Every person who had the chance to meet the Mercenary King, Karl Hopper, was left utterly astounded.
The world knew Karl Hopper to be seventy years old.
Yet, in reality, he appeared as a young boy.
While it was said that those who reached the pinnacle of magical power could regain their youth, Karl Hopper’s youthful appearance had nothing to do with that.
It was a secret tied to his bloodline.
“I am Karl Hopper, better known as the Mercenary King.”
Karl Hopper spoke with his hands clasped behind his back. Despite his youthful face, his demeanor was unmistakably that of an old man.
At first glance, it seemed almost comical. He appeared so defenseless, it was easy to underestimate him.
But Damian knew all too well that such feelings were mere illusions.
Karl Hopper was a force beyond the master class. There were fewer than five people in the world who could even dream of defeating him.
“Ah, you hear my name and yet show no surprise. Is it courage you have, or are you simply a fool?”
“What brings the Mercenary King to this place?”
Damian asked as he sheathed his sword. The Mercenary King looked at him with an amused expression.
“Look at this one, playing innocent. Didn’t you sully my name recently?”
Indeed, he had.
A few weeks ago, due to an incident involving his sister Louise’s fiancé, Damian had crossed swords with the Mercenary King’s granddaughter.
In that battle, he had emerged victorious, severing both her wrists.
“I did, but I doubt that’s why you’ve come to see me.”
“Oh? And what makes you say such a thing? Do you think I won’t take your head right here to make you see reason?”
“You’re not the type to be bothered by a slight against a non-sacred bloodline.”
The Mercenary King was immensely proud of his lineage.
And rightly so. Every one of his children was exceptionally talented.
Yet, he did not recognize them all as true kin.
Only those who were extraordinary even among the exceptional, those who could be called monsters, were acknowledged.
He referred to them as the “Sacred Blood” and held them in high esteem.
“Hahaha!”
The Mercenary King laughed heartily at Damian’s words.
“You’re right! I don’t care a whit for those who aren’t of the Sacred Blood! You know me well!”
Despite being his own kin, he dismissed them as “trivial.”
Was it indifference?
No, it was because his pride in his bloodline was overwhelming.
And with good reason. The blood of dragons flowed through Karl Hopper’s veins.
Half-dragon, half-human, or a half-dragon.
Karl Hopper’s mother was an ordinary human, but his father was a dragon.
His agelessness and the genius of his descendants were all due to the dragon’s blood.
“Still, thanks to that trivial matter, I’ve come to know about you. They say you’re a genius who reached high class not long after picking up a sword.”
Less than a year had passed since Damian’s return.
In that time, he had become known for reaching the high class.
“Well, you must have been training long before that. I know.”
Of course, many, like the Mercenary King, found it hard to believe.
“Regardless, reaching high class at your age is rare. I couldn’t resist seeing such an interesting fellow for myself, so I came to the Kingdom of Apple.”
The Mercenary King wielded power akin to, or perhaps greater than, that of a king.
Despite such a figure seeking him out, Damian felt no particular emotion.
He had met him in a past life and had even killed him with his own hands.
“But you were nowhere to be found. I was about to leave after waiting a week, but fortunately, I heard you were in the capital and came running.”
Damian clicked his tongue inwardly. He hadn’t expected to be tracked down by the Mercenary King just because he visited the capital.
“I had my subordinates attack you to test you… but to think they couldn’t even touch your clothes.”
The Mercenary King’s gaze shifted to the man and woman who had initially attacked Damian.
While the two conversed, the pair were treating their wounds with potions.
“The rumors weren’t unfounded. You have remarkable talent. With that in mind…”
The Mercenary King’s eyes gleamed slightly.
“Would you consider joining my mercenary band as a free knight?”
Damian’s face showed confusion at the unexpected offer.
A free knight was a knight hired by a family to perform tasks.
They were called free knights because they didn’t swear loyalty but were bound by a contract.
Naturally, the Mercenary King had no need to hire free knights. His ranks were overflowing with talent.
“Did you see that, Cynthia? That’s quite the surprised face.”
The Mercenary King spoke to the woman with the bow. She seemed uninterested, merely caressing her bowstring.
“Why would you want to hire me as a free knight?”
“Why else, you fool! Because I need your strength!”
The Mercenary King barked shortly, then grinned mischievously.
“But it’s not to hire you for a mission.”
“Then what do you intend to use my strength for?”
“Recently, my kin have grown complacent. I want to show them someone like you.”
