Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 253

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Episode 253

The atmosphere within Soong Moo was peculiar in many ways.

While everyone was cautious due to the palpable tension, no one seemed to be trembling with fear or feeling depressed.

On the contrary, some were even gleaming with anticipation and excitement.

I chuckled wryly, observing the expressions of the Soong Moo warriors.

‘Seriously, this family is full of fighting cocks [aggressive and competitive individuals].’

Of course, I’m not much different myself.

Having finally reached the pinnacle I had dreamed of and looked up to, I felt a desire to test the limits of my power.

And more than anything.

‘It’s infuriating that they barged in without a care, despite the family’s warnings.’

No matter what anyone says, the Korean peninsula is Soong Moo’s territory.

The reason so many organizations and countries dared to target the aerial fortress was because they knew Lee Tae-shin was not currently at Soong Moo.

One could take it as a sign of my father’s great prestige, but it was also proof that they were secretly looking down on Soong Moo in his absence.

I was quite displeased with that fact.

I intended to make them realize that it wasn’t just my father they needed to fear anymore.

“Maknae-ya! [Youngest one!]”

“Maknae, hello~”

Just then, my twin brothers waved their hands and approached me.

“Brothers, what’s the matter? The strategy meeting is already over, isn’t it?”

“Ah, we just wanted to see you before the operation~”

“Wow, our maknae is really cool. You looked so badass during the meeting.”

“That’s right. I’m so proud as a ‘comrade.’”

“Yes! As a ‘comrade’!”

…They were strangely emphasizing the word ‘comrade’.

‘Looks like they have something to say.’

I glanced towards the Cheollyeong Unit [Elite guard unit], which was preparing for departure.

“Cheollyeong Unit Commander, I’ll be away for a moment. Come find me when you’re ready.”

“Yes, I understand.”

They would handle things on their own even without my supervision, so I figured I should entertain these two brothers for a bit.

“Is there something you want to tell me?”

“Huh? Ah, no?”

“Yeah, ah, no?”

They were stuttering openly.

The scary thing about these two was that I couldn’t tell if it was highly skilled acting or genuine clumsiness.

“Just tell me straight. I hate beating around the bush.”

“R-really? Hmm, ahem!”

The fourth brother cleared his throat a few times.

However, it was the fifth brother who actually spoke.

“Maknae, before we go into battle, there’s something we want to tell you.”

“We….”

Swallowing hard, the two of them spoke almost simultaneously.

“We want to join your faction.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We want to support you in this upcoming family head competition!”

I widened my eyes slightly at their sudden words.

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“It’s as we said. Once this incident is over, we want to join your faction.”

“…Do you know what that means?”

It meant that they would share their fate with me, no matter what happened in the upcoming family head competition.

If I were to lose the competition, my brothers might also suffer a significant blow.

Moreover, once you joined a faction in Soong Moo, it was generally impossible to leave.

This was because there was an atmosphere of extreme aversion towards those who switched sides depending on the prevailing trends.

‘They both know that once you decide, there’s no turning back.’

It was an issue that required careful consideration.

Because it meant becoming a community of shared destiny.

On the other hand, the twins had a slightly different perspective.

‘Everyone else seems to be keeping it quiet, but we know.’

‘Maknae seems like he can really compete with the first brother now.’

‘He might even be on par with the second sister or the third brother.’

‘Honestly, those people are a bit scary, but at least you can talk to maknae.’

‘And maknae is… kind of fun.’

‘That’s right. Maknae is different from others.’

‘These days, all the marriage proposals coming into the family are aimed at maknae!’

‘Maknae is the best!’

‘Maknae is a legend!’

The twins were thinking like that.

Clearly, the first to third siblings had the strongest support base.

Even though the Council of Elders had been overturned once, their support base wouldn’t crumble so easily.

The branch families and retainers also supported Lee Myung-jung or Lee Jin-yoon more than Lee Cheol.

However, in the twins’ opinion, Lee Myung-jung and Lee Cheol were not that different in terms of influence.

In fact, in some ways, the family members feared the unpredictable Lee Cheol more than the rather gentle first brother.

