The Immortal Genius Spearman

Chapter 77

“Full advance, charge!”

“Uwaaahhh!”

“Charge!”

At Acar’s command, the soldiers of the Iren Kingdom roared loudly as they began their charge forward.

They moved swiftly in their signature triangular formation, maintaining impressive speed without any disruption to their ranks.

‘As expected of a regular army,’ Damian thought.

Even at that speed, their formation didn’t waver.

Watching the approaching Iren Kingdom soldiers, Damian spoke.

“Remember, all of you, stick to what you’ve learned. Don’t get swept up by their momentum and overextend yourselves!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Don’t worry about us!”

Their voices boomed in unison.

The soldiers kept Damian’s words in mind, repeatedly recalling their training.

‘We are the shield… we are the shield…’

They would do nothing else.

Their sole duty was to halt the approaching enemies and hold the line.

The archers positioned in the rear would handle the offensive.

It was a battle plan with clear roles: defense and attack.

The soldiers assigned to the front lines, tasked with defending, swallowed hard, their nerves on edge.

“They’re coming… They’re coming…!”

The enemy’s faces became visible in the distance as they drew closer.

The defending soldiers braced themselves, gripping their shields tighter.

Then, just as the enemy entered a critical range—

“Fire!”

The voice of the third squad leader rang out from the rear. With that command—

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

The fifty-strong archer unit unleashed their arrows, raining down upon the advancing Iren Kingdom soldiers.

Swoosh! Swoosh!

Acar’s eyes widened as he watched the arrows arc through the sky.

He frowned and shouted, “Didn’t they say there were no archers?!”

“Th-that…!”

Lieutenant Manuen struggled to hide his shock.

“Everyone! Raise your shields and block those arrows!”

Acar urgently commanded, knowing they couldn’t afford to be exposed to the arrows any longer.

Thud! Thunk!

“Arghhh!”

“Aaaghh!”

At Acar’s command, the soldiers hastily lifted their shields in defense.

But only the frontline shield-bearers had large enough shields to cover their entire bodies.

“Argh!”

The rest of the soldiers were equipped with only small, round shields that barely protected their bodies.

“Cover your vital spots with your shield! Guard your head and chest!”

Acar yelled as he deflected incoming arrows with his sword.

The soldiers hunched over, trying their best to protect themselves as instructed, but…

“Ugh!”

“Argh!”

They could only defend their vital areas, leaving their arms and legs vulnerable.

Naturally, injuries began to mount.

Seeing this, the soldiers of the Baroque Kingdom’s Makstri unit cheered.

“We got them!”

“Archers, reload quickly! Fire again!”

The third squad leader, pleased with their successful attack, shouted again.

‘They won’t have expected us to have archers. We must inflict as much damage as possible in this first battle.’

‘Just as the commander said!’

Most of the Iren Kingdom soldiers only carried small, round shields.

While these could protect their vital spots, they weren’t enough to cover their whole bodies.

“Ready!”

“We’re ready!”

Once the archers had reloaded, the third squad leader pulled back his bowstring and yelled.

“Fire!”

Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!

Thud! Thunk! Thunk!

“Aaaghh!”

“My eye! My eye!”

Some soldiers fell to the ground, writhing in pain, severely injured.

Acar turned and glared at Lieutenant Manuen.

What kind of absurd situation was this?

Before they could even get close, a significant number of his men were already wounded.

The only silver lining was that there wIren’t too many fatal injuries.

But still…

‘There’s no point in fighting like this.’

They hadn’t even reached close combat, yet so many were hurt.

Gritting his teeth, Acar bit his lip.

To have his first battle go like this after taking command…

“Lieutenant Manuen. We’ll talk back at the camp.”

“Y-yes?!”

“Retreat! Everyone, fall back!”

Acar ordered the retreat without hesitation.

At his command, the soldiers limped away, fleeing in haste.

Arrows continued to rain down, but—

Thud! Thunk! Thud!

Most missed, hitting the ground as the soldiers hurriedly retreated.

Acar, running with his men, glanced back at the soldiers of the Baroque Kingdom’s Makstri unit.

“…I will repay this humiliation soon enough.”

Though it stung his pride deeply, Acar accepted his first defeat with composure.

For now, he needed to understand his enemy.

As the Iren Kingdom soldiers withdrew—

“T-they’re retreating!”

“We won!”

“We defended the base!”

The Makstri unit erupted in cheers.

This was the first time they had successfully fended off an enemy attack, and the first squad leader sprinted over to Damian, shouting in excitement.

“Commander! We did it!”

Damian watched as the first squad leader lunged toward him. With a light sidestep, Damian easily avoided the attack and swept his leg under the leader, causing him to crash to the ground.

“Ugh!”

The squad leader, sprawled on the ground, looked at Damian with a mixture of frustration and surprise.

