The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 78
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front (78)
“…The sun will set soon.”
Ulgrak muttered as he watched the slowly setting sun.
Because it was a forest, darkness came rushing in an instant, and the space mixed with thick fog and darkness felt eerie.
“It won’t be easy for those guys to move in such a dark place. How about letting the warriors rest?”
“We should at least deploy minimum sentries.”
Ulgrak recalled the eyes of that boy he had seen last.
Those persistent eyes as he charged through the center of the landslide created by Makrowdon.
He felt that a guy with such eyes would target them even in this darkness.
Makrowdon nodded at Ulgrak’s words.
“I’ll take the first watch with the warriors. You should rest with the warriors.”
“I’ll take over in the middle. Since visibility is poor due to the darkness, it would be best to rely on sound as much as possible.”
Since both belonged to the commander level, they spoke as carefully as possible.
Thus, Makrowdon led the warriors and began standing guard at regular intervals.
Of course, while standing guard, his inner thoughts were.
‘They absolutely won’t… move in such darkness.’
He didn’t think the Imperial Army would attack.
The reason was simple.
In such thick fog and darkness, even they would find it difficult to move.
If there was even a little light it might be different, but when dawn comes, pitch-black darkness would cover the hill.
That’s why even they had moved when there was some light when first forming their formation.
But if darkness would soon completely dominate the hill…
“Still, don’t let your guard down. Focus on your hearing as much as possible and don’t miss even the slightest movement.”
“Understood.”
“Yes, Taman.”
Makrowdon, who had been looking around, spoke.
He too was quite bothered by Arteon’s eyes.
It shouldn’t be possible, but somehow he felt that guy would attack them even in such harsh conditions… a very unpleasant feeling.
And at the same time.
“We don’t have time.”
“I know.”
As the sun set, the hill began to be dyed in even deeper darkness.
When combined with the fog that blocked their vision, they truly couldn’t see beyond an inch ahead, but these people had no choice now.
At the earliest, right after sunrise.
The main force would move away with Leorn’s irresponsible withdrawal order.
‘We can’t give the Kar Tribe time now.’
With their forces reduced by injuries now… if they couldn’t capture them, this war couldn’t be ended.
He wanted to avoid soldiers dying meaninglessly any longer.
With that single determination, Hadel looked at the soldiers present and said.
“If we don’t win this battle… meaningless repetitive wars will continue again.”
In those wars, many more soldiers would die again.
“We would have to spend each day… grieving for our fallen comrades.”
In some sense, that was a hellish experience for both the dead and the living.
And everyone nodded because they understood that feeling well.
Especially for Arteon, who had lost many comrades due to the desires of those bastards in high places.
But moving to where the enemy was stationed in such conditions was not easy.
If they were discovered, they could end up in a dangerous situation instead.
But then.
“I’ll take the lead.”
“Is that possible?”
The visibility was so poor they couldn’t see properly.
But when Arteon spoke, there was something trustworthy about it.
Arteon said to Hadel.
“I’ve been here the longest, haven’t I? There’s a point where I expect those guys to be gathered.”
If they had fallen back anyway, there was only one place they could be gathered.
The hill itself wasn’t that large, and while the terrain was rough, it wasn’t a complex structure.
“Just follow me while being careful of the ground.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you. Everyone follow Sergeant Arteon carefully.”
From Hadel’s perspective, this was the best option.
With Hadel’s order, Arteon moved forward with slightly quick steps.
Though it was a very old memory, his body seemed to recall it due to recent experiences in this place.
Therefore, despite the quite thick foggy terrain, Arteon’s advance was unhindered.
“…”
Seran and Hadel, along with the soldiers following behind, couldn’t hide their inner surprise.
No matter how much he had wandered around this place for the past few days, Arteon’s movements were too skilled.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he moved as if he had lived in the mountains as a hunter’s child in his youth.
But none of them found it strange or made any sound.
As Arteon’s pace slowed, tension gradually pressed down on their shoulders.
How much time had passed?
The soldiers who had been following Arteon while looking only at their feet due to the darkness stopped walking.
And when they raised their heads again.
“…”
They could definitely feel it.
There was some presence beyond those bushes over there.
Hadel even held his breath and slowly lowered his posture.
He was aware that any wrong movement here could lead to discovery by the enemies.
Swish.
Arteon turned his gaze toward where Hadel was.
Hadel pressed his lips tightly together as he looked at Arteon watching him.
Though many concerns and worries still remained.
“…”
The decision was already made.
‘Before this night passes… we’ll end everything.’
By now, their intentions would have been conveyed to Commander Leorn.
He would surely be raging, but there was nothing he could do on such a dark night.
Until sunrise… he couldn’t interfere with whatever they did.
Nod.
When Hadel agreed, Arteon slowly grasped Iglis at his waist.
The priority was to figure out exactly where those guys were.
‘Did they deploy sentries?’
They had deployed them more thoroughly than expected, making it difficult to close the distance without being detected.
Then Arteon used mana to raise his Ki Sense as high as possible.
And…
‘…Is that guy there too?’
He could tell that the guy who had fought him before was also there.
