Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: The Road Back (2)
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No one who had ever met the Mercenary King Cal Hopper in person could avoid being shocked.
The Cal Hopper known to the world was seventy years old.
But in reality, Cal Hopper had the appearance of a young boy.
It was said that those who reached the pinnacle of mana would rejuvenate, but Cal Hopper's youth had nothing to do with that.
It was due to the secret of the bloodline he possessed.
“I am Cal Hopper. More famous by the name Mercenary King.”
Cal Hopper said with his hands behind his back. Unlike his youthful face, his mannerisms were those of an old man.
At first glance, it seemed utterly ridiculous. Moreover, he appeared so defenseless that he looked all the more easy to approach.
But Demian knew very well that all such impressions were illusions.
Cal Hopper was a powerhouse beyond the Master Class. There were fewer than five people in the world who could kill him.
“Eh? You don't flinch even after hearing my name. Are you bold or just a simple fool?”
“Why has the Mercenary King come here?”
Demian asked as he sheathed Dawn. The Mercenary King looked at Demian with an amused expression.
“Look at this guy? Acting all innocent. Didn't you recently tarnish my name?”
It was true.
A few weeks ago, Demian had crossed swords with the Mercenary King's granddaughter over an issue involving his sister Luise's fiancé.
In that battle, he had emerged victorious and severed both of her wrists.
“I did tarnish it, but it doesn't seem like that's why you've come for me.”
“Eh? What nonsense is that? Do I have to cut your head off right here for you to come to your senses?”
“You're not so idle that you'd move just because a non-Holy Blood blood relative was humiliated.”
The Mercenary King was a man with immense pride in his bloodline.
And rightly so. Every single one of his children possessed exceptional talent without exception.
But the Mercenary King did not acknowledge them all as blood relatives.
He only recognized those among the exceptional who were a cut above—a genius level that could be called monstrous.
And he called them 'Holy Blood' and treated them with great favor.
“Khahaha!”
At Demian's words, the Mercenary King burst into loud laughter.
“Right, you're correct! This body of mine doesn't care one bit about lesser rabble that's not Holy Blood! You know me well!”
Even though they were his blood relatives, the Mercenary King called them 'lesser rabble.'
Was it indifference toward his kin?
No, it was because his pride in his bloodline was too strong.
It was a pride with reason. The body of Mercenary King Cal Hopper coursed with dragon's blood.
Half-dragon, half-human. Or half-dragon.
Cal Hopper's mother had been an ordinary human, but his father was a dragon.
The reason Cal Hopper didn't age, and why all his blood relatives were geniuses, was precisely because dragon blood flowed through them.
“Still, thanks to that rabble, I learned about you. I hear you're a genius who reached High Class shortly after picking up a sword?”
From the moment Demian regressed until now, less than a year had passed.
In that time, it had become known that Demian had reached the High Class realm.
“Well, you must have been training with the sword before that. I know all about it.”
Of course, it was such an absurd story that quite a few, like the Mercenary King, didn't believe it.
“Either way, reaching High Class at your age is rare. I couldn't rest easy without seeing such an interesting fellow with my own eyes, so I personally came to the Kingdom of Apple.”
The Mercenary King was a figure with power comparable to a king of a nation—perhaps even greater.
Yet even with such a titan before him, Demian felt no particular emotion.
He had already met him in his previous life and killed him with his own hands.
“But you were nowhere to be found. I was going to wait one more week and leave, but then I heard you'd been spotted in the capital and rushed over.”
Demian clicked his tongue inwardly. He hadn't expected the Mercenary King to catch his trail just from stopping by the capital.
“I had my subordinates test you... but to think they couldn't even graze your clothes.”
The Mercenary King's gaze turned to the man and woman who had first attacked Demian.
While the two conversed, the pair had been treating their wounds with potions.
“Indeed, the rumors are true. You have astonishing talent. With that in mind...”
The Mercenary King's eyes gleamed faintly.
“How about being hired as a free knight in my mercenary band?”
* * *
Demian's face filled with doubt at the sudden proposal.
A free knight was a knight hired by another house to do work.
They were called free knights because they operated solely on employment contracts without oaths of loyalty.
Naturally, the Mercenary King had no need to hire free knights. His ranks overflowed with talent.
“Cynthia, see that? That's no ordinary look of surprise.”
The Mercenary King said to the woman holding the bow. She stroked the bowstring indifferently, as if uninterested.
“Why hire me as a free knight?”
“You fool, why else? Because I need your strength!”
