The immortal genius spear knight (15)
After the morning competition ended, there was a brief period of rest.
The instructors who had watched the morning competition stood up, looking satisfied.
“Hahaha, I’m really looking forward to the clash between 1st Squad and 3rd Squad.”
“2nd Squad wasn’t lacking, but 1st Squad was just a bit too strong.”
“But it seems like there’s some trouble with 4th Squad.”
At the other instructors’ words, the leader of 4th Squad let out a heavy sigh.
It seemed that after the crawling drill, his men had fallen apart.
‘…Well, it can’t be helped.’
That must be the extent of their abilities.
However, what was regrettable was that, although a few of them seemed determined to hold themselves together, the overall atmosphere didn’t change easily.
“So, in the afternoon, it’s a competition between 1st Squad and 4th Squad, and 2nd Squad and 3rd Squad?”
“That’s right. After that, the winning squads will face off once more.”
“Looks like it’ll be 1st Squad versus 3rd Squad.”
After the rest period ended, another round of competitions took place in the afternoon with different opponents.
However, the instructors laughed knowingly, as if they already knew the outcome, and moved on.
As the trainees enjoyed their sweet moment of rest…
“It wasn’t as hard as I thought.”
“But 2nd Squad wasn’t too bad.”
“4th Squad seems like they’re completely shattered, don’t they? Their morale seems pretty bad, too.”
At someone’s words, the squad members who were listening nodded in agreement.
“Those guys were blaming each other, saying who did well and who didn’t.”
“Pfft! Losing a team match isn’t just one person’s fault. Everyone lost, so that’s why we lost.”
“There are always those who blame others wherever you go. I guess there are a few more of them in 4th Squad.”
At that, Kyle grinned wickedly.
“Heh heh heh! We won’t lose, but just in case, if anyone here starts blaming others, I’ll fold their spine backward, so be prepared.”
“…Kyle, when you say stuff like that, it sounds like you mean it, so please don’t say it like that.”
“Damn, I’ve already imagined my spine being folded backward.”
“Such a twisted and imaginative bastard.”
Though the other squad members playfully joked around…
“…I’m serious.”
Kyle’s eyes flashed dangerously.
Seeing that, Damien spoke up.
“Stop talking nonsense and eat this.”
“Ah! As expected of our squad leader’s soldier, you’ve already brought snacks?”
Everyone welcomed Damien, who had brought snacks along with the other squad members.
As Damien plopped down, the squad members approached him and spoke.
“Damien, next up is the competition against 4th Squad, right?”
“Probably. There’s only up to 4th Squad, after all.”
Damien’s calm response seemed to fill the squad members with enthusiasm.
“The guy who called Damien a brat, that guy with the slanted eyes. I’m going to smash his face in with my shield.”
“Sorry, but I’ve already done that. You just clear the way.”
“But judging by how they’re doing, it seems like it’ll end too easily, don’t you think?”
“You never know. Maybe when they face us, their fighting spirit will suddenly surge and they’ll fight like berserkers.”
“But how dare they be so disrespectful to our squad leader’s soldier! Ugh!”
By now, Damien had become an indispensable presence to the 1st Squad members.
As the squad members made a commotion, Damien just smiled faintly while eating the snacks he had brought.
And after the sweet rest ended…
“3rd Squad wins!”
The match between 2nd Squad and 3rd Squad ended with an overwhelming victory for 3rd Squad.
Although the 2nd Squad put up a fierce resistance in the middle, it was difficult to break through the 3rd Squad.
“Wow… they’re pretty good.”
“They’ve got some skill.”
The 1st Squad members, watching them, couldn’t help but admire them internally.
What impressed them more than anything was how well the 3rd Squad worked together. However…
“Still, we can’t lose.”
“Ah, finally, it’s 4th Squad’s turn.”
“I’ve been waiting for this moment.”
The eyes of the squad members were already burning with anticipation at the prospect of facing the 4th Squad.
