Chapter 63
“What did you say?”
The news of Damian’s reassignment spread quickly throughout the Caion Unit.
“Damian!”
Dianal, who had been training individually, burst into the barracks, shouting.
Usually formal and respectful, always addressing Damian as the deputymander, she was now too agitated to maintain herposure.
Damian, who was packing his belongings, looked at her.
“What’s going on?”
“They’re transferring you to another unit? Is that true?”
“Yeah, that’s what happened.”
“That’s it?”
Dianal’s eyes red at Damian’s casual tone, as if it were nothing.
Stomp, stomp.
“That’s it? Is that all you have to say?”
Furious, Dianal grabbed Damian by the cor.
For a moment, Damian considered knocking her hand away.
But he let her be.
He knew why she was reacting like this.
‘Nothing’s changed.’
This was exactly how Dianal had always been.
Maybe that’s why they had grown close.
Damian smirked.
“Are youughing? Is this funny to you?”
Damian replied, “What I’m about to say is off the record.”
“Off… what?”
“It’s confidential. You need to keep it secure.”
“…What is it?”
The grip on his cor loosened slightly.
Damian continued, “Themander has nominated me as the nextmander. This transfer is part of the legionmander’s test. My reassignment is that test.”
“C-Com…mander?!”
Dianal’s eyes widened as she covered her mouth in shock.
She nced around nervously and then asked, “What exactly are you supposed to do when you get there?”
“I’ll know once I get there… But whatever it is, when Ie back, I’ll be themander of the Caion Unit.”
“…Oh.”
“Oh? Is that all you’ve got to say? I should be the one asking that.”
“…What do you mean?”
“Then who’s going to take the vacant deputymander position? Are we going to draw lots?”
“…”
Dianal’s eyes gleamed sharply.
She understood exactly what Damian was implying.
Damian gently brushed off her grip on his cor.
After adjusting his clothes, he spoke.
“When I return, if you’re at the same level, I won’t even acknowledge you. You’d better be ready, or I might be seriously disappointed.”
“…When will you be back?”
“Noter than a year.”
Damian’s eyes turned cold and serious.
“I’ll be back within a year, so work hard until then.”
“…Got it. No, understood.”
Dianal responded with a determined expression.
“Glory to the kingdom.”
She clenched her right fist and ced it against her left chest.
In response.
“Glory to the kingdom.”
Damian mirrored the gesture and saluted Dianal.
With that, Damian left for Makstri.
—
Watching Damian leave, Dianal turned around, her face set with determination.
She approached Leonhark with a resolute expression.
“Instructor.”
“What is it? Isn’t this your personal maintenance time?”
“I want to be stronger. Please teach me how.”
“…?”
Leonhark raised an eyebrow at the sudden request.
But seeing the seriousness in Dianal’s eyes, a slight smile tugged at his lips.
“It’ll be tough. Can you endure it?”
“I can endure it. No, I will endure it no matter what.”
Leonhark stood up and said, “If you give up halfway, I’ll have you transferred back to your old unit without hesitation. Is that fine?”
“It’s fine!”
Dianal shouted.
She recalled Damian’s words before he left.
―Then who’s going to take the vacant deputymander position? Are we going to draw lots?
Dianal’s eyes glinted with fierce determination.
Leonhark observed her and said, “Grab your weapon and meet me at the parade ground.”
Leonhark’s expression was slightly different from usual—he seemed a bit excited.
This is why he couldn’t give up teaching.
Every now and then, students like this would appear.
How far will this one go…
‘Let’s see how long youst.’
Leonhark couldn’t help but chuckle to himself.
—
On the eastern front of the Baroque Kingdom, in the most intense battlefield within the kingdom.
Damian arrived at the vige and was greeted by a soldier assigned to guide him.
“Are you Damian?”
“Yes, and you are?”
“I’m Tayren, from the 6th Legion, 3rd Division.”
Tayren extended his hand for a handshake.
Damian shook his hand lightly and asked, “What’s the current situation here?”
“Well… it’s always the same. We keep fighting over the gold mine in the middle. The Iren Kingdom keeps sending in soldiers trying to extract gold.”
“So right now, the mine is under Iren Kingdom control?”
“Yes.”
It was a constant cycle of taking and losing control.
But at the moment, most of the mine was held by the Iren Kingdom.
“Time’s running short. If we don’t reim the mine within the next month, it willpletely fall into Iren’s hands.”
“…Is there a specific rule about this?”
“Yes, if a side controls the mine for three consecutive months, they secure ownership.”
“Then why doesn’t the kingdom send elite forces?”
“The mine isn’t valuable enough to justify it. The Iren Kingdom wants the mine badly, but we don’t feel the same urgency.”
“They just needed a ce to control these people.”
Damian questioned Tayren, “Then the Iren Kingdom must have a much stronger force… How have they managed to secure the gold mine every three months?”
That was the biggest mystery.
This side was full of criminal scum.
In contrast, the Iren Kingdom had its own elite soldiers.
So how could this battle have dragged on for years?
The answer was simple.
“Every three months, all forces are thrown into the gold mine.”
“…Excuse me?”
“They push everyone in, most of them die, and then the main force stationed outside Makstri secures the mine.”
