The Immortal Genius Spearman

A feeling that, just by staring at it, one might be swallowed whole.

The vast, unfathomable darkness evoked the primal fear of the unknown in human nature.

Standing firmly on the swaying deck of a warship, a figure with fiery red hair and eyes that burned a deeper crimson than his hair gazed forward with an indifferent expression.

Despite the constant rocking of the deck, he remained unshaken, his sharp gaze fixed ahead.

The Empire’s 2nd Aura Master.

Calon Xanthos.

His eyes slowly turned toward the northern coast of the Artian Kingdom, which was now coming into view.

The ringing of alarm bells echoed from the coastal watchtower.

Hearing the sound, several subordinates approached and spoke to him.

“Looks like they’ve spotted us.”

“We’ll finally get to see Artian’s famous ballista in action.”

Since the Artian Kingdom was bordered on three sides by the sea, they had naturally developed formidable defenses against maritime threats.

One of their most famous countermeasures was the ballista, a siege weapon that served as a source of pride for the kingdom.

A massive weapon capable of firing bolts over five meters in length.

Even the sturdiest warship would struggle to remain afloat after being hit by several ballista bolts.

Despite this, the Empire’s soldiers wore relaxed expressions as they gazed at the coastal defenses of the Artian Kingdom.

The Artian soldiers were clearly in a frenzy, preparing their ballista to fire at any moment.

And then—

“Calon-nim.”

A subordinate, having confirmed that the enemy ballista was prepared, called out to Calon.

In response, Calon walked to the front of the deck, his expression unchanged, and looked ahead.

Even from this distance, the massive ballista could be seen clearly.

Its size alone conveyed its destructive power.

Calon stared at it silently.

Then—

BOOM!

With a thunderous roar, the first ballista bolt was launched, hurtling toward the fleet.

The target: the flagship where Calon stood.

“…I’ll head to the shore first. Catch up as fast as you can.”

“Understood.”

Bremen, one of his lieutenants, replied briefly.

At that moment—

Swoosh!

Calon leapt forward from the prow of the ship, straight toward the incoming ballista bolt.

And then—

THUD!

He brought his foot down on the flying bolt with tremendous force.

CRACK!

The thick bolt, which was large enough to pierce through a warship’s hull, split in half and plunged into the sea below.

Using the rebound from stomping on the bolt, Calon launched himself even higher.

Swoosh!

His body soared through the air, headed straight for the shoreline.

Despite being separated from the coast by a distance of several dozen meters, he crossed it with just two leaps.

Thud.

He landed on the shore.

“Wh-what is that?!”

“A bird?! A magician?! What just happened?!”

“An enemy soldier has landed on the shore!”

The sudden appearance of a lone enemy left the soldiers of the Artian coastal defense unit in shock.

And who wouldn’t be?

The warships were still far out at sea, so how had a single soldier arrived on the coast?

He hadn’t swum ashore, nor had he used a small boat.

Did he… fly?

The answer was clear.

He had jumped onto a ballista bolt mid-flight and leapt off it to reach the shore.

The commander of the coastal defense unit, Hormund, widened his eyes in disbelief.

Even from those small clues, he understood exactly what kind of person this intruder was.

This is someone with superhuman physical abilities…

“A-An Aura Master! Fire! Fire at him now!”

Hormund’s desperate shout echoed throughout the coast.

Following his order—

Thwang! Thwang! Thwang!

The archers, who had been preparing their arrows, loosed a torrent of arrows at Calon.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Hundreds of arrows rained down on him, all aimed at a single man — Calon.

The density of the barrage left no space to dodge.

It was an overwhelming attack that could send shivers down anyone’s spine.

But Calon only drew his sword and unleashed his aura.

FWOOSH!

A surge of flames erupted like the tongue of a serpent, coiling around his body.

The flames of hell that burn everything they touch.

The intense heat was so overwhelming that the sand beneath his feet began to melt and sizzle.

Then—

SWOOSH!

Calon swung his sword lightly in front of him.

It was a light swing, but the power behind it was anything but light.

FWOOSH!

A torrent of flames surged forward, engulfing all the incoming arrows.

Whoosh!

