Chapter 61

Chapter 61

“......Hoo.”

Damian let out a small breath as he stepped outside.

His first meeting with Kiaran, the 6th Legion Commander.

It was an encounter so intense that it was impossible to forget.

‘Could it be... that someone like her existed even back then?’

No, perhaps there were more like her.

But one thing was clear: Kiaran hadn’t reached that position simply because of her status.

‘The first female general in the kingdom, they said....’

In fact, the rumors seemed to understate her.

For most, just standing before her would make it difficult to even open their mouths.

“Hey, deputy commander. Did you just see the legion commander?”

“What kind of person was she?”

Upon returning to the barracks, the soldiers questioned Damian.

They had only seen Kiaran briefly when she stepped out of the carriage and entered the reception room.

Damian glanced at Jerka at their questions.

“What? Why are you looking at me?”

“If you stood in front of the commander, you wouldn’t even be able to open your mouth. You’d be overwhelmed by her presence.”

“What do you mean! I have a strong spirit, you know!”

Jerka protested fiercely.

But Dianal, who was beside him, burst into a small laugh.

“This guy may act like a troublemaker, but surprisingly, he has a soft heart. He’s like a little girl.”

“Heh, it seems like you’ve got Jerka figured out, Dianal,” said Terka, Jerka’s twin brother.

Jerka shouted angrily at the back-and-forth between Dianal and Terka.

“You both want to get beaten up, huh?!”

But at that moment.

Bang.

“Glory to the kingdom!”

Kiaran and Vincent suddenly entered the barracks.

Damian, who was sitting, sprang to his feet and saluted.

Kiaran nodded slightly and looked at the Caion troops present.

Swoosh.

Each time Kiaran made eye contact with a soldier, they flinched.

The moment they met her gaze, it felt like standing before a giant predator.

Kiaran looked at the stiffened soldiers and spoke.

“I’ve heard about your contributions. You’ve all been through a lot due to the sudden support.”

“It’s nothing; we were just doing our duty.”

“N-No, not at all!”

After Damian’s response, the others stuttered one by one.

Kiaran smirked at the sight and said.

“I expect great performances from you all in the future.”

With a small word of encouragement, Kiaran turned and left the barracks.

Vincent saluted Kiaran as she walked away, but she didn’t even glance his way, waving her hand dismissively as she departed.

A short but powerful presence.

And once she left.

“Wow...”

“It felt like I couldn’t even breathe.”

“I get why the deputy commander said what he did.”

Everyone shared their impressions of meeting Kiaran. And then.

“Hahaha! Did you see Jerka earlier? He was completely frozen!”

Kyle laughed loudly at Jerka, whose face turned bright red.

“Do you want to die?”

Jerka looked ready to draw his sword at any moment, but Kyle grinned and said.

“Bring it on. I’ll turn you into mush.”

“Both of you, cut it out. We’ll pack up and head back to the unit today.”

Vincent intervened, looking at the two with a troubled expression.

Damian asked Vincent, sensing he had something on his mind.

“Was the meeting successful?”

“...Yeah.”

Damian wanted to ask what the meeting was about, but he couldn’t bring himself to.

Soon, the Caion unit started packing up swiftly.

Vincent was acting as the temporary commander until the unit was fully operational.

However...

“I’ve requested for Damian to be appointed as the commander of the Caion Unit.”

“...!”

Leonhark’s usually composed eyes wavered slightly.

He wasn’t easily shaken by most things.

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

Vincent’s words were bold, even by Leonhark’s standards.

Leonhark fell silent.

After a moment, he finally spoke.

“What was the legion commander’s response?”

Vincent recalled the conversation he had with the commander.

* * *

“Denied.”

“....”

Kiaran’s curt reply left Vincent speechless.

She let out a small sigh at his reaction.

“What, already bored of it? Or do you really think that a rookie is commander material?”

“...Yes, I do.”

Kiaran looked at him seriously and asked, “The unit was only just formed. How can you be so sure when you barely know him?”

It was a reasonable doubt.

The Caion Unit had been established for less than a month, and only a few operations had taken place in that short time.

Yet Vincent had decided on someone to lead at the commander level—a private with less than two years of service.

But Vincent responded without hesitation.

“I may not have known him for long, but my opinion of him remains unchanged, and I’m confident in it.”

Vincent recalled the first time he saw Damian during a test.

His spear skills were extraordinary, taking down elite knights of the Monster Knights as if it were nothing.

But it wasn’t just his skills with the spear that had caught Vincent’s attention.

Most soldiers, no matter how well-trained, freeze up in actual combat situations. Even those who don’t are rarely able to utilize their full potential.

“But he was different.”

The way Damian climbed the wall to repel enemies and command the other soldiers remained vividly in his mind.

Moreover...

“Who could have thought of assembling a small strike team to target the enemy’s rear like he did?”

And he had volunteered to lead the mission himself.

“Most soldiers would have been too scared to even step outside the base.”

The moment they faced the enemy, they knew death was a real possibility.

That’s what the fear of death does—it clouds judgment and paralyzes the body.

“In the short time I’ve seen Private Damian, he’s proven to be entirely unlike a typical soldier.”

And...

His gaze felt almost identical to that of the legion commander.

Vincent swallowed the latter part of his words, knowing it might come across as an insult to a commander who had clawed her way up through deadly circumstances.

“...Hoo.”

Kiaran let out a sigh, her emotions complicated by Vincent’s statement.

Vincent was a capable officer, trusted enough to be given command of the critical Caion Unit.

‘I thought it would take at least a year.’

But it had only been a month.

Vincent had already found someone he deemed worthy in that short span of time.

Rather than doubt, curiosity now sparked in Kiaran’s mind.

Just how exceptional must this person be for Vincent to speak of him this way?

After a brief pause, Kiaran spoke to Vincent.

“Alright, how about we do this?”

“What do you propose?”

“Send him to Makstri. Let him take charge of a small unit there, and if he shows results, we’ll appoint him as the commander of the Caion Unit.”

“...Makstri?”

Vincent’s expression faltered for a moment.

“Commander, that place is...”

But Kiaran, having already made her decision, looked at Vincent and said.

“Let’s see if he truly has what it takes.”

If he could survive there, it would prove his worth.

Vincent could only look at her in silence.