That’s why the twins decided to stake their fate on the two syllables of Lee Cheol’s name.

“But why now?”

“H-huh?”

“Why now, you ask?”

“I might end up in a bad way during the battle, so it would have been fine to tell me after I returned.”

Wasn’t that obvious?

The twins were convinced that maknae would make his name known to the world through this event.

If that happened, the atmosphere in the Soong Moo main family would also change significantly!

If they tried to join his faction then… they would just become one of the many forces.

The twins wanted to be ‘first’.

Even if it involved some risk.

“W-well, it’s to tell you our commitment.”

“That’s right! What would it be if we told you after you came back! We’re not that lacking in loyalty.”

“Hmm….”

I felt like I could see right through their true feelings, but whatever. It wasn’t a bad offer for me.

Just because they joined my faction didn’t mean I would unconditionally trust them.

“Alright.”

“Oh, oh!”

“But there’s a condition. Show me some results in this mission.”

“H-huh? Results?”

“Yes, as you know, I value results and skills more than reputation or power.”

The twins clenched their fists at those words.

“Alright. Results, you say?”

“Ha! We’ll have to show the dignity of the Twin Dragons of Soong Moo!”

The two twin brothers’ eyes gleamed, and I nodded with a somewhat artificial smile.

‘It’s not bad. They just don’t usually use their full strength, but they’re both amazing people.’

Both of them were now respectable Grade 3 warriors making a name for themselves.

The problem was that they usually liked to play around too much, but if they had the will, there were no more reliable forces than them.

“Then, if we get good results, we’ll be the first among the brothers to join your faction?!”

Just then, the fourth brother said something like that.

“Hey!”

“Cough!”

The fifth brother was startled and elbowed the fourth brother in the side.

“Ah, hahaha! Maknae! It’s nothing.”

“First, you say? So you were thinking about that. Unfortunately, there’s someone else who’s first.”

“Oh, what?”

Just then, Lee Seo-hyun, fully armed and with a triumphant expression, approached the twin brothers.

“Brothers. I was first, didn’t you know?”

“Oh, you, you, eighth… Why are you….”

“It just turned out that way.”

Lee Seo-hyun stopped in front of the brothers with a swaggering posture.

“R-really, Maknae?”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s been a while.”

Lee Seo-hyun had joined my faction.

In the first place, he had no interest in the position of family head, and he had no intention of creating a separate force, nor was he a particularly skilled politician.

In the midst of all that, he came to me a few days ago and asked to be put in my faction.

“No, when did this happen? No, more than that, why?”

“Honestly, I’m closer to him than the older siblings. And more than anything.”

Lee Seo-hyun crossed his arms and raised his chin, saying with an arrogant expression.

“I’m his older sister! I have to take care of him!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at those confident words.

‘Why is someone who’s supposed to be an older sister wearing Cheollyeong Unit armor?’

I looked at Lee Seo-hyun’s upright back.

I could imagine how triumphant he must be looking even without seeing his face.

Lee Seo-hyun, who finished his warrior training late, didn’t have the time to create a separate warrior unit.

Therefore, since it was impossible to operate him as a personal force in the midst of an already completed organization, I ended up taking charge of him.

Of course…….

-I hate him, he’s annoying.

-Hmm, Maknae. You’ll have to take care of Seo-hyun. I think you’ll be able to control that child well, won’t you?

It was also because of the second sister, who lightly refused to take charge of Lee Seo-hyun, and the first brother, who entrusted Lee Seo-hyun to me.

“Anyway, brothers. It’s almost time to depart, so shouldn’t you go to the Twin Dragon Unit?”

“Oh, oh… Ah, I, I’ll go!”

“Okay! Maknae! Thank you!”

The two twin brothers left awkwardly.

Lee Seo-hyun, still standing with his arms crossed in an overbearing posture, snorted meaningfully.

“Are you really okay with moving with me?”

I looked at Lee Seo-hyun and asked.

In the newly drafted operation, I and the Cheollyeong Unit were assigned a rather… dangerous mission.

Moreover, although it wasn’t said publicly, we had discussed the possibility that Kabbalah and Behemoth might target me separately.

