The Immortal Genius Spearman

Chapter 160

BOOOOOOM!

The tremendous shockwave.

The Caion Unit, engaged in fierce combat at the rear, froze as the entire forest trembled with vibrations.

“What… is this…?”

At the forefront, Dianal lifted his head toward the direction of the sound.

It came from where Damian was.

“Everyone retreat! Get out of here now!”

Slash!

After cutting down the imperial soldier before him, Dianal shouted loudly.

Fweeeeeeeeee!

A piercing whistle signaling retreat echoed across the battlefield.

“Retreat! Retreat!”

“Move to the rendezvous point! All units, fall back!”

At the commands of their squad leaders, the Caion soldiers swiftly began to flee.

The reason was clear: Damian’s orders before the operation began.

―Listen carefully. There will probably be one moment… when an enormous shockwave erupts as I clash with him. That will be your signal. Leave the area with the unit immediately.

At the time, Dianal hadn’t fully understood what Damian meant.

What kind of shockwave could possibly require such precautions?

But now, having experienced it firsthand, Dianal understood at a glance.

‘This…’

As someone who had reached a certain level of mastery over mana, he knew.

No matter how powerful someone was, mana-infused collisions couldn’t generate such overwhelming shockwaves.

This could mean only one thing.

‘Damian… has reached the level of an Aura Master.’

Dianal had known that Damian had changed since his return.

But he had never imagined the gap between them had grown so vast.

‘I thought I had barely closed the distance by a single step…’

But this wasn’t just a two-step gap—it was a chasm of at least ten strides, if not more.

As Dianal retreated with the unit, he cast a complicated glance in the direction where Damian was.

But he quickly turned to face his soldiers.

“Our mission here is complete. Withdraw from the battlefield immediately.”

“Yes, sir!”

The imperial army had suffered tremendous losses at the hands of the Caion Unit.

However, the enemy’s numbers still far exceeded theirs.

If the battle dragged on any longer, the risk of being surrounded would become a dire threat.

Thanks to the timely shockwave, retreating wasn’t difficult.

As the Caion Unit moved swiftly to withdraw—

‘...Well done, Dianal.’

Damian’s sharp eyes remained fixed on Galveron.

Both of them looked worse for wear.

One single clash of aura.

Yet that clash had left both of them significantly injured.

No—objectively, Damian had taken the worse of the damage.

‘I’m dying here.’

His insides churned, and it felt like he could vomit at any moment.

Suppressing the bile rising to his throat, Damian kept his eyes on Galveron.

“You damned bastard…!”

Galveron glared at Damian with a ferocity that suggested he wanted to devour him whole.

But even Galveron wasn’t unscathed. The aura clash had left him far from his peak condition.

Swoosh.

Damian took a cautious step back.

Fighting any further was beyond his limits.

‘If he uses his aura one more time…’

There would be no way to defend against it.

The earlier aura clash had already inflicted severe casualties among the imperial soldiers, leaving many dead or gravely injured.

Including the rear units, it was likely that the losses here alone exceeded a thousand.

The objective had been accomplished.

‘…Time to retreat.’

There was nothing more to gain by staying here and facing Galveron.

If anything, the longer he stayed, the more likely he would lose.

The toll of using his aura had drained Damian’s mana to its lowest ebb, leaving his body wracked with pain as though his muscles had been pushed beyond their limits.

Whoosh!

Making his decision, Damian turned and fled without looking back.

Vrrrm!

Focusing his remaining mana into his legs, Damian moved at a speed that was almost impossible to follow.

“You damned cur!”

Galveron roared as Damian disappeared into the distance.

But

“Damn it…!”

With his injured leg, chasing Damian was out of the question. Even if he could give chase, now was not the time.

“…”

Galveron surveyed the battlefield.

The damage inflicted by the enemy’s attack was staggering.

Though the exact numbers were unclear, it was safe to assume that over a thousand had been killed or incapacitated.

“…I lost.”

He muttered the words, disbelieving even as he said them.

It wasn’t just a defeat—it was a complete and humiliating failure.

Staring in the direction Damian had fled, Galveron let out a heavy sigh.

Since attaining the level of an Aura Master, he had never suffered such a decisive loss.

He’d experienced battles with minor successes or setbacks, but…

‘This… this is humiliation.’

A situation so absurd it defied belief.

Galveron bit his lip hard enough to draw blood.

Where had it all gone wrong?

Had the enemy’s low numbers been a deliberate ploy to lure him here?

No, there had been too many coincidental factors for such a strategy to be premeditated.

Did that mean the outcome would have been the same no matter where he went?

‘No, that doesn’t make sense either.’

The reason for this failure was singular and clear.

The emergence of the Baroque Kingdom’s third Aura Master.

And this event would send shockwaves through the empire, shaking the foundations of their plans.

‘I must report this to the empire immediately.’

That was the most urgent priority.

Galveron turned to the wounded soldiers around him and shouted.

“Reform ranks! All severely injured personnel, move to the left!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Understood!”

The soldiers, still reeling from the chaos, moved sluggishly, their exhaustion evident.

Who could blame them?

They had just endured the clash of two Aura Masters—a force so overwhelming that merely surviving was a feat.

Though the soldiers hurried to obey, their movements were slower than usual.

They also had to separate the injured, which only compounded the difficulty.

The terrain offered little space, adding to their troubles.

