Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 227

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Episode 227

I stopped training and packed my bags immediately.

Just as I was about to leave Cheonwisan, the Mountain Keeper came to me, seemingly having sensed the presence of the Blackbird that had come to the mountain.

“Did something happen? I thought you were staying longer?”

“Yes, it seems something urgent has come up.”

It wasn’t just the family, but Anastasia and Jung Jin-soo, who wouldn’t contact me for trivial matters, had both reached out. Moreover, even the Blackbird, possessing spirituality comparable to a human, had come.

To continue training here would be selfish.

“Thank you for helping me with my training. Please forgive my abrupt departure.”

“Since when have I cared about such things? And I should be the one thanking you. In the end, you were the one who kept your promise.”

The Mountain Keeper chuckled awkwardly.

“Aren’t you leaving, Mountain Keeper?”

“I am. I’m thinking of wandering the world for a bit. But I’ll be back. This place has become my territory, after all.”

The Mountain Keeper said with a peculiar smile.

Now, the Mountain Keeper was free to go anywhere, but he still hadn’t left Cheonwisan.

It wasn’t that the ancient goblin, the Mountain Keeper, was afraid of the world.

It seemed that he had found his essence as a goblin and accepted his role as the Mountain Keeper as part of himself.

“I see. I understand. Be sure to visit Mirenae Village. Elder Ryeo is quite worried about you.”

“……I’ll take care of it myself.”

“Then, I’ll be going now.”

I bowed my head.

But the Mountain Keeper didn’t move out of the way.

“Wait a moment, even if you’re in a hurry.”

“What is it?”

“A goblin always keeps its promises.”

A promise?

At those words, I recalled the promise I had made long ago.

“Honestly, you impudent brat. You received a favor from a goblin and were planning to leave without taking anything in return?”

The Mountain Keeper chuckled and gestured in the air.

Then, something like a heat haze appeared, and a small necklace dropped down.

“It’s a gift. Take it.”

Clatter!

I took the necklace the Mountain Keeper offered.

It was a teardrop-shaped necklace with a colorless, transparent gem.

At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a piece of glass on a silver chain.

“What is this?”

But I felt a strange energy emanating from the seemingly insignificant necklace.

“It’s a necklace made using a fragment of a star. And……”

The Mountain Keeper looked directly into my eyes.

“……I’ve engraved my name on it.”

Instantly, I was so startled that I almost dropped the necklace.

To a goblin, a name is their very essence.

He had only just regained it, and now he was giving it back to me?

“I repeat, a goblin always keeps its promises. When you made that promise 10 years ago, you clearly asked me to help you. I will keep it. From now on, I will live for you.”

The Mountain Keeper burst into hearty laughter.

I shook my head and handed the necklace back.

“I can’t accept this. When I asked you to help me, I just meant for you to lend me your strength once or twice.”

“Do you think I’m such a petty being? And don’t worry. This oath will only last as long as you live.”

The Mountain Keeper crossed his arms and snorted.

“Even if you live a long life, it will only be a hundred or two hundred years, right? I am a goblin who lives for eons. I don’t mind that much.”

Even so, I knew how significant it was for a goblin to give their name to a human.

That’s why I couldn’t easily refuse.

I clenched the necklace tightly and nodded.

“Then, I look forward to working with you. Mountain Keeper.”

“Call me ‘Woo’ from now on.”

The Mountain Keeper held out his hand to me.

“Before I lost my name, that’s what I was called. I’m not leaving Cheonwisan, but I can’t be called Mountain Keeper by my master.”

The Mountain Keeper’s eyes, having regained his name, were sharp and full of power.

I took the Mountain Keeper’s hand.

“I look forward to working with you, Elder Woo.”

“Alright, brat.”

I left Cheonwisan with such a great gift.

* * *

After saying goodbye to the Mountain Keeper, I thought about what to do next as I descended Cheonwisan.

‘The family matters are important, but Anastasia’s situation is more urgent.’

So, I had already called Jung Jin-soo to the vicinity of Cheonwisan.

