The Spear That Refuses to Fall
The blanket, hurry and bring it! Now!
“Platoon Leader! Platoon Leader!”
“Are you all right, Platoon Leader!”
The headache was so fierce it felt like it was driving straight through the eardrums.
Arteon narrowed his eyes at the four squad members crowding around him.
“……I’m fine. Just be quiet, you brats.”
“Huu…… I thought something serious had happened.”
“Hey, this is nothing. I’m in a lot of pain right now.”
Lying on the stretcher piled with six blankets, Arteon spoke in a hoarse voice.
The squad leader holding one end of the stretcher, Barter, nodded.
“Yes, yes. You look really hurt.”
“……Damn.”
Arteon muttered it under his breath, then relaxed his body and lay back on the stretcher.
Just for a moment…… but I thought it was over.
Arteon recalled the dizzying situation.
But right after.
Arteon quietly closed his eyes and checked the aura of the Ether’s Heart inside his body.
Clearly it had absorbed far more than before.
There had been a huge crisis, but instead it became a blessing for Arteon.
Arteon relaxed and lay back on the stretcher.
His body hung limp, yet the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease and his heart felt lighter.
But then.
“Are you all right?”
“……I’m sorry, Sergeant Major Claw.”
Arteon looked at Claw walking right beside him and said softly.
Claw shook his head.
“Huhu, please don’t say that. When the rescue unit was dispatched, I was the first to volunteer.”
Arteon didn’t know how skilled Claw really was.
He only knew he had killed a huge number of Kar tribesmen in the past.
When Arteon joined the army, he was already serving as an aide to the giant named Velkain.
Even in his previous life, this man had never stepped onto the battlefield.
Now he had taken up the sword again.
For Arteon.
“……”
His mind was in turmoil.
Was this really a person worth so much?
But did Arteon’s thoughts show on his face?
Walking beside him, Claw offered a faint smile and said,
“Curious? About why I came here?”
“If you’re not curious, that’s a lie. No, actually I’m so curious I’m about to go crazy.”
Lying on the stretcher made him feel a little embarrassed, but Arteon stated it plainly.
Claw replied,
“I still remember the day we first met.”
That day in the punishment barracks where I didn’t even groan once…… and the day we returned from the tundra……
“And the day you said you needed space to train for the price.”
Arteon had served in the military for a very long time, yet he had never seen a soldier as ruthless as this man.
Even when his hand wounds tore open and festered, he refused to drop his spear.
And the way he kept growing at an unbelievable speed.
At that time, Claw had made a firm decision.
Maybe this soldier…… could change the entire map of the north.
Because he knew the operation was reckless, he still volunteered as commander of Arteon’s rescue unit.
He simply could not lose him.
“First, rest. The injury is worse than I thought.”
Looking at the camp in Helikel Canyon that was now slowly coming into view, Claw said.
The sentry gate in front of the camp now had nearly a hundred soldiers standing guard.
“We have successfully completed the rescue operation and returned, Commander Velkain.”
“You worked hard.”
With those words, Velkain’s gaze turned toward Arteon lying on the stretcher.
The feeling of everyone’s eyes on him made him uncomfortable, yet……
“Everyone, move inside the camp.”
Velkain simply turned after giving a short order.
But the scouting mission on the plain before Helikel Canyon had been full of chaos.
The operation was a success thanks to Arteon and Isaac’s return.
But at the same moment.
CRACK!
“……”
The handle of the chair made of black obsidian, as hard as steel, split and tore like rotten wood.
Kortzan, who had been sitting there, involuntarily lowered his head.
“……Missed?”
Just one word.
Yet the overwhelming pressure that followed made him unable to breathe.
Ulke standing beside Kortzan staggered and dropped to one knee without realizing it.
At that instant.
BOOM!
“Kuhk!”
In the blink of an eye, something flashed and Ulke’s body was sent flying backward.
An event that happened in the blink of an eye.
Looking at the unconscious Ulke, Kortzan turned his head and said,
“Take Ulke to the infirmary.”
With that, a few warriors waiting outside carried Ulke away.
Soon Krelmuk continued speaking to Kortzan.
“The Empire’s army will come rushing here soon. Prepare yourselves.”
“Understood.”
“Kortzan.”
“……Yes, Taman.”
Looking at Kortzan who answered with his head bowed,
“You will not disappoint me again. Remember that this will be the last time I forgive you.”
“Understood, Taman.”
Even the closest Kortzan was unable to endure Krelmuk’s rage.
He could only answer his words.
There was nothing else he could do.
After Kortzan left, Krelmuk alone slowly rose from his seat.
He didn’t know who they were,
“……escaping from here…….”
Bowukartaon and Ulke.
These two were certainly not easy targets.
Here in the north they had only reached mid-level mid-officers, but if they had been deployed south of Helikel Canyon, they would have been able to command a whole tribe.
