The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 334
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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 (334)
CRAAAAAAASH!
A thunderous sound so immense that the entire Mountain Terrain trembled.
The shockwave erupting from the source of the sound shook the ground, and the earth and snow scattered and pushed outward.
And within that chaos.
Slowly.
Belkain’s gaze turned gradually.
“…Has it begun.”
A voice low and subdued.
His eyes pierced beyond the entrance before him, sinking deep into what lay within.
Invisible, yet visible.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say he could predict it.
And there, having entered from the East, were Arteon and the Silent Spear Unit.
Belkain’s sharpest weapon, the spear of the Empire.
Though they were great, requiring no aid from others, relying solely on their own strength.
‘Already….’
They were those who had reached the pinnacle within the Empire and across the Continent.
And for that reason, there was not a shred of doubt.
That they were beings who could carve a path through any situation, against any enemy.
Yet despite this, Belkain’s eyes trembled faintly as he gazed upon that place.
“Why do you appear troubled, Commander.”
Zeulrons, who stood at his side, asked carefully.
Though he had experienced countless Battlefields alongside Belkain, the Commander before him now seemed profoundly unfamiliar.
A demeanor far different from his usual self.
Belkain fell silent at Zeulrons’ question.
But….
“…It is merely.”
Belkain’s lips opened slowly.
“A situation where I must rely upon strong Warriors to fight… it simply feels pathetic to me.”
His tone was matter-of-fact.
Yet the emotion contained within was far from light.
Warriors of high Realm alter the flow of the Battlefield and overturn the tide of War.
A Front Line that tens of thousands of Soldiers cannot breach, a single individual can shatter.
That was reality.
And none understood this truth better than Belkain himself.
‘…And so.’
The question arose—what meaning could his own role as Commander hold, or the roles of Strategists and Military Strategists who devised Operations.
The death of his dearest Comrade, the one closest to him, had shaken the very foundation of Belkain’s convictions.
No matter what reasons he offered.
‘…I could not protect him.’
That fact would not change.
That single truth was embedded in my chest like a sharp Hidden Blade.
Crunch.
Belkain’s fist clenched harder and harder.
Yet despite Belkain’s turmoil, the entrance to the Mine had already tilted decisively in the Imperial Army’s favor.
“Advance! Push forward!”
“Move deeper inside!”
“Hold the shields! Don’t break formation!”
With the soldiers’ battle cries, the Imperial Army pressed relentlessly onward.
Battering rams shattered the wooden palisades, Shield Bearers held the front while maintaining Formation, and behind them Spears and Swords poured down without cessation.
Perfect flow.
The operation Belkain had designed.
Precise timing.
Flawless execution.
And this was the result.
One truth layered atop everything else.
‘And yet….’
In the end, it was Arteon who would determine the outcome.
If he, having ventured inside, could not fell the 7-Star Kar Tribe’s greatest Warrior, this victory would swiftly lose its luster.
Had he not been here now, this Battlefield would have been impossible to even restart.
Belkain turned his gaze toward that place beyond the front.
Of course, the task ahead was clear.
In a future situation like this, he might fail to protect those he must protect….
‘If such a moment comes again….’
That was a problem only Belkain himself could solve.
It was not something that needed to be resolved now.
For now.
‘I must focus on this War.’
There was work to be done as Commander.
Belkain’s gaze hardened.
The wavering emotions subsided, and cold reason reclaimed its place.
“Order the soldiers: the moment combat here concludes, move to the Outskirts of the Mine, cut off their escape routes, and eliminate the Remnants.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Prepare the Rear Support Forces. Have them ready for deployment at any moment.”
“Understood!”
Brief and precise orders.
He had returned as the Imperial Army’s Commander.
And after issuing his commands, Belkain spoke one final time.
“I’m counting on you.”
Those words.
There was no need to explain who those words were directed at.
Craaaaaaash!
In that moment.
A thunderous explosion erupted from within, reverberating outward.
Light flashed brilliantly, and the shockwave rippled beyond the entrance.
The air trembled, and the earth itself resonated.
And at that sight.
Squeeze.
Belkain simply clenched his fist all the more tightly.
* * *
Craaaaaaash!
Through the shattered palisade, a colossal shadow burst forth.
Mud and debris exploded outward, and from the center of it all, Morganteron emerged.
“Roooooaaaaargh!”
A bestial roar.
The giant axe in Morganteron’s grip gleamed with lethal sharpness.
The blade—massive enough to cleave a man in two—flashed as it targeted Arteon.
Craaaaaaash!
Morganteron’s axe struck the ground with a deafening boom.
The earth caved inward, and stone fragments scattered in all directions.
“You…!”
Rising dust obscured the view.
Yet beyond it, I could sense his aura.
How many exchanges now?
‘Undoubtedly….’
Is this truly different?
But….
“You are no match for me…!”
Boom!
Morganteron kicked off the ground with tremendous force, charging through the dust toward Arteon.
His charge felt like an entire mountain hurtling through the air.
Arteon swiftly raised his spear and swung it toward him.
Clang! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Against Morganteron’s relentless onslaught, Arteon retreated rapidly, creating distance.
Whoosh.
My gaze remained fixed on the charging Morganteron.
‘…He is strong.’
Compared to Sraban from before, his explosive power was greater, yet his movements were fluid, and above all….
Screech!
Clang!
Arteon lifted his Spear to the side, blocking Morganteron’s Giant Axe.
