The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front - Chapter 94

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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 (94)

Step.

As he entered the ancient temple, the cold scent of stone rushed into his nostrils.

“To think there would be such a structure beneath the lake.”

Moreover, when the conditions were met, the lake’s water level lowered and the structure itself rose upward.

In a place that couldn’t be thought of as created by human ability, Arteon carefully looked around the interior.

“….”

Arteon carefully placed his hand on the wall lined with faded patterns.

He thought there might be some kind of trap, but there didn’t seem to be any for now.

“What kind of picture is this…?”

The moon and stars.

And wave patterns that seemed to represent waterways were carved throughout the walls.

What was peculiar was that the patterns drawn on the walls still had a subtle metallic luster like old metal.

‘…Let’s hurry.’

There was no accurate information about the temple.

Since water might rise again in the lake outside the temple, Arteon soon moved his steps toward the inner part of the temple.

Step, step.

The ceiling was high and magnificent, and water droplets flowing from somewhere made ‘drip, drip’ sounds as they hit the ground.

As if time flowed differently inside and outside the temple, Arteon didn’t neglect his vigilance of the surroundings.

But then.

“…?”

Arteon saw large stone statues erected on both sides.

The statues wearing armor and holding weapons were so large they reached 4 meters in height, and they possessed a menacing aura as if they were alive.

Cold sweat ran down Arteon’s spine.

“…Surely not, right?”

But should we say that ominous premonitions are never wrong?

Rummmmmmmble!

Strong vibrations began around the statues, and stone dust fell from the ceiling with a pattering sound.

And as if they had been waiting.

Swoooooosh!

The blades of halberds falling from both sides struck the ground.

Crash!

Arteon, who avoided the attacks of the two statues, immediately drew Iglis from his waist and injected mana into it.

Clang!

Iglis, revealing its original form, emitted sharp killing intent.

However, there weren’t just two statues.

Swoooooooosh!

Arteon saw another statue’s attack falling toward his head and quickly threw his body to the side.

Whoosh!

At the same time, he drew up his mana.

“…?”

He had felt it when using Iglis just before.

‘This temple….’

There seemed to be something interfering with the flow of mana.

Arteon’s brow furrowed at the somewhat choppy flow of mana.

Of course, that didn’t mean he had the luxury to just stand still.

Clatter!

A total of four statues surrounded Arteon in an encirclement.

Each one seemed to possess quite powerful strength.

‘The movements themselves are simple.’

It felt like looking at golems rather than living creatures.

“Roaaaaaar!”

Then one statue holding a large axe-shaped weapon roared loudly.

It lifted its right foot and struck down vertically toward Arteon.

Crash!

Huge cracks spread across the ground and the stone pillars began to shake.

The moment Arteon’s balance was disturbed, they simultaneously swung their weapons at him.

‘Now…!’

Arteon cleverly squeezed through between their weapons falling overhead and leaped up from his position.

Craaaaaash!

Four weapons simultaneously pierced the position where Arteon had been standing. Then Arteon stepped on their weapons.

Thud!

He stepped on the arm of the axe statue on the left and struck its head hard.

Clang!

Fragments flew with a sharp metallic sound.

Part of the stone face crumbled and fragments scattered.

Whoosh!

It roughly swung its arm and knocked Arteon away.

Thud!

Arteon, who performed an aerial flip and landed on the ground, frowned.

It had been an attack with quite a lot of mana injected.

‘It can’t be completely destroyed….’

It seemed impossible to completely destroy them without using aura.

But….

“These guys… something about their formation….”

Strangely, while attacking him, they seemed to leave open the path leading inside?

Arteon’s eyes narrowed for a moment.

His past life.

The soldier who came to this place was an ordinary soldier who couldn’t even use mana properly.

But he couldn’t have fought these statues head-on in the process of obtaining the Heart of Ether.

‘…Does it mean it’s fine to just run away?’

But why was it?

Somehow he had the feeling that he shouldn’t just go like that.

If he defeated all of these guys here….

‘I have a feeling something else will happen.’

This could be called an illness if it was one.

But Arteon decided to trust his abilities.

It might certainly turn out to be a waste of effort.

“It’s much better than feeling unsettled later.”

Whooooom!

As he drew his mana to the limit, despite the interference with mana control, aura formed on Iglis’s spear blade.

And….

“From now on, it’ll be a bit different.”

“Roaaaaaar!”

“Roaaaaar!”

Arteon ran straight toward the statue charging at him.

Crash, crash, bang!

He then deflected their weapons swinging from above, moved below, and quickly swung his spear.

Slash!

Unlike before, the sound of metal tearing echoed throughout the temple.

Along with that, thick lines cracked across the leg of the creature struck by the spear.

Crash!

The statue with its destroyed leg collapsed straight to the ground.

Even though he had used aura, he couldn’t destroy it in one strike, but.

“Hup!”

Swoooooosh!

Arteon leaped up and swung his spear powerfully, smashing the head of the legless statue.

Crash!

“One.”

Arteon quickly took his stance and looked at the three statues in front of him.

Three statues staring at him with flickering blue light in their eyes.

Each strike from these creatures was powerful enough to be at least mid-3rd Star level.

But Arteon shook his head.

“With such simple movements, you won’t even graze my body.”

They weren’t the type to fall for such simple provocation, but.

“Graaaah!”

“Kraaaah!”

“Kraaaa!”

The three statues simultaneously charged at Arteon, swinging their weapons.

And against their attack.

Swoosh!

Arteon’s form moved like sliding silk, penetrating into their midst.

Bang! Crash crash bang! Crash crash crash crash bang!

His spear, swinging at invisible speed, began destroying their bodies.

Thud! Thud thud! Crumble crumble! Thud!

