Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 326

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Chapter 326

Lee Gun-sung and I.

Our stances mirrored each other.

It went without saying, Lee Gun-sung was strong.

No, he projected strength.

Even with my Mystic Eyes, I couldn’t fully fathom his depths.

I didn’t anticipate being pushed back, but neither could I confidently claim victory.

Not being able to guarantee victory or superiority.

How long had it been since I’d felt this way against someone walking the same path of martial arts?

Woo-oong!

I released Thousandfold Net.

The vortex of weapons that had been churning around the South Gate scattered like snowflakes, flowing into me.

Lee Gun-sung’s eyes flickered with a new light.

“Thousandfold Net, was it? Are you abandoning that skill?”

“It won’t avail you anything.”

Thousandfold Net was a potent force, but it was a technique best suited for wide-ranging attacks.

From this point forward, not a single iota of power could be wasted.

Lee Gun-sung was a martial artist who had attained a high realm, and I knew instinctively that Thousandfold Net would no longer be effective against him.

A difference as minute as a speck of dust, as delicate as a sheet of paper, a single breath, a single movement could determine victory or defeat.

“That’s a pity.”

Lee Gun-sung was genuinely disappointed.

He would have preferred that I continue using Thousandfold Net.

But Lee Cheol was not an opponent to be underestimated.

Thus, the two warriors each drew a single weapon, aiming it at the other.

The two faced off.

Between these two at opposite extremes, the surrounding warriors were paralyzed.

In an instant, the explosions echoing through the Soongmoo Lee Family seemed distant, and both Lee Gun-sung and Lee Cheol felt their awareness of their surroundings diminish.

In that detached state, they were only conscious of each other.

Now, there was no need for further conversation or contemplation.

What would be the signal?

The movements of Lee Cheol and Lee Gun-sung, who had been separated, occurred simultaneously.

Thud!

A flash of light erupted in the space between them.

Before they realized it, they had switched places and faced each other once more.

Whoosh!

Air rushed in between them, and as soon as it did, their clash resumed.

No one could follow their movements with their eyes.

They could only perceive the flashes of light in the air and the shockwaves that burst out with each impact.

Clang! Bang!

Lee Cheol’s sword swung diagonally, and Lee Gun-sung dodged by twisting his body.

With a thud! Lee Cheol pulled his sword straight back and advanced another step.

‘A slash? A stab?’

Lee Gun-sung briefly considered Lee Cheol’s stance.

The distance between them was now so close that they could feel each other’s breath.

The tip of Lee Cheol’s sword, which had been far away, suddenly appeared before Lee Gun-sung’s eyes.

Clang, clang, clang!

Lee Gun-sung immediately bent his neck, forcing the sword into the space where his head had been.

Lee Cheol’s sword scraped past Lee Gun-sung’s sword, and an unpleasant metallic screech echoed.

Boom!

A structure behind Lee Gun-sung was destroyed by the pressure generated by the sword energy.

Lee Gun-sung thrust his toe towards Lee Cheol’s torso, which was exposed by the thrusting sword.

Thud!

Lee Cheol lost his balance and was pushed back.

Lee Gun-sung took another step towards his collapsing body.

Lee Cheol retreated further, pushing off the ground like a rubber ball. Lee Gun-sung didn’t let this opportunity pass and lowered his body deeply, swinging his sword towards Lee Cheol’s chest.

‘Where is he aiming?’

It was difficult for Lee Cheol to discern the sword’s trajectory.

The shoulder, or the chest.

Lee Gun-sung’s sword targeted the chest area.

Screech! Bang!

Two crescent-shaped streaks of sword energy flashed in the air, and Lee Cheol’s sword collided with Lee Gun-sung’s sword.

A boom erupted.

Sand and dust scattered, and through the haze, Lee Gun-sung’s sword energy surged in again.

‘Heavy.’

Lee Gun-sung thought as he looked at his sword.

It was a weapon forged by melting down dozens of heavenly-grade weapons [weapons of exceptional quality] that anyone would recognize just by hearing their names.

The complex karma and destiny contained within this single sword were enough to shake the heavens and the earth.

Yet, his sword was vibrating intensely.

Throb!

And Lee Cheol felt the pain as well.

They had only clashed twelve times.

In those brief exchanges, the middle of the sword, made of condensed Dark Qi [a type of energy], cracked, and because he couldn’t release the sword’s energy, his grip was slightly torn.

‘Are you saying that mediocre weapons are useless?’

Should I draw Black Night?

Lee Cheol shook his head.

At this moment, in this situation, that divine weapon would undoubtedly wield formidable power, but he believed that the power he would lose as a result would be more significant.

Lee Cheol reinforced the broken sword, injecting even more Dark Qi.

He condensed the forms of the countless weapons he had absorbed, creating an even denser concentration.

The amount of Dark Qi consumed when deploying Thousandfold Net was not significantly different from the amount of Dark Qi contained in this one sword.

