The immortal genius spear knight (9)
Time passed quickly.
What seemed like just a few days of preparation had suddenly turned into the day of enlistment.
“…Now it begins.”
Though he had just recently returned, Damian felt a sense of nostalgia as he stood before the training camp. It felt like he was once again at the starting line, but it was a necessary process to achieve his goal.
‘This time…
Even though my past life ended without achieving much of my dream, this time it’s different.
‘This time, I will swallow the Empire.’
Rather than being swept away by their destructive actions, I will prevent their progress and turn the tables.
Re-energized, Damian entered the training camp and headed towards his assigned new unit.
3rd Training Company, 1st Platoon.
This was the unit Damian was assigned to.
It would change once he was assigned to the main unit from the training company, but for now…
‘Apel seems to have been assigned to a different platoon.’
Though Apel was his only peer, it felt strangely lonely without him.
Yet, Damian unpacked his simple gear after entering his assigned dormitory.
“Hello, I’m Brian, the 1st Platoon Leader who will be living with you for the next month. Starting immediately, set up your things in your assigned spots. Just to be clear, food, drinks, and personal items, such as cigarettes, are prohibited. Anyone caught with these items will be punished immediately.”
At Brian’s fierce warning, some of the new recruits flinched and started handing over their contraband.
They were clearly items bought outside the training grounds.
“…Idiots, if you were going to turn them in, why buy them in the first place?”
Well, they probably never intended to hand them over.
But Brian’s strong demeanor certainly intimidated them.
Damian glanced around the dormitory at his fellow recruits.
“…That guy seems to be hiding cigarettes.”
He noticed a few who had brought prohibited items but had not handed them in.
But it didn’t matter.
Smoking or having such items wasn’t really a problem in itself.
‘It was chaos when there was none on the battlefield.’
Thinking back, Damian had smoked quite a bit in his previous life…
‘Kuh, this time I won’t even touch them.’
With a resolution like a New Year’s vow, Damian looked at the platoon leader in front of him.
“Hmm, nothing special. Pass.”
“Thank you.”
But how old is he? He looks quite young.
“Thirteen years old.”
“Thirteen?”
Brian’s eyes widened for a moment.
He had heard there were some very young recruits among the successful candidates, but he didn’t expect them to be this young.
Some recruits around laughed scornfully at Damian’s age.
“Dammit, it’s the end times. Now even kids are looking for their future in the military.”
“How much more are you going to milk the world? Joining the army at thirteen, haha.”
Damian made a note of these guys’ faces.
He’d need to show them that getting hit by a young kid hurt just the same.
Ignoring the remarks, Damian waited for Brian to finish his inspection.
Brian, the 1st Platoon Leader, seemed to have noticed everything and stood before the recruit with prohibited items.
“Take out what’s in your pocket. Execute.”
“What? What’s that…”
“Take it out now, execute!”
At Brian’s booming command, the recruit flinched and hurriedly took out the cigarettes from his pocket.
Brian then frowned.
“I’m warning you again. Any recruit caught with prohibited items will be running around the drill field all night long!”
Brian glared at a few of the recruits.
It was clear that he already knew everything.
The recruits, completely intimidated by Brian’s aura, began to hand over all the prohibited items they had been hiding.
They had resisted once but couldn’t hold out a second time.
Among them was a particularly large recruit…
“Dammit, to hell with this.”
The recruit muttered curses under his breath as he handed over not only cigarettes but also a small flask of alcohol.
Of course, there was no way Brian wouldn’t hear it.
“What did you just say?!”
“I didn’t say anything!”
Seeing the recruit get disciplined so early on made Damian chuckle quietly.
“Kukukuku”
It was like a comedy show right from the start.
Anyway, once the chaotic inspection was over and the recruits had organized their things, Brian picked up a list.
Although the headcount had already been done, it seemed this list contained basic personal information about the platoon members.
“Now, we need to choose an interim platoon leader to manage the soldiers when I’m not around… Hoho, we have a soldier in our platoon who passed with excellent grades. Who’s Damian?”
Brian lifted his head and looked at the soldiers.
