Chapter 203: Unexpected Helper Part 1

The blade-like palms of the mercenary neared Damian's throat and it seemed as though it was going to be impossible to block it or dodge it without suffering an injury.

Damian had no choice but to put his arms up to block the final slash of the mercenaries life, however, it didn't pierce deeply into his arm and he suddenly sensed a familiar presence.

Along with that familiar presence, a pillar formed out of rock suddenly pierced upwards from the ground and struck the half-dead mercenary, sending him flying away from Adam and stopping him from being able to cut him any deeper.

[It can't be. Did Clay really save me?]

[Why the hell is he even here?!] exclaimed Damian within his mind, recognising the presence and the ability.

"Get up, I thought you were more capable than this," said Clay as he grabbed Damian's arm and pulled him up.

The mercenary's final bid to take down Damian with him had failed and he died soon after being pierced in the chest by Damian's Fire Spear.

[Maybe I should call it the killing spear from now on. It is the skill I have used to kill two people] thought Damian to himself sarcastically before turning to Clay with a shocked expression on his face.

Damian couldn't help but wonder whether Clay had some sort of ulterior motives, but he had saved him in the last moment and from the way he stood clearly intended to help Damian fight, so it was hard to find anything that made Clay seem bad.

"What are you doing here Clay? Don't get in our way. Even if you are more talented and valued than us, you still only come from a small noble house that can barely be called a noble family, so don't you dare think you can fight against us" exclaimed one of the royal academy students who had hired the Royal Mercenaries and previously used to serve under Clay.

"You were always a bad leader, and the only time that you actually followed through with one of the plans that the rest of us agreed on, you ended up sparing the enemy even after he killed one of our men. Now you stand beside him as if you are friends" said the other.

"I am not friends with this guy, but I respect him as a future rival and I also despise people like you. People who are given everything in life, and yet are still weak and rely on using connections, status or wealth to deal with their issues. All you can do is rely on others and underhanded methods to increase your cultivation or get things done, but you will never become truly strong or someone that I respect" stated Clay.

"I led you guys because I was forced into the position and I was even tainted by your evil intentions to steal from an injured cultivator. The world is cruel, but it doesn't mean that I have to be and luckily, he was able to fight back and earned my respect. I knew you guys would come after him, unable to swallow your pride or fight honourably, so I came back and will fight you guys off on his side" declared Clay.

Clay seemed so evil and despicable to Damian while he was threatening him and trying to steal from him, however when he thought about it, Clay didn't put in much effort when it came to fighting against him and Kong.

He also seemed bored and uninterested the entire time that he saw him, while the spirit of Clay's Innate Ability said to Damian that Clay wasn't much different from him.

"I don't usually say this to anyone and I only bow down and submit to my parents, but I must apologise to you" 

Hearing those words come out of his mouth, the mercenaries, Damian himself and the royal academy students were all greatly shocked.

Clay's noble family was one of the smallest and weakest one's, that only had a few descendants and was made up of trash and waste, and could barely be considered a noble family with their low power and wealth.

His father was the head of the family and his mother had died while giving birth to him and although compared to those that lived in small villages and poverty, in the city, he was pretty average and below all nobles in terms of wealth and status.

He always wanted to make his father proud and his father was a great man that was once a great talent that shook the Royal Academy, however, he offended too many nobles and without a large enough backing, he was crippled along with most of his family being crushed.

It was all through underhanded means and his father was someone that taught him to always uphold his honour and righteousness, which was why he detested those that would resort to hiring mercenaries over a persona grudge.

His father taught him that a real man and a warrior would always stick to their ideals and morals and would also never give up, but also not to abuse one's power and situation.

Those teaching stuck with Clay, but ever since his father died, Clay was starting to stray from those teachings and began acting more like the other nobles, believing that his father's methods were unrealistic and only caused him more trouble.

However, he never strayed too far from them and his aim had always been to make his deceased father proud by becoming a great noble and leading their family to greatness.

The only thing that had changed was the methods that he was planning to use to reach such an aim, and he even submitted to an elder of the royal academy and began hanging around the nobles his age, who would flock around him because of his talent and value to the academy.

His father told him never to be a sheep and follow the crowd, especially if it was one that didn't match his ethics and to never submit to others and use underhanded means, and yet he had started doing all of those things.

He felt that even though his progress seemed greater than before, that it wasn't fulfilling and that he was empty inside.

That all changed after seeing how hard Damian fought for himself, what he believed in and never giving up.