The Immortal Genius Spearman

Chapter 158

“Lady Kiaran, may I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

Kiaran tilted her head as she looked at Edmund, who had approached her suddenly.

Edmund asked, “You deployed forces to the Tirkan Kingdom but allowed the Caion Unit to operate independently. Was it because they are an independent unit?”

The Caion Unit reported directly to the 6th Corps, and within the corps, only Kiaran had the authority to issue commands to them.

However, their numbers totaled just 300—hardly sufficient for any significant mission. Most would expect a minimum of 1,000 soldiers for a proper operation.

Yet Kiaran had granted the Caion Unit the authority to execute fully independent operations.

Kiaran smiled faintly at Edmund’s question.

“So, that’s why you’ve been brooding with such a serious expression all this time.”

“…I wasn’t brooding.”

“What are you talking about? You were whining like a dog about to take a dump. You should’ve asked earlier—it’s nothing complicated.”

“…Regardless, what is the reason?”

“There’s no big reason. It’s simply because they’re strongest when they’re on their own.”

“What? But they’re just 300 people.”

“They’re not ‘just’ 300 people. They’re a whole 300 people.”

Kiaran recalled the report she had received from Leonhark not long ago.

The reason she had been astonished when she first saw Damian and the Caion Unit was precisely because of that report.

“Do you know what assessment Leonhark gave of the Caion Unit’s combat power in his report to me?”

“…I’m not sure.”

“He said that excluding Damian, the combat strength of those 300 soldiers is comparable to one of the top ten knight orders of the kingdom.”

“What? The top ten knight orders…?”

Knight orders typically consisted of around 100 members.

But knights were elite soldiers who had received support and rigorous training since childhood.

Compared to standard infantry units, the combat power of a knight order was generally considered tenfold.

Yet Kiaran was saying that the Caion Unit, a mere infantry unit, had combat strength comparable to the top ten knight orders of the kingdom?

This was a monumental claim.

To put it bluntly, it meant that three members of the Caion Unit were as skilled as one knight from the top ten orders.

“That’s ridiculous!”

“I’m not finished yet.”

Kiaran’s quiet tone cut through Edmund’s exclamation, prompting him to bow his head apologetically.

“…My apologies.”

“I mentioned that this was the assessment of the Caion Unit excluding Damian.”

“….”

Edmund fell silent.

That qualifier was so absurd that he couldn’t even begin to speculate.

Kiaran continued, her voice calm but firm.

“Damian’s presence makes it impossible to accurately estimate the unit’s strength. But if we were to speculate…”

Kiaran’s gaze turned sharp, her expression almost chilling.

“It’s believed their strength could rival even the top-tier knight orders among the kingdom’s top ten.”

“…Leonhark said that?”

“Yes.”

Leonhark, renowned for his strict evaluations of soldiers’ training and combat ability, had given such a high appraisal.

If anything, that suggested the reality might be even more impressive.

‘If his evaluation is accurate, then their strength could be far beyond what’s written in the report…’

Edmund swallowed nervously, his throat dry.

If such an assessment was true, Kiaran’s decision to give the Caion Unit independent operational authority made perfect sense.

“Heh, surprised?”

“Yes, very surprised.”

Kiaran chuckled at Edmund’s stunned expression but soon turned serious.

“When I saw the Caion Unit after reading that report… I thought the contents might actually be true.”

Their eyes, their presence…

And above all, the transformation in Damian, so profound that even Kiaran could barely measure it…

‘What in the world did Duke Hainel put them through?’

The change was nothing short of astonishing.

And that transformation was a blessing for the kingdom.

Kiaran addressed Edmund once more.

“Rather than worrying about them…”

Swoosh.

Kiaran turned her gaze eastward.

“…It might be better to pray for the souls of those who have to fight them.”

***

Boom!

“Aagh!”

“E-enemy attack! We’re under attack!”

A shadow emerged suddenly from the side, and three or four soldiers were sent flying, rolling across the ground.

Their formation collapsed in an instant.

The area had already been scouted by the reconnaissance team.

‘So that means he came from up there all the way to here…’

‘He covered that distance, and no one noticed?’

‘How fast is he moving?’

As the left flank collapsed and their formation broke, the imperial soldiers turned to face the enemy who had appeared before them.

“Hah…”

Damian exhaled briefly, drawing in mana.

The spear in his hand began to vibrate faintly, emitting a blue aura.

Fwoosh!

Kicking off the ground, Damian charged straight at them.

The imperial soldiers with shields at the front rushed to intercept him.

Swish.

Damian calmly drew back his arm, spear in hand.

Whoosh!

With a swift thrust, he aimed his spear at the charging soldiers.

Boom!

“Aaargh!”

“Uwaaaaaah!”

Damian’s spear was like a moving siege weapon.

The imperial soldiers tried to block the attack with their shields, but it was a futile effort.

“Gaaah! My arm!”

The spear pierced through a shield, drilling into the arm of the soldier holding it.

The soldier screamed as his severed arm fell to the ground.

But no one could come to his aid.

The first priority was stopping Damian, who was rampaging like a beast before their eyes.

However—

“You can’t stop me with just this.”

Damian assessed the situation with chilling precision.

He noticed a newfound clarity in his vision.

