Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 159

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 159

A day before.

After finishing reconnaissance at the Black Root Village workshop, I explained the plan to Ron and Bacher.

The plan was simple.

A clean sweep.

And the preparation process for it.

“Village Chief, I would like all the residents of Black Root Village to leave the village and relocate.”

Ron looked puzzled at my words.

“Wouldn’t the enemies rush in right away if we did that? We’ve been holding out until now because of the barrier.”

“Of course, they’ll be caught. And they need to be caught. I’m not telling them to run away; we need bait for the operation.”

At my words, Bacher looked at me with wide eyes, as if wanting a little more explanation.

“Here’s the plan.”

I drew a picture on the floor with a twig.

A square representing the workshop.

A circle representing the village.

Following that, I continued with a detailed explanation.

“First, the villagers will start moving under the cover of night. Ron, you will be positioned here.”

I placed a small stone on top of the circle representing the villagers and drew an arrow next to it.

The stone represented Ron.

“Probably the entire enemy force, except for the minimum security forces, will move. This is because they don’t know exactly about the unidentified enemy who helped the village—that is, me and Ron—and they can’t control the battle and capture of the residents with a small number.”

I put small dots representing the enemy near the circle.

“And second, I will be waiting near the workshop.”

I put a stone representing me on the square a little away from the circle and continued.

“When things start, I will immediately strike the enemy forces from a distance. I can take out at least half of them, and the rest will not be in good condition.”

I drew a line from the stone that means me to the side where Ron is, and then drew an X.

“Finally, after finishing the attack, I will immediately enter the workshop. I will eliminate the remaining soldiers, free the survivors, and then recapture the workshop. Ron and the residents should come to the workshop as soon as the situation is sorted out, just in case.”

I drew the last X on the square representing the workshop.

That’s how my plan was explained.

Bacher frowned.

‘……Is he serious?’

Bacher stared blankly at the picture drawn on the floor.

It seemed too flimsy and had many holes.

Starting with using the villagers as bait, striking the opponent from that far distance from the workshop to the village, or recapturing the workshop alone… He didn’t know where to start pointing out the flaws.

‘But why…….’

Was Ron, another human being who was listening next to me, seriously listening to that absurd plan with his eyes wide open?

“Not bad. So, my job is literally escorting. Should I build a defense with the residents after Lee Cheol Gongja’s [a respectful title] attack lands?”

Ron immediately grasped the essence of my plan and spoke first about his detailed tasks.

“Yes. If you build a barrier with the power of the dwarves and use the secret techniques of the Russell family, you will be able to defend.”

“Once the defense is over, we can advance together with the residents and eliminate the remaining enemy soldiers.”

“That’s right.”

“Wait! Wait a minute.”

Bacher waved his hand and intervened as Ron and I were talking about the details of the plan.

“What the hell is going on? Okay, can you please explain to me in a little more detail? How can you inflict serious damage on the enemy from a distance? Besides, you’re going to rescue the hostages alone? Is that really possible?”

I nodded at Bacher’s points and opened my mouth.

“It is possible.”

I felt the touch of Ru’s spear, which I was carrying in my arms, and my eyes shone.

* * *

And now.

I was hiding at the top of the tree, watching the energy of the Holy Sword burst out in the distance, and my eyes shone.

‘It’s the beginning.’

I connected the spear shaft hastily made of Mujin [a type of wood] to Ru’s spearhead.

The spearhead bursting with radiance and the black spear shaft dyed in jet black were engaged.

Kiiiiiiiiing!

And I poured out all the magic power that I had activated in advance.

Now, I even used Reverse Heaven Art [역천술 – a technique], which had eliminated the side effects, and amplified the aura to the maximum.

The constantly injected aura soon created black petals at the tip of the spearhead.

One layer, two layers… magic power accumulated over the spearhead.

‘Still not enough.’

Woowoong!

I checked the exact target point in the distance with Mana Eyes [마안 – a skill].

This alone was enough.

There is no need to adjust it to hit the opponent.

This spear unconditionally hits what it aims at once it is fired. It has ‘that ability’.

Deudeudeudeud!

Mujin and the spearhead vibrated heavily due to the accumulation of enormous power.

The number of accumulated petals reached a total of nine.

The more petals there are, the more explosively the power imbued in the spearhead increases.

But.

‘Still not enough.’

The last one.

Another petal wraps around the spearhead.

The brilliant white light emitted by Ru’s spear and the black light created by my aura intertwined, and a black and white lotus bloomed.

Woojik! Saaaak!

The surrounding trees shake as if they had encountered a storm.

