Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 148

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 148

Jang Han doubted his eyes.

A fist was swinging right in front of him.

It wasn’t that he hadn’t anticipated a hand-to-hand attack. But he never expected Lee Cheol to deliberately drop his sword and attack.

‘I have to block it!’

He couldn’t dodge.

He knew the danger of the technique imbued in that fist. Even if he dodged, the power within that fist would tear him apart!

Thud!

He pulled the reaching longsword, wedging it into the path of the fist.

With the forced movement, he felt something misaligning in his joints and muscles.

And then.

Boom!

The Black Lotus [a powerful energy technique] exploded right in front of him.

“Kuaaaak!”

He blocked the direct hit, but the shockwave shook his insides.

Unable to withstand the shockwave, his head snapped back, and he tumbled several times before hitting the ground.

“Cough! Keuk!”

It felt like someone had put a huge bell in his head.

His vision swayed. The ground rose and sank, and left and right shook erratically.

Fragments of aura had penetrated his body. His internal injuries were severe.

This wasn’t a boxing match, and he wasn’t given a break just because he was down.

‘I have to get up!’

Even in that swaying situation, Jang Han widened his eyes and struggled to rise.

At that moment, Lee Cheol’s body, which had been falling, loomed closer.

‘Fist? Or foot? Which one is it!’

He took in Lee Cheol’s gaze, footwork, and even the movements of his shoulders and body.

Whoosh!

His shoulder moved.

His right arm. He was aiming for his head.

He could dodge it.

He turned his head away from the extended fist.

Or, at least, he thought he had.

Thud!

His collar was yanked, and his body tilted.

Jang Han felt a chill run down his spine.

Whoosh!

In an instant, the sky tilted.

It wasn’t just his body that tilted. The entire aura barrier protecting his body twisted and distorted.

‘It wasn’t a punch!’

Jujutsu. Or wrestling, or some kind of ground technique.

His feet left the ground.

Before he could even guess what technique was being used, Jang Han was flying through the air.

Boom!

The positions of the sky and the ground reversed, and when he came to his senses, Jang Han was flying more than 5 meters, crashing into the barrier of the arena and collapsing on the ground.

“Keueuk.”

Jang Han let out a scream-like groan and swung his longsword.

He didn’t even have the余裕 [yoyu – composure/room to maneuver] to assess the situation.

Without even looking at how Lee Cheol was moving, he swung his sword to block his approach.

Boom!

It was a random scattering of aura, but its fierce power prevented Lee Cheol from approaching.

It was only a brief respite, but Jang Han gritted his teeth and regained his focus.

‘It’s okay. I was just flustered by the unconventional movements. It’s not over yet!’

If Lee Cheol had any sense, he would retrieve the sword he had dropped, and in the meantime, he could briefly stop his offensive and focus on defense, and when the aftereffects subsided, he could resume the fight.

But then.

Whoosh!

Lee Cheol, who had been far away, approached at an incredible speed.

He didn’t even grab his sword.

A guard stance that covered his upper body, jaw, and part of his face.

Like a boxer, Lee Cheol approached and threw a blow towards his right abdomen.

“Keuk!”

Boom!

He quickly twisted his upper body to dodge, but the fist Lee Cheol swung was imbued with aura.

Even though the fist clearly cut through the air, the aura imbued in that fist grazed him, tearing his skin and drawing blood.

‘This, this mana manipulation, fighting method… I’ve seen it somewhere…’

Jang Han spat out the blood flowing from his burst lip, manipulated mana to alleviate the internal injuries, and racked his brain.

It was definitely a fighting style he had seen before.

But where had he seen it?

‘…!’

Seeing Lee Cheol’s stance, one person immediately came to mind.

A fighter from Mexico. His name was Jose, wasn’t it?

It resembled the appearance of that participant who had participated in the Grand Melee.

‘Could it be… no, but it’s similar to him!’

It was the bare-handed combat technique that Jose used. The rapid deployment of punches, the movement of steps, and even the stance of throwing consecutive blows.

But how could he be using the techniques of a completely unknown opponent as they were? Moreover, the aura skill he was using was clearly the method that guy mainly used!

Whoosh! Bang!

A kick that flew in like swinging a scythe struck the longsword.

With a sound like a bomb exploding, the longsword that had been blocking the front tilted sharply.

‘The defense is open…!’

Forcing the defense open, Lee Cheol’s right straight sharply wedged into the gap.

‘That technique!’

He didn’t even know the name, but it was the fierce secret technique that Lee Cheol usually swung down from above.

