Chapter 52: The Return of the Doom-Class Death Knight

Chapter 52: Scheme (2)

"…This happened."

Olivia recounted everything that had transpired today to the two of them.

"…Brother."

Abel looked at Damian with a face full of fear.

The situation was that the Duke and the middle-class had joined forces to target Damian's life.

"We must flee immediately. If we stay, Brother's life will be in danger!"

Unlike the anxious Abel, Damian remained calm.

'Jacques Noire, I didn’t think much of you from the start. I didn’t expect you to pull such a stunt.'

He thought things were progressing smoothly, but he didn’t expect Jacques Noire to act so rashly.

'The Duke of Copperhead is no different from the previous life. To kill someone so easily for the benefit of the family…'

Indeed, the good impression he gave was just an act.

His true nature was that of a cruel person, ready to do anything for the family's benefit.

He was even more despicable than what he had heard in the previous life.

'How should I handle this?'

To be honest, Jacques Noire wasn’t much of a concern.

Though it might be a bit tricky to deal with, Damian wouldn’t lose.

'If I kill Jacques Noire, it will become a huge hassle.'

Currently, Damian had only been wielding a sword for a short time and was known as a genius who had reached the low-class level.

If it were to be rumored that he had reached the middle-class level after just a few months of wielding a sword, how much trouble would the world cause him?

'But how do they plan to kill me? There’s no way they can, right?'

Even if they were taught techniques, it would take time to master them, and even if they consumed elixirs, it would take days to absorb them.

If they claim to have a way to defeat Damian Haksen in just one day….

'There’s only black magic.'

Unlike other forms of magic, black magic was specialized in such matters.

Cursing others, causing diseases, and bringing misfortune.

Nothing was better than black magic for killing or ruining someone.

Since the knight Jacques Noire wouldn’t know black magic, he would likely use a magic tool imbued with black magic.

'If they plan to use black magic… there’s no need for me to confront them, right?'

There are people in this world who can detect and erase black magic.

'I’m also curious about the mana cultivation technique that Jacques Noire promised to hand over to the Duke’s family.'

Currently, Damian was repeatedly researching to create his own mana cultivation technique.

If he could obtain the mana cultivation technique used by Master Class, his research would progress much faster.

"We won’t run."

"Huh?"

Damian’s words made Abel exclaim in surprise.

"Brother, Jacques Noire is a middle-class knight! No matter what…"

"Don’t worry. I have a plan."

Damian smiled and said. Abel looked uneasy and replied.

"I’ll be out for a moment. You stay and comfort the young lady."

"Huh?"

"Having heard about the killing and such, she must be very frightened. She needs comfort."

"Really?"

Abel looked at Olivia, who had a puzzled expression.

"Black… I was so scared."

Then, noticing Damian’s hint, she started to pretend to cry.

"Miss, Miss."

Abel was at a loss.

Damian left the two of them and went outside. He then called out to the tent next to him.

"Victor, are you sleeping?"

"No, I’m coming out."

Victor yawned and came out of the tent.

"What is it?"

"I need you to do me a favor."

"Really? At this late hour?"

"Yes, it’s something only you can do."

Damian whispered something into Victor’s ear.

Victor’s eyes widened in shock.

* * *

The final day of the jousting tournament arrived.

There were far more people sitting in the stands than usual.

Some nobles even stood at the back due to the lack of seats.

This was inevitable, as the final event was the team competition, the most popular among the jousting events.

"Then, I will explain the rules of today’s competition!"

A knight from the Copperhead Duke’s family shouted to the waiting knights.

"This team competition will not be a team effort but an individual competition!"

The knights began to murmur among themselves.

The team competition, which usually involved breaking the rules and fighting individually, was changed to an individual competition.

This kind of competition could easily become stagnant, so both the participants and the audience began to wonder why.

Soon, most people realized the intention.

"The one who knocks down the most opponents will be the winner of this competition!"

The knights rolled their eyes and looked at each other.

'They’re all too obvious.'

Damian felt the knights’ gazes and thought.

All the knights were hostile towards him.

Some knights exchanged glances, and Damian could easily guess their intentions.

'Look at this. They’ve even formed an alliance to take me down.'

Though it was an unfair act, he had no intention of reporting it.

A few alliances wouldn’t be enough to defeat Damian.

Only if everyone joined forces might it be a different story.

"Now, the competition is about to start. Prepare yourselves."

The knights picked up their weapons and mounted their horses. Damian also took the spear Victor handed him and mounted his horse.

"Thank you, as always."

Damian patted the horse, which snorted.

"Then… let’s begin!"

The door to the waiting area opened, and the knights rushed onto the field.

The knights spread out across the field.

"Wow! Cheer up!"

"Sir Alonzo! Show the sword of the Alter Duke’s family this time!"

"Damian Haksen! Cheer up!"

The audience cheered for the knights.

However, the knights had no time to respond to the audience. They were all tense, looking at each other.

'Now, who will charge at me?'

Damian observed the knights’ gazes and auras.

Then, he noticed something strange.

Most of the knights were staring directly at him.

'…Huh?'

Even Damian was taken aback by this situation.

"Start the final competition!"

As soon as the Duke’s call rang out, the knights all charged at Damian.

