Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 232

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 232

Several days had passed since Anastasia lost consciousness.

I headed to a sacred mountain owned by the Black Blood Society with Anastasia.

-We… welcome you….

There, a spirit existed, looking like a bunch of human-shaped snowballs clumped together.

It was an entity that never revealed itself to humans, but I, blessed by the spirit, and Anastasia, who had become half-spirit, were exceptions.

Jeong Jin-soo finished the necessary arrangements and then came over.

I smiled wryly, seeing Jeong Jin-soo looking even more tired.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Not at all. It’s because I failed to supervise properly. More importantly, is the Society Lord alright?”

“For now.”

She hadn’t woken up yet, but she had regained stability both physically and magically.

“More importantly, how is your side? Are you in good shape?”

“Yes, I took the opportunity to do some internal cleaning.”

“I’m sorry for always giving you only difficult tasks.”

“It’s alright. That’s why I’m in this position in the first place.”

Jeong Jin-soo said that and handed me the prepared documents.

“First, these are the details about the family situation you mentioned in advance.”

“Thank you.”

I had asked Jeong Jin-soo to bring information about the family.

The documents weren’t very thick.

Since it wasn’t a formal report, only the necessary information was neatly organized.

‘……A draw.’

I frowned at the content written at the very top of the document.

The duel between my eldest brother and Lee Gun-sung.

The document stated that it was impossible to tell who had the upper hand in the duel between the two, and it ended in a draw.

And the reason for the duel was unexpected.

‘Did my eldest brother start the fight first?’

It could be to gauge Lee Gun-sung.

Or it could be for appropriate checks and balances.

Swoosh!

The next page of the document listed several events that occurred after the lockdown order.

I skipped the parts that didn’t affect the overall situation and only read the important ones.

‘So, it wasn’t just a duel between the two of them.’

The content stated that the duel between my eldest brother and Lee Gun-sung led to clashes between their respective subordinate warrior groups.

And.

‘An attack on the family.’

To be precise, there was an attack by ‘some force’ on the family.

No, to be precise, it was an attack on Father, Lee Tae-shin.

They targeted the areas of Lee Tae-shin, a man whom no one had dared to touch until now, such as the corporations, achievements, various businesses, and allied forces that Father had built up.

Originally, Chief Secretary Choi should have handled it as his proxy, but…….

‘He’s missing?’

The most shocking piece of information in the data was that.

Chief Secretary Choi’s disappearance.

His disappearance, as he was essentially Father’s right-hand man, suggested many things in many ways.

“Is he dead? Or…….”

“There has been no confirmation. There were no traces of battle, and he disappeared suddenly.”

Just disappeared… without a word?

Chief Secretary Choi wouldn’t do that, would he?

That meant something was up.

‘Perhaps, Lee Gun-sung’s goal isn’t the Black Blood Society or me, but…….’

Father.

To undermine Father’s authority and cut off his limbs.

Instantly, I felt a chill run down my spine.

“……Jeong Jin-soo. What do you think about these events? Do you think Lee Gun-sung did all of this?”

I looked at Jeong Jin-soo.

Jeong Jin-soo spoke cautiously but firmly.

“Yes, I do. As you may have sensed, Young Master, these events were clearly Lee Gun-sung’s style.”

I nodded.

There was no evidence, no trace, but I and Jeong Jin-soo, who had been chasing and analyzing Lee Gun-sung for a long time, could tell.

Lee Gun-sung’s work is like a fog.

It appears secretly at some point and creeps in without a trace.

Even if you realize it’s creeping in, you can’t respond, and even if you try to catch it, it scatters, leaving only a few droplets.

But.

“There are some strange aspects to this that are unlike him. There are aggressive traces left, and the work wasn’t clean.”

“Which means?”

“It’s possible that Lee Gun-sung didn’t use his own controllable forces for this. In other words, it’s possible that an allied force handled it.”

Allied force.

I turned my gaze and looked at the corner.

There lay the Black Knight’s greatsword and pieces of armor.

“If this is the case, the attacks on the Black Blood Society branch and headquarters are likely the work of an allied force. Furthermore, it’s difficult to see that allied force as being completely under Lee Gun-sung’s control.”