Once the criminal numbers were replenished, the main force would withdraw, and the criminals would be thrown back into the battlefield.
“…”
In other words, every three months, if the criminals in Makstri failed to reim the gold mine, they were fated to die.
However, Tayren continued with a twisted smile.
“Ha, still, about 10% manage to survive each time. The oldest among them hassted over three years.”
For a moment, Damian felt sickened.
Damian followed Tayren toward the Makstri unit’s base.
Step by step.
“This is the base. There’s no specific unit name; it’s just called the Makstri Unit.”
“I see.”
As they entered the base, Damian saw other men.
And, as expected…
“Who’s this? A newbie?”
“Don’t bother. Let’s see if he survives a week before asking his name.”
The men chatted among themselves, ignoring Damian’s presence.
Tayren spoke up, “The atmosphere here is a bit like this. Please understand, and I’ll formally introduce youter.”
“…Sure.”
Damian surveyed the base.
There wasn’t a single proper barrack.
Just makeshift shelters made of cloth and sticks.
That was their home.
The so-called base was nothing more than a wall of logs tied together, and discipline was nonexistent, with only criminals gathered.
‘They can’t even escape because of the soldiers stationed outside Makstri.’
Memories of his past flooded back.
But things are different now.
The Makstri he remembered wasn’t the Makstri of today.
“This is your barrack.”
Damian was assigned an empty shelter.
“The previous upant left just a few days ago. From now on, it’s yours. If you need anything, let me know, and I’ll get it if possible. And… unpack your things; I’ll introduce you to the soldiers in about an hour.”
Regardless of the circumstances, Damian had arrived as themander of the Makstri Unit.
Whether a singlemander would change anything remained to be seen.
“Rest for now.”
Tayren gave a faint smile and left the barrack.
Left alone, Damian nced around the small space.
“…”
It was barely big enough to fit three or four adult men lying down.
This would be Damian’s living quarters from now on.
And then…
“…I thought you were just going to leave him alone.”
Damian turned his head toward the faint presence he sensed behind the barrack.
However, he quickly realized.
“Yeah, better to get it over with now than to be annoyed while I’m asleep.”
Damian picked up a stick lying inside the barrack.
Then…
Swoosh.
Damian stepped outside and faced the men.
They were the usual types you’d find anywhere.
Casual arrogance,fort in numbers—the kind that only felt safe when gathered.
Damian couldn’t help butugh.
To which one of the men sneered.
“Hey, what’s so funny?”
“Why wouldn’t Iugh?”
Damian rested the stick on his shoulder and spoke.
The man chuckled and said, “Saw your stuff earlier; looks like you got some nice goods in that bag. How about we share? We’ll be seeing each other a lot from now on.”
The man, who seemed to be the leader, pointed toward Damian’s belongings inside the barrack.
But…
“Seeing each other a lot? You guys look like you’ll be dead in a few days.”
“What did you say?”
“This guy’s got a sharp tongue. Do you even know where you are?”
One of the other men growled, trying to intimidate Damian.
Damian, feeling bored, waved his hand dismissively.
“Just do what you came for and get lost. Ten… no, twelve of you, huh? What’s worth bringing twelve people over?”
“Heh, you’ve got guts, don’t you?”
These kinds of exchanges had grown tiresome.
Damian looked at the man in front and said, “I’ll go first. I just want to get some rest.”
With that…
Wham!
Damian lunged at the men.
—
“Oh, Hemus. Still alive, huh?”
Hemus frowned as Tayren suddenly appeared.
Tayren was one of the regr soldiersfortably stationed outside Makstri, living it easy.
‘Why couldn’t he just ignore me… damn bastard.’
Hemus had purposely hidden inside the barrack.
Yet Tayren hade inside and struck up a conversation.
“Heh, I was lucky. But what brings you here?”
Tayren rarely visited, so his sudden appearance made Hemus uneasy.
To Hemus’s question, Tayren said, “There’s a newmander. I’ll introduce him, so gather everyone.”
Even in this ce, an informal hierarchy existed.
The longer you survived, the more influence you gained—a natural urrence in Makstri.
But upon hearing Tayren’s words…
“Wait, you mean that young guy you were with earlier?”
“Oh, you’ve seen him?”
“That kid’s themander?”
“Yeah.”
Hemus’s face paled.
“A regr… soldier?”
“Yes, he’s just been promoted to sergeant with honors. Why? What’s the matter?”
“Damn it.”
Hemus jumped up.
To them, a regr soldier was akin to a noble.
Cross them, and you wouldn’t live to see another day.
Seeing Hemus’s reaction, Tayren’s expression hardened.
“Don’t tell me…”
“I didn’t know he was in the regr military! I swear!”
They had assumed he was just another inmate.
Tayren replied, “We’ll deal with thister. For now… hurry up!”
Tayren and Hemus rushed toward Damian’s barrack.
If his memory was right, about a dozen men had gone to Damian’s barrack earlier…
‘Damn it.’
It felt like things were going wrong from the start.
But when Tayren and Hemus arrived at Damian’s barracks…
“Didn’t you say you’de back in an hour?”
They saw Damian squatting in front of a line of kneeling criminals.