* * *

Seeing the knights charging from all sides, Damian let out a hollow laugh.

'I didn’t expect them to form an alliance.'

Strictly speaking, not all the knights had colluded.

A few groups of knights, who were usually close, had formed alliances.

The problem was that the target of all these alliances was Damian Haksen.

"Isn’t it too despicable for knights to act like this?"

Damian said, trying to provoke the knights. But the knights were not at all ashamed.

"If we continue like this, you’ll win the jousting tournament with an overwhelming score!"

"It’s better to do something than to just watch and be mocked for letting you win!"

Due to Damian’s outstanding performance, the other knights couldn’t show their own prowess.

Some of the nobles watching the jousting tournament even mocked the knights as wooden puppets.

For this reason, the knights decided to target Damian Haksen, disregarding their honor.

"We can’t let you win this competition!"

"I’ll hinder you for the honor of the Malta family!"

"I swear by the name of the Saintroller Viscount’s family to knock you down!"

The knights charged at Damian, surrounding him. Weapons rained down from all sides.

'Calling out their family names while doing this. Have they all lost their minds?'

Damian inwardly sighed.

'Well, at least this makes it more interesting.'

He let go of the reins, but it was fine. Damian could control the horse with his will.

'Let’s go!'

The horse kicked the ground and charged towards the weakest point in the encirclement.

"Damian Haksen is coming!"

"Knock him off his horse!"

The knights raised their lances. The sight of the knights charging in full armor was intimidating.

Unlike Damian, who was lightly dressed, the knights were fully armored.

Moreover, while Damian held a short spear, the knights wielded long lances.

It was clear who would suffer more if they collided.

Damian didn’t stop the horse. Instead, he ordered it to increase its speed.

After riding for two days, Damian’s understanding of the horse’s body and the concept of 'horse and rider as one' had deepened.

Thanks to this, Damian could perform another trick.

Damian infused the horse with mana.

The mana strengthened the horse’s muscles. With each step, the horse’s hooves left clear marks on the ground.

"Huh? What?"

"What?"

The knights’ faces showed confusion at this unusual momentum.

"Block…"

With a loud noise, the knights and their horses were sent flying. The knights tumbled on the ground.

"Cough… What… What is that horse…"

"We have to… stop… Damian Haksen…"

The shock was so great that the other knights forgot they were in the middle of a competition and stared at Damian Haksen.

"Th-That…"

"How…"

Then, the horse carrying Damian turned and pawed the ground with its hooves, like a bull.

"Th-That…"

"Could it be…"

A foreboding feeling rose in the knights’ minds.

Sure enough, the horse charged at the knights again.

"Get out of the way!"

"Don’t face him!"

The knights scattered in panic. But the horse’s speed was faster than the knights could escape.

"Ah!"

"Kya!"

With a loud noise, three more knights and their horses were sent flying.

"He’s coming again!"

Every time Damian Haksen charged, the knights were sent flying and fell off their horses.

"Surround him! Don’t give him space! If you do, he’ll charge again!"

One of the knights, who was still thinking clearly, tried to block Damian to stop the charge.

This time, the horse lowered its head and rammed into the knight, sending him and the horse to the ground.

"Got him from behind!"

A knight appeared behind Damian. This time, the horse kicked with its hind legs. The knight was hit in the chest and flew away.

"What… is that…"

A knight who had fallen off his horse early on muttered while lying on the ground.

"It’s not a horse, it’s like a monster."

Indeed, the horse Damian rode was acting like a monster.

Its speed and strength were remarkable, but its large size made it even more intimidating.

The knights were not only knocked off their horses by Damian but also by the horse.

As a result, most of the knights were eliminated within an hour of the jousting tournament starting.

"Wow! Damian! Damian!"

The nobles cheered, calling out Damian’s name.

In all the jousting tournaments held so far, no knight had shown such outstanding performance with just horsemanship, so the audience cheered even louder.

Damian stopped the horse and enjoyed the audience’s cheers.

"Sometimes, this kind of attention isn’t bad, is it?"

Damian patted the horse’s head and asked. The horse nodded its head up and down, as if understanding.

However, not all the knights had been eliminated.

"Damian Haksen!"

At that moment, one of the remaining knights shouted.

The shout, imbued with mana, echoed throughout the jousting field.

The nobles in the stands were shocked into silence and looked at the knight who had shouted.

"I am Jackson Cutter, the Monster Slayer!"

The shouting knight pointed at Damian Haksen with his long sword.

Damian looked at Jackson Cutter and raised one corner of his mouth.

"So, you’re finally going to challenge me."

Damian turned the horse’s head towards Jackson Cutter. Meanwhile, Jackson Cutter continued to shout.

"I don’t know about others, but I know how despicable you were in the past!"

Damian felt puzzled by this unexpected accusation.

To denounce another knight in such a public setting… had he lost his mind?

"However you managed to gain your skills, it’s disgusting to act so arrogantly just because you’ve become a little stronger!"

Jackson Cutter raised his weapon high.

"I, the Monster Slayer Jackson Cutter, will expose your true nature!"

* * *

'This is my last chance.'

Jackson Cutter thought to himself as he charged on his horse.

'Today, I will defeat Damian Haksen and gain fame!'

He was ashamed