The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 279

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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 (279)
The air in the Conference Room hung heavy with an unsettling stillness.
This makeshift space, hastily arranged after the Imperial Palace’s destruction, had surrendered its former grandeur to the creeping cold seeping between stone walls and the oppressive silence that now consumed it.
Upon the Map spread across the table lay red Flags—markers that had not existed before—planted in the East and South.
Sedrian gazed at the Map for a moment before lifting his gaze.
His eyes, sharp and cold as tempered steel, swept across the assembled officials in the Conference Room.
“What is the status of the envoys and Letters we have sent to the other Kingdoms?”
At his words, Taifren, seated diagonally across from him, spoke.
“We have dispatched Letters to the Neolth Kingdom, Kaerbaldt, and Ermatir Kingdom. To the Kingdoms at the far East and Southeast, we have sent envoys of Baron rank and above.”
Sedrian nodded slowly.
“The message I wished to convey—it was delivered properly?”
“…Yes, it was.”
Taifren nodded in affirmation.
It was undoubtedly a bold course of action, yet it was one that revealed the depth of Sedrian’s resolve.
Taifren continued.
“To all Kingdoms save those three to whom we sent Letters, we have issued a warning: maintain Neutrality. Should any Kingdom involve itself in this crisis, the Empire shall regard it as an act of Invasion.”
As his words concluded, the air in the Conference Room grew heavier still.
Several officials exchanged glances and swallowed hard.
Sedrian’s gaze fixed upon Taifren.
“A warning.”
A brief utterance.
Yet the temperature contained within those words was as frigid as ice.
“Will that expression suffice?”
Taifren fell silent for a moment.
Though he had navigated politics for decades as Prime Minister, the Prince’s eyes now stood not in the realm of negotiation, but of absolute determination.
“…I believe it is neither excessive nor insufficient to convey our intentions adequately.”
Sedrian rose from his seat and walked slowly around the table.
His footsteps echoed crisply against the stone Floor.
Sedrian shook his head.
“The Empire in its current state cannot be described merely as regarding something as an act of Invasion or anything so mild.”
He came to a halt.
His eyes fell upon the Map, where the red Flags stood planted.
The Neolth Kingdom, facing the Eastern border.
The Kaerbaldt Kingdom to the South and the Ermatir Kingdom positioned to its East.
It was through them that Belkakrode’s treachery had been sustained, and through their subsequent assault that precious lives within the Empire had shed blood.
But should they, even by the slimmest chance, lend their support to those conspirators…
Sedrian’s eyes flashed with lethal sharpness.
“Convey to them that this is not a warning, but a declaration.”
His voice was threaded with fury.
“The moment they involve themselves in this war, we shall reduce their entire Kingdom to an inferno.”
Several of those in the Conference Room held their breath.
It was a forceful declaration, yet no one dared refute it.
What the Empire needed to demonstrate now was not moderation, but absolute resolve.
Taifren bowed deeply.
“I shall bear that in mind.”
After a moment, he carefully added to his words.
“However, Your Highness, such an aggressive stance may provoke resistance from certain kingdoms. Particularly those that have maintained Neutrality may be seized by fear….”
“Since when have other kingdoms truly maintained Neutrality against the Empire? They merely appear neutral because we have remained still.”
Should the Empire—that great leviathan—ever stir to action, they would join hands once more.
“Your Highness….”
But that would no longer be possible.
Because there would be a decisive movement to prove that this declaration was no mere bluff.
Sedrian addressed the ministers.
“Should the Imperial Army move because of this matter, at the vanguard will stand Arteon, the Empire’s second 8th Star Warrior.”
In that instant, the air shifted.
The ministers’ eyes wavered.
Astonishment, relief, and an indescribable anticipation mingled together.
One minister carefully opened his mouth.
“Is it truly certain that he has reached the 8th Star?”
Sedrian nodded.
“Those who witnessed the battle at the Imperial Palace are already testifying in unison. The power that defeated Baolent and toppled the core of the rebellion speaks for itself. What further explanation could be needed?”
Even Duke Carbain had been left speechless by such strength.
A low exclamation escaped from one corner of the Conference Room.
A realm that could be counted on one hand in Imperial history.
The fact that there were now two such warriors carried meaning far beyond mere military strength.
Taifren slowly opened his mouth.
“His very existence shall become a diplomatic message.”
Sedrian smiled.
“Precisely.”
Scrape.
Sedrian pulled back his chair and settled into it with a thud, regarding the ministers as he spoke.
“The moment the kingdoms across the Continent learn of Arteon’s existence, they shall despair. When the Empire begins to move with two 8th Star Warriors in its ranks, they will scarcely comprehend whether they can withstand such a force.”
At Sedrian’s words, the ministers’ expressions grew visibly anxious.
It felt as though a massive tide of war suddenly crashed down upon them like a wave.
For those who had not waged a conquest in ages, the Aura that Sedrian now displayed was nothing but burdensome.
But it was in that moment.
As if reading their thoughts, Sedrian spoke in a voice somewhat softer than before.
“However, given His Majesty’s command, we do not seek conquest. We merely demand thorough retribution for those who dared strike at us, and fair compensation for our losses.”
“I understand, Your Highness. That is precisely why I too follow your will.”
Taifren mediated with appropriate restraint.
At his words, the officials in the Conference Room felt their composure gradually return.
