The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 241

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Mad Spearman of the Northern Front (241)
Sunlight stretched long between towering pillars that reached toward the ceiling, and upon the Red Carpet lay countless delicate traces left by decades of footsteps, layered one atop another.
The Imperial Grand Conference Hall.
A place where a single word could determine the rise or fall of a house—a realm where genuine emotion held no sway.
Yet that day was different.
Urgent footsteps echoed across the marble floor.
Ragged breathing tore through the silence of the conference hall.
“I, I bring urgent news.”
At the frantic cry of the messenger entering, the eyes of all the ministers present fixed upon him.
They would surely know this was a regularly convened meeting due to the fierce Imperial Succession War currently unfolding.
A middle-aged man seated there furrowed his brow and spoke.
“What matter could be so grave that you would enter thus without permission in the midst of our deliberations?”
“We are discussing critical matters for the future of the Empire itself, and yet—tsk, tsk.”
An elderly man beside him, his white beard grown long, shook his head with disapproval.
Yet the messenger who had entered to deliver his report bowed urgently and continued.
“My apologies, Your Excellencies. However, an urgent Letter has arrived from the Northern Region where His Highness Sedrian resides, which is why I have come.”
“The Northern Region?”
“Has something befallen His Highness Sedrian?”
In that instant, the Imperial Grand Conference Hall erupted in turmoil.
Several ministers’ expressions hardened as though their hearts had sunk before the contents were even delivered, while others struggled to suppress laughter threatening to escape.
And as the ministers’ gazes remained fixed upon the messenger, he spoke.
“It is that… the army led by His Highness Sedrian has achieved final victory in the Preldior War.”
“….”
In that moment, silence.
During that silence, the expressions of the ministers present transformed, each taking on a different aspect.
And….
“Final victory, you say?!”
“Preldior, you mean?!”
“They have crossed that impenetrable Mountain Terrain!”
The messenger unfolded the Letter he had brought.
The Letter contained detailed accounts of the battles that had occurred in Preldior and the major Gorges that had been secured.
Along with information regarding the withdrawal of the Kar Tribe forces and details of the temporary Camp currently being established, all was written in meticulous detail.
As the messenger read through the Letter, the expressions of the ministers present became even more consumed by astonishment.
The once composed atmosphere of the Imperial Grand Conference Hall had grown intensely heated.
“Remarkable… truly extraordinary.”
“We had assessed that merely obtaining Belikezel had overturned the balance of power in the Northern Region….”
“And now Preldior, no less.”
One minister drew a deep breath and spoke.
“Through this occupation of Preldior, the scale of territory gained possesses an astronomical value so immense that calculation itself becomes difficult.”
Heads slowly nodded in agreement.
Preldior was far more than mere territory.
It possessed inexhaustible natural resources and terrain that could defend the Kar Tribe against invasion.
And most crucially, it lay in the Northeastern Region, not far from Belikezel.
“In essence, we’ve seized half of the Northern Region beyond the border.”
“Indeed, Your Highness. The lands between Belikezel and Preldior will naturally fall under our dominion as well.”
The implications were staggering.
“Where exactly does Prince Sedrian intend to advance to?”
Laughter rang out, barely concealing jubilation.
The Imperial Family had finally spoken the word ‘victory’ with unmistakable clarity.
Yet in one corner of the Imperial Grand Conference Hall—
The atmosphere among those deliberately clustered together was entirely different.
These were the retainers who followed the Second Prince Belkakrode.
“Hmm… such distinguished merit from the First Prince. Truly remarkable.”
“Well… it seems the meeting has concluded. Shall we take our leave?”
“You’ve all labored well.”
Those who rose hurried from the Imperial Grand Conference Hall.
Watching them depart, those remaining seated turned their heads with enigmatic smiles playing at their lips.
And then—
“How in the world did this happen?”
A voice dropped low and grave.
The ministers who had exited the Imperial Grand Conference Hall spoke urgently to one another.
“Preldior occupied? Does that even make sense?”
“There must be some error.”
Another hastened to continue.
“Did not Commander Baolent Distron himself insist that place could never be conquered by the Imperial Army?”
Yet there was no conviction in those words.
The mere fact that Belkain’s name appeared in the report stripped away all excuse.
Everyone in the Empire knew he was not a man to report false victories.
…
Silence descended in that moment.
Their minds seemed to go blank, uncertain what to say or how to proceed.
But then—
“We must inform the Second Prince Belkakrode of this at once.”
A middle-aged minister with long whiskers drooping at both sides spoke quietly.
The one beside him nodded in agreement.
“Indeed. Only by alerting him swiftly can we formulate our next strategy.”
“That would be wise.”
With the decision made, several rose hastily from their seats.
Their footsteps were quick, yet heavy.
Anxiety born of the current situation weighed upon their heels.
But after they departed, a peculiar silence descended upon those who remained.
Then….
“What if….”
One man carefully broke the silence.
“If it’s truly the case that Sedrian has completely taken control of Preldior.”
After a moment of hesitation, he finally spoke his mind.
“Wouldn’t it be better to switch sides now…?”
The air froze.
“Switch sides?”
A sharp retort.
“Do you think Imperial Family politics are so trivial?”
But the rebuttal ended there.
Even the man who had spoken first had only uttered such words out of frustration.
He lowered his head at his own recklessness.
“My thinking was shortsighted, forgive me. Preldior, which I thought was impregnable, has been occupied….”
“Heh….”
But then, another man beside him let out a bitter laugh.
“Actually, it’s not entirely unreasonable.”
“What do you mean? Speaking of switching sides?”
He rebutted against the sharp-voiced man.
“Look at reality. The Second Prince still hasn’t even properly secured a single minor kingdom in the Southern Region.”
His voice grew louder.
