Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 277

The moment our eyes met in the void, I felt an incredibly strong, almost fateful connection with him, transcending time.

It was similar to the empathy that arises between those who wield the same weapon, but on another level, I felt an even greater sense of kinship.

It was as if I had met a blood relative.

Did he feel this strange emotion as well?

The man stared at me, his eyes wide with surprise.

-Kieeeek!

But our eye contact lasted only a brief moment.

The monsters, which had been swept away by the man’s spear, began to fill the void again.

Faced with the endless onslaught of monsters, even the warriors on the ramparts, who had been cheering, tensed up again and raised their weapons.

-Strong young man. It seems I must speak with you when this battle is over.

The man’s voice was conveyed through magic [telepathically].

I nodded, and the man turned his gaze towards the monsters surging towards the ramparts.

Whiiing!

The rough whirring sound followed.

Along with a sound similar to my own Gyeongcheon [a personal technique or weapon], but a bit more rugged, the man’s spear once again began to emit a brilliant light.

“Lee Cheol, that spear he’s holding…”

Ron asked belatedly, his voice trembling.

“Could it be the spear we restored together during our travels back then?”

“Yes, that’s right. That’s the original.”

“I thought there would be something since he had the spear, but to think… he was an actual person.”

Jjeoooooooong!

At that moment, the world was once again consumed by light, and a long, echoing thunderous sound spread out.

The earth shook, and monsters exploded.

Truly, a power worthy of being praised as divine.

“So, that’s why I was chosen to take this trial with Lee Cheol.”

I grabbed Ron’s shoulder, who was marveling, and gestured towards the ramparts.

“Ron, I understand you’re surprised, but I don’t think this is the time for that.”

Following my gaze, Ron turned his head.

-Kieeeek!

There, an enormous horde of monsters was still surging forward.

“Shoot! Keep firing the arrows!”

“Warriors, grit your teeth! We have nowhere left to retreat!”

The warriors on the ramparts were fighting fiercely, but to my eyes, it felt more like a desperate struggle.

They were exhausted.

Whether they had been fighting since before we came to take this trial, I could sense the unique fatigue of those worn down by battle everywhere.

At this rate, it’s dangerous.

The number of monsters was incomparable to the first trial.

‘…It’s imbued with magic. Those beasts, no, those monsters.’

The monsters from the first trial, which originated from the Primordial Beast, could not use magic.

But these ones could sense the distorted magic felt in modern monsters.

It meant the monsters had evolved.

Or, that ‘thing’ that created these monsters had evolved.

‘Could it be that the Primordial Beast has evolved?’

-Kiek!

In that instant, a monster leaped out in front of me.

The monsters were especially swarming more towards me and the man with the spear.

Did they sense the remnants of the Black Knight?

Or did the thing that created them order them to target me?

“Kuaaaaak!”

“Help, help me!”

-Kieeeek!

Whatever the case, now was not the time to stand still.

The situation was becoming urgent.

I shouted to Ron.

“Ron, we have to help. I don’t know what the conditions for passing the trial are, but it’s certain that we have to stop the ramparts from collapsing first.”

“Yes, I’ve been waiting for you to say that!”

Ron’s eyes sparkled.

“Be careful with your magic usage. If you use more than your limit, your magic circuit will be deformed!”

“I know! Lee Cheol, be careful too!”

Swish!

Ron drew his sword and kicked off the ground.

A clear aura rippled, following Ron.

The Holy Relic, the Sword of the Lake, now fully opened and emitting an aura comparable to the celestial level, revealed its true form.

“Haaap!”

Russell Family Swordsmanship, Secret Technique No. 6.

Dragon’s Breath.

The technique he had used against me in the Grand Melee [a previous competition or battle].

The blue aura rapidly extended.

-Kieeeeeee!

Swack!

The blue sword energy tore through the air, cutting down the monster that had climbed onto the ramparts.

‘Even if magic is limited, if it’s that much, I don’t have to worry about Ron.’

He may not know how to use magic like me, utilizing the magic circuit, but he has recovered some magic, so he will be a great asset in this defensive battle.

In the first place, his physical specs were already beyond human, like me.

Now it was my turn to move.

I entered the final stage of adjusting my internal magic.

‘I deploy Cheonra [a powerful technique].’

But Cheonra was a technique that had to squeeze out all of the magic source and magic circuit to activate.

In the current situation where only the magic circuit can be used, operating Cheonra is virtually impossible.

‘Then I just need to adjust it to fit here right now.’

Thump!

My heart began to beat violently, and soon, black energy spread out like mist from within my body.

Soon, the black energy clumped together like mud, taking on the shapes of various weapons.

The number exceeded 100.

Sssst!

All of my magic began to dwell in each and every one of them.

