Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 267

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Episode 267

According to the Tactics Textbook of the Soongmoo Yi Family, when establishing a base in the field, several conditions must be considered first when determining the location.

It should be built close to Suwon, easy to guard, and easy to defend and conceal. The optimal location varies depending on the place and situation.

Accordingly, Lee Jin-yoon, the second son of the Soongmoo Yi Family, who was currently in charge of commanding the troops, ordered the construction of a base on a flat area halfway up a suitable mountain.

“Cut down a little more of that tree over there!”

“Bring the stones quickly! Split them and fill in the gaps!”

The warriors of the Soongmoo Yi Family, who had initially been confused by the disappearance of their mana, were now regaining their composure and carrying out their assigned tasks.

They were gathering surrounding trees and rocks to build walls and constructing temporary shelters to protect themselves from the rain and dew. It was quite noisy, but the base was steadily taking shape.

Meanwhile.

Two young men sighed and sat down in a corner while supposedly cutting down trees.

“Damn it, I’m a direct descendant and participated as a commander, so why am I stuck cutting down trees?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Ah, what the hell happened to that youngest one?”

The two young men were none other than the fourth and fifth twins.

They were forced to do manual labor for the construction of the base due to Lee Jin-yoon’s instructions—in fact, coercion.

“Ugh, the spot where my sister hit me is so painful.”

“I got kicked.”

“We could just have the warriors do this.”

The fourth, Lee Hyun-jae, struck a large tree with his sword and then sighed as if exhausted.

“I didn’t know I’d get this tired without mana.”

“I know, it’s so unfamiliar.”

“And it’s as slow as a slug.”

“I feel like an ordinary person with no power.”

Lee Hyun-jae and Lee Hyun-chan grumbled and swung their arms around.

The piles of large logs stacked next to them were something that an ordinary person could never accomplish with a sword, but that’s how weak they felt.

“By the way, how can there be no mana?”

“I know. Didn’t they say that all beings exist because they have mana?”

“Mace’s Basic Mana Theory? Was that the first paragraph?”

“Oh, right.”

Whether it’s living or inanimate.

Mana was the fundamental force permeating everything.

That was the sentence written in the first chapter of Basic Mana Theory, a foundational text compiled around the modern era.

“But there’s nothing wrong with these things even without mana.”

“There are even living things.”

“A proper ecosystem has been established.”

The fourth and fifth glanced around.

The trees are lush, and the air is fresh.

They can breathe, there is nothing particularly wrong with their bodies, and looking at the movement of the sun, it feels like a place on Earth rather than an artificially constructed world.

But there is no mana.

If mana was sealed or restricted in some way, they could understand, but they couldn’t sense mana in anything in this space.

But life is growing lushly… It defied their common sense.

“What is the aerial fortress [a mobile fortress that can fly] that accomplished all this?”

“I just thought it was a secret group with special technology.”

The power to move a huge number of people inside the aerial fortress, the ability to construct such a space, and even conducting tests in the middle of it….

“What is the intention of conducting these tests?”

“How would I know that?”

“Think about it.”

“I really don’t know. Why make us take these tests, and why give us their castle?”

They knew nothing about the intention, the limits of their technology, or their identity.

But the reward is so sweet.

Aerial fortress.

Every time it appeared in history books, the amazing technology it delivered to the world was impressive, but the strategic and tactical value of the castle itself was overwhelming.

An artifact that can freely ascend and descend beyond the stratosphere.

The one who obtains the aerial fortress may truly gain world hegemony.

“By the way, I really don’t know. I don’t even know what this place is.”

“The people from the education center and the research center have gone out to explore, so they’ll bring something back.”

That was the moment when they were chatting while slacking off for a while.

“Lee Hyun-jae! Lee Hyun-chan! Shut up and get to work!”

A loud voice erupted from the base being built step by step below the ridge.

The twins were startled and looked toward the echoing voice.

The base was at least a few kilometers away from here, but Lee Jin-yoon was looking straight at them and shouting.

The twins groaned in disbelief and muttered.

“Crazy. Did he swallow a fire pot… [a metaphor for being extremely angry]”

“We came all the way out here on purpose!”

“No, more than that, there’s face involved [social standing/reputation]. He’s shouting like that with all the family warriors around!”

The twins grumbled and started cutting down trees again.

They had no intention of standing up to him.

After the family head competition began, his old madman-like appearance disappeared, but his violence and ferocity remained the same.

Clang! Clang!

Lee Hyun-jae and Lee Hyun-chan struck the large wooden logs with their swords.

Ordinary swords would have been bent and broken long ago, but the swords they were holding were at least sacred-grade weapons, so they were fine.

Of course, it was still difficult because they had no mana.

“Youngest, please come quickly….”