Thus, the shape of the sword in Lee Cheol’s hand was unremarkable, just an ordinary longsword.

Clang! Clang, clang!

Eventually, even the explosions caused by the collision of auras faded from their clashes.

The only sounds that could be heard were the faint fragments of magic scattering in the air and the sparks that flew when metal rubbed against metal, like the clashes of novices just learning martial arts.

The two forces were perfectly canceling each other out.

The movements of the two people had reached the pinnacle of rationality.

At this moment, you must move like this, and at that moment, you must move like that.

Every moment was rational, and therefore, their movements became increasingly simple.

The path to be reached after walking a long way was ultimately the most fundamental martial art, the basic foundation that stretched out straight.

In a place where they were competing in each other’s martial arts.

All the secret techniques and profound mysteries that the two had cultivated lost their brilliance, and soon only the basic stances that formed their framework remained.

Slash, stab.

Swing, push, strike.

Extend, pull.

The flashing sword energy became more and more direct.

The movements of the two people who had reached the extreme began to resemble each other more and more, and as such, they began to understand each other.

“Do you still think I’m wrong?”

Lee Gun-sung said as he extended his sword.

Lee Gun-sung saw the future.

A future of destruction.

There was no hope. Even the Soongmoo Lee Family could not overcome the deep curse embedded in their bloodline.

That’s why Lee Gun-sung thought he would embrace everything and lead them.

So, he wanted to gain everything while giving up everything.

That was Lee Gun-sung’s justice.

He was asking.

Am I wrong? Is my struggle, my result, misguided?

Screech! Swish!

That question became a sword strike and poured down on Lee Cheol.

Lee Cheol’s Eunhan could not withstand the sword energy that Lee Gun-sung had momentarily amplified, and it shattered.

The powerful sword energy cut through it. Even the blood that splattered through the gap could not form droplets and simply vaporized.

That was what Lee Cheol intended. Realizing that he couldn’t avoid it, he instead used it as a stepping stone to attack as well.

Lee Cheol’s extended sword strike similarly grazed Lee Gun-sung’s opposite forearm.

A chunk of flesh was torn away. Blood splattered on the skin that was cut away to the point where the muscle was clearly visible, and similarly, even that blood disappeared.

Neither of them had landed a direct hit on each other, but they were being injured just by the sword energy grazing them.

“……”

Even with just that exchange.

Lee Cheol had answered Lee Gun-sung’s question.

His struggle was not wrong.

But.

Swoosh! Thwack!

Sword and sword collide in the air.

The left foot extended forward, the right foot had its heel lifted as if pushing off the ground.

From the posture of holding the sword to the eyes staring straight ahead.

Even the location of the wounds, the posture, and the amount of magic flowing out, the two clashed in exactly the same posture as if they had rehearsed it.

‘Yes, it’s just that your will and mine are different.’

Those who possess each other’s justice.

Opposite points, each a different point.

Lee Gun-sung and Lee Cheol were so different, yet they had become so similar.

The two were faithful to their respective lives and did not stop fighting.

Therefore, no one can argue about right and wrong in this fight.

Only the result of the fight will be the answer.

Screech! Bang!

Lee Gun-sung’s sword trembled, and its sword energy surged in like a tsunami.

He asks.

‘I have no choice but to deny you. Do you really think you can save them in your way?’

Can you save them from the coming destruction, or from the curse embedded in the family’s blood?

Bang!

Lee Cheol’s sword transformed into a giant greatsword, bisecting the tsunami.

Each fragment of that crumbling sword energy was Lee Gun-sung’s questions. Lee Cheol’s answer to those questions was that one strike.

Lee Cheol stepped forward.

Ignoring Lee Gun-sung’s incredibly heavy momentum, he confidently took a step forward.

Lee Gun-sung heard the answer contained in Lee Cheol’s step.

‘Yes… what does that matter? This family has been full of lies from the beginning, but the ideology it advocates is not wrong.’

It’s always like that.

The bloodline of the Soongmoo Lee Family proves right and wrong by winning.

Lee Gun-sung gripped his sword even more tightly.

* * *

I finally felt the strong karma that fate had designed between Lee Gun-sung and me, standing before me.

How can I express that?

A worthy rival.

Yes. That was the only thing. That’s all that could describe Lee Gun-sung and me.

Unlike any opponent I had faced so far, Lee Gun-sung was looking at the same scenery from the same line as me.

‘For him to become like this…….’

In the midst of continuous attacks, defenses, and evasions, I read the stories flowing from the tip of Lee Gun-sung’s sword.

The struggles he had endured.

The beliefs he held.

The futures he had envisioned.

What kind of ordeal had Lee Gun-sung gone through to wield such a sword?

The power he had gained through Dark Qi, the power he had fought to achieve, the time he had spent training, and the relationships he had forged.

All of that was the same for Lee Gun-sung as well.

