The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 313

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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 (313)
Clang!
The moment their weapons clashed, Renfir’s body lurched violently backward.
The destructive power was far greater than anticipated.
Parterak’s movements, now channeling Mana, were utterly transformed from moments before.
“This is the true control of Mana that a Knight commands.”
Whoosh!
Parterak’s Sword rose toward the heavens before descending in a clean arc toward Renfir’s head.
A slash devoid of unnecessary motion.
The power contained within that flawless, textbook-perfect movement was immense.
Crash!
It possessed the strength to cleave even stone in two with a single stroke.
Renfir’s eyebrow twitched slightly as he parried Parterak’s Sword.
So he was not merely running his mouth with nothing to back it up.
However…
“Hah…”
Forced backward, Renfir exhaled a long breath while keeping his Sword raised.
Strike after strike.
Each parry sent a sharp sting through his wrists from the impact, that much was true.
“Is that all you have?”
On the Battlefield, Renfir had endured far worse countless times.
He possessed neither a superior physique nor exceptional Physical Strength compared to others.
Yet there was one thing Renfir could speak of with absolute certainty.
Throughout every Training he had ever undergone, he had never once fallen behind.
Though he moved like a tortoise, he always saw it through to the end.
That perseverance had earned him his current position as Vice-Commander of the 3rd Company of the Silent Spear Battalion.
Deep furrows carved themselves across Parterak’s brow at Renfir’s words.
“…What did you say?”
He had merely intended to offer a warning.
“…My mind has changed.”
Scrape.
Parterak’s Sword dragged lightly across the Ground, producing the distinctive metallic screech of steel.
Parterak spoke, Sword in hand.
“So you’re the type who needs an arm severed to come to your senses…!”
With those words, Parterak’s offensive intensified dramatically.
Like a Beast on the hunt, his attacks came without hesitation or mercy.
Crash! Clang! Screech! Boom!
A torrent of attacks cascading down like a downpour.
Watching the Sparring Match, Belkain spoke.
“…That Soldier may well be injured, it seems.”
A voice tinged with concern.
But Arteon tilted his head and replied.
“Don’t worry yourself… just watch.”
His gaze was fixed on the Training Ground.
And at the corner of his lips, the faintest smile bloomed.
“That Soldier Renfir….”
A moment of silence.
Then came his next words.
“He is not as simple as he appears.”
At Arteon’s words, Belkain merely sighed softly and watched the Sparring Match between the two.
“Haaaaaaagh!”
Thud!
Renfir, who had been defending for well over ten minutes now.
Parterak’s breathing, who had been pouring out attacks, began to twist and strain.
Between battle cries and battle cries.
Small tremors began to spread gradually.
And through the gaps of his roughening breath.
Clang!
“…!”
For the first time, Renfir’s Counterattack began.
“Ugh…!”
Parterak’s eyes wavered as he was driven backward.
Just moments before, he had been pressing forward perfectly.
His opponent was merely struggling to defend.
But….
‘Why…?’
The sensation of the Swords meeting had changed.
Ching!
The moment they clashed again, Renfir’s Sword was no longer merely “holding”.
Rather than meeting force head-on, it twisted and deflected it away.
Parterak’s eyes blazed with deadly intent as he felt the emptiness at the tip of his Sword where Renfir’s had been.
Renfir spoke.
“What, something wrong?”
“You bastard!”
Parterak cried out at Renfir’s changed tone. But Renfir subtly deflected his Sword to the side, then.
Whoosh!
Clang!
“Ugh!”
He received the blow with force and drove Parterak back.
And that was merely the beginning.
Tap!
Not fast, yet somehow swift—a peculiar rhythm to the movement.
Renfir closed the distance in two broad strides and thrust his sword forward.
A simple thrust, yet it came at an odd angle.
Parterak hastily swung his sword to block, but—
‘Damn it…!’
For some reason, deflecting his sword felt extraordinarily ‘awkward’.
Not difficult, but something indescribable.
“You bastard, I’ll kill you…!”
If he were humiliated by this lowborn wretch, he’d become a laughingstock the moment he returned.
He had to end this in one strike.
Parterak immediately concentrated his mana, reinforcing his body.
With a tremendous surge of mana, his sword swept horizontally toward Renfir’s neck.
At that moment—
“Watch out, danger!”
Belkain lurched forward, shouting.
But…
Swish!
Parterak’s blade barely grazed Renfir’s hair, cutting through empty air.
Had he been even slightly slower, his neck would have been severed—a deadly moment.
Whoosh!
Renfir, who had ducked low, immediately straightened and swung his sword upward.
Clang!
The powerful strike sent Parterak’s sword flying skyward.
He barely managed to keep his grip.
“Ugh!”
His wrist tingled, pain shooting through his palm.
Parterak bit his lip hard.
“Just this much…!”
As he gripped his sword again and began to swing downward—
Splash!
“Argh!”
Something suddenly covered his vision.
Renfir, who had ducked to evade the attack, had grabbed a handful of sand and hurled it directly into his eyes.