The Mercenary King barked shortly. Then, grinning playfully, he continued.
“But it's not to borrow your power for some commission.”
“Then where do you plan to use my strength?”
“Lately, my blood relatives have been getting complacent, so I want to show them you.”
Upon hearing that, Demian immediately understood the Mercenary King's intentions.
He had heard about it before. The Mercenary King often invited so-called geniuses. To pit them against his Holy Blood.
At first listen, it sounded like the Mercenary King's consideration to teach his Holy Blood the breadth of the world.
But the reality was entirely different.
“You're trying to drag me into something nasty.”
The geniuses invited by the Mercenary King returned months later as broken wrecks.
Crushed by the overwhelming talent of the Holy Blood.
Those who bore dragon blood.
That was why, at some point, rumors spread widely to decline the Mercenary King's invitations.
“What, are you planning to chicken out in fear too?”
Demian let out a scoff at his provocation. The Mercenary King's eyebrow twitched at the laugh.
“You laugh?”
“How could I not? If you want to use me, don't resort to such low-level taunts— just pay the price.”
“......W-what?”
The unexpected response left the Mercenary King visibly flustered.
“If you offer compensation that satisfies me... sure, I'll take the job.”
In truth, the moment he heard the Mercenary King's words, Demian was inwardly thrilled.
To reach Master Class, Demian needed legendary spirit medicines.
The problem was that such spirit medicines were so rare that even national-level power couldn't easily obtain them.
‘But the Mercenary King is different. Commissions pour in from across the continent.’
To entrust work to the Mercenary King's mercenary band, one had to offer equally extraordinary rewards.
Among them were surely the spirit medicines Demian desired.
‘And the Mercenary King is obsessively fixated on collecting martial arts manuals. Staying by his side might let me obtain a decent mana cultivation method.’
To ascend to Master Class, Demian needed to create a core mana cultivation method.
But the ones he had acquired so far were so excellent that ordinary ones no longer satisfied him.
The Mercenary King's collection might be different. Items gathered by someone beyond Master Class wouldn't be commonplace.
‘Above all, to prepare for the War of Annihilation, I needed to visit there at least once.’
In the near future, the Mercenary King's forces would collapse. Not from external invasion, but internal division.
The culprits behind the division were Pandemonium. They exploited the Mercenary King's lecherous tendencies to incite conflict.
As a result, his mercenary band suffered massive losses from infighting.
‘Even with weakened forces, he wielded tremendous influence in the War of Annihilation.’
Wherever he appeared on the battlefield, he massacred tens of thousands of undead. Even legion commanders couldn't stop him.
In the end, Dorgo had no choice but to send Demian to kill the Mercenary King.
After fighting for over two days, Demian had stolen all of the Mercenary King's realms and techniques to claim victory.
“I need spirit medicines or spirit herbs. Not mediocre ones—ones that even High Class experts can benefit greatly from.”
At Demian's words, the Mercenary King said in disbelief.
“Look at this guy? Bargaining in front of me first? You've got some guts. You could've made it big as a mercenary.”
A sly smile slowly spread across the Mercenary King's lips.
“Fine. The capable deserve their pay. A mercenary can't break that rule. As payment for hiring you, I'll give you a Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng.”
Snow Ginseng was a mystical spirit herb native to polar regions.
Its effects varied by growth time, and especially the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng was legendary—the empire's founder had consumed it and reached Master Class.
“I'll pay more based on your future exploits. That enough for you?”
In truth, the Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng fell far short of what Demian wanted.
But he decided to bet on the additional payments the Mercenary King promised later.
Of course, he would ensure the Mercenary King had no choice but to provide Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng level medicines.
“Looking forward to working with you.”
Demian said, extending his hand. The Mercenary King let out a hollow chuckle.
“Arrogant to the end.”
The Mercenary King took Demian's hand as well. Unlike his youthful appearance, his palm was covered in thick calluses.
Moreover, the energy pulsing beneath his skin was no ordinary thing. It felt like lava boiling instead of blood.
‘I knew it already, but... impressive as expected.’
The Mercenary King was always mentioned when discussing humanity's strongest. With half his body filled with dragon blood, it was only natural.
‘......But now that I think about it, it pisses me off a bit.’
The Mercenary King's plan was ultimately to sacrifice Demian as fertilizer for his Holy Blood.
No matter the dragon blood, they were obviously far inferior to Demian.
“You'd better brace yourself. My kids aren't pushovers.”
At the Mercenary King's advice, Demian replied with a meaningful smile.
“No need to worry about that.”