The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 309

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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 (309)
It was early morning.
As always in the Northern Region, the bitter cold awakened before the light.
Beneath a sky that was only faintly brightening, the Training Ground of Wolfheim remained shrouded in darkness.
With each breath, white mist streamed from their lips, and the frozen ground emitted a low crunch with every footfall.
The new Squad Members stood in formation with faces still heavy with sleep.
Their eyelids were weighted, their bodies stiff, yet they struggled to maintain their composure.
Then.
“Stand straight.”
A sharp voice cut through the frigid air.
“How do you expect to endure if you can’t even maintain basic posture?”
“I-I apologize!”
One of the recruits flinched and responded.
Dreyan, who had recently become the Company Commander of the Second Company, swept his piercing gaze across the soldiers.
The position of Company Commander was not something to be taken lightly.
The image of Ragnell, who had previously held this position, came to mind.
I had always endured the brutal battlefields by watching his back.
‘Now….’
I had to fill that position.
Dreyan swallowed the sigh that threatened to escape and turned his attention to the Squad Members.
“The Unit Commander will be here soon. Don’t let him see any sloppiness.”
With those words alone, the atmosphere of the Second Company grew taut in an instant.
The veteran soldiers straightened their posture immediately, and the recruits held their breath, overwhelmed by the tension.
Even in this bitter cold, it felt as though cold sweat trickled down their spines.
Then it happened.
Crunch.
Footsteps on fine stone dust.
“Is everyone here?”
A low, measured voice sounded.
It was Arteon.
As he appeared, Isaac glanced at the soldiers, then turned his gaze toward Arteon and spoke.
“Yes, everyone is accounted for.”
At that response, Arteon regarded the soldiers in silence for a moment.
How long had it been since I gathered with the Squad Members like this?
It had only been a few weeks, yet that brief span felt infinitely long.
A faint smile crossed Arteon’s lips. Then, turning his gaze toward a distant direction, he spoke.
“…I took a look around this place a few days ago.”
He opened his mouth.
“It’s quite spacious.”
The soldiers’ eyes flickered with subtle uncertainty.
Wolfheim.
A colossal territory formed by the merger of three separate domains.
Judged by sheer size alone, it would not be an exaggeration to call it the largest domain in the entire Empire.
Of course, the rugged mountain ranges and snow-blanketed plains meant not all of it could be utilized, yet even so, its expanse was enough to make one’s jaw drop.
Arteon pointed with his hand toward a location and continued at length.
And then….
“Exit through the South Gate, connecting to the East Gate.”
The squad members’ gazes followed the path traced by his fingertip.
The moment his finger came to a stop.
A faint smile crossed his lips.
The corners of his mouth rose together.
Arteon spoke.
“Return via the Middle Gate.”
Silence fell in an instant.
Not just the ordinary squad members, but even the officers felt their eyes flicker with uncertainty.
“…Pardon?”
“I didn’t mishear just now, did I?”
“From the South Gate… to that side gate?”
Murmurs rippled through the ranks, accompanied by someone’s question.
“Hey, anyone who’s been there before knows—isn’t that distance insane?”
This kind of reaction during training was unprecedented.
It was rare for trained soldiers to show such visible unease.
The distance was significant enough to shatter their expectations.
And the faces of the new squad members watching this unfold grew pale.
‘What… why are they like this…?’
Those monstrous seniors who never showed a hint of fatigue even after running for hours with massive packs on their backs—they were actually shaken?
Then, one soldier cautiously raised his hand.
“Unit Commander… from the South Gate to that side gate… it’s over 50 kilometers.”
His voice carried a glimmer of hope.
Perhaps.
Just perhaps.
But Arteon’s response to his question was dry and matter-of-fact.
“Yes, that distance exactly.”
With his answer, the hope embedded in that question shattered far too easily.
Arteon then swept his cloak aside.
Cold air brushed against his body, but he seemed entirely indifferent to it.
“Ah.”
An offhand remark.
“This morning’s menu was meat stew with beef chunks the size of a fist, I heard.”
At those words, several eyes widened.
