The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 353

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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 (353)
Crash!
A thunderous sound erupted as the axe came down hard against the ground.
Yet the expression of the one wielding it had grown rigid.
“…Pathetic little rats.”
Cracks spread beneath Draktun’s feet.
The solid bedrock of the Northern Region split like mud, and heat shimmered up through the fissures.
With a single stomp, the earth collapsed beneath him, fragments erupting skyward and warping the air around him.
Were these truly the Empire’s warriors?
Four of them taking turns striking and retreating, merely buying time without achieving anything.
Their movements were relentless.
When one drew his attention from the front, another probed his flank.
When he tried to catch one from behind, they had already slipped away; when he moved to block an attack, they had already created distance.
Each time blade met blade, metal rang out, yet no blood was spilled.
They avoided fatal strikes with absolute precision.
Instead, they relentlessly exploited every gap that opened between attacks.
Not particularly threatening in themselves, but the moment his attention shifted elsewhere.
Their strikes through those openings proved remarkably sharp.
Even a brief slash carried an Aura within it.
A sensation as if flesh would tear from merely grazing the skin.
Shallow wounds were already accumulating across Draktun’s body.
Thus, the great warrior of the Kar Tribe.
Even Draktun, who bore seven Feather Tattoos, could not help but grow anxious as time wore on.
Surely….
‘By now… I should have heard news of the enemy Commander’s death.’
The flow of battle should have proceeded exactly that way.
While I held the Imperial Army’s attention here, those behind would sever the enemy’s heart.
The moment the Commander fell, the Imperial Army would crumble like a sandcastle.
For that purpose, Erka had penetrated deep into the Empire’s Formation.
If judged solely by one-on-one combat ability, he might rank among the lower tier of great warriors.
‘But in Assassination… his skill rivals even Serkarun’s….’
His ability to infiltrate enemy formations and eliminate commanders was so formidable that he competed for first or second place among all great warriors.
That was precisely why this silence was unbelievable.
Even amid the chaos of battle, Draktun sensed something was missing.
No signal, no confusion, no collapsing momentum.
What in the world were these bastards?
‘How much preparation did they make….’
Could the Military Strategist’s Operation have been exposed?
Countless possibilities flashed through his mind.
If intelligence had leaked… Erka would already be….
But that thought hadn’t even finished forming.
“You’re awfully relaxed for someone surrounded by us, aren’t you?”
“This barbarian bastard…!”
Four Imperial Warriors who had been circling Draktun in containment suddenly rushed toward him in unison.
Their eyes had changed.
Until now it had been restraint, but now it was unmistakable aggression.
They didn’t miss the moment when Draktun’s concentration wavered, even briefly.
Each of them was a Warrior verified at the 6-Star level.
A single sword strike from any of them could shatter a City Gate or topple Castle Walls, yet—
“How dare you… these insects…!”
Boom!
Before Draktun, the great Warrior of the Kar Tribe bearing seven Tattoos, they were nothing but hyenas before a lion.
Craaaaaaaaash!
With a powerful stomp, the Aura gathered in his Axe erupted like flames.
A crimson Energy surged along the blade’s edge, incinerating the air around him.
Merely standing near it felt as though one’s body would be torn asunder—such was the overwhelming Aura.
Searing heat and crushing pressure descended simultaneously.
The expressions of the four Imperial Warriors charging toward Draktun contorted violently.
“D-Dangerous!”
“Dodge!”
To meet such an attack head-on would mean being cleaved in two without question.
At someone’s cry, they hurled themselves sideways, narrowly evading his strike.
Their judgment was precise.
And simultaneously, merciless.
Crackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackcrackboom!
“Aaaaaaaaaaagh!”
“Gaaaaaaagh!”
The full brunt of that devastation fell upon the Soldiers standing slightly further back.
The Aura that erupted outward tore through the earth itself, consuming the Battlefield.
The bodies of Soldiers caught within that radius were rent apart, their Armor crumpled like parchment.
Screams tore free as blood and soil mingled, spraying skyward.
There was no one on this Battlefield capable of withstanding the Aura he radiated.
The ground where Draktun’s Aura had erupted was gouged deep, white steam rising from the scorched path.
