The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 289

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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 (289)
As the sun sank completely beyond the western ridge, the battlefield fell silent as if it had all been a lie.
Just hours before, this plain had been a place of thunderous collisions that reshaped the very terrain itself.
Yet now, only the quiet of evening and the distant chirping of insects harmonized with the night sky, creating an eerie contrast.
But contrary to that, the soldiers beginning to establish their camp moved with feverish activity.
“Reorganize the battle line! Each company must reposition and verify equipment!”
“Pull it tighter over there! If it’s not taut, it could collapse later.”
“That one, bring it here! Here! Right here!”
The shouts of officers and soldiers echoed across the encampment.
“Bring more timber! Drive the stakes deep! If it rains during the night, the entire camp will collapse!”
Several soldiers wielded axes with practiced precision, felling trees to specification.
The freshly cut logs were immediately transported and erected along the camp’s perimeter.
Soon after, the dull thud of stakes being driven into the earth resonated through the air.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
Nearby, other soldiers were erecting barracks.
Thick canvas tents unfurled, and support poles were raised.
If they failed to establish a minimal camp before the sun set completely, the night would become hell.
Though a warm breeze still blew across the plains now, the wind that swept down at night was fierce and biting.
Cold and moisture became variables in themselves.
But then.
“…Huh, with weather like this, we could probably stay warm without any barracks at all.”
“Quite right. We could just gather a few reeds from over there and drape them over ourselves, couldn’t we?”
The Silent Spear Unit members completed their barracks with satisfied smiles, content in the warm southern climate.
They had constructed the sturdiest and most flawless barracks among all the soldiers here, yet ironically, such shelter held little importance for them in this place.
Seeing this, Isaac spoke.
“Those of you who are finished, go help the other units. Pay special attention to that 3rd Company over there—they still haven’t gotten their stakes in the ground.”
“…Trying to break stones with wood. I wonder what’s wrong with their heads.”
“Go help them out. I’m about to burst from frustration watching this.”
At Isaac’s words, the unit members chuckled and headed toward the other companies still setting up their barracks.
Those soldiers, who had initially bristled with pride as if they needed no assistance, wore embarrassed expressions as the Silent Spear members worked their magic.
What they had been struggling with for an hour, the Silent Spear members had accomplished in merely five minutes.
And as the camp was being completed, another movement stirred within the command tent of the Empire’s leadership.
Crackle, crackle.
The charcoal placed inside the lamp burned softly with quiet sounds, and the bright flames illuminated the interior of the tent.
A map lay spread across the table.
Each time the candlelight flickered, the shadows cast upon the map shifted subtly.
And gathered around that map were the officers.
One of them broke the silence and spoke.
“Madmen. We’ve watched 7-Star level warriors fall, yet they show no sign of surrender.”
“Tomorrow, they will certainly launch a preemptive attack first.”
A force of fifty thousand strong.
Merely watching such numbers mobilize was enough to fill them with dread.
“…The bloodshed will be catastrophic.”
Even with Arteon, an 8-Star Level warrior, they could not prevent casualties across every sector of the battlefield.
Given the scale of the conflict, countless soldiers were expected to fall.
But then.
“Meeting their assault head-on would be… reckless.”
Belkain, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.
The officers’ gazes fixed upon him.
With their attention upon him, Belkain’s eyes turned toward the map spread across the table.
After studying the map in contemplation for a moment, Belkain
tapped
his baton against a specific section of the map.
“If we move along the side path of this hill, concealing ourselves as much as possible,
we can
advance the baton toward the enemy formation.
“We can penetrate to the center beyond their camp without being detected.”
The officers’ eyes grew heavy with understanding.
They could sense what Belkain was considering.
And as they suspected.
“And if we drive straight through the enemy’s interior from this point….”
Belkain’s eyes gleamed with intensity.
“We can reach the enemy commander’s position directly.”
On the first day, while four warriors clashed, the Imperial Army’s Reconnaissance Unit moved covertly, gathering intelligence on the enemy camp.
Though imperfect, they had already secured the approximate location of the enemy commander.
One officer responded to Belkain’s words.
“However, only Major Arteon could execute such an operation.”
They would need to pierce through thousands of enemy soldiers from the outer perimeter to reach the very heart of their formation.
Ordinary warriors would not make it halfway before being surrounded and destroyed.
Belkain nodded at the officer’s words.
“Of course, the Silent Spear Unit led by Major Arteon will execute this operation.”
Though reckless, it was the most certain way to minimize their own casualties while securing victory.
The other officers’ expressions hardened at Belkain’s words.
Certainly, the operation could inflict decisive damage upon the enemy.
