Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 196

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Episode 196

I returned straight to the main family residence from Jeju Island with Cheollyeongdae.

As soon as I returned, I changed into formal attire and headed to the main building.

There, most of the direct family members were gathered around a table for the first time in a while.

“Welcome, my youngest.”

“Hehe! You’re here, youngest?”

It was my eldest brother and second sister.

Father had called not only me.

He had summoned all the direct family members except for Lee Seo-hyun, who was currently on a mission.

“I apologize for being late. I was on a mission, so my arrival was delayed.”

“It’s alright. I heard about it.”

My eldest brother smiled.

I sat down in my seat at the back and subtly looked around.

‘The third brother hasn’t arrived yet.’

It had already been several years since Lee Gun-sung returned to the main family from the European branch.

However, I had never actually encountered him.

‘From the beginning, it’s different from the past. In the past, he would have been in the European branch even at this point.’

It was about 10 years earlier.

And Lee Gun-sung, in a way similar to what I did but different, tore apart the Council of Elders and expanded his power.

‘The seventh brother has also returned. It’s been several years.’

Sitting next to Madam Baek at the head of the table were the brothers, except for Lee Seo-hyun and Lee Gun-sung.

“…….”

At that moment, I noticed a gaze glancing at me.

It was my sixth sister.

“Ugh!”

As soon as our eyes met, my sixth sister quickly lowered her gaze and trembled.

I scoffed and shook my head.

Meanwhile.

‘What? Did the sixth just lower her eyes?’

‘Wouldn’t she? She got beaten up pretty badly, embarrassingly enough.’

‘Still, was she the type to act like that?’

‘Honestly, the youngest is scary…….’

The fourth and fifth twins quietly whispered to each other.

Of course, everyone gathered here heard the whispers.

“Sh, shit…….”

Normally, Lee Seol-ah would have made a fuss upon hearing such words, but she only trembled and lowered her head.

I scoffed and went to my seat.

“It’s been a while, youngest.”

My seventh brother, who was sitting next to me, smiled and spoke.

He had been away on business since I returned, but it seemed he had no choice but to return due to Father’s orders.

“Yes, it’s been a while, Seventh Brother.”

“Thank you for the monster new material bidding this time. There wasn’t a reliable business to form a consortium with. We almost lost it to the Kowloon Group.”

“We’re supposed to receive a share too. There’s no need to thank us.”

“You’ve grown a lot in just a few years.”

“Chairman Jung did it all.”

“You were the one who discovered Chairman Jung. If there’s a Midas’ touch, it might be you. These days, there’s even talk on Wall Street that you should follow any stock you guys touch.”

“…….”

I simply responded with an ambiguous smile.

‘I do know the future, Seventh Brother.’

Since the history I knew had changed so much, Jung Jin-soo and I hadn’t always succeeded, but the important thing was that we continued to achieve great success.

“By the way, have you completely returned to the family this time?”

“No. I have to go back as soon as this summons is over.”

“The Northern resource business seems quite difficult.”

“The unexplored territories have become even more turbulent recently.”

Afterward, business-related stories were exchanged.

The other brothers only glanced at us, unable to join the conversation.

“By the way, have you heard why Father summoned us all?”

“I haven’t heard anything either. It’s the first time he’s summoned us like this before going on an excursion.”

It was the moment when the conversation continued.

Creak-!

The sound of the door opening was heard.

The brothers’ gazes naturally turned towards it and froze.

Breaking through the silence, a man walked in.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him.

‘……He wasn’t going to be absent.’

Third Brother, Lee Gun-sung.

He, who I had expected to be absent, arrived late.

He lightly greeted Madam Baek and the eldest brother and sat in his seat.

And in the midst of that, my gaze and Lee Gun-sung’s intertwined in the air.

A strange smile appeared on Lee Gun-sung’s lips.

‘…….’

I narrowed my eyes and frowned.

At that time, my seventh brother said quietly.

“Be careful.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about the third brother. He’s dangerous. Perhaps more than the eldest brother.”