Even the cold stone floor of the Northern Region couldn’t withstand that heat—where the Aura had been unleashed, only death remained.
But…
“These rat bastards…!”
Draktun’s expression twisted in fury at having failed to kill the ones he actually needed to kill.
They had already scattered again.
From a distance where the shockwave couldn’t reach them, they tightened their Encirclement once more.
Though there had been perilous moments, they had navigated the situation with acrobatic precision, slipping through by the narrowest of margins.
As if I had anticipated this situation from the very beginning.
That was why, as time passed, the disadvantage fell squarely upon Draktun.
No matter how vast the gap in realm, engaging in a prolonged war of attrition against four 6-Star Warriors was no trivial matter.
Moreover, my Mana and Aura were now gradually depleting, and soon I would need to withdraw.
My grip tightened around the Axe.
The muscles in my arm trembled faintly.
At that, Draktun’s gaze stretched toward the Empire’s Formation.
“What are you doing, Erka….”
Now, there was no time.
* * *
At the same moment.
In the heart of the Imperial Army, an absurd clash was unfolding.
The center of the Battlefield had already become like a tempest itself.
Screams and metallic clashes intertwined from all directions, while dust and the smell of blood pressed down upon the air.
In the midst of it all, the Soldiers dared not approach, instead forming a wide circle at a distance.
There was only one reason for this.
The fight unfolding within transcended the realm of mortals.
Clang!
Sword met Sword, both condensed with Aura, unleashing a thunderous sound that seemed to tear eardrums.
The shockwave of the collision warped the air around them.
A visible pressure bore down on all sides, and sand swirled outward like a whirlwind.
The Blade trembled, quivering.
A searing pain shot through the hand gripping the Sword, yet Kailun’s expression remained unmoved as he stared at the figure before him.
The flesh of my palm had split, blood seeping through, but I did not relax my grip.
I knew that the moment I released the Sword would be the moment of Death.
A rare female Warrior among the Kar Tribe.
Yet surely not one bearing seven Feather Tattoos.
The Tattoos inscribed along her shoulders and neck line were soaked in blood, now rendered all the more vivid.
Each one was proof that she had survived countless Battlefields.
But whether the opponent was male or female mattered little.
In a mere instant.
I knew far too well that the moment I lost sight of That Guy, my head would be severed.
Clang!
The Swords clashed once more.
In that instant, the earth beneath Kailun’s feet was pushed back and carved deeply.
And at that sight.
Erka was utterly bewildered.
‘Surely….’
I had been certain in my understanding of the Empire’s 7-Star Warriors through the Military Strategist.
Their names, their characteristics, their combat methods—all of it.
Yet this man before me existed nowhere in those records.
And yet, he was parrying my sword head-on.
Who in blazes was this bastard?
‘Red hair, a young warrior. Not in the intelligence reports.’
That crimson hair stood out vividly even through the blood and dust.
If there was one person who might fit the profile….
“Are you Lukael Hargail?”
Erka’s gaze turned glacial.
Lukael Hargail—the Empire’s general who had already ascended to the 6-Star realm years ago and made his name throughout the Northern Region.
If he had achieved some enlightenment, there was certainly a possibility he had reached the 7-Star realm.
But Kailun said nothing, instead drawing up his Aura and swinging his sword toward Erka.
His answer was action, not words.
“Talkative for a woman, aren’t you?”
“What did you say?”
The corners of Erka’s eyes lifted like a cat’s.
In that instant, Killing Intent sliced through the air.
Erka’s body form vanished before my eyes, her gaze sharpened to a lethal edge.
Whoosh!
‘Fast…!’
She had completely disappeared from my field of vision.
Without even a sound.
For just a fraction of a moment, I lost track of her movement.
Because of that half-beat delay.
No, the price of my body turning even half that half-beat too late was.
Slash!
“Ugh…!”
Kailun’s expression twisted slightly.
Crimson blood erupted into the air where her blade had grazed my thigh.
Droplets scattered through the air, painting a red arc.
Because I had pulled my body back just in time, it wasn’t deep, but it was far from a light wound.
I felt the sensation of muscle tearing slightly.
Strength drained from my leg.
Erka’s gaze pursued me relentlessly.
Now that she held the advantage, she needed to dispatch me quickly.