Seeing this, Damien organized the formation and spoke to his squad members.
“The enemy is already very tired. And as we saw earlier, their teamwork is completely messed up.”
After losing to the 3rd Squad, watching them argue among themselves was embarrassing to the point of second-hand shame.
It’s safe to say that their teamwork is non-existent.
Rather than a cohesive unit, it was just forty soldiers standing around, doing their own thing.
“But I have no intention of showing mercy. On the contrary, I plan to crush them quickly and thoroughly.”
“Agreed.”
“Of course! We’re thinking the same thing.”
“Those bastards need to pay the price for running their mouths carelessly.”
The squad members all united, raising their resolve. Damien smiled widely at this.
“We’ll finish this in no time, so stay focused.”
“Okay!”
“Roger!”
Even though Damien was only thirteen years old, the fact that he was younger never crossed the minds of the 1st Squad members.
To them, he was simply their commander.
Soon, the instructor’s shout echoed across the field.
“Begin!”
“Let’s go.”
Damien gave the order.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The 1st Squad, moving in a triangular formation, quickly advanced toward the 4th Squad’s rectangular formation.
The 4th Squad was in such a precarious state that they could be easily broken even without a proper formation.
But to be more certain and thorough…
‘I’m going to crush them.’
At the moment Damien’s eyes flashed, Kyle, who was at the forefront, charged forward with a shout.
“Hraaaaaaaah!”
Gripping a shield in each hand, he crashed into the front of the 4th Squad.
Bang!
“Aaargh!”
“What, what is this?!”
“Aaaaargh!”
Kyle’s charge pierced through the gap between the soldiers with precision.
The enemy soldiers crumbled like a sandcastle before a wave.
It’s understandable.
When you first experience Kyle’s brute strength, the only word that comes to mind is “shocking.”
The slanted-eyed guy’s eyes widened as he watched the front formation collapse in an instant.
Of course, even then, they only opened a little wider.
“What are you doing?! Hold your ground and block them with all your strength!”
These idiots!
He wanted to yell at them further, but there wasn’t time.
By now, the 1st Squad had become a spear that deeply penetrated the 4th Squad’s formation.
“Protect the flag! Shield bearers, block the enemies coming forward! Spearmen, attack from the sides!”
The slanted-eyed guy urgently gave orders.
The 4th Squad members inside scrambled to move, desperately trying to resist somehow.
But…
Fwoosh!
In an instant, the slanted-eyed guy’s expression darkened as he saw Damien leap over the others and charge toward him.
“Do you remember what I said?”
“Ah.”
The conversation in front of the administrative office.
The slanted-eyed guy looked at Damien, flustered. But…
“Do you think I’m a scarecrow?!”
The slanted-eyed guy thrust his spear at Damien.
‘Too easy.’
Even before he thrust the spear, Damien could clearly see his movements.
Whoosh!
The spear was aimed directly at Damien’s face.
Damien easily tilted his head to the side to dodge the attack and immediately inserted his spear between the slanted-eyed guy’s arm and spear.
### Translation
**Thud!**
“Graaah!”
And with a simple downward thrust of his spear, the guy who had been pressed down let out a scream and dropped his spear.
“Idiot.”
On the battlefield, dropping your weapon means death in that instant.
Damien looked at him with pity, then gathered energy in his left fist.
And then…
**Thud!**
With a dull sound, Damien’s fist slammed into the right side of the slanted-eyed guy’s ribs.
It was the same blow that had knocked out even a monster like Kyle in one hit.
The slanted-eyed guy couldn’t even scream; he just foamed at the mouth and collapsed on the ground.
Damien immediately grabbed the flag that the slanted-eyed guy had been holding and declared,
“This is our victory.”
“Wooooooah!”
“As expected of Damien!”
“Man, that was satisfying!”
The match was over before they even had a chance to do anything.
In fact, it was probably the fastest conclusion in all of the squad battles.