I couldn’t have a long conversation due to concerns about eavesdropping, so once I joined up with Jung Jin-soo…….

‘……Presence.’

As I ran down the path, I sensed a presence hiding on the outskirts of Cheonwisan.

-It seems there are gnats watching the mountain these days. They think they can just watch from the outskirts as long as they don’t cross the mountain’s boundary…….

Recalling Elder Woo’s words, I scoffed.

‘I must have been underestimated.’

It was quite a high-level stealth technique, but I could clearly sense it.

I immediately unleashed my aura as I ran.

Swish!

Steel Body Art Water Scales, Esoteric Art Dark Ogre.

The moment I passed a large zelkova tree at the entrance of Cheonwisan, I concealed my sound, appearance, and presence.

And.

Whoosh!

Several weapons made of black energy floated behind me.

‘Go.’

The Esoteric Art Heavenly Net manifested without a sound, and I shot the weapons formed from black energy in all directions.

“Ugh!”

“Cough! Khh?”

“We’ve been found……!”

Screech! Boom!

Explosions echoed throughout the plains on the outskirts of the mountain.

I didn’t intend to kill them.

The weapons I sent were intended to subdue rather than kill.

And a little later.

“Kuh-uh…….”

“Kuh-uh…….”

“Ugh! Ugh!”

A group of people, their mouths and limbs restrained by black energy, flew through the air and landed in front of me.

The black energy had been transformed to bind them.

I waved my hand, releasing the black energy.

“Cough!”

Thud!

As soon as they were released, they crashed to the ground.

Blood flowed from the mouths of those rolling on the ground.

When I retrieved the black energy, I had also pulled out the poison capsules that seemed to be hidden in their mouths.

‘Ten people. Their level is…… quite high.’

They were warriors who seemed to be at least quasi-3rd class and 4th class [levels of martial arts proficiency].

I looked down at them writhing and said.

“Who ordered you to come here?”

“……Kill us.”

The man’s eyes trembled.

His speech was slurred from the pain of having several teeth forcibly pulled out.

I knelt down and removed his mask.

And the moment I confirmed his face, I frowned.

“……Black Sword Unit?”

It was Lee Cheol-joong’s now-disbanded warrior unit.

I remembered his face because I had handled the aftermath of that incident.

And as soon as I knew his identity, I realized the whole story.

“Lee Gun-sung?”

The masked men didn’t even react.

Regardless, I was already convinced.

‘He used them to find out my whereabouts. If it’s the Black Sword Unit, they have a grudge against me and won’t open their mouths to torture, so it’s certain.’

How like Lee Gun-sung to choose such personnel.

Anyway, I was getting more and more worried about the family situation.

My aunt, nanny, and the Steel Blood Brigade.

Seeing that the Blackbird didn’t protect them and came to me, it probably wasn’t too dangerous, but…….

I clicked my tongue and looked down at them.

“Anyway, it’s enough to know that you’re from the Black Sword Unit.”

I immediately got up and conveyed my will to the black energy.

“I know you won’t open your mouths to torture, so I won’t bother you anymore. I’ll at least send you off cleanly.”

Black energy gathered in front of the necks of the Black Sword Unit members sitting down and began to take the shape of weapons.

Swish! Thud!

I left that sound behind and quickly flew away.

* * *

I met Jung Jin-soo at a safe house located quite far from Cheonwisan.

The moment I saw Jung Jin-soo sitting there, I breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad you’re alive.”

“I wasn’t in any great danger. The attacks by the companies were more significant.”

Jung Jin-soo smiled somewhat darkly and faced me.

I looked around and focused my senses.

At my direction, Jung Jin-soo had hired several assault teams to use as escorts.

They were hiding around this safe house now.

“There’s jamming here, so there’s no threat of eavesdropping, but I couldn’t detect any eavesdropping by magic or spells. Would you like to check?”

“I’ve already checked. There are no problems around here.”

I sat down in front of Jung Jin-soo.

And I looked at Jung Jin-soo with my magic eyes and clicked my tongue.

