The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 255

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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 (255)
Inside the jolting carriage.
Each time the wheels struck stone, a sharp jolt reverberated through the compartment.
A small lantern suspended from the ceiling swayed gently, casting its feeble light across the interior.
Lucael sat in silence, his gaze fixed upon Arteon across from him.
Despite facing one another, a heavy, ineffable tension had settled between them.
The carriage pressed onward without respite, horses were exchanged in rotation, and sleep came only in fragmented, fleeting moments.
As time elapsed, anxiety accumulated within me, layer upon layer.
Lucael broke the silence first.
“If, by some chance….”
His voice was low, yet trembled with uncertainty.
“If Prince Belakrod were to seize complete control of the Capital….”
Lucael continued quietly, organizing the thoughts that had consumed him until now.
“Then truly… something irreversible would come to pass.”
Arteon answered briefly, his gaze lowered.
“I am aware.”
His voice was composed, yet rigid with tension.
Should Belakrod control the Capital and Sedrian choose war, the Empire would be tearing out its own heart.
‘…Civil war.’
The word crystallized vividly in my mind.
Imperial soldiers facing one another, drawing swords and spears.
Those who had trained beneath the same banner and sworn by the same name would now be forced to kill one another.
The worst catastrophe never once recorded in the Empire’s history.
Yet the problem did not end there.
The moment civil war erupted, the border garrisons stationed in the provinces would be left vulnerable.
The surrounding kingdoms would exploit that opening without hesitation.
Whether Sedrian emerged victorious,
Or Belakrod prevailed,
The outcome would be no different.
The victor would claim the throne, but what they would hold would be an Empire drenched in blood.
‘And after that… what then.’
My lips pressed into a thin line.
Yet the true worst-case scenario from my current position was something else entirely.
“What if… the other Nobles remaining in the Capital were to join hands with Belakrod? What would become of us then?”
“….”
Lucael could not answer hastily to my question.
No matter how treacherous Belakrod’s rebellion, he would not have eliminated them all.
Seizing the Capital alone would not suffice; after his struggle with Crown Prince Sedrian, he would need to consolidate the forces scattered throughout the provinces.
Their strength would be indispensable at that moment.
Slaughtering them all would be no different than isolating himself and committing suicide.
“Well, I doubt such a thing will happen.”
Crown Prince Sedrian had been able to maintain his advantage not only because of his own exceptional abilities, but because he had the backing of powerful factions built upon those capabilities and his character.
If the influential nobles remaining in the Capital began to support Belakrod one by one.
“Then wouldn’t we have to say the Imperial Succession War is already… over?”
There was no stopping Belakrod, who already controlled the Capital. If that happened, Belakrod would be forcibly elevated to Emperor.
And Belakrod’s very first action as Emperor would be….
“To kill Crown Prince Sedrian.”
At Lucael’s words, I found myself closing my eyes without thinking.
It was as if the worst possible image I could conjure in my mind was becoming vividly clear before my eyes.
“Hah….”
A deep sigh escaped from my lips.
Anger surged within me.
Politics waged over the fate of a nation.
It was far more complex and infinitely more brutal than any battlefield.
In the end, they.
‘They want to have everything… all of it.’
Those very things they had possessed even while killing everyone before them.
“….”
Curses rose to the back of my throat.
But I swallowed them.
Right now, I needed composure more than rage.
I spoke quietly, my head bowed.
“Still… there must be a way.”
Though the situation was desperate, with no visibility even a step ahead.
I refused to surrender.
I hadn’t run myself ragged unto death just to hand everything over to those bastards.
And there was an absolute variable different from my past life.
There was one thing they hadn’t calculated.
It was me.
An 8-Star Warrior possessed power that rivaled an entire nation through mere existence.
I was a variable that could shake battlefields and forcibly tip the scales at decisive moments.
Could they truly have anticipated such a thing?
Lucael, too, understood that such a significant variable existed.
“It isn’t over until it’s over, is it?”
He spoke to me without abandoning hope.
At those words, I nodded silently.
And before long.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The carriages carrying the Silent Spear Battalion and the Silverwolf Knight Order arrived near the Imperial Capital.
* * *
With the Capital’s Castle Wall between us, the air hung heavy and oppressive.
