The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 273
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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 (273)
The room was silent.
Outside, the work of clearing the aftermath continued—the faint sound of soldiers’ footsteps and clashing metal drifted from a distance—but this space remained untouched by that fervor, isolated in its own quiet sanctuary.
As the door closed, Belkain entered first and took his seat, followed by Carbain, who settled slowly into his chair.
Arteon surveyed the surroundings briefly before sitting quietly across from them.
“….”
A moment of silence.
Carbain rolled the teacup on the table between his fingertips before lifting his gaze.
His eyes found Arteon.
“We have you to thank for this.”
It was a brief statement.
Yet the weight contained in those few words was far from light.
“I never imagined a rebellion within the Capital would be resolved so swiftly. To be honest… I expected far more blood to spill.”
Carbain’s voice was measured, though beneath it lay an unmistakable weariness and relief.
Arteon lowered his head slightly.
“I merely fulfilled the role entrusted to me.”
“Humble words.”
A faint smile crossed Carbain’s lips.
“Yet the truth remains unchanged. Without you, the Capital would still be occupied by Belkakrode’s rebel forces, and the Imperial Citizens and soldiers within would remain exposed to considerable chaos. As time passed, the Empire would have descended into deeper turmoil.”
Arteon offered no response.
Belkain, observing him, cleared his throat once.
“Ahem. I believe that gratitude is sufficient, Duke.”
Carbain turned to look at him.
Belkain’s eyes had already shifted to the next matter.
Carbain regarded him silently before nodding.
Then he turned his gaze back to Arteon.
“…Are you aware that neighboring kingdoms provided assistance in this rebellion?”
Arteon’s brow twitched slightly.
“…No, I was not.”
Shaking his head in response, Carbain exhaled softly.
“It was the Neolth Kingdom.”
Though brief, the air in the room grew heavy in an instant.
“They mobilized their forces toward the Empire’s Eastern Region to draw me away from the Capital. It was a bolder move than anticipated. As if… they had made prior arrangements specifically for this rebellion.”
Arteon’s gaze gradually hardened.
Carbain’s words were not finished.
“And seizing that opportunity, the Kaerbaldt Kingdom and Ermatir Kingdom formed an alliance and began their advance southward.”
Belkain’s expression also grew taut.
“Two cities fell in merely four days.”
Tap.
Carbain’s fingers tapped lightly against the table.
“And their northward advance continues even now. We were slow to respond because we were preoccupied with the rebellion in the Capital… If this continues.”
Carbain paused, his gaze sweeping across the two men.
“Within a week, half the Empire could become a sea of flames.”
The room fell silent.
His words were no exaggeration.
Arteon understood the flow of battle better than anyone.
Once a front line collapses, it cascades into ruin.
And the aftermath spreads beyond all control.
But this time was different.
The rebellion in the Capital had been resolved faster than expected.
That was our only hope.
Carbain slowly opened his mouth.
“Thanks to you, we’ve gained time to address these matters.”
He meant it sincerely.
Arteon’s gaze fixed directly on Carbain.
A moment later, he spoke quietly.
“What would you have me do?”
There was no hesitation in that question.
Belkain exhaled softly, then spoke rapidly.
“The priority now is to halt the northward advance of the Kaerbaldt Kingdom and Ermatir Kingdom forces pushing up from the south.”
Belkain continued immediately.
“According to reports, their northward momentum is threatening, but conversely, they’ve been so focused on advancing that they haven’t properly occupied the cities they’ve trampled.”
Arteon nodded.
Belkain looked at Arteon and spoke.
“However… the situation in the Capital is such that we cannot spare many troops.”
His eyes grew heavy with sorrow.
Too many personnel were currently committed to recapturing the Capital.
But Arteon shook his head at Belkain’s words.
“The Silent Spear Battalion will suffice. And I’ll take Kailun with me as well.”
“Will that be enough? The enemy forces number approximately forty thousand.”
At Belkain’s words, Arteon asked with an expressionless face.
