Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 146

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Chapter 146

The aura skills I’ve used so far have been rather basic.

Forming aura to bind opponents, amplifying power for wielding, increasing sharpness, or concealing myself.

It’s not that these are bad.

They are the fundamentals.

Techniques like Lightning, Yama [likely a reference to a powerful or destructive technique], and Sleet Wind can be considered the basics of aura skills.

But there’s more to aura skills than just that.

Aura skills that reach the 4-star level break away from such simple applications, allowing one to wield abilities that humans can scarcely imagine.

I’ve already experienced such things.

Although only in incomplete, half-finished versions, starting with Serena Cannata’s barrier of light.

Things like the Mana Body, which allows aura to dwell within the body and exert much greater power than I possess, are further examples.

And now, I unleashed a new 4-star aura skill that my aunt passed down to me.

Strengthening Qi Art [Qi refers to vital energy or life force], Gravity Pressure Field.

The aura that spread in all directions became even darker.

I could see Ron’s expression turning to astonishment.

‘It’s like wielding a sword underwater!’

My limbs feel heavy.

No, not only the movement of my body but also the speed of mana deployment has slowed down.

Because of this unidentified aura skill.

Clang!

Ron failed to defend against the attack for the first time, and the aura barrier surrounding his skin shattered.

Ron gritted his teeth.

As if having waited for this moment, Kim Cheol-hyun’s sword was swung fiercely.

It was from that moment that he realized he couldn’t block everything.

‘I’ll concede some ground. I just need to avoid a fatal blow!’

He trusted his aura barrier and took the hit aimed for his waist, allowing it to glance off.

He aimed his sword at Kim Cheol-hyun’s shoulder, cutting off the flow of the next series of attacks.

However, Kim Cheol-hyun switched the sword to his other hand and swung it straight away.

This was unavoidable. He had to block it.

Clang!

Ron felt goosebumps all over his body from the shockwave that came with the clash of swords.

‘If I had misjudged, I would have lost. If my judgment on evasion or defense had been even slightly off, I would have been defeated immediately!’

He had to admit it.

The opponent was a level above him.

But he couldn’t give up yet.

Kim Cheol-hyun, being human, couldn’t possibly sustain such a wide-ranging technique forever.

So, Ron, all he had to do was one thing.

He had to endure.

Until Kim Cheol-hyun’s aura wavered.

Until that lake-like mana ran dry.

As always, he would defend against all attacks as much as possible and unleash a prepared, deadly strike at the perfect opportunity that would eventually come.

‘Impressive.’

I thought, watching Ron.

Gravity Pressure Field wasn’t a technique with practical killing power.

However, just by dulling the opponent’s mana flow and hindering their movements, it was a skill with almost unfair advantages.

You might think it only slows them down, but everyone knows how fatal it is for the flow of mana and body movements to be slowed down in the battles of martial artists who compete in mere moments.

‘But that look in his eyes.’

Even in that situation, Ron didn’t despair or give up.

Rather, he was shining his eyes as if he would do his best in the situation he was given, since he couldn’t change what had already happened.

‘Good. Then I’ll push him harder so he can’t endure!’

Bang! Clash! Bang!

Every time the swords collided, explosions seemed to ring out.

A noise that sounded like two blunt instruments grinding together, rather than swords clashing, echoed.

Even in a situation where he was being hit repeatedly and his stamina and mana were being gradually depleted, Ron didn’t give up and continued his swordplay.

‘As expected of the future Sword Emperor.’

It was because it was Ron that he was enduring.

It was truly shocking skill.

In fact, after more than 50 exchanges, I could feel my mana rapidly depleting.

“Indeed, the name Iron Wall is not wasted on you.”

“It’s certainly impressive, but I can do this all day. And you won’t be able to break through me. You’ll get tired before that!”

“In that case, let’s try breaking through once before that.”

I said that and gathered aura within my body.

The deployment speed of aura was already incomparably faster than during the Great Demonic War [likely a past conflict].

And.

Whoosh!

I stepped into a world where everything slowed down.

It was the manifestation of Strengthening Qi Art, Mana Body.

‘He can use aura skills again here?’

Mana consumption must be considerable, but how great is his mana that he can use a technique once more?

Ron was astonished.

The secret technique he wanted to block so much had unfolded.

The next moment.

Whoosh!

Kim Cheol-hyun’s iron sword, which was far away, was magnified right in front of his nose.

He hurriedly pulled his heavy arm, as if it had a weight attached, and defended the front.

Clang!

The swords collided, and Ron was knocked back for the first time.

