The Immortal Genius Spearman

“Where are their positions?”

“We only saw them moving to the opposite hill, but we lost track of them afterward.”

“I see.”

Milo narrowed his eyes.

Still, it was certain that they were around this hill.

It was a relatively low hill, slightly raised above the plain.

The underbrush was low, and the trees weren’t dense, so it seemed it would be easy to spot them if they climbed to the top.

However, there was one thing that concerned him.

The tall grass, which reached up to thigh height, could be a variable.

‘If they are lying low on the ground and hiding…’

Milo frowned slightly but quickly shook his head.

‘Even so, there’s no need to fear a mere regular unit.’

Judging from the fact that they threw javelins, there didn’t seem to be any archers among them.

Milo immediately looked at the knights.

“Remove all armor except for the parts covering vital areas, and move.”

“Yes, sir.”

Clank! Clank!

They quickly removed their armor, except for the pieces protecting the chest and groin.

They only carried swords and shields.

“Let’s go.”

Since all the knights could use magic, their physical abilities were considerable.

Moreover, with half the weight of their armor gone, they began running up the hill at an incredible speed.

And then it happened.

Whizz!

A soldier hiding on the top of the hill quickly raised and waved a flag.

Seeing this, Damian muttered to himself.

“They’re starting to move.”

Damian and the squad leaders, who were lying in ambush on the opposite hill from where the Rose knights were climbing, held their breath and waited for them.

‘They’ll naturally try to look for us from the top of the hill.’

It was only natural for them to climb the hill.

However, what happened after that was crucial.

‘We must launch a surprise attack.’

It would be best if they scattered, but if not, they needed to reduce their numbers with a surprise attack.

The Rose knights were likely all capable of using magic.

Not to mention their swordsmanship.

Even within the Caion unit, those who could match them were few and far between.

And even then, it was not about winning but just holding them off.

Considering that level of skill…

‘Facing them head-on would mean certain defeat.’

Without Damian, even a hundred Caion soldiers wouldn’t be able to kill ten Rose knights.

And before long, the Rose knights reached the top of the hill.

“Hmmm…”

Milo, along with the squad leaders, looked down.

At that moment…

“There they are!”

At someone’s shout, Milo looked in the direction of the voice.

One of the squad leaders was pointing to the bottom of the hill.

There, they could see the enemy soldiers fleeing downhill.

Milo’s eyes sparkled.

“Chase them down! We will annihilate them completely!”

“Yes, sir!”

The situation was now different from when they were fully armored.

The knights, amplifying their physical abilities with magic, began to run down the hill.

Despite the strain on their feet and knees due to the armor and weapons they carried, it was nothing new to them.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Like a herd of charging bulls, the Rose knights were intimidating.

Watching the charging Rose knights…

“Whoa, that’s terrifying.”

“Look at their formation even while running. The Empire’s knights are really something else.”

The soldiers muttered one by one.

Seeing this, Terka, who was leading the unit, spoke up.

“Stop wasting time and focus. Don’t forget to scatter as soon as the battle starts.”

“Don’t worry, we may talk like this, but we’re all on edge.”

“Phew… But they are really scary.”

Despite pretending to be relaxed, the Caion soldiers actually felt their lips drying up.

“The lieutenant will handle it.”

Terka muttered quietly.

And then…

Swish.

Damian, who had been lying flat on the ground, slowly stood up as he watched the Rose knights quickly descend the hill.

Along with him, Dianal and the other squad leaders who were hiding around him also stood up.

A small group of less than ten people.

They couldn’t dispatch too many soldiers.

Even if twenty of the hundred left, the enemy would notice.

To avoid revealing any changes in the main force’s numbers, they had only brought out fewer than ten people.

Nod.

Nod.

At Damian’s nod, they all nodded back in unison. And at that moment…

Whoosh!

With a sound of silence, Damian’s figure darted after the descending Rose knights like a bolt of lightning.

Swoosh!

An incredible speed.

It was as if he was not running down the slope but rather falling down it.

Thump! Whoosh!

And then Damian, who had taken a running start, leapt into the air.

“…?”

One of the Rose knights, sensing something strange from behind, turned his head.

“Ugh!”

He shouted in surprise. And then…

Thud!

“Argh!”

With a scream, he collapsed as a spear pierced through his abdomen.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re under attack!”

“It’s him!”

It was the one who had killed Aadin earlier.

The knights gritted their teeth and rushed towards Damian.

“Hyaa!”

“Hyah!”

Two Rose knights swung their swords at Damian.

A coordinated attack, with one aiming high and the other low.

It was a deadly attack, especially for a move executed in such a fleeting moment.

But before their swords could even reach Damian’s body…

Thwack!

Damian grabbed the neck of the one he had just stabbed and used him as a shield.

“Gah, gasp!”

“Argh!”

The knights who were swinging their swords screamed in horror. They had to desperately divert their blades from their intended path.

And at that moment…

Slash! Thud! Thud!