The arrows, consumed by Calon’s flames, disappeared without a trace, as if they had never existed.

The remaining arrows, which had missed their mark, fell harmlessly into the sand far from Calon.

“Th-That’s an aura…?”

Witnessing the power of an enemy Aura Master, the soldiers of the Artian coastal defense unit were rendered speechless.

How could something like that be within the ability of a mere human?

It was as if a dragon from legend had descended upon them.

“Keep firing! Aura isn’t infinite! If we force him to keep using it, he’ll eventually run out!”

The sight of the crimson, flame-like aura emanating from Calon struck fear into Hormund’s heart.

This was none other than the Empire’s 2nd Aura Master, Calon Xanthos.

Among the four known Aura Masters of the Empire, he was considered the most cold-blooded.

A living weapon.

At Hormund’s urgent orders, the archers once again knocked arrows and took aim at Calon.

But this time, they were too late.

BOOM!

The sand exploded in all directions from where Calon had been standing.

“…!”

“H-He’s gone!”

The soldiers blinked in disbelief as Calon vanished from sight.

With the darkness of the night and the chaos on the beach, tracking his movements was nearly impossible.

But soon, they realized where he had gone.

Shrrk!

“GAH!”

On the right flank of the coastal defense.

At some point, Calon had infiltrated that position, swiftly and precisely cutting down the soldiers of the Artian Kingdom.

His sword moved so quickly that it seemed invisible even as it swung in front of them.

Shhhk!

One after another, the Artian soldiers fell in an instant, their blood soaking the sand.

“Ahh…! No… no! He’s killing them all!”

Panicked, Hormund shouted orders to the soldiers to surround Calon.

No matter how strong an Aura Master was, he was still human.

His stamina would deplete, and his swings would grow slower over time.

“Even if we have to sacrifice every soldier here, as long as we kill you…!”

His voice was filled with grim determination.

He had no intention of letting Calon escape.

Even if they all had to die, if it meant taking down one of the Empire’s Aura Masters, it would be worth it.

The soldiers surrounding Calon readied their throwing spears, their eyes filled with unwavering resolve to kill him here and now.

Every soldier shared the same thought as they fixed their fierce gazes on him. But then—

“…You’re a bit late.”

“What did he just say?”

Hearing Calon’s murmur, Hormund furrowed his brows.

What was that supposed to mean?

Swoosh!

A sharp, piercing sound suddenly shot through the air, drilling into Hormund’s eardrums. He instinctively turned his head toward the source.

Thud!

A dull, heavy sound echoed as a spear drove straight into the chest of the lieutenant standing next to him.

Thump.

The lieutenant fell lifelessly to the ground, unable to even let out a scream before he died. Hormund’s gaze shot toward the shoreline.

At some point, the Empire’s warships had anchored on the coast, and a flood of imperial soldiers had disembarked, now swarming onto the beach like an unstoppable tide.

“…Damn it.”

It was a nightmarish sight.

“Secure this beach before sunrise.”

“Yes, sir!”

At Calon’s command, the imperial soldiers surged forward like a tsunami, crashing down on the soldiers of the Artian Kingdom.

And on that day—

Just as Calon had declared, when the sun finally rose, there was not a single soldier from the Artian Kingdom left alive on the coast.

***

The grim news came suddenly and without warning.

Baroque Kingdom’s Grand Conference Hall.

A state of emergency had been declared, and the kingdom’s highest officials had gathered. Sitting at the center of the table, the Baroque Kingdom’s Chancellor, Mateurus Jankoff, wore a grim expression as he spoke.

“I believe there’s no need to explain the tragedy that befell the Artian Kingdom. We are all well aware of it by now.”

“……”

Until now, the Empire had only moved soldiers via land routes. But this time, they launched an invasion via the sea.

There had been previous reports of warships moving off the western shores of the Baroque Kingdom, but those were mere threats. This time, it was an entirely different situation.

“Moreover, the one leading the attack on the Artian Kingdom was none other than Calon Xanthos.”

“What?!”

“Calon Xanthos?! Are you talking about the 2nd Aura Master of the Empire?!”

The ministers’ shocked questions echoed throughout the chamber, and Mateurus nodded gravely in response.