He hadn’t expected that a soldier who ranked first in the practical exam would be in his platoon.
‘Is it that big guy from earlier?’
Although it was annoying that he tried to hide prohibited items, in the military, exceptional skills could often make up for such transgressions.
Naturally, Brian’s gaze turned towards the large recruit. But…
The large recruit just blinked, as if wondering why Brian was staring at him.
“It’s me, I’m Damian.”
The voice came from the opposite direction.
When Brian turned his head to the right, he saw a young boy with a youthful face raising his hand.
“…You’re Damian?”
“Yes, I’m Damian.”
Damian responded with military precision.
Brian’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Didn’t you say… you were thirteen?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Can a thirteen-year-old really pass the exam as the top scorer in the practical test?
For a moment, a fundamental doubt crossed Brian’s mind.
But it was awkward to say nothing after calling him out.
Brian looked at Damian with a perplexed expression.
But then…
“…Damn, this is ridiculous.”
Whether interim or not, the platoon leader holds authority to give orders to soldiers when the platoon leader is absent.
And this kid is going to be the platoon leader?
“Platoon Leader, I believe the platoon leader should be someone with clear leadership qualities. I don’t know what kind of tricks this kid pulled, but if he becomes the platoon leader, the discipline will crumble.”
“Huh?”
Damian looked at the recruit who had just spoken.
He hadn’t planned on taking the platoon leader position because it seemed like a hassle, but now this guy was stirring things up?
He smirked.
“Even so, I’m probably better than a meathead whose brain is filled with muscle.”
“What did you say?”
As the large recruit jumped up from his seat, Brian frowned.
“Is your name Kyle?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“If you insult your comrades again, calling them kids or anything like that, it won’t just end with a simple warning. Got it?”
Brian then addressed the soldiers, including Damian.
“Kyle does have a point. The platoon leader is a position that carries authority. If the leader can’t show leadership, it could indeed shake the discipline.”
“Then how about this, Platoon Leader? What if I spar with this… kid, and the winner becomes the platoon leader?”
“Are you okay with that?”
Brian asked Damian.
In fact, the method Kyle proposed was probably the simplest way to establish hierarchy.
While the military also values strategic thinking and other elements, the need for absolute ‘strength’ is undeniable.
When Brian asked Damian, Kyle, who was on the other side, smirked and said,
“Hehehe, if that kid wins, even the older guys here will have to accept it. Does anyone have any objections to this ‘spar’?”
Kyle looked around at the soldiers nearby as he spoke.
Damian then turned his gaze toward him.
‘So that guy is Kyle.’
He had heard the name before.
It had come up a few times during the exams at the 3rd Training Center.
Rumor had it that while others struggled to lift a rock, Kyle had effortlessly thrown it into the air.
Moreover, he was said to have led the charge, breaking through the instructor’s barrier during the final lap of the long-distance run.
‘It means he’s confident in his strength…’
As proof, no one dared to argue against Kyle’s words.
Damian stood up from his seat.
“Alright. I didn’t really want to be the platoon leader… but if that’s what you all want, I guess I’ll have to do it.”
“Heh, didn’t you misunderstand what I said?”
“No, I understood perfectly. All I have to do is smash you, right, big guy?”
“Big guy?!”
Kyle’s eyes widened as he glared at Damian.
Seeing this, Brian spoke to the recruits with a deliberately serious expression.
“Then, everyone follow me to the sparring ground.”
It seemed like something interesting was about to unfold.
Brian suppressed his laughter as he led the platoon to the sparring ground.
When they arrived at the sparring ground…
Brian said, “Given the difference in weight class, I’m allowing weapons. You can use any of the practice weapons.”
“Heh, there’s no need for weapons,” Kyle replied.
“And you?” Brian asked Damian.
“I’ll go without a weapon as well.”
Brian gave Damian a look of surprise but then nodded.
“Alright. Striking vital points is prohibited, and you must stop the match immediately if your opponent surrenders. Any questions?”
“None, just start it already,” Kyle said.
“No questions,” Damian added.
After the two answered, Brian nodded and said,
“Begin.”
