TSNF 17

Chapter 17

“……Defeated?”

Bractus stared at the warriors who had fled back, his face filled with disbelief.
Turak lowered his head.

“W‑we have no excuse.”

“What happened?”

Originally, this attack had been planned as a withdrawal once darkness fell.
They would draw the enemy’s attention until night, then unleash Jiren.

But instead of retreating, they had fled.

At Bractus’s question, Turak replied,

“Some of the enemy soldiers attacked us from the rear through the central sector.”

They had never even imagined that the formation fighting on the flank would be breached.
Hadn’t they deployed far more warriors than usual in preparation for contingencies?

Bractus’s expression hardened.
A position that must never be broken had been broken.

Which meant—

‘……There’s a variable outside my expectations.’

This had never happened before.
He thought he knew the Imperial soldiers guarding the First Defensive Line fairly well.

“Didn’t they say new troops had been reinforced?”

“Yes. However, according to what we found, the officially dispatched reinforcements from the Imperial capital haven’t arrived yet. They seem to have pulled some troops from other defensive lines instead.”

“Then there must be a variable among those reinforcements that I don’t know about.”

Breaking through warriors who outnumbered them more than two to one—

‘A soldier capable of moving to the center and launching an attack in such a short time……’

—had appeared.

Which was why now—

“It’s time to update our intelligence on the enemy. Are there still no new spies?”

“Yes. Since the one who used to feed us information died, there hasn’t been anyone significant yet. However, the higher-ups are also searching for people who can pass on internal enemy information, so they told us to wait a bit longer.”

“Hm…….”

Recently, something felt off.
A fairly high-ranking Imperial officer who had been supplying them with information had died.

For no apparent reason.

‘That means they’ve realized, at least to some extent, that he was a spy.’

Letting out a quiet breath, Bractus looked toward the battlefield of the First Defensive Line.

This battle at the First Line was more critical than ever.

‘We must break through this line……’

Only then could the prepared Khar tribe army advance and swallow the North.

For now, it was important to conceal their true strength as much as possible while breaking through this First Line.
That was why the higher command had sent him here.

They had even reinforced him with three times as many warriors as before.

“Jiren will move according to plan, yes?”

“Yes. Regardless of the outcome, the enemy will be greatly exhausted after a battle. No—if anything, they may be drunk on victory and let their guard down even more.”

“That could make things even better.”

Bractus’s eyes flashed sharply.

While they sing songs of victory—

‘My sharpest blade will reach for their commander.’

Jiren existed to kill the enemy’s commander.

Bractus gazed toward where the Imperial dogs were.

Perhaps the situation had actually improved.

‘Even if this small defeat is irritating.’

If he could take the enemy general’s head, it might even be the gods lending a hand.

Bractus simply remained silent, waiting for their triumph.

“Heart of Steel! Corporal Arteon reports to the company commander!”

Summoned by Fierland, Arteon entered the tent and snapped to attention.
Fierland, who had been busily writing documents, said,

“Come closer.”

He stood up as he looked at Arteon.

Fierland’s gaze swept over him.

Was he only in his mid-teens at most?
Seeing such a youthful face, Fierland narrowed his eyes.

‘Such a young soldier…… to have achieved something like that?’

He had heard that Arteon not only played a major role in breaking through the western defensive line, but also took down a key combatant in the central battlefield, ensuring the operation’s success.

Given such achievements—

‘Age doesn’t matter.’

No—more than that, there was something else unusual.

Fierland spoke to Arteon.

“I’ve heard plenty about your accomplishments. Without you, the operation might have failed.”

The way he looked, his expression—
He had a composure that made it hard to think of him as an ordinary soldier.

For the timid Hendris, it seemed like a bold operation. Fierland had wondered why he made such a decision, but……

‘So he had a soldier like this.’

Fierland asked,

“How long have you been in the army?”

“It’s been just over a year.”

“……What?”

Fierland couldn’t hide his surprise.

A soldier with barely over a year of service looked like this?

It wasn’t just about achievements or ability.
It was how natural he seemed.

Fierland had assumed at least four or five years of service.

He asked again,

“Which squad are you in?”

“I’m lacking, but I’m serving as the leader of the Fourth Squad.”

‘If it’s the Fourth Squad of the Third Company……’

He’d heard that was where they gathered the most troublesome criminals.
Even among them, the Fourth Squad was infamous for being the worst of the worst.

Now he understood why Benhard’s Ogre had appointed a one-year soldier as the Fourth Squad leader.

Fierland nodded.

“I look forward to your future performance. It’s embarrassing to call this a reward for the operation, but we’ll provide additional rations and supplies, including meals.”

“Heart of Steel! Thank you for your consideration, sir!”

“Then return to your post.”

Arteon turned immediately and headed toward the tent where his squad was.

Receiving extra supplies in the North meant surviving the cold nights a little more warmly.

But……

Step.

As he was heading toward the tent, Arteon suddenly turned and walked somewhere else.

