Chapter 15

Chapter 15

After the morning’s battle exercises, the trainees were given a brief break.

The instructors, who had watched the morning battles, stood up with satisfied expressions.

“Hahaha, I’m really looking forward to the clash between the 1st and 3rd platoons.”

“The 2nd platoon wasn’t lacking, but the 1st platoon was just too strong.”

“But the 4th platoon... seems to have a lot of issues.”

Hearing the other instructors’ comments, the 4th platoon leader let out a deep sigh.

It seemed like the team had fallen apart after the crawling exercises.

‘...There’s nothing I can do about it.’

That was the extent of their capabilities.

The disappointing part was that a few of them seemed to be trying to hold it together, but the atmosphere didn’t change easily.

“So, in the afternoon, it’ll be the 1st platoon versus the 4th platoon, and the 2nd platoon versus the 3rd platoon?”

“That’s right. Then, the winners will face each other again.”

“Looks like it’ll be the 1st and 3rd platoons in the final match.”

After the break, the afternoon would bring another round of battles with different opponents.

The instructors chuckled knowingly as they walked away, seemingly already aware of the results.

As the sweet break time was granted to the trainees...

“It wasn’t as tough as I thought.”

“The 2nd platoon wasn’t bad.”

“The 4th platoon looks completely shattered. Their morale seems pretty low too.”

At someone’s comment, the other platoon members nodded in agreement.

“Those guys were blaming each other like crazy earlier, saying who did well and who didn’t.”

“Clicking their tongues! It’s not like losing a team match is any one person’s fault. It’s because they didn’t work together.”

“There are always people who blame others no matter where you go. Seems like there are a lot of them in the 4th platoon.”

At that, Kyle let out a sly grin.

“Hehehe! We won’t lose, but if any of us starts blaming others, I’ll fold them backward, so be prepared.”

“...Kyle, when you say that, it sounds serious, so please don’t say it like that.”

“Damn, I’m already imagining being folded backward.”

“That’s a pretty gruesome imagination you’ve got there.”

The other platoon members shuddered, jokingly, but...

“...I’m serious.”

Kyle’s eyes gleamed as he spoke.

Damian, who was watching, then spoke up.

“Enough with the nonsense, eat this.”

“Ah! As expected from our platoon leader. You already brought rations?”

Seeing Damian with the rations, the other platoon members cheered.

As Damian sat down, the platoon members gathered around him and asked.

“Damian, the next match is against the 4th platoon, right?”

“Yeah, that’s right. The only ones left are the 4th platoon.”

At Damian’s calm answer, the platoon members seemed to grow even more enthusiastic.

“That narrow-eyed bastard who called you a brat. I’ll smack him right in the face with my shield.”

“Sorry, but I already called dibs on that. You just clear the path.”

“But judging by what they did earlier, it seems like it’ll end too easily.”

“You never know. They might suddenly gain strength and fight like berserkers when they face us.”

“Still, how dare they speak rudely to our platoon leader! Ugh!”

By now, Damian had become an indispensable presence to the 1st platoon.

As the platoon members noisily chattered, Damian just smiled while eating the rations he had brought.

And when the sweet break was over...

“3rd Platoon wins!”

The match between the 2nd and 3rd platoons ended in a one-sided victory for the 3rd platoon.

Though the 2nd platoon put up a rough resistance midway, it was difficult to break through the 3rd platoon.

“Wow... those guys are pretty good.”

“They’ve got some skill.”

The 1st platoon members, who were watching, secretly admired their performance.

What stood out more than anything was how well-coordinated they were. However...

“They still can’t beat us.”

“Now it’s time for the 4th platoon.”

“We’ve been waiting for this moment.”

The 1st platoon members’ eyes were already burning with anticipation as they prepared to face the 4th platoon.

Seeing this, Damian started organizing their formation and addressed the platoon.

“Alright... the enemy is already exhausted. And as we saw earlier, their teamwork is completely broken.”

The way they fought amongst themselves after losing to the 3rd platoon was embarrassing to watch.

It was fair to say there was no teamwork left.

Instead of being one cohesive unit, they were just forty individual soldiers standing separately.

“But I don’t plan to go easy on them. In fact, I plan to crush them quickly and thoroughly.”

“Agreed.”

“Of course! We’re on the same page.”

“Those guys. They need to pay for running their mouths.”

The platoon members united, raising their resolve. Damian grinned at their enthusiasm.

“We’ll finish this quickly, so stay focused.”

“Okay!”

“Roger that!”

Even though Damian was only thirteen, the fact that he was their commander was all that mattered to the 1st platoon.

And then, the instructor’s shout echoed.

“Begin!”

“Let’s go.”

At Damian’s command, the 1st platoon moved forward.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

In a triangular formation, the 1st platoon quickly advanced towards the 4th platoon’s rectangular formation.

The 4th platoon was so weak that they could be easily overrun even without a formation.

But to be certain and complete...

‘I’ll destroy them.’

As Damian’s eyes flashed, Kyle charged forward with a shout.

“Urahhhhhh!”

With shields in both hands, he slammed into the front line of the 4th platoon.

Bang!

“Ahhhh!”

“What the hell!”

“Aaaahhhh!”

Kyle’s charge, which accurately penetrated the gap between the soldiers, caused their formation to collapse like a sandcastle before a wave.

It’s understandable.

Experiencing Kyle’s strength for the first time is nothing short of shocking.

The narrow-eyed leader widened his eyes as he saw his front line break through so easily.

Not that it made much difference.

“What are you doing! Push harder and hold the line!”