As soon as the match started, Kyle lightly clenched his fists and loosened up his neck.
Damian chuckled at the thug-like display.
“Quit messing around and come at me, big guy. Why are you acting all tough like some back-alley thug?”
“You’ve got a sharp tongue for a kid. When you get beaten like a dog today, just remember it’s because of that mouth of yours!” Kyle shouted loudly as he charged at Damian.
Despite his muscular build, Kyle was surprisingly fast.
‘He’s got some skill.’
At this level, Kyle could be considered decent even among the soldiers from the war-torn era.
But that’s all he was—just decent.
“Hup!”
As Kyle’s fist aimed for Damian’s face…
Whoosh!
Kyle’s eyes flickered in surprise as his fist cut through empty air, missing its target.
‘He’s not that fast, but…’
What was that movement just now?
It was as if Damian knew where the punch was going to come from before it even happened.
“This guy… looks like he picked up some cheap tricks somewhere.”
Kyle gritted his teeth and started throwing a flurry of punches.
Every time Kyle’s hammer-like fists whistled through the air, the sound of wind being split echoed.
But Kyle’s punches couldn’t even graze Damian’s collar.
“What the…”
Even Brian, who was watching the match, couldn’t hide his surprised expression.
It was as if his eyes were seeing it, but his mind couldn’t comprehend it.
It felt like it was only natural for that young boy to dodge the punches of such a big guy.
“Hyaaaah!”
Kyle shouted loudly as he threw another punch at Damian.
Whoosh!
But once again, his fist ended up futilely cutting through empty air.
Kyle’s expression gradually turned to one of despair.
It felt as if he was fighting a ghost.
“You little…!”
Finally, Kyle shouted and spread his arms wide, charging at Damian.
Since he couldn’t land a punch, he decided to just grab him and slam him into the ground.
But as Kyle charged…
Swish!
Damian effortlessly twisted his body to the side, dodging, and suddenly moved behind Kyle.
“…!”
To Kyle, it felt as if Damian had just disappeared right before his eyes due to his peculiar footwork.
“Wh-where is he?!”
Kyle quickly looked around in panic.
And at that moment…
“Right here.”
“…!”
A soft voice came from behind, and Kyle quickly turned toward the sound.
At that very moment, Damian delivered a sharp left hook to Kyle’s side.
Thud!
“Ugh!”
Damian’s punch landed precisely on Kyle’s right side.
Right where the liver is located.
‘It’s not something just anyone could endure.’
Especially since Damian had infused the punch with magical energy.
Kyle’s ribs might have cracked—possibly even a couple of them.
“Keuuuuugh!”
As Kyle’s body bent and he nearly collapsed to the ground, his eyes turned red as he struggled to stand again.
Damian looked at him in astonishment.
“Tough, huh?”
Wow, that honestly surprised him.
But although Kyle managed to straighten his back, he was wheezing and couldn’t breathe properly.
Swish!
Damian shifted his gaze to Brian.
“…”
With a stern expression, Brian watched the match, signaling that it wasn’t over yet.
Brian knew it too.
He understood that if he intervened prematurely and ended the match, it wouldn’t settle the hierarchy.
Crunch.
Damian turned his gaze back to Kyle.
Kyle’s face was flushed red as he glared at Damian.
The pain was intense enough to keep him from moving even a single step, but he was somehow holding on.
‘I’ll give him credit for his guts.’
But…
Boom!
With a strong stomp, Damian charged into Kyle’s space.
Kyle desperately tried to swing his fist at Damian, but…
“Left…”
Whoosh.
Damian easily ducked to the right, dodging Kyle’s punch.
Then, he targeted Kyle’s wide-open left side.
Bam!
Damian’s clenched fist drove straight into Kyle’s side.
Boom!
With a sound like a hammer striking a wall, Kyle’s body completely collapsed.
Thud.
Kyle fell to the ground and didn’t get back up, as if he had fainted.
The soldiers watching the match all stared at Damian, their mouths agape.
How could such strength come from such a small body?
And as Damian scanned the surrounding soldiers, he calmly asked,
“Anyone else want to try?”
No one answered.