“Are there any 7-Star or higher-ranked warriors among them?”
“…According to reports, there are none. If there were a 7-Star warrior, they would certainly stand out clearly.”
“Then it doesn’t matter. Forty thousand or fifty thousand…”
Numbers were not that important.
After all, they were not people who understood the terror of death.
Once the decision was made, Arteon stepped back and looked at Belkain and Carbain.
“Given the urgency of the situation, I’ll depart immediately.”
He struck his left chest lightly with his right fist in salute.
“Heart of Steel.”
And at that salute, Belkain rose from his seat and returned it, speaking.
“Heart of Steel…! Go carefully. And… I’m sorry.”
The current situation that forced him to entrust everything to Arteon.
But Arteon simply turned without responding and headed straight toward where the Silent Spear Unit members were working.
“Isaac!”
“…?”
At Arteon’s call, Isaac looked at him with a puzzled expression.
But immediately after.
“Yes, Unit Commander.”
Isaac saw Arteon’s serious gaze and answered with military spirit resonating in his voice.
“As of this moment, all unit members are heading to the battlefield in the Southern Region. Preparation time is….”
Arteon glanced at the members working.
“Three minutes. Complete your movement preparations within that time.”
“Yes, understood!”
Isaac answered immediately and drew a deep breath.
“Silent Spear Unit! We’re heading to the battlefield. Three minutes to prepare for movement! You have three minutes!”
He shouted loudly, infusing his voice with Mana.
With Isaac’s resonant cry echoing.
“Yes, understood!”
The Silent Spear Unit members shouted loudly and began moving swiftly.
And….
“….”
The Southern Region.
As I prepared for movement, I gripped Iglis and gazed southward.
Though my past revenge had ended, there remained duties to fulfill in my present life.
Now….
‘I will move forward not toward the past, but toward the present… and the future.’
Soon, when I finished preparing for movement and stepped outside.
“Movement preparations are complete.”
A thousand Silent Spear Unit members stood in formation, waiting for me.
At Isaac’s words, I turned and looked toward the South Gate as I spoke.
“In this chaotic situation, the Kaerbaldt Kingdom and Ermatir Kingdom have formed an alliance and are invading the Empire’s Southern Region, advancing northward.”
I explained the current situation calmly.
Though we needed to move urgently, above all, my unit members needed to understand why this battle was necessary.
They needed motivation to fight.
Though it was not the Northern Front, our Empire, our land was being invaded—something unforgivable to them as well.
“In just four days, two cities have been destroyed, and countless Imperial Citizens have lost their lives. And those ignorant bastards, intoxicated with their success, continue to advance.”
My gaze grew cold and sharp.
“So now, we go to punish these two kingdoms who foolishly thrust their heads into the lion’s jaws without fear.”
The enemy forces numbered forty thousand.
In comparison, they numbered merely a thousand.
Yet even so, it mattered not.
“Each of you need only kill ten enemies. Then with just your thousand, you can annihilate ten thousand of them.”
At Arteon’s words, Bartell raised his hand sharply and spoke.
“Then what of the remaining thirty thousand, Unit Commander?”
And with that question, the squad members quietly turned their gaze toward Arteon.
Arteon chuckled softly and spoke.
“Those thirty thousand, I shall dispose of alone. Not a single one of you dies—all return safely.”
One might call it absurd, but given what they had witnessed of Arteon thus far, it seemed entirely plausible.
But then, Kailun, standing beside Isaac, let out a scoff and spoke.
“I’ll kill ten thousand, so you handle the remaining twenty thousand.”
“Ah, what are you saying? We thousand can eliminate thirty thousand. Thirty per person! Isn’t that right!”
Isaac shouted loudly toward his squad members.
“It’s more than enough!”
“Absolutely possible!”
The squad members, their morale surging, cried out in unison.
At the sight, a faint smile traced across Arteon’s lips. But then.
Thud.
Arteon struck the ground with the lower shaft of the Iglis he held.
