Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 210

Weapon-Devouring Young Master – Episode 210

Swish, swish.

With each step, the sound of his clothes rustling echoed through the desolate ruins.

He wore a black robe embroidered with a golden dragon.

Even seeing his flamboyant attire, which looked like it belonged in a Peking opera [a form of Chinese opera] or historical drama, I didn’t find it strange.

It was because of the indescribable aura surrounding him.

That aura was so powerful it was hard to even comprehend, making me feel like I was sinking into a sticky swamp just by looking at it.

Iron Fortress Steel, the Lord of the Nine Dragons Stronghold.

In his mid-thirties, he had single-handedly hunted the Black Dragon, a Rank 2 Dragon species that emerged from the unexplored territories of northeastern China.

Undoubtedly, one of the strongest individuals of this era stood before me.

“Ah, ah…….”

Thud!

Valerie, overwhelmed by his aura, involuntarily collapsed to the ground.

Though he appeared relaxed, the aura this man exuded was ruthlessly violent.

Even I could feel the air I inhaled stinging.

Whoosh!

The figure of Steel Fortress, who had been walking from afar, vanished in an instant.

“You must be very surprised by my sudden visit. Actually, I didn’t intend to go this far; I was just planning to observe.”

The voice came from right behind me.

‘……!’

I saw him move.

I clearly saw it, but I couldn’t react.

I could see fragments of compressed Aura scattering in the place where Steel Fortress had originally stood far away.

And with just those fragments of Aura, the space was distorted, and heat haze was rising.

It was clearly the Nine Dragons Stronghold’s secret technique, the Aura Art, Shifting Position.

‘Monster.’

It felt like a blade was aimed at my uvula [the fleshy extension at the back of the soft palate].

I had a gut feeling that if I turned my head, I might die.

But I turned my head.

I turned my chin, turned my neck, and soon turned my shoulder to face Steel Fortress.

“It’s an honor. I didn’t expect the Lord of the Nine Dragons Stronghold to visit this place because of me.”

I was nervous, but my mouth moved better than I thought.

Steel Fortress looked at me and said with a strange smile.

“Your family requested it. I just wanted to see you, so I came.”

“A request…… you say?”

“A request to kill you. To be exact, it’s not that I received it, but it came to the main house.”

In an instant, I could guess the whole story of why Steel Fortress was here.

And at the same time, I felt like vomiting.

I can understand them trying to kill me.

It’s something that fits the family head competition of the Soong Moo Yi family.

However, I was angry at the idiot who had the foolish idea of bringing in foreign powers for that.

“At first, I had no intention of accepting that request. Originally, it was the opposite. I was rather thinking of conveying the contents of the request to you.”

“Why were you going to do that?”

“I was expecting the chaos you would cause in the Soong Moo Yi family with that request.”

“But you said you changed your mind.”

Steel Fortress smiled.

“That’s right. I think I have to kill you now. No, it seems like there won’t be another chance.”

Steel Fortress looked around.

It was the scene of destruction caused by Oh-Ui and Chun-Ra.

He had been watching me from afar.

“So, are you going to kill me now?”

“That’s what I’m planning to do.”

“Is it possible?”

“Does it seem impossible? I am Steel Fortress.”

No one under the sky could question whether this man could kill someone.

Not even me.

“I’ll give you a choice.”

Steel Fortress said calmly with his hands behind his back.

“One of your arms, one of your legs, or part of your magic circuit. Anything is fine; I’ll spare your life if you give it up.”

It was a request to give up my life as a warrior.

“I refuse.”

“Is that so? Then don’t draw that sword. I’ll let you go peacefully.”

He was talking about the Black Night in my hand.

I didn’t listen to him and put more strength into the hand holding the Black Night.

At that moment.

-Kkiiiiiiik!

The Black Hawk blocked Steel Fortress as if trying to protect me.

Steel Fortress looked at the Black Hawk with interest.

“A Golden Crow. How did you tame a divine beast that is now extinct?”

I put my hand on the Black Hawk’s back and said.

“……Get away. Go and take Valerie and Aunt to run away.”

-Kkiiiiik! Kkik!

Despite my order, the Black Hawk shook its head and didn’t move away from Steel Fortress.

