The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 253

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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 (253)
Febrelkon lay to the east of the Empire.
It was a beautiful city of stone buildings and elegant streets.
But now.
Febrelkon’s appearance had changed dramatically from its usual state.
Rumble!
Smoke and dust rising from the collapsed buildings swallowed the sun.
The city had transformed into a battlefield, and the battlefield bore the scars of catastrophe.
The grand avenue that had once been a hub of commerce and tourism lay shattered into fragments.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“Hold them back! We cannot let them advance any further from this position!”
The clash of weapons and screams echoed throughout the city as battles erupted in every corner.
But in the outskirts of the city, slightly removed from where the soldiers were concentrated.
There, a battle that would determine the very fate of this war was unfolding.
“Hah!”
The moment Giorak’s roar accompanied the clash of two swords colliding.
Boom!
A tremendous thunderous sound erupted, sending powerful shockwaves rippling outward in all directions.
Along with it, several buildings nearby crumbled and scattered across the area.
Carbain, who stood at the 8th Star realm, and Giorak, at the edge of the 7th Star.
The moment their blades clashed, an overwhelming force exploded forth.
One…
“Ugh…!”
As time passed, the precarious balance between them gradually began to crumble.
We had managed to match his rhythm for quite some time, somehow holding him at bay.
“Hah…”
Giorak exhaled involuntarily as the situation grew increasingly overwhelming.
Though it appeared casual, the impact transmitted through my wrist caused my arm to tremble slightly.
“You seem to be struggling now. Are you alright?”
Carbain’s voice was low and measured.
Though he seemed to express concern, the moment those words left his lips, Carbain rushed toward Giorak.
“Huh!”
A straightforward downward slash, weighted with full force.
Giorak quickly threw his body to the side to evade the attack. Or rather, he tried to.
But the violet Aura pouring from Carbain’s blade seemed to have anticipated even Giorak’s evasive movement, extending forward with precise intent.
“Relentless…!”
In response, Giorak swiftly swung his blade to block Carbain’s Aura.
Clang!
Though I barely managed to block it, the impact pierced through the Aura and sent my body flying to the side.
Crash!
My feet scraped against the stone floor as I was driven backward.
“Huff… Well, well… the rumors were true, it seems.”
Giorak spoke with a smile, but his breathing had quickened noticeably compared to before.
Carbain did not respond.
He harbored only one thought—to condemn every last invader who had dared set foot on Imperial territory without fear.
Carbain’s eyes flashed with a sharp, piercing light.
“Not a single one of them will leave this place alive.”
His Aura, infused with resolve, surged upward in violet brilliance.
And it was at that very moment when Carbain swung his sword toward Giorak.
Kwaaaang!
With a thunderous sound that tore through the air, the violet Aura swept forth like a tempest.
As Carbain the Duke’s sword came crashing down upon the ground, an Aura wave surged outward along its trajectory like a tidal surge.
Kwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwakwang!
Faced with the colossal form of Aura that resembled an enraged shark charging wildly, Giorak found himself biting down hard on his lips without realizing it.
One misstep and….
‘I would die…!’
Uuuuuuuung!
A blue Aura erupted like flames from Giorak’s sword.
“Hraaaaaaaagh!”
Giorak roared loudly and met Carbain’s attack head-on.
Kwajik!
The layered Aura he had woven for defense shattered into fragments that scattered into the air.
Once again, Giorak’s feet scraped against the stone floor as he was driven backward.
Kurrrrrrrrr!
With a prolonged grinding sound, the debris of collapsed buildings tumbled down behind him in succession.
“Kugh…!”
This old man…!
Giorak, pushed backward while destroying buildings, clenched his teeth tightly.
His sword hand trembled, and the violet Aura stretching out to engulf him still radiated a ferocious momentum.
One….
‘In a place like this…!’
Am I going to die?
“Hraaaaagh!”
Kwaaaang!
Giorak swung his sword upward with great force, hurling Carbain’s Aura skyward.
The Aura that shot toward the heavens flew above the clouds before erupting in a brilliant explosion.
Giorak, who had nearly been swept up in that very explosion, exhaled deeply and looked toward Carbain.
“Huff… huff… huff… Is that all you have?”
On the surface, I maintained a composed smile, but internally, my limits were already crumbling.
7th Star and 8th Star.
It was a gap that could not be dismissed as merely a difference in numbers.
And despite Giorak’s provocation, Carbain regarded him without the slightest wavering.
Though blocking the attack just now had been somewhat surprising, Carbain closed the distance with unshaken breath and cold precision.
Then he spoke.
“You’ll pay dearly for daring to set foot on Imperial soil.”
“…Damn it.”
‘I can’t… push any further.’
This battle had already reached its conclusion.
All that remained was when it would end and what price would be paid.
But then it happened.
Whoooosh!
A Red Signal Flare rose from the Neolth Kingdom’s camp, tearing across the sky.
Leaving a trail of smoke as it climbed high, the red signal announced a withdrawal.
At that, Giorak’s gaze briefly turned skyward before settling back on Carbain.
A faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
“It seems it’s time to end this.”
“…What did you say?”
Carbain’s brow furrowed slightly.
Giorak slowly backed away as he spoke.
“I’ve done what I came to do… so now I must withdraw.”
There was no tremor of defeat in his voice.
Rather, it carried the composure of one who had achieved his purpose.
“Thanks to you, I was able to have a fine match with the Empire’s sharpest blade, Duke Carbain.”
“Do you think I’ll let you escape?”
The moment Carbain took a step forward, Giorak shook his head.
“From now on, the situation will become complicated.”
His eyes gleamed with meaning.
“You’ll have more pressing matters to attend to than me.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“You’ll understand soon enough. Don’t rush.”