He had already become curious about them.
But……
Anyone who tried to cross Belikezel was impossible.
“Come on, you dogs of the Empire.”
Krelmuk had already finished preparing for battle against them.
* * *
Clack, clack, clack.
The quiet silence of the camp settled as soldiers marched in unison.
Arteon stood silently watching soldiers bustle about, preparing supplies and readying for battle.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes, thanks to you.”
Arteon gave a short answer to Isaac, who approached him.
There were no external wounds, so outwardly he looked fine.
But the internal injury from blocking Bowukartaon’s blow was not 100% recovered yet.
Isaac looked at the bustling soldiers and said,
“In a few days we’ll be on the offensive.”
“By then I’ll be fully healed.”
“We have to. This battlefield isn’t lenient enough to let someone with a wounded body fight.”
Arteon had already experienced it once.
To be blunt, the enemies they had faced on the northern front so far were on a completely different level.
Especially that archer……
The way he shot the bow was incredible, and above all, his senses were terrifyingly sharp.
Even with just a tiny bit of mana, he would locate and attack like a ghost.
If Arteon ever faced him again……
That debt will have to be repaid.
Isaac clenched his fist.
“Anyway, take care of your body. I have to prepare for that time too.”
Arteon couldn’t help but smile faintly at Isaac’s words.
Outwardly he looked amused, but anyone could tell just by looking at his eyes.
How much burning ambition he felt right now.
He probably wants to fill the gaps from the failed scouting mission.
Arteon knew Isaac perfectly well—someone who always identified his own weaknesses and threw himself into overcoming them with his life.
But as Isaac turned to leave, he stopped for a moment.
“Oh, and if there’s time, why don’t you visit the 4th Platoon once?”
“Why is that?”
“Those guys…… I’m not sure about the details since you got injured, but they’re burning with passion right now.”
“……Really?”
“You’ll understand when you see.”
Leaving those cryptic words behind, Isaac walked toward the outer edge of the camp.
Yeah, it had already been five days.
He had not seen the faces of those soldiers because he was recovering from his wounds.
Now I can move around a little.
If he didn’t use mana, there would be no problem.
Arteon began walking toward the barracks where the 4th Platoon members were.
But……
“……?”
The barracks were completely empty.
It was still early, so where had everyone gone?
Has the morning march already ended?
Arteon grabbed a passing soldier.
“Where are all the 4th Platoon soldiers?”
“The Iron Heart! Ah, if it’s those guys, they should be at the 3rd Training Ground right now.”
“The 3rd Training Ground?”
“Yes, after morning training they go there every day. I don’t know what secret training they’re doing…… it looks amazing, Platoon Leader.”
At the soldier’s words, Arteon turned without hesitation toward the 3rd Training Ground.
Isaac had said something incomprehensible too, but Arteon already had a rough idea what it meant.
And when he arrived at the 3rd Training Ground,
“……Eh?”
The vice platoon leader of the 4th Platoon, Grein, spotted Arteon.
“Inside here everyone is training the mana cultivation method?”
“Yes.”
On the day Arteon returned injured,
The 4th Platoon members would have been shocked.
They knew how strong he was and how big the gap was between them.
But……
“……Even though our platoon leader had returned injured. We couldn’t stay still.”
That was why after that day they trained every second and minute.
Especially the mana cultivation method Arteon had taught them.
Most of them were still stuck in the 1-star realm because physical time was too short,
“The goal is to gather 1-star mana before the main force deploys.”
“So you were standing guard at the entrance to stop others from entering?”
“That’s right.”
Grein nodded.
One problem was that although the other squad members could secretly train with the method, Grein would have less time to train.
……Doesn’t matter.
Arteon’s gaze moved to Grein’s lower abdomen.
A faint yet clear mana sphere forming shape.
“Congratulations on reaching the 1-star realm, Sergeant Grein.”
“As expected, you saw it. I completed it just yesterday.”
Even this clear, there was no way he wouldn’t know.
Just looking at it told Arteon how hard they had worked.
……1-star.
He thought it might be possible to accelerate the plan.
If the entire squad really reached 1-star mana, they would move completely differently.
Then……
“Grein, tell the entire squad.”
“Understood.”
“If everyone achieves 1-star, then the vanguard of this war……”
Arteon’s eyes flashed sharply.
“Could be ours, the 4th Platoon.”
Until now Arteon had moved either alone or with elite units.
There was one reason.
His squad members were not yet at the level to follow him.
But once they could use mana, the situation would change.
Now……
We’ll fight them with unit tactics.
He had to face even stronger Kar tribes, but he felt no fear.
His side was also stronger than ever before.
At that moment Arteon’s mind flashed with the faces of Bowukartaon and Ulke.
They were certainly threatening figures……
But this time it’s my turn.
In Arteon’s mind the picture of the battlefield was already clear.