“Hmm. Even if it’s only half, it’s a waste to kill it. I can’t help it.”

At that moment, something flashed from the other side of the Black Hawk, blocking my view.

I reflexively pushed the Black Hawk’s body away and swung my sword.

Clang!

It was a short gesture and a short explosion.

And with just that, I spun around in the air several times and crashed into the ground.

“You blocked that too? Your senses are good.”

Steel Fortress raised his energy.

-Pyaaak!

The Black Hawk, which had flown far away, was trying to start flapping its wings again.

‘Don’t come. Run away.’

And I glared at the Black Hawk and said.

The Black Hawk’s eyes shook greatly.

However, as if it understood its master’s words, the Black Hawk trembled, then turned its body, grabbed Valerie, who was sitting down, with its feet, and flew into the sky.

“Hoo!”

Thus, the battle began.

I took a long breath and gripped the Black Night.

* * *

The trembling of my body didn’t stop.

My throat was stinging.

The fear of death rising from my stomach was a kind I had never felt before.

Steel Fortress, the Lord of the Nine Dragons Stronghold, was a monster who had reached a realm not allowed to humans.

And that monster was showing hostility towards me.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes wide.

I had never faced an easy opponent.

I had risked my life every time.

This time too, I would just do that!

“Good eyes.”

Whoosh! Swish!

In an instant.

The Lord of the Nine Dragons Stronghold disappeared before my eyes.

All that remained in the place where he had disappeared was the shimmering heat haze.

‘It’s that technique again!’

The unidentified Aura skill that distorts space, Shifting Position.

Wooong!

I immediately deployed the Mana Body and the Gravity Field and leaped backward.

To exchange swords with Steel Fortress head-on was absurd in itself.

I had to risk my life with every strike.

Moo-Jin Style 1, Exorcism.

I brought the sword raised above my head straight down.

The ground caved in with the strike that split the air, stirring up the place where Steel Fortress had been.

The technique landed properly.

But Steel Fortress was no longer there.

‘……!’

Before my eyes.

Steel Fortress’s fist was already approaching.

A tremendous sense of pressure rushed in, and the fist of the Lord of the Nine Dragons Stronghold, which had rotated nine strands of Aura, struck my face.

Kwaaaaaang!

I reflexively pulled the sword to defend, but it was almost meaningless.

With just the shockwave of the Aura, all the defensive techniques and the Mana Body covering my body were released, and my body was thrown away like a kite with a broken string.

“Keuk! Cough!”

One strike.

With just one strike, all the defensive techniques were shattered.

I had been training hard to be able to unleash Mana in any situation, but the flow of Mana in my body was completely cut off as if that training had become useless.

“Your senses are good as expected.”

“Hoo, hoo…….”

I squeezed my eyes shut and resumed connecting the Mana.

I forcibly moved the damaged Mana Source and relieved the shock applied to the Mana Circuit with the pulsation of the Mana Source.

Kuuuuung…….

I immediately redeployed the Mana Body and deployed all the techniques I could unleash right away.

The family’s Oh-Ui, Moo-Jin’s techniques, and the numerous techniques obtained from weapons stretched out.

Clang! Kwakakakang!

Sand dust rose in the place where Steel Fortress was standing with the all-out attack.

Swish!

And I came to see Steel Fortress, who was leisurely approaching, evaporating all my techniques with just a few gestures.

He was moving leisurely even within the space where the Mana Body was deployed.

“Do you think you’re the only one who knows how to use this technique?”

“……!”

He’s coming again.

Steel Fortress’s thigh is raised.

A roundhouse kick aiming for the right torso; I have to block it.

Kwaaa! Crack!

The moment I swung my sword to defend, I felt the cartilage in my wrist cracking.

Before I could even complain of the pain, Steel Fortress’s foot came down, and the opposite foot moved again.

At that moment, I used my Mystic Eyes to directly see Steel Fortress’s complex Mana operation.

‘High stance! The kick is a feint! The punch that follows is the real one!’

Kwarung!

The rising foot came down, and Steel Fortress, who had heavily stamped his feet, swung his fist.

I wrapped my body with the defensive Aura Art, Wave, with all my might in Eun-Han, and twisted my body to stab the sword.

