The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 330

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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 (330)
Darkness had completely swallowed the mountain that night.
The wind was merciless, and even the whisper of leaves cutting through the air sounded sharp as a blade.
The mountain path was narrow and treacherous.
A single misstep would send one tumbling down the steep descent that stretched on both sides.
A handful of torches cast their feeble light across the path, barely illuminating the way forward.
“Haaah…! Haaah…!”
Ragged, tearing breaths.
At the center of it all was Belkain, Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army.
A man who would never normally display such a state.
One who commanded tens of thousands on the battlefield, never once wavering.
But now, everything was different.
His footsteps were crumbling, and his breathing had already exceeded its limit.
Sweat flowing beneath his armor grew cold, constricting his body.
Yet he could not stop.
But in that moment.
A stumble!
His foot caught a stone and slid badly.
“Commander!”
A cry erupted from Zeulrons rushing up behind him.
Thud!
His body struck the ground heavily.
For an instant, his vision wavered.
But Belkain gritted his teeth and pushed himself up with his palms against the earth.
“…I’m fine.”
He forced his breath under control and rose to his feet.
“Hurry.”
His voice was low, yet the urgency contained within it could not be hidden.
Just a little further.
Just a little further….
Belkain bit his lip hard.
But then.
“…Commander!”
A cry from ahead.
And tearing through the darkness, a man was rushing toward them at tremendous speed.
Behind him, soldiers followed, gasping as though their breath might fail them.
The moment that sight entered his vision.
Belkain felt his heart sink with a dull thud.
“Commander!”
“My lord…! My lord…!”
Belkain caught the man who had rushed toward him and lowered his head.
In that instant, the tension drained away, and his legs gave out beneath him with a sudden collapse.
As Belkain crumpled downward, Arteon quickly reached out and caught him firmly in his arms.
“Are you alright?”
“Hah… hah… Marquis… up there… up there… gasp…!”
Belkain spoke through ragged breaths.
“Claw and the soldiers… they’re in danger.”
His voice cracked.
It was a sight that would never normally appear from him. But now.
“Please…”
He paused, unable to continue for a moment.
Then he forced the words out.
“Please save them.”
As those words ended, the air in the mountain seemed to still for a moment.
Arteon lifted his gaze.
Into the darkness, toward the upper mountain path.
That thunderous sound from moments before echoed through his mind.
His eyes narrowed.
Arteon’s gaze descended back to Belkain.
The clothes were different from what he normally wore.
But they were familiar.
They belonged to Claw.
In that instant, Arteon’s eyes shifted subtly.
That alone was enough to understand the situation.
Arteon nodded.
Then he turned to Zeulrons beside him and spoke.
“If you continue down in this direction a bit further, you’ll find the squad members. Once you reach there, you’ll be safe.”
Zeulrons bowed deeply in response.
“Understood.”
Arteon opened his mouth again.
“I entrust the Commander to you.”
With those words, Arteon glanced back and spoke.
“The 3rd Company will support the Commander and descend the mountain. As for the rest…”
His eyes blazed with intensity.
“The rest of you follow me.”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
Sharp, forceful responses erupted.
Arteon slowly released Belkain’s arm.
In that moment, their gazes met.
Arteon opened his mouth.
“I will… return with you. I swear it.”
“Please.”
That single word.
It was enough.
Boom!
Arteon’s body exploded forward in an instant.
Tearing through the darkness, he charged toward the mountain.
The soldiers followed in his wake.
In moments, their figures were swallowed by the darkness.
All that remained was the flickering light of torches, trembling wildly.
And there, standing motionless, Belkain watched his receding silhouette in silence.
Please… please….
With a desperate prayer.
* * *
Boom!
Footsteps tearing through the mountain path shattered the silence of the night.
Arteon’s body surged upward like the wind itself.
The Silent Spear Unit members following behind matched his pace with all their strength.
‘It should be around here…’
Arteon’s eyes gradually darkened.
Then.
Whoooosh.
The wind that blew changed.
The smell of blood carried on the wind.
A thick, iron scent mingled with the air.
In an instant, the aura of the unit members following behind shifted. No one spoke, yet all felt the same thing.
Hands naturally moved toward their weapons.
They heightened their vigilance, ready to respond to battle at any moment.
But….
“Hah, gasp…!”
“Ah….”
The Silent Spear Unit members who arrived at the place where the smell of blood grew thick could not hide their gasps.
This place….
Was already hell.
Corpses scattered everywhere.
The Imperial Army’s armor, drenched in blood, had turned black, and soldiers with limbs torn away lay unrecognizable in form.
The earth and snow that had covered this place were now sticky with their blood, clinging to their feet.
A profound silence descended.
No words came forth.
But that was when it happened.
“C-Captain……”
Isaac’s voice trembled.
His gaze fixed upon a distant point.
And Arteon’s footsteps carried him toward where that gaze lingered.
Thud… thud….
One step.
Then another.
Each footfall growing heavier.
Where Arteon finally came to a halt lay a corpse clad in a familiar coat.
The severed neck had already cooled and blackened, the body sprawled upon the ground on its side.
That coat—one I had witnessed countless times across battlefields.
The armor of Belkain, Supreme Commander.
“….”
My pupils trembled faintly.
Slowly, my knees buckled.
Thud.
One knee touched the ground, and my hand extended slowly toward the corpse.
My fingertips quivered with an emotion I could not contain.
“C-Claw… sir.”
My voice cracked.
My fingertips made contact with the corpse.
His body still retained warmth—a sight both sorrowful and cruel.
I slowly lowered myself and embraced Claw’s lifeless form.
The countless conversations we had shared together.
And… memories flickered through my mind.
Bareda Hill.
When I returned from the Punishment Sentence—a fate no different from death—he had silently patted my shoulder and offered me water.
