Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 100

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 100

As Yang Seo-dan called us into the room, Jang Han, the three guards, and I entered, only to be met with an absurd and dumbfounding scene.

In that short span, Yang Seo-dan had somehow managed to win Jung Jin-soo over to the point of calling him his younger brother, patting him heartily on the shoulder.

“Haha! Jung, my brother, you’re an even better person than I thought. Don’t hold any of my previous words to heart. After all, someone who travels with a warrior of your caliber couldn’t possibly be a nobody!”

Jung Jin-soo glanced at me, forcing a wry smile, but quickly played along.

“I’ve also had my eyes opened meeting someone like you, Brother Yang Seo-dan. With such a magnanimous person as an elder, the future of the Nine Dragons Guild is bright.”

“You flatter me, haha!”

…I couldn’t bring myself to flatter that simpleton so shamelessly.

Jung Jin-soo smoothly produced an envelope from his pocket and handed it over.

“This is for a flight that can be used regardless of whether you’ve entered the country legally. It’s a secret airfield used by a select few clients, so it should be convenient for your return home.”

“Oh, such things exist. Haha! Thank you, thank you!”

Yang Seo-dan embraced Jung Jin-soo with a seemingly genuine smile.

They had tried to kill each other just a few days ago, but Yang Seo-dan seemed to have erased that memory from his mind, wearing a purely joyful expression.

“I’ll make good use of what you’ve provided separately.”

Yang Seo-dan’s expression turned sly, suggesting he had received a separate bribe.

Before they left, Jang Han approached me.

“There will be a major tournament in Germany next year.”

“……?”

I tilted my head at the sudden remark.

Germany? A major tournament?

Ah, could he be talking about that?

“There’s no better place for a martial artist. I plan to participate as well, so let’s meet there.”

“I’ll go if I have the time.”

“…….”

Jang Han wore an awkward expression.

He seemed surprised by my lukewarm response.

But it couldn’t be helped.

I had other priorities.

However, Jang Han seemed to understand, leaving with just those words as he escorted Yang Seo-dan away.

Only after seeing them off did Jung Jin-soo let out a deep sigh, as if he had resurfaced after a dive.

“Hooo…”

His shoulders and back, which had been so confidently straightened, slumped as if the air had been let out of a leather bag.

“You’ll make the ground sink.”

“……I apologize. I didn’t realize I was relaxing so much.”

Jung Jin-soo straightened himself up, swaying slightly.

“You certainly didn’t seem tense at all.”

“I was just acting. I’m still not used to dealing with martial artists.”

Jung Jin-soo pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his forehead.

I looked at Jung Jin-soo with a fresh perspective.

“By the way, how did you win him over?”

“Pardon? What are you referring to?”

“Yang Seo-dan was treating you almost like a real brother.”

Jung Jin-soo’s expression turned strange.

“It wasn’t anything significant.”

“How did you think of giving a bribe and even providing a plane ticket? Besides, you were naturally good at flattering him.”

Jung Jin-soo shook his head with a bitter smile.

“It’s all salesmanship. Anyone who has worked in a company in Korea can do it.”

“Scary. Korean office workers.”

“Haha.”

Finally, Jung Jin-soo’s genuine laughter burst out.

* * *

China was a close yet distant neighbor, and it didn’t take long to arrive by plane.

Yang Seo-dan, excited at the thought of submitting the data to the elders, practically ran into the main castle.

Jang Han reported the completion of his mission to the main castle and immediately returned to the manor where his sect was located.

“You’ve returned.”

His old master was chopping wood in the manor.

As soon as Jang Han arrived at the manor, he suddenly knelt before his master.

“I apologize, Master.”

“Hmm, what’s this all of a sudden?”

“I used the Heavenly Killing Sword First Form but failed to kill my opponent.”

The master’s eyes widened.

The master, who had been chopping wood, put down his axe.

“Explain in detail. Did you encounter a master?”

“No. He was about my age.”

“Someone your age, and you couldn’t kill him?”

Hearing those words, Jang Han’s master burst into cheerful laughter.

“Haha! I told you to be careful, but it seems you’ve met your match. So, who did you face?”

“I apologize. I cannot say.”

The master’s eyes, buried between wrinkles, gleamed sharply.

Jang Han bowed his head deeply and said.

“There were no mistakes. It’s just that my opponent was stronger. I faced death. My short sword was also broken. Although there were many restrictions in the battle, the same was true for my opponent, and I felt my limits for the first time.”

“What if it had been an assassination instead of a battle?”

“Even then, I cannot confidently say I would have won easily. He was strong.”

“Haha, I thought you were just full of yourself, but it seems you’ve had a good experience. Trials that don’t kill you make you stronger.”

Jang Han raised his head, which had been lowered.

His face was still pale due to internal injuries.

But his eyes were burning with a strange fervor.

“I want to learn the Second Form.”

“Don’t even think about it. At your current level, you’ll die before you even get close.”

The master spoke of death casually and began chopping wood again.

It was just a weak swing of the axe, but with each strike, the wood split precisely into eight pieces.

Jang Han watched this, then bowed his head once more.