“Surely he didn’t get here too late, did he?”

“Eh, surely not….”

“No, with the youngest’s personality, he might say he’ll destroy everything and come.”

Lee Hyun-jae and Lee Hyun-chan felt a chill.

If the youngest, Lee Cheol, hadn’t been able to get on board….

‘Do we have to be tormented by our second sister?’

No way.

That can’t happen!

“Ugh, youngest. If you’ve come, please come quickly….”

“The youngest will free us from this labor hell…!”

The twins had to keep cutting down trees and splitting stones with tearful faces.

But.

-Kieeeek!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

A strange sound was heard from somewhere.

The sound was like an explosion, or like the scream of a beast.

‘Could there be beasts living here?’

‘No, what was that sound just now?’

The twins stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.

‘It’s an enemy!’

They were exhausted from the hard labor, and the main force was far away because they had come out on purpose.

The twins couldn’t move rashly and gripped their swords, guarding their surroundings.

And the next moment.

Crack!

A huge object burst out of the bushes, smashing trees.

It was an unidentified creature bleeding profusely.

“Sword marks?”

The monster, several times the size of a human, was covered in blood and on the verge of death.

The twins watched the direction the monster had flown from, wary.

Rustle!

Soon, a fierce force swept in like a tide, clearing the bushes.

‘It’s an enemy.’

‘I thought it was the youngest, but the youngest can’t give off this kind of energy!’

Slowly, a sword emerged from the bushes.

A jet-black sword that was ominous.

Red blood, of unknown origin, was dripping from the sword.

Chills!

That sword is dangerous.

The twins felt a chill down their spines as if they had seen a natural enemy.

‘That level of murderous intent! It’s definitely an enemy!’

‘We’ll attack the moment the enemy fully reveals himself from the bushes!’

‘I’ll take the left!’

‘I’ll take the right!’

The twins exchanged hand signals, swallowed dry saliva, and looked for an opening.

Soon, the sword was thrust into the ground, and a monster revealed himself.

Hair disheveled with blood and bushes, murderous eyes, a monster-like figure that looked like white steam would flow out if he opened his mouth….

“Hah, hah… Damn it.”

It was Lee Cheol.

Lee Cheol, who had revealed himself, cursed in a rough voice, covered in blood.

Then he looked this way and widened his eyes.

“…Uh? Brothers?”

“Youngest!”

“It’s the youngest!”

The twins smiled brightly, feeling that their savior had finally appeared.

“Phew, I came to the right place.”

“Youngest… gasp!”

Lee Hyun-jae and Lee Hyun-chan tried to approach.

But soon, they felt Lee Cheol’s murderous intent directed at them and trembled.

“Y-Youngest?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. It’s because of this.”

The twins finally looked at the sword in Lee Cheol’s hand.

‘That, that must be.’

The twins were warriors in their own right, so they knew about the high-risk magic swords that were stored in the main family’s armory.

Wasn’t that the infamous Kinslayer, the magic sword Dainhagein!

And now that they saw it, the blood flowing on that sword was Lee Cheol’s.

Now that they saw it, it meant that the sword hadn’t defeated this monster.

“Y-Youngest? You didn’t use that, did you?”

“Are you okay?”

That meant that he had cut his own hand with that.

‘That means it’s targeting us now!’

The name Kinslayer wasn’t for nothing.

It was a cursed magic sword that wouldn’t stop until it killed all the clansmen with similar blood properties.

‘Can we fight the youngest and win?’

‘No, never!’

‘Request support…!’

The two twins felt cold sweat flowing and gripped their swords tightly.

Meanwhile, I chuckled at the reactions of the two, which were so obvious.

“Don’t be so wary. I’m fine.”

I threw the sword away.

Dainhagein disappeared as if melting into the air.

Even so, the twin brothers swallowed dry saliva and did not let their guard down.

“Are you really okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I just feel a little dizzy from holding the magic sword all day.”

I patted my head and shook it.

There was still some murderous intent left due to the magic sword’s evil nature, but my mental strength wasn’t so weak that it would be blurred by this much.

“Hmm, is there still some left?”

The two twins, who didn’t know what was left, hesitated for a moment and lowered their swords.

“Youngest. What the hell did you do? Why are you in that state, what is this monster, and what about that magic sword….”

“I’ll tell you when we get there. Please take care of that. Where is our second sister?”

I pointed to the monster lying on the ground and said to my two brothers.

Below the ridge, the scenery of the base being built busily was visible.

* * *

A simple command post made of wood and straw.

I was able to face my second sister with my two brothers.

“Why are you so late?”

“There must have been some mistake, and I was the only one who fell in a different place. So, as I was looking for you… there were a few things that happened.”

I sighed deeply.

First of all, after the battle with Behemoth, it was good to start moving through Dainhagein.