He felt a tearing pain all over his body from that one blow.

‘The supraspinatus muscle is torn. And the ribs…….’

It was a serious injury.

Even though he had defended, he could feel that the outer oblique muscle attached to the latissimus dorsi and ribs, starting from the shoulder ligaments, was torn, and several of the lower ribs were broken.

In this state, he wouldn’t be able to compete in the next match even if he won.

He would have to recuperate for a while, let alone compete.

‘I don’t care!’

Ron gritted his teeth.

Because defeating that boy would be a more valuable victory than winning this tournament!

Whoosh!

Ron focused all the mana he had been conserving to recover from his injuries solely on defense.

And Kim Cheol-hyun’s body accelerated once more.

The sword aiming for his waist was already stabbing at his nape, and the opponent’s figure, which he thought was in front of him, disappeared leaving only afterimages and revealed himself from behind.

It was as if he was watching an old movie with a low frame rate.

It was a speed that even his body, blessed by the Fairy’s Grace and the Dragon Body, couldn’t keep up with.

‘He’s still holding on?’

Meanwhile, I couldn’t help but be astonished.

Although I was gradually chipping away at that solid defense, Ron’s eyes still flickered with a strong light.

The eyes of someone who has a hidden card.

Ron hadn’t played his trump card yet.

He must be consuming mana for defense as much as I am consuming mana, but he was looking for an opportunity until the end.

Swish!

More than 200 exchanges passed like that.

I frowned.

I couldn’t break through all of Ron’s defenses.

And at that moment.

Just a little.

It was only a very small amount, but the power of the Gravity Pressure Field had weakened.

‘Now is the time.’

Ron’s eyes flashed open.

The dragon that had been crouching began to flap its wings.

Thump!

Ron took a step forward.

In an instant, all the aura he had been surrounding his body for defense was concentrated at the tip of Ron’s sword.

Russell Swordsmanship Secret Technique Number 6.

I know that technique.

‘Dragon’s Breath. I expected up to number 5, but he mastered even number 6!’

A blue aura reminiscent of the sky burst out.

Ron pulled his sword back as if loading a bullet.

Concentrated and concentrated again.

The sword, endlessly concentrated as if he was betting everything on this one strike, rushed towards me at a terrifying speed.

I sensed that this was the end of this match.

“Haaap!”

Since the opponent had drawn his family’s heirloom, I had to draw a corresponding ultimate skill.

I raised my sword above my head and swung the strike I had obtained from Mu Jin.

Mu Jin Style 1, Exorcism.

The two ultimate skills collided like that.

Clang!

I felt my vision turn blue.

The barrier that confined the arena vibrated.

The blue aura and the black aura mixed and shook, and as the name of the technique suggested, a blaze of aura soared as if a dragon’s breath had burst out.

‘I blocked it.’

But this is not the end.

That technique doesn’t end with one strike. It’s a series of continuous strikes that are swung twice, three times.

“Kuaaaaap!”

Ron swung his sword again with a shout like a scream.

Looking at the noticeably reduced amount of mana, it seemed impossible to perform the third strike.

However, I, who had used Gravity Pressure Field, Mana Body, and Exorcism in succession, didn’t have much mana to spare either.

I also prepared the final strike.

Mu Jin Style 2, Black Lotus.

Eight petals gathered at the tip of the sword.

And.

Swoosh!

Silence fell on the arena along with a short cutting sound.

* * *

Silence filled the arena.

The spectators stared at the arena with wide eyes.

Even if the barrier surrounding the arena was eliminating much of the noise, light, and shockwaves.

It wasn’t that the people in the audience seats didn’t feel anything.

There were civilians who came to watch, but the majority of those here were martial artists gathered from all over the world, so they could tell how amazing the clash of the two boys was.

Flutter!

The scattered dust in the air slowly disappeared, and the figures of the two boys were revealed.

The two boys were facing each other without doing anything.

Crack-.

And Kim Cheol-hyun’s sword crumbled and mixed into the scattered debris.

“I lost.”

And, one boy said.

Everyone’s ears and eyes were focused on which side it was.

“Haha.”

One boy laughed and slumped down.

It was Ron Russell who slumped down.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaa!”

A roar that seemed to shake the arena echoed.

I threw the sword, which was now completely broken and only had the guard and handle left, onto the ground and slowly approached Ron.

Ron’s appearance suggested he was no longer capable of fighting.

At that level, he would have considerable internal injuries as well as external injuries.

Conversely, I still had energy left.

In the end, I had won.

Against that future Sword Emperor.

I looked at Ron.

