The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 93

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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 (93)

The assassination group Nocturne.

Operating under Jaikl Mion’s command, they were quite famous even in the underworld.

No target they marked could survive, so everyone feared becoming their prey.

Rishiven also knew this fact, so he had been quite nervous when carrying out this mission.

If anything went wrong, they could all die.

‘But…’

Nevertheless.

The reason Rishiven followed Arteon’s orders to carry out that mission was simple.

If it weren’t for Arteon in the first place, they would all be dead.

Moreover, he had at least some faith.

That if they designed the operation well, Arteon would ‘not lose’ to them.

But from the start, he ignored all operations and fought alone, making them anxious and unable to leave.

‘Just in case…’

If there was even a one in a million chance that Arteon would die, he planned to take his subordinates and immediately leave Almers.

Sorry to the dead, but the living must survive.

“But…”

He even thought himself foolish for having such worries.

“To think it would be… this overwhelming.”

Rishiven looked at the Nocturne assassins fallen on the ground, not knowing what to say or how to say it.

A truly overwhelming victory.

All the assassins had done was throw hidden blades in a combined attack at the beginning and rush in like moths to a flame.

The deadly poison magic of what seemed to be a high-ranking assassin had been quite threatening, but even that…

“Kugh!”

Vashnell, fallen on the ground, coughed up blood and convulsed.

The moment his spear flashed, it pierced through his left shoulder.

He tried to flee afterward, but before he could turn around, Arteon’s spear penetrated both his thighs.

Perhaps, if he had fought calmly, he might have been able to block that attack.

However, the moment his shoulder was injured, Vashnell’s judgment became clouded.

Thinking only of retreating, he failed to react to Arteon’s follow-up attack.

‘But…’

No matter how such circumstances overlapped, he never even imagined that a high-ranking Nocturne assassin could be captured so easily.

Just how…

‘How much stronger have you become, Lord Arteon.’

Moreover, that final strike he delivered.

If he hadn’t seen wrong, he thought he glimpsed aura for a moment.

Aura was like a boundary line between ordinary humans and those who transcend that level.

Surely just 9 months ago, he couldn’t use aura.

Step, step.

Arteon walked toward Vashnell, who was sitting collapsed on the ground.

Vashnell trembled as he watched Arteon approaching him.

Even the deadly poison magic that had driven all his subordinates to death couldn’t harm him at all.

‘Un, unless… he knew in advance, blocking it like this would be impossible. Who on earth leaked the information?’

But thinking such thoughts now wouldn’t change anything.

No…

‘One last…’

Vashnell looked at Arteon with still bewildered eyes.

And it was precisely the moment when Arteon took one step, two steps closer, narrowing the distance.

Gulp.

Moving his tongue and rolling it in his mouth, he immediately shot something at Arteon like spitting.

Whiiish!

An invisible drop of saliva shot toward Arteon’s eyes.

A poison needle with such tremendous toxicity that just one drop could instantly kill an orc.

No matter how strong that guy was, the moment he got hit, the situation would completely reverse.

But…

Whoosh!

“…!”

The guy dodged it just by lightly tilting his head to the side.

He dodged it so nonchalantly that it seemed natural.

“…You guys don’t have much variation in your patterns.”

The look in that guy’s eyes, thinking of one last move while watching him approach.

Normally, he wouldn’t notice it, but.

‘I’ve seen so many guys like you…’

Arteon had already fought countless types of opponents in his past life.

Especially when it came to fighting, the Kar Tribe were guys with unparalleled, beyond obsessive dedication.

There were even guys who kept charging until the end despite having a sword stuck in their heart.

Compared to that…

‘I could dodge a move like this with my eyes closed.’

That move just now seemed to be his last, as his eyes clearly showed panic.

To the guy who could do nothing more.

Slash.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!”

Arteon cut off the guy’s right leg with his aura-infused spear.

Then he raised his head to look toward where Rishiven was and said.

“Take this guy with you. It would be good to find out everything about them… including their superiors.”

“…Understood.”

Rishiven, standing before Arteon, unconsciously swallowed his saliva as he spoke.

The killing intent flowing out was so intense that just facing him made him feel fear.

Then Arteon withdrew his aura and transformed Iglis into rod form.

“I won’t be able to come for a while. I’m going somewhere quite far.”

“I’ll handle all the tasks you’ve assigned during that time. I will… definitely repay Lord Arteon’s expectations.

This incident made it crystal clear.

Walking a different path from this man was an unimaginably dangerous thing.

‘And…’

Though he couldn’t know what Arteon truly wanted.

‘If I can just go with him to the end…’

He felt that perhaps they could reach the pinnacle of this field within the Empire.

After Arteon left, the blood-soaked alley.

Rishiven hurriedly collected their corpses and began taking the surviving Vashnell somewhere.

* * *

Beyond the tightly locked window, the gray sky hung heavy and sunken.

The lantern light hanging on the wall flickered dimly, casting long shadows across the room.

The news delivered in that space flew into Kaltek’s chest like a hidden blade.

“…Vashnell was taken down?”

Though he tried to appear calm, the end of his voice cracked thinly.