“It’s fine. There’s something I want to see.”

“Something you want to see? What is it?”

“Don’t ask!”

Lee Seo-hyun grumbled and walked back to the corner.

Something he wanted to see.

Of course, what else could it be?

‘How much stronger that guy has become.’

He wanted to gauge the distance from up close more than anyone else.

* * *

“Commander. Preparation is complete.”

Lee Young-sung finished all the departure preparations and came to report to me.

What was once a clumsy organization immediately after its formation, the Cheollyeong Unit, which had been trained with all sorts of support for several years, was now a warrior unit that was second to none, no matter where it was placed.

Lee Seo-hyun stood next to me, dressed in the Cheollyeong Unit uniform as my adjutant.

“Cheollyeong Unit. Depart.”

I answered simply and began to move.

It was time to clearly show what kind of ending those who ignored Soong Moo’s warning would face.

* * *

Outside the Asian Unexplored Zone.

A large number of troops were watching the aerial fortress, having set up camp.

The scene was filled with tanks and all sorts of weaponry.

It was literally an army stationed there.

They were none other than the Russian army.

“Damn it. Politicians who don’t know anything about the battlefield.”

Colonel Yuri Mashkov, a quasi-Grade 2 magician in the Russian military, threw down the communicator, venting his anger at the orders from headquarters.

The content was lengthy, but the order was simple.

-Standby.

“What’s the matter?”

The adjutant approached and asked, and Yuri put a cigarette in his mouth and clicked his tongue.

“It’s an order to standby. Apparently, Soong Moo has made a move.”

An order to standby out of fear. They were like a cancer to the country.

They were inferior beings who couldn’t be thought of as descendants of the great Slavic blood.

‘Soong Moo, Soong Moo, they keep singing. They’re just earthworms anyway. A couple of magic cannon shots will knock them all down.’

The man named Lee Tae-shin might be different, but honestly, wasn’t Soong Moo just a group of fighters overrated because of the mystique of the East?

I don’t know about battles, but this land is already like a battlefield.

No matter how great an individual’s power is, it’s useless in front of an army.

“Hoo, anyway, it’s an order, so we have no choice but to standby. Go and tell them to strengthen the defenses.”

It was the moment Yuri gave that order.

The adjutant next to him received a report and chuckled wryly.

“What did you say? Is the translation wrong?”

“No, it’s not. But first, the other side is warning us according to international law….”

Yuri frowned and looked at the adjutant.

“What’s going on?”

“It seems that Soong Moo has sent a warning communication. They’re saying that the territory we currently occupy is Soong Moo’s territory, so we should move out….”

“What?”

Yuri scoffed in disbelief.

“…They say they will attack immediately if we don’t return.”

“Are you kidding me!”

Yuri raised his eyebrows and instructed the communications NCO [Non-Commissioned Officer].

The NCO was embarrassed, but had no choice but to hand the receiver to Yuri.

“This is Colonel Yuri Mashkov, commander of the Russian magic forces special unit. Who are you?”

-This is Lee Cheol of Soong Moo.

Yuri narrowed his eyes slightly at the name he heard through the translation.

Although it had been a bit quiet recently, there weren’t many people living in this world who didn’t know that name.

“So you’re the famous young swordsman of Soong Moo.”

A subtle belittlement.

But the words continued from beyond the receiver as if he didn’t care.

-Your country’s forces have currently invaded Soong Moo’s territory. If you don’t withdraw your forces immediately, we will attack.

…For a moment, I wondered if the translation was wrong.

But looking at the expression of the translation NCO, that wasn’t the case.

A vein popped out on Yuri’s forehead.

“What did you just say….”

-First, I’ve finished the warning according to international law. If you don’t move your forces within 10 minutes, we will begin the attack.

“Go ahead and try. You little greenhorn!”

Yuri slammed down the communicator and gritted his teeth.

The adjutant also had a similar expression to Yuri.

To have to standby while listening to such absurd stories.

It was only regrettable how far Russia’s name had fallen since the Great War.

‘They’re just swordsmen at best.’

