The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 28

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front (28)

Helikel Gorge.

Blade-like wind cut through the gorge, howling.

The small blizzard mixed in the wind never stopped, and even breathing felt like swallowing sharp ice shards.

The river flowing below the gorge moved with fierce rapids, and the gorge made eerie wailing sounds as if rejecting those who ruled this place.

But even in such harsh conditions, a man stood alone at the highest point of the gorge.

It was Braktus, the general of the Kar Tribe who had fought against the Empire and the 1st Defense Line.

“….”

Braktus remained silent, looking toward where their formation had been.

What exactly had gone wrong?

The operation planned with their warriors had been flawless.

It had been a battle no different from any other.

He had even been confident that the secretly prepared Jirn would pierce the enemy’s heart.

‘But….’

Everything had failed.

Not just at an equal level, but they had suffered their first major defeat in years.

Taman’s rage had pierced the heavens because of this, but they had no choice but to retreat due to their military strength.

Braktus felt as if all of this had happened because of his own inadequacy.

But then.

“Braktus.”

“…Turak.”

Turak, Braktus’s adjutant, approached and called out to him.

Braktus turned his head and asked him.

“Have all the warriors been positioned?”

“Yes, I did as ordered, but… is it really necessary?”

Turak glanced around at the surrounding gorge and spoke to Braktus.

“Once the warriors join us, we’ll go to reclaim our land again anyway. The Imperial Army won’t attack first anyway.”

Over the past several years, the Empire had never launched a preemptive attack.

They were always thoroughly defensive, and they themselves were the predators.

Just because they had been defeated once, there was no way they would attack, right?

Moreover….

“As long as we hold this gorge, the Empire’s dogs won’t dare to attack. No… if they do attack, it could be the perfect opportunity for us.”

They could lure them into the gorge and then surround them.

But at Turak’s words, Braktus spoke with a stern expression.

“Such complacency is what created the current result, Turak. Can’t you feel that the atmosphere is changing?”

“Braktus. What I mean is….”

“Order the warriors to maintain strict vigilance. Right now we must prepare for every situation.”

“Understood.”

Soon after Turak went down below, Braktus also turned around.

‘One more week….’

The current defeat was extremely painful, but now wasn’t the time to think about such things.

Braktus thought of the warriors who would soon be reinforced.

The moment the warriors were reinforced, they would reclaim their original formation.

‘This time for sure… we’ll sweep away the Empire bastards and cross the 1st Defense Line.’

His eyes filled with determination as both fists clenched tightly.

* * *

Thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud thud!

As they rode swiftly across the plains, the tall gorge rising in the distance began to come into view.

At that moment.

“Neighhhhhhhh!”

Isaac pulled the reins to stop his horse, and the Special Unit members following behind all brought their horses to a halt.

Isaac turned his head and spoke.

“From here we move on foot. There’s nowhere to hide, but it’s dark and there’s even a light blizzard, so they won’t spot us.”

“Understood.”

“Yes!”

“In case of any unexpected situations, minimize footsteps and move in low postures.”

“Understood.”

When the unit members responded, Isaac looked at Arteon who was at the back.

“Arteon, from here you’ll guide us.”

“Yes.”

Arteon walked forward and looked ahead.

For a moment, old memories seemed to flash by.

That time when he had entered Helikel Gorge.

Though his position was completely different from then.

‘It’s no different.’

He just needed to cross the gorge, that’s all.

But then, a man beside him approached Arteon.

“Is it really possible?”

“…Who are you?”

“I’m Tertian. I definitely saw your performance at the 1st Defense Line.”

It was Tertian, called the Reaper of the 1st Defense Line.

He had seen his face when they first assembled, but he hadn’t expected to have a conversation like this.

Tertian spoke.

“It’s very dangerous work. If it’s difficult, we can still find another way even now.”

Though they hadn’t had much contact, Arteon could feel sincere concern in Tertian’s words.

Arteon shook his head.

“It’s an honor to work together. But… this is something I must do.”

“…I see.”

Though it was just one sentence, Tertian nodded as if he understood.

He could feel the strong will that absolutely refused to back down.

Then Arteon looked at Isaac and spoke.

“Then let’s depart.”

Nod.

Swoosh!

Arteon lowered his posture and began running swiftly across the plains.

The gorge visible in the distance gradually became clearer.

But even so, there was no hesitation in his running speed.

He was confident that this darkness and the faintly falling blizzard would completely conceal their tracks.

Cleverly using the angles of the gorge to run along paths where vision was obstructed, Arteon eventually heard the sound of the flowing river.

Clench.

Arteon raised his fist.

At that moment Isaac hesitated, then he too raised his fist to give orders to the unit members.

“….”

There was no conversation.

Arteon simply listened to the sound of the roughly flowing river and moved slowly at reduced speed.

And….

Whoooooooooosh!

It was a river that was a full 40 meters wide.

Moreover, the cold temperature of the Northern Region was freezing enough just from dipping one’s feet in.

“…Damn, we’re supposed to cross this?”

“I don’t think it’s possible…?”

“Ugh, this is a bit…”

Several unit members who faced the river directly muttered with hardened expressions.

It wasn’t a river that could be crossed with bare bodies by any means.

And Isaac felt the same way about that thought.

“…Sergeant, do you still feel the same? Even now, finding another method would be…”

“No.”

Arteon shook his head at Isaac’s words.

“When the sun rises, the enemy soldiers in the gorge will discover us. If we’re not retreating… we must do it now.”

This wasn’t a matter of choice but something that absolutely had to be accomplished.

At that sight, Isaac looked at Arteon with his lips pressed tightly together.