The subordinate before him bowed his head even lower and swallowed dry saliva.

“…Yes.”

“What about those who went with him?”

“None of them returned.”

“….”

In that moment, a tremor ran through Kaltek’s fingertips.

The silver cup resting on the desk shook, spilling a few drops of wine onto the table.

“Vashnell….”

That name was not simple.

Among Nokton’s senior assassins, he was a monster-like talent who ranked in the top five.

Above all, the mana he wielded possessed special abilities.

It would scatter like smoke, entering the opponent’s body to poison them.

No matter how skilled a warrior might be, it was an absolute death-bringing poison that would paralyze the body and ultimately stop their breathing.

‘But….’

The fact that not only Vashnell but all the assassins who went with him had died….

Even for Kaltek, who had experienced all manner of hardships, this was not something he could easily accept.

“That’s impossible.”

Kaltek’s eyes wavered.

Though he was suppressing it, the killing intent that wouldn’t be contained devoured the room.

The subordinate standing before him broke out in cold sweat, maintaining his rigid posture with clenched fists.

However, the report wasn’t finished yet.

“K-Kaltek, sir.”

“What is it?”

“That’s not all… those bastards have started investigating us again.”

“….”

As his subordinate continued with a trembling voice, Kaltek’s gaze pierced through him.

In that instant, the candle flickered violently as if about to go out, despite there being no wind.

Kaltek spoke.

“Those bastards who were nothing more than merchants dare to investigate us?”

Kaltek’s eyes flashed sharply.

Though rage continued to boil up unbearably, he couldn’t make any immediate decisions.

‘Rather….’

In this situation, if he carelessly touched those bastards, irreversible consequences might occur.

“….”

Heavy silence continued.

His subordinate still kept his head bowed, waiting for Kaltek’s response.

“…For now.”

After the silence, Kaltek’s lips moved slightly.

“Keep this matter strictly confidential. We need to sort out the situation before it reaches the guild master’s ears.”

“Understood.”

“Watch those bastards until the next order comes. For the time being, we’ll lay low and observe the situation.”

“Yes.”

His subordinate withdrew with a frozen expression.

Soon after the door closed, the room was once again engulfed in silence.

Swoosh.

Kaltek rose from his seat and walked to the window.

The frost covering the window emitted a pure white light, casting a blurred reflection of his face.

“…Damn bastards.”

The curse that escaped between his lips was murky and heavy like a beast’s breath.

How on earth did they bring down Vashnell? Was there a trap? Some prepared scheme? No matter how much he thought about it, it didn’t make sense.

But Kaltek soon shook his head.

Just a thief guild that used to steal in back alleys. No matter how they changed their sign to a merchant group, their roots remained unchanged.

Pickpockets, information gathering, a lowly group of con artists.

Such vulgar creatures had subdued Vashnell and dozens of Nokton assassins in an instant?

“That’s impossible….”

However, the more he denied it, the more one face came to mind.

Though he had never properly faced him, the appearance of that guy he had glimpsed in passing.

‘Could it be… that rookie’s doing?’

Kaltek’s gaze cut through the darkness outside the window and stopped.

Snowflakes were slowly falling from the distant sky like scattered petals.

If it really was that guy’s doing, this was no longer something that could be dismissed as mere coincidence.

“I need to completely revise….”

Kaltek pressed his forehead with the back of his hand and exhaled deeply.

“…my assessment of that guy.”

The candle in the room flickered greatly one last time, then cast long shadows.

Within those shadows, Kaltek’s sigh continued long like the wind-carried cry of a beast.

* * *

Step.

A lake gently illuminated by moonlight.

After long conflicts, I looked at Elvarfiel Lake, which had now completely become Empire territory.

Originally, I would have wanted to come here sooner, but time was needed to meet the special conditions for opening the gate to this place.

“…Will this really work.”

My past life.

Though it was practically a legendary tale, Arteon remembered it vividly.

How an ordinary soldier had left his mark on the Empire’s history through the opportunity he gained here.

‘An unremarkable soldier, just by obtaining the Heart of Ether… reached a realm beyond 5th Star.’

Of course, no one knew the detailed story about him.

However, those words he left behind.

―If… I had been not just an ordinary foot soldier, but a slightly more trained warrior… I would have reached a much higher realm than now.

According to rumors, he who had reached 5th Star had actually absorbed less than 20% of the Heart of Ether’s power.

If he had completely absorbed the power contained in the Heart of Ether.

‘…There are even stories that he, not Vargas, could have become the ruler of the Northern Region.’

But these were just unverifiable stories after all.

And now, standing in this place.

Arteon was also somewhat doubtful about that truth.

But soon….

Whoooosh.

A cold wind blew, and the fog that had been covering the lake’s surroundings began to slowly clear.

The moon that had been hiding behind clouds revealed itself, sprinkling brilliant silver light across the earth.

A full moon.

And right now, when a special constellation overlapped with it.

Rummmmmmmmmble!

With tremendous vibrations, something began to rise as water started draining away.

And there.

“…Found it.”

Within Elvarfiel Lake, the entrance to the ancient temple containing the Heart of Ether revealed itself.

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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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