‘The longer this drags on, the worse my position becomes.’
The soldiers surrounding us were already prepared to intervene at any moment.
Soldiers leveling their spears.
Archers with drawn bowstrings.
They were merely maintaining their guard, but they were ready to attack me at any second.
The moment this red-haired warrior faltered, hundreds of arrows would rain down upon me.
Moreover, I had to consider Draktun’s situation as well.
Though Draktun possessed overwhelming power, his aggressive style meant he couldn’t sustain prolonged combat.
The moment he collapsed, the entire front line would crumble.
Perhaps….
‘…Damn it.’
A gnawing anxiety swept through me—this operation might fail.
Then Erka condensed her Aura into the Sword she gripped.
The blade trembled faintly, the energy coalescing upon its surface.
The surrounding air was drawn in, converging like a vortex.
‘This one moment.’
Flash!
The instant her eye flash blazed with light.
Whoooosh!
Her body form extended in a perfectly straight line.
A straight line.
The fastest trajectory.
The condensed Aura unmistakably radiated far greater momentum than any attack she had unleashed before.
But perhaps because of that.
Even her movements, which had been difficult to pursue, became strained.
‘Now…!’
His eyes flashed.
As if he had been waiting for precisely this moment.
Kailun gripped his Sword with both hands and swung it upward in a massive arc from below.
Crash!
“…!”
Kailun’s attack, which had never properly landed until now, struck Erka dead center.
The two forces collided head-on.
The shockwave sent earth and stone spiraling into the air.
Erka detonated her condensed Aura to counter that bastard’s assault.
Drip… drip… drip….
Blood streamed from her palm gripping the Sword, falling to the ground.
The impact from that clash transmitted directly through her body.
Her wrist twisted, bones screaming in agony.
Blood surged backward into her throat, which she had been clenching shut with all her will.
‘This bastard….’
I had been careless.
No—I had been reckless.
This was not an opponent I could fell so hastily.
‘I… am I.’
Truly being stopped by such a man?
My pride had cracked.
But that was the moment.
Pwooooooooooo!
The sound of a Horn echoed across the Battlefield.
Short, then drawn out in succession.
A sound anyone could understand.
It was the signal announcing the Allied Forces’ Withdrawal.
It also meant that Draktun, who had endured until now, had finally exhausted his strength.
Erka’s expression twisted violently at that.
“Damn it….”
Was I really supposed to retreat with the enemy Commander right before my eyes?
I hesitated only briefly, but then I began backing away, looking at Kailun before me and asked.
“What’s your name?”
“Kailun.”
“…Kailun.”
I sheathed my blood-stained Sword into the scabbard at my waist, then narrowed my eyes and spoke.
“If we meet again… I’ll sever that head of yours and throw it to the wolves.”
With those words.
Whoosh!
I vanished, leaving only afterimages behind.
My form moved at such tremendous speed that the word “vanished” was truly fitting.
“Gasp!”
“Where, where did she go?”
The Soldiers surrounding the area couldn’t hide their bewilderment.
They couldn’t even follow where she had fled, much less see her form.
But the moment Erka vanished.
Thud.
Kailun, who had been enduring, dropped to one knee and furrowed his brow.
“Ugh…!”
The Balance I had been forcibly maintaining collapsed.
I had managed to restrain her movements with that last Attack, but the accumulated Damage up until now had reached its Limit.
A sensation of internal twisting.
Every time I inhaled, my ribs throbbed.
If the Battle had lasted just a little longer.
No….
‘If that woman had more time to spare….’
The outcome would have been completely different.
But I soon suppressed the Blood welling up in reverse and slowly rose from my position.
I gritted my teeth and steadied myself.
Soldiers and Officers rushed over urgently, attempting to support me, but.
“It’s fine.”
At those words, those reaching out their hands froze.
Kailun sheathed his sword and turned his gaze elsewhere.
The reason he was here.
To protect Commander Belkain from any danger that might arise.
And….
“…I kept my promise.”
To whom he was speaking, none could say.
Kailun murmured those words as an afterthought.
That brief conversation with him in a place where no one else was present, before the deployment.
Thus, the first day of Belikezel.
The battle that claimed hundreds of war casualties had come to an end.

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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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