He never thought a commander-level guy would stand guard.
Or had something else heightened his vigilance?
But whatever the case, what mattered was that guy was here.
Arteon slowly approached Seran.
“Lord Seran.”
“I felt it too. But… is that the one you fought?”
“Yes.”
At Arteon’s words, Seran’s expression darkened.
The aura he could feel now was as strong as Ulgrak’s.
Seran spoke.
“Wouldn’t it be better to attack him with a combined assault while he’s alone? If we could injure him, the next phase would be easier.”
“…I think that would be a poor decision.”
At Seran’s words, Arteon honestly shared his thoughts.
“It would be good if we could injure him as planned, but we must also consider the opposite situation.”
“The opposite situation?”
“Yes, if by any chance Lord Seran were to suffer greater injuries from his attack… our operation could fail.”
“…”
Seran fell silent.
In a way, it was a statement that could have greatly offended Seran.
However, Seran calmly visualized Arteon’s words in his mind.
If he, currently unable to use his left arm, were to carelessly get injured and become unable to fight…
‘…Arteon is right.’
If that happened, it could truly create an irreversible situation.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Thank you.”
Arteon slightly bowed his head and straightened his body.
The moment he moved, the attention of Makrowdon and the Kar Tribe Warriors would likely focus on him.
If he could just buy some time there.
‘Then the unit members will penetrate inside and establish their positions.’
If that happened, they would be able to exploit those guys’ weaknesses.
Though he had finished organizing it in his mind, he couldn’t guarantee this would actually work.
That’s because various variables occur in real-time on the battlefield.
Soon after, Arteon lowered his body in the bushes and slowly moved.
Eventually, with Hadel’s command, the unit members held their breath and slowly moved to the opposite side.
Rustle.
It was a situation where even small footstep sounds couldn’t be tolerated.
Therefore, the soldiers carefully examined the ground and slowly moved their steps.
Small rustling sounds echoed in their ears like thunder.
The sound of someone stepping on and breaking a branch made their hearts sink.
In this situation where such small tensions dominated the area, Arteon quietly melted into the darkness and flashed his eyes.
And…
“…Huu.”
It was the moment when Arteon, who had exhaled softly, drew up his mana.
Swoosh!
“…!”
“The, enemy…! Gack!”
Arteon, who kicked off the ground like a beast and leaped into the bushes, instantly killed two Kar Tribe Warriors in front of him.
Red blood on the tip of the Iglis spear blade scattered in the air like paint.
Leaving behind the two Kar Tribe Warriors who had fallen to the ground like rotten logs, Arteon’s gaze extended in one direction.
“…You bastard.”
A man gripping an axe and radiating thick killing intent as if he had been waiting.
“Makrowdon…”
Before Arteon’s muttering could even finish, Makrowdon moved.
Thud!
His solid body charged forward like a massive beast, radiating intense aura.
Judging by aura alone, it was at a level that would make one’s knees weak just from facing it.
However, Arteon had already experienced this level of pressure countless times in his past life.
His spirit wouldn’t be broken by mere aura.
‘First…’
Arteon gripped his spear while watching the charging Makrowdon.
Vargas Northern Spear Technique was a spear technique characterized by maintaining combat effectiveness even in close combat and irregular attacks that enemies couldn’t anticipate.
However, it also had the disadvantage of high physical consumption and considerable fatigue accumulation because one fought at the most advantageous distance for the enemy.
Therefore, in a situation where he needed to buy time like this.
Tap!
“…?!”
When Arteon threw his body backward to create distance, Makrowdon’s eyes wavered slightly.
When they had fought once before, this guy had used absurd irregular attacks and preferred ultra-close combat.
But suddenly creating distance like this?
“You…!”
However, there was no time to think.
Whoooosh!
Because Arteon, who had been creating distance for a couple of steps, suddenly stopped and unleashed a thrust at tremendous speed.
Clang!
Makrowdon hastily swung his axe and deflected Arteon’s attack.
His advance was thwarted along with destructive power that made his palms sting.
“Taman!”
“This bastard dares…!”
The Kar Tribe Warriors who had moved with Makrowdon shouted toward Arteon and charged at him.
Though they knew he was a skilled fighter on par with Taman, they had orders to deal with him first.
However…
Clang! Bang!
“Gack!”
“Ahhh!”
The guy who had charged toward Arteon was sent flying by a thrust extending from a distance and screamed.
Unlike before, the thrusts delivered from long range were extremely threatening, and at the same time, he didn’t give up any distance.
Swish!
Arteon gripped the end of the spear shaft and extended it long to draw a semicircle on the ground.
Though it wasn’t clearly visible due to the darkness, Arteon gripped his spear again along with the line he had drawn.
And…
“Any bastard who enters this area… dies.”
Along with a thorough warning.
“If you’re confident, try attacking, you Northern Region rats.”
An intense provocation directed at them.
Arteon’s eyes flashed sharply.
Here…
‘I’ll hold these guys back.’
And meanwhile, the Imperial Army soldiers led by Hadel and Seran began rapidly penetrating into their interior.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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