With those words, Giorak rapidly disengaged from the battlefield.
As he vanished into the smoke and rubble like mist, Carbain gripped his Sword to pursue him.
But that was the moment.
“Duke Carbain! Something terrible has happened!”
Adjutant Haropls came rushing over, nearly tumbling.
Gasping as though his breath would fail, his face was drained of all color.
At that, Carbain turned his head.
“What is it?”
“The, the Imperial Palace…!”
And at his following words, Carbain’s expression hardened for the first time.
* * *
“Report.”
At Belkakrode’s low command, the air in the Conference Room settled at once.
Jaikl Mion, who had been standing before him, stepped forward with a ponderous gait, his massive frame swaying slightly.
He bowed deeply at the waist.
“All four City Gates—north, south, east, and west—are currently garrisoned with troops. Elite Infantry rotate their watch at each gate, and Archers are densely positioned along the Castle Wall, standing ready.”
Jaikl paused to steady his breathing before continuing.
“The patrol system has been converted to maximum alert status, and shift changes occur without a single second of rest, twenty-four hours a day. Additionally, forces stand prepared to mobilize immediately upon detection of any anomalies in the Capital Outskirts.”
The Capital had already begun to function as a colossal engine of war.
Like a bowstring drawn taut with tension, it stood ready to snap at any moment.
Belkakrode nodded silently as he received the report.
His gaze extended beyond the Conference Room, toward some distant, invisible horizon.
With movements of this magnitude, Sedrian in Preldior to the north, and Duke Carbain wielding his blade on the Eastern Front would surely have already taken notice.
‘…They will come here soon enough.’
Now only one thing remained.
To eliminate them and seize complete control of all the Empire’s authority.
The one thing to be wary of was the possibility that they would join forces.
Belkakrode looked down at Jaikl and spoke in a hushed voice.
“Maintain vigilance without the slightest gap.”
“Understood!”
As Jaikl’s resonant reply echoed through the chamber, Belkakrode rose from his seat.
There remained one final task that had to be completed to ensure the perfect success of this Great Enterprise.
Thud, thud.
Belkakrode’s footsteps moved with urgency. He arrived at a Secret Chamber located at the end of a corridor within the Imperial Palace.
Upon passing through the thick stone door and entering, he found Taifren sitting alone, his face gaunt and exhausted.
As though he had not slept for days, deep shadows hung beneath his eyes, and his fingers trembled faintly upon his knees.
Belkakrode slowly seated himself in the chair across from him, looking down upon him.
“Well then—have you reached a decision?”
Taifren.
One who had supported Sedrian.
As the Empire’s Chancellor, he commanded the trust and respect of countless ministers and Nobles.
A single word from him, a single nod of his head, could determine the fate of dozens of houses and thousands of lives.
‘For my Great Enterprise… he is indispensable.’
To gain Taifren meant being able to bring the Empire’s mightiest force—Duke Carbain—into his camp as an Allied Force.
If only he could free himself from that man’s interference.
‘…Then no one can stand against me.’
Belkakrode’s eyes gleamed with a narrow, predatory light.
“Must blood be spilled in the end?”
He spoke quietly, his voice barely above a whisper.
“Your decision alone will determine whether countless people perish.”
Silence descended upon the secret chamber.
Taifren hung his head, unable to open his mouth.
He understood better than anyone that merely sitting in this place meant he had already lost all choice.
The consequences that would unfold the moment he gave his support.
The people who would vanish the moment he refused.
The longer he resisted, the more innocent lives would be endangered.
At last, Taifren’s parched lips moved slowly.
“…Will you truly keep your promise?”
His voice was hoarse.
At those words, Belkakrode’s eyes flashed with sharp intensity.
“I acknowledge the methods are crude.”
Belkakrode leaned back against his chair and spoke with calm certainty.
“However, my trust is absolute. I never break my word once spoken.”
He tilted his head slightly as he continued.
“Besides, if I failed to keep my promise, you would turn your back on me at any moment. To earn your trust, the promise must be kept—would you not agree?”
Taifren drew a deep breath.
“…Then I ask for one more promise.”
“Speak. Within the bounds of my magnanimity, I shall grant whatever you ask.”
A faint smile appeared at the corners of Belkakrode’s mouth.
Taifren then spoke.
“Please send the detained ministers outside the Capital. If you do that… I will follow the Second Prince.”
In that instant, Belkakrode’s brow furrowed deeply.
“Absurd.”
His voice turned cold and sharp.
“If they leave the Capital, they would escape my influence. What guarantee do I have that you will follow me after that?”
A piercing gaze cut through Taifren.
“However…”
A moment of silence passed.
“I will send the ministers’ families outside the Capital. That is the greatest magnanimity I can afford.”
Belkakrode spoke with the eyes of one who had made a final decision.
“If you cannot accept even that… I shall abandon you.”
In that moment, a thick killing intent flickered across his eyes.
Taifren instinctively swallowed.
If he refused now, not just he, but everyone would die.
Soon after, he slowly rose from his seat.
Thud.
He dropped to both knees on the ground.
“Then… please do so.”
With his head bowed deeply, Taifren spoke.
“I will follow the Second Prince.”
Save for the Emperor himself, the highest authority in the Empire.
A symbol that had guided the Empire’s prosperity, and the spiritual pillar of the nobility.
And now, he had shattered his own convictions for the sake of his people.
A thin smile spread across my face.
Belkakrode gazed down at Taifren with a broad grin.
Now all the pieces had fallen into place.
‘All that remains is… Sedrian.’
Once he was eliminated.
‘The Empire will be completely… mine.’
Belkakrode barely restrained the laughter threatening to burst forth, his eyes fixed upon the bowed figure of Taifren.

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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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