With a resonant boom, the eyes of the squad members began to blaze with fervor.
Arteon turned his body and spoke.
“Then for the purpose of annihilating these fearless bastards….”
Arteon raised his spear.
“Silent Spear Unit, advance swiftly to the Southern Region battlefield.”
And with that brief command.
Boom!
The thousand-strong Silent Spear Unit rapidly departed the Capital and began moving toward the battlefield.
* * *
Slice!
With the sound of a blade tearing through flesh, blood scattered into the air.
A brief scream erupted belatedly, but the soldier whose neck had been severed collapsed to the ground like a crumbling scarecrow.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
“P-please spare me…! Argh!”
The battlefield was a sight too gruesome to even be called a battle.
They chased down the fleeing and cut them down, trampled those who had dropped their weapons.
Smoke rose between burning houses, and black crows descended upon the collapsed castle walls.
In the midst of it all, Derkarn Kaelbrix, the commander of the Kaerbaldt Kingdom, sat atop his horse surveying the battlefield.
The massive steed, encased in steel armor, breathed heavily, and Derkarn’s gaze remained cold, fixed upon the scene of slaughter.
“….”
Derkarn, who had been silently observing the battlefield, exhaled a long breath. Then, in a self-deprecating voice, he muttered.
“…It seems that even an empire as vast as this cannot prevent the rot festering within from bursting forth.”
Rebellion.
The Crack spawned by that single word was crumbling even the Empire’s authority—thicker than any Castle Wall.
Merely one week to reach this place.
Three Castles had collapsed in succession, and a fourth city was falling as we spoke.
In all of Kaerbaldt’s history, no enemy had ever carved so deeply into Imperial territory.
That fact alone made today’s victory worthy of being recorded.
Yet Derkarn Kaelbrix was not one to indulge in the joy of victory.
“Commander. The matter that transpired in the Capital… it has ended in failure, they say.”
A Messenger drenched in sweat spoke between labored breaths.
At those words, Derkarn Kaelbrix’s eyes narrowed slowly.
‘This festival too… will not last much longer.’
If the Rebellion in the Capital had been suppressed, the Empire would immediately move its forces toward the Southern Region.
No matter how chaotic things were internally, they were not so weak as to ignore this invasion.
Yet the calculation remained cold.
Troop concentration, reorganization of command structure, supply replenishment.
It would take at minimum five to six days for the Imperial Army to deploy forces here.
That time was sufficient to finish the plundering and destruction.
‘We can topple one more city. Secure Prisoners and gather spoils of war.’
I would not be greedy.
With wounds of this magnitude alone, the Empire would bleed for a long time to come.
Derkarn Kaelbrix turned his head immediately.
“We still have time before their forces move. Advance as swiftly as possible, gather what spoils of war we can, and return to our homeland.”
“Understood!”
The Officers cried out in unison and scattered.
The sound of a Horn rang out, and Soldiers reorganized their Formation, beginning to push deeper into the city.
It was then.
“Commander! Commander!”
The sound of hoofbeats thundered from afar like madness.
A single horse galloping forward, caked in dust.
The Flag planted beside its flank bore a red Mark—the symbol of a priority Messenger.
It was the fastest Messenger, riding without rest for twenty-four hours, switching mounts continuously.
As evidence, the Messenger’s lips, dried and cracked by the wind, and his ashen complexion spoke directly to how grueling the ride had been.
Derkarn Kaelbrix’s pupils trembled slightly.
‘What in the world could this be….’
Before the horse even came to a stop, the Messenger nearly fell from it.
“The, the Empire… has deployed forces to this Battlefield! And their position is!”
But his words could not continue to the end.
BOOM!
A tremendous Thunderous Sound erupted from beyond the City Gate.
Screams erupted from atop the Castle Wall.
“The enemy! The Imperial Army!”
“The North Gate! The enemy has appeared at the North Gate!”
At those cries, Derkarn Kaelbrix’s pupils began to tremble violently.
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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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