Standing over the creatures that had been completely destroyed and turned into piles of rubble.

“…Phew.”

Arteon let out a small breath and looked at the ground.

“Is it over?”

Thinking they might move again, Arteon muttered without lowering his guard.

And that was the moment.

Rumble rumble rumble rumble!

A strong vibration began from where the four statues had been destroyed, and something started stirring.

Arteon quickly retreated and drew up his mana again, staying alert.

Flash!

Something blue rising from the pile of rubble where the statue had been destroyed.

The fist-sized object emitted a gentle light as it floated up into the air.

And…

Flash!

The blue orb quickly moved toward the inner part of the temple.

Arteon’s gaze followed it, and from far away came a grinding sound as the blocked door slowly began to open.

“Is it telling me to follow…?”

Seeing the orb slowly rotating in front of that door, Arteon took a step forward.

The blue orb, as if confirming that Arteon was walking toward it, finally entered through the door.

“…”

Arteon moved his steps and looked at the newly opened door.

Inside the room, golden light burst forth intensely.

Soon, as Arteon followed the blue orb into the door.

Whoosh!

The bursting golden light began to engulf Arteon as if swallowing him whole.

* * *

The bone-chilling northern wind blew.

Inside the fluttering tent.

A man who had been silently packing his belongings turned his gaze toward a voice coming from beside him.

“Arteon?”

“Yes, he’s said to have made tremendous contributions in recapturing Elvarfiel Lake this time. I heard he’ll be joining the Aikuled Special Forces this time.”

A moment of silence passed.

But soon Lucael turned his head indifferently and resumed packing his belongings.

“I see… Captain Isaac and everyone else seem quite interested in that soldier.”

An indifferent reaction.

It was the kind of detachment befitting someone who had watched over battlefields for a long time.

However, at his reaction, the soldier beside him immediately added.

“B-but where in the Northern Region would there be a soldier who could follow Lord Lucael?”

It was meant to change the somewhat subdued atmosphere, but.

“Lieutenant.”

A dry voice flowed from Lucael’s mouth.

The soldier called Lieutenant quickly responded.

“Yes, Lord Lucael.”

“This expedition is not about determining such hierarchies.”

His voice was low, but carried a heavy resonance.

Aikuled.

Now that they had gained Helikel Gorge and Elvarfiel Lake, it was the place the Empire needed most desperately.

If they couldn’t obtain that place, even advancing north would require constantly watching their backs.

Moreover, going to unfamiliar territory meant that supply of materials, which was most crucial, might not be properly maintained.

“This battle is an important part that can solve such problems all at once. It’s good if skilled individuals join us. However…”

His eyes grew coldly subdued.

A sharp gaze, different from ordinary soldiers, naturally flowed into his eyes.

Lucael continued.

“I hope the rumors and his actual skills are the same.”

The soldiers bowed their heads.

In the Northern Region, rumors were usually excessively inflated.

Everyone spoke of miraculous stories, but most were illusions in reality.

Soon, when preparations for departure were finished, Lucael slowly rose from his seat and left the barracks.

His shadow stretched long with the sound of clashing armor.

“We depart for Aikuled immediately.”

The moment the order was given, the soldiers gathered outside all raised their right fists to their left chests in salute.

Their voices echoed.

“Steel hearts!”

Leaving those soldiers behind, Lucael simply moved silently toward the new battlefield that needed him.

* * *

Flash!

Arteon instinctively raised his hand to shield his eyes from the intense light covering all directions.

But soon the light slowly receded, revealing the interior of the room.

A wide, empty space.

In the center stood a platform built of red stone.

And there, a golden orb the size of a human face was floating in the air.

“…Ah.”

Arteon unconsciously let out a breath.

What had been passed down like a legend in his memories….

“Heart of Ether.”

He could tell at a glance that this was the Heart of Ether.

However….

‘Is this… supposed to possess such tremendous power…?’

While it certainly couldn’t be called a small amount of power, it felt somewhat different from what he had expected.

Or perhaps, compared to this power, he himself had grown too much?

But soon, something caught Arteon’s eye.

Letters written below the platform.

Due to the traces of time, half… no, most of it was damaged, with only a few letters remaining here and there.

Arteon lowered his head and narrowed his eyes.

“…Blue… key… obtain true power… what?”

Arteon muttered lowly and frowned.

With so few letters remaining, he couldn’t fully understand the meaning of the sentence.

Just as Arteon was about to say something with a dissatisfied expression.

Wooooooong!

“…?”

The blue orb that had guided him suddenly began swirling and was immediately sucked into the Heart of Ether.

Whiiiiing!

Blue light and golden light clashed against each other, creating intense waves.

Along with the energy that spread, Arteon unconsciously stepped back.

‘What on earth….’

What was happening?

But that question was brief.

The thing that had been combining while emitting intense aura burst forth with blinding light that filled the entire room.

Paaaaat!

As the light spread explosively, Arteon covered his eyes with his arm, but he felt the pressure of enormous power crushing his entire body.

Like a raging wind, all the dust in the room swirled around, and the patterns carved on the platform broke apart one by one as if awakening.

And when that force slowly subsided.

“….”

Arteon caught his breath and looked at the thing before him.

“…What is this.”

A brilliant silver light, completely different from the golden color he had seen moments before.

As if it had purified itself, the light was colder and more overwhelmingly clear than gold.

And the important thing was.

“The power… has been amplified.”

A strong energy incomparably greater than what the golden light had been emitting just moments before.

Arteon’s pupils shook greatly.

Perhaps the blue orb created by destroying the statue….

“Could it be….”

Was this… the real Heart of Ether?

Arteon, who had been gazing at the Heart of Ether rippling with silver light, unconsciously began walking slowly toward it.

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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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