“I have agreed to meet him again in a year. I haven’t given a definite answer, but he will surely come. I cannot afford to lose then.”

“There is no such word as defeat for an assassin. A defeated assassin is simply captured and killed.”

The master said firmly.

Jang Han kept his head bowed and spoke once more.

“I do not intend to end up as just an assassin.”

“Insolent.”

At that moment, the sound of the axe stopped.

“Therefore, please make me stronger.”

At Jang Han’s words, the master casually threw the axe to the ground.

Thump! Thud!

The rusty axe rolled weakly on the ground.

The master, patting his back, sat on a wooden chair nearby and looked at Jang Han with a strange smile.

‘The sword seeks to have a name.’

An assassin should not have a name.

Having a name means that the sword is revealed, not hidden in the shadows.

Then it cannot be called an assassin.

That is why the old man had no name.

In the Cold War era, immediately after the Great War, which was called the age of assassins, the old man lived as a nameless assassin.

But the successor raised by that nameless assassin seeks to have a name.

‘What an interesting fate.’

Jang Han’s master slowly rose from his seat.

His posture, which had seemed weak and feeble, now had strength imbued in it.

“Then follow me. As always, there will be no quitting halfway.”

“That is what I desire.”

Jang Han also rose from his seat and followed behind him.

* * *

Although the sun was still high in the sky, Jung Jin-soo didn’t return to the office immediately but headed to a nearby restaurant with me.

Now that this matter was settled, I was planning to leave as originally planned, and it was time for Jung Jin-soo to return to his original work, so we decided to have a meal together before that.

“I don’t know if I did well this time.”

Jung Jin-soo said in a low voice, picking at his rice.

“Have some confidence. The best possible outcome was achieved.”

To be honest, what I was aiming for was just to block the influence of the Nine Dragons Guild that would follow Jung Jin-soo through Yang Seo-dan.

It would have been even better if I could have created some kind of relationship with Yang Seo-dan.

But Jung Jin-soo went even further and became close enough to call Yang Seo-dan his brother.

It was the best of the best.

“I just did as you told me, Master. Anyone could have done it, not just me.”

“If you’re being modest, stop it. There’s a difference between being humble and being servile.”

Jung Jin-soo didn’t realize that even though I had told him everything, it was he who had grasped the flow of the story and taken control.

“That wasn’t my intention…”

“Then be more confident. I told you before, I don’t need a puppet, I need a partner.”

Jung Jin-soo met my eyes and smiled brightly.

Then he nodded silently.

During the week I spent healing my internal injuries, I took out a file I had prepared and handed it to Jung Jin-soo.

“What’s this?”

“Companies or talents worth keeping an eye on. I’ve only roughly organized them, so just use them as a reference. It would be good to recruit the people I’ve checked, even if it costs a lot of money.”

It was a file with numerous names, both domestic and foreign.

I didn’t remember all the people and events from my past life, so I only organized the people who had made quite a name for themselves.

‘Come to think of it, I was trying not to be treated like a prophet through Jung Jin-soo…’

Perhaps Jung Jin-soo, who would gradually start working with that data, would really think of me as a prophet.

Jung Jin-soo flipped through the documents, admiring some parts and slightly puzzled by others.

There were some companies listed whose financial statements didn’t seem particularly special.

‘Hmm, he must have seen something I didn’t see.’

But he didn’t ask why.

If Lee Chul had bothered to create this file, there must be something to it.

It was necessary to take a closer look.

As if reading his expression, Lee Chul put down his spoon and said.

“Don’t be swayed by it. You know this area better than I do. It’s enough to just take another look at the parts you might have overlooked.”

“Of course. You don’t want someone who blindly follows and obeys you, do you?”

As if he had never worn a servile expression, Jung Jin-soo’s face showed confidence.

I smiled at Jung Jin-soo’s words.

“Good. It seems you understand well.”

“By the way, there are martial artists, magicians, and sorcerers too.”

“Since you’ve decided to walk the same path as me, you also need to have the power to operate in this world. You’ll need bodyguards, and it would be good to operate at least one strike team. It’s not urgent, so recruit and train them gradually.”

It was information about people who were not important enough for me to visit directly, but who had made quite a name for themselves and were not worth abandoning.

It was data I was going to give him a little later, but considering his management of the business, his handling of this matter, and even his contact with the information merchant Black Crow Society, I thought it wouldn’t be bad to give it to him now.

Jung Jin-soo shook his head with a bitter smile at my words.

“I understand. It seems like I have more work to do after overcoming this big mountain. Haha. Besides, there’s a lot to do, but I don’t have enough money or time. Geez.”

“So, make my money grow faster.”

“Haha, I understand, Master. I’ll work hard like a farmhand.”

Jung Jin-soo grinned.

In a much lighter atmosphere, we finished our meal.

Before parting ways with Jung Jin-soo, I spoke first.

“I won’t be able to contact you for a while.”

“Is something the matter?”

“I have to go to a place where I can’t be reached. It will take a while, so don’t wait too long even if you don’t hear from me.”

There are no such remote places in Korea where I can’t be contacted.

At most, it’s just an undeveloped area.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of going to an undeveloped area?”

“No, of course not.”