He could clearly see the movements of the imperial soldiers trying to encircle him.

Kicking off the ground, Damian leapt to the right.

Thud!

The imperial soldiers’ attempts to form a siege were slow—too slow to catch Damian.

No, in truth, Damian was simply too fast.

In an instant, Damian shifted to the right flank, extending his spear toward the soldiers.

“W-what?!”

“Gah!”

In an instant, the imperial soldiers froze in shock as Damian’s spear extended toward them with incredible speed.

But

“Haahhh!”

Damian gripped his spear with both hands and swung it mightily, pouring all his mana into the motion.

At that moment, immense power coursed through the spear shaft.

“Aaaaagh!”

“Nooo!”

It was as if a broom had swept them away—dozens of soldiers were flung to the ground like scattered leaves.

Boom, boom, boom!

The soldiers’ formation was completely shattered as they tumbled helplessly to the dirt.

The soldiers, stunned by Damian’s overwhelming strength, looked up at him from the ground.

And then.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk-thunk!

Damian’s spear lashed out again at terrifying speed, ruthlessly skewering the heads of the fallen imperial soldiers.

Before they could even comprehend their deaths, the soldiers who had been trying to rise met their end.

“Get up! Quickly!”

“Raise your shields! Block his spear!”

They couldn’t even consider counterattacking.

But no matter how frantically they struggled, nothing changed.

From the moment Damian mastered aura, his physical capabilities had transcended that of ordinary humans.

His spear thrusts resembled the devastating bolts fired by siege ballista.

Boom!

Each strike of his spear shaft carried the weight of a boulder launched from a catapult.

In mere moments, more than a hundred soldiers lay dead.

“Everyone, stand aside!”

A thunderous roar erupted from the rear, echoing like the cry of a feral beast.

Galveron surged forward, launching himself toward Damian.

“You wretch!”

Galveron’s body crackled with surging mana as he leapt into the air.

Damian, however, didn’t retreat.

Boom!

Instead, he launched himself toward Galveron, intercepting the attack head-on.

KABOOM!

The clash unleashed a massive shockwave that rippled outward, shaking the area.

“Arghhh!”

“Fall back! Everyone, retreat!”

The officers urgently shouted at the soldiers.

Though it was unclear who this opponent was…

‘Did he… block Lord Galveron’s attack?’

‘How powerful must his aura be to match Galveron’s…?’

It was immediately apparent that this was no ordinary foe.

When two such beings wielding immense aura clashed, even the shockwaves alone could devastate ordinary soldiers who couldn’t wield aura themselves.

“Those who cannot handle aura, fall back immediately!”

Heeding the officers’ orders, the soldiers hastily widened the distance between themselves and the battle.

But Damian didn’t let them escape so easily.

“Oh no, you don’t.”

Instead, he launched himself toward the retreating soldiers, hounding them relentlessly.

Galveron’s eyes gleamed with fury at the sight.

“How dare you…!”

Ignoring him while he stood right there?

Galveron’s aura flared with murderous intent as he summoned a massive black serpent of energy that began to coil around him.

But before he could unleash it—

“If you do that, your own soldiers will all die too.”

“...!”

Damian’s mocking voice, laced with amusement, made Galveron’s expression contort with rage.

He was right. If Galveron unleashed his aura here, with so many of his own men nearby, the devastation would be catastrophic.

“You insolent…”

The reason Damian persistently harassed the soldiers, even at great risk, was clear.

‘He’s trying to suppress my use of aura.’

Galveron grudgingly admitted the brilliance of the strategy. But even so…

“It changes nothing.”

An Aura Master’s power was on an entirely different level from ordinary knights.

Not only their raw physical capabilities but the sheer dominance of their mana was unparalleled.

Galveron’s eyes blazed as he charged toward Damian.

But then—

“Hyaahhh!”

“Slaughter the imperial forces!”

“Crush them all!”

A deafening roar came from the rear.

Galveron, startled, glanced back over his shoulder.

‘A diversion?’

Had the enemy deliberately drawn him forward to launch an attack on their rear?

Galveron’s pupils dilated in realization.

Damian smirked at the sight.

“You’ve figured it out. That’s exactly what it is.”

“...Madman.”

Galveron was unsure how much damage this sudden attack could inflict.

But Damian’s next words were chillingly certain.

“I’ll tell you one thing for sure.”

“What is it?”

“That you’ll die here.”

Galveron declared Damian’s death sentence in return.

“Officers, move to the rear and annihilate the enemy forces! Their numbers are small!”

Even in an ambush, the terrain wouldn’t allow for thousands of soldiers to hide. At most, the enemy likely had around five hundred troops.

While the ambush might cause some initial chaos, they wouldn’t last long against superior numbers.

‘I’ll kill this bastard quickly and then head to the rear.’

Grinding his teeth, Galveron glared at Damian.

But then—

“You think it’ll be that easy?”

“…!”

A strange energy began to emanate from Damian.

The soldiers in the distance and even Galveron himself paused as the energy gathered, coalescing into a distinct form in the air.

“Impossible…”

For the first time, a flicker of unease crossed Galveron’s face.

Hovering above Damian was the fully-formed image of a mounted general.

“An Aura Master…?”