Arteon never exaggerated or spoke carelessly.
“Those who don’t arrive on time won’t be able to eat.”
Arteon’s gaze swept across the entire unit.
“Run with all your might.”
“Wha—?!”
“Aaaaaaahhhhh!”
Cries of despair erupted from the soldiers.
When Arteon spoke like this, it meant the training would be truly grueling.
And at their reaction, the faintest smile played at the corners of his mouth.
Recently, I’d been dragged around by Albertul, handling numerous administrative duties related to territorial management.
More than fatigue, there was difficulty.
These past days had brought more unfamiliarity than tedium.
But now, being here on this frozen plain with these men…
‘This is where I truly belong.’
I could be certain that this was my rightful place.
Soon after, Arteon drew a smile across his lips and spoke.
“Silent Spear Battalion.”
At those words, the squad members sharpened their senses and clenched their fists.
“Run.”
A thousand soldiers began sprinting in unison.
* * *
In the Northern Region of the Continent.
Eight months had already passed since Preldior, once considered the domain of the Kar Tribe, fell under Imperial control.
At first, it had been an uneasy coexistence, uncertain when it might erupt.
Beyond the snow-covered Mountain Range, the presence of the Kar Tribe seemed ready to descend upon them at any moment.
Yet time flowed more quietly than expected, and within that silence, the Empire slowly but steadily took root.
Mines developed one by one along the Mountain Terrain.
Resources that had slumbered beneath the frozen earth began to reveal themselves.
And the Northern Region was no longer the despised Frontier of old.
The minerals currently produced in the North accounted for 70% of all minerals circulating throughout the Empire.
Weapons and Armor, Castle Walls and siege equipment.
Everything that sustained war was being born in this cold land.
About twenty kilometers east of Preldior.
The Gracekal Mine, situated in that location.
After deposits of black iron ore—bearing a deep gray-black hue with exceptional strength and Mana conductivity—were discovered, the place had been rapidly developed.
Over a thousand soldiers were now stationed here, and more than two hundred miners were excavating the frozen earth.
Deeply carved tunnels and wooden palisades erected throughout.
And a carelessly stretched Patrol line.
Though it appeared sufficiently fortified on the surface, its interior had already grown lax.
“Sigh…”
A soldier on patrol exhaled a long breath.
“This place really… no matter how long I’m here, I can’t get used to it.”
The soldier standing beside him chuckled softly.
“Still, it’s something that the Kar Tribe bastards aren’t coming. The bonuses are pretty good too.”
At those words, a strange current flowed between the two.
Soldiers who had already been stationed here for a long time.
Especially among the officers, there was one open secret.
It was the act of secretly smuggling out some of the minerals coming from the Mine.
Those that were small in size or could slip through the records naturally found their way into their pockets.
One soldier turned his gaze toward the direction he was patrolling and spoke.
“I wonder if there’s any need to keep watch like this. He beat us up so badly, what kind of attack would they even attempt?”
“I heard that he completely destroyed the Kingdom in the Southern Region during the war too?”
“Well… the rumors I’ve heard say he’s even stronger than Duke Carbain, but what does it matter anyway.”
He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and put it in his mouth.
The soldier beside him was startled and spoke up.
“You crazy bastard, cigarettes aren’t allowed!”
“Hey, hey, it’s just you and me on duty here. We’ve got more than an hour until the shift change anyway, damn it. Don’t be so uptight—here, have one too.”
He offered a cigarette to his comrade, then lit his own and exhaled a long stream of smoke.
“Phew… if I just suck up the benefits here for about six months and head back… I’ll easily be able to afford a house on the outskirts of my territory. Let’s just hold on until then.”
“Hehe, this place is really a goldmine.”
Snickering continued.
Voices devoid of tension.
Eyes full of carelessness.
This place was no longer a location that demanded vigilance like it once had.
That’s how… they were indulging in such delusions.
But that was the moment.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Along with the sound of something tearing through space.
Thud!
A dull impact echoed out.
At the same time, a soldier on patrol across the way collapsed where he stood.
“Wha…?”
