The Immortal Genius Spearman

The child was barely two years old, if that. Despite being so young, he seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and was holding back his tears.

The knight, clutching the prince tightly to his chest, forced a smile and spoke to the child.

“I will… haah… haah… protect you, no matter what.”

Four subordinates were running alongside the knight as he cradled the prince wrapped in a cloth to his chest.

There had been no attacks yet, but all five knights knew it well.

The enemy pursuers were right on their heels.

“We must protect the prince, no matter what.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll protect him, even if it costs us our lives.”

“Heh, at least our final mission is a noble one, isn’t it?”

Each knight muttered a few words and chuckled.

They knew they were likely to die. But if they were to die, they wanted their deaths to have meaning.

“There they are! Over there!”

The enemy soldiers pursuing them shouted as they closed in.

The knight holding the prince grimaced in anguish.

“Go! Leave this to us!”

“Grr… I’m counting on you!”

The knight holding the prince bit his lip.

Blood dripped from his bitten lip, but he didn’t stop running, pushing himself to his limit.

And then…

“Hah… well, let’s die here, shall we?”

“Hehe, even if we’re going, we’ll take as many of them as we can with us.”

“I’ll take on six of them. The rest of you take down at least one each.”

“Kuhaha, still boasting even at a time like this, huh?”

These were comrades who had fought together on many battlefields.

They knew each other better than anyone.

And so, the knights of the Kingdom of Spanian drew their swords and charged toward the pursuing imperial soldiers.

“It’s been an honor fighting alongside you all, you bastards.”

“Likewise.”

“Yaaaaah!”

With a final shout, they charged fiercely toward their pursuers.

—

Moving in step with the main force, Damian halted the unit as he gazed out over the plains ahead.

“We’ll rest here for a while before moving on. Scouts, advance along the path and assess the situation.”

“Damian, I’ll take over as part of the scout team.”

Before Damian’s orders were fully given, Dianal approached and volunteered.

It was a situation where fierce battles could unfold at any moment.

As the sub-commander, he wanted to ease the burden on the unit members as much as possible.

At Dianal’s offer, Damian nodded.

“Alright, take only a small group of squad leaders. The rest will rest here.”

“Woohoo! Thank you, Sub-Commander!”

“Thank you, Sub-Commander.”

The soldiers, who had been designated as scouts, bowed gratefully to Dianal.

Dianal then pointed to the squad leaders.

“Terka, Jerka. And Pennil and Homenson. You four, come with me.”

“What? Why me?”

“Shut up and just say, ‘Yes, sir.’”

At Jerka’s complaint, Terka jabbed him in the ribs with a smirk.

Pennil and Homenson moved quietly to Dianal’s side.

Then Kyle spoke up.

“Hey, Sub-Commander, why aren’t you taking me?”

“Because you’re slow.”

“Ah…”

At Dianal’s blunt reply, Kyle immediately accepted and lowered his head. Jerka snickered next to him.

“You’re slow because you’re fat.”

“Keep running your mouth, and I’ll break your spine.”

“Try it, pig.”

Jerka growled lowly at Kyle, but Dianal, uninterested, checked his weapons and spoke to Damian.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Be careful. The Empire’s troops might be nearby.”

“Understood.”

Dianal nodded and began advancing with the squad leaders.

Whoosh!

Leading the way, Dianal moved ahead, scouting the path for the main force.

Though it was an open plain, the tall grass obscured visibility considerably.

‘If they’re lying in ambush here, the main force could be in danger.’

Dianal meticulously examined the surroundings as he and the squad advanced.

How far had they traveled?

Just as Dianal felt they had gone a good distance ahead.

“Hold. We’ll fire the signal flare here and wait for the main force.”

“Yes, prepare for it now.”

At Dianal’s command, Terka took out the signal flare. But then,

“Wait a moment.”

Suddenly, Jerka raised his hand, slightly lowering his head, as if concentrating on something.

Seeing Jerka’s serious expression, Dianal and the others watched him cautiously.

Dianal asked,

“What is it?”

“I thought I heard… fighting…”

Swoosh!

Jerka turned his gaze in one direction.

“This way.”

Whoosh!

Jerka dashed off without hesitation, and Dianal and the others quickly followed behind him.

Whoosh! Thump, thump, thump!

Pushing through the tall grass as they ran, the sound of fighting grew louder, just as Jerka had said.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Haaah!”

Someone shouted.

The sound of weapons clashing made Dianal’s eyes sharpen.

‘A battle here? Who could it be?’

And then Dianal saw them.

“Sub-Commander!”

Jerka shouted.

One man was surrounded by about a dozen or so enemies, fighting desperately.

But there was something unusual.

“…A baby?”

The man was holding a baby wrapped in cloth to his chest with his left hand as he fought.

His body was covered in blood.

Despite his severe injuries, he gritted his teeth and refused to give up, gripping his sword tightly.

Dianal recognized him.

The insignia of the Kingdom of Spanian. And those attacking him…

“They’re Imperial soldiers, Sub-Commander.”

“Rescue him at once!”

“Yes, sir!”

With Dianal’s command, the four squad leaders quickly joined the fray.