These idiots!

He wanted to curse them more, but there was no time.

In no time, they had become a single spear, deeply penetrating the 4th platoon’s formation.

“Protect the flag! Shield bearers, block the incoming enemies, and spearmen, attack from the sides!”

The narrow-eyed leader urgently gave orders.

The 4th platoon members inside frantically tried to resist as they followed his commands.

But...

Whoosh!

In an instant, Damian leaped over the soldiers and dashed forward, causing the narrow-eyed leader’s face to darken.

“Do you remember?”

“...Ah.”

The conversation they had in front of the admin office.

The narrow-eyed leader looked at Damian with a startled expression. But...

“Do you think I’m a pushover?!”

The narrow-eyed leader thrust his spear at Damian.

‘Predictable.’

Before the opponent could even thrust his spear, Damian could see his movements clearly.

Swish!

The opponent aimed for his face with the spear.

Damian effortlessly tilted his head to the side, dodging the attack, and quickly inserted his spear between the opponent’s arm and his weapon.

Crack!

“Gah!”

With a swift motion, Damian pulled down on his spear, causing the opponent to scream in pain and drop his weapon.

“Idiot.”

On the battlefield, dropping your weapon is as good as signing your death warrant.

Damian looked at him with disdain before channeling magic into his left fist.

And then...

Thud!

With a dull sound, Damian’s punch connected with the opponent’s right side.

It was the same powerful strike that had knocked out even the monstrous Kyle with a single blow.

The narrow-eyed soldier didn’t even have time to scream before he foamed at the mouth and collapsed to the ground.

Thud.

Damian immediately grabbed the flag the soldier had been holding and declared,

“We are victorious.”

“Woooooo!”

“As expected of Damian!”

“Ah, that was so satisfying!”

The battle was over before they even had a chance to do anything.

It was arguably the fastest conclusion in all the platoon battles.

The 4th platoon trainees stood there with their mouths agape, shocked by the prowess of Damian, whom they had dismissed as just a kid.

“Didn’t they say he was thirteen?”

“I just heard something like a hammer hitting...”

Gulp.

With the narrow-eyed soldier knocked out cold, another trainee took over command when the roles were switched.

But the result wasn’t much different.

“The 1st Platoon wins!”

As the 1st platoon emerged victorious, the instructors who had been watching looked at Damian with satisfaction.

“He’s almost a prodigy.”

“He might even surpass us instructors.”

“Hahaha, I can’t deny that.”

As the instructors chuckled and chatted, suddenly...

“What’s so amusing?”

“...?”

The instructors’ eyes widened as a man suddenly appeared.

“Glory to the Kingdom!”

“Glory to the Kingdom!”

They quickly brought their right fists to their left chests in salute.

The middle-aged man nodded in acknowledgment.

He had wavy brown hair, a black eyepatch—a symbol of his—and a thick beard covering his chin and the area below his nose.

His rough, cracked skin looked like it had been weathered by drought, but his eyes were sharp, like a well-honed blade.

Leonhark Belkain.

A commoner-turned-honorary noble, he was one of the most renowned instructors of the kingdom’s 3rd Division, known for producing countless skilled soldiers.

He was highly respected by the other instructors for his past achievements and his current prowess in training.

Leonhark turned his gaze somewhere.

“Is that the youngster you were talking about?”

“Yes, that’s him.”

Leonhark’s gaze was now fixed on Damian.

* * *

A small commotion broke out at the 3rd Training Camp.

An unexpected visitor had arrived.

“...What’s going on? Why is it so noisy?”

After finishing the morning and afternoon battles, Damian returned to the barracks and noticed the commotion in the training camp.

One of his platoon members who had gone to investigate returned to the barracks and said,

“It seems like someone important has arrived.”

“How important are we talking? Did the battalion commander come? Haha.”

Another platoon member chuckled, but the one who had gone to check shook his head.

“If it were the battalion commander, we wouldn’t be standing around like this. We’d be cleaning the entire camp.”

“Haha, true. So, who is this high-ranking person?”

The one who had gone to check replied,

“They say it’s a famous instructor from the 3rd Division. A legend among the instructors. The other instructors were on their best behavior. Haha.”

Hearing that, Damian, who had been sitting in the corner, paused as he was tending to his shield and spear.

He then asked,

“An instructor from the 3rd Division?”

“That’s what they said.”

“What’s his name?”

“Ah, the name... I heard it. Was it Lian... Hart?”

“Leonhark.”

“Yeah, that’s it! Leonhar—wait, Damian, where are you going!”

Damian suddenly bolted out of the barracks, leaving his platoon members puzzled.

“...What’s with him?”

Leonhark Belkain.

The moment Damian heard that name, he felt a shock run through him, and he dashed out.

‘No way... No way...’

Could it really be him?

The 3rd Division was connected to the 3rd Training Camp, but it was still a distant place.

He thought it would be a long time before he met him.

As Damian ran toward the administrative office, he saw someone approaching from the opposite direction.

Damian slowed to a stop as he saw him.

It really was Leonhark.

“Hmm? Is this soldier Damian?”

“Oh, Damian! I was just on my way to find you.”

Brian, who was next to Leonhark, called out to Damian. But at that moment...

Snap!

Damian snapped to attention, bringing his feet together and placing his right fist over his left chest.

“Glory to the Kingdom!”

At his precise salute, Leonhark’s lips curled into a slight smile.

He then brought his own right hand into a fist and placed it over his left chest.

“Is your name Damian?”

“Yes, it is.”

Master...

Damian held back the words that were about to spill out and looked at him.