Return of the Calamity-Class Death Knight - Chapter 221

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Chapter 221: The Extermination Squad (1)

***

The next day, Damien left the mansion at the appointed time by Sword Saint.

It was dawn, and the streets were deserted. All that could be seen were soldiers patrolling.

As he arrived at the North Gate, he saw three people gathered together.

Two men and one woman. All three were dressed simply and wore swords.

They were an unremarkable group. But Damien couldn’t ignore them.

Each of them was exuding an enormous aura. It was so strong that he could feel it even from a distance.

All three were undoubtedly Master Class.

“Oh, there he is. This way! This way!”

One of the three waved at Damien. It was a woman with her hair tied up in a ponytail.

Damien headed towards the three of them. As he got closer, he could see their faces clearly.

Judging by their faces, all three were quite young.

However, that alone was not enough to determine their age. The aging process slowed down once one reached the Master Class.

“You’re Damien Haksen, right? I’ve heard a lot about you. No, I mean, a lot is not enough. It’s all about you these days.”

The woman seemed to be quite talkative. She started talking as soon as she saw Damien, without a moment’s pause.

“They say His Majesty knelt before you? I couldn’t believe my ears when I heard it. I wondered what kind of person you were… I never thought I’d meet you as a member of the Extermination Squad.”

As Damien had expected, the three were members of the Extermination Squad.

The Extermination Squad.

Their full name was the Extermination Knights Squad. However, since not only knights but mages and alchemists were also part of it, it was more often called the Extermination Squad.

“My name is Rayne Bell. This is Wilhelm Wilson. That sullen guy over there is Roger Crimson.”

Damien tried to recall the three names but he could not remember them.

They were names he had never heard in his previous life. He had never seen their faces either.

If they were members of the Extermination Squad, Damien would have known them. After all, he had killed them himself in his previous life.

It seemed that they had probably died before the War of Destruction, so he hadn’t seen them.

“I am Damien Haksen.”

Wilhelm greeted him with a wide smile. Roger, on the other hand, simply spat on the ground.

“Wilhelm can’t talk. He had a bit of a bad experience when he was young. Roger is just a grouch, so don’t mind him.”

“Sister, do you really have to talk like that?”

Roger said sullenly. Rayne clicked her tongue.

“Excuse me. Master… Ah, Sword Saint has been talking about you a lot lately, so he’s been getting on my nerves. I can’t believe how old he is and still acts like such a child.”

“Wh, wh, who, who said I was getting on your nerves!”

Roger protested loudly. But Rayne just pretended not to hear him.

‘So they were Sword Saint’s disciples after all.’

He had guessed as much from the mana they possessed, which was similar to Sword Saint’s.

It wasn’t surprising. After all, the Extermination Squad was a group the Sword Saint had formed by gathering his disciples.

“I have so many questions for you, but we’re on a tight schedule, so let’s get going quickly. If we dawdle, the giant evil might escape.”

“Understood.”

“Ok.”

Rayne Bell tilted her head in curiosity at Damien’s response.

“The Sword Saint hasn’t arrived yet. Are we really supposed to leave without him?”

Rayne smiled mischievously as she spoke.

Indeed, there were only four people present. The Sword Saint was nowhere to be seen.

It didn’t make sense to go fight a giant evil without the Sword Saint.

Even so, Damien nodded and said.

“I don’t think the Sword Saint will be joining us.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Because the two of you are more than enough.”

At his words, the three of them widened their eyes slightly, looking a bit shocked.

“How did you know?”

“I have a very keen eye for people.”

Among the three, Rayne and Wilhelm were no ordinary Master Class.

They were strong enough to take down a giant evil that had died before the War of Destruction.

“Impressive… You’re right. The Sword Saint isn’t coming. Wilhelm and I can handle Vanexia by ourselves.”

“Why am I always left out of these conversations?”

“Hey, where do you think you’re fitting in? I’m ranked 4th in the Extermination Squad, and Wilhelm is 3rd, but you… sigh.”

Rayne sighed and shook her head, making Roger’s face flush red.

“Just wait! I’ll be in the single digits within a year!”

“Sure, keep at it.”

Listening to their conversation, Damien was impressed.

‘No wonder they’re so strong. They’re the 3rd and 4th ranked in the Extermination Squad.’

Among the three, Rayne Bell and Wilhelm Wilson had already surpassed the Master Class level.

The next stage after Master Class was Grandmaster. However, the journey from Master Class to Grandmaster was incredibly difficult.