“What’s wrong?”

“Give me your hand.”

“Yes?”

“Quickly.”

The moment Jung Jin-soo hesitantly held out his hand, I poured magic power into his body.

It was a healing spell.

I instantly restored Jung Jin-soo’s blocked magic circuits and pushed out all the impurities in his body.

“Ugh!”

Drip!

Instantly, Jung Jin-soo opened his mouth at the rising feeling of nausea and spat out blood-mixed saliva.

And with that, Jung Jin-soo felt a refreshing energy flowing through his body.

“Wh-what is this…….”

“You were poisoned. It’s a weak poison, so it probably just made you feel tired or stuffy.”

At my words, Jung Jin-soo’s eyes sank deeply.

He didn’t panic or get angry.

He calmly turned his gaze to the secretary standing next to him and opened his mouth.

“Secretary Jang.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“You heard, right? I believe you know what to do. I know you’re tired, but I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, I understand.”

The man called Secretary Jang bowed his head without a word and left the room.

Jung Jin-soo took a deep breath and bowed his head to me.

“I’m sorry, Young Master. I’ve been on guard since the Lee Cheol-joong incident as you instructed, but it seems there were more gaps than I thought.”

“No, you did well enough. You were on guard, so you only ingested a weak poison.”

It may be obvious, but Jung Jin-soo’s condition was also clearly due to Lee Gun-sung.

I took a long breath and looked at Jung Jin-soo.

“I know it’s sudden, but I’d like you to explain the situation right away. What exactly happened?”

At my words, Jung Jin-soo immediately continued with a firm expression.

“As you may have already guessed, he has moved.”

He.

He was referring to the third son of the Soongmoo Lee family, Lee Gun-sung.

“Currently, several branches of the Black Turtle Association in Russia have been attacked, and the whereabouts of the Black Turtle Association Leader and several other important figures are unknown.”

I couldn’t help but frown at the following words.

* * *

Jung Jin-soo calmly explained what had happened.

“The first signs appeared three days ago.”

The first to be attacked were the various businesses that Jung Jin-soo had built up.

The attacks were carried out in such a multifaceted and diverse manner that it was impossible to attribute them to a single person.

Several large projects suddenly fell through, and attacks came in on several businesses that were still uncertain.

“That was a common situation. I was able to handle it to some extent.”

Several rumors that could greatly damage the company’s image surfaced, and attacks continued on the business from various angles.

However, the foundation was so solid that it was possible to respond.

“I think I was poisoned at this point. There was a brief gap in protection. And just yesterday, the full-scale attacks continued.”

Attacks by terrorist groups.

Attacks by wanderers [independent martial artists or mercenaries].

From this point on, Jung Jin-soo was convinced that Lee Gun-sung had moved and began to respond strongly.

The problem was what came next.

An urgent call arrived on the hotline connected to the Black Turtle Association’s main base.

“Several notorious wanderers and assassination organizations have moved. The main base was suddenly attacked, and contact was lost immediately afterward. It’s just a rumor, but there are also rumors that monsters appeared near the main base…….”

“…….”

I closed my mouth and pondered for a moment.

‘Tearing apart the cooperative and attacking. And rushing in from all directions…… it’s such a Lee Gun-sung-like method.’

Then the Black Turtle Association Leader is in danger.

I wanted to move immediately, but I couldn’t.

If I had, Jung Jin-soo would have reported this information in a car, not a safe house.

There was one more story I had to hear.

That is, the family’s affairs.

“Last night. Lee Gun-sung moved troops from the Soongmoo Lee family.”

“Troops?”

Having a conflict and moving troops are different in weight.

At my question, Jung Jin-soo nodded and said.

“All that has been confirmed is that he clashed with Acting Head Lee Myung-jung. Since then, no news has been heard from inside the Soongmoo Lee family, and information control is also being carried out.”

My first brother and.

Third son Lee Gun-sung clashed.

Immediately after that shocking story, Jung Jin-soo looked at me with clear eyes.

“Young Master. You must choose. Which way will you go?”