The trainees of the 4th Squad, who had been calling Damien a brat, were left speechless at his martial prowess.
“Didn’t they say he was just thirteen?”
“I swear I heard a sound like a hammer smashing something just now…”
*Gulp.*
With the slanted-eyed guy knocked out, another trainee took over the command when it was their turn to attack.
But the result wasn’t much different.
“1st Squad wins!”
As the match ended with 1st Squad’s victory, the instructors watching from the sidelines looked at Damien with satisfied expressions.
“He’s almost like a prodigy.”
“He might even be better than some of us instructors.”
“Ha ha ha, I can’t really disagree with that.”
As the instructors chuckled softly to themselves, one of them spoke up.
“What, is something funny?”
The appearance of a man suddenly caused the instructors’ eyes to widen.
“Glory to the kingdom!”
“Glory to the kingdom!”
The instructors saluted, clenching their right fists and placing them over their left hearts.
The middle-aged man nodded at this.
His brown, wavy hair,
The black eye patch, which had become his trademark, and his thick beard covered his chin and the area below his nose.
His rough skin was cracked, as if it had suffered a drought, but his eyes were sharp, like a well-honed blade.
This was Leonhardt Belkain.
A former commoner who had risen to the rank of honorary noble, he was the training instructor for the 3rd Division, known to be the most rigorous in the kingdom.
Because of his past achievements and his current role in producing countless skilled soldiers, he was highly respected by the other instructors.
Leonhardt turned his gaze to someone.
“Is that the kid you were talking about?”
“Yes, that’s him.”
Leonhardt’s eyes were now fixed on Damien below.
A slight commotion had arisen at the 3rd Training Camp.
An unexpected guest had arrived.
“What… what’s this commotion about?”
Having returned to the barracks after finishing the morning and afternoon battles, Damien sensed the unusual atmosphere in the training camp.
One of the squad members who had gone to investigate returned and entered the barracks, saying,
“Looks like someone important has shown up.”
“How important must they be to cause this kind of fuss? Is it the battalion commander or something? Haha.”
Another squad member chuckled softly, but the one who had gone to investigate shook his head.
“Come on, if the battalion commander showed up, would we be sitting around like this? They’d have us cleaning the camp like crazy.”
“Hahaha, true enough. So who is it? Who’s this big shot?”
At this, the squad member who had gone to check replied,
“They say it’s a famous training instructor from the 3rd Division. Apparently, he’s a legend among the instructors. The other instructors were standing at attention, stiff as boards. Haha.”
Hearing this, Damien, who had been sitting in the corner polishing his shield and spear, suddenly paused.
Then, Damien asked the guy,
“A training instructor from the 3rd Division?”
“That’s what they’re saying.”
“What’s his name?”
“Uh, his name… I heard it… Leon… Hart or something?”
“Leonhardt.”
“Yeah, that’s it! Leonhar… wait, Damien, where are you going?”
The squad members were puzzled as Damien suddenly ran out of the barracks.
“What’s with him?”
Leonhardt Belkain.
The moment Damien heard that name, it was like he had been struck by lightning, and he dashed out.
Here’s the translation with explanations:
No way… No way…
Could it really be him who came here?
The 3rd Division is connected to the 3rd Training Camp, but it’s a place so far away.
I thought… I thought I’d only meet him much later.
Damien was running toward the administration office when he saw someone approaching from the opposite direction.
He gradually slowed down as he looked at the figure.
It really was Leonhardt.
“Hmm? Isn’t this soldier Damien?”
“Oh, Damien! I was actually on my way to see you.”
Brian, who was standing next to him, spoke to Damien. But at that moment…
*Snap!*
Damien stood at attention, feet together, and raised his right fist to his left chest.
“Glory to the Kingdom!”
At the perfectly executed salute, Leonhardt’s lips curled slightly.
He then also clenched his right hand into a fist and placed it on his left chest.
“Is your name Damien?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
…Master…
Damien swallowed the rest of his words as he gazed at him.