“Heh, let’s see how long you can hold out.”

“If you just hand over the prince quietly, I’ll make sure you die without suffering.”

The imperial pursuers sneered at the knight from the Kingdom of Spanian, who was cradling the prince.

Although it had been troublesome chasing him down, they knew he had no place left to run.

But at that moment—

Whoosh!

“…!”

They suddenly sensed a presence rushing toward them from behind and turned around.

“E-enemy!”

“Who are they?”

The imperial soldiers quickly drew their swords as they saw members of the Caion Unit charging toward them.

Clang!

“…!”

When their swords clashed, the imperial soldiers stepped back with grim expressions.

It was just a single clash.

Yet, a cold sweat trickled down the back of their necks.

‘T-they’re strong.’

‘Where did these guys come from all of a sudden…?’

They swallowed nervously.

Their opponents were indeed strong, but…

“We have the numbers advantage.”

The enemy had five people.

They had twelve.

The knight from the Kingdom of Spanian was already too injured to continue fighting.

While they kept these enemies occupied, they could seize the prince and escape.

The leader of the pursuit team, who seemed to be the captain, glared sharply at the Caion Unit members and shouted,

“Pair up and engage the enemy! Malc, Requim! You two, secure the prince quickly!”

“Yes!”

“Understood!”

At the captain’s command, the imperial soldiers paired off and charged toward the Caion Unit members.

“If we get injured by these bastards, we have no idea what kind of punishment awaits us back home. If you don’t want to go through twice the training under Leonhark, keep your wits about you!”

“Anything but that…”

“I’d rather die here.”

Jerka and Homenson groaned as they raised their swords. And then, as the imperial soldiers rushed forward, the members of the Caion Unit engaged in battle.

Drawing two swords, Dianal immediately dashed toward the enemies.

Swish!

Dianal’s speed was one of the fastest in the Caion Unit.

In an instant, he moved to the left side of one of the two soldiers and swiftly swung his sword.

Clang! Clang!

The first strike was light.

But the follow-up attack made the imperial soldier flinch and retreat.

The weight of the attack was entirely different from the first.

But then—

“What are you doing!”

“Huff!”

Did they think the second strike was the end?

The other imperial soldier shouted as his comrade hesitated.

But by then, it was already too late.

Slash!

“Argh!”

Dianal’s sword slashed through the soldier’s arm, sending blood spraying into the air.

“Damn it!”

Panicked, the other soldier thrust his sword toward Dianal in an attempt to stab him in the chest.

The thrust was straightforward and fierce, as if it would pierce through Dianal in an instant.

Whoosh!

However, despite its momentum, the attack was so predictable.

Dianal easily dodged the attack, deflecting the soldier’s sword as he closed in.

“…!”

Now in such close quarters that it was difficult to even swing a sword, the two imperial soldiers found themselves unable to attack Dianal.

They risked injuring each other.

And this was exactly what Dianal intended.

With their distance closed, Dianal pinned himself against the soldier holding the sword, preventing him from swinging it.

He then threw one of his swords toward the other soldier beside them.

Swoosh!

“Huff!”

The imperial soldier hadn’t expected Dianal to throw his sword.

It was understandable.

On the battlefield, to discard one’s sword meant certain death.

But because Dianal had two swords, he didn’t hesitate at all. His attack caught the soldier off guard, and the sword struck his shoulder.

“Gah!”

Already wounded in the arm, the soldier screamed as the sword pierced his other shoulder.

Dianal then reached out and grabbed the wrist of the soldier he had pinned close.

Grab.

Though there were many movements, from the moment he closed the distance, threw his sword, and grabbed the wrist, it all happened in just a few seconds.

It happened so quickly that the imperial soldier’s eyes widened in shock.

“W-who are you…?”

“I’m Dianal, Sub-Commander of the Caion Unit. Remember that even in the afterlife.”

“Caion…!”

The imperial soldier tried to lift his sword, but—

Twitch.

With his wrist in Dianal’s grip, even moving became difficult.

What kind of monstrous strength did he possess?

And in that brief moment of hesitation—

Slash!

Dianal’s body spun swiftly, his sword slicing cleanly through the imperial soldier’s neck.

“Gurgle…!”

The imperial soldier couldn’t even land a proper attack before his life ended.

“Torikar!”

The soldier with the sword on his shoulder screamed his comrade’s name.

Where did this monster come from?

But he didn’t have time to mourn.

In the next instant, Dianal, like a shooting star, dashed forward. His sword began to hum with a faint vibration.

“…Magic?”

Slash!

With a single powerful strike, Dianal’s sword cleaved through the soldier’s body.

Thud.

Dianal, having taken down two soldiers in an instant, turned to check on his squad members.

There was a slight difference in timing, but the others were also overpowering the enemy.

Watching this, Dianal felt certain.

‘All the training we endured… it wasn’t in vain.’

There were countless times when it felt like they might die each day.

But they had all endured it and come this far.

And now, they were reaping the rewards of their hard work.

Dianal pulled his sword from the fallen soldier’s shoulder.

It was time to finish this.

With a fierce glint in his eyes, Dianal rushed toward the remaining enemies.