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“Come in.”

After becoming the commander, Damian visited Leonhark.

Although they had seen each other during the inauguration ceremony, Damian had come to discuss something privately.

“Have a seat.”

Leonhark welcomed Damian warmly.

The more he saw of Damian, the more he found him fascinating and impressive.

As Damian took a seat, Leonhark asked,

“What brings you to see me?”

“I’ve come to seek a recommendation for appointing a Deputy Commander.”

“A recommendation for Deputy Commander, huh?”

Damian had left the Deputy Commander’s position vacant when he departed, and now that he had returned as Commander, it was time to appoint someone to that role.

Leonhark smiled faintly and asked Damian,

“Didn’t you already plant a seed before you left?”

“There could be other suitable candidates.”

Damian trusted Leonhark’s judgment.

He would have preferred to simply ask Leonhark to choose the Deputy Commander directly, but that would place an undue burden on him, so he had phrased it as a request for a recommendation.

Leonhark nodded.

“The most suitable candidate is Dianal. He’s improved the most over the past seven months, and he has excellent judgment.”

“Is that so?”

Damian smiled softly.

If Leonhark spoke so highly of him, it was clear how much effort Dianal had put in.

Leonhark pondered for a moment.

There were quite a few other promising candidates.

“Terka could also be a suitable Deputy Commander…”

“Terka, not Jerka?”

“Jerka won’t do it. He’s too impulsive and reckless, which could endanger the unit during operations.”

Leonhark spoke firmly.

Damian chuckled at his words.

‘I agree, Master.’

Damian knew Jerka’s personality well enough to find the remark amusing.

And then…

“Hmm… If I had to name one more, I’d suggest Isaac.”

“…Isaac?”

Damian tilted his head slightly.

It wasn’t a name that had particularly stood out to him.

However, Leonhark spoke seriously.

“He’s lazy, which is his main flaw, but if not for that, he’s an extremely capable individual. He seems to dislike standing out, so he often stays in the background.”

“Hmm… I see.”

Isaac, huh?

He hadn’t noticed him before.

But if Leonhark thought highly of him, he might have potential.

‘I’ll need to check him out.’

Having made up his mind, Damian bowed to Leonhark.

“Thank you for the advice.”

“Heh, you’ve changed quite a bit too.”

“…”

Damian paused, looking at Leonhark.

Had he noticed that Damian was on the verge of breaking through to the fifth rank?

But Leonhark merely smiled and said,

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”

“Oh… Yes, it’s a very subtle change.”

“That’s the hardest point—the time when you need to find the answers yourself.”

Leonhark stood up and gently patted Damian on the shoulder.

“The path will open soon enough, so don’t rush.”

“…Yes.”

For a moment, Damian felt as though he had returned to his past self, to when he was learning under Leonhark.

As Damian left Leonhark’s office, he immediately headed to the barracks where the unit members were.

“Attention, everyone!”

The unit members, who were busy with their personal maintenance, turned their attention to Damian.

Walking slowly through the connected barracks, Damian spoke.

“I’m going to appoint a new Deputy Commander. There will be no voting or recommendations. If you believe you’re fit for the position, step forward.”

“Finally, I’ve been waiting for this!”

“The right person is me!”

To Damian’s surprise, a large number of soldiers stepped forward.

Nearly twenty people volunteered for the Deputy Commander position.

Damian frowned at the sight.

“Are you all truly confident?”

He scanned the group.

Isaac was not among them.

In fact, Isaac seemed entirely uninterested in the selection process, leaning against his locker without a care.

Damian then turned his gaze back to the volunteers.

He hadn’t expected so many to be this eager.

“Alright. We’re only choosing one, so it doesn’t matter.”

Damian lined up the volunteers and paired them off in twos.

“Everyone, follow me to the training ground. If you want to be the Deputy Commander, prove it with your skills.”

Leadership isn’t solely about strength, but the most critical quality of a Deputy Commander was their combat prowess.

They weren’t strategists; they needed someone who could support the Commander with skill.

The sudden match drew the attention of the entire unit, who followed them to the training ground.

Looking at the candidates standing in the arena, Damian spoke.

“There are too many for a formal match… we’ll select two with a hand wrestling contest.”

“Hand wrestling?”

“Oh! This could be fun!”

The onlookers’ eyes sparkled.

Even the candidates smiled slightly.

Hand wrestling involved gripping the same hand, planting the corresponding foot, and trying to topple the opponent.

It required strength, but—

‘Strength alone isn’t enough to win.’

Good balance, tactical use of the opponent’s strength, and strategy were essential.

‘Of course, overwhelming strength could work too…’

It was a way to gauge their abilities without causing injury.

Damian stepped back with an interested look and observed the contestants.

Then—

“Begin!”

With Damian’s shout, the selection for the Deputy Commander began.

“…Hoo.”

Dianal exhaled lightly as he looked ahead.

The confident expression of the soldier standing before him.

The man shouted at Dianal.

“Sorry, but don’t hold a grudge!”

The opponent was a large fellow.