Up until now, the Empire had sent generals like Piaren and Galveron onto the battlefield, but this situation was fundamentally different.

In the Empire, the influence of Alexandro and Calon was comparable to that of the Emperor himself.

The fact that Calon had taken action could only mean one thing.

“Consider this the final signal. All preparations are now complete.”

Until now, the battles had been nothing more than warm-ups.

The few failures the Empire had experienced were inconsequential. Those skirmishes were simply to gauge the level of resistance they would face from other kingdoms.

But Calon’s appearance on the battlefield marked the end of the “testing” phase.

“The Empire’s main force will soon begin its march. Just like 19 years ago.”

“……”

“…Damn it all.”

Everyone seated at the table recalled the Great Continental War that had occurred 19 years ago.

How could they forget?

The flames of that war had reduced the entire continent to ash and ruin.

And now—

“Another war like that is about to begin.”

“We have to stop it.”

“We must join forces with the neighboring kingdoms and halt the Empire’s advance. We cannot endure another hellish nightmare like the one we faced before.”

The ministers spoke one after another, their voices filled with urgency.

There was no time to hesitate.

Mateurus nodded solemnly at their words.

“We must devise a plan—immediately.”

The room fell silent as the ministers nodded in unison.

***

Upon arriving in Valphate, Damian went straight to find Leonhark.

Even during the journey from Miltobern to Valphate, Damian had been thinking deeply about the direction his unit needed to take.

“Commander, I have something to discuss with you.”

“Ah, good timing. I had something to discuss with you as well. Let’s head to my office.”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Together, Damian and Leonhark entered the commander’s office. Damian’s face was serious as he looked at Leonhark.

Sensing Damian’s mood, Leonhark asked him directly.

“So, what do you want to discuss?”

“I’d like to talk about the training of the Caion Unit. Specifically, I want to discuss the roles they need to fulfill on the battlefield and how to train them accordingly.”

“…It seems you’ve already made up your mind about something.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Alright. Tell me what you have in mind. I’m listening.”

Leonhark respected Damian’s insight and allowed him to speak.

Until now, the Caion Unit had been known for its “hit-and-run” tactics.

They would launch swift attacks, scatter enemy formations, and retreat just as quickly.

However, from now on, they needed to become more than that. They needed to become a force that could block narrow paths and hold off large numbers of enemies with sheer resilience.

This idea had been inspired in part by Leonhark’s concept of a “shock troop” unit.

With the shock troop’s success, the Caion Unit had demonstrated incredible breakthrough power, achieving remarkable results in their battles with the Empire.

After listening carefully, Leonhark slowly nodded in agreement.

“You have a point. It’s not always best to increase troop numbers. If we can strengthen the existing unit instead, that would be far more effective.”

“Yes, that’s exactly why I want to focus on solidifying the unit for the time being, even if we have the chance to recruit more soldiers. Our priority should be on making the Caion Unit stronger as a whole.”

Damian also explained the equipment being developed for the Caion Unit in Miltobern.

If they could arm the unit with those specialized shields and spears, they would have the means to combine offensive power with defensive resilience.

Hearing this, Leonhark nodded in agreement.

“Understood. We’ll adjust our training focus accordingly.”

The new training regimen would be significantly different from what they’d done before, but it was necessary.

After all, their goal was to build a stronger unit, not a larger one.

Seeing Leonhark’s firm decision, Damian smiled faintly.

“Thank you for understanding, sir.”

“No, I should be thanking you. This is a solid idea—no, it’s better than I expected. To be honest… I’m impressed.”

Through countless battle experiences, Damian had identified the optimal traits that his unit should possess.

It sounded simple, but Leonhark knew that it was anything but.

“You’ve thought this through well. I’ll see to it that we train accordingly.”

“Thank you, Commander. But… you mentioned you had something to discuss with me as well. What was it?”

“Ah, that…”

Leonhark reached into his drawer and pulled something out.

The moment Damian saw it, his eyes narrowed with recognition.

It was something he had seen before.

“This is…”

“It’s a message from Duke Hainel. He’s looking for you.”

It was an invitation to Hainel’s forest villa.