―From now on, this place is where you will train and live.
His voice, spoken so matter-of-factly.
Before departing on a perilous Reconnaissance mission.
In a place where no one could see, he had handed me an Artifact and said:
―You must return safely.
Helikel Gorge.
When I returned barely clinging to life, drenched in blood, he was the first to rush forward and embrace me….
“Ugh… uuuuugh…!”
The tangled emotions crashed down upon my chest.
My shoulders shook violently.
“Claw… sir….”
I could speak no further.
Thud.
Arteon dropped to both knees on the ground, clutching the corpse even more tightly to his chest.
As I watched him grow cold, something I had been holding back seemed to snap.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”
A roar like that of a beast.
A howl torn from a shattered heart.
Sorrow, despair, and rage at myself for failing to protect him.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!”
That anguished cry echoed across the ridge line.
And the members of the Silent Spear Battalion who witnessed it could not lift their heads.
Some clenched their teeth, others closed their eyes.
Veins bulged from their tightly clenched fists as if they might burst.
Blood trickled from their firmly bitten lips.
Yet none of them made a sound.
They simply bore witness in silence to the death of their commander, comrade, and brother-in-arms of so many years.
And to the sight of Arteon, shattered by that death.
…
How much time passed like that?
The wails gradually subsided, and silence filled the void.
Slowly.
Arteon rose to his feet, cradling Claw’s corpse in his arms.
In that moment, Isaac approached Arteon.
“…Unit Commander.”
Arteon lifted his head.
Eyes bloodshot and inflamed.
Tear stains remained, but what lay within them was no longer merely sorrow.
“Isaac.”
“…Yes.”
“Collect the bodies of all our fallen here.”
His voice was calm.
Yet beneath it, something seemed to roil.
Isaac bowed deeply.
“Understood.”
“And…”
His gaze slowly turned toward where the Gracekal Mine lay.
The light in Arteon’s eyes grew cold and sharp as he stared into that darkness.
“Prepare for war. And if that bastard is connected to this death…”
His voice was chillingly serene, as if breath itself had stopped.
With that voice, steeped in profound sorrow and fury, Arteon spoke.
“…I will not leave a single one alive.”
The moment those words fell, the air froze solid.
Isaac and the Silent Spear Battalion members’ eyes gleamed with a sinister Killing Intent.
To them, Claw was both a reliable Reinforcement and a Comrade.
And upon the frozen Mountain Terrain.
Arteon, the Empire’s God of War.
His wrath descended.
* * *
“Military Strategist. What do you mean by that.”
Morganteron’s eyes flashed with an ominous gleam.
Before him lay the head of Belkain, the Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army, displayed like a trophy of war.
What had symbolized victory on the Battlefield mere moments ago had transformed into something ominously foreboding.
Berkal, gazing upon the head of Belkain before him, spoke with unwavering resolve.
“The entire Army will withdraw, he said.”
His voice was low, yet it carried no hesitation.
At Berkal’s resolute words, Morganteron’s expression twisted.
They had slain even the Empire’s Supreme Commander, and all he could say was this….
“You mean to abandon this place and flee because of a single Warrior of the Empire?”
The Gracekal Mine was a Treasure Vault far more magnificent than they had imagined.
The rare minerals pouring forth from deep within the Mine were no mere resources.
They were Weapons, they were Power, they were the Future.
The minerals already extracted from this place were flowing across the Continent through covert channels.
What they had gained from this was so tremendous it had completely shattered their previous understanding.
And now he spoke of abandoning this place so pathetically.
“No, even if that weren’t the case….”
Morganteron’s teeth bared.
He was telling him to flee with the Empire’s dogs right before them?
Even if this were the Military Strategist’s opinion, sent by ‘That Person’ himself….
“Impossible.”
A short and absolute refusal.
It was unacceptable.
For those to whom Honor was more precious than Death itself.
The air within the Barracks froze taut.
Yet Berkal rose from his seat without hesitation.
The chair legs scraped against the Ground, producing a brief, harsh sound.
“Then from this moment forward, let Taman assume Command Authority of this place. I shall return and report this matter to That Person.”
There was not the slightest wavering in his resolve.
At those words, Morganteron’s eyes flashed.
“What?”
“Taman.”
As Morganteron fixed him with an irritated gaze, Berkal spoke with unwavering firmness.
“I made my warning clear. Now is the time to withdraw.”
His gaze drifted momentarily toward the head lying on the barracks floor.
He already knew that no amount of explanation would make them listen.
Before it was too late.
‘I must leave this place.’
Berkal turned without hesitation.
Several warriors moved in step with him.
They exchanged glances with one another—men whose resolve had already solidified.
Watching them, Morganteron felt his killing intent surge.
He wanted nothing more than to wring their necks on the spot.
“But that person…”
The moment he recalled that existence, his hand froze.
He could not carelessly harm those who had come under that person’s command.
And so Morganteron could only watch as they departed.
One thing, however…
“…What could these Imperial dogs possibly do without their Supreme Commander.”
Morganteron gazed toward the mountain terrain before the Gracekal Mine.
The Imperial Army had already scattered, and their commander was dead.
All that remained were defeated soldiers.
This war was theirs to claim.
He was certain of it.
But as darkness fell and rose again several times over.
The area around the mine grew eerily silent.
The warmth of victory gradually cooled, and in its place, an inexplicable unease began to seep in.
And then came that moment.
“T-Taman!”
The barracks door burst open as a warrior rushed inside.
“What is it.”
Morganteron, who had been lying on his bed, furrowed his brow as he looked at the warrior.
His body rested, yet his eyes remained sharp.
But to his question, the warrior who had come to report cried out urgently.
“The Imperial Army is attacking us…!”

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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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