Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Damian stepped forward, leading the charge for the first time since the platoon battle had begun.

As the platoon leader, he had to stay back to command his soldiers and protect the flag... But now, the situation has changed.

While there were advantages to his previous position, Damian had already proven himself enough as a platoon leader.

‘Now...’

He steadied his spear.

It was the final platoon battle, and it was the 1st Platoon’s turn to attack.

This was his chance to make a lasting impression on the instructors, especially if they could win against the 3rd Platoon, which had Apel.

‘Securing the title of Best Trainee is within reach.’

Winning against Apel would widen the gap between them, leaving no doubt about his superiority.

‘Sorry, but you can’t blame me for this, Apel.’

Apel was undeniably talented. He would continue to rise, even without any artifacts from this place. He might not gain any today, but that wouldn’t change his trajectory.

“Everyone, I intend to finish this fight quickly,” Damian announced.

Now that he was leading the charge, he had no intention of holding back.

His platoon members nodded seriously, understanding the gravity of his words.

Damian continued, “We’re going at full speed from the start. Stay focused and keep up.”

“Roger!”

“Heh, let’s do this!”

As the 1st Platoon quickly formed into a triangular formation, the 3rd Platoon also prepared their rectangular formation in defense.

Ideally, Damian would have preferred a different formation, but...

‘In this situation, we have to use what we’ve learned.’

Damian’s eyes locked onto Apel, who had moved to the center of the formation, likely to protect the flag. The recent battle had clearly drained him, and now they were relying on Apel to defend their flag.

And that meant...

‘I won’t be able to avoid a direct confrontation.’

To capture the flag, Damian knew he would have to face Apel.

“Hoo...”

As he surveyed the battlefield, Damian took a deep breath, gripping his spear tightly. In that moment, he pushed thoughts of the instructors and pointed out of his mind.

In this moment, his only focus was on one thing:

‘I will win.’

His mind filled with the sole intention of crushing his opponent.

“1st Platoon attack, 3rd Platoon defense. Let the final platoon battle begin!”

At the instructor’s signal, Damian sprang into action, leading the charge.

Tap!

His speed was neither too fast nor too slow, maintaining a pace that his platoon could follow while still imposing a sense of urgency on the defending 3rd Platoon.

He kept just the right balance, leading the charge in the triangular formation as they rushed towards the 3rd Platoon’s defensive line.

“Wh-why are they moving so fast?”

The 3rd Platoon members tightened their grips on their shields and spears, alarmed by the speed of the approaching 1st Platoon.

The astonishing part was that even at such a high speed, the 1st Platoon’s formation remained intact.

‘They’re impressive.’

‘...No joke.’

Despite their alarm, they kept those thoughts to themselves, unwilling to admit defeat before the battle even began.

And then...

Whoosh!

Damian suddenly increased his speed, rapidly closing the distance.

And within range of his spear...

Vrrrm.

His eyes gleamed as he gripped his spear with both hands.

‘I’ll break through... in one strike!’

Bang!

He targeted the narrow gap between the shields, focusing his mana into the spear as it plunged forward, tearing through the wooden shield.

The spear penetrated the shield and drove into the formation.

“Ugh!”

“What the hell!”

“Grab that spear! Hurry!”

The spear pushed its way into the formation, causing the 3rd Platoon members to panic and shout in alarm. If that spear were to start wreaking havoc inside their formation...

“Hyaah!”

Someone lunged to grab the spear, but Damian was quicker.

Thwack!

“Gah!”

“Ugh!”

With a swift, horizontal sweep of his spear, he knocked two soldiers to the ground, opening a path.

The soldiers who were hit groaned in pain, clutching their sides and arms, immobilized by the sharp impact.

“Advance!”

At Damian’s command, the spearmen of the 1st Platoon surged through the gap before it could be closed, attacking the 3rd Platoon soldiers in their way.

“Damian!”

“Hurry, get in here!”

The 1st Platoon shield bearers wedged their shields into the gap, widening the opening, and shouted for Damian.

But before they could even finish their call...

‘I’m already on my way!’

Damian, moving like a blur, pushed his way into the breach, shoving aside any 3rd Platoon soldiers who tried to stop him.

“Stop him!”

“There’s not enough room for him to move! We have to take him down now!”

“Bring him down!”

As soon as Damian entered the 3rd Platoon’s formation, four soldiers rushed at him from all sides.

Shh.

Damian’s eyes scanned his attackers.

He noted their gaze, the direction of their steps, the angles of their shoulders, and even the twist in their torsos.

In an instant, all of this information processed in Damian’s mind.

Whoosh!

In a blink, Damian lowered his stance and spun around.

Swish!

“Huh?!”

One soldier’s spear missed and struck a comrade on the opposite side instead.

The hands that had reached out to grab Damian swiped through empty air.

It was as if Damian had vanished like a ghost, leaving the 3rd Platoon members disoriented.

But then...

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Ahh!”

“Ugh!”

“Argh! My ankle!”

In one fluid motion, Damian swept his spear low, striking the ankles of the four soldiers, sending them flying into the air. As they crashed to the ground, Damian shouted at the top of his lungs.

“1st Platoon!”

“We’re already here!”

“Split their formation! Raise your shields!”