Confident that his strength would be far superior, he pulled Dianal’s hand with full confidence.

However…

Thud!

“…?”

Dianal didn’t budge, standing his ground firmly, and the opponent’s eyes wavered slightly.

Dianal, with a calm and composed expression, spoke to him.

“Actually, I should be the one apologizing. For ending it so quickly.”

Crack! Crack!

The opponent’s face twisted slightly as Dianal tightened his grip.

Feeling like his hand bones were about to break, the opponent squeezed back with all his might.

“Hup!”

As Dianal exhaled softly and pulled the opponent—

“Aaagh!”

The opponent screamed and tumbled straight to the ground.

The match was over in an instant.

Dianal helped the fallen soldier up, then turned his gaze to the others.

One by one, the matches were quickly decided.

“Next, let’s keep going.”

At Damian’s words, Dianal faced his next opponent.

It was Kyle.

“Heh, so it’s you and me? Let’s congratulate whoever wins.”

Dianal nodded at Kyle’s words.

Kyle clenched his fist lightly and gripped Dianal’s hand.

Squeeze.

The moment their hands clasped, Dianal could tell.

Kyle wasn’t an ordinary opponent.

After all, Kyle had endured countless rigorous training sessions.

“…Hoo.”

Dianal exhaled softly and glanced at Damian.

Seeing Damian watching him—

‘…I’ll win.’

He closed his eyes and reaffirmed his determination.

How much had he worked to chase after Damian?

No.

‘To defeat him.’

It had been seven months of pushing himself to the limit.

Dianal began to draw upon his mana.

It was still difficult to control fully, but—

“Start!”

“Hup!”

“Hyaap!”

Dianal and Kyle pulled each other’s hands simultaneously, exerting all their strength.

“Haaaah!”

Kyle was certainly a monster.

Dianal was sure no one in the unit could beat Kyle in raw strength.

Swoosh!

Kyle pulled Dianal’s hand to the side, attempting to topple him.

Dianal, half-bent forward with his arm being pulled, gripped harder and looked at Kyle.

Smirk.

Kyle, his arm trembling, was still smiling.

He seemed confident in his victory.

But…

“Ugh…!”

Dianal gritted his teeth and began to pull Kyle’s hand.

As time went on, Kyle’s arm slowly began to be drawn back toward Dianal.

“…Huh?”

Eventually, they returned to their starting positions.

Kyle looked at Dianal, unable to hide his bewildered expression.

“Sorry, but I’m the one who’s going to win.”

“No way!”

Kyle prided himself on never losing in strength.

As Dianal spoke, Kyle yelled and pulled Dianal’s arm with renewed vigor.

But at that moment—

Swoosh!

“Ugh!?”

Suddenly, Dianal released his grip, letting himself be pulled toward Kyle.

The sudden movement caused Kyle, who was pulling him, to stumble.

And in that instant!

“Hyaaaah!”

Dianal regained his grip, pushed Kyle’s arm to the opposite side, and planted his feet firmly.

“Hyaap!”

Dianal twisted his waist, leveraging his feet against Kyle’s, and yanked his arm.

Kyle’s legs lifted off the ground and flew into the air.

“Aaaaagh!”

Kyle screamed as his body was thrown into the air.

Dianal, who had thrown Kyle down like a wrestling move, exhaled lightly and looked at him.

“Are you alright?”

“Ow… What the hell did you just do?”

Kyle grimaced, rubbing the spot where he had hit the ground.

But as Kyle stood up with Dianal’s help, he spoke.

“I lost. Wow… letting go of your grip only to throw me down like that? I respect that, man.”

Kyle generously praised Dianal.

He hadn’t expected to lose, but he recognized how exceptional Dianal was.

Dianal smiled faintly in response.

“Thanks.”

The next match ended just as quickly.

“Are there only two left?”

Damian looked at the two final candidates.

‘That’s impressive… his eye for talent is really something.’

Coincidentally, both finalists were the ones Leonhark had recommended.

Dianal and Terka.

Both were staring at each other with intense, unwavering expressions.

Damian addressed the unit members.

“A hand wrestling match seems a bit lacking for the final round, doesn’t it?”

“Wooooo!”

“Of course! We need a proper match for the final, Commander!”

“Let’s go big!”

It seemed the entire unit shared Damian’s sentiment.

Damian turned to Dianal and Terka.

“Do you both prefer a formal duel over hand wrestling?”

“Of course.”

“Yes.”

The two answered without hesitation.

Damian nodded.

“Alright then, we’ll settle this with a duel. Grab your preferred weapons and step onto the training ground.”

This duel would reveal how much training they had undergone.

Dianal and Terka picked up their chosen weapons and stepped onto the training ground.

Although they were using practice wooden swords, they were still strong enough to break bones.

Standing on the dueling ground, the two stared at each other.

Between these two… who would become the Deputy Commander?

Damian grinned and said,

“Begin.”

At his command, the two charged at each other.

“Heh, this is going to be interesting.”

One person watching them muttered quietly.