The Immortal Genius Spearman

Chapter 173

Wuuuuuuung!

With an intense vibration, Damian’s fighting spirit concentrated on his spear.

In that moment, the blue aura emanated an overwhelming force, as if it would explode at any second.

“Now!”

“Fire!”

Chwajajajajajak!

Paul’s archers, who had flanked left and ascended to the upper floors of a building, unleashed a volley of arrows at the imperial soldiers positioned at the southern gate.

At the same time, Jerka and his troops, who had climbed onto the opposite rooftops, charged toward the imperial soldiers.

“Kill them all!”

“There are more over here, you bastards!”

As fifty of Jerka’s men struck from the flank, the imperial soldiers hastily swung their swords in an attempt to defend themselves.

But the real threat was approaching from the front—Damian.

Bertom shouted.

“Forget the flanks! Stop that one coming from the front!”

“Leave it to me!”

Responding to Bertom’s cry, an imperial commander leading the front-line troops yelled out.

Lemnous Veronharn.

Among Bertom’s subordinates, he was renowned for his exceptional agility.

Moreover, his mastery over mana allowed him to slice through boulders effortlessly with a longsword.

Thus, even though his opponent was an Aura Master, Lemnous remained confident.

For some reason, his adversary had not yet utilized aura.

‘If he’s not using aura, then I can bridge the gap with pure skill!’

The most likely reason was that his opponent’s body was under too much strain to wield aura.

If that were the case, then he would overpower him and—

‘I’ll secure my victory!’

With his eyes gleaming, Lemnous charged straight toward Damian.

Watching Lemnous rush in, Dianal, standing behind Damian, sighed lightly.

To him, Lemnous seemed like nothing more than a moth hurling itself into flames.

And as Damian saw Lemnous charging at him, he stomped the ground forcefully.

Thud!

Swiieeek!

Like an arrow, Damian shot forward.

Lemnous, watching Damian accelerate at a terrifying speed, swung his sword.

“I’ll kill you in one strike!”

Swuaaaak!

Lemnous’ blade sliced through the air, hurtling toward Damian.

It was undoubtedly a fast and sharp strike—one he could take great pride in.

Unfortunately, his opponent was simply too skilled.

Whik!

“……!”

With a slight twist of his body, Damian evaded the attack, causing Lemnous’ sword to cut through nothing but empty space.

It was an effortless, fluid motion—like flowing water.

“D-Damn it!”

Lemnous twisted his body in desperation, attempting another strike at Damian.

However, his reckless attack, made in a desperate bid to regain the upper hand, left him vulnerable.

‘The neck.’

Before Lemnous even completed his swing, Damian already knew exactly where the attack was aimed.

His gaze.

The angle of his twisted waist and the grip of his wrist holding the sword.

Before the blade even moved, Damian had already predicted the trajectory of the attack—dodging it was effortless.

But this time, he chose not to evade.

Swiiiek!

Clang!

“Gah!”

With a swift upward sweep, Damian deflected Lemnous’ sword with his spear, his eyes flashing.

Whirrr!

Spinning his spear swiftly once behind him, Damian then twisted his waist to the right.

Lemnous, with his arms raised from the failed attack, saw Damian’s spear movements and his pupils trembled violently.

‘H-How……’

Was it truly possible to wield a spear with such speed at such close range?

Moreover, Damian’s unwavering confidence, as if he had already seen through every move, made Lemnous feel as though he was fighting a ghost.

“D-Damn youuuuuu!”

Lemnous frantically swung his sword downward in an attempt to block.

Thwack!

But Damian’s spear struck first.

“Guh!”

An unnatural force pierced through Lemnous’ left chest, making him scream in agony.

His vision turned red as the world seemed to be swallowed by blood.

This…

‘So this is an Aura Master…’

Even without using aura, was the difference between them truly insurmountable?

Regret and countless thoughts tangled in his mind, but Lemnous could no longer think.

Thud.

Lemnous collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

The fight had ended so swiftly and decisively that Bertom, witnessing the scene, couldn’t conceal his shock.

“L-Lemnous?!”

Among his officers, Lemnous was one of the strongest.

He had even been stationed inside the fortress in case of an emergency, yet…

“Damn it!”

Bertom cursed.

Losing Lemnous was already a devastating blow, but what made it worse was that the Aura Master had not suffered a single scratch.

If only Lemnous had managed to leave even a single wound on him…

“Aaarghhh!”

“S-Stop them! Block the ones coming from the sides!”

Amid the battlefield’s cacophony of screams and shouts, soldiers desperately fought to defend the gate.

Watching them struggle in vain, Bertom felt his resolve waver.

‘How… How…?!’

How could a mere few hundred warriors shift the tide of battle?

Furthermore, their forces were already losing momentum due to their numerical disadvantage in the outer battle.

Was this truly the end for him?

But at that moment—

Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

A monstrous presence surged from behind.

Damian and the entire Caion Unit instinctively flinched and turned toward the overwhelming energy.

And then, a man on horseback appeared.