At those words, Damian realized the Mercenary King’s true intentions.
He had heard before that the Mercenary King often invited so-called geniuses. It was to pit them against the Sacred Blood.
At first glance, it seemed like the Mercenary King was trying to show the Sacred Blood the vastness of the world.
But the reality was quite different.
“You want to involve me in something rather unpleasant.”
The geniuses invited by the Mercenary King returned as broken shells a few months later.
The Sacred Blood.
They were crushed by the overwhelming talent of those with dragon’s blood.
So, it became widely known to refuse the Mercenary King’s invitations.
“What, are you scared and thinking of running away?”
Damian chuckled at his provocation. The Mercenary King’s eyebrow twitched at the laugh.
“You’re laughing?”
“How can I not? If you want to use me, don’t resort to such low-level provocations. Pay me what I’m worth.”
”…What?”
The Mercenary King looked genuinely taken aback.
“If you offer me a reward that satisfies me… I’ll consider being hired.”
In truth, Damian was secretly thrilled by the Mercenary King’s words.
To reach the master class, Damian needed a legendary elixir.
The problem was that such elixirs were so rare that even a nation couldn’t easily obtain them.
“But the Mercenary King is different. He’s a figure to whom requests pour in from across the continent.”
To hire the Mercenary King’s mercenaries, one had to offer something extraordinary as compensation.
Among those, there was bound to be the elixir Damian sought.
“Moreover, the Mercenary King is obsessed with collecting martial arts manuals. Being around him might yield a decent mana cultivation technique.”
To reach the master class, Damian needed to create a core mana cultivation technique.
But what he had gathered so far was so excellent that ordinary techniques didn’t satisfy him.
However, the items collected by the Mercenary King might be different. If they were worthy of a man who surpassed the master class, they wouldn’t be ordinary.
“Above all, I needed to visit him at least once to prepare for the impending war.”
In the near future, the Mercenary King’s forces would crumble. Not due to external invasion, but internal division.
The ones who orchestrated the division were Pandemonium. They exploited the Mercenary King’s womanizing tendencies to incite conflict.
This internal strife significantly reduced the size of the Mercenary King’s mercenary band.
“Even with weakened forces, he had a tremendous impact during the war.”
Whenever he appeared on the battlefield, he slaughtered thousands of undead. Even the commanders couldn’t stop him.
In the end, Dorgo had no choice but to send Damian to kill the Mercenary King.
After fighting for over two days, Damian managed to steal all of the Mercenary King’s techniques and skills, securing victory.
“I need elixirs or rare herbs. Not just any, but ones that would greatly benefit even a high class.”
The Mercenary King looked incredulous at Damian’s words.
“Look at this one, naming his price in front of me? You’ve got guts. You would’ve made a great mercenary.”
A sly smile slowly spread across the Mercenary King’s face.
“Alright, a capable person deserves their due. A mercenary mustn’t break such a rule. As payment for hiring you, I’ll give you a Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng.”
Snow Ginseng was a mystical herb that grew in polar regions.
Its efficacy varied with its age, and the legend said that the founder of the empire reached the master class after consuming a Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng.
“Depending on your future performance, I’ll pay you more. Is that sufficient?”
In truth, the Hundred-Year Snow Ginseng was far from the elixir Damian desired.
But he decided to place his hopes on the future rewards the Mercenary King promised.
Of course, he would ensure that the Mercenary King had no choice but to provide the rare elixir of the Eternal Snow Ginseng.
“I look forward to working with you,” Demian said, extending his hand. The Mercenary King let out a dry chuckle.
“Still as audacious as ever, I see.”
The Mercenary King took Demian’s hand. Despite his youthful appearance, Demian’s palm was rough with calluses.
Moreover, the energy emanating from the Mercenary King’s skin was anything but ordinary. It felt as if molten lava coursed through his veins instead of blood.
‘I knew it already, but… he’s truly remarkable.’
The Mercenary King was always mentioned when discussing the strongest among humanity. It was only natural, given that dragon’s blood flowed through half of his body.
’…But now that I think about it, it’s a bit unsettling.’
The Mercenary King’s actions ultimately meant using Demian as a sacrificial pawn to nourish the sacred bloodlines.
Even with dragon’s blood, he was clearly no match for Demian.
“You’d better be prepared. My men aren’t to be underestimated,” the Mercenary King advised.
Demian responded with a knowing smile. “You needn’t worry about that.”