The Immortal Genius Spear knight (11)
The first week of training mostly consisted of independent exercises within each squad.
Since the recruits hadn’t fully adapted to the training camp yet, there was no reason to unnecessarily involve themselves with other squads.
However, the atmosphere changed in the second week.
This was partly due to the upcoming squad competition in a week, but it was also to establish the most fundamental purpose of a military unit.
That purpose was competition and victory.
No matter how much one dress up soldiers and the military with good words, they ultimately exist to fight.
And if they fight, they must win.
That is the reason for the military’s existence.
“If the first week was about individual training in shield and spear techniques, starting from the second week, we’ll be learning how to connect shield and spear techniques while in formation. Although this is group training, individuals who perform well will receive additional points, so give it your best!”
At the instructor’s words about teaching formations, the members of Squad 1 looked at him with serious expressions.
They all had the desire to achieve good scores in the training camp and be assigned to the military branch of their choice.
Damian, too, quickly moved as he listened to the instructor’s explanation.
‘It seems they’re going to teach us the triangular formation.’
The triangular formation is an offensive formation designed to penetrate the enemy.
The key point is that the person at the forefront must be strong.
This formation, akin to launching a massive arrow, has great destructive power, but if the front collapses, the rear can easily fall apart as well.
‘But on the flip side, if the front is strong, it can generate explosive power.’
The instructor then properly assigned positions to the soldiers and explained how to hold their shields and spears when facing an enemy attack.
“When the lead advances, it’s important to immediately push the enemy back with the shield and create space.”
The instructor demonstrated by strongly pushing back the assistant who had come out for the demonstration with his shield.
As the assistant holding the shield was pushed back, he immediately slung his shield on his back and gripped his spear with both hands.
“Alright, this is the basic posture during and after a triangular formation charge. There are other important aspects, but for today, we’ll quickly focus on just this part. Now, split into two groups and form the triangular formation!”
“Kyle, you go over there. I’ll take this side.”
“Hehehe, I won’t lose this time.”
Damian chuckled at Kyle’s words and turned his body.
“Alright, everyone, gather around.”
Squad 1 was split into two groups of twenty.
Damian looked at the squad members who had come to his side and spoke.
“As the instructor said, the most important part of the triangular formation is not just the person leading but also using your shield to push the enemy away once you’ve entered. But I’ll give you a tip, so listen carefully.”
“A tip?”
A tip, even though they’re all learning together?
What does this guy know?
“Have you done this before?”
“My father was a soldier before, so I learned it from him.”
“Ah… I see.”
“No wonder, something felt different.”
At Damian’s words, the others nodded in agreement.
Since that explanation made sense, they all listened closely to Damian.
And what Damian said next…
“Hehehe, this should be interesting.”
“That’s clever! Now that I think about it, that weak point is inevitable.”
“Let’s break them apart, hehe.”
The guys who heard Damian’s strategy burst into laughter and immediately began preparing their formation.
Damian placed the stronger recruits directly behind him and positioned the shorter ones on the flanks. If the shorter guys were placed in the center, it could create a situation where they couldn’t do anything.
“Those on the outer edges, hold your shields a bit higher—at least high enough to cover your heads.”
“Got it!”
“Okay!”
After quickly organizing the formation, Damian looked at Kyle’s formation in front of him.
They were in a strictly defensive rectangular formation, but it didn’t matter.
They just needed to break through.
“Let’s go. Don’t slow down. We’ll finish this in one strike.”
At Damian’s words, the others swallowed nervously and nodded.
The atmosphere was so intense that their hearts began to pound.
“Start!”
At the instructor’s shout, Damian glanced at the others.
When everyone nodded, confirming they were ready…
Damian’s triangular formation began to move forward step by step.
Since it was their first time working together, things felt a bit awkward.
“Left foot! Right foot! Left foot! Right foot!”
They even shouted commands to synchronize their steps, allowing the formation to advance steadily.
Seeing this, the corners of Damian’s mouth lifted.
‘For a first time, this isn’t bad…’
‘These guys are pretty good.’
‘It’s because they have the will to succeed that they’re following so well.’
As they gradually approached Kyle’s rectangular formation…
“Increase speed!”
“Move! Move! Move! Move!”
At Damian’s command, the twenty-man triangular formation rapidly charged toward Kyle’s rectangular formation.
Gaining momentum, Damian pressed his shield close to his body with his left hand and began channeling his mana.
Although they hadn’t used mana during strength or endurance training…
‘This situation is different.’
And just as Damian, who was at the front, collided—
“Push!”
The recruits behind Damian pushed his back with all their strength.
With that force, Damian pushed off the ground and shot forward, colliding with the recruit in front of him.
*BANG!*
“Agh!”
“Ugh!”
With a powerful impact, the recruits Damian collided with were flung to the sides.
Damian hadn’t collided directly with the shield-wielding opponent but had instead targeted the gap between the recruits.
This was the basic principle of penetrating the enemy.
Charging at an ambiguous spot forces the two recruits to hesitate momentarily.
‘Who’s supposed to block?’
‘Should I do it?’
Just causing this brief moment of hesitation is already a success.
Even if they respond, they won’t be able to exert their full strength.
