Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 246

Weapon-Eating Bastard – Chapter 246

The Council of Elders had essentially become a new organization after I caused a major incident.

Factions and power struggles still existed, but they were now for the sake of performance, not politics.

In the past, elders were mercilessly stripped of their positions or disciplined if they failed to meet performance targets, but the newly formed Council of Elders was even more stringent.

As a result, the atmosphere in the Soongmoo Lee Family’s Council of Elders was more intense and hectic than scheming or relaxed.

This was partly due to the influence of my eldest brother, who was acting as the head of the family, and myself, but more than anything…

“You’ve arrived, Young Master Lee Cheol.”

The man working at the center of the office looked up from the documents he was reviewing and glanced at me.

He was my granduncle, the former Black Moon Warden, and now the official Head Elder after serving as the interim Head Elder following the Lee Cheol-joong incident.

A quasi-Tier 3 warrior with the alias Baektaek (White Marsh) [a mythical creature known for wisdom and knowledge], Lee Dong-young.

“Yes, Head Elder. I apologize for the delay in responding to your summons.”

“See to it that you are punctual next time.”

His thick lips and bold eyes clearly revealed his disposition.

He was known for maintaining neutrality during Lee Cheol-joong’s reign and for making consistently cool-headed and objective judgments when discerning matters.

‘No one in the family has spoken to me so directly lately. It’s quite refreshing.’

Aside from my eldest brother and second sister, no one would talk to me like that.

But rather than being unpleasant, it was actually endearing.

“Well, please wait a moment. I have an urgent matter to attend to first.”

I sat down and watched him review the documents.

Even a trained warrior’s posture tends to falter after sitting and working for a long time, but Head Elder Lee Dong-young maintained a straight back and didn’t move as he turned the pages.

After a while, the Head Elder called his secretary, handed over the documents, and sat down in front of me.

“Did you have a good time in seclusion?”

“Yes, I achieved some progress.”

“So it seems.”

Although I was a direct descendant, Head Elder Lee Dong-young was my senior in the family hierarchy.

Officially, he was performing his duties as the Head Elder, unlike me, who only had quasi-elder status.

He could have spoken down to me, but Head Elder Lee Dong-young didn’t lower his tone easily.

“Another talented individual has appeared in the family, which is a boon. Congratulations on your achievement.”

“Thank you for your praise.”

Although his face was so stern that it was hard to see it as praise.

“However… I hope you will act in a manner befitting the prestige of the main family as a strong individual.”

“I have always acted in a manner befitting the main family.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”

“……?”

Lee Dong-young took a sip of the tea his secretary had brought and continued speaking with a still indifferent expression.

“The way you immediately retort to the words or actions of others.”

“Are you saying I should just stay still?”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m just saying you should have some *yeoyu* [Korean for ‘room,’ ‘leeway,’ or ‘composure’].”

Lee Dong-young stared at me intently.

“Young Master Lee Cheol. There’s no need to keep your thorns out and react to every little thing. You are no longer a powerless bastard, but a giant leading the world. It’s the weak who should react, not you.”

It was a somewhat direct and unexpected remark.

I looked at Lee Dong-young with a slightly surprised expression.

He wasn’t trying to test me or undermine me with these words.

It was closer to a sincere, albeit sharp, piece of advice that an elder of the family, someone who had lived a little longer, could give to a young person.

And I realized that his words had something in common with imperial studies.

The leader should not move or react easily.

It is the subjects who must react, not the ruler.

That was what Lee Dong-young was saying.

‘It’s sudden, but… I definitely had that tendency.’

I was a little taken aback because it was the first time I had such a candid conversation with Head Elder Lee Dong-young, but it was a very appropriate point for me now.

I think there were times when I unknowingly bristled and reacted to family members.

Perhaps it was the influence of the past, when I couldn’t afford to lose even in trivial matters.

“I apologize if it felt abrupt. I felt like I needed to say it at least once.”

“No, I am grateful for the teaching. It was a part I was missing as well.”

“Teaching? It’s nothing so grand. I’m just relieved you didn’t feel it was rude. Just think of it as an old man’s worrying.”

Lee Dong-young emptied his teacup without even acting like he was doing me a favor.

‘…I haven’t felt this way since Butler Choi.’

It was direct, but that made the advice all the more appealing.

‘I think I know why Lee Cheol-joong didn’t push this person out of the senior elder position, even though he wasn’t in his faction.’

This person doesn’t care about the situation or the political landscape, and he gives blunt advice.

…He was quite a likeable person.

“More than that, let’s get to the main point. An emergency meeting was held this morning, but you were absent, Young Master, so you probably didn’t hear the details.”

Not asking the reason for my absence was Lee Dong-young’s way of showing consideration.

“I apologize. But I heard the details on the way here.”

I recalled what I had heard from my nanny and my eyes sparkled.

“The Aerial Fortress. It seems it has entered the airspace of the Korean Peninsula.”

Aerial Fortress.

It was a term for ancient artifacts floating aimlessly in the Earth’s sky, higher than the clouds.

There were many ways to call it, such as aerial fortress, floating island, and celestial country, but the term aerial fortress was the most common name.

Living there are seven dwarves.

‘Actually, they’re called dwarves, but it’s not known exactly what race they are.’

Even if we only consider what is recorded, they have been floating in the sky of the Earth for hundreds of years, but there has not been much communication between them and humanity.

In the 21st century, some countries tried to approach them for exchange, but….

‘It’s not easy. In the first place, it floats in a position that is impossible both magically and scientifically.’

If it were rotating in the same orbit as an artificial satellite, it could be approached by force, but the Aerial Fortress floats in a lower orbit than that.

