The Immortal Genius Spearman

The plate hit the wall and shattered into pieces, scattering fragments everywhere.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Lady Piaren! Lady Piaren!”

A maid who had been guarding outside knocked urgently upon hearing the sudden noise.

Soon after entering, she couldn’t hide her surprise as she saw the room in disarray.

“Huh, huff!”

The table, the plates, even the vase.

Everything in the room was shattered into pieces. The maid quickly regained her composure and began cleaning up the mess.

And then.

“Are you alright?”

The butler, who rushed in due to the sudden commotion, asked Piaren.

He had served her for over ten years, but it was rare to see her like this.

However, Piaren let out a small sigh and replied to the butler’s question.

“It’s nothing.”

“…I’ll prepare some warm water. You should relax and relieve your fatigue.”

The butler gestured to the maids who were cleaning the room.

They hurriedly began gathering the broken glass and soon moved quickly to prepare Piaren’s bath.

Piaren spoke to the butler.

“No need. Instead, I will go to the knights’ order. Make preparations.”

“Understood.”

The butler bowed his head and exited the room.

Once everything was ready, Piaren headed to the knights’ barracks.

Her expression hardened as she saw the number of knights had reduced by half.

“What of the matter I asked you to investigate?”

Piaren asked Berner, one of the knights.

Right after the battle, she had ordered him to gather information about the enemy who had killed Milo and the knights.

Berner replied.

“It was the Caion unit of the Baroque Kingdom. It hasn’t been long since the unit was established, but it’s said to be an elite force.”

“The name of the unit’s commander?”

“We haven’t uncovered that yet… but we’ll find out as soon as possible.”

“The Caion unit…”

They were the ones who had trampled on her knights and made a name for themselves across the continent.

Piaren recalled the spearman who had ambushed them.

She had dismissed him as insignificant, but one of her knights died because of him.

Still, she hadn’t considered it a serious problem at the time.

He was just a soldier with a bit of skill, she thought.

But that was the end of it.

Therefore, she had wanted to make sure to punish them through Milo.

Moving half of her knights was a show of Piaren’s resolve to bring judgment upon them.

But that resolve…

“Was broken.”

A cold glint appeared in Piaren’s eyes.

She was certain she would meet him again soon.

“Prepare for training.”

“Yes!”

Piaren, preparing for the day she would meet him again, made her way to the training grounds.

—

Swish, swish, swish.

In the silent training ground.

Damian, seated alone, slowly inhaled and exhaled.

Next to him lay a red pill.

It was made from the maddening bloodthorn flower.

There were seven of the maddening bloodthorn flowers left in his storage.

Although he had been trying to absorb them while considering the side effects, he had been too busy to fully focus on it.

But

‘…I can’t go on like this.’

Having directly fought the Rose Knight Order, Damian was now fully aware of his current level.

‘Objectively…’

Among those who wielded magic, he could confidently say he was among the best.

But when it came to those who handled aura, he was definitely not on their level.

‘That guy…’

The knight named Milo, whom he fought this time.

Though Damian had been exhausted, he hadn’t been able to completely avoid the knight’s attacks.

‘Even though I could see everything…’

It had been a long time since he failed to dodge an attack, even though he knew where it was coming from.

Particularly, Milo’s ability to shift his weight to his desired spot and time his attack was terrifying.

‘I still have a long way to go.’

Damian found himself reflecting a lot on his confidence in his own skills.

And then.

“Hoooo…”

Damian let out a deep breath as he absorbed the toxins from the maddening bloodthorn flower.

The flower could strengthen not only bones but also ligaments and other physical tissues.

Its effects were remarkable, but its potent toxicity made it a significant risk.

But

“I can do it.”

He had no intention of giving up.

Damian closed his eyes again and began channeling his magic.

The one thing Damian had gained from the recent battle.

‘Finally…’

The Delft Mana Cultivation Technique had reached the fifth star.

Pushed to the brink of death, it had naturally manifested to protect him.

‘I have to master this power perfectly.’

Damian began moving the mana within him, which had increased since his advancement.

Like a heavier dumbbell, the mana felt weighty, and it began slipping from his control.

But Damian forcefully reeled it back in and slowly circulated it throughout his body.

Buzzzzz.

The mana, moving according to his will, eventually began to spread throughout every part of his body.

Swoosh!

It was truly a strange sensation.

Unlike before, the fifth-star Delft Mana Cultivation Technique made it feel as though the mana itself had a will of its own.

‘Well, would you look at that…?’

Damian had heard a saying once: mana resembles its master.

Maybe that’s why?

‘Damn, this thing doesn’t listen at all.’

Watching his mana run wild like a rampaging beast, Damian couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.

It felt like he was getting what he deserved.

Still, he continued coaxing, soothing, and sometimes forcefully reining in the mana, making it move.

And as time passed, the rebellious colt-like energy gradually began to calm down.

Buzzzzz.

Damian slowly opened his eyes and looked at the mana formed in his hand.