However, the problem was that this space was insanely large, and the accuracy of the weapon’s abilities was poor because there was no mana.

‘Thanks to that, it was good for training, though.’

It took some time, but I liked that it felt like physical training.

And thanks to that, I was able to explore this vast space to some extent.

“Anyway, I was able to explore this and that while coming back.”

“Really? Then tell me one by one.”

Lee Jin-yoon’s eyes twinkled.

If Lee Cheol’s words were true, he must have seen a considerable distance himself, so he would know more information.

“Yes, first of all….”

The terrain, the ecosystem, the characteristics of this place.

I also unfolded a roughly made map on a large wooden board.

And above all….

“On the way, I confirmed the enemy forces. I couldn’t confirm the main base, but judging from the scouts wandering around, I think I can grasp the approximate sphere of influence.

“This is a great achievement. Which organizations boarded the castle?”

My second sister smiled as if satisfied.

“They are the forces I expected. The ones I encountered were Behemoth, Eiffel… no, Kabbalah, and the Kowloon Gang.”

The Kowloon Gang, which had been silent during the battle with the Union, seemed to have boarded the aerial fortress after all.

In the case of Behemoth, I encountered them and fought them immediately after falling, and Kabbalah was confirmed because Dainhagein’s power led me to the corrupted Kabbalah forces.

As I expected, Kabbalah was using special powers, just like Behemoth.

I conveyed the special characteristics of Behemoth and Kabbalah to my second sister and twin brothers.

“…Dirty bastards. We’re all suppressed right now!”

“That’s what I’m saying!”

The twin brothers were furious.

How hard was it to build the base because there was no mana!

“Annoying guys have boarded.”

My second sister frowned.

They were annoying even with mana, let alone now that there was no mana.

The situation wasn’t very good.

“There were seven legs. Then there must be forces on the remaining three.”

“Hmm, that’s right. Anyway, it doesn’t matter. The Soongmoo Yi Family isn’t going to whine just because a little bit of that power disappeared.”

My second sister said with a snort.

‘The Church and the Russell family are probably included in the remaining three places.’

Considering the power of the Church, led by Saintess Christina, who brought the entire Paladin force, it would be more difficult to say that they didn’t board.

In addition, the Russell family… no, the Dawn Society, must have grabbed one of the legs.

The remaining one is likely to be other forces or one of them.

“By the way, what is that monster corpse you brought? It’s starting to smell, and my nose hurts.”

“Yes, there was something I wanted to tell you about.”

I approached the lump of meat that was starting to rot and stink.

Then, using Black Ki [a type of energy], I drew my sword and pushed the monster’s torso.

The monster with its belly turned over.

My second sister’s eyes distorted for a moment when she saw it.

“It’s a really shitty-looking beast. I heard the beast’s cry, so I thought there would be living things here, but….”

No matter how she looked at it, it was an unfamiliar appearance.

I said to my second sister, who was turning her eyes away as if she didn’t want to see it.

“Second sister. Have you really never seen it before?”

“Of course not. There are creatures like that… I’ve never seen anything like that before.”

It looked like a bear, but its snout was as long as an alligator’s.

Its legs were bent in reverse joints, and its whole body was covered in fur… It was truly a bizarre shape that seemed to mix all kinds of creatures.

“Uh…?”

But then, Lee Hyun-jae widened his eyes.

Following that, Lee Hyun-chan also doubted his eyes.

“N-No way….”

“Really? Isn’t that it, Youngest? That….”

The two brothers seemed to have noticed.

My second sister frowned.

“Do you two know this shitty creature? What the hell is it?”

“Sister… don’t you really know?”

“Why, wasn’t it a hot topic a few years ago?”

“You bastards. Are you trying to die now….”

Lee Jin-yoon frowned at the subtly dismissive tone.

What was it about this that made them so surprised?

Lee Jin-yoon observed the creature’s appearance in more detail.

A bizarre creature that seemed to mix all kinds of beasts.

If it weren’t for the monster’s unique energy, it would have been called a monster if she had seen it outside….

“Wait.”

My second sister widened her eyes and approached, tapping the monster’s body with her foot as if she was thinking for a moment.

It felt like she was checking the skeleton.

“Could this be….”

I nodded and answered slowly.

“It’s an ancient species of monster that was discovered as a fossil. There was even talk that it was the prototype of the Chimera [a mythical creature composed of different animal parts].”

While searching for the main family’s base and traversing this space, I had to face all kinds of beasts and natural environments.

And what I encountered were creatures that were too bizarre to be called just beasts.

“Wait a minute, Youngest. You’re saying this place is….”

“Yes, it seems that this is ancient Earth.”

To my words.

The eyes of my twin brothers and second sister were filled with shock.