The stance was different, and he was using a fist instead of a sword, but the power of that technique was definitely imbued in that fist.

Boom!

He was hit again.

He delayed a beat and floated his body backward to disperse the impact, but Jang Han couldn’t stop his body from being thrown backward.

“Can’t get your senses back, can you?”

I said with a smirk.

After seeing and learning the techniques of countless people in the Grand Melee.

I became even less bound by specific postures.

From the beginning, my strengths were freedom and unconventionality. Because that foundation was based on solid fundamentals, that unconventionality could not be easily penetrated and became an unpredictable and powerful weapon.

“In a duel like this… you’re just trying to win with tricks…!”

Jang Han shouted, as if he thought I was making fun of him.

“Sorry, but this is my way.”

Bang!

The moment I kicked off the ground, Jang Han gritted his teeth and unleashed the technique he had learned from the Nine Dragons Lord.

Heavenly Demon Form, First Form, Kalpa [a devastating energy attack].

It was a technique he had prepared to open Lee Cheol’s defense at the end of this entire duel.

He never thought he would unleash it in this situation, in this form.

I gasped as I watched the technique.

‘That’s hard to block with bare hands.’

I wondered how he could generate that much aura when his internal injuries must be severe, but if he was Jang Han, who would become the Nine Dragons Lord in the future, it didn’t seem impossible.

“Kuaaaaaak!”

Jang Han’s longsword was wrapped in aura like rising flames and fell.

Whether Jang Han had reached the beginning of the 6th stage of mana arts, the attack he swung contained an unknown power like the Gravity Field.

That’s why I couldn’t block it with my bare body. I could do it if I had to, but I would have to endure the damage.

I tilted my body sharply as if I were ducking.

Jang Han’s eyes lit up as he swung his longsword down.

‘You fool! I’ve won!’

The air distorted, and Jang Han’s longsword was swung down to the front of Lee Cheol’s crown.

But at that moment.

Flash!

Jang Han saw something sparkling behind Lee Cheol.

‘A sword?’

It was the sword that Lee Cheol had dropped.

Why was it there?

Boom!

The reason I lowered my body in the first place was to grab this sword that had fallen to the ground.

The sword struck the longsword.

Shatter!

No matter how much it was a supply-grade iron sword, it was still made of iron.

But as soon as it touched Jang Han’s longsword, the iron sword instantly turned brown and crumbled as if it were rusting.

It didn’t matter.

The reason I grabbed the sword in the first place was to dissipate the power imbued in that longsword.

I dropped the sword again and stretched out my fist, striking the side of the longsword, where the power of the technique had disappeared.

Clang!

The longsword tilted sharply like the needle of a metronome.

Jang Han hurriedly tried to retrieve the longsword, but.

Strong Qi Art, Compressed Gravity Field [a technique that increases the weight and force of an object].

I had imbued the power of the Gravity Field in my fist and left it on the longsword.

The swung longsword sank to the ground as if it had a weight attached to it.

‘I can apply aura skills to any secret technique.’

Reaching the 4-star mana art.

I overturned the major premise that movement and mana must be combined to complete a secret technique.

This was the realm of 4 stars.

I can apply aura skills suitable for any posture, any secret technique.

“Keuak!”

Jang Han’s front was wide open.

Even at that moment, Jang Han tried to raise his arm to block the front, but it was a defense that was worse than nothing.

The power of Strong Qi Art Gale, Lightning, and Gravity Field was simultaneously imbued in my fist.

“Uaaaaaaaaa!”

Jang Han let out a bizarre scream.

Of course, whether he screamed or not, my fist was already cutting through the air and striking Jang Han’s chin.

* * *

The Grand Melee was over.

Numerous reporters and citizens cheered for me.

Of course, they would.

I had won the Grand Melee, where all the next-generation boys and girls from all over the world who walked the path of martial arts had gathered, without a single defeat.

“What, what is it! Where did the winner go!”

“Kim Cheol-hyun Hunter! Kim Cheol-hyun Hunter!”

As soon as I heard the referee’s declaration of victory, I completed the necessary procedures and deployed stealth to escape the arena.

I had no intention of dealing with the annoying reporters and scouts.

The 3rd and 4th place match was not held.

Ron, who was supposed to participate, was absent due to injury, so Justin Garrett won 3rd place by default.

Originally, the awards ceremony was scheduled to take place immediately after the match, but….

“Cough, keuek….”

There was no way they could hold the 2nd place award ceremony with Jang Han, whose face was covered in blood.

