The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 128

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front (128)

On the hill where darkness was slowly descending.

Belkain’s eyes narrowed as he watched the soldiers moving busily.

On the surface, it seemed they were constructing the temporary barracks without any problems.

“….”

But there was a strange sense of unease that only he, who had been on the battlefield for so long, could feel.

‘What is this.’

This chilling feeling that was somehow indescribable.

Even though they had clearly positioned themselves in a good location, what was this anxious feeling?

But then, someone approached from the side and spoke to him.

“It’s gotten quite cold, Lord Belkain. Please come inside the barracks.”

It was Claw.

As the day grew dark, the temperature was dropping rapidly.

Moreover, the wind was getting stronger, and the cold seemed to pierce through his entire body.

“How much progress has been made on the base camp construction?”

“All the officers’ barracks have already been completed. I’ve received reports that more than half of the soldiers’ barracks are also finished… It should all be done within the next hour.”

“It’s taken longer than expected. Tell the soldiers to light torches first to brighten the surrounding area.”

“Understood.”

About an hour late, perhaps.

If they had moved earlier it might have been different, but withdrawing in the middle of constructing temporary barracks and moving again had been the problem.

However…

―Commander, we must move to that location. It will be of great help in tomorrow’s battle!

Belkain had no choice but to consider Hardmel’s strongly presented opinion.

Utilizing information obtained in the field was more important than anything else, and above all, Hardmel’s family wielded considerable influence even in Central Command.

So he couldn’t completely ignore his opinion, which he claimed was certain based on reconnaissance.

However…

‘…The terrain of the hill is more uneven than expected. If by any chance there’s an enemy attack… it could be dangerous.’

That’s why brightening the area and assessing the surrounding situation was the first priority.

Belkain looked at the torches being lit one by one on the outskirts.

Thanks to the torches set up by soldiers who had gone down below the hill, he could gradually see the situation below with his own eyes.

However…

‘…What terrible darkness.’

Due to the darkness being thicker than expected, visibility was poor.

The fact that he was looking down from above made it slightly better, but not enough to take advantage of it.

“I’ll have to pray that tonight passes safely.”

He didn’t like having to rely on luck in an uncertain situation, but there was no way to reverse what had already happened.

There was no way to move the soldiers down the hill again in this darkness.

Belkain calmly looked down as torches appeared one by one below the hill.

But then…

“…?”

Suddenly, Belkain’s brow furrowed.

From his vantage point looking down, on the left side below the hill, no torches had been added for several minutes.

Belkain shouted.

“Sergeant Claw!”

“Yes.”

“Which unit is lighting torches over there?”

“…I’ll check immediately.”

As Claw was about to turn around.

“No, organize a unit right now and send them there.”

“Yes, understood.”

Following the chilling atmosphere, he felt a stabbing sensation at the back of his head.

And that was the moment.

Piiiii!

The thin whistle sound that was about to continue was cut off with a thud and disappeared.

The gazes of the soldiers constructing the base camp on the hill turned toward that direction.

“What’s happening?”

“Didn’t you just hear an emergency whistle?”

Just as someone raised the question.

“Enemy! Enemy attack!”

Along with shouts from below, the commanders’ cries burst out.

“Enemy attack! Form ranks!”

“The enemy has attacked!”

They say ominous premonitions always come true.

Belkain hurriedly gave orders and prepared for battle as shouts erupted from everywhere.

“Uaaaaaaaa!”

“Kill the Imperial bastards!”

The Kar Tribe charging up from below with battle cries.

Since it was a gently sloped, low hill, there were no obstacles for them.

Rather, with bushes reaching up to their knees and a rocky ground, only the unfamiliar Imperial soldiers were at a disadvantage.

Marhuldan, the Kar Tribe commander at the front, cut down Imperial soldiers with sharp eyes as he ran up the hill.

Three feather tattoos on his shoulder.

But he was a skilled warrior on the verge of receiving a fourth tattoo like Ulk.

And Marhuldan saw someone running beside him.

It was Ulk.

“Ulk, we must repay our debt to Lord Bowkartaon with this battle. Give it your all.”

“….”

Though he had attacked two Imperial scouts with Bowkartaon, he had accomplished nothing.

Instead, only Bowkartaon, one of their important forces, had been severely injured.

Therefore, Marhuldan’s words pierced Ulk’s chest like a hidden blade.

Ulk nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’ll repay it several times over.”

“Go up through the thick bushes on the right and strike the enemy’s flank. I’ll draw their attention from the front.”

“Don’t give me orders and just do your own job properly.”

Ulk glared at Marhuldan.

But soon he changed direction and began running toward the right hill, followed by over three hundred warriors.

As Ulk moved away, another warrior with three feather tattoos on the opposite side of Marhuldan spoke to him.

“Is it alright to leave it to that guy?”

“He’s a prideful bastard. He’ll struggle desperately to make up for the previous operation’s failure.”

“Then shall I move to the left?”

“You’ll concentrate on the center with me. Remember, our mission is to kill the Imperial bastards at the entrance and return.”

This was a place where tens of thousands of Imperial troops were gathered.

It was impossible to deal a major blow to them with their force of barely a thousand.

‘Even disrupting their base construction and killing just some of them would be a success.’

If that happened, those bastards would have to spend the cold northern night defenseless.

‘We withdraw within an hour.’

Marhuldan quickly ran up the hill while drawing a picture of the battlefield in his mind.

Soon, Imperial soldiers with spears and shields were forming ranks.

“Too slow.”

Slash! Scrape! Thud!

The red mana surrounding Marhuldan’s sword emitted a sharp killing intent.

