The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 301

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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 (301)
The Capital, swept by the flames of rebellion, bore its wounds for a long time.
The rubble of collapsed buildings lay scattered throughout the streets, while cracked roads and shattered Castle Walls exposed the city’s skeleton in all its devastation.
Yet as time passed, new flesh began to slowly grow over those wounds.
The sound of Hammers echoed from dawn until dusk.
The chiseling of stone, the carving of wood, the rumble of Carriages treading over gravel—all reverberated across the entire Capital.
And before long, four months had passed.
Though not quite restored to its former glory, the city had begun to breathe again.
The collapsed buildings rose one by one, and the severed roads reconnected.
The voices of people returned to the streets and Markets.
The Capital, drenched in blood by rebellion, was slowly reclaiming its daily life.
Of course, behind that restoration lay the tremendous efforts of Sedrian alongside the Imperial Palace’s ministers.
Resolving the chaos that had erupted in the Southern Region, purging the Nobles implicated in the rebellion.
And managing relations with neighboring Kingdoms that had sought to exploit this opportunity to move.
Beyond all that, there were additional incidents spawned from handling these matters.
As the work accumulated, their exhaustion could only rise beyond imagination.
Yet despite it all, now some shape was becoming visible, and they were moving toward the end.
Because of that, now they could depart.
Footsteps echoed softly.
The long Palace Corridor of the Imperial Palace.
Sunlight streaming through the windows cast long shadows across the marble Floor.
Arteon, who had walked down the lengthy hallway and entered Sedrian’s Office, saw him there.
Sedrian, who had been seated, rose from his chair and spoke first.
“You’re leaving now?”
“Yes. It seems I’ve completed all the work that needed to be done here.”
Arteon replied, bowing his head slightly.
Then, gazing at the desk still overflowing with Documents, a faint smile crossed his face.
“Of course… Your Highness still appears to have much work remaining.”
A similar smile flickered across Sedrian’s lips.
These past four months.
Far more had transpired within the Imperial Palace than the visible reconstruction work.
Arteon was aware of some of it.
And… there were parts he did not know.
Sedrian gazed out the window for a moment before speaking.
“I’ll send someone to Wolfheim later.”
His voice was calm, yet his words carried meaning far deeper than mere pleasantries.
“It may be tedious waiting for you, but… I trust you’ll bear it well.”
Arteon’s eyes deepened for a moment.
He spoke slowly.
“I suspect I’ll be quite busy once I head north.”
Sedrian tilted his head.
Arteon continued speaking.
“To honor what Your Highness the Prince has said and to keep that promise, I cannot simply remain idle either.”
A brief silence fell between them.
Then their gazes met in the empty space between them.
They understood each other without words.
This conversation was far more than a simple farewell.
Something warm burned quietly deep within their chests.
Though they must walk different paths now, there was an unshakeable certainty that they would meet again in the same place eventually.
Sedrian spoke slowly.
“We’ll see each other again before long.”
And he extended his hand.
Arteon’s gaze lingered on that outstretched hand.
A handshake with the Prince of the Empire was no trivial matter.
Then Sedrian laughed softly.
“Just this once. Accept this greeting from a comrade who has crossed countless battlefields at your side.”
At those words, Arteon, who had hesitated, finally extended his hand.
“…Very well.”
Arteon grasped Sedrian’s hand and shook it gently.
It was a brief but weighty handshake.
And with that farewell, Arteon departed the Imperial Palace.
The North Gate of the Capital.
In the vast plains beyond, the Silent Spear Unit stood ready, fully prepared for departure.
Soldiers in plain clothes stood in formation, their packs secured and weapons in hand.
And before them stood familiar faces.
Belkain and several generals and knights who had remained in the Capital.
Belkain approached slowly.
“I wish I could go with you, but circumstances no longer permit it.”
Arteon smiled.
“You are no longer merely the Supreme Commander of the Northern Region, but the Supreme Commander of the entire Empire.”
His gaze turned toward the Capital.
“This is where you must be.”
Belkain said nothing for a moment.
He simply gazed at Arteon with his eyes.
Then he gave a short nod.
“…It won’t take long. Take care of yourself until then.
It was a brief farewell.
Yet within those words lay a peculiar certainty about the time to come.
Arteon exchanged farewells one by one with those who had come to see him off.
Claw, Belkain’s eternal adjutant, as well as Lucael and his knights.
I exchanged handshakes with all the officers and adjutants who had fought alongside me on countless battlefields.
Then my gaze fixed on one person.
“You said you were staying behind?”
“The Instructor is here too, and I wanted to receive some guidance from Duke Carbain.”
Kailun extended his hand to me.
After more than a year traversing battlefields together, that comrade felt closer to me now than the fellow trainees I’d once drilled alongside.
The thought of parting ways stirred something tender in my chest.
I grasped Kailun’s hand firmly.
“I hope to see you greatly transformed when we meet again. Of course, we will have changed considerably as well.”
“I feel the same way.”
Hearing Kailun’s response, I turned away with a faint smile playing at my lips.
“Everyone, let’s depart!”
“Yes!”
A thousand members of the Silent Spear Battalion answered my call.
As they moved out, the flag atop the towering castle wall fluttered in the wind.
Then I turned my gaze northward.
‘Wolfheim…’
A memory surfaced.
Four months ago.
A conversation I’d had with Sedrian deep within the Imperial Palace.
The words I’d heard then.
And the plan contained within those words.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
So then… less than two years remained.