I curled up my lips at my seventh brother’s warning.

“I know very well.”

Of course, I knew. I knew better than anyone the danger of the man named Lee Gun-sung.

That’s why I had been preparing until now.

I sat in my seat and stared intently at Lee Gun-sung, who slowly lowered his eyes.

Like that, all the brothers except Lee Seo-hyun were seated.

After a very brief moment, the sound of the door opening was heard again.

Madam Baek and all the brothers, including me, stood up from our seats.

Father, Lee Tae-shin, had appeared.

He slowly walked in, sat down, and said.

“It seems everyone is here except for the eighth. Sit down.”

All the brothers sat down and focused on Father.

What could be the story that he had to tell, gathering all his children?

No one knew the reason, but it was clear that the story would cause a great upheaval in the relationships gathered here.

* * *

Meals were prepared for everyone, from Father and Madam Baek to the eldest brother and me.

The food prepared by the main family’s representative chef was delicious without any shortcomings.

However, there weren’t many people who could really eat comfortably with Father right in front of them.

“It seems the meal is uncomfortable, as no one is eating comfortably.”

When everyone put down their utensils and finished their meal, Father took a sip of water and spoke.

“No, Father.”

“We’re eating well.”

The fourth and fifth twins hurriedly answered, watching Father’s expression.

Madam Baek, who was sitting next to them, frowned slightly as if she was displeased with the sight.

Father didn’t care and opened his mouth.

“The reason I called you all here is none other than the fact that I am scheduled to leave for another excursion this evening, as I notified you in advance. The eldest will be the acting head of the family, as he has been until now.”

Father looked directly at the eldest brother sitting on his left.

The eldest brother taking on the role of acting head of the family during a long excursion.

That alone could be seen as being recognized as the next head of the family by outsiders.

Moreover, it was already the umpteenth time that the eldest brother was taking on the role.

A strange atmosphere lingered in the room at those words.

“When do you plan to return?”

I asked Father in that strange atmosphere.

“It will be an indefinite excursion. Everything about the matters during my absence has already been conveyed to Chief Secretary Choi, so you can go through him.”

Even with Father’s explanation, the other brothers had slightly puzzled expressions.

It was a big deal that Father was going on an excursion, but he had never summoned all his children even once.

“…….”

However, I was feeling a strange sense of déjà vu [a feeling of having already experienced the present situation] in this moment I was in.

Father’s words, and this atmosphere.

A memory from my past life suddenly flashed through my mind.

‘Could it be…….’

I immediately asked Father.

Hoping that my prediction was wrong.

“If it’s not a presumptuous question, may I ask where you are going?”

A question that could be somewhat rude.

The brothers looked at me in surprise.

‘Why is the youngest acting like that?’

‘Why is he keep asking Father questions like that? Is there something wrong?’

‘Come to think of it, Father called the youngest several times…… Did he hear something separately?’

I looked at Father, not caring about the brothers’ gazes.

“You have many questions.”

Father glanced at me for a moment and slowly answered.

“I will go to the Northern Unexplored Territories. That’s why I won’t be able to be contacted.”

As expected.

I took a long breath.

In my past life as well, Father summoned all the direct family members and said the exact same words he had just said.

And in that place, Father brought up the story that all the brothers had been waiting for.

I could guess what story Father was about to bring up now.

Father’s words at the time.

-When I return, I will choose one of you.

“And when I return, I will choose one of you.”

The exact same words, without a single word out of place, flowed from Father’s mouth.

Silence descended upon the room.

After a moment, one by one, the brothers’ eyes widened.

“Whether it’s force or politics, it doesn’t matter. Fight and win in accordance with the name of Soongmoo Lee family. The position of head of the family will be taken by the victor. You will have to compete and struggle even more than you do now.”

Selection of the head of the family!

The story that everyone thought was still far off was brought up.

‘Is Father saying that he will select the head of the family after his return?’

‘Finally, this day has come.’

‘Is it finally starting in earnest!’