The more Yuri thought about Lee Cheol’s provocation, the more angry he became.

The number of firearms currently installed here is in the dozens.

If we wanted to, we could create a sea of fire around us, but how could we do that with the power of just one family?

Besides, I’m here too.

If it were the famous Twin Stars, it would be different, but Lee Cheol, who is evaluated as a Grade 3 warrior, was not even funny.

‘No, it’s good. If I see any signs of him attacking, I’ll launch an indiscriminate bombardment.’

There was an order to standby, but that didn’t mean we had to stand still even if we were attacked first.

Ticking, ticking-.

And time passed.

1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes…….

And 9 minutes.

It was the moment when 59 seconds became 00 seconds, and it became 10 minutes.

“Hmph. As expected, nothing….”

It was the moment he was about to put a cigarette in his mouth with a snort.

Wiiiiiiiiing!

Suddenly, a loud warning sound began to ring inside the command post.

The monitor installed in the center began to flash red.

“It’s a magic reaction. The direction is….”

Yuri was a quasi-Grade 2 magician.

He could sense where this magic was coming from without even listening to the end of the report.

Yuri burst out of the command post and ran outside.

In front, above the base.

A small dot was visible, silhouetted against the twilight sky.

‘Is he riding a bird now?’

A person was riding on the back of a huge bird mixed with black and gold.

Black and white energy was shooting out like lightning from something in that person’s hand.

The warning sound was flowing out after sensing that.

‘…Spear?’

It was because Yuri’s level was by no means low that he was able to recognize it as a spear, piercing through the dazzling light.

But recognizing it didn’t mean he could do anything.

Thwack!

The spear was thrown.

The black and white magic that stretched out enough to dye the entire sky distorted the surrounding air.

‘What is that!’

The immense heat was no different from a meteor.

Yuri almost instinctively raised his magic power and deployed defensive magic.

And in the air, Yuri’s defensive magic and the spear collided.

Kuuuuuuuuung!

Immediately upon impact, a tremendous amount of shockwaves struck down, and the ground collapsed.

That was the extent of it, even though it was blocked by a barrier.

Even though the spear itself didn’t collide, the shockwaves alone were enough to knock soldiers off their feet.

‘Kuaaaaaaak!’

Yuri didn’t even have the luxury of opening his mouth to scream.

Because at the moment he opened his mouth, he would fail to control his magic power and allow that monstrous attack to fall into the center of the base.

Crack! Crack!

Several seconds, which felt like hours, passed like that.

Yuri felt his defensive magic shattering.

‘This is the limit.’

Whoosh! Kwaaaang!

The spear pierced through the barrier and plunged into the center of the base.

A flow of lightning-like magic struck the surroundings, and the makeshift buildings and tents installed in the aftermath were all blown away.

“Hee, hee…….”

Yuri breathed roughly and looked in that direction.

His neatly combed hair was disheveled with sweat, and the buttons on his always-sharp uniform were all torn off.

‘I, is it over……. But I managed to block it.’

A large crater had formed in the ground, but he had succeeded in offsetting the spear’s immense power.

Yuri belatedly jumped up and hurriedly took out the equipment and staff he had kept in his arms.

Then, he turned his body around and looked up at Lee Cheol, who was still floating in the air.

‘After launching an attack of this magnitude, there’s no way you can be unscathed! I’ll kill you right now!’

Yuri raised his magic power again to unleash his magic.

“All troops, chase that guy down right now! Capture him alive and send him to Soong Moo……!”

It was the moment Yuri was desperately pouring out his instructions.

“Uh, uh…….”

“I, it can’t be…….”

All the troops were staring blankly at the sky.

Yuri’s gaze also turned to the sky.

There, hundreds of black weapons were filling the sky with tremendous magic power.

‘How did he get that many weapons so quickly……?’

It was just a fleeting moment when I turned my head to give instructions after seeing Lee Cheol.

Where did these weapons come from, and how can he unleash that much aura without any preparation?

Yuri couldn’t bring himself to resist.

The small staff he was holding fell to the ground with a thud.

His knees hit the floor almost simultaneously.