In this short time, I modified the Gugeol [another technique] and drastically reduced the process to construct Cheonra using only the magic circuit.

The number of weapons, their movement, agility, and power may be somewhat inferior, but this is enough for now.

‘Go.’

Kwaaaaang!

Immediately after, the black-stained army of weapons began their march.

* * *

The warriors defending the ramparts had reached their limit.

The horde of monsters was endless, and they were growing weary by the minute.

‘Is this really the end?’

The warrior, wearing a half-broken helmet, felt that destruction was imminent.

This land was the last bastion they had fled to after crossing the continent.

This battle would somehow work out since the king had joined, but what about the next one?

In the first place, even that king… had reached his limit.

-Kieeeek!

At that moment, a monster with a grotesque shape leaped up.

The man was swinging his axe and had his back turned.

He felt death approaching and closed his eyes tightly.

Swack! Kwang!

But the state of the noise he heard was a little strange.

He didn’t feel any pain either.

The warrior, opening his eyes slightly, saw the monster’s head burst and collapse.

“W-what was that just now… Heok!”

The next moment, the man couldn’t help but be shocked at the sight that unfolded before his eyes.

A rain of weapons was falling.

With his meager expressive abilities, that was the only way he could describe it.

Weapons as black as the night sky were moving on their own, driving back the monsters.

Their momentum was rougher than the waves of the North Sea and fiercer than the snowstorms of the Northern Snow Mountains.

Kwang! Kwaaaaang!

The weapons each possessed different powers, sweeping away the monsters.

Flames, ice, poison, and wind, all kinds of forces burst out.

‘Is this what the king did?’

But soon, the warrior realized that these countless weapons were unfolding around one man.

Who on earth was that human to be able to do such a thing?

No, could a human even wield such power in the first place?

The man’s appearance was truly an overwhelming majesty that only the gods of the heavens could show.

‘Who on earth is that man?’

The first thing that caught his eye was an unfamiliar appearance that resembled no one else here.

And the next thing he saw was the eyes emitting magic, resembling their king.

Kwaduk! Kwajijijik!

Hundreds, no, hundreds of monsters were cut down in just a few seconds.

Even while wielding so many weapons, not a single ally was swept away.

Unless he had dozens of eyes, how could he do that?

The warrior glimpsed in that man some of the overwhelming aspects he had seen in their king.

“I don’t know who you are, but thank you! …Push forward! Slaughter those disgusting bastards of the Demon King!”

A war chief shouted, encouraging the warriors.

“Waaaaaaa!”

“Fight!”

“Push forward!”

The man’s appearance had a great impact on the morale of the troops on the ramparts, beyond his own power.

“Yeah, let’s do it!”

The warrior also jumped up and raised his spirits.

The night was still long, but everyone felt that dawn was not far away.

* * *

Pale light was rising beyond the horizon far away.

It was a light symbolizing the morning that seemed like it would never come again.

But that morning was different from hope.

Because the battle was still going on.

‘It’s really an enormous amount. Did they bring all the monsters in the world?’

The battle, which started around sunset, was still going on.

Slowly, the sun could be seen rising in the distance.

And it was around that time.

───Wooooooong!

A strange wailing sound was heard.

The air rippled, conveying the reverberation to every corner of the land under the sky.

-Kieeeeee….

-Kyaak! Kyaak!

-Keoeong!

And the monsters began to react to the wailing sound, hissing.

Monsters that were preparing to rush from beyond the ramparts, those that were climbing the ramparts, or even those that had already climbed onto the ramparts and were trying to chew on the warrior’s torso.

All stopped what they were doing at once, and without hesitation, turned their bodies and began to return to the darkness from which they had come.

The sight was like darkness receding in the dawn, and like waves receding, creating foam.

“Is it… over?”

Ron, who had been drooping his sword, asked, breathing roughly.

Ron’s holy sword, which had been shedding clear blue light, was now shedding only a very faint light.

“….”

But I couldn’t rashly be sure that it was over.

Still with Cheonra deployed, I stared intently into the darkness beyond the forest where the light had not yet reached.

“Lee Cheol? What’s wrong?”

Ron asked, seemingly flustered, but I couldn’t turn my gaze away.

‘It’s there.’

I can feel it.

Beyond that, a huge presence existed.

It was easy to guess what it was.

The Primordial Beast. It’s watching me.

No, it wasn’t just me that it was watching.

“….”

I turned my gaze and looked at the man with the spear lowered.

That man was also attracting the attention of the Primordial Beast.

“Waaaaaaaaa!”

Amidst the cheers of victory and the relief of survival from the ancients, I continued to look only beyond the ramparts.

Wooooooong!

Before long, I felt that gaze disappear.

“Hoo.”

Both the man and I could finally relax.

Twitch!

But at that moment, I felt that the black energy, which I was trying to absorb at the same time as releasing Cheonra, did not enter my body and surrounded me as if to protect me.