That battle earlier—

‘I’m still far from enough.’

He hadn’t even properly utilized Vargas’s spear technique, and the flow of mana had been far too forced in many places.

On the way here—

‘I thought I’d worked hard in my own way……’

It was arrogance.

He had been so busy teaching his squad joint techniques that he had neglected the most important thing—his own training.

‘I need to become stronger.’

Arteon knew how brutal this northern battlefield was.

Even if he had been lucky enough to learn a mana cultivation method and top-tier spear techniques—

‘Results don’t come without effort.’

He quickly headed to a place he had already picked out.

Raising his squad’s skill level was important, but—

‘Right now, I have to pull them forward from the front.’

If that collapsed, the current formation would crumble like a sandcastle.

A few days of training wasn’t enough to defeat those vicious Khar tribe warriors.

Reaching a good spot where tall trees and rocks formed a natural screen, Arteon sat down and quietly closed his eyes.

Any posture would do, but according to Wolfhart’s memories, this one was best for concentration.

Shaaah—

With his sight shut off, his other senses seemed to sharpen.
Especially his hearing, along with the biting cold of the North, became more vivid.

Arteon began the Vargas mana cultivation method.

Wooooong!

The mana around him trembled softly and began to resonate with him.
With each breath, mana flowed in and out of Arteon’s body.

In the process, the mana within him synchronized and writhed.

‘Compared to before……’

The mana was gathering noticeably faster.

Hadn’t it taken quite a while just to form a mana core at first?

Now that he could move mana freely, the acceleration was incomparable to before.

But how much time had passed?

By the time the sun had fully set and the pitch-black darkness of the North descended—

“……?”

His senses, sharpened to an extreme by the cultivation method, picked up an unfamiliar movement.

‘Not soldiers inside the camp. And this movement……’

Fast.

Arteon knew instantly.

This was definitely not an ally.

‘An ambush!’

He sprang to his feet.

Thanks to the cultivation, his mind was clear and his condition excellent.

“This way?”

He moved in the direction of the movement.

Soon, he realized what they were aiming for.

‘How…… can they know the exact location so precisely?’

The company commander’s tent—where Arteon had just been earlier.

They were heading there without the slightest hesitation.

And then—

“……Those sons of bitches.”

On the way to the commander’s tent, Arteon frowned as he saw a soldier lying on the ground, bleeding.

There was no mistake.

It was an enemy ambush.

“Enemy soldiers! Enemy soldiers have infiltrated the tents!”

Arteon shouted, pouring mana into his voice.

At that moment—

Piiiiiiii!

A sharp whistle pierced the air.

“Where?! Who is it?!”

“An ambush?! Where’s the ambush?!”

Soldiers burst out of the tents in panic, shouting loudly.

That would throw the enemy into confusion.

Arteon dashed toward Fierland’s tent.

Whoosh!

And—

‘Found them……!’

Men in black masks sprinting toward the commander’s tent.

Arteon’s eyes gleamed.

Even with their faces covered, it was obvious at a glance—they were Khar tribe warriors.

‘I’d recognize you even from behind……!’

Arteon grabbed the rod strapped behind his waist and infused it with mana.

In that instant—

Clang!

Iglis revealed its true form.

At the same time, Arteon kicked off the ground and hurled himself at them.

Whoosh!

“……?!”

The Khar warriors’ faces twisted in shock at Arteon’s sudden appearance.

His movements—

It felt as if he had come knowing exactly where they would be.

“Attack!”

Rokudam, the leader commanding Jiren, shouted orders as he saw Arteon charging.

Three Khar warriors nearby rushed toward Arteon.

“Hraaaah!”

“Die!”

Since they’d been discovered, there was no reason to fight cautiously.

Kill this one quickly, then kill the commander here.

Sharing the same thought, they swung their axes at Arteon.

But—

Clang!

“……?!”

“What—what is this?”

“Khk!”

Almost simultaneously, the attacks of the three Khar warriors were knocked aside.

An unbelievable spear technique.

How could such a young brat—who didn’t even look fully grown—wield a spear like that?

But there was no time to think.

In the blink of an eye, the boy charged forward at tremendous speed—

Slash!

“Ghk……!”

A thin red line appeared on a Khar warrior’s neck, and his body collapsed to the ground.

Thud.

Losing a comrade in an instant, the remaining warriors flinched and stared at the one before them.

A youthful face.

But eyes that didn’t match that face—terrifying eyes.

They had spent over a decade rolling through battlefields, yet—

‘What…… kind of gaze is that?’

‘Such overwhelming killing intent……’

Crushed by the pressure he exuded, they swallowed hard without realizing it.

Then—

Scrape.

Arteon lightly scraped the ground with his spear and raised it.

The spearhead was now aimed at the leader commanding Jiren.

Arteon spoke.

“Your operation has failed. So…….”

Flash!

“Become my offering here.”

Killing them—

‘And climb higher.’

Arteon’s figure surged toward them like a ferocious beast.