‘There’s a story I want to hear…… but I can’t hear it now.’

Ron’s eyes had already lost focus.

Before long, Ron fainted while sitting down.

Amidst the cheers of the crowd and the flashes of cameras pouring down on me, I felt a strange gaze.

Although there were so many spectators, I sent my gaze directly to a certain man among them.

“…….”

Jang Han was sitting there.

Jang Han’s eyes, staring at me blankly, and my eyes crossed in the air.

-Now it’s my turn.

His eyes seemed to be saying that.

* * *

When Ron opened his eyes, what he saw was a white ceiling.

His mind slowly returned to him with the smell of disinfectant and medicine stinging his nose.

‘Where is this? A hospital? Why did I faint?’

After briefly retracing his turbid mind, Ron was able to recognize the situation.

‘I lost.’

He lost. He lost decisively.

He had never driven that boy into a corner for even a single moment.

He is really terribly strong.

Can there be such an existence in the same generation?

“You’re awake.”

Ron turned his head towards the voice.

The boy who had defeated him was sitting there.

“……How many days have I been lying down?”

“Three hours. If you had fainted for several days, I wouldn’t have been waiting. The Dragon Body is amazing. To come to your senses already.”

Ron staggered and got up from his seat.

His whole body ached.

“I’m in this state, but are you okay?”

“I just kept attacking, so of course I’m fine.”

“…….”

Well, it was Ron who was gritting his teeth and blocking.

But it couldn’t be helped that it felt annoying when he said it like that.

Ron stared at his forearm wrapped in bandages for a moment. Now that he had come to his senses, he could use mana to recover, but he could feel that his bones were broken and his tendons were inflamed.

Ron turned his head again.

“Can I ask you just one thing?”

“Instead, I also have a story I want to hear, so if you answer my question, I’ll answer yours too.”

“Okay. And I swear on my honor that I will keep all the stories that come out of this place a secret.”

When the other person nodded, Ron’s eyes lit up and he continued.

“As you know, my body has dragon factors mixed in, so it is sensitive to mana. I didn’t notice it when I was just facing you because it was too subtle…… but I clearly saw the mana covering your face wavering at that last moment. That face, is it a disguise?”

I nodded.

After absorbing the Myriad Faced Iron Skin, my ability to use mana arts has also increased, so now it’s hard to get caught disguising myself unless it’s a special case.

However, in the midst of exchanging swords so fiercely, and with Ron having the Dragon Body, he must have noticed even the slightest bit of heterogeneity [being different or incompatible].

Ron, who was staring at me intently, lit up his eyes.

As expected, Ron recognized my identity…….

“Then are you the famous seventh son of the Sungmoo Lee family…… Gold Sword Lee Jae-hak?”

……He didn’t.

Why is Jae-hak hyung [older brother] coming out here all of a sudden?

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, uh. Wasn’t it?”

“Of course not. Why did that person’s name come up?”

“I just couldn’t believe that someone my age could be so strong…… but your voice didn’t sound like a very old person either, so I was absolutely certain…….”

Still, even so, the seventh hyung.

The fantasy about the man who was called the Sword Emperor is a little shattered.

Jang Han immediately thought of me, though.

I had a feeling that he was a bit of a pushover.

Woo-.

I removed the mana covering my face.

“I’m not Lee Jae-hak hyung.”

“Hyung?”

“I am Lee Cheol of the Sungmoo Lee family.”

Ron’s eyes widened as if they would tear when he saw my face.

“Yo, you don’t mean…… the one who came out of the Martial Arts Test…….”

“Yeah, that’s right.”
Huh!

Ron unknowingly took a breath.

To think that the opponent was not someone older than him.

It was a bit of a shock.

Rather, wasn’t the opponent younger than him!

“Can you show me your identity? Weren’t you hiding it on purpose?”

“Didn’t you say something about honor?”

“That’s true, but…….”

“It doesn’t matter. Once this tournament is over, I don’t intend to hide my identity and move around anymore.”

I don’t know what he’s talking about, but I could feel that he really didn’t care.

If the Russell family was just a family that was loyal to the Empress, the Sungmoo Lee family had the name of a family, but it was a truly global giant force.

That’s right…….

“More than that, your words have become a little sharper. Did I do something wrong?”

People think that there are no honorifics in English, but there are formal and polite expressions in English that elevate the other person.

However, unlike the last time we met, Lee Cheol’s tone today was sharp.

“You know better than I do.”

I looked straight into Ron’s eyes.

And I asked the question I wanted to ask as soon as the match was over.

“Why didn’t you use the Holy Sword?”