Among the regular soldiers who were defending, there was no one who could block that attack.

“Ra, raise your shields!”

“It’s a bastard wielding Sword Aura! Fall back!”

Several commanders below shouted loudly.

But Marhuldan’s attack at the front could neither be avoided nor blocked.

Boom! Bang!

“Aaaaaargh!”

“Aaah!”

To block attacks surrounded by Sword Aura, thicker tower shields were needed, and a solid defensive formation had to be established.

Only then could they contain the bastard while simultaneously stopping the charge.

‘Ti, time…!’

‘These bastards… to think they’d climb up this quickly.’

Time was needed to properly deploy shields and establish a defensive formation.

But…

“Don’t give them time! Hurry up and charge!”

Marhuldan, who perfectly understood the current situation of the Empire’s soldiers, rarely gave them any opportunity.

Moving through the darkness to strike at their weak point with perfect timing before the defensive formation could be properly established.

At this rate, up to the middle of the hill, one hundred… no, at least two hundred or more soldiers could die.

It was certainly such a worst-case scenario, but.

“That’s far enough.”

“…!”

With a clear voice suddenly heard from the side, Marhuldan’s head turned sideways.

An Imperial Soldier who had appeared beside them at some point.

Though it seemed to be a small unit of less than fifty men, they had precisely cut off the momentum of the unit led by Marhuldan.

Crash crash crash crash bang!

A tremendous roar.

A noisy attack as if deliberately trying to cause a commotion.

Aura that shot out in a straight line overturned the ground and sliced through the bodies of the Kar Tribe Warriors blocking the way.

In an instant, blood and dirt mixed together and shot up into the sky.

“Aura…?!”

It stopped the footsteps of Marhuldan who had been charging madly and the warriors following him.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble rumble!

A small vibration occurred in the ground from that single strike just now.

Along with the vibration transmitted through the soles of his feet, cold sweat unknowingly flowed down his spine.

And an Imperial Soldier who appeared before them.

Though he couldn’t see clearly due to the darkness.

‘…A boy?’

Deep wrinkles formed on Marhuldan’s brow.

His confusion at the appearance that seemed too young was brief.

“Uaaaaaaah!”

“This is the first deployment of the complete 4th Squad! Sweep them all away!”

The first battle since Arteon rejoined.

Grain, who had charged out at the very front, shouted loudly as he swung his sword.

Slash!

A clean sword strike extending from the left shoulder to the right side.

The Kar Tribe Warrior whose life was ended in one blow sprayed blood and collapsed backward.

Whooooom!

Though the amount of mana was insufficient, most of the 4th Squad members smoothly manipulated their mana.

The mana spread throughout their bodies strengthened their muscles and increased their strength and speed.

The 4th Squad members seemed a bit surprised by using mana for the first time in actual combat.

‘We can win…!’

‘Were these guys… originally this weak?’

The 4th Squad members’ surprise at the clearly different skill level was brief.

“Focus!”

At Arteon’s shout that burst out like a roar, they immersed themselves in battle and struck down enemies.

However, a single platoon couldn’t overwhelm hundreds of enemies.

The initial entry was strong.

Soon they formed a semicircular formation and then stepped back one step at a time, maintaining distance from their formation.

Advice heard before the battle.

Never get surrounded.

Because their mission was to thoroughly scrape at their flanks and tie up their feet.

However, the very person who had given such advice was.

“Hup…!”

Crash crash crash crash bang!

Leaping into the center of hundreds of Kar Tribe members and displaying incredible Martial Prowess.

Aura manifested in a clear blue light.

Before that deadly power, the Kar Tribe’s attacks were nothing more than meaningless struggles.

Swoosh!

When he swung his spear strongly in a circle, the nearby Kar Tribe Warriors were startled and stepped back.

Just moments ago, hadn’t eight warriors lost their lives to that young bastard’s single strike?

Moreover, those eyes.

‘What kind of… human eyes are those…’

‘Even a starving beast wouldn’t have such eyes.’

The Kar Tribe Warriors swallowed their saliva as they looked at Arteon, feeling such intense Killing Intent that just meeting his eyes seemed to make their legs stiffen.

But Arteon let out a small breath at their appearance and checked the mana moving within his body.

‘…This is.’

The memory of collapsing on the way back after the reconnaissance mission was vivid.

The fear that he might die.

Along with that, even the Heart of Ether inside his body had moved.

But was it because of that?

“…No way.”

When he first absorbed the Heart of Ether, the mana that had surged up to the latter half of 4th Realm writhed once more and struck against the wall.

Arteon could tell.

The crossroads where he now stood was between 4th Realm and 5th Realm.

That he was at the crack at the very edge.

Hadn’t he felt it just now in the previous battle?

When using Aura, a sensation different from before kept writhing.

‘It’s not a mistake…’

With just a little, just a tiny bit of opportunity, it seemed he could ascend.

A realm he hadn’t reached even in his past life.

The 5th Realm.

Arteon’s gaze rushed toward the commander among the Kar Tribe, Marhuldan.

Soon, the bastard turned his head at Arteon’s gaze.

“This young bastard…!”

Marhuldan bared his teeth and growled at Arteon.

However…

“…Don’t interfere.”

“What?”

Marhuldan frowned at Arteon’s muttering.

But at that moment.

“Gasp!”

Marhuldan sucked in empty air at the intense killing intent flowing from Arteon’s eyes.

An intense killing intent that seemed like it would freeze his entire body. Along with it, Arteon spoke.

“I’m asking you, so don’t die too quickly. Not until this wall is completely broken.”

With that, a fierce beast facing its peak charged toward him.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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