“In fact, this current situation only allows for competition because His Majesty the Emperor has intervened to give both princes equal opportunity. From the start, Belkakrode’s absurd purge has already tilted the atmosphere away from the First Prince.”
Among the twenty ministers seated in the Imperial Grand Conference Hall, twelve were supporting the First Prince.
They themselves, supporting Belkakrode on the logic that there needed to be at least some balance of power, had obtained eight seats, but….
“You must know that there are already more people within the Imperial Family supporting the First Prince.”
“…So you’re really saying we should switch to that side?”
“No, I’m just saying it might be time to keep that possibility open.”
“Hmm….”
The man who had been rebutting also turned his head away.
Anxiety was beginning to bloom quietly within his heart as well.
In any case, the sudden news from the Northern Region had caused the scales of Imperial power to shift dramatically.
And in that shadowed space, only the sighs of several ministers filled the air.
* * *
An office draped in heavy curtains.
The southern sunlight filtered through the window and dimly spread across the floor, but the air within the Barracks hung heavy and oppressive.
And at its center.
Crash!
The sound of a desk nearly shattering rang out loudly.
Belkakrode’s fist came down upon the solid wooden surface.
“What kind of insane nonsense is this?!”
With the messenger’s report, the fury I had been suppressing erupted like a volcano.
The messenger bowed his head even deeper, and the air in the room froze in an instant.
“Sedrian… that bastard achieved a final victory at Preldior?”
“A, a letter announcing victory from the Northern Region has arrived, Your Majesty.”
“….”
Belkakrode collapsed into his seat as though his legs had given way.
His fingertips had begun to tremble faintly, and his face twitched as if seized by convulsions.
“I… haven’t even managed to occupy Travien yet.”
Belkakrode’s voice wavered.
A war that was nearly finished.
Then suddenly the Ermatir Kingdom… those bastards intervened, and the atmosphere turned strange.
The confrontation that seemed about to end resumed with renewed tension, and the outcome itself became uncertain.
But….
“A final victory achieved at Preldior?”
Belkakrode muttered again, his expression disbelieving.
It made no sense.
No, it couldn’t possibly make sense.
Belkakrode slowly turned his head to regard the man standing directly beside him.
Baolent Distron.
One of the five greatest warriors in the Empire, with extensive experience from his youth spent fighting on the Northern Front’s battlefields.
Because of this, I was certain.
That Preldior was a land that could never be conquered.
Layered mountain ranges intertwined upon themselves.
Narrow passes that forced troops to scatter.
Terrain blessed by heaven itself—where even tens of thousands of soldiers would be powerless.
That was Preldior.
Baolent, sensing my gaze, opened his mouth quietly.
“Was Belkain’s seal present on the letter announcing this victory?”
“Upon verification, yes, Your Majesty.”
“….”
Despairing news had been delivered.
The presence of Belkain’s seal was virtually conclusive evidence.
At that, Baolent fixed the messenger with a stern gaze and asked.
“Did Svein intervene in the war?”
The messenger nodded.
“According to the report… Knight Svein also participated in the battle.”
In that moment.
“What did you say?”
Belkakrode’s eyebrows shot upward in shock.
“Sedrian sent Svein to war?”
Svein was Sedrian’s personal guard knight.
He was never separated from the Prince’s side unless circumstances were dire.
The final shield protecting a Prince’s life.
If Sedrian had deployed Svein to war, it meant the situation was far worse than anticipated.
Could sending Svein into such circumstances truly reverse the tide of this war?
“…It’s impossible.”
Baolent shook his head as he spoke.
“No matter how capable Svein is, there is nothing he can accomplish alone in Preldior.”
His voice was resolute.
Baolent’s gaze drifted into empty space.
Memories of treading the Northern Front’s battlefield in the past surfaced.
Though unofficial, there had been instances when small Special Units infiltrated deep into the Northern Region with covert operations in mind.
‘…Those monsters would not have remained idle.’
A fact most of the Empire did not know.
Among the high-ranking Kar Tribe who dominated the North, there existed those whose abilities matched or exceeded my own.
Of course, they were few in number….
‘In a place like Preldior, one of them would surely have stepped forward….’
Then the answer was singular.
Either my judgment was flawed, or… the board itself had changed.
My mind became tangled in complexity.
Yet Baolent soon lifted his head and reached a conclusion.
“…Your Majesty.”
His eyes grew grave.
“Please allow me to directly intervene in this war.”
“Don’t speak such nonsense.”
Belkakrode’s sharp voice cut through the barracks.
“Do not forget that you have a duty to always remain at my side and protect me!”
What meaning would victory in war hold if he himself perished?
Belkakrode flatly refused.
His words carried a trace of fear.
Then silence descended upon the barracks.
“…Damn it.”
Belkakrode clenched his teeth and turned his head away.
He bit the tip of his finger with his teeth.
Until blood seeped forth.
A different method was necessary.
One that could overturn the First Prince’s achievement of occupying Preldior… such a….
Anger faded from his face.
In its place, a dark and profound shadow settled.
I had already known.
That this competition was one I could never win from the start.
Did not the Imperial Family already have more forces supporting Sedrian?
Now that even the Emperor had fallen into deep slumber, those secretly aiding the First Prince would only grow in number.
“…Leave only Baolent Distron. Everyone else is dismissed.”
“Pardon? Ah, yes. Understood.”
“Understood, Your Majesty.”
Soon after, all the officers save Baolent Distron filed out of the Barracks.
And the moment they stepped outside the Barracks.
Whoooosh!
A barrier crafted by Baolent Distron enveloped the Barracks.
It was a barrier that sealed off all sound from escaping the Barracks to the outside.
And within the sealed Barracks.
“….”
At Belkakrode’s words, Baolent Distron’s expression grew grave and tense.

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