“Ahhhhh! You bastard!”
With sand and dirt in his eyes, Parterak thrashed about, swinging his sword wildly.
The burning sensation and sudden blindness overwhelmed him all at once.
But…
“Whining over something so trivial?”
At the voice from beside him, Parterak swung his sword desperately.
Whoosh!
The sword cut through empty air with anticlimactic ease.
I’d sensed a presence from the opposite direction and swung, but nothing changed.
Parterak quickly retreated backward, rubbing his eyes.
Pain flared again, tears streaming down his face, but his vision began to clear gradually, however faintly.
And in that very moment.
Thud!
“Gahhh!”
Pain erupted across Parterak’s chest as both his feet lifted from the ground.
Renfir had driven his shoulder directly into his chest.
Parterak was sent flying backward, rolling across the ground twice.
Yet befitting his title as a Knight, he rose with elastic, practiced movement.
Crack!
Renfir seized that opening without hesitation.
He rushed forward with explosive speed, extending his leg as he penetrated Parterak’s guard.
And in that movement.
Tap.
There was no wasted motion.
“…!”
Parterak’s pupils dilated as he watched Renfir close the distance in mere steps, breaching his defenses.
How could a mere commoner soldier move like this…!
Parterak reflexively raised his sword.
He intended to push the man away and create distance.
Slash!
The attack that carved into his flank bent Parterak’s body like a crescent moon.
Boom!
“Ugh!”
A chill ran down his spine in that instant.
It felt as though several ribs had shattered from that last strike.
Likely because he’d been struck with the flat of the blade.
If it had been the edge….
‘I would’ve… died….’
But that thought never completed itself.
Renfir swept a kick at Parterak’s shin.
Crack!
“Argh!”
His struck leg flew backward, and Parterak screamed before collapsing to the ground.
And….
Tap.
Renfir’s sword now aimed at his throat.
As the sword radiating sharp blade aura touched the nape of my neck.
…A soft sound.
A thin crimson line stretched long as blood trickled down along my clavicle.
Renfir spoke.
“If you continue, I will cut you down.”
“….”
Futility and helplessness.
A torrent of complex emotions washed over me.
But….
“…I have lost.”
Parterak simply bowed his head and spoke quietly.
Then Renfir withdrew his sword and stepped back.
And bowing respectfully toward Parterak, he spoke.
“I have learned much from this exchange.”
With those words, vitality returned to the Training Ground where tension had settled.
The Squad Members watching applauded at the greatly transformed Renfir.
“….”
The knights who had come with Belkain watched Parterak with complicated expressions.
None of them could confidently claim that anyone else could have defeated Renfir.
And….
“Remarkable. Though still at an apprentice level, to subdue one who has become a knight.”
“You are too kind. Had Renfir possessed even a little experience in brutal combat, he would have lost.”
At Arteon’s words, Belkain shook his head.
“That small experience… becomes the factor that separates life from death.”
Most… die on the battlefield before accumulating such experience.
Belkain spoke to Arteon with a relieved expression.
“This has been invaluable experience for them as well. Thank you for your assistance.”
“I am glad it proved helpful.”
A faint smile graced Arteon’s lips.
But that was the moment.
“B-Belkain Supreme Commander!”
Arteon and Belkain turned their heads, seeing someone rushing urgently from afar.
As he approached, he spoke.
“An urgent letter has arrived from the Imperial Palace.”
“From the Imperial Palace…?”
Upon receiving the letter he offered.
“…!”
Belkain’s expression hardened.
Arteon asked.
“What is the matter?”
“…I’ll step out for a moment.”
Belkain, his expression hardened, hastily excused himself from the room.
Arteon watched his departure with undisguised bewilderment.
What in the world had just happened?
* * *
Within the office, enclosed by thick stone walls.
The messenger before Belkain spoke in a cautious voice.
“He ordered us to act without informing the Wolf Heim Marquis if possible.”
“….”
Belkain’s expression froze upon hearing the messenger’s words.
Surely not….
‘They would target the Gracekal Mine….’
The Gracekal Mine was the most recently developed mine in the Northern Region.
Naturally, it possessed the fastest mineral acquisition rate and the swiftest operational progress.
‘They struck true.’
That blow could only cut deeper.
But what mattered most now was that those enemies had resumed their activities.
After their defeat at Preldior, they had vanished as if dead.
“Hah….”
Belkain spoke to the messenger.
“Deliver my letter to the Capital at once. I must obtain the Imperial Prince’s approval immediately and mobilize the army.”
“Understood.”
The messenger nodded.
Belkain hastily took up his pen and began writing the letter.
And just as he was about to write the assembly point for the troops.
“….”
Belkain unfolded a map of the Northern Region from his breast.
He examined the map this way and that.
“The assembly point shall be….”
A thought struck him—this battle might be far more than merely the Gracekal Mine.
Belkain’s eyes narrowed as he inscribed the assembly point upon the letter.
“Preldior.”
At those words, the messenger swallowed hard without realizing it.

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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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