‘So, it was you.’

And Lee Gun-sung felt that too.

Facing his destined adversary, he felt a mix of complex emotions.

Lee Gun-sung retraced old memories.

The beginning of the memory was his childhood in the Soongmoo Lee Family.

When he was born, Lee Myung-jung and Lee Jin-yoon were already outstanding talents, and he realized that he could not surpass them within the family, so he ventured outside.

He met Six Nights, awakened to the truth of the world, and even faced the founder of the family.

Lee Gun-sung walked in the shadows. There were countless hours he spent in them.

There were the achievements he had accumulated and the time he had spent struggling.

He did not shy away from any task to increase his power, and he had accomplished countless feats to reach the top.

‘You too, must have been like that.’

There was no need for verbal conversation between them.

Lee Cheol’s sword changed its form from moment to moment, and Lee Gun-sung adjusted his movements accordingly.

At this moment, Lee Gun-sung and Lee Cheol understood each other better than anyone else, even without a single word.

The number of clashing sword strikes that intertwined, mingled, and pushed each other was already in the dozens, hundreds, or perhaps thousands, and within them were even more stories.

Stories. Yes, it was a story.

The movements they exchanged and the fragments of aura that burst out were fragments of those countless stories.

Lee Gun-sung’s spirit, which had been pushed back, began to focus on the sword he was holding in his hand.

‘This was my path.’

Wiiiiiiiiing!

The world distorted.

Heart Sword [a technique that embodies the user’s spirit] was naturally activated.

The Heart Sword embedded in Lee Gun-sung’s sword swallowed everything.

It covered it, dyed it in its own color, and dragged it forward.

The image contained in that Heart Sword was Lee Gun-sung himself.

He wanted to embrace whatever the opponent was, whatever power they had, and mix it into his own.

Lee Cheol’s swinging sword also began to create a haze.

Ooooooong!

Lee Cheol’s Heart Sword, Formless.

The freedom of not being bound dwells there.

That was not just one image either.

There is freedom to adapt to any situation and rise above it.

────────!

The clash of Heart Swords soon began to drown out even the surrounding sounds.

At first, the sense of time became vague, and even the thought of how to move disappeared.

Colors became ambiguous, and the shape of space began to blur.

At this moment, the two were looking at the same space-time that they shared.

-I will reach the pinnacle of this world.

That story flowed out from within Lee Gun-sung’s Heart Sword.

As a member of the Soongmoo Lee Family, he will struggle more fiercely than anyone else and live more splendidly than anyone else.

That was Lee Gun-sung’s story.

-I also look to the pinnacle of this world.

Lee Cheol replies.

So that no one can invade where I stand, what Lee Cheol dreams of is freedom.

Standing on one line, but opposite extremes that can never meet.

Do extremes meet?

The obsession with victory, defeat, and life and death began to fade from their minds.

Lee Cheol to Lee Gun-sung.

Lee Gun-sung to Lee Cheol.

The two learned from each other, communicated, and listened to the sounds their hearts made.

Lee Gun-sung and Lee Cheol were each other’s enemies, but they had become teachers, family, and friends.

‘But…….’

But I thought something was wrong with the story that Lee Gun-sung’s sword was drawing.

Lee Gun-sung was only looking at himself.

He had no one to be by his side, and he thought it was useless.

I was not.

Meetings and partings.

Death and birth.

There are countless people who have been by my side, and the stories that were born from being entangled with those people.

At the tip of my sword.

There is the life of my mother, who gave her life to continue my life, and the life of my father, who doubted me but accepted me.

There is a new concept of magic that was passed down from my second uncle to my aunt, and from my aunt to me.

There are the realizations that Ron, Jang Han, and Serena experienced and made me feel.

There are the stories entangled with the nanny, uncle, Choi In-ha, Kim Bo-sung, Kim Han, the cadet corps, Lee Young-sung, the Cheolryeong unit, the Council of Elders, Valerie, Anastasia, Jung Jin-soo… stories that I could never have achieved alone.

There are the techniques passed down from countless heroes and martial artists from ancient to modern times.

Jjeo-eo-eo-eong!

In an instant, Lee Gun-sung’s eyes widened.

He realized that Lee Cheol’s eyes, which had been blurred as if he had lost his mind, were reflecting himself and looking somewhere far away.

And.

I began to unravel the stories that I had felt and would feel through the sword, not limited to this moment.

The past of struggles and achievements, the present of pouring out everything I have, and the stories of the future that I will draw as I walk endlessly.

Past, present, and future.

The story I will create was not just my own story.

It was the story of countless relationships that had pushed me to this place.

And.

It was a story that would not end with a period at this moment.

‘This is it.’

Reaching the final moment.

The realization gained from the exchange with Lee Gun-sung led me to that distant, high place.

I felt like the world was opening up.

All the forces and rules of all things came into view.

I moved the Dark Qi.

Magic follows the Dark Qi.