Sedrian’s soldiers, assembled roughly a kilometer from the Castle Wall, had already completed their preparations to advance.
Shields tilted forward, spear tips aligned at precise angles.
A Formation ready to surge forward the moment the command fell.
Conversely, the soldiers positioned atop the Castle Wall had likewise finished their defensive preparations.
Archers held their bowstrings half-drawn, fingers tensed with force, while trebuchets and crossbows had already locked onto their firing angles.
Both sides stood in a state where neither would be surprised if the other moved first.
War had already begun in all but name.
“….”
Sedrian turned his head slowly, regarding Belkain.
Exhaustion and tension mingled across his features.
Belkain studied the terrain surrounding the Capital with meticulous care, his gaze fixed on the Forward Position.
The Castle Wall, the River, the Bridge, and the troop deployments.
His eyes surveyed the Battlefield with cold precision.
“The Terrain is not favorable.”
Belkain spoke in measured tones.
“There is reason the Imperial Capital is called a natural Fortress.”
His words rang true.
The River, sprawling wide to encircle the Capital, barred the soldiers’ Advance itself.
Moreover, the waters ran deep and swift.
To approach the Capital’s Castle Wall, we had no choice but to cross the Bridge.
Yet even that Bridge itself.
“They could sever it whenever they wish.”
Belkain’s words were calm, yet their weight was undeniable.
Should that occur, hundreds of armored soldiers would plunge into the waters the moment we attempted entry.
The Battle Line would collapse in an instant.
Without proper strategy, even approach was impossible, let alone Advance.
We could instead seal the Outskirts completely and wait for the Capital’s Supplies to dwindle.
Yet….
“If we do that, the Imperial Citizens within the Capital will be the first to perish. The moment War begins, all Supplies will be claimed first by the soldiers and Nobles.”
Sedrian spoke quietly.
With those words, the air grew heavier still.
Hunger always devours the weak first.
Blockading the Capital was no different from taking its people hostage.
Moreover, this crisis would not end within the Capital alone.
“Before long, the provincial Nobles will learn of this.”
Belkain continued quietly.
“If by any chance the powerful Nobles within the Capital side with Belakrod… there is no guarantee the provincial Factions will support us.”
People flow toward where power gathers.
Everyone present understood all too well how many prioritize survival over principle.
“This damnable… even if it amounts to treason.”
A low curse escaped Belkain’s lips.
In the end, everything followed the same structure—power flowed to those who wielded it.
In the current situation, I could neither advance nor retreat.
Belkain exhaled sharply and regarded Sedrian.
“For now, the priority is constructing a sound operation. Do not rush—take time to deliberate.”
There was one saving grace, at least.
This was not the Northern Region, but the heart of the Empire itself.
When night fell, the severe cold would not drive the soldiers to their deaths as it did in the north.
There remained sufficient time to formulate strategy and contemplate our options.
We had to reorganize the camp and carve out a single opening through which to breach the Capital.
Just as everyone was contemplating this very matter.
A subtle rustling.
From behind, a barely perceptible presence made itself known.
The officers and everyone present simultaneously stiffened, turning in unison.
In that instant, the threat from behind felt more menacing than the enemies upon the Castle Wall.
And the figure that entered Sedrian’s field of vision.
“Who are you…?”
Sedrian’s eyes widened considerably.
It was a face he had never anticipated.
The figure stepped forward and bowed with proper courtesy.
“I greet Crown Prince Sedrian.”
A low, weighty voice.
It was Carbain Eisenhardt.
* * *
The officers withdrew, leaving only Sedrian, Svein, Belkain, and Duke Carbain.
Outside, the occasional sound of soldiers’ footsteps and the scrape of armor drifted in, but within this space, an unusual silence prevailed.
That very silence pressed upon their shoulders with an uncanny tension.
Sedrian regarded Carbain in silence for a moment before carefully speaking.
“That you have come here means…”
He paused mid-sentence.
In that single moment of hesitation, his conflicted heart lay bare.
“Can I still consider you on my side?”
Carbain did not avert his gaze.
Instead, he met Sedrian’s eyes directly and answered with composure.
“I have come here to answer precisely that question.”