It was said to be a hundred or even a thousand times harder than the path to Master Class.

That’s why the process of reaching Grandmaster was often referred to as a wall.

Rayne Bell and Wilhelm Wilson were in the first stage of becoming Grandmasters.

It was no wonder they were confident about taking down the giant evil with just the two of them.

“So, Damien, you don’t need to worry.”

Rayne said confidently.

With that, the four of them passed through the north gate and headed to where giant evil Vanexia was hiding.

***

A man with sapphire blue hair erupted in anger.

Before him stood a large mirror, but instead of reflecting his own image, it showed a woman.

-Vanexia. Don’t get too angry.

“How can I not be angry, you’re blatantly ignoring me!”

When Sla contacted her, Vanexia was secretly excited.

Men are drawn to beauty, and Sla was the most beautiful woman in Pandemonium.

However, the conversation with Sla didn’t go as Vanexia had expected.

“When did I ever ignore you?”

The woman in the mirror sighed, her red eyes and lips exuding an otherworldly allure.

Her words momentarily distracted Vanexia from his anger, causing him to swallow involuntarily.

“I simply asked you not to interfere with Damien Haksen, as he is someone I intend to offer to ‘him’.”

But her following words brought Vanexia back to his senses.

“Damn it! That’s the same as ignoring me!”

A few days ago, ‘he’ had issued an order to the giant evils.

He promised to grant any wish to the one who captured a man named Damien Haksen and brought him before him.

Considering the knowledge and treasures ‘he’ possessed, it was an order they could never ignore.

Vanexia happened to have a dungeon near the capital where Damien was said to be.

So he was planning to capture Damien.

It was then that he received Sla’s threat disguised as a request.

“Vanexia. So, you’re not going to grant my request after all?”

Sla narrowed her eyes in displeasure.

While both were giant evils, Sla and Vanexia were not on equal footing.

Sla was one of the most powerful figures in Pandemonium.

“Yes! I’ll do whatever I please!”

However, Vanexia was also prideful as a giant evil. He couldn’t back down here.

“Sigh… then I have no choice. I’ll just have to exert my power directly.”

“Ha! Go ahead and do whatever you want!”

“I figured as much, so I’ve already sent someone. They’ll be there soon…”

Vanexia cut off the communication. He couldn’t bear to listen to her any longer.

“Damn it.”

After venting his anger, his head cooled down a bit. Then, a sense of unease crept in.

No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t stand up to Sla with his own strength. That’s how powerful Sla’s forces were.

“Who the hell is he planning to send?”

Sla’s lovers were all incredibly powerful beings.

Vanexia was particularly worried about Sla’s “concubines,” who were known to be monsters on par with giant evils.

If a concubine came, even Vanexia couldn’t guarantee his victory.

As Vanexia was pondering over this, the surface of the mirror suddenly changed and the figure of a man appeared.

“Weapon Master? Why are you contacting me?”

Vanexia asked in an irritated voice.

He was already having a headache because of Sla, and now he was getting a call from someone he wasn’t even close to.

“Vanexia. I heard you’re planning to capture Damien Haksen.”

“Damn it, now even the dogs and cats know. So what do you want to say?”

“I’ve already claimed Damien Haksen. So don’t touch him. If you ignore my warning…”

At that moment, Vanexia’s temper flared.

“You damn bastards are both pissing me off! Get out of here and don’t make me look bad!”

Weapon Master blinked at Vanexia’s shout.

“You seem to have become a bit more hot-tempered lately.”

Weapon Master was a giant evil with power comparable to Sla’s.

However, that fact didn’t matter at all to Vanexia, who was filled with rage.

“Screw your temper! Get out of here right now!”

“If that’s the case, I don’t have to hesitate anymore. Be prepared. My disciple will come to collect his payment today.”

“Oh yeah? Do whatever you want!”

With that, Vanexia cut off the communication again. He couldn’t suppress his anger for a while and grumbled.

“Lord Vanexia!”

At that moment, a dark mage entered the laboratory. Vanexia screamed.

“Why!”

“Tch, there’s an intruder! An intruder has entered the dungeon!”

“What? Who is it? Sla or Weapon Master?”

Vanexia shouted in surprise. Then, his subordinate replied with a flustered face.

“U-uh, it’s neither of them.”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Imperial Knights have appeared!”

At those words, Vanexia’s eyes widened as if they were about to pop out of his head.

***

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