It was like a blue flame, yet also seemed like a gas spreading out.

Seeing the new shape of his mana, Damian’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“This thing…”

A small smile curved on Damian’s lips.

“Let’s work well together.”

With this, could he perhaps become… a bit stronger?

There would still be many things lacking.

But whatever gaps remained could be filled with something else.

“Alright! Huh…?”

As Damian stood up, he winced and looked down at his leg, surprised by the lack of pain.

For some reason, after completing his mana cultivation, most of his wounds had healed significantly.

‘Does reaching the fifth star have this kind of effect…?’

One thing was certain: it wasn’t because of the maddening bloodthorn flower.

The only reasonable explanation was that this was the result of cultivating his mana after reaching the fifth star.

Damian was astonished by the unexpected effect, but then he thought.

“Now… it’s time to take care of that.”

As a reward for the recent battle, he was authorized to increase his unit by 300 members.

He had been promoted to the rank of sergeant and gained the position of commander over a 300-strong unit.

The Caion unit, no longer just 100 soldiers, would now be reborn as a 300-member force.

However,

‘I can’t just fill the numbers with anyone.’

A certain person immediately came to his mind.

‘It will still take some time…’

But perhaps he could create the opportunity?

Damian chuckled softly at the thought.

“This will be fun.”

He headed off somewhere with a light step.

—

Though Damian was technically the captain of the Caion unit, most of the overall management was handled by Leonhark.

“You’re going on leave?”

“Yes.”

“Is it because of the reinforcement?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Damian nodded in response to Leonhark’s question.

Leonhark then asked.

“It seems you already have someone in mind.”

“Yes, though I haven’t decided on all 200. I’ll be bringing some, but I’ll need your help to fill the rest.”

“…Alright. When do you plan on returning?”

Due to the recent mission, the Caion unit had been ordered to take a break for the time being.

For at least a month or two, they could relax and take it easy with light training.

“I’ll be back within a month.”

“Understood. I’ll report to the higher-ups. Are you leaving right away?”

“Yes.”

Leonhark nodded at Damian’s reply. As Damian left his office, someone called out to him.

“What’s going on?”

“I’m heading out.”

“On leave?”

“You should take some rest.”

Dianal asked with a concerned look.

Although Damian was less injured than the others, he had still suffered quite a bit.

No matter how strong Damian’s stamina was, Dianal thought it would be too much for him to live in this condition.

“I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

Damian shook his head.

Though resting would indeed be a good option, as Dianal suggested, Damian was eager to meet certain individuals as soon as possible.

Dianal hesitated for a moment at Damian’s words, then finally spoke.

“Alright, safe travels.”

“We’ll be waiting for you, Commander,” Jerka added with a grin.

Damian lightly patted his shoulder in response.

“It seems this battle had a significant impact on you all.”

He could tell just by looking at how much they had changed.

Damian bid farewell to his troops and left the camp without delay.

“Hmmm… that guy whose sentence ended back then… it was him, right?”

—Could I possibly join the commander’s unit?

He remembered the face of the guy who had nervously asked, despite his large build.

‘I wonder what he’s up to.’

Damian chuckled to himself, hoping the guy hadn’t caused any trouble.

As he walked, a playful smile appeared on his face.

—

“Ugh!”

A massive man was flung through the air, crashing into a table and chair, shattering them into pieces.

The man, groaning in pain on the ground, couldn’t even get up.

Thud.

Standing before him was another man, even taller and more imposing than the one who had just been thrown.

“See? I told you to just drink your booze quietly and not start anything.”

The man, with a menacing glare, clicked his tongue and turned around.

It was Creon, the leader of the first squad of the Makstri unit.

“What? Anyone else wanna go?”

Creon glared at the onlookers.

Seeing how easily he had thrown a man weighing over 100 kilograms with one hand, the people in the tavern gulped and shook their heads.

Creon clicked his tongue again and turned away.

“Damn, this is so annoying.”

Ever since that day, he’d been trying to avoid getting into trouble, but these guys just couldn’t stop provoking him.

But then.

“What the hell? I told you not to cause trouble, and here you are, already stirring things up?”

A voice suddenly called out from behind him.

Creon furrowed his brow as he turned around.

“Who the hell is asking for a… Oh?”

Step, step.

Creon’s words caught in his throat.

What was this man doing here?

For a moment, his eyes widened, and as the man approached with a grin, Creon shouted.

“Commander!”

Damian glanced at the man lying on the floor and chuckled, clicking his tongue.

“Hey, if you keep this up, you’ll be disciplined again. Want to get sent back to Makstri?”

“W-What do you mean? This guy just… picked a fight with me.”

“Old habits die hard. Looks like I’ll have to take you with me and straighten you out.”

Damian asked Creon.

“The offer you made about following me—is that still on the table?”

Damian smiled, but his eyes were serious.

Creon grinned back and replied.

“Of course, I’d follow you to the ends of hell.”

That was one down.

Damian nodded at Creon’s answer.