Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 362

Weapon-Devouring Bastard – Chapter 362

The army’s morale shifted dramatically.

Partly due to the brief respite, but ultimately because Yi Cheol had risen.

Yi Cheol hadn’t actually done anything, but the high-ranking officers who felt a sense of hope from seeing him underwent a change in their words and actions, and that change was conveyed to the ordinary soldiers.

And soon, the time came.

The ground trembled, and not only martial artists with high levels of cultivation but all beings felt the premonition.

The Primeval Monster, breaking its brief silence, had begun to move.

* * *

The entire force stood in formation.

Tension filled the air.

They seemed to sense the final battle that was about to begin.

The difference in forces… was clear.

As confirmed, the Primeval Monster had created an army of over 1 billion monsters, just from those identified during its march here.

If one were to consider the monsters hiding underground, flying in the air, or even being created at this very moment… it was daunting.

In comparison, what was the size of our forces?

Small.

To say that all the world’s power had gathered would be a lie. Too many nations had fallen, and too many talented individuals had perished like dew during the ongoing signs of destruction.

However, none of them spoke of despair.

I slowly opened my mouth, looking out at the numerous troops lined up before me.

“Until now… thank you.”

At my sudden words, all the members of the main family sitting around widened their eyes.

“Elders, Martial Clan Heads.”

Before the wide plain.

I looked around at the martial artists of the main family lined up at the very front.

A small number.

I didn’t see many familiar faces, and I felt that those who should never have left had departed.

But their expressions were nothing short of valiant.

Even having faced the Primeval Monster at close range, they were displaying unwavering fighting spirit.

“First Brother, Second Sister, Fourth and Fifth Brothers too.”

I turned my head to look at my siblings.

Those I had competed with, respected, and at times resented.

Now, I stood before them.

“Hey, what about me!”

Yi Seo-hyun shouted.

I chuckled.

“Yes, Yi Seo-hyun, you too.”

“Noona! [Older sister] It’s Yi Seo-hyun Noona, you know!”

“Aren’t you tired of that?”

I lightly smiled and looked around at them.

And I looked at those standing beside me.

“Serena.”

“Yes, Yi Cheol.”

“Saintess Christina.”

“Yes.”

The connections from the Church.

“Jang Han.”

“Don’t go throwing my name around like that. Makes me want to kill you.”

“You never make it easy, do you?”

Ha ha!

Bursting into laughter, I called out the names of the people on the platform one by one, with respect.

Then, I closed my mouth again and looked ahead.

“Those gathered here are now warriors who will go to fight against destruction.”

None of those present expressed dissatisfaction with my giving a final speech.

Everyone knew.

From the lowest-ranking soldier without a shred of magical power to the commanders on this platform.

At this moment, facing destruction.

It was none other than Yi Cheol who was leading them.

No one else could.

“Take pride. Your names and the achievements you will accomplish will become myths, recorded and passed down regardless of nation or region.”

I spoke of the future.

Before the approaching destruction, Yi Cheol spoke of the future and hope as if victory was the only thing left.

“In my family, the Sungmu Yi Clan, there is a saying.”

It was a low voice without a microphone or speaker, but all the soldiers in formation could hear it clearly.

“Struggle.”

Struggle.

The reason we stand here.

There had been the struggles of countless people who had passed on hope to us.

“Struggle is not something grand. It is fighting in one’s own place, in one’s own life. It is being faithful to life.”

I looked around at them.

The Sungmu Yi Clan is called the clan of struggle.

That is simply because we revere such a life.

“I dare to say to all of you gathered here.”

“Struggle. For survival. For the future.”

“I will stand before anyone else and face that destruction. If I die, I will remain on the battlefield as a soul and struggle. So, those of you who follow me, struggle with me. At the end of that, there will be victory.”

Everyone there, from different regions, different countries, and speaking different languages.

Strangely enough, they accurately understood the heartfelt words coming from Yi Cheol’s mouth.

What kind of harmony was this?

As if it were telepathy, they all clearly heard the meaning of the speech.

“Let’s go. To the battlefield.”

Kuuuuuuuuuung!

When the speech ended.

A tremor arose in the distance.

As if it had been waiting.

I turned my body and looked beyond the horizon.

Enveloping emptiness and pitch-like darkness, it was approaching.

The Primeval Monster.

Now, it was time to see the true end.

* * *

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The advance began.

The countless monsters advancing, shaking the ground, and the very small number of humans compared to them.

And in the distance, ‘it’ revealed itself.

It was an encroaching darkness, a seething chaos, and a permeating death.

The Primeval Monster, that expression might be wrong.

That is not a monster at all.

It is simply some kind of being.

A being that can only be expressed in abstract words such as death, life, destruction, end, birth, creation… no, it was hard to even express it in words.

‘Ah…’

The humans watching felt a distant fear that gripped their minds.

A monster that twisted the mind and made one want to commit suicide just by looking at it or facing it.

The Primeval Monster’s appearance, having swallowed countless things while crossing Yi Cheol’s power and this land, was truly destruction itself, dyed black.

‘It’s stronger.’

Yi Jin-yoon, Yi Seo-hyun, and all those who had faced the Primeval Monster felt a chill.