I leaped towards the sky.

I hadn’t yet unleashed all the power this spearhead had.

I recreated a part of the spear-throwing [투창 – a mythological act] in mythology with my fingertips.

Tuwhak!

The spear slipped from my hand.

The air tore apart.

Following that, the air burst out, drawing the shape of a circle.

The silver sleeves that wrapped around the hand holding the spear were torn as if they were about to burst.

And a streak of black and white light crossed the night sky.

Beonjjeok!

For a moment, the world lost color and sound.

* * *

Ron could not let his guard down even though he surrounded himself with the dwarves’ earthen mounds and deployed the Holy Sword with all his power.

‘It’s coming!’

The hairs on his body stood on end.

The dragon’s body, which is sensitive to all magic power, warned of danger in an instant.

And immediately after that, the sound disappeared.

‘……!’

The ground trembled as if there was an earthquake, and the dwarves and Ron inside the semi-circular barrier surrounding the residents could not maintain their balance and shook.

“……!”

The dwarves looked at Ron and shouted, opening their mouths to say something.

They were pushing magic power while placing their hands on the ground.

Ron could not hear any sound.

However, he only sensed the wall of aura surrounding the barrier bursting through the Holy Sword.

Following that, cracks were drawn on the barrier created by the dwarves.

A dazzling radiance permeated through the cracked barrier.

Ron, for the first time in his life, felt fear upon seeing the light.

And a beat late, the disappeared sound returned.

Kwaaaaaaaaang!

It was an explosion that would numb your ears even though you defended your ears with aura, and it was just noise coming through the opened gap.

삐이이! A tinnitus continued as if a bug had entered the ear.

Ron finally propped himself up with the Holy Sword with an exhausted expression after the tinnitus disappeared.

Hudududuk!

The dwarves also stopped injecting magic power with exhausted expressions, and the earthen barrier collapsed.

That’s how the surrounding scenery was revealed.

Ron stared blankly around, not even noticing that his mouth was open.

A part of the lush forest had disappeared.

The ground was hollowed out, forming a crater.

Rocks, gravel, and densely packed trees.

Everything within a range of tens of meters was crumbled, leaving only sand.

Chiijijik-.

A spear was stuck in the center of the crater, emitting steam due to frictional heat.

Ron stared at the spear blankly.

This is the scenery created by just one spear. You could believe that a meteorite had fallen.

At that time.

“Ugh……!”

“Keueuk! What the…….”

Hudududuk!

Several enemy soldiers appeared, wriggling out of the buried ground.

“Haha, Lee Cheol Gongja. You said about half would be left…….”

Ron let out a hollow laugh.

“Half? There aren’t even ten left.”

Ron looked at the enemies coughing and struggling to stand.

He didn’t know how they survived in this disaster.

But either way, they would only breathe the air of this world a little longer.

* * *

“Hoo…….”

I took a deep breath and gathered the magic power of my whole body.

Just one strike.

It was just one throw of the spear, but more than half of my magic power was gone.

Wookshin!

I felt a throbbing in my temples.

It was because I poured so much magic power into it, but also because it took a tremendous amount of mental power to control that vast magic power.

‘Eunhan [MC’s sleeve] will soon be reattached.’

Eunhan, which has self-healing abilities, was wriggling and reattaching the torn area itself.

‘I’ll leave that side to Ron. If it’s Ron, he’ll return to the workshop as soon as it’s over.’

I turned my body without regret and jumped into the workshop.

Now the last battle remains.

‘Come back.’

While running, I thought, reaching out into the air.

Instantly, a streak of bright light flew from afar, cutting through the air like a shooting star, and slipped into my hand.

It was Ru’s spear with Mujin inserted.

Crackle! Sizzle!

Perhaps because all the injected magic power had not been resolved, magic power was sharply튀기고 [unsure of the best translation here – crackling/sparking] on the surface of the spearhead.

‘I can’t use it again right away.’

The preparation time takes too long, and it is not a weapon that can be used in the midst of a fierce battle.

I immediately put the spearhead into Eunhan’s pocket.

Eunhan will absorb the magic power remaining in the spearhead and repair the torn area faster.

Thud!

I deployed Mana Body [마체 – a technique] as soon as I crossed the walls of the workshop.

In the slowed time, only my thoughts accelerated rapidly.

Since the enemy here must have noticed me with the blow just now, I didn’t care about hiding and spread my senses with all my might, surveying the surroundings.

‘That’s strange. There are no security forces?’

There was nothing caught by my senses.

Most of the troops were sent to the residents.

‘Is only the puppeteer left?’