Moreover, if they fail to respond in time due to this moment of hesitation…
*Clatter!*
They’re bound to be breached.
“Push them back!”
As Damian broke through, he shouted loudly.
“Hyaaah!”
“Yaaah!”
The squad members who had penetrated pushed their shields forward, creating space between them and the enemy.
And at that moment—
“Now!”
“Hyaaah!”
The guys on the sides thrust their spears between the legs of their opponents.
In pairs, they inserted their spears between the enemy’s legs and twisted them like scissors.
“Agh!”
“What the—!”
As their legs got caught by the spears, the recruits’ formation collapsed in an instant.
Kyle, who was in the center, preparing for the enemy’s attack, couldn’t hide his shock at the sudden situation.
“W-What’s that?”
“We never learned anything like this!”
“What are you doing? Push them back quickly!”
Kyle shouted in a panic, trying to repel the attacking squad members. But…
*Bang!*
Damian blocked his way, grinning widely.
“Hey, your formation’s been wrecked.”
“Ugh!”
Realizing they were losing again, Kyle’s face turned red as he glared at Damian.
He couldn’t afford to lose face by failing to push Damian back.
But just as Kyle tried to exert his strength—
*Slip*
Damian subtly stepped back and twisted sideways, shoving Kyle away.
“Agh!”
Kyle, unable to react to the smooth movement, was sent flying towards another recruit.
Seeing this, the instructor clicked his tongue and stared at Damian.
‘He’s even more incredible than I heard.’
Most instructors who saw Damian for the first time had the same reaction.
His performance was so overwhelming that it was hard to believe he was just another recruit.
‘He’s not even that physically strong…’
In fact, when it came to physical abilities, Kyle was the best among all the recruits. His strength, speed, and agility were unparalleled.
Yet Damian had completely taken Kyle down using only technique.
“Enough!”
However, despite being impressed, the instructor still had his job to do.
When the instructor shouted loudly, the soldiers who had been tangled up in the fight hesitated and turned to look at him.
“Victory goes to the attacking team. Next, we’ll switch sides, so everyone, get ready!”
“…Yes, sir!”
Kyle’s formation, which had been on the defense, seemed somewhat disappointed, but they quickly reignited their enthusiasm for the upcoming attack.
This is the beauty of competition, after all.
In the following attack, Kyle’s formation was essentially Kyle’s solo performance.
Although there were some shaky moments, Kyle single-handedly broke through the entrance.
“Enough!”
However, due to their failure to secure a proper foothold after breaking in, the attack felt somewhat lackluster.
“All soldiers except for Kyle should practice shield charging a bit more. It’s not just about brute force—timing is crucial.”
“…Understood.”
“Whew, it seemed like Damian’s team did something right earlier.”
“Is there some kind of secret to it?”
After everything was over, everyone began reviewing their tactics and assessing their methods.
‘This is a good trend.’
With this kind of atmosphere, growth is inevitable.
In that sense, Damian’s influence went beyond just being the squad leader.
But at that moment…
“What’s with those guys?”
“Hehe, looks like they’ve really been rolling around in the dirt.”
“Isn’t that the squad with that little kid as the squad leader?”
Suddenly, the soldiers from Squad 1, who had been reviewing their formation, turned their heads toward the voices coming from the side.
“Ah, now that the training areas are starting to overlap, we’ll be running into them more often, right?”
“And the squad competition is just a few days away… But what did that guy just say?”
“Did he just call him a kid?”
Knowing exactly who they were referring to, the expressions of the soldiers in Squad 1 twisted in anger.
But the passing soldiers, noticing this, said,
“Hey, we call him a kid because he is a kid. Got a problem with that?”
“How bad are you guys if you’ve got a thirteen-year-old as your squad leader? Hehehe. What a bunch of losers.”
The ridiculous provocation left Squad 1 both furious and bewildered. But then…
“Just ignore it. The real problem isn’t the idiots who can’t see the situation and just follow along. The real issue is the fool who doesn’t know his place and decided to become a squad leader.”
The man at the front, with narrow, slanted eyes, said this while glaring at Damian.
It was clear that this guy was trying to take control of the situation.
However, Damian ignored him.
He wasn’t foolish enough to get caught up in the provocations of some nobody.
Besides, when they meet in the squad competition, he’d crush them anyway.
Damian turned his body away, showing his lack of interest. But then…
“Where do you filthy bastards get off running your mouths?”
“When we meet in the squad competition, you’re dead, you bastards!”
“Just get ready to be annihilated! Especially you, the one with the slanted eyes in the front!”
“…Huh?”
Even though Damian had urged them to focus on winning against Squad 4, the previously indifferent soldiers suddenly…
‘Did they take the bait…?’
Damian widened his eyes in surprise as he looked at them, and Kyle snorted and said,
“Those bastards are from Squad 4, right?”
“What? Oh… Yeah, that’s right.”
“Those bastards!”
As Kyle shouted, the other squad members glared at Damian and said,
“We’re gonna destroy those bastards!”
“I won’t be satisfied until we break their arms and legs!”
“When we meet Squad 4, think of it as killing them!”
Seeing his squad members suddenly fired up like this, Damian scratched his head.
It was an unexpected situation, but…
‘Maybe…’
This could actually be a good thing?