On the outside, his face was completely crushed, but there was nothing wrong with his bones.

As expected, Jang Han was Jang Han, and it seemed like his internal injuries were a bit severe, but the external injuries were all there was.

In fact, his internal injuries were more severe than his external injuries.

Jang Han vehemently refused, but he had no choice but to be hospitalized.

That’s how a week later.

The awards ceremony began.

* * *

Before the awards ceremony, the participant waiting room.

I glanced at Jang Han.

“Are you okay?”

Jang Han had bandages wrapped around part of his face and arms.

The parts covered by his clothes were also full of scars.

In comparison, I was normal except for the slight internal injuries that remained thanks to the power of Recovery Art, Black Armor, and Silver Haze.

At my question, Jang Han turned his head sharply and looked at me with blazing eyes.

“How… how did you do that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I thought you weren’t a pure swordsman, but I didn’t expect you to suddenly show off martial arts.”

I smirked.

“That’s just my style.”

“Martial arts?”

“No, not being bound.”

“….”

Jang Han gritted his teeth.

‘I barely… I really barely created a countermeasure….’

How many days and nights had he spent agonizing over creating a countermeasure?

He had even pushed his murderous intent to the extreme to analyze the opponent’s every flow….

“Don’t be too discouraged.”

I patted Jang Han’s shoulder and smiled brightly.

“Your opponent is me, right?”

Whoosh!

At that moment, something flew from Jang Han’s arm, which was not bandaged.

It was a sharp needle.

Suddenly an ambush.

Well, if he was going to throw it to hit me, he would have flowed mana, but he just threw it with the power of his body like throwing a ball.

I snatched the flying hidden weapon and smirked.

Jang Han glared at me with blazing eyes.

“Don’t you think there’s poison in that hidden weapon?”

“If you used the extreme poison of the Tang family of the Nine Dragons or the extreme poison of the Sky Fortress, I don’t know, but I’m immune to most poisons.”

After obtaining Silver Haze and strengthening Black Armor, I thought I could resist those extreme poisons as well.

“…Even the devil would be amazed at your bad luck.”

“But you’re a disciple of the Nine Dragons Lord, are you still planning to learn assassination techniques?”

“…I didn’t serve the Lord as my master. I became the direct disciple, but I was taught by both of them at the same time.”

I was secretly surprised.

Given the importance of the master-disciple relationship in the Chinese martial arts world, I wondered if it was possible to have two masters.

Was it a joint heir?

‘The head of that giant force accepted it.’

I briefly reviewed what I knew about the Nine Dragons Lord.

It was not known exactly what kind of person the Nine Dragons Lord of the time was.

It was only known that he was a remarkable person.

‘That technique….’

I recalled the technique that Jang Han had unleashed at the end.

It was a strangely unsettling blow.

It wasn’t just the feeling of pushing with force, but the feeling of completely crushing it.

Perhaps that was the technique of the Nine Dragons Lord.

‘He’s only learned one technique now… but I want to fight Jang Han after he’s learned them all later.’

As I continued to think, I saw Justin Garrett hesitating to join the conversation next to me.

It was then.

“We will now begin the awards ceremony. Please prepare, you three.”

We went up to the podium.

Since it wasn’t the Olympics, which is a national competition, the national anthem wasn’t played.

The chairman of the association came out and presented the medals and bouquets.

I felt a strange emotion in the midst of the countless applause and camera flashes.

‘In my previous life, I was hiding in that dark place, holding my breath.’

Now everyone is watching me.

But I wasn’t satisfied with just this.

I still feel lacking.

Because the higher place, the top above, was my goal.

‘I’ve grown a lot. Me too.’

I think about my previous life and the me after I regressed.

In my previous life, I only aimed to become a decent warrior, but now I was dreaming of the top of that high place.

“Then there will be an award for injuries. This award is from the British Royal Family….”

That’s how Jang Han, Justin Garrett, and I each received our awards.

They were old relics in dedicated storage boxes.

Jang Han received an ancient Greek bronze helmet, and Justin Garrett received a shield with one half split.

What I received was a spearhead. It was a rusty, blackish, long piece of iron.

‘Finally.’

I looked at the spearhead and felt my hand tremble slightly.

It had some value as a relic, but not much, and it had no value as a weapon.

It might just be a symbolic object with not much meaning to a warrior.

But, I saw the true value of this object in my previous life.

‘I participated in this match for this.’

And finally, I got it.

I knew the identity of this spear.

The name of this spear is….