Jjeoooooooong!

The Wave that collided with Steel Fortress’s fist shattered and burst like a glass window.

Steel Fortress’s fist didn’t just stop at breaking the Aura.

The Eun-Han that was defending my body along my arm was torn to shreds as if a beast had bitten it.

“Keuk……!”

My joints throbbed even though I wasn’t hit directly.

But, whatever.

‘I blocked it!’

I finally caught Steel Fortress’s movements in my eyes.

Tteong!

Immediately after, this time, I moved first.

Steel Fortress was unbelievably strong, but so was my father. And I could move even in front of such a father.

Tteong! Kkwaarreureung!

The moment I kicked off the ground with all my might, a powerful shockwave burst out, and sand dust poured down behind me.

I took out a new weapon from my Jeogori [a type of traditional Korean jacket] and swung the Kyung-Chun again.

Pajijijik!

I aim for Steel Fortress’s nape.

I put a strike with the will to kill on the spearhead.

But the Kyung-Chun, which I thought had definitely reached, cut through the air.

It’s on the left. Steel Fortress, who was moving leisurely even in the space slowed down by the Mana Body and the Gravity Field, was already back on my side and was striking down with a hand blade.

‘Dragon Sword……!’

One of the nine techniques of the Nine Dragons Stronghold following the Nine Dragons Aura Art, Shifting Position.

A technique that makes the body comparable to a celestial-grade divine sword was unleashed.

The moment I read the flow of that power, I forcibly twisted the trajectory of the Kyung-Chun I was swinging and struck it down on the ground.

Kwareureureung!

The Aura residing in the Kyung-Chun exploded the ground and bounced my body back.

I succeeded in avoiding the Dragon Sword strike with that.

My whole body was more wounded because I had endured the shockwave of the Kyung-Chun with my body, but I endured the pain and immediately regained my balance and swung the Black Night.

“Hmm.”

Clang! Kwareureung!

Steel Fortress casually approached again with Shifting Position and tried to swing the Dragon Sword, but the moment the Black Night collided, he felt his Aura scattering.

“You have an interesting sword. Did you catch that monster with this sword?”

With the Black Night, which had not yet been fully unsealed, it was only possible to peel off a few layers of the Aura barrier surrounding Steel Fortress’s body.

Clang! Kwareureung!

The hands and feet of the Lord of the Nine Dragons Stronghold raged at a tremendous speed.

Just the fist being swung distorted the space, and the kick swung while kicking off the ground drew a crack in the ground with a tearing sound!

Whoosh!

Steel Fortress’s hand stretched out. It’s aiming for my wrist holding the sword.

The moment I bent my elbow and tried to pull the Black Night as it was, Steel Fortress’s hand, which had already been stretched out, was retracted again and aimed for my torso.

Kwaaaaang!

I forcibly twisted my waist, risking damage to my joints, and evaded.

Even though I wasn’t hit directly, the Eun-Han was torn to shreds again and scattered just by being grazed by the Aura residing in that fist.

‘He’s a monster.’

This speed was really unbelievable.

Even a strike that was swung as a mere feint could only be blocked by me with all my might.

Steel Fortress’s body disappears again before my eyes.

I saw his foot kicking off the ground, but he was already hitting my torso.

I block. I block and block again.

The ground bursts out, and fragments of Aura strike my body like pieces of iron.

The attacks were like a flood.

Even if I blocked the direct hits, the fragments of Aura that followed up were fatal.

‘If I keep getting attacked like this, there’s no chance of survival.’

I shouldn’t think about victory here.

What I need to think about is survival, only one thing.

I need to make my body movements more accurate and sharper.

Solidifying my heart, I focused my Mana on my Mystic Eyes to find a sliver of a gap.

And.

‘Now!’

Weeeeeeeng!

It was right after being hit by Steel Fortress’s elbow attack.

I used the impact of that attack to leap into the air and brought the raised sword straight down.

Black Lotus, the combination of Exorcism.

The tremendous power of the Black Lotus struck Steel Fortress.

Kwareureureung!

With the explosion, Steel Fortress took a step back for the first time.

He took a step back, but his expression didn’t seem to show any shock.

It doesn’t matter. From the beginning, this strike was to create distance!

