Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 229

As the Black Knight exhaled, a hazy black aura accompanied a visible rush of breath.

“Run!”

Before the disturbed snow could resettle, Anastasia shouted urgently.

Simultaneously, immense magical power erupted from Anastasia.

An unknown force, distinct from sorcery, magic, or martial arts, began to coalesce in the air.

-Kyahhhh!

The surrounding snowdrifts gathered, forming figures resembling the legendary Yeti [also known as the Abominable Snowman, a mythical ape-like creature said to inhabit the Himalayan region].

They were snow spirits.

There were nearly a dozen of them, each wielding magical power comparable to high-level magic.

Whoooong!

Instantly, the snow on the ground stirred, enveloping and constricting the Black Knight’s body.

As soon as Anastasia saw this, she turned and tried to escape again.

However.

Kwaaaang!

It took only a single strike.

The spirits were disintegrated by the man’s greatsword.

The Black Order members, including Anastasia, were thrown back by the storm of raw aura unleashed from behind him.

“Protect the Order Lord!”

The Black Order warriors, even as they stumbled, immediately rose and charged at the Black Knight.

All those gathered there had received aid from the Black Order in some way.

They were prepared to sacrifice their lives to protect their benefactor.

However, their opponent was far too strong.

Kkigigik!

With a sound like grinding armor joints, the Black Knight moved.

Despite his somewhat clumsy gait, his swordsmanship seemed to reach a supreme level.

“Kuaaaak!”

“Keoeok!”

Explosions, followed by screams.

Blood splattered across the snowy ground.

‘Was he always this strong…?’

Natalia, the Black Order Lord’s secretary and bodyguard, felt a crushing sense of powerlessness.

Magic manipulation beyond comprehension, simple yet devastating sword techniques.

He was at least a 3rd-grade warrior [referring to a high rank in martial prowess].

Perhaps even more…

‘Where on earth did such a monster come from…?’

A skilled warrior of this caliber couldn’t possibly be unknown.

Yet Natalia had never heard of a warrior who wore that armor, wielded that greatsword, and was shrouded in a black aura.

“Hoo, finally, this job will be over. There’s a wench over there. Capture her.”

And in the distance, she began to sense a group approaching, surrounding them, speaking in broken French.

In front was the Black Knight, and behind were the mercenaries from the Mirror.

“Black Order, Lord.”

Kkigik! Kkik!

The Black Knight, having subdued the guards in the blink of an eye, began to approach Anastasia and Natalia.

At that moment, Anastasia, leaning heavily on Natalia’s shoulder, said resolutely.

“Natalia, run.”

“…I refuse. Don’t give me ridiculous orders. Even if we run, we can’t escape.”

“If I use all my power, I can at least create an opening for you. Run now and tell Lee Cheol.”

Kkigik! Kkik!

The Black Knight approached again, his armor creaking.

Anastasia gasped, her blue eyes gleaming.

“That way, Lee Cheol will avenge us.”

Anastasia gathered her magic power.

As if responding, the Black Knight lowered his stance like a predator, becoming wary.

Kwaaaang!

Then, an explosion erupted.

* * *

Before Natalia could object, the Black Knight charged.

Natalia instinctively drew her magic power and tried to swing her sword.

However, the next moment, she felt herself being pulled away, flying into the air.

Clods of dirt fell from her legs, and the surrounding wind surged, pushing her body away.

…It was spirit magic.

She tried to resist, but she couldn’t overcome Anastasia’s desperate power.

“No! No! Please!”

Natalia unleashed her aura in protest, twisting in the air.

At that moment, the wind carrying her vanished.

“Ugh!”

She quickly executed a landing technique and regained her balance.

There was no sound of battle from where she had been.

Following that, even the power of the spirit had disappeared.

What had happened was clear.

* * *

Yau shrugged, looking at Anastasia, collapsed on the snow as if unconscious.

“Somehow, I managed to capture her alive. Does this mean I get double the pay?”

Yau laughed and reached for Anastasia.

Thud!

The Black Knight’s greatsword blocked his hand.

“Now, business… is over.”

Yau slammed his hand on the tattoo on the back of his hand.

Kwaaaang!

The tattoo stretched out like vines between the Black Knight and him, forming a shield.

Yau bared his teeth and smiled bitterly.

“I knew it. You were planning to kill me after the job was done?”

“……”

The Black Knight did not answer.

He simply slung Anastasia over his shoulder and pointed his greatsword.

And.

“Kuaaak!”

“Aaaagh!”

“Keok!”

Puhwak!

A mist of blood rose.

He had only pointed his sword, but the aura released from its tip crushed the mercenaries like insects, spreading outwards.

It was a slaughter, not a battle.

The difference in combat power was too great; they couldn’t even offer proper resistance.

Each swing of the sword took the lives of seven or eight mercenaries, and that was only because Yau was blocking with his sorcery.

“This is freaking bullshit.”

Yau gritted his teeth.

The Black Knight suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.

Yau watched him, tense, wondering what he would do.

‘…Huh?’

Kook kook kook!

Belatedly, Yau felt the tattoo on his shoulder throbbing.

It was a tattoo that sensed danger.

Yau frowned and looked up.

-Kieeeeeeeek!

A long, drawn-out cry like a hawk echoed across the sky.

‘That’s not it. An enormous energy, a monstrous force, is flying in at incredible speed….’

At that moment, the Black Knight raised his greatsword and swung it down.