Before he could even finish speaking, an axe was buried deep in his head.
Drip, drip, drip.
Crimson blood flowed from the axe-embedded head, seeping into his eyes.
“Hee, hieek!”
The face of the soldier beside him went deathly pale in an instant.
A half-burned cigarette fell with a soft tap beside him as he collapsed to the ground.
“Th, th, th, th, the enemy…!”
He stammered like a madman and frantically searched through his pocket.
The Whistle appeared in my trembling hands.
I had to sound the alarm.
But….
Thwack!
Another Axe flew through the air, striking the forehead of the man who had been about to bring the Whistle to his lips.
The Whistle fell from his hand without ever making a sound.
Thud.
A chilling Silence spread quietly across the area.
And from that place.
Whoosh.
Shadows flowed out from between the Bushes.
Rough Tattoos carved into their faces and entire bodies.
They were human, yet simultaneously not human.
The Kar Tribe, Rulers of the North.
And on the left shoulder of the man leading them, five Feather Tattoos were etched with unmistakable clarity.
Whoosh.
He gazed silently toward the Mine.
His eyes burned with Killing Intent, and an unbridled fury poured forth.
“Insane Imperial bastards….”
His voice dropped low.
“How dare you… do this in such a place.”
His gaze turned toward the depths of the Mine.
The land they were tearing apart.
It was their soul, sacred ground infused with purity.
And these Imperial dogs were trampling it without permission, without restraint.
The man’s lips twisted slowly into a grimace.
Then he wrenched the Axe from the Soldier’s skull and gripped it in both hands.
Next, he extended the Axe forward and spoke.
“Not a single one… let any of them live.”
Those words.
In the next instant, the Shadows moved as one.
Fwooooooooosh!
Hundreds of Shadows melted into the Darkness and swept across the Imperial Army’s Camp near the Mine.
And that night.
Over the snow-covered Mine, a terrible Bloodbath began to rage.
* * *
“Aaahhh!”
“We’ve… arrived!”
“Huff… huff…!”
The Silent Spear Unit members who had departed from the South Gate, passed through the Middle Gate to the East, and returned now stumbled one by one into the Training Ground.
Sweat pooled even on the soles of my feet, leaving long footprints shaped like feet across the ground.
And at the end of those prints stood soldiers gasping for breath as though their very lungs might burst.
My chest heaved violently, as if it might tear open.
My lungs burned, and my legs had already lost all sensation.
A single command: do not use Mana.
With just those words, we had to sprint over fifty kilometers relying on nothing but pure Physical Strength.
We only endured because there were brief rest periods in between; without them, some might have collapsed on the very first day of training.
“Haa… haa…”
One of the new Squad Members dropped to his knees, his head hanging low.
Even breathing had become agony.
Yet beside him, one of the existing Squad Members let out a hollow laugh.
“This much… is fine.”
Even as he said it, his shoulders heaved heavily with each breath.
And then.
“Phew…”
Arteon walked forward slowly, steadying his breathing.
His chest rose and fell deeply, and long plumes of breath streamed from his mouth.
But his eyes remained sharp and clear.
Once Arteon had caught his breath, he looked at the Squad Members and spoke.
“Everyone, let’s eat.”
A brief command.
The moment those words left his lips, several of them simply collapsed onto the ground.
“Hey… get up… we need to go eat…”
“How can food go down right now…”
“It’ll go down. Even if it won’t, we have to force it…”
Hollow laughter erupted.
Though they were dying from exhaustion, they laughed nonetheless.
The new Squad Members stared at them with bewildered expressions.
‘What… is this…’
They couldn’t understand it.
We pushed them this hard, so why were they all laughing?
But unable to solve that mystery, they shuffled zombie-like toward the dining hall with the other Squad Members.
And…
Smirk.
Arteon gave them a quick once-over before turning toward the dining hall.
But that was when.
“Ah, Marquis!”
Someone rushed urgently toward Arteon. He turned his gaze toward them.
“What is it?”
“It’s that…”
With that answer, Arteon quickly turned his steps toward somewhere urgent.

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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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