The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 22

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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 (22)

It was when the sun was slowly setting in the distance and the twilight light was staining the earth.

Arteon, wearing a thick cloak, passed through the city gate of Almers and entered inside.

“This place… hasn’t changed much.”

In his past life, Arteon first came to Almers about 2 years from now.

He had come following his superior for supplies, so he didn’t have clear memories of it.

Arteon looked around.

The blowing wind carried the cold air from the distant Northern Region, and he could see merchants’ carriages moving through the streets.

Since it was a city with developed commerce, it was easy to see merchants.

“There must be merchants who came for business.”

Seeing how bustling it was, it seemed a merchant group had arrived in Almers to do business.

He didn’t like crowded places, but this situation might actually be better.

The fact that a merchant group had come…

“Would be good grounds for those guys to move actively too.”

But since the sun was setting, finding lodging for the night was the priority.

Arteon dismounted his horse and looked around.

There were quite a few inns, but Arteon moved his steps toward one located in the outskirts.

And when he found a certain inn.

“It was here even at this time.”

He moved his steps toward an inn that was lodged in the corner of his memory.

Ding!

With a small bell sound, the old man sitting at the counter turned his gaze.

The first floor was set up as a small restaurant, and the second floor consisted of guest rooms – it was an ordinary inn.

Arteon approached and said.

“Can I leave my horse here?”

“If you tie it up outside, I’ll put it in the stable. But… you look young, are you a soldier? That doesn’t look like a commonly used cloak.”

At the old man’s words, Arteon nodded.

“Yes, I came out on a brief leave.”

“Hehe, there’s plenty of alcohol and women in Almers. But you look too young to enjoy those things… No, if you’re a soldier from the 1st Division, I guess it’s fine to call you a man already?”

“You have good eyes.”

“Those gloves are only supplied to the 1st Division. Light and warm.”

“You seem to know a lot about the military.”

“Hehe, how could it be just the military? To do business in this Northern Region, you need to have basic skills in reading people.”

At those words, the corners of Arteon’s mouth slightly rose.

He had come here following old memories.

‘Seems like I found the right place.’

This was exactly the person Arteon needed right now.

Arteon took out a small pouch from his pocket and placed it on the table.

Clink.

When the money pouch was placed down, the old man’s eyebrows twitched.

However, the old man soon spoke calmly.

“If you’re just staying overnight, it’s 5 silver, and if you want meals too, just pay 6 silver. The money in that pouch seems too much.”

“May I ask you for a favor? It’s been a while since I came here…”

“Hehehe, is there information you want to find out? Or is there someone you’re looking for?”

“Just give me one small clue.”

Following those words and Arteon’s continued statement.

“…Is this something the Military Department is handling?”

“It’s just a personal matter.”

“Hmm…”

The old man seemed somewhat suspicious, frowning as he opened the pouch Arteon had placed down.

Inside were quite a few silver coins.

“It’s quite a lot of money to refuse.”

“Will you look into it for me?”

“One clue. That’s all.”

“That’s enough.”

“Rest for now. I’ll tell you tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you.”

“Pay the lodging fee separately. It would be troublesome if the lodging fee was included in this money.”

Arteon paid an additional 6 silver before he could enter the guest room on the second floor.

The next day, when Arteon came down to the restaurant for breakfast, the old man personally served him food.

Slide.

And there was a note folded under the plate.

Arteon silently put it into his chest. And then…

“…Huh?”

Arteon, who was looking at the note the old man gave him, showed a slightly surprised expression.

It was because the old man’s information network was better than he had thought.

To provide this much information in just one night…

‘It would be difficult unless he had his feet in this business from the beginning.’

But he soon focused on the contents of the note.

The note contained content that was somewhat different from what Arteon had initially thought.

“I can’t believe… it’s in such a state of conflict.”

Originally, he thought Rishiven had a firm grip on power.

“I’ll need to change the plan a bit.”

No, rather, depending on the situation, things might work out easily.

Of course, the level of danger had increased a bit.

“But I still have to do it.”

Because it was something that had to be done.

Arteon went to a nearby clothing store and changed into ordinary clothes.

When he put on a robe to conceal his weapons, he looked like a traveler you could see anywhere.

“Well then, shall I start moving…”

Arteon’s purpose for coming to Almers.

It was to gather enemy intelligence in preparation for the upcoming battles.

‘I killed Moldrek, but… I need to carefully find out who’s behind him.’

Because he couldn’t move without even knowing who he needed to take revenge on.

It would surely lead to very deep places. And in that process…

‘There will be an enormous amount of things needed.’

After coming back to life.

This was what he had thought about in the punishment cell after killing Moldrek.

While building strength, he needed to accurately find the bastards he should turn his blade toward.

To do that…

‘There are too many things needed.’

He needed to be able to enter the Imperial Capital and gather information, and he needed enormous amounts of money to support that.

He had 100 gold on hand, but compared to the money he needed, this was just a drop in the bucket.

There were truly many things to do.

‘But right now… this is the priority.’

He came to Almers to do the first thing he could do.

If things went well, he might be able to handle two things at once.

Swish.

It was midday with the sun high in the sky, but as they entered the Back Alleys of Almers, deep shadows descended.

A feeling that was both unfamiliar and familiar.

A very long time ago.

It felt like a place that remained in fragments of memory from before being dragged into the army suddenly came to mind.