Dismounting, he fixed his gaze on Damian and spoke.

“To think you were the one here.”

How long he had longed for this moment.

Since that battlefield back then, Piaren had not spent a single day without thinking of Damian.

The death of fifty Rose Knight Order members, including Vice Captain Milo.

To honor their souls, he had longed to fight the Caion Unit countless times, yet the opportunity had never arisen.

But now…

Srrrng.

Piaren unsheathed his sword and pointed it at Damian, his voice filled with conviction.

“For today, I give thanks to the gods.”

His eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

Hearing his words, Damian turned to face Piaren.

Mana rippled around him.

He could unleash his aura at any moment.

But he hadn’t—

‘Because his allies would be caught in it.’

If he activated his aura here, the entire Caion Unit would be annihilated.

‘More time is needed before I can use my aura.’

His body had yet to fully recover from the strain.

Swoosh.

Damian’s gaze shifted to the imperial soldiers behind them.

They were surrounded on both sides, yet ironically, it was those very soldiers that had kept them alive.

“……Hoo.”

Exhaling lightly, Damian raised his spear.

Then he shouted.

“Caion Unit! Diamond formation!”

Tatak! Pavavat!

As soon as Damian's command was given, the Caion Unit swiftly moved into a diamond formation.

This formation was most suitable for situations where they were surrounded, as it provided defense on all sides—front, back, and flanks.

However, the drawback was that their mobility decreased, significantly reducing their offensive capabilities.

‘But…’

None of that mattered if they couldn't take down the Empire's Aura Master.

And that task…

‘It has to be me.’

Everything within this battle depended on what Damian did.

Step.

Damian took a step forward, moving toward Piaren.

And as he passed by Dianal—

Swiik.

Damian gave him a subtle glance.

Dianal hesitated for a brief moment, surprised, but then—

“……”

He nodded.

Damian gave a faint smile at that.

Then, raising his spear, he turned his gaze back to Piaren.

“You’re grateful to the gods? Because you’ll finally be meeting them?”

“I’ll admit your skills have improved since we last met. However, you’ve yet to earn the right to prattle on like that.”

Piaren raised his sword, glancing behind Damian at the Caion Unit.

Despite the width of the passage, the presence of hundreds of soldiers made it feel oppressively crowded.

Some of the troops had even taken up positions in the adjacent alleys and buildings, securing the entire area.

“I’d recommend taking a deeper breath. You won’t be able to breathe much longer.”

“A knight who’s nothing without his aura dares to speak such words?”

Damian smirked.

“The former vice captain of the Rose Knight Order—his name was Milo, wasn’t it?”

Twitch!

Piaren’s brow furrowed deeply at Damian’s words.

Damian didn’t miss the subtle shift in Piaren’s expression and continued speaking.

“He was a truly skilled swordsman. If not for your aura, he would have been the knight commander.”

Damian lowered his stance, twirling his spear.

Mana rippled around his body, signaling he was ready to fight at any moment.

Then, he added,

“And yet, here you are, a man with worse swordsmanship than him… thinking you can kill me?”

A smirk played on Damian’s lips as he scoffed at Piaren.

“If you want to kill me, you’ll have to unleash your aura and slaughter everyone here. Without aura, you’re nothing more than a half-wit.”

Would this provoke him?

Perhaps not.

But if he could force Piaren to hesitate even once before using his aura…

‘That’s when I’ll make my move.’

Thud!

Damian stomped the ground, surging with mana.

Without aura, the longer the fight dragged on, the worse it would be for him.

As Damian fully shifted into combat mode, Piaren spoke.

“Rose Knight Order.”

Thud!

At his command, the knights stomped the ground in unison, raising their swords.

Their sheer force rivaled that of the Caion Unit in their diamond formation.

With an ominous presence, they roared,

“Annihilate the enemy!”

“Haaaaaah!”

“Avenge our fallen comrades!”

“Slaughter them all!”

Over a hundred knights of the Rose Knight Order charged toward the Caion Unit.

Leading the charge—

“Haaaah!”

Boom!

Piaren surged forward with explosive force, aiming straight for Damian.

Swoooosh!

He moved like a thrown spear, his speed overwhelming.

Piaren raised his sword and slashed at Damian in one fluid motion.

Rooooar!

A torrent of sword energy erupted from his blade, engulfing Damian.

Realizing he couldn’t merely twist his body to dodge, Damian swiftly leaped to the side.

‘What incredible mana.’

Would Hainel’s full-powered mana feel something like this?

And this was only because Piaren had focused his mana into a single attack…

‘If he unleashed his aura, it would be catastrophic.’

Who would have thought a battlefield like this, right in the heart of enemy lines, could be a blessing in disguise?

Even so—

‘…This won’t be an easy fight.’

No matter how positively he tried to spin the situation, encountering Piaren here was the worst possible outcome.

That much was undeniable.

But one thing remained certain.

‘To you bastards…’

To the Empire…

‘I will never lose again.’

Damian’s gaze burned with determination, his spear radiating an overwhelming force.