The center of the workshop.

The flow of unpleasant magic power was caught in my Mana Eyes.

‘Good. I’ll rescue the hostages first.’

I shone my eyes and kicked off the ground again.

Since I had already been here once, I didn’t get lost and was soon able to reach the place where the dwarves were being held.

“Oh!”

The dwarves who were being held hostage widened their eyes, seeing me inside the iron bars.

“I’ll get you out, so duck down!”

The dwarves were startled and lowered their bodies, taking out their swords at my words.

Clang!

The fired sword energy completely cut off the iron bars.

The dwarves looked at me with bewildered expressions.

“Y-you are…….”

“I came to rescue you. Who is the oldest?”

“T-that’s me!”

One of the dwarves shouted, raising his hand.

I gave instructions in an authoritative voice, approaching him.

“I came at the request of Village Chief Bacher.”

“C-Chief? Did he save us? A human?”

“It’s a long story. You know the way, so run towards the village as quickly as possible. There are no enemies nearby, so just focus on escaping.”

A loud and clear command is more effective for someone in confusion than gentle persuasion.

As expected, the dwarf shook his head up and down strongly, whether he understood or not.

“Then you lead the way and start.”

“Y-yes! E-everyone, let’s go!”

I took the dwarves out and immediately left the building with Black Night and Mujin in hand.

At that moment, a huge shadow appeared behind the dwarves running.

That shadow falls on the dwarves.

“Hmph!”

I immediately flew aura and cut them all down.

Clods of dirt falling.

An earth golem that I had seen before was standing there.

-Gueooooooo…….

A golem that is different in class from the earth golems I have seen so far.

And a man in a robe appeared from behind, flying in the sky.

Woowoong!

Streams of purple magic power stretched out in all directions, shaking like tentacles.

“Gasp!”

“Kyaaak!”

The dwarves trembled, stopping their feet.

I shouted at the dwarves.

“Don’t stop, run!”

The dwarves started running again at my shout.

The puppeteer tried to stretch out his magic power towards them again, but I had already blocked their rear.

“Get out of the way! You ignorant fool!”

I don’t think he’ll move just because I told him to get out of the way.

Clang!

I flew aura at the puppeteer again, who was trying to fly towards the dwarves, ignoring me.

“Kuaaak! You annoying!”

The puppeteer looked down at me, trembling.

Then he flinched and trembled.

“It’s you. The connection with the golem was just cut off. You destroyed two golems… You’re the culprit who interfered with my research!”

The puppeteer’s voice was as grating as rubbing iron.

To that, I.

‘If I was going to have a conversation, I wouldn’t have come here in the first place.’

I sniped at the puppeteer, changing Mujin into the shape of a bow in the sky instead of answering.

“Kuaaaak!”

Kwaaaaang!

The transparent barrier surrounding the puppeteer burst out and fell from the sky, whether it was a barrier or a magic spell.

I kicked off the ground as it was, heading towards the puppeteer without giving him a break.

The puppeteer staggers to his feet.

At that moment, his angry magic power stretched out again, riding on the ground.

Clang!

I quickly approached, kicking off the ground. I immediately swung Mujin, wielding a barrier, and aimed for the puppeteer’s face with Black Night.

“Keuk!”

Swish!

The puppeteer’s head tilted, and Black Night split the puppeteer’s hood, and the puppeteer’s magic burst out.

“Y-you rude… Do you even know what you’ve done…….”

The puppeteer hid behind the earth golem, staggering after throwing his body.

I looked at the puppeteer’s face like that and widened my eyes a little.

“I knew it.”

I was right that the puppets I encountered here through the memories of my past life that the person was dealing with.

But at the same time, that person is not the one I am confronting now.

“I’ll ask you just one thing. What’s your name?”

The torn hood of the puppeteer was blown back by the wind blowing from behind.

Soon, the face hidden inside the hood was revealed.

It was a human face with flesh and blood, not a wax doll.

The problem was that it was pale without any blood.

Not only pale skin, but also discolored and blue, like a person who had been dead for a long time, and the lips were protruding with prominent blood vessels.

It’s not a living person.

It was clearly the vitality of a human, but the energy it contained was dead inside that body.

“Ignorant one. My name is John Doe. I am a great puppeteer, and the truth…….”

The enemy answers naturally even though I suddenly asked his name.

Awkward feelings, awkward tone, awkward reaction somewhere.

“You’re also a puppet. You’re not the puppeteer himself.”

That’s just another puppet.

Enough if I knew.

The conversation ends here.

I stretched out Black Night, ending those words.