Certainly, such reckless movements would inevitably demand considerable strain to redirect.
It was only natural.
With that massive frame generating such speed, how could directional shifts come easily?
Yet that man pivoted freely, as though gravity’s resistance held less sway over him, and pursued Arteon relentlessly.
The secret to it, perhaps, was.
‘Mana Control.’
I had fought countless Kar Tribe Warriors before, but never one whose Mana Control was this refined.
Against such an opponent….
‘How terrifying.’
It must have been.
Perhaps like an insurmountable wall bearing down before one’s eyes.
A heavy breath escaped.
The more our Spears clashed, the more vividly the faces of those who had died fighting him surfaced in my mind.
‘If only I….’
Had arrived just a moment sooner.
Then perhaps he would not have died, would still be alive.
Deep regret flooded through me like a tidal wave.
Was that why.
Boom!
Arteon no longer retreated, holding firm against Morganteron’s Giant Axe.
At that, the man’s pupils wavered slightly.
‘Not being pushed back?’
Until now, he had been the one bouncing back from his attacks, merely enduring.
So he had naturally believed himself to hold the advantage.
Though the man’s tightly woven defense was certainly irritating, he had thought even that would not last much longer.
Yet….
Boom!
The moment his Giant Axe was blocked by the man’s Spear, Morganteron’s pupils trembled.
Unlike before.
‘Heavy.’
The man’s defense felt as weighty as finely tempered metal.
For just an instant, he even sensed his own Aura scattering.
But that was merely the beginning.
“Now it’s my turn.”
With those final words.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
Morganteron stepped back for the first time.
He had merely pushed their locked axes apart, yet the destructive force was this tremendous?
“Nooooo!”
Morganteron’s eyes widened as he roared, sensing something pushing against him.
Mana flowed from his body and was drawn into his axe.
Uuuuuuung!
In an instant, it transformed into an Aura, flashing with crimson light.
But I had already witnessed this countless times.
Arteon’s gaze extended toward that guy with chilling clarity.
“Now it’s your turn to feel it.”
The helpless terror that emanates from an overwhelmingly superior opponent.
‘That bastard….’
Whether he possessed seven Feather Tattoos or not, none of it mattered.
Only now.
From this moment onward.
“Die knowing your own powerlessness.”
Shuuuuuuck!
Iglis extended in a straight line, aiming for Morganteron’s neck.
Direct and honest, yet moving with such tremendous speed that even the eye could barely follow.
“…!”
Morganteron hastily leaned his body backward, evading the attack.
Shuck!
He narrowly avoided the spear that extended just before his neck.
Slash! Whoosh!
That guy’s follow-up was as natural as flowing water.
The motion of thrusting forward and simultaneously retrieving the spear was.
Whoosh!
Reducing the recovery time to an extreme.
Shuck!
With the sound of scraping ground, his spear swung toward Morganteron’s chest once more.
Clang!
‘At such close range…?’
It was an unpredictable attack.
A spear should attack from a distance where it held the advantage, yet how had he closed the gap so drastically?
“How dare you… disrespect me!”
How dare he abandon the absolute range advantage of the spear and enter his own optimal distance for the axe?
Morganteron raised his axe with a menacing glare.
At this distance, while that guy could swing once, I could land three or more attacks.
But….
Slash!
“…?”
In that instant, a sharp pain pierced his left arm, and crimson blood sprayed into the air.
It happened before I could even comprehend what was occurring.
Morganteron’s expression twisted in bewilderment as Arteon closed the distance between them in a heartbeat.
The moment our eyes met—those golden irises burning with intensity.
Zzzzzzzt!
“Gahhh!”
A ferocious assault erupted like lightning splitting the air.
Speed far exceeding what one could achieve wielding a short sword.
With my Spear wrapped around my waist, I spun—and the attacks that followed came so rapidly that reaction became nearly impossible.
Clang! Szzzzzzzt!
I desperately tilted my Giant Axe sideways to defend with its broad face, yet I could not block every assault, including those that exploited the gaps in my defense.
‘How… how is this possible…?!’
Physical Enhancement with Mana proved utterly useless.
The Spear wreathed in golden Aura mercilessly pierced through my openings, and the moment I staggered backward to create distance.
Swooooosh!
As if he had been waiting for this exact moment, Arteon’s Spear shot forward in a straight, devastating line.
Booooooom!
“Ahhhhhhh!”
I screamed as my body was hurled backward.
My form was already drenched in blood, and my eyes trembled like aspen leaves.
In mere seconds—less than twenty of them.
Something had transpired that defied all my understanding of combat.
“Taman, Taman!”
“Damn this Imperial bastard…!”
As I collapsed, the Kar Tribe Warriors who had been watching from a distance surged toward Arteon.
But in that very instant.
Swooooooosh!
The Silent Spear Unit Members on the opposite flank drew the Throwing Spears from their waists and hurled them toward the advancing warriors.
The Silent Spear Unit moved swiftly, positioning themselves as a barrier in the warriors’ path.
Isaac, standing at the vanguard, drew his Sword.
“Do not interfere, you barbarians.”
“If you wish to fight, we shall oblige.”
In an instant, the Kar Tribe Warriors and the Silent Spear Unit faced off, creating an atmosphere of imminent confrontation.
But at that very moment.
Booooom!
A thunderous impact shook the ground itself.
Crack!
The balance in the duel between the two began to crumble.
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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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