Despite having an Aura Master like Galveron with them, they were still in enemy territory.

There was no telling when the retreating enemy might regroup and launch another attack.

As the soldiers worked to reorganize, Galveron issued further orders.

“Some of you will stay here to treat the injured and remain hidden.”

“And where will the main force go?”

"First, we return to imperial territory," Galveron declared firmly. "Once we’ve regrouped and reorganized, we’ll come back here."

At these words, the soldiers in the group of wounded couldn’t hide their dark expressions.

Though Galveron spoke of returning, it was hard to shake the feeling that they were being abandoned.

The mood quickly turned somber.

However, staying in this location any longer wasn’t an option.

“Move out! We must return to the empire as quickly as possible and report the situation!”

“Yes, sir!”

Galveron began leading his soldiers northward.

‘The Baroque Kingdom’s third Aura Master…’

Right now, the most urgent task was to report his existence.

If, by any chance, this Aura Master joined the coalition forces advancing toward the empire…

‘The empire itself could be at risk.’

Galveron, more than anyone, understood the devastating threat posed by an Aura Master.

His mere presence in battle was a disaster for his enemies.

And now, that same disaster had appeared on the opposing side.

“Hurry up!”

“Yes, sir!”

Galveron urged his men to move quickly, aiming to leave the mountains behind.

However, unseen eyes were closely observing his retreating force.

***

The Caion Unit had gathered at a nearby designated location after the battle, taking refuge.

“Phew! I thought I was going to die…”

“Ugh, someone give me some of that herbal paste. Damn it… A spear grazed me earlier.”

One soldier grimaced as he examined the torn flesh of his wound.

Another soldier quickly crushed some herbs with a rock and carefully applied the paste to the injury.

“Gahh!”

The burning sting from disinfecting the wound made the injured soldier wince.

Cleaning the wound was essential to prevent infection, but the pain was unbearable nonetheless.

“Jerka, post a few sentries nearby. The rest of the unit should rest,” Dianal instructed.

“Yes, sir.”

“Make sure anyone with injuries disinfects them immediately. If it festers later, it’ll be a nightmare to deal with.”

The entire unit was exhausted.

Even so, Dianal moved among them, encouraging his troops.

“You all did amazing today. Thank you for fighting so well with minimal injuries.”

“Haha, everyone knows you fought the hardest, sir.”

“When the leader shines, so does the unit.”

Dianal chuckled at their words, feeling a small sense of pride at being acknowledged.

But then—

“Is everyone here?”

The soldiers quickly stood as Damian appeared, having finally joined them.

“Sit down and rest,” Damian said, shaking his head at their formality. “Dianal, the sentries?”

“They’re already in place. Besides, the imperials are in no condition to chase us right now.”

The enemy’s losses were devastating enough to be considered catastrophic.

Damian nodded at Dianal’s report.

“Good. Then relax and recover.”

With that, Damian collapsed onto the ground, as if his legs had given out beneath him.

His body was screaming for rest, and he needed to focus on calming the storm within using his mana training technique.

As Damian steadied himself, Dianal approached cautiously.

“Commander, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“It’s about aura, isn’t it?”

“…Yes.”

Dianal blinked in surprise but quickly nodded.

Damian sighed. “You’re right. I’ve only recently managed to step into that realm.”

However, his face twisted with discomfort.

He had used aura only once, yet his entire body felt like it was being torn apart.

“Are you all right, sir?” Dianal asked, alarmed by Damian’s condition.

“Honestly? Not really. But… I’ll get used to it.”

Damian forced a grin as he suppressed the pain and continued, “I may have reached the level of an Aura Master, but I can’t say I’m proficient yet. Using aura puts an immense strain on the body.”

“…How immense are we talking?”

“It’s at least ten times worse than the strain from using mana to its limit. Reaching the realm of an Aura Master isn’t the end—it’s just the beginning.”

Dianal fell silent, his face hardening. He understood how taxing excessive mana use could be.

But to think the burden was ten times greater…

As Dianal’s expression darkened, Damian chuckled faintly.

“That’s why I told you to run. There was no way I could block his aura a second time.”

Galveron could likely wield aura three or four more times than Damian. If Galveron had chosen to use his aura again…

‘I might not have survived.’

The only reason Damian had escaped was because Galveron lacked information about his capabilities.

Even though Damian had stepped into the realm of an Aura Master, continuing to fight Galveron head-on would have been suicidal.

‘I need time.’

Time to close the gap between them.

But first, he needed to recover—both himself and his unit.

They had inflicted significant damage on the enemy, but the toll on the Caion Unit was enormous.

If another battle erupted in their current state, it would spell disaster.

“Treat your wounds. Even minor ones can fester and become much worse later.”

“…Understood.”

Dianal nodded, then hesitated. “But shouldn’t we move to a different location soon? It’s quiet for now, but if the enemy regroups, they might come after us.”

The imperial army had suffered crippling losses. They would undoubtedly be desperate for revenge.

But Damian shook his head.

“They won’t come after us. Don’t worry. We’ve done everything we needed to.”

“…What about them?” Dianal asked, referring to the imperials reorganizing for pursuit.

Damian smiled faintly.

“This is the Tirkan Kingdom, isn’t it?”

“Wait, you mean…”

“They won’t escape easily. Whoever planned this operation ensured that.”

Damian’s voice was low as he thought about the mastermind behind their strategy.