It was an extremely dangerous situation, but.

“…Fine, I’ll watch. But Arteon.”

“Yes, Lieutenant Isaac.”

“If you’ve decided to do it, you must succeed. That is the Empire’s dignity.”

“Understood.”

With that answer, Arteon slowly went upstream and began searching for something.

‘Surely… it was a little further up from here…’

Though it was an old memory, there was something that vaguely came to mind.

The river of Helikel Gorge.

Following the stream flowing below the eastern cliff wall, there was a rock as tall as a person.

If he could just find that rock…

Arteon searched both riverbanks calmly without rushing.

Though it wasn’t clearly visible due to the snowstorm and the distance of over 40 meters.

Wooooooong!

He operated his mana to the maximum to enhance his vision.

Because mana’s usage completely changes depending on who uses it and how.

When he used mana, the blurry vision of distant places seemed to become somewhat clearer.

Arteon searched slowly without losing concentration.

“…What is he looking for?”

“He said there’s a place with shallow depth. He’s probably looking for that spot.”

“Then shouldn’t he be probing everywhere in the river? Right now he’s just looking around the river area?”

“…I don’t know either.”

The unit members watched Arteon with puzzled expressions they couldn’t hide.

Had about an hour passed like that?

It was when the Northern Region’s cold seemed to be penetrating their bodies.

Then…

Stop.

Arteon, who had been slowly moving his steps, flinched and stopped in place.

Soon he opened his eyes wide and looked toward the other side of the river.

‘Found it!’

A large boulder visible on the other side of the river.

It was about 2 meters high from the bottom, and its characteristic winding shape was exactly as he remembered from the past.

“Arteon, did you find something?”

“Please wait just a moment.”

Arteon took out Iglis that was hanging at his waist.

Clang!

When he injected mana, Arteon grabbed the end of Iglis, which had transformed into its original spear form, approached close to the river, and stabbed the bottom.

For a moment his body swayed due to the river’s current, but Arteon bit his lips tightly and took a few more steps while stabbing the river.

And then…

Thud!

“…!”

Arteon almost screamed at the sensation he felt from the spear tip.

Arteon turned his head to look at Isaac.

Nod.

“Bring the stake.”

“Yes.”

When Arteon gave the signal, Isaac immediately looked at the unit member carrying the stake and spoke.

It was a stake that was a full meter in length.

Soon after driving in the stake and tightly tying the rope they brought, Isaac held out the remaining rope to Arteon.

“Be careful. The riverbed is slippery, so if you slip and fall, you’ll be swept away in an instant.”

“Understood.”

Arteon, who wrapped the rope around his waist, took a small deep breath and looked at the river.

Like the darkness of an abyss, nothing could be seen.

It seemed as if some unknown giant beast was opening its mouth with the momentum to devour him.

But…

‘…I’ll do it.’

This isn’t a situation of whether it’s possible or not.

It’s something that absolutely must be done.

If he couldn’t even do this much.

‘Getting close to those bastards… would be impossible from the start.’

Arteon, who had steeled his resolve, gripped his spear tightly and stepped into the river.

Swoooosh!

The strong current of the river struck his body forcefully.

Thinking about when he had stabbed with the spear, the river water would rise to about chest height.

‘Damn… if only I were a little taller.’

Arteon, who was still only 15 years old, was more than a span shorter than when he had fully grown in the past.

As his chest became submerged, breathing aside, he felt like he would be swept away by the current.

Wooooooong!

‘I can do it.’

Arteon concentrated and drew up more mana.

He dispersed mana to his legs while simultaneously stabbing the bottom with his spear to create a support.

“…Can that bastard really do it?”

“We’ll have to watch.”

Even the unit members swallowed dry saliva as they watched.

Swoooooosh!

It felt like his body was being torn apart by the tremendous pressure.

The cold air of the Northern Region added to it.

But Arteon didn’t stop.

Crack!

The countless lines of death he had crossed in the past came to mind.

The time he survived after killing over ten Kar Tribe warriors while his side was pierced through.

The time he was isolated with his subordinates in the mountains and endured for over a week eating grass roots.

There had been many terribly difficult situations, but he had never given up even once.

But…

‘Just… with this kind of pain…’

Do you think you can stop me…!

Whoooooosh!

The mana flowing from Arteon’s body gradually grew stronger and began to ripple with a blue light.

The special property that the Vargas Mana Cultivation Method possessed.

That characteristic of becoming stronger in cold places made Arteon even more powerful at this very moment.

And then….

“…!”

Thud!

Having crossed to the other side of the river, Arteon drove his spear into the ground with all his strength.

He wanted to let out a shout, but he couldn’t.

Having barely crossed the river, he couldn’t risk being discovered by the Kar Tribe.

“Huff… huff… huff…!”

Arteon, who had crawled out of the river almost on all fours at the end, breathed heavily.

Watching this scene, the unit members unconsciously clenched their fists.

Isaac looked at Arteon collapsed on the other side of the river.

He had hoped he would succeed.

But honestly, he thought he wouldn’t be able to do it.

So he was sorry, but… after the guy died, he had been thinking of other operations for what to do next.

But then….

“…Crazy bastard. I can’t believe he actually pulled it off.”

Soon, Arteon, who had been lying collapsed, began tying the rope to a small tree on the opposite side.

When the rope connecting the river was finally stretched taut.

“Everyone move out. This is a lifeline our comrade risked his life to create. We will all cross without a single straggler.”

“Yes sir!”

Perhaps this operation.

‘Might really make a mark in history.’

Soon Isaac and the special unit members began crossing the river, gripping the rope.

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