In other words, that alliance was likely a temporary transactional relationship born out of aligned interests, not an alliance like the one between me and Jeong Jin-soo or the Black Blood Society.

If it were an allied force under Lee Gun-sung’s control, they wouldn’t have proceeded with the work in violation of his policy.

‘Insightful.’

Jeong Jin-soo came up with almost the exact same analysis as me.

No, in some ways, he was more logical and persuasive than me, who relied on intuition and experience.

‘Getting Jeong Jin-soo was a great stroke of luck.’

I looked at Jeong Jin-soo analyzing Lee Gun-sung and suddenly recalled memories of my past life.

Jeong Jin-soo, who had suffered irreparable injuries in the past and attacked the family as Lee Gun-sung’s head.

Now, he is by my side, analyzing Lee Gun-sung.

“Then what do you think Lee Gun-sung’s goal is?”

“I can’t be sure, but it would be the current head of the Soongmoo Lee family, Lee Tae-shin.”

Jeong Jin-soo’s eyes sank deeply.

“From the start, he had no intention of competing with his brothers. His goal is Lee Tae-shin.”

He saw it accurately.

His aspect, once called Snow Sword in his past life, was being revealed in this life as well.

“I think so too.”

What Lee Gun-sung is aiming for isn’t my eldest brother, my second sister, or me, but Father.

The fact that the first target was Chief Secretary Choi alone was enough to tell.

“What are you going to do from now on?”

Jeong Jin-soo looked at me with unwavering eyes.

“Either way, if we’ve been hit, we have to hit back.”

I looked at Anastasia, who was lying on the bed, breathing heavily.

“Thanks to him stirring things up, we suffered a lot of losses, but thanks to that, we have the materials to pull out from under the surface.”

The route of the attack on the Black Blood Society, the route of the attack on Jeong Jin-soo, information on the main family…….

I will climb up all of them.

‘We need to prepare a counterattack.’

Strictly speaking, this battle can be said to be Lee Gun-sung’s victory.

I was attacked first this time, but I plan to start the next fight first.

* * *

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

After discussing the overall direction and specific details of the work, I parted ways with Jeong Jin-soo.

“Please take care of this. You know it shouldn’t be discovered, right?”

“Yes, I will extract it as confidential and process it.”

I handed Jeong Jin-soo a large cylindrical container.

Jeong Jin-soo looked at the container with a somewhat uneasy expression.

It couldn’t be helped.

Because inside it… were parts of a human corpse.

‘No, is it even human?’

It was part of the Black Knight.

It was a part of the arm with little damage, cooled with aura and handed over.

The business I and Jeong Jin-soo created has a place where ‘this kind’ of research can be conducted.

Within the range that can be found with money, some kind of answer will come out.

‘The torso and head with the source of magic power should be entrusted to the main family’s researchers or Valerie…….’

The main family’s researchers are unreliable, and Valerie hasn’t been in contact for a while.

Either way, it was necessary to find out.

After Jeong Jin-soo left, I came out to the courtyard of the safe house.

In my hand was the greatsword wielded by the Black Knight.

I recalled the moments when I fought the Black Knight.

The man was clearly at the level of a 3rd class warrior.

‘……He definitely looked like he had the blood of the main family mixed in.’

Almost, no, the Black Knight definitely had the blood of the main family mixed in.

Such a durable body with a terrifying amount of magic power and control, and finally, a combat sense that transcended humans.

The characteristics of the Soongmoo Lee bloodline are clear.

The hair color and eye color were vaguely similar.

‘And the one who made it was definitely…… Six Nights.’

Behemoth, or Kabbalah [Occult groups or entities].

Strictly speaking, the possibility of Behemoth seemed low.

Because there was no unique unpleasantness associated with monsters.

‘Either way.’

The one who made it and sent it to the Black Blood Society may have thought that no special traces could be found.

But unfortunately, this greatsword is a very big clue for me.

Because I have the ability to read the memories of weapons.

I grabbed the greatsword and raised the Black ki [A type of energy].

Whoosh!

At that moment, the Black Knight’s memories poured into my head.

* * *

Anastasia didn’t open her eyes easily.

I considered taking her to the hospital in the middle, but since the situation hadn’t completely calmed down yet, and most of her injuries had been treated with recovery magic, I decided it was better to keep her at the safe house.