Yet, it is neither pulled to the ground by gravity, nor does it change direction and fly freely.

It completely ignores Earth’s escape velocity and gravity.

The Aerial Fortress was one of the greatest mysteries that mankind had not yet uncovered.

“It’s descending very slowly, but it’s an event that has rarely happened in human history. I think you know the importance of this event, Young Master Lee Cheol.”

“Yes, I know. Isn’t it the first time since the Great War?”

“That’s correct.”

Lee Dong-young’s eyes sparkled.

They have long been famous for making mysterious objects that cannot be made by humans or even mystical species.

The poison that Lee Seo-hyun broke at Jeokcheong Island a long time ago, ‘Mimaong,’ was also made by them.

Whenever they come down to earth, they always communicated with humans through such objects.

The value of that object was truly astronomical, so the world’s great powers had no choice but to pay close attention to this incident.

“From here on out, it’s confidential. This is the content of the meeting, so please keep it to yourself.”

Lee Dong-young handed me some documents.

“Around 05:30 AM today. Russia, China, and our country’s air force attempted to approach the Aerial Fortress.”

“What happened?”

“Of course, it was almost a failure.”

In the first place, it was a flying object that had been flying in the sky of the earth since the distant past.

From their point of view, human concepts such as airspace would clearly not exist.

But.

“The fact that it was almost a failure means something happened.”

“As expected, it’s easy to talk to Young Master Lee Cheol.”

Lee Dong-young nodded and continued.

“There was a notification about the reason for the approach. However, as you know, their communication method is different from humans, so it’s not a proper content.”

-Having come from above to meet the foretold one who could not be born, invite again before time runs out….

‘What is this?’

The grammar was a mess.

According to the transmission, I knew that they communicated with something like telepathy, but it seemed that there was a problem in the process of converting the content into text.

“According to the pilots’ testimony, they said they came to meet someone and would be staying in the airspace of the Far East until they landed. The content was that they didn’t want us to approach them until they landed. It seems that there is a problem with communication when trying to convert it into text.”

“Telepathic conversations are often like that. It’s a little easier to deliver it orally, but there are problems when converting it into text.”

Perhaps it will stay in each country’s airspace until it lands.

It seemed like nothing, but it was quite a big deal.

The mysterious fortress that appears in history has come into contact, but it also means that beings with unknown purposes are stirring up their own airspace.

Moreover.

“The words ‘until landing’ mean that they will proceed with some kind of exchange after landing, right?”

“That’s what we’re seeing.”

This is important.

After the Great War, the world faced great upheaval.

In the chaos of the post-war period, a peaceful era came under the watchful eyes of the world’s great powers, but under the surface, some kind of conflict continued.

Conflicts of interest over unexplored and dangerous areas, territorial disputes, power wars between large organizations, wanderer problems….

The world was peaceful because such conflicts were maintained in a delicate balance.

In the midst of all this, the Aerial Fortress appeared.

An ancient floating island where mysterious groups who have been creating objects that transcend human knowledge reside.

Those who obtain them may gain the power to upset this entire balance.

“What stance has the main family decided to take?”

“I would like to ask you for your opinion on that part.”

Lee Dong-young leaned slightly against the back of his chair and looked at me.

“Wasn’t it decided at the meeting?”

“Of course, it was decided. For now, we’ve decided to take a wait-and-see approach. But since I haven’t heard your opinion, it’s not really decided yet.”

When I made a slightly displeased expression, Head Elder Lee Dong-young opened his mouth again.

“As I said before, you sometimes forget your position. Your position is not yet clear, and your status is only a quasi-elder, but your influence naturally has a great impact on the Elder Council and the direction of the family. Even if a decision is made without your opinion, it is not a decision.”

Head Elder Lee Dong-young, who spits out embarrassing words in a blunt tone.

I felt embarrassed, but on the other hand, I realized what his words meant.

I smiled lightly and said.

“I’m even more sorry that I was late.”

“I hope you will respond to the summons next time.”

I threw the words to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work for Elder Lee Dong-young.

I chuckled and pondered for a moment.

‘The family’s actions will inevitably change depending on my opinion.’

It’s hard to say it with my own mouth, but my status has become no less than the leader of a large force.

Including the Black Turtle Association and Jung Jin-soo, there are forces within the main family that are beginning to follow me.

I had to make a good choice.

This choice will not only affect me, but also hundreds and thousands of people.

I had come up to such a position.

‘Aerial Fortress….’

After finishing that moment of contemplation, I looked at Lee Dong-young.

“It may be too late to watch and see. But I wouldn’t move first either.”

I slowly stated my opinion.

In a way that does not harm the family’s opinion.

Head Elder Lee Dong-young listened carefully as if he was contemplating my words, then nodded.

* * *

Missions were handed down to the warrior squads, including the Soongmoo Lee Family’s Spirit Sword Division, who were embarking on external missions.

The mission was to confirm the movements of the great powers of various countries overseas related to the Aerial Fortress.

I also spurred the collection of information by moving the Black Turtle Association.

For a while, things will flow urgently due to the Aerial Fortress, but it seemed to be a more relaxed incident than I expected.

Superficially, that is.

The judgments of each country were similar, and a war in the name of information warfare began under the surface.

In the meantime, I wanted to take care of the work that I had been putting off because there was no need to take any action right away.

‘Am I supposed to go in there?’

I stood in front of the head family’s office and looked down at the letter in my hand.

This will, which contained Butler Choi’s last words, contained information about my father’s ‘gift’ that was originally supposed to be delivered to me.