A feeling as if it was protecting me from something dangerous.

I wondered what this was all of a sudden in a situation where the threat had disappeared.

“Lee, Lee Cheol!”

At Ron’s cry mixed with embarrassment, I was soon able to realize the reason.

“What’s wrong? Are you injured?”

“N-no, that’s not it. My body is strange. Th-this is… Ugh!”

Pudeudeudeuk!

In an instant, I saw the tip of Ron’s left hand turn into a cloudy mist.

Ron’s left hand, blurring and returning repeatedly.

It was an unidentifiable phenomenon.

I had never seen anything like this before.

‘Is this why the black energy reacted?’

But why is this injury only happening to Ron?

I hurriedly used my magic eye to examine Ron’s body, and I couldn’t help but be shocked.

* * *

Lee Jin-yoon couldn’t stand the rising annoyance and continued to spit out curses as if chewing them.

“Shit, damn, damn it, goddamn it.”

Lee Jin-yoon’s arms were bound by chains and fixed somewhere.

One arm was broken, and her eyes were cut open, bleeding.

Her thighs, shoulders, waist, and chest were all swollen, proving considerable serious injuries.

But Lee Jin-yoon didn’t care about the injuries and gritted her teeth.

‘Seriously, what’s with suddenly not being visible and then starting to be visible? Besides, my forearms are even getting blurry. Goddamn it, it’s really dog-like.’

She had been tailing the man with the Black Night at his waist – probably her ancestor – but was eventually caught.

She resisted, but without being able to use magic, she was soon captured.

The next thing she knew, she was in this stinky prison-like place.

Lee Jin-yoon, the great, was in this situation.

If the other people in the family had seen her, they might have bitten their tongues and committed suicide.

Squeak!

At that time, light penetrated the place where she was tied up.

Thump!

The sound of footsteps echoed.

In an instant, the air in the prison seemed to sink.

The sounds of insects and rats in the prison subsided.

A chilling feeling came over her. The Sixth Sense of Soongmoo Lee [her family’s special ability] warned of danger.

‘It’s that person.’

The ancestor of the family that she had been tailing.

She didn’t know when she started tailing him. She felt that he was a strong man who was out of the norm at that time, but now she feels differently.

A being that feels different every time she sees him, every time she faces him, and every time she gauges him.

A sensation that a monster reminiscent of her father… or perhaps something even higher, was approaching.

“Have you awakened?”

He opened his mouth.

Gulp, dry saliva is swallowed.

I can be sure.

This person has already crossed the boundaries of humans.

But.

“Untie this first! Goddamn it! If, if I could use magic, you wouldn’t even be a match!”

Lee Jin-yoon shouted, shaking off that strange sense of oppression.

The reason she didn’t give in even though she felt something so overwhelming was because she was none other than Mugwang Lee Jin-yoon.

“This goddamn chain! I’ll untie this right now and smash your head!”

Clang! Kkigigik!

Lee Jin-yoon struggled and pulled the chain.

The thick chain, as big as a person’s forearm, screamed and twisted.

It was unbelievable brute force for a person who couldn’t even handle magic.

“Good. If you had shown a submissive appearance, I would have cut your throat right away.”

The man put his arm on the sword he was wearing at his waist and smiled coyly.

The man, who took a step towards Lee Jin-yoon, looked her in the eye.

‘……!’

Eyes of amber color, even darker than Lee Jin-yoon’s, pierced through her.

Lee Jin-yoon unknowingly held her breath.

The light emitted by those eyes was so strange.

“I see. Interesting.”

The man suddenly said that, wondering what he had seen.

“Who… who are you?”

Lee Jin-yoon asked the man with a slightly subdued look.

“Child. You already have a hunch.”

At the man’s words, Lee Jin-yoon finally shut her mouth.

Some kind of strong premonition connected by blood filled her head.

‘Was he… a real person?’

The founder.

Mooshin Lee Hyul-hyun [the family’s founder’s name].

The founder of the clan, and an existence with almost no records.

Facing the founder of the clan made her feel like she was facing a figure in folklore or mythology.

‘Is he really the same person?’

Suddenly, she was glad she didn’t have magic.

If she had checked everything about this person with her senses… she might never have been able to turn back.

“There is something I want to show you.”

The man… no, the founder said that.

In an instant, Lee Jin-yoon fell to the floor with a dull clang!

She was glad that she didn’t kneel or fall over as she was.

The founder turned his body in front of her.

An defenseless back. Besides, it’s close range.

If she rushes in now, can she subdue him?

“…….”

But Lee Jin-yoon didn’t.

She just slowly follows him, with only vigilance.

Immediately after, Lee Jin-yoon faced the abyss of Soongmoo Lee that she could not believe.