Sedrian regarded the officials and spoke.
“Then let us all ensure this matter proceeds without hindrance. By thoroughly punishing this transgression, we must see that such tragedy never befalls us again.”
“We obey Your Majesty’s command!”
“We obey Your Majesty’s command!”
Following Taifren’s words, all the officials bowed their heads in unison.
Now they would have to answer for their own actions.
Sedrian nodded slightly, his gaze fixed upon the red Flag planted upon the Map.
* * *
“…What?”
Brontiar Kalpol, King of the Kalpol Kingdom, furrowed his brow before the Empire’s envoy.
“So you’re saying all the neighboring kingdoms should remain uninvolved and stay silent in this matter?”
“It is a matter of punishing the kingdom that invaded the Empire. There is no reason for uninvolved kingdoms to intervene—such is the Empire’s position, Your Majesty.”
Baron Dibelliton, who had come as the envoy, spoke with measured respect, bowing his head.
Yet Brontiar regarded him with cold eyes and replied.
“It is true that three kingdoms invaded the Empire, but the Kaerbaldt Kingdom and Ermatir Kingdom in the south—excluding the Neolth Kingdom—were not at war over the neutral territories, were they?”
He laid out the facts calmly, undermining the Empire’s justification.
“Then it would be problematic to call it a unilateral invasion. Can it not be seen as nothing more than striking the Empire’s rear while they were retreating from fighting over the neutral territories?”
“….”
Baron Dibelliton fell silent at Brontiar’s words. Yet…
“That can only be called an accident brought about by the traitor Belkakrode. It is a matter separate from the Empire’s position.”
“Sophistry. Are you suggesting the Second Prince’s actions have no connection to the Empire? That very incident is arguably the Empire’s greatest crisis.”
“Yes, precisely. Therefore, we humbly beseech Your Majesty’s magnanimous understanding.”
“….”
A frigid atmosphere enveloped the Great Hall.
Though he came as an envoy, his stance was excessively unyielding.
To such a degree.
‘…It seems their anger burns quite intensely.’
Should he mishandle relations with the Empire now, considerable difficulties would arise.
Though the alliance of kingdoms held their advance in check, the moment Kalpol turned its back on the Empire, he would face substantial Risk.
Yet despite all this, there was one thing he absolutely had to confirm.
“Then I ask one thing: what guarantee exists that the Empire will not use this incident as justification to occupy the Neolth Kingdom, Kaerbaldt, and Ermatir Kingdom, thereby launching another conquest war?”
Should the Empire begin this war as a stepping stone to expand its territory once more, it must be stopped at all costs.
But such matters could not be discerned through mere words in this situation.
The most crucial thing had to be confirmed.
Brontiar’s eyes narrowed.
“Will Duke Carbain stand at the vanguard of this war? Answer only that.”
If Carbain stepped forward, it would be safe to assume the Empire was launching another war for territorial expansion.
Carbain’s appearance on the Battlefield itself would constitute a declaration of war against every kingdom on the Continent.
Yet to such words from Brontiar.
“Duke Carbain is not participating in this war. I can swear on my head that this is the truth.”
Baron Dibelliton answered without hesitation.
Brontiar Kalpol was rather flustered by the unwavering gaze in those eyes.
Then truly… was this merely a punishment for responsibility regarding the invasion?
‘…Unclear.’
However, when someone spoke with such conviction, one could not press further as if interrogating them.
Brontiar Kalpol’s expression softened somewhat.
“You must be exhausted in body and spirit from the journey here. Rest today, and we shall speak again tomorrow.”
“I am grateful for Your Majesty’s consideration.”
Baron Dibelliton bowed deeply and immediately turned to leave.
And in the Great Hall, now that the Imperial delegation had departed.
Brontiar Kalpol and the ministers of the Kalpol Kingdom remained, exhaling sighs laden with worry.
* * *
This was my first battlefield outside the Northern Region.
Something felt unfamiliar about it.
Yet standing before the assembled soldiers, I moved my lips and spoke softly to them.
“Not only what happened in the Capital, but the Southern City of Robeltia… Balteron, Drament… and even Sheriol.”
I recalled the horrific scenes I had witnessed there.
Countless people had died and been wounded.
And most of them were.
“Ordinary people who should have had nothing to do with this war.”
Children and the elderly, women too.
The helpless were trampled beneath the advance of cruel soldiers, violated and plundered.
And all of us in the Silent Spear Battalion had witnessed those scenes.
I paused and looked upon the soldiers.
My voice, infused with Mana, reached all twenty thousand soldiers.
“Therefore… I intend to show those who caused this atrocity what the Empire truly is, so that such horrors never occur again.”
The eyes of the twenty thousand soldiers watching me grew sharp and cold.
They shared the same resolve as I did.
I raised my Spear and raised my voice.
“I shall stand at the vanguard. Whoever blocks our path will be trampled mercilessly!”
“Uaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”
With my cry, the soldiers’ roar echoed so loudly that the Capital itself seemed to tremble.
As the soldiers’ morale surged upward.
I turned my gaze.
I looked toward where the Commander stood.
Belkain, the Supreme Commander of this new battlefield.
He had volunteered himself and taken command of this new battlefield outside the Northern Region.
Belkain nodded at my gaze.
And I spoke to him.
“All forces, advance.”
Immediately, twenty thousand Imperial soldiers began their march southward.

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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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