“However, Commander. If the enemy confirms that Major Arteon has left our formation… their 7-Star Level warrior will mobilize.”
The problem lay with themselves.
There was a clear reason why the Empire, possessing Duke Carbain, an 8-Star Level warrior, had not conquered the Continent.
The moment Duke Carbain left the Empire, all 7-Star Level warriors across the Continent would attack the Capital.
Mutual destruction, pure and simple.
Thus, they had no choice but to use Duke Carbain, their sharpest blade, for defense rather than offense.
And now, the situation aligned perfectly with that assessment.
The moment Arteon left this place to charge into the enemy formation, those bastards would move their 7-Star Level warriors with the resolve to die together.
If that happened, we might achieve victory in this war, but our own lives would be equally… uncertain.
“….”
“Sigh….”
A heavy silence permeated the Conference Room.
Everyone understood this was a difficult problem.
But then….
“For now, everyone else should leave.”
Belkain spoke finally, his gaze settling on Claw. And….
“Immediately gather Major Arteon and all warriors of 5-Star Level or higher from each unit.”
This war.
‘We must win without yielding a single thing….’
Belkain’s eyes blazed with a resolve more solemn than ever before.
* * *
The Allied Forces’ Barracks lay tangled in chaos following the battle.
Among soldiers gasping for breath, Belotian cried out in a voice seething with fury.
“What kind of madness is this! Were you trying to kill us too?!”
The moment Belotian returned to the formation and saw Marcelo, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, he shouted.
At those words, the officers belonging to the Ermatir Kingdom present frowned.
“He is the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces. Show proper respect.”
“Your words seem excessive, General Belotian.”
But the other commanders, not belonging to the Ermatir Kingdom, merely watched in silence.
In truth, launching an attack through the archers violated implicit protocol and was detrimental to the warriors of our own forces fighting on the Battlefield.
No matter how much Marcelo held the position of Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, that judgment was inappropriate.
However….
He raised his hand lightly.
Marcelo lifted his hand gently to silence the officers. Then he spoke, looking at Belotian.
“Had I not launched that attack, both of them would have died on the Battlefield.”
Marcelo’s gaze turned cold and sharp.
“Those of you who have already crossed blades should have noticed by now. That rumor’s strength… is real.”
At Marcelo’s words, the faces of the officers present hardened.
Though they wished to deny it, the reality was… a situation cruel to the point of being merciless.
No one could refute that fact.
“The rumor says… some even speak of him as 8-Star. What do you think—does he truly seem to have reached the 8-Star Realm?”
An officer asked, looking at Belotian.
At that, Belotian’s lips pressed tightly together.
His mouth would scarcely open.
Whether the answer was affirmation or denial.
But then.
“To be honest… I think I must admit it.”
Rasion, standing beside me, spoke in a low voice.
After the sudden expenditure of Aura, his complexion had grown so pale from the strain of moving recklessly that it was nearly ghostly.
Rasion continued.
“If Dorcain were with us, it might be different, but with just the two of us combining our strength… I don’t think we can defeat him.”
In that moment, a suffocating despair settled over the Conference Room.
No one had anticipated such words from him, who ranked in the late stages of the 7-Star realm.
“…Sigh.”
Marcelo exhaled a long breath in response.
That fool Dorcain had made the situation far worse.
But…
“That doesn’t mean we’re without options.”
Marcelo grasped a piece on the Map and pushed it decisively toward the Empire Camp.
“In terms of troop strength, we hold an overwhelming advantage. If we maintain this numerical superiority and advance, they won’t be able to stop us.”
“However, the enemy possesses an 8-Star Warrior. It won’t be easy to break through.”
The Commander of the Seranello Kingdom spoke to Marcelo.
Marcelo responded with unwavering conviction.
“No matter how formidable an 8-Star may be, they remain human. It’s impossible for them to be involved in every battle across such vast terrain.”
If he were to engage elsewhere, we would focus on withdrawing from that location and minimizing casualties.
And in the meantime.
“We’ll wage a war of attrition, whittling down their forces.”
In a war of attrition, with our superior numbers, victory was inevitable.
After all, war itself was fundamentally a game of soldiers.
But then.
“However… what if that Warrior were to lead soldiers in a direct assault on this position? What would you do?”
It would be an attack we absolutely could not withstand.
Perhaps all the Commanders gathered here would face mortal danger in such a scenario.
Silence swept through the Conference Room.
But…
“In that case, I would send General Rasion and General Belotian to smash the Imperial Army Commander and all his Officers to pieces.”
To the extent we suffer losses…
“They too shall not escape unscathed.”
A grim resolve began to crystallize in Marcelo’s eyes.

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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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