‘Now is the time!’

I didn’t spare that moment of respite and immediately took out new weapons.

I unleashed even the ability I gained by absorbing Moo-Jin with all my might.

I emitted Black Energy and created it into a weapon.

The weapons that unleashed their respective powers were immediately fired at Steel Fortress’s front.

Kwarung! Clang clang clang!

Dozens of weapons floated in the air and began to move.

Oh-Ui, Chun-Ra.

But it was only half-baked.

I didn’t have the time to fully deploy Chun-Ra, so it was just an imitation to produce a similar power.

‘The Black Night worked. If I unleash the Black Lotus with all my might and swing the Black Night……!’

But it was at that moment.

“You’re really amazing. To be honest, I didn’t think you’d last more than ten moves.”

In an instant, a strange sensation rushed in.

A feeling as if the structure of the world was changing.

I know this feeling.

Mind Sword.

I opened my eyes wide.

And, the Lord of the Nine Dragons Stronghold took a step forward and waved his hand.

Kwawoooooooo!

And with that one movement, a tremendous suction force occurred, and all my weapons that had been floating in the air lost their balance like paper airplanes and crashed to the ground.

‘What the hell is that……!’

I saw the space distorting.

That just now wasn’t suction due to Aura.

It was the power generated by the distortion of unleashing that unidentified Mind Sword.

“Let’s finish this now. I’ve seen everything I need to see.”

And again, Steel Fortress’s figure came right in front of me faster than before.

I instinctively held out my weapon to block the attack, but the kick was already being swung towards my temple at a faster speed than before.

Kwaaaang!

I succeeded in identifying Steel Fortress’s attack with my eyes and defended, but the shock that ignored all that defense flowed into my body through my temple.

Tteong! Clang!

Explosions, explosions, shocks.

Steel Fortress’s attacks, which were fired non-stop, pounded my body.

What reached its limit first was not my will but my body.

Finally, my body, unable to withstand Steel Fortress’s attacks, collapsed.

Thud!

The world spun before my eyes, and the strength in my muscles all over my body was released.

The strength in my eyes was released, and I felt the strength in my shoulders, spine, and pelvis being released in turn.

I struggled to leap backward before the strength in my legs was released.

“Heok, heok…….”

Thud! Thud!

I tried to force myself to get up, but I fell again as the strength in my whole body was released.

I gritted my teeth and supported my body with the Black Night. No, I was almost hanging on the Black Night.

“I really don’t know why the Lee family is so tenacious. Your body should have been at its limit a long time ago.”

“Cough! Keuk!”

I tried to say something, but no words came out, and blood flowed from my mouth.

It seems like my stomach or lungs are filled with blood.

Steel Fortress was right.

I was already seriously injured from the battle with the fragments of the Bulgasari [a creature in Korean folklore that eats nightmares].

I had recovered to some extent, but I didn’t have the strength to engage in such a fierce battle, and my Mana wasn’t fully recovered either.

‘Is this the difference in level?’

Even so, I never thought it would be this much.

“That’s because you haven’t climbed one step…… no, half a step.”

As if reading my thoughts, Steel Fortress leisurely walked over and explained.

“It’s actually just a matter of removing one thin membrane. But with just that, everything changes. Those who stand here and those who can’t. Everything changes with that one membrane.”

Steel Fortress smiled.

“And above all…… you haven’t reached your ultimate yet.”

It was the enemy who was saying it, but every word hurt to the bone.

Steel Fortress was right.

I haven’t reached the ultimate of my martial arts yet.

Chun-Ra was the first step to reaching that ultimate, but maybe I was still one step short.

‘The Mana Circuit is…… already at its limit. My body is…… the areas I tried to reattach are all broken. I can’t trust the Black Energy’s recovery power either.’

Steel Fortress is approaching.

No, death is approaching.

A tremendous power is residing in his fingertips.

My vision is blurred, so I couldn’t even identify what kind of technique it was.

“Eudeuk.”

Crack!

Was it because I bit down on my teeth too hard? My molars broke, and blood flowed out.

Steel Fortress is approaching.

A tremendous strike being swung from above.

“Farewell.”

Steel Fortress’s hand blade fell over my head as I sat down.

I can’t block it.