Kwaaaaaaa!

A viscous, lava-like sword energy spread out, staining the sky.

Yau gasped at the sheer amount of magical power.

However, what followed was even more shocking.

Kwaaaang!

The Black Knight’s sword energy was offset by something, scattering aura fragments like exploding fireworks.

“……”

The Black Knight confirmed this, then pointed the blade of his greatsword towards the sky like a shield, spreading out his aura.

Hwaak!

To Yau, it seemed the Black Knight was creating a cocoon, enveloping himself in a hemisphere and crouching down.

‘Why is that monster…? What on earth is happening?’

The moment Yau looked up again.

Yau and the mercenaries couldn’t believe their eyes.

A meteor shower was pouring down.

A vast number of ‘somethings’ filled the sky, falling towards the ground.

Kwagagagaga!

The ground shook and the air tore.

Yau felt dizzy amidst the bombardment.

The sorceries he had cast to survive were torn apart in seconds.

‘So, sorcery….’

The tattoos engraved on Yau’s body were released.

When the bombardment ceased, Yau trembled and looked around.

Cheeeee!

It was an inferno.

Numerous weapons were embedded in the ground, each creating different phenomena.

Places where ice had frozen, places where flames were rising, places where poison was blooming….

Who could have done such a thing?

Fluttering…!

Then, the sound of flapping wings came from the sky.

Yau looked up with trembling eyes.

“Ko, Kongamato [a cryptid resembling a pterosaur, said to inhabit parts of Africa]……”

Yau muttered the name of the legendary monster he had heard about as a child.

The unidentified creature, silhouetted against the blazing sun, descended leisurely.

And on top of it stood a man, shrouded in black aura like a grim reaper.

Yau knew the man’s name.

A man that anyone in this world knew.

Lee Cheol of the Soongmoo Lee Clan.

He had arrived.

* * *

Lee Cheol’s cold gaze swept across the crowd.

The mercenaries trembled.

‘Didn’t they say he wouldn’t come!’

Yau bit his lip, watching Lee Cheol land softly.

The Mirror had accepted this job not only because of the fee, but also because there had been talk that Lee Cheol wouldn’t come due to family matters.

But Lee Cheol had come.

Following the Black Knight, even Lee Cheol.

Yau felt his mind reeling.

Meanwhile.

“……”

I frowned, looking at Anastasia slung over the shoulder of the man in black armor.

‘I’m a little late.’

I chose the Black Order, not the family.

As soon as I decided, I flew north on the Black Bird, but I didn’t know the exact location, so I was delayed.

‘It’s fortunate I found Natalia, otherwise, it would have been irreversible.’

I suppressed my anger and looked around.

“Young lion of the Soongmoo Lee Clan. Don’t misunderstand. You can see it too. We have nothing to do with that man. He attacked us.”

One of the black sorcerers jumped up and spoke.

“Don’t be impatient. I’ll kill you soon enough.”

I replied, turned, and looked at the knight in black armor.

‘What the hell is that?’

He bothered me.

He was the ‘Black Knight’ from Jung Jin-soo’s report.

‘The color of his hair and eyes… It seems like the blood of the main family is mixed in, but it’s faint.’

The pupils were slightly tinged with yellow, and the hair was mixed with brown.

He was not of the Soongmoo Lee Clan’s bloodline.

Nevertheless, I felt a strange sensation.

Discomfort.

An unidentifiable sense of rejection.

“Lee, Cheol. The youngest of the Soongmoo Lee Clan… A, bastard….”

The Black Knight slowly rose and looked at me.

His empty eyes looked directly into mine.

“Target. Kill. Absorb, recover……. You will die by my hand.”

The Black Knight, muttering as if reciting, declared murder and gripped his greatsword.

Throb!

Immense aura erupted.

Kwaaaang!

Clods of dirt burst out, and the greatsword was thrust in front of my nose.

Without dodging, I waved my hand.

Kwagagagagang!

The weapons embedded in the ground were pulled out and shot towards the Black Knight.

Explosions and black smoke erupted from the Black Knight’s body.

However.

Hwaaaak!

The greatsword arrived in front of my nose, regardless of the bombardment.

Kwang!

I punched the sword and looked at the Black Knight.

“……”

Hwaak!

The smoke cleared, revealing the Black Knight.

He hadn’t deflected or blocked the weapons.

He was holding out his sword with weapons stuck in his back and arms.

Injuries that would have killed an ordinary person several times over.

But the Black Knight was moving as if nothing had happened.

No, his flesh was wriggling and regenerating.

Cling! Tiding!

As his flesh regenerated, the weapons were pushed out and fell.

“I, do not, die……”

The corners of the Black Knight’s mouth creaked upwards.

I looked at him and felt my expression distort.

This energy.

This feeling.

That bizarre regeneration.

I had seen someone like this before.

Before dying, in Sector B-1.

The sensation I felt from the Spirit Sword Clan, who had led me to my death, was the same as the sensation I felt from this Black Knight.

“Kill, kill. Kill……”

“Ha.”

I laughed and gripped my sword.

“You pathetic piece of trash. Do you think you can even touch me?”

Strength entered the hand holding Black Night.

The Black Knight reacted and swung his greatsword.

Peoeong!

Like a balloon bursting, the Black Knight’s head was smashed by Black Night, scattering blood.

“Let’s see if you regenerate with your head blown off.”