There was so much to accomplish.
I spoke.
“Once we reach Wolfheim, things will become quite busy. Everyone needs to be prepared.”
At that moment, Isaac approached my side and spoke.
“Do not worry. And… Unit Commander.”
I turned my head.
Isaac’s eyes grew more serious.
“Once we arrive at Wolfheim… may we discuss that matter you mentioned before?”
“…Of course. We’ll address that issue first thing upon arrival.”
Isaac nodded at my words.
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Since it was no trivial matter, Isaac’s expression as he broached the subject could only be somber.
But…
Tap.
I lightly struck Isaac’s shoulder.
“There’s no need to burden yourself with such weight. Not everyone can think alike. Circumstances have changed considerably now.”
“…Yes.”
At Isaac’s words, Arteon chuckled and spoke.
“We’re heading to our new nest! Let’s depart with joyful steps!”
“Yes, understood!”
Those who had always marched toward the Battlefield now headed toward a place they could call their ‘nest.’
Though this peaceful atmosphere felt somewhat strange, the path to Wolfheim.
Smiles were etched deeply across everyone’s faces.
* * *
It was a Secret Chamber without a single window.
The room, encircled by thick stone walls, was as silent as a space completely severed from the world.
A single Candle embedded in the wall.
That small flame flickered faintly, barely illuminating one wall surface of the room.
The light was inconsistent.
Sometimes it stretched long, then quickly contracted, distorting the shadows.
And between those shadows.
Several people sat around a round Table.
All wore their hoods pulled deep, making their faces unrecognizable.
Hidden in darkness so thoroughly that not even the tip of their noses could be seen, only their faint breathing broke the silence.
There was only one clue by which they could recognize each other.
The left arm of the hood.
The number written there.
It was neither identity nor rank, yet they instinctively knew their relative positions.
“…”
Silence continued.
Only the sound of the Candle burning faintly echoed through the room.
Then it happened.
The man with 3 written on his left arm slowly lifted his head.
“Some of the troops stationed in the Capital have moved north.”
His voice was low.
Yet the tension carefully contained within it was unmistakably present.
He continued.
“Recent troop redeployment in the Northern Region has been confirmed. It appears to include some of the Capital’s garrison forces and troops returning from the Southern Front.”
The Candle flickered.
The man steadied his breathing before adding.
“I’m uncertain about the Northern Region’s intentions, but… it seems the tension will ease somewhat for now.”
As his words ended, the figure sitting across from him slowly shifted.
The number 5 was written on his left arm.
“Can we view this so simply?”
His voice was low but resolute.
“For the past four months, the Empire has devoted itself entirely to reconstruction without respite.”
He tapped his fingers lightly against the table.
Tap… tap…
“Once reconstruction is sufficiently completed… what comes next?”
A brief silence.
“Pressure on the surrounding kingdoms, presumably.”
As those words fell, the air in the room grew peculiarly heavy.
This time, the figure marked with 4 slowly opened his mouth.
“But that’s merely possibility—and an exceedingly faint one at that. If the Empire intended to engage in a power struggle against the kingdoms, why would they shift troops northward?”
He spoke with his arms crossed.
“The Empire may have recovered from past devastation, but there remains an enormous amount of internal consolidation to be done.”
The sound of the candle burning filled the silence.
“From treason to the damage sustained in the Southern Region’s war—the scale far exceeds ordinary circumstances. With such consecutive calamities, they would inevitably be consumed by internal affairs for at least several years, would they not?”
As he finished speaking, several people in the room nodded in agreement.
But then.
One figure stirred slowly.
The man with the numeral 1 inscribed on his left arm opened his mouth deliberately.
“I understand well enough that multiple perspectives hold value.”
His voice was husky.
Rough and fractured in tone.
The kind of voice one hears from those who have lived through long years—deep and laden with friction.
At those words, every gaze in the room turned toward him.
The man spoke.
“Regardless of what it may be… Prince Sedrian, in his current capacity, possesses limited authority. Until the Emperor awakens… it remains impossible for the Empire to undertake any bold maneuvers.”
The candle flickered sharply.
Then his head moved slowly.
As though surveying each person seated around the table in turn.
From deep within the hood, a sensation of piercing eyes flashing with intensity swept across the room.
“The Empire’s power is currently in a state of vacuum.”
He continued slowly.
“Even if Prince Sedrian oversees state affairs… ultimately, he is not the Emperor.”
Someone quietly held their breath.
The man laughed softly.
“While the Emperor slumbers, every noble in the Empire will be calculating their moves.”
Tap.
He placed his finger upon the table.
“The Empire is strong now. Yet simultaneously… it is at its most unstable moment.”
They possessed strength, but lacked the authority to wield it.
Now that the justifications of treason and war had vanished, they too would be preparing, gathering their forces for what comes next.
The man opened his mouth once more.
“From now… one year and six months.”
That number fell into the room.
“We must also prepare for what will unfold after that time. Perhaps….”
A sharp eye flash seemed to gleam beneath the Robe.
“The Empire’s advance that once shook the entire Continent may begin anew.”
“….”
At those words, everyone in the chamber swallowed hard.
Long ago.
They remembered the Empire’s terrible might, how it had plunged the entire Continent into terror.
In the Secret Chamber.
All of them slowly nodded their heads.
Perhaps it would be an extraordinarily urgent time.
And within that time, without fail….
Everything had to be prepared.
A solemn resolve began to crystallize in the eyes of those gathered, visible beneath their Robes.

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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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