Damian looked down at him and said, “You seem to be getting too comfortable.”

“N-no, sir! Not at all. Haha… haha…” The squad leader forced an awkward laugh as he scrambled to his feet.

Damian had already shifted his gaze toward the Iren Kingdom’s forces in the distance.

‘Lucky break… if you could call it that.’

Their recent victory was mainly due to the enemy’s complacency. Next time, the Iren Kingdom would undoubtedly be better prepared.

However, the biggest gain from this battle was that they managed to keep their traps hidden. This meant that their carefully laid plans could unleash their full potential in the next fight.

‘Two more months…’

The next attack would likely come much sooner. If they could fend off about four or five more attacks, the probability of holding their position would significantly increase.

And if that happened…

‘We can end this war and finally return.’

Damian exhaled lightly.

“Let’s head back.”

“Yes, sir!”

Together with his troops, Damian made his way back up to the fort on the hill.

* * *

Bang!

The table shook violently, nearly splintering under the force of Acar’s clenched fist. His eyes blazed with barely restrained fury.

“Explain what happened, Lieutenant.”

Manuen, his face pale, knew he had no excuse. When Acar had asked him about the enemy’s capabilities, it was Manuen who had confidently stated that the enemy had no archers.

“Th-that… I apologize!” Manuen dropped to his knees.

It was clearly his mistake, but still…

“There were no archers. Up until two or three months ago, they were just irregular forces without any knowledge of formations or tactics.”

Manuen detailed what he knew about the enemy, emphasizing how the Baroque Kingdom used this place as a penal colony, a dumping ground for criminals.

Acar was already somewhat aware of this, which is why he had believed Manuen’s initial assessment.

“…Hah.”

Acar sighed deeply when Manuen finished speaking.

He knew blaming Manuen wouldn’t solve anything. But still…

‘That formation…’

The sight of the enemy’s shield wall, their archer unit positioned behind them, and their unique triangular formation made Acar uneasy. It looked like a formation that could engulf them at any moment.

‘I’ve never seen or heard of such a formation before.’

It gave off an unsettling sense of danger, as if it might truly swallow them whole.

“Who is their commander?”

“We have no information. He’s the one who killed Captain Goodwin in the last battle, but we don’t know who he is or where he came from.”

“So all we know is that he’s skilled with a spear?”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

Acar didn’t blame his lieutenant; gathering intelligence on the enemy in such a confined area was not an easy task.

‘Our forces are limited to just two hundred men, after all.’

Everyone knew why this war was allowed to drag on. It was a prolonged conflict that continued because it served both sides’ purposes. But still…

‘It feels like being a pawn in someone’s game of chess, and I don’t like it.’

Acar clicked his tongue in irritation.

“Stand up, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once Manuen stood, Acar spoke.

“From now on, we’ll treat them as regular Baroque Kingdom troops—or even better. Prepare our strategies with that in mind.”

“Understood!”

“We need to mount another attack on the gold mine as soon as possible. We need to figure out what cards they have up their sleeves.”

With two months left, Acar and Manuen began to feel the pressure of time. The sense of urgency grew, and they quickly began strategizing in the war room.

* * *

After spending so much time on the battlefield, Damian had developed what one might call a ‘sixth sense.’ He stood on the hill, facing the direction of the Iren Kingdom’s camp, his expression grim.

“What’s wrong, Commander?” Hemus asked.

“I think the next attack might be fiercer. We need to bolster our defenses.”

“Haha, but we’ve set up plenty of preparations, haven’t we? The traps at the front of the fort and on the hill are—”

“Hemus.”

“…I’m sorry.”

Hemus quickly bowed his head, realizing his error. The string of victories had loosened his tongue more than it should have.

Damian lightly patted Hemus’s shoulder.

“It’s fine. But remember, if you act like you’ve already won after just a few victories, you could die in the next battle.”

“I’ll be careful.”

It had been two days since the enemy’s retreat. Damian estimated that they would launch another attack within two or three days.

‘They must be eager to find out what cards we have up our sleeves.’

Just a few months ago, they were nothing more than undisciplined criminals with no understanding of tactics or formations.

Now, they had learned battle strategies, perfected formations, and even trained in archery to be used in actual combat.

Their recent victory was more about catching the enemy off guard than it was about their pure skill.

‘But still…’

They had made meticulous preparations to compensate for their weaknesses.

Damian looked down at the soldiers practicing with their shields, repeating what they had learned.

If there was one thing he could count on, it was that these men wanted to win as badly as—if not more than—he did.

‘Motivation is a powerful thing… as long as we win.’

But if they failed…

“There will be nothing left.”

“Pardon?”

Hemus, hearing Damian mutter, asked curiously. Damian shook his head and simply said,

“Let’s make sure we win.”

“Yes, sir!”

Two days later, just as Damian had predicted, the Iren Kingdom’s forces launched their attack once more.

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