The Mad Spearman of the Northern Front
Whoosh!
“……!”
“T-that’s an enemy!”
“Empire scum!”
From about twenty meters away, the Kar Tribe warriors shouted loudly.
But…
Slash. Crack!
At the flash of something gleaming, two Kar Tribe warriors fell instantly, blood spurting from their bodies.
It happened in the blink of an eye.
But because they had completely entered the formation where the Kar Tribe warriors were gathered, the surrounding foes spotted Arteon.
“Imperial soldiers?”
“What the heck, there’s only one?”
How on earth had this single one even gotten this far?
What had the sentries posted outside been doing?
“What are you just standing there staring for?! Charge!”
“It’s just one! Kill him!”
Charging in alone like this?
How could anyone not go mad?
A Kar Tribe warrior next to Arteon rushed at him.
One swung two axes, the others gripped their larger axes in both hands.
The way they closed in from three directions at once was the stance of a warrior highly familiar with battle.
But the opponent was formidable.
“Hoo.”
Arteon exhaled a small breath and gathered mana, gripping Iglis tightly.
Looking at the figures charging toward him, he simply leaped.
Whoosh!
He lowered his stance first, evading the initial attack and rolling across the snow.
The attack sliced through empty air, making the three Kar Tribe warriors’ expressions twist.
And then…
Crack!
Arising from the ground, Arteon swung his spear in a wide arc.
At the moment his spear swung, long crimson lines extended across the warriors’ calves alongside blue light.
“Kyahaaa…!”
Despite the screams, they could not even howl as they wished.
The moment the warriors staggered after losing their legs, Arteon’s thrust precisely pierced their necks.
It truly happened in the blink of an eye—three Kar Tribe warriors lost their lives.
‘Not yet.’
The number of foes nearby was considerable.
The only saving grace was that none had fired a signal flare or pulled out a whistle.
Perhaps it was only natural.
From their perspective, requesting support because of one intruder would be absurd.
It was something Arteon had somewhat anticipated, but from his viewpoint it was fortunate.
“Are the ones here only the stupid kind? Not even this much?”
Arteon infused his voice with mana and spoke.
The foes twisted their faces at Arteon’s provocation and shouted back.
“Let’s see if you can still speak with your limbs severed off.”
“We’ll chop off your fingers one by one…!”
The enemies swiftly encircled Arteon and unleashed dense killing intent.
Arteon turned his gaze left and right.
‘Roughly… two hundred?’
Even if Arteon used aura, he could not kill all of them at once.
Yet…
“Who said it’s just one?”
“……What?”
At Arteon’s words, their pupils shook.
Soon someone looked back.
At that moment.
Slash!
Grein’s sword flashed first.
His curved blade severed the Kar Tribe warrior’s neck, hot steam rising.
“Left flank, six!”
Grein shouted loudly.
“1st Squad, move left!”
“2nd Squad, move right!”
“3rd and 4th Squads, guard the platoon leader from the front!”
As the vice-platoon leader’s shout rang out, Arteon instinctively turned his body.
There, six Kar Tribe warriors charged forward with battle cries.
Amid the swirling snow, a faint aura rose from Arteon’s body.
The instant he drew back and thrust his spear.
BOOM!
An explosion echoed, and the aura surging from the spear tip spread like a wave.
Three of them were sent flying into the air, vomiting blood.
Then Grein and the vice-platoon leader plunged into the gap.
Crack! Puff!
As the Silent Spear unit members’ spears flashed.
“Kyahaaaah!”
“Aaaah!”
The Kar Tribe warriors’ screams echoed.
Right flank of the formation.
The Kar Tribe unit stationed there collapsed in an instant.
It took only about fifteen minutes for the two hundred Kar Tribe warriors to be slaughtered.
Bodies piled upon the snow, and blood formed red pools.
After confirming the extermination of all enemies, Arteon raised his mana and checked for any survivors.
But not a single Kar Tribe warrior remained alive.
Once confirmation was complete, Arteon exhaled deeply.
Seeing his posture, Grein stared at Arteon and swallowed hard.
‘…I never get used to seeing this.’
Their crushing power against the Kar Tribe was one thing, but the tactical intuition that seemed to predict their placement and movement left his tongue tied.
Any unit had its own characteristics, yet to discern them one would have to fight the same foes dozens of times.
Moreover, this battlefield was not one they had ever visited before.
No matter how much scouting Arteon had done beforehand, his movements were so flawless it felt like divine territory.
“Platoon leader, it’s all over.”
“Any wounded?”
“A few minor injuries, but none are in any condition to fight.”
Arteon nodded at the unit members.
Even in such a fierce battle, the absence of fatalities showed just how skilled they had become.
But more than that, Arteon admired his unit members.
‘Truly our platoon leader is….’
‘He’s even stronger now….’
The unit members could not hide their admiration as they looked at Arteon.
Because Arteon had slain over fifty enemies by himself.
And all within mere minutes, all alone in the enemy formation.
Yet Arteon ignored their gazes and sorted out the situation in his mind.
There was still much to be done.
On the blood-soaked battlefield, Arteon caught his breath and spoke to the unit members.
“Entire unit, move to the target point.”
The reed field right ahead was the target.
At Arteon’s command, which seemed to have discarded all emotion, the unit members immediately steadied their breaths and advanced toward the target.
Finally arriving at the spot, Arteon lowered his body and observed the enemy formation.
The distance to them was over five hundred meters.
Because the terrain with the reed forest was slightly higher, their formation could be clearly seen.
‘They still haven’t grasped our position.’
Yet judging by their atmosphere, it seemed the allies were retreating in the central battle.
Originally they should have taken a rest here, but the longer time passed, the more ally casualties there would inevitably be.
‘No….’