The eyes of the brothers, including Madam Baek, widened greatly at Father’s words.

Some had eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Some were raising their competitive spirit.

Some were pretending to be uninterested.

Some were maintaining their composure.

Each of the brothers’ eyes began to fill with their own emotions.

And I felt my head growing cold at Father’s story.

‘To think he’d mention the selection of the head of the family already.’

The reason I frowned wasn’t because of the selection of the head of the family itself.

It was because of a certain event in the future that would occur after this story came out.

A few years after Father left those words.

Big events happened one after another in the world, and the main family became chaotic due to the overheated competition for the head of the family.

And in the midst of that, news of Father was conveyed to the family through Chief Secretary Choi.

That news was.

‘Father’s obituary [a notice of someone’s death].’

The head of the Soongmoo Lee family, the peerless warrior who first reached the Transcendent level…….

The death of the man named Lee Tae-shin, with countless modifiers.

It was an incident that occurred during an excursion a few years after leaving those words.

* * *

Father’s send-off ceremony was as simple as ever.

Only the Yeonggeomdan [the head of the family’s direct secret warrior squad], was present to perform the ceremony, along with the senior elders, direct family members, and Madam Baek.

Instead of any special luggage, Father took the five swords he cherished and left the family.

It was the same as in my past life, only the timing was different.

“…….”

I stood blankly, lost in thought.

Everyone couldn’t believe Father’s death.

Who killed him, how he died, nothing was known, it was just notified through Chief Secretary Choi.

Whether that news was true or false, the competition for the head of the family among the brothers subsided.

However, a while later, when one of the Ten Swords brought to the family clothes soaked in blood and five of Father’s beloved swords that had been smashed.

People finally began to accept Father’s death as a foregone conclusion.

Even the Ten Swords who arrived at the family were critically injured, and after delivering Father’s belongings, they died on the spot.

Only then did everyone accept Father’s death while pretending to deny it.

‘……But there were too many questions.’

A Northern investigation team was formed and dispatched, but all they found were traces of a fierce battle.

There were no monster corpses or Father’s corpse at the scene.

‘Was Father really dead?’

Could a warrior of Father’s caliber die without leaving a corpse?

However, it was clear that Father’s five beloved swords, which were among the highest-ranking swords even among Heavenly-grade swords, were smashed, and the flesh and blood on the clothes brought by the Ten Swords also belonged to Father.

I couldn’t be sure.

Because no one could find out.

The important thing is.

‘Everything started from that day.’

Before the shock of the news of Father’s obituary could be resolved.

The third brother began to reveal his true colors in earnest, as if he had been preparing in advance, and the competition for the head of the family intensified.

Naturally, people who were neither here nor there fell away one by one.

My uncle, and me, who was under him.

At that time, I could only run away from the family as if I was being chased out.

‘But it’s different now.’

The events of my past life are the events of my past life.

It’s already a thing of the past, and I’m living my current life.

I stopped worrying about things I couldn’t know.

The present has changed, there’s no reason for the future to flow the same way.

‘Even if it flows that way, nothing will change.’

I looked around at the faces of the people standing around me.

Madam Baek, the brothers, and even the elders.

Tension was swirling on the faces of everyone present.

No one brought up a story, and no one recklessly turned their gaze.

Everyone was sensing it.

That the time of the Soongmoo Lee family, which had been flowing slowly, had begun to flow quickly.

The checks and power struggles that had existed between the brothers until now would feel like child’s play compared to the huge storm that would rage.

The eldest brother, the second sister, the third brother.

Not only that, but the fourth and fifth twins, the sixth sister, the seventh brother, and the eighth who was not present.

And me.

‘I’ve finally come this far.’

I clenched my fist tightly.

Passing through those powerless times of my past life, and through the fierce life of this life.

Finally, I was about to step into the war surrounding the hegemony [leadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others] of the Soongmoo Lee family.

March 2032.

Early spring, when the air is still cool.

The competition for the head of the family had begun.