ALL NOVEL
Chapter 74
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]
Chapter 74: The Treasure Hunt (2)
***
The image that Damien had of Juan David could be summarized in one word.
Benefactor.
The time when he was chased out of his family and became a beggar and wandered around.
Damien first became aware of his talent by knocking down more than ten ruffians with a rusty dagger he happened to pick up by chance.
Damien went to the mercenary hiring hall to settle his life. At that time, the only job that came to mind when he could eat and live with a sword was a mercenary.
But no mercenary would accept a beggar like Damien. Even if Damien begged to see his skills, he was ignored.
-Young friend, where are you going to show your skills?
The only person who did not mistreat Damien was Juan David.
-…Wow, your skill with a sword is quite good and different from what I’d expect at first glance.
-If you have this level of skill, you won’t die anywhere. Congratulations on joining our mercenary corps.
As soon as Juan David confirmed that the skill was real, he hired Damien.
-First, I have to wash off all the dirt over you with water.
Juan David used his own money to rent a bathroom for Damien and buy him new clothes.
So Damien joined Juan David’s mercenary corps.
After that, there were only pleasant memories.
He became friends with other members while training.
In a crisis, he gained recognition from his colleagues by playing a big role.
He was recognized for his ability and learned swordsmanship and mana cultivation techniques from Juan David.
He gained the trust of everyone by preventing the mercenary corps from being wiped out by a knight’s attack.
To Damien, the mercenary corps was nothing more than another family. He thought he could do anything with them.
Until everything collapses when he meets Dorugo.
‘Was Juan in the Longhost Mountains at this time?’
Damien didn’t know everything about Juan.
He didn’t know much about what Juan and his mercenaries had done before he joined them.
“Here.”
It was strange that Damien didn’t say anything. Juan David shook his hand in front of his nose.
“Don’t think I’m the only one who looks bad. The members under me are all skilled.”
Juan David’s habit of saying this was the same as in his previous life. He always put his members before himself.
“I want to decide after seeing the members.”
“Follow me. Everyone is gathered here.”
Juan David took Damien to a corner of the hiring hall.
Five men were sitting at two tables.
“Hey, you guys, can’t you get up right away? He might be our employer.”
At Juan’s words, the five got up from their seats.
They looked immature in their actions, but their eyes were clear and their bodies were well-trained.
“From left to right, Bread, Bolt, Fish, Leg, and Bob.”
[TL/N- I know guys, these are not names of human beings from any angle. But we can’t change the context of the story.]
Even if Juan David didn’t say it, Damien knew all five names.
How could he not know? They were comrades who had been together for over a year.
“I guarantee the skills. …Bob is still a rookie. But he’s big enough to be useful.”
Bob was the biggest of the group. His eyes were very big but so he looked innocent.
In his previous life, he was the one who called Damien his brother and followed him around.
“I like it. I’ll hire you.”
“You won’t regret it. The hiring fee is….”
“I’ll pay one gold coin per person.”
Juan David was surprised at Damien’s words.
“Wait a minute… Do you not know the market price? We’re just bronze mercenaries. Even one silver coin per person is too much!”
Damien held back the laughter that was about to burst out.
If the employer is immature, he will take advantage of it. He’s just saying it straight.
In his previous life, Juan was a foolish human who couldn’t even take care of his own rice bowl in the mercenary world.
So he often got scolded by other mercenaries and even by his own members.
The only reason the members were working with Juan was because of his immature personality.
“I know how much mercenaries are worth. I raised the request fee as a sign of good faith, so you don’t have to worry.”
“Even so, one gold coin per person….”
“If you do a good job guiding me, I’ll pay two gold coins.”
The reason Damien was so generous with the request fee was because of past connections.
Of course, this also included the fact that they were trustworthy individuals.
Anyway, Damien’s spatial ring was already filled with rewards from the Duke. This level of spending wouldn’t even make a dent.
“Don’t worry about guiding the way. We’re confident in it.”
Juan David said with a proud face.
Even in his previous life, Juan was not a liar, even though he was a coward.
“Then it’s better to make a specific plan. When are you planning to go up the mountain in a few days? Tell me which area you plan to explore….” “Wait a minute, Juan, something happened while I was gone?”
At that moment, a group of mercenaries walked towards where Damien was.
All eight of them had a strong smell of blood. It meant they had killed a lot of people.
“Hey, if you hire those fuckers, you might get killed in the mountains. Why don’t you just hire us?”
A man with dirty blond hair reached out to Damien.
“Griffin! What are you doing!”
“What am I doing? I’m just introducing better mercenaries to the customer who offered one gold coin.”