As time passed, she finally opened her eyes on the 8th day.

“I’m sorry. I caused you worry.”

Anastasia said with a bright smile as soon as she woke up.

“Ahem, I’m sorry. I should be able to do my part now, but I keep relying on Lee Cheol.”

“It was something that happened because you were trying to help me in the first place. It’s alright.”

I was rather sorry.

Anastasia shook her head at my words.

“That’s not true. You also said that one of them was targeting me. Maybe…… it was because of the power I have.”

I nodded at those words.

Come to think of it, the Black Knight didn’t seem to be trying to kill Anastasia, but rather to take her away.

“Thank you so much. Lee Cheol. For saving my life again. Even though there was something going on with the family.”

“It’s alright. Anastasia is as important as the family.”

At my casual words, Anastasia smiled playfully and leaned her face close.

“Shouldn’t you say something more like, ‘Because you’re precious’?”

Tap!

Anastasia grabbed my hand tightly.

I was flustered and tried to pull my hand away, but she grabbed my hand even tighter.

“What’s wrong all of a sudden? Besides, what do you mean by precious…….”

“No, that’s a bit much~! Isn’t ‘important’ a bit of a businesslike expression? You were so worried about me. You even held my wrist every night to circulate magic power, right?”

“……Were you awake by any chance?”

“I was just testing you, but was it true?”

I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

“That was just for treatment…….”

“Aww, you’re secretly shy, Lee Cheol.”

“What are you talking about?”

For a moment, her eyes curved like crescent moons, and she whispered with a playful expression.

“You were sweating profusely and shouting, ‘I can’t let her die!’ or ‘I can save her! I can do it! Lee Cheol!'”

“……!”

I was so flustered that I opened my mouth.

Could it be that the thoughts I had in my head at that time came out of my mouth?

No, that couldn’t be.

In the first place, it was a moment when I was concentrating so much that I was pouring all my attention into Anastasia.

There was no room to open my mouth.

“……When did I ever say that? And Anastasia wasn’t even conscious at that time. I know you’re testing me again.”

“Hmm? I remember everything? You even gave me CPR.”

I stopped dead in my tracks.

“T-That was just because there was no other choice. I was just trying to do first aid.”

“Really? But Natalia was next to you? Natalia could have done CPR too.”

……I have nothing to refute.

I felt my whole body stiffen like a stone.

“Maybe Lee Cheol…….”

It was the moment Anastasia was about to continue speaking playfully.

Cough!

Anastasia let out a dry cough.

The cough didn’t end with just one, but continued several times, and each time, her body trembled in pain.

“Ugh, ick…….”

“Lie down quickly. Don’t overdo it.”

I laid her down on the bed.

She wasn’t fully recovered yet.

I couldn’t fully recover her because forcibly using recovery magic would only harm her life force.

“……It hurts. I guess I haven’t fully recovered yet.”

“That’s because you’ve been lying down for a whole week and then you talk so much.”

I was dumbfounded and put my hand on her forehead and poured magic power into her.

“Haa…….”

Soon, Anastasia regained stability, and I got up from my seat.

“Still, I’m glad you came to your senses. You’ll be able to get up soon.”

Since she will be able to circulate magic power for recovery herself, it will be more efficient than recovering with external magic.

Creak!

I turned my back on Anastasia and left the room.

‘……Thank you. Lee Cheol.’

Anastasia thought so with a smile.

For the second time already, Lee Cheol had saved her life.

I’m really sorry.

I could feel his kindness just by the fact that he, who lives a day like ten days, stayed here for several days.

‘Definitely, next time…….’

I have to repay him.

Anastasia thought.

As an existence who can do her part, without causing trouble or worry, I want to help Lee Cheol as his colleague and friend.

Anastasia felt sleep coming over her.

She closed her eyes very comfortably and fell asleep.

* * *

After Anastasia’s condition stabilized and the damage to the Black Blood Society was restored, I moved my steps.

I wasn’t trying to return to the main family.

The place I headed to was the unexplored territory of Northern Europe.

And, people including the Iron Blood Squad were gathering in the unexplored territory according to my information.

Now, it was time to counterattack Lee Gun-sung.