurriedly gathered all the items.

Andersen Home watched in a daze.

“Shall we settle the remaining matters now?”

“R, Remaining matters?”

“I said I would cut off one of your arms.”

Damian Hassen stood up from the chair.

Andersen Home screamed in terror.

“W, Wait! I already gave you the money!”

“That was compensation for the humiliation I and my family suffered. This is a separate matter.”

Damian Hassen approached Andersen Home without hesitation.

Andersen Home’s face turned white.

“P, Please spare me! If I lose my arm at my age, I’ll die!”

“That’s your problem.”

“P, Please, I beg you!”

Andersen Home was ready to lick Damian Hassen’s shoes.

“If you don’t like it, pay the price of an arm with something else.”

“I, I have no money left.”

“If you can’t pay, I’ll cut it off.”

Damian Hassen raised his dagger.

Andersen Home extended his hands and screamed.

“W, Wait! Just wait a moment!”

Andersen Home ran to a drawer and pushed it aside.

A small safe hidden in the wall was revealed.

“H, Here, t, take this.”

Andersen Home brought out ten vials from the safe.

“What is this?”

“These are elixirs made by the Alchemy School!”

Damian Hassen examined the vials with interest.

The Alchemy School was a well-known organization that specialized in the creation of elixirs.

It was the only place capable of producing the elixir, known as a panacea at this time.

Elixirs made by the Alchemy School were said to be worth their weight in gems.

“What are their effects?”

“T, They are elixirs that knights take during training to greatly enhance their stamina and vitality.”

I’ve heard of this.

Some knights take elixirs to maximize the effects of their training.

It was a luxury only the wealthiest families could afford.

“Why do you have these?”

“Because of my age, I occasionally take them for my health.”

“You must have bought quite a lot. Be reasonable.”

Damian Hassen clicked his tongue.

Andersen Home clenched his fists in secret.

“This should be enough to pay for an arm.”

“L, Lucky for you.”

“Then, just take my ear.”

“Huh?”

Before Andersen Home could fully understand, Damian Hassen struck with his dagger.

The dagger grazed his ear and fell to the ground.

“Aaaah! You greenhorn brat!”

Andersen Home clutched his ear in pain.

He glared at Damian Hassen with bloodshot eyes.

“You! Do you think you can get away with this? The Black Snakes will definitely….”

“Speak.”

“W, What?”

“Tell them that Damian Hassen destroyed this tavern and took your money.”

Damian Hassen continued in a calm voice.

“I know the nature of thugs like you. When you’re pushed a little, you become even more arrogant, don’t you?”

During his time as a mercenary, Damian Hassen learned a lot about the world.

One of those lessons was to thoroughly crush an enemy when you have one.

“I’ll soon come to the Black Snakes. I’ll kill all of you who think you’re powerful just because of your numbers.”

Damian Hassen threw his dagger.

The dagger grazed Andersen Home’s nose and embedded itself in the floor. A shrill scream erupted.

“Make sure you pass my message on without any mistakes.”

With that, Damian Hassen left the tavern, followed by Victor.

* * *

On the way back to the Hassen Manor.

In the carriage, Victor asked with a worried face.

“Master, is it really okay to just go back like this?”

“What do you mean?”

“After killing so many people, the city of Landwalk won’t just let you go, will they?”

To Victor’s question, Damian Hassen replied nonchalantly.

“When we left the tavern, did any guards block our way?”

“No, they didn’t.”

“Organizations as large as the Black Snakes usually have a good relationship with the guards. They ask the guards to ignore incidents in their territory.”

Originally, it was a request to avoid being held accountable by the guards for any misdeeds.

This time, it worked in Damian Hassen’s favor.

“But what if the city of Landwalk issues a warrant for your arrest later…?”

“What’s left of a thug’s pride when you take it away? If one person ransacks their entire shop, do you think they’ll ask the guards to catch me?”

That was why Damian Hassen deliberately left Andersen Home alive.

The Black Snakes would need to quickly assess the situation to take action against the guards.

“The Black Snakes will definitely try to kill me themselves. They might even attack our manor.”

Victor’s expression darkened at that.

“Don’t worry. I’m here, aren’t I?”

Victor’s face brightened a little at Damian’s reassurance.

“But, Master, when did you learn to use a sword? I didn’t know you were skilled enough to defeat a squire, let alone the tavern’s security.”

“I trained whenever I had the chance.”

Damian Hassen gave a vague answer.

He was too lazy to come up with a plausible excuse.

“Wouldn’t it be better to attack the Black Snakes today?”

“Huh, what a scary suggestion. You want to wipe them out completely?”

“No, I mean, after seeing your skills today, the Black Snakes shouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s true.”

But Damian Hassen chose to retreat for today.

His weak physical condition was a constant hindrance.

A few sword swings were enough to make him pant, and this inferior body was not ready to fight the entire Black Snakes.

“There’s no rush. We can take our time.”

Damian Hassen held the elixirs he had obtained today and muttered.

Elixirs made by the Alchemy School. Today was a big windfall.

Taking these elixirs and training would allow him to strengthen his body much faster.

Just a little.

A little more improvement in his stamina would be enough.

He planned to go to Landwalk City and eliminate the Black Snakes immediately.

“We’ve arrived.”

Victor said, looking out the window.

The two of them got out of the carriage.

“Damian! You brat!”

As soon as they got out, his father ran over from a distance.

His mother, sister, and brother were also there.

“Where have you been? I was so worried about what you might do again….”

His father’s voice gradually faded.

He had noticed the blood on Damian Hassen’s clothes.

“You, you… what did you do…?”

“Victor, show them.”

Damian Hassen told Victor.

Victor grunted and placed a large sack in front of his father.

When Victor opened the sack, gold bars were revealed.

His father made a strange sound in surprise.

“H, Huh? W, What is this!”

“I went to the tavern where I was kicked out and demanded an apology. This is the compensation.”

“C, Compensation?”

“Yes, soon all the bad rumors about our family will disappear.”

Even the Black Snakes can’t stop rumors.

The events of today would spread throughout the city in a few days.

“I’m tired, so I’ll go to my room for now.”

Damian Hassen moved to leave. His father was speechless.

“…What just happened?”

His father asked his wife and daughter.

They were just as confused.

* * *

“…Brother!”

As Damian Hassen was about to go up to his room, his younger brother, Abel Hassen, stopped him.

“Is what you just said true? That you went to the tavern and demanded compensation?”

“It’s true.”

“How did you get the compensation? Did you kill the tavern’s security?”

“Yes, I killed them.”

Abel Hassen’s expression hardened.

“…Did you stab them from behind?”

“Do you think I would do something so despicable? I went through the front door and killed them all.”

“I’m not joking!”

Abel Hassen didn’t believe Damian Hassen.

It was indeed hard to believe.

A fool who only wasted the family’s wealth suddenly killing dozens of people.

“Do you know what’s happening in Landwalk City? The Black Snakes have taken control. If you act like this, the Black Snakes won’t just sit by!”

The reality of the Hassen family was that they had to fear even a dark organization.

Their manor was small, and the number of residents was low. The soldiers guarding the manor were less than ten, so it was a reasonable concern.

“Why do you keep causing trouble? How much more danger do you plan to bring to our family?”

“You’re the one I can trust to take care of the family.”

“W, What? What did you just say… S, Stop! Don’t do that!”

Damian Hassen roughly petted Abel Hassen’s head.

Abel Hassen resisted with both hands, but Damian Hassen skillfully avoided him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

With that, Damian Hassen went up the stairs again.

Abel Hassen watched him with a confused expression.