Griffin said with a shameless attitude.
“If you’re looking for someone to guide you through the Longhost Mountains, we’re the perfect fit. We’re familiar with the geography of the Longhost Mountains and we’re also friendly with the people there.”
Griffin said confidently.
“Instead of them, hire us. It will be better for you.”
“This motherfucker!”
Juan grabbed Griffin by the collar.
Griffin’s men put their hands on their weapons. Juan’s men also stepped back and raised their weapons.
There was a tense atmosphere between the two mercenary groups.
“Juan, don’t be too arrogant. Do you want to die?”
Griffin said in a condescending tone. Juan pushed Griffin aside and shouted.
“Come out right now! Don’t let this opportunity pass!”
At Juan David’s shout, Griffin backed down.
“Good. Should we go in for a reorganization during this opportunity?”
The two mercenary groups went outside. Soon, the sounds of fighting came one after another.
The chaos didn’t last long. When it was quiet outside, Damien went out.
“Ugh, ugh….”
“Ugh….”
Juan and his men were lying on the ground, groaning.
“Where did these weaklings come from?”
Griffin spat on the ground.
Griffin and his men were all fine. There was no sign of being hit.
‘Looking back, it’s pathetic.’
Damien could only smile bitterly at the skills of Juan’s mercenaries.
Now that he thought about it, Juan’s mercenary corps wasn’t that good at fighting.
Thanks to Juan’s training as a knight, the physical abilities of each individual were quite high.
But because they were all naturally not good at fighting, they didn’t make much of an impact on any mission they were assigned.
In contrast, Griffin’s mercenary group was full of fighters.
Not only were their personalities rough, but they also had no qualms about using violence.
“You see? How weak these guys are.”
Griffin said, looking at Damien.
“You’re lucky. We met before you signed a contract with these assholes. Shall we go write the contract? Since we’re high-quality mercenaries, you should pay more than one gold coin….”
“It’s not necessary. I don’t plan to contract with you.”
Damien said flatly causing Griffin to frown.
“That’s nonsense. We won. Don’t you see?”
“I never said I would contract with the winning side. You fought on your own.”
Originally, Damien wasn’t hiring mercenaries because of a lack of power.
He just needed a guide to navigate the Longhost Mountains.
“It seems like this nobleman doesn’t understand the situation right now….”
Griffin approached Damien, muttering.
“Am I asking for a favor right now? I’m asking you to contract with our mercenary corps. Otherwise, it won’t be fun….”
Griffin’s words stopped abruptly. It was because of the blade under his neck.
Suddenly, Damien was holding a knife to Griffin’s neck.
“This guy is crazy!”
“What are you doing to the leader!”
Griffin’s men cursed. When Griffin raised his hand, his men closed their mouths.
“Now that I think about it, you’re quite talented. But if you’re going to boast about your swordsmanship skills like this, you’ll regret it….”
Damien lifted the sword. The surface of the sword was covered with aura.
The aura touched Griffin’s skin, and blood began to flow from his neck.
“O, oh, aura?”
Griffin’s attitude, which had been relaxed all along turned grim. His face turned pale, and he began to tremble all over.
“Do you understand the situation now?”
If Damien were in a position similar to Juan’s, he could kill all the mercenaries here without any problems.
Damien was a nobleman and a powerhouse as a middle-class knight.
But now Damien was hiding his identity. There was nothing good about attracting people’s attention.
Above all, Damien was very happy to meet Juan and his men.
“You lucky guys. I’ll let you live, so get out of here right now.”
Saying that, Damien raised his knife. Griffin and the mercenaries ran away.
After they left, Damien spoke to Juan.
“Let’s go write the contract. The conditions are the same. One gold coin per person.”
“Why did you choose us?”
Juan asked with a face that couldn’t understand at all.
“You seemed more trustworthy.”
Damien was now heading to the secret warehouse of the dark mages. It was natural to hire someone who was tight-lipped.
He knew well from working together in his previous life. Juan was a very tight-lipped man.
Even if he didn’t know Juan, he would have made the same choice.
The mercenary group led by Griffin was too shady to hire. They were not to be trusted at all.
Mercenaries are basically fierce and rough people. There were often cases where they were not much different from thieves. Many mercenary groups threatened clients and took more money.
“Ha… You have a good eye for people. The bad rumors about those guys are huge.”
Juan stood up and asked.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t even know the employer’s name. What’s your name?”
Damien thought for a moment.
Since he couldn’t use his real name, he needed a suitable alias.
“They call me Victor.”
Juan nodded.
“Victor, I’ll count on you from now on.”
***
[Translator – Kie]
[Proofreader – Kawaii]