Damian, holding the spear in one hand, swiftly stabbed the thigh of the knight on the right twice.

In the blink of an eye, the knight, with two spear wounds in his thigh, screamed in pain.

“Arghhh!”

As the knight collapsed to the ground, Damian threw the one he had been using as a shield at the knight to his left.

Thud!

One knight was injured in the abdomen, and another was wounded in the thigh.

But the important thing was that all of this had happened in just a matter of seconds.

It was truly a rapid sequence of events.

Damian took a step back and exhaled lightly.

“Phew…”

Every move had been meticulously calculated.

If he had made even the slightest mistake, he could have been struck by the two knights’ attacks.

Gripping his spear tightly with both hands, Damian looked at his opponents.

“Dianal, Kyle. Split into two groups and engage them. Don’t overdo it.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Aye, sir!”

They moved according to the plan.

Dianal blew a whistle loudly with his fingers.

Beeeep!

The sound spread across the entire hill, and the Caion unit, who had been retreating downhill, turned around.

“Waaah!”

“Kill them all!”

“Knights or not, kill them all!”

The Caion soldiers charged menacingly towards the Rose knights.

They were now being attacked from both front and back.

Milo frowned as he looked at the Caion unit.

“Those crazy moths to a flame…!”

Just because a few of them had attacked the rear, those bastards dared to challenge them head-on?

It would be impossible unless they were out of their minds.

“Kill them all!”

“Yes, sir!”

At Milo’s loud command, the Rose knights spread out to target the Caion soldiers.

In response, the Caion unit quickly formed a square formation with their shields raised in front.

“Do not break formation!”

“Defense first, do not charge in!”

They knew it.

They knew they couldn’t do anything against those monsters.

‘We’re just stalling for time.’

They hoped the enemy’s focus would be on them.

And during that time, the lieutenant and the squad leaders at the rear would reduce their numbers.

‘How many can we take down…’

To be honest, they couldn’t predict it.

Each one of those knights was far superior to them.

A single Rose knight could easily handle four or five Caion soldiers.

But it would be different for the squad leaders who were chosen based on their skills. Besides…

“Believe in the lieutenant! He’ll definitely get it done!”

Terka shouted.

It was important for them to focus on what they could do.

“Do you think you can block us with such a pathetic formation?!”

Milo kicked off the ground and charged forward.

Gaining momentum from the downhill slope, he forcefully pushed forward with his shield.

Crash!

“Ugh!”

Milo’s charge, enhanced by magic, caused the square formation of the Caion unit to shake violently.

Could a single shield charge be this powerful?

It wasn’t just raw strength; it was a precise attack targeting the Caion unit’s weakness.

But…

“…!”

He had clearly aimed for the weak spot between the shields, but their formation remained firm.

When the soldier at the front staggered from Milo’s charge, his comrades behind him quickly supported him.

‘They’re not just any ordinary group, are they?’

These soldiers were stronger than he had thought.

Milo’s expression hardened for a moment.

* * *

Fwoosh!

Riselotte’s eyes flickered slightly as she watched the three signal flares soar into the sky.

The three flares signified that Piaren was joining the enemy’s main force.

“…As expected.”

She had hoped he wouldn’t show up.

But the fact that the flares were delayed meant…

‘It means they held him off for quite a while.’

Even if that wasn’t the case, just successfully scouting Piaren was enough to consider their mission accomplished.

Approaching a knight order led by an Aura Master was a life-threatening task in itself.

“Pull the troops back. Move quickly to the next area.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Tooooot! Tooot! Tooooot!

With Riselotte’s command, the retreat horn blared loudly.

Although they could overwhelm Piaren with sheer numbers, the number of allied casualties would be too high.

‘A force three times larger is retreating…’

It’s truly unfair.

The existence of an Aura Master.

But what could they do?

For now, she just had to do what she needed to as a commander.

“Move to a more advantageous battlefield for us.”

She had already discussed this with the commander of the Spanian Kingdom, Mateurus.

As proof, they were also destroying their catapults and preparing to relocate their formation.

They had to destroy the catapults, as leaving them behind could mean the enemy might use them.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Watching the allied forces of the Baroque and Spanian Kingdoms suddenly retreat, Roberta frowned.

“That massive army is retreating?”

“Shall we withdraw as well? They’re even destroying the catapults.”

After all, their job was to protect Sragan. But…

“No, there’s no point in defending now that the walls are breached.”

In fact, now that they had gained the upper hand…

“We’ll drive them back completely and advance all the way down.”

If they could push forward to the Baroque Kingdom’s border with this momentum…

‘The next battlefield will be the border of the Baroque Kingdom.’

Roberta smiled as she thought of Piaren, who would be quickly joining them.

“Pursue the enemy. Chase them down.”

The Empire’s army, now emboldened, began advancing rapidly, chasing the retreating allied forces.

And at the same time…

Clang!

“Argh!”

A short distance away from the main battlefield.

There was a single lancer wreaking havoc.