“What do you mean by that?”
To Sedrian’s question, Carbain tilted his head slightly and posed his own.
“What is your intention?”
Then he cast a brief glance toward the direction where the Capital lay.
“Do you intend to fight the Second Prince in the Capital with these soldiers?”
In that moment, Carbain’s eyes gleamed with razor-sharp intensity.
It was far more than a simple question.
I could feel the unmistakable pressure—depending on my answer, the direction in which he drew his sword could shift entirely.
At that, I lifted my gaze toward the heavens.
No answer came to mind in response to Carbain’s challenge.
After a moment of deliberation, I spoke to him.
“…I don’t know.”
After a brief silence, I continued with honesty.
“If we engaged in a full-scale battle… the outcome is painfully obvious. How could I possibly proceed?”
Carbain’s brow twitched slightly.
“Then you mean to raise the white flag?”
“As I just said, I haven’t made a decision yet.”
I met Carbain’s gaze directly.
“It depends on what you do.”
At those words, Carbain fell silent for a long moment.
The air within the tent grew heavier still.
At last, he spoke again, his voice barely above a whisper.
“I regret to say….”
His tone was low and measured.
“I cannot pledge myself to either side.”
My eyes wavered.
Carbain continued immediately.
“Whichever faction I join, if conflict erupts, the Empire will face catastrophe.”
The mere presence of an 8-Star warrior like Carbain could not overturn this vast tide in a single stroke.
Even if he fought at my side, countless lives would inevitably be shed.
And should that come to pass, the Empire would surely be shaken to its foundations.
As a Duke of the Empire, I had to prevent the path that led only to the Empire’s destruction.
Yet Carbain added one more thing.
“However… if there were several more warriors of a caliber comparable to Knight Svein, then the outcome might be altered.”
At those words, Svein’s eyes narrowed briefly.
Carbain looked toward Svein as he spoke.
“Fortunately, I can enter the Capital itself. However, even if I do, I cannot strike down the Second Prince.”
The reason was simple.
Baolent exists.
He too is a warrior at the very pinnacle of the 7-Star realm.
Compared to myself, he stands but a hair’s breadth away.
“The moment I draw my blade toward the Second Prince, many will die—not least among them, the vital ministers of state.”
Controlling the Capital meant the Second Prince’s forces were already woven throughout it entirely.
Thus, even entering the Capital, all I could accomplish was protecting the key figures who upheld the Empire and the slumbering Emperor.
“In the meantime, we need those capable of resolving all these matters… ”
If we’re speaking in terms of 7-Star Warriors, we’d need at least three or more.
Anything less than that would make any attempt impossible.
Carbain continued quietly.
“If Jaife Bouldin were still alive… he would have stood without hesitation at Crown Prince Sedrian’s side. With him at our side, I and a small contingent could suppress this rebellion.”
“…!”
Sedrian’s eyes widened sharply.
Jaife Bouldin was a 7-Star Warrior who protected the Empire.
“…He’s dead?”
Carbain nodded silently in response.
“He was defeated in battle against Baolent and lost his life.”
That single brief sentence drove home the weight of the situation.
Without him.
No matter which side Carbain chose, sacrifice was inevitable.
Silence descended upon the Training Ground once more.
Yet Belkain shattered that silence.
“…Duke Carbain.”
His voice was low but resolute.
“If we could truly resolve this war without bloodshed among soldiers… could you lend us your strength?”
Carbain closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded.
“Of course.”
His answer held no hesitation.
“What is wrong must be corrected.”
And he continued immediately.
“However, the Empire must not be shaken in that process. That is why we must proceed with caution.”
At those words, Belkain spoke quietly.
“It’s possible.”
Carbain’s gaze turned sharply toward him.
“That method—to end this rebellion without shedding much blood.”
In that moment, Carbain’s eyes gleamed with a keen edge.
“Remember this: attempting clumsy persuasion could bring grave consequences upon you.”
It was a warning.
Yet Belkain did not avert his gaze.
At that sight, Carbain asked Belkain.
“What is this method, Belkain?”
Belkain spoke briefly, yet with absolute conviction.
“He should be arriving here soon.”
At those words, Carbain merely tilted his head with a peculiar expression.

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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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