Chapter 103
Thud. Whoosh!
Even though it was a plain area, there were places to hide because it was adjacent to a hill rising on Sragan’s left side.
The Caion unit began to climb the hill, keeping their bodies as low as possible.
“Damn it... When I think about it, we’ve never taken a normal route anywhere.”
Kyle, who was already large in build, had to crouch even lower than the others.
And his discomfort fueled his complaints.
But then, Jerka, who was right behind him, spoke up.
“Stop whining and keep moving, unless you want the captain to smack you later. I’m already enduring this, staring at your big butt while we move.”
“What, you son of a... never mind. We’ll settle this later.”
He couldn’t afford to cause a disturbance that might jeopardize the mission.
Kyle clamped his mouth shut and refocused on the path ahead.
Shhh.
At that moment, Damian silently raised his fist.
The hundred members of the Caion unit halted in unison, holding their breath.
Before them lay the main force of the Empire gathered in front of Sragan.
“We can’t be seen from here, so don’t worry.”
“Even so, keep your heads down, just in case.”
The bushes were low, so Kyle had to lower his body even further, almost squatting awkwardly.
Everyone else also kept their bodies as low as possible, staring ahead.
Meanwhile, Damian thought to himself.
‘Where are they?’
He scrutinized the enemy forces carefully.
If it was a knight order, their presence would be unmistakable even from a distance.
However, he couldn’t spot any group that looked like a knight order among the enemy troops.
‘They haven’t come out yet.’
If they hadn’t shown up yet, it was a favorable situation.
After all, if the Aura Master didn’t join the battle, their side had an overwhelming numerical advantage.
A hundred against three hundred was manageable, but ten thousand against thirty thousand was a whole different scale.
‘The only thing they’re relying on is the Aura Master.’
Damian scanned the surroundings carefully.
If they slipped out through another exit and circled around, he might miss them.
After observing the front for a while, Damian slowly stood up.
“Move to another location. The information we can gather here is limited.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dianal responded, following Damian’s lead when—
“Captain.”
From behind, Fennil called out to Damian.
Damian turned his head to see Fennil pointing towards a spot.
“Over there, I just saw some others appearing.”
“...”
Damian looked in the direction Fennil was indicating.
It was hard to see clearly since they were moving right below the hill.
“...!”
But Damian was certain.
It was the knight order.
“You spotted them well.”
If they had moved elsewhere in haste, they might have missed them completely.
Damian, relieved, watched the movement of the knight order.
‘Are they trying to join the main force?’
But the direction didn’t quite match.
Judging by the way they were moving now—
‘They plan to circle around and target our rear.’
If, by any chance, the enemy’s main force engaged from the front while the knight order with the Aura Master attacked from the rear or the flanks...
“All units, move quickly.”
Just imagining it was horrifying.
Thousands could die without even being able to put up a fight.
‘The enemy force numbers a hundred.’
But the qualitative difference between them and us is like heaven and earth.
Damian carefully observed the enemy.
To draw their attention, there was only one option—
‘Hit and run.’
After making up his mind, Damian looked at Dianal.
Understanding his gaze, Dianal nodded and began relaying the orders to the squad leaders.
“No direct confrontation. We attack from a distance and retreat immediately.”
Nod.
All the unit members nodded.
Seeing this, Damian briefly recalled the third squad leader he had met in Makstri.
‘If we had his archers here, it would be perfect.’
When a mage’s training reaches the 7th rank, they can utilize Aura as well.
The knight was startled by the intense blue glow from Damian’s spear and hastily raised his sword.
Shing!
Damian thrust his spear with such speed that the knight staggered backward in fear.
The attack aimed at his chest was so fierce it made his heart pound.
But at that moment—
“It’s your legs, you idiot!”
The loud voice from his side.
The knight fighting Damian flinched at the shout and quickly swung his sword downward, but—
“You’re too late!”
Swoosh!
The spear, which had been aimed at his chest, abruptly changed direction and struck the gap in the armor near the knight’s knee.
Crunch!
“Aaagh!”
The spearhead dug into the unprotected joint, and red blood spurted out.
As the knight staggered, Damian struck his helmet’s side with the shaft of his spear.
Bang!
A destructive force that rattled the brain.
The knight’s body wobbled, and the magical energy emanating from him dissipated.
He had clearly lost consciousness for a moment.
“Haa!”
Damian then lunged forward, hooking his spear around the knight’s legs.
Thud!
The heavy weight of his armor made a dull sound as he crashed to the ground.
“You bastard!”
“Aadin!”
It seemed his name was Aadin, as the other Rose Knights shouted while rushing forward to save him.
Thud!
But Damian quickly plunged his spear into the fallen knight’s neck.
“Gurgh!”
The knight made a gasping sound as the life left him, dying instantly.
The other knights were visibly shaken by the death of their comrade.
No, it wasn’t just his death that shocked them; it was the fact that the one who killed him was not a knight but a mere soldier.
Whoosh!
Damian, who had just killed a Rose Knight, quickly retreated, keeping an eye on the knights.
He rejoined his comrades, maintaining a distance of about ten meters from the knights.
“You filthy... You dare...!”
“How dare you kill Aadin...!”
The knights in the back trembled with rage.
They wanted to charge and kill them right away, but the ferocity Damian had just shown made them hesitate.
Swish.
Damian turned his head to look at someone approaching from the front.
‘That must be him.’
It was clear to him at a glance that this was Piaren.
Blonde hair.
A delicate face that could almost be mistaken for that of a woman, if not for the expression of pure malice visible through his helmet.
Damian quickly shouted to his comrades.
“Scatter! Get to the rendezvous point, no matter what!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Understood!”
With Piaren now on the scene, fighting would be suicide.
At Damian’s command, the Caion unit members began to retreat into the bushes without any semblance of order.
“...!”
The Rose Knights, seeing this, yelled in shock.
“Do you think we’ll let you escape?!”
“We’ll kill every last one of you!”
They dismounted and immediately chased after the Caion soldiers.
The dense undergrowth was too thick for their horses to pass through.
However—
Clang, clang!
Their thick armor, which protected them so well in battle, became their greatest hindrance.
The heavy armor slowed them down, making it impossible to catch up to the fleeing Caion soldiers.
Whoosh!
Damian, watching the charging Rose Knights, was the last to slip away.
“We’ll meet again.”
Murmuring softly as he glanced at Piaren in the distance, Damian disappeared into the bushes.
It might seem like only a single enemy had been killed.
‘But for the first battle...’
The Caion unit had achieved victory.
A faint smile graced Damian’s lips as he fled.