This alley where they faced off across a path of only a few meters seemed to show another side of Almers.

Step by step.

Not long after Arteon entered the alley, people sitting here and there throughout the alley glanced at Arteon.

An appearance that looked like just an ordinary traveler.

Moreover, though it wasn’t clearly visible, the face inside the hood gave off a considerably young impression.

“Hey, did you come here to play?”

“Hehe, quite the bold one.”

He hadn’t gone far into the alley when Arteon saw guys blocking his path.

Two fairly large men were grinning wickedly while thinking about the money they could extort from Arteon.

However…

“I have no business with you guys, so just move aside. Don’t make your already hard life even harder.”

Arteon warned in a low voice.

Though he knew the characteristics of guys who inhabited these back alleys, he tried just in case.

But as expected, it was as expected.

They soon grinned and said to Arteon.

“We’ll just beat you up good first, then clean you out completely.”

“Think of it as bad luck!”

The two guys rushed at Arteon simultaneously.

Having done this quite a lot, the two guys’ coordination was pretty good.

It’s just that their opponent wasn’t good.

Whoosh!

The fist of the dark-skinned guy on the right cut through the air.

It was clearly a punch aimed at Arteon’s face, but…

“Huh?!”

When Arteon, who had been right in front of him, disappeared in an instant, the guy couldn’t hide his bewildered expression.

However…

Thud!

“Gack!”

Arteon’s fist, having bent his waist downward, drove straight into the guy’s abdomen.

At a glance, Arteon’s fist was buried so deep it seemed like the abdomen might have been pierced.

“Urgh!”

The guy whose waist bent into an L-shape collapsed forward while retching.

Kneeling on the ground and trembling, the guy couldn’t even scream.

“You bastard!”

The guy next to him also aimed for Arteon, but the result wasn’t much different.

Bang!

With a sound like stone breaking, the guy whose neck snapped collapsed on the spot like a puppet with cut strings.

Fortunately, he didn’t seem to be dead as he was foaming at the mouth and trembling.

Arteon approached the guy who had been retching and said.

“Hey, there’s someone I’m looking for.”

“S-someone you’re looking for…?”

Having regained some consciousness, the guy looked up at Arteon with a terrified expression.

To him, Arteon said.

“Shadow…”

But at that moment.

“Over there! He went that way!”

“Catch him!”

Suddenly voices came from the opposite end of the alley. Arteon’s gaze turned toward them.

Along with that, a shadow flashed past beyond Arteon’s line of sight.

It had passed by too quickly, but.

Grin.

The corners of Arteon’s mouth rose.

“Found him.”

Things seemed to be going better than expected.

* * *

“Haha, idiots.”

Milo burst into laughter while jingling the pouch in his hand.

The guys who had chased him were Almers’ guards, but catching him in this alley wouldn’t be easy.

Not only were there traps set up here and there, but places like this where he could hide his body were also prepared.

Only after confirming he had completely shaken off the guards did Milo open the pouch.

“Ohhh!”

As expected, targeting that bald guy was the right answer.

The clothes he wore looked decent, but more importantly, the accessories he wore were extremely expensive items.

“This is why I can’t quit.”

With this money… he could live comfortably for at least two months.

But then.

“Shadow Fang.”

“…?!”

At the voice suddenly coming from behind, Milo instinctively drew his dagger.

“Who are you?”

From his clothing, he looked like an ordinary traveler.

But Shadow Fang came from his mouth.

It was the name of the Thief Guild that Milo belonged to.

To think there would be someone fearless enough to mention Shadow Fang’s name in these Back Alleys.

Milo’s eyes sharpened coldly.

Though young in age, Milo was skilled enough to become an official member of Shadow Fang.

A single traveler like that…

But before Milo could move, something pounced on him and gripped his throat tightly.

“Gack!”

He had clearly been over ten meters away…

‘I’m… dying.’

It felt like his vision was going dark. But then the guy wearing the robe said.

“Where is Rishiven?”

“…What?”

Milo’s pupils shook greatly.

How did this guy know Bugilma’s name…

‘Could it be…?!’

Milo bit his lips tightly.

Recently, the atmosphere between the guild master and Rishiven, the sub-master, had been flowing strangely.

It was because the directions they were each pursuing didn’t align.

There had been rumors that the guild master was trying to kill Rishiven, the sub-master…

‘An assassin…?’

Milo bit his lips tightly.

“K-kill me…!”

“…?”

Ha, look at this guy.

This young-looking fellow seemed to have quite a bit of backbone.

‘Usually the guys in the Thief Guild are too busy trying to save their own necks.’

Rarely seen—a guy with quite a bit of loyalty.

When Arteon chuckled, Milo scrunched up his face and said.

“Wh-what’s so funny? I won’t say a single word… Stop wasting time and just kill me…!”

Having made a desperate resolution, his face turned bright red and tears welled up in his eyes.

This confirmed it.

‘This guy is definitely one of Rishiven’s people.’

At that sight, Arteon loosened his grip on the guy’s neck.

Thud.

Then Arteon held out a note toward the guy who had slumped to the floor.

“Deliver this to Rishiven.”

“…What?”

“You’d better hurry. Otherwise, something dangerous might happen.”

With those words, Arteon immediately turned around.

At Arteon’s disappearing figure.

“…What the hell is this.”

Milo could only stare into empty space with an expression as if he’d seen a ghost.

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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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