If they were wrong, the main force might collapse and leave them no way back.
Arteon turned to the unit members.
“Everyone knows it’s tough. But we have no time to delay. The longer we rest, the greater the damage to our allies.”
“We weren’t trained sloppily enough to pant just like this.”
“Correct. If it’s about stamina, not even the Empire—nay, the entire continent—can match us.”
1st Squad Leader Barter tapped his chest.
Next to him, 2nd Squad Leader Ragnel nodded and concurred.
And the other unit members looked at Arteon with unwavering eyes.
Seeing their appearance, Arteon could not help but smirk.
“In this operation, if you all return alive, I’ll request a substantial reward from above. So make sure not a single one dies.”
“Yes!”
At the unit members’ reply, Arteon looked at Grein.
Grein nodded, then pulled out a signal flare from his possession.
Pew pew pew pew pew!
As the signal flare shot into the sky.
The rear enemy main force began to stir violently.
And with it.
From the allied camp echoed a trumpet blast.
It was the order to advance.
With that, Arteon gathered mana.
“Silent Spear unit, strike the side of the enemy main force.”
“Yes!”
One of the arrows fired by Velkain extended secretly toward the enemy’s flank.
* * *
Before long, the sun began to set little by little from afar, and a gray light began to descend upon the land.
The faint snowstorm mixed with the wind grew somewhat substantial, covering the view, and the battlefield’s stench of blood carried by the wind tightened their throats.
The central frontline already collapsed.
Imperial soldiers grabbed at the Kar Tribe warriors’ ankles even as they fell, blocking them.
Shields tore, armor crushed, bones snapped, and screams erupted.
Shouts nearly like desperate pleas drew hellish images, forcing the Imperial formation to retreat step by painful step.
“……”
And Velkain, the Imperial supreme commander watching the battlefield.
He watched the collapsing situation with his own eyes yet waited for something.
“……Not yet.”
The low voice vanished with his breath.
They had somehow held on so far, but the situation was one that would collapse at any moment.
The originally one Kraugren had now grown to five.
Of those, two had been killed, yet significant forces had been thrown in to stop the remaining three.
The situation was completely unresolved.
Velkain’s eyes gradually dimmed.
“Can’t stop the shamans controlling the Kraugren yet.”
Velkain, who had long fought the Kar Tribe in the north, knew much about their tactics.
He had thought he could block them by now…
“Hoo.”
His fingertips trembled faintly, and a deep sigh dispersed into the air with his breath.
Under such circumstances, he would have to issue a retreat order.
But even if they retreated, the losses would be substantial.
Soon the officers in the center approached and urgently said to Velkain.
“Supreme Commander, this is impossible! Please order a swift retreat!”
“That’s right. If we continue fighting like this, the vanguard will be wiped out.”
At their words, Velkain remained silent, gazing beyond the Kar Tribe formation.
‘…Was my calculation wrong?’
He had thought the enemy could do it, yet he knew it was his own greed.
Velkain clenched his fist and bit his teeth.
His jaw muscle twitched, directly revealing his mood.
But then.
Pew pew pew pew pew!
A red signal flare rose, slicing through the sky.
Red flames bursting through the hazy sky.
Velkain’s pupils sparkled and shook.
Simultaneously, the officers’ breaths mixed in.
“That’s… no way…!”
“No way…?”
Did they really reach the enemy’s reed field so quickly?
And the instant Velkain saw the signal flare soaring into the sky, he sprang to his feet.
“Concentrate all forces at the center!”
His voice thundered across the battlefield.
“The moment the Silent Spear unit opens battle from the enemy’s rear, a total assault will pierce them!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Understood!”
The messengers’ shouts and trumpet blasts announcing the order echoed across the battlefield.
Instantly the soldiers’ battle cries began to boil.
“Total assault! Push them back!”
“In the name of the Empire!”
At that moment, the air on the battlefield changed.
From the Kar Tribe’s rear came loud explosions and screams.
With the distant burning light, the enemy formation shook.
“W-what?!”
“P-p-posterior! There are enemies! The Empire’s unit has charged in!”
As the panicked Kar Tribe soldiers looked back.
“KRRRRAAAAAHHH!”
A Kraugren’s roar erupted from their center.
But this time it was different.
The Kraugren suddenly twisted in agony, screamed, and collapsed.
The soldiers surrounding the Kraugren were startled by the unexpected movement.
But
“N-now! Kill them!”
“Die, you monsters!”
The soldiers climbed onto the fallen Kraugren and thrust their spears with all their strength.
And simultaneously, a blue signal flare shot into the sky from far left.
Velkain’s lips slowly curved into a smile.
“……Success.”
All the shamans controlling the Kraugren had fallen.
‘Now….’
The puzzle was complete.
Velkain’s two eyes flashed sharply.
“Send out the cavalry!”
The crouched cavalry pulled the reins in unison.
Hooves shattered the frozen snow and galloped like explosions.
Thud thud thud thud thud!
The cavalry, vibrating the plain as they ran, broke through the center and collided with the Kar Tribe.
BOOM!
The northern warhorses wearing armor trampled the Kar Tribe warriors, sending them flying; the Kar Tribe warriors screamed and fell to the ground.
And in the suddenly changed atmosphere, the Kar Tribe elder Herkan’s eyes widened.
“What the hell…!”
Panicked, he urgently ordered his warriors and straightened the formation.
But a once-broken formation could not be easily restored, and they could not catch the cavalry charging at full speed.
And that sight was seen from above the hill by Velkain.
The snowstorm whipped his cloak.
Now the puzzle was complete.
“From now on… it will be different.”
Cold eyes brimmed with certainty.
The second day’s war.
‘Now this is the real thing.’
Velkain’s gaze extended long to the rear of the Kar Tribe formation.
---