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Surrounding Damian, the 1st Platoon soldiers raised their shields and drove them into the 3rd Platoon, splitting their formation in two.

It was a tactic they had previously used against the 2nd and 4th Platoons.

Thump!

“Damn it, these guys...!”

The 3rd Platoon soldiers tried desperately to push back, but they couldn’t break through the solid wall of shields that the 1st Platoon had established.

“...This is unreal.”

Gerard watched in disbelief as his platoon’s formation was split in half in an instant.

Could these really be just training camp trainees?

Apel, on the other hand, remained silent, his gaze fixed on Damian.

“That guy is the key. As long as we stop him, they won’t be able to take the flag,” Apel said as he stepped forward, gripping his spear tightly.

Even though their formation had been split, their strength was still intact.

“I’ll handle this,” Apel declared with determination.

“...Apel.” Gerard, clutching the flag tightly, felt a surge of shame. Here he was, relying on someone five years younger than him to hold the line.

Apel walked toward Damian, who was also approaching. A head-on clash between the two was inevitable from the start.

‘The future grand general...’

Damian thought to himself that if there was ever a time to defeat Apel, it was now.

‘It’s not like we’re enemies on the battlefield yet.’

Right here and now...

‘I’ll do my best to take you down.’

As that thought crossed Damian’s mind, his eyes flashed with determination.

Whoosh!

Apel made the first move, lunging forward with a short breath as he pushed off the ground.

Damian quickly sidestepped, narrowly avoiding Apel’s spear, which sliced through the air.

But that was just the first feint.

Thud!

Apel swiftly shifted his footing and twisted his spear towards Damian.

‘I can see it.’

Apel, in the future, would be faster and far stronger. His specialty was the sword, after all.

But right now, Damian had the upper hand.

Clang!

With a swift parry, Damian knocked Apel’s spear aside and, like a snake striking its prey, aimed his spear at Apel’s hand.

Surprised by the unexpected move, Apel quickly retracted his spear, but it was exactly what Damian had anticipated.

As Apel drew back, Damian thrust his spear forward, aiming straight for Apel’s chest.

The spear was charged with mana, and Apel’s eyes flashed as he quickly brought his spear up from below to block the incoming strike.

Crash!

The impact made it sound as though the spear had snapped.

Apel’s face twisted in discomfort as his spear quivered from the force, causing a sharp pain to shoot through his hand.

The strike was far stronger than he had anticipated.

‘To think he’s this skilled with mana...’

Was Damian really just a commoner? Or could it be that he was like Apel, a hidden talent?

His mind raced, but there was no time to dwell on it.

Whoosh!

Damian seized the momentum, closing in on Apel with a series of rapid thrusts.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Apel, forced on the defensive, retreated quickly, unable to block the barrage.

‘How...’

How could such spear techniques exist?

Though the spear wasn’t his primary weapon, Apel had trained with various weapons and tactics since he was a child.

‘And yet...’

In this mere training camp, to encounter such an insurmountable wall?

The gap between them felt impossibly wide.

Vrrrm!

With a slight tremor, Damian’s spear shot forward again, and Apel hastily raised his own to block.

‘I can’t dodge it...!’

His instincts kicked in, and he brought up his spear to parry the attack. But...

Crack!

Apel’s spear snapped in two.

“Ugh!”

He was flung backward, crying out in pain.

Thud.

As he hit the ground, Apel scrambled to his feet, but it was too late.

Flutter!

Damian already had the flag in his hand.

At his feet lay Gerard, unconscious and unable to stand.

Damian raised the flag high.

And with that sight...

“Woohoo!”

“We did it! We won!”

The 1st Platoon erupted in victorious cheers, celebrating their triumph.

In contrast, the 3rd Platoon looked dejected, but...

“You all did well.”

“...Apel, I’m sorry. We couldn’t hold the line.”

“Is Gerard okay? He seemed to have passed out for a moment.”

Instead of dwelling on their loss, they encouraged each other, comforting themselves with their efforts.

“...”

Apel stared at Damian, who returned his gaze.

Their eyes met, lingering in the air between them.

Then, Apel stepped forward, extending his hand to Damian.

“Congratulations. But next time... I won’t lose.”

“Next time, let’s fight on the same side. Beating you twice would be tough,” Damian replied with a grin.

Apel chuckled.

“Don’t exaggerate.”

He gave Damian a light tap on the chest before turning away.

‘Even though I lost this time...’

His eyes glinted with a fierce resolve, undiminished by defeat.

Damian watched Apel walk away, a smile of uncertain meaning on his lips.

‘Did I really just beat Apel Vanstreol?’

This defeat might push him to become an even greater monster.

But for now...

“Woooooo!”

The 1st Platoon members rushed toward Damian, still cheering.

“We won! Hahaha!”

They all understood the significance of this victory.

There’s no greater joy than earning success through hard work.

As the battle concluded, the instructors who had been watching rose from their seats.

“This was a meaningful platoon battle.”

“If every battle was at this level, our training camp could become the best in the kingdom. It’s a bit of a shame.”

“Haha, but watching those guys really fired me up.”

“Let’s make sure the remaining training goes well.”

With two weeks left, the instructors exchanged determined looks.

And among them...

“...”

Leonhark stood silently, his eyes fixed on Damian.