She could no longer even guess what that being was.

It was simply unfathomable.

What she could grasp before, such as tentacles sprouting or a grotesque appearance, could no longer be felt.

If one were to face a god… would this be the feeling?

Its appearance changed every time she briefly closed and opened her eyes.

It looked like a dragon, but also like a sinister god with the wings of a cephalopod and a bat, and sometimes like a burning flame or a writhing mass of black darkness.

Nothing was fixed.

It possessed all the forms of destruction that humans could imagine.

It was at that moment.

“There’s no need to be deluded.”

A calm voice was heard.

“That is just another obstacle that we will now overcome.”

Hwaaaaaaa!

Those few words completely dispelled the humans’ fear.

It was Yi Cheol.

A man carrying the fate of humanity on his back led the humans with a few words.

And Yi Cheol, who drew his sword, spoke again.

“Me.”

Towards the onrushing chaos and despair.

“Please, once again, take me before that monster.”

Heukya [Black Night].

That black sword, with all its seals released, was not spreading a grim aura as it once did, but shining with a brilliant ink-black sword light.

“Understood.”

“I know.”

“Just take care of yourself.”

There were those who went ahead first.

The direct line of the Sungmu Yi Clan.

The two swords of the Church.

Even the great assassin who rose from the junkyard.

“Let’s go.”

Kwaaaaaaaang!

The will of humans, burning brilliantly in the face of destruction, cut across the battlefield.

* * *

-Kieeeeeeeek!

The monsters surged in.

Now, they were monsters that could not be expressed in human language, whether it was a flood or a typhoon.

At the very front were the 괴신병 [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers].

At the forefront of the troops, Jang Han shouted with strength.

“Warriors of the Nine Dragons Fortress, listen! We have always been the strongest! Follow me!”

Kwaaaaaaaang!

Like an assassin.

Jang Han, having finished his last command, plunged into the battlefield.

‘I have no intention of looking at your back, you bastard.’

Darkness fell on the world.

It was Jang Han’s 심검 [Simgeom – Mind Sword].

The 괴신병 [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers] were thrown into chaos.

Jang Han smirked and thought.

‘I knew you bastards were imitating humans and using 심검 [Simgeom – Mind Sword].’

So what?

Jang Han had been running, looking at the back of something more monstrous than these monsters.

To break through the path for that monster, Jang Han began the assassin’s fight.

Chwaaaaaaaak!

The 휘둘러지는 장도 [Hwidulleojineun Jangdo – Wielding Longsword].

In an instant, the black viscous substances that made up the 괴신병 [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers] exploded.

“Go! Yi Cheol!”

* * *

In the middle of the battlefield.

Brilliant light surged.

The knights of the Church.

Serena and Saintess Christina.

The two women cut across the battlefield.

It was truly like the hammer of God.

Hundreds of monsters were torn apart in one blow, and behind the exploding golden radiance, the earth-shattering power unleashed by the 괴신병 [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers] flew in.

Kwaaaaaaaang!

A spear flew, cutting through the air.

That tremendous power, each and every one of those shots, was comparable to a tactical nuclear weapon.

But.

‘Your spears have nothing but strong power.’

The two saintesses had seen a more powerful javelin than that.

The one who never lost his way, always walking the path of righteousness while discussing the path of struggle.

That was why the spear thrown by Yi Cheol was heavier and scarier.

Power that is only strong is never scary.

Taaaaaaang!

It shatters.

A corner of the 괴신병 [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers].

To break through the path.

For the path of salvation that Yi Cheol would run towards that destruction.

* * *

It was clearly an overwhelming difference in power.

However, as if possessed, the last troops of humanity were almost forcibly pushing forward the front lines.

“Push forward! Knock them down!”

“My name is John! You monsters!”

“Aaaaaaak!”

Knights, mages, martial artists.

Ordinary soldiers and commanders alike.

Now, everything that bound them, such as status, cultivation, gender, nation, religion, or language, had lost its meaning.

They blocked, cut down, and knocked down the onrushing monsters.

They were struggling.

A fight against someone weaker than oneself is not a struggle.

Resisting someone stronger than oneself, rolling in the mud, and finally overcoming them.

That was struggle.

At this moment, all those who stepped forward in the face of destruction were heroes and warriors who would be recorded in legends.

……But.

‘It’s not narrowing.’

The martial artists of the Sungmu Yi Clan, making a path again with a wedge formation.

Yi Jin-yoon and Yi Seo-hyun, running at the very front, thought.

‘There are too many monsters. Besides, if three or four 괴신병 [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers] gather, the formation will quickly collapse.’

Is there something that cannot be overcome with will alone?

No matter how much they ran, no matter how much they struggled, there was an absolute difference in power.

‘If only Father… or Yi Cheol’s classmates or aunt were here.’

It was a moment when they missed even a few soldiers.

They had not been able to return, and that small difference in power was now sorely missed.

“Kuaaaaak!”

Seuk!

And that lack of power returned in death.

A soldier, torn apart by the 괴신병’s [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers] aura, fell.

He was a member of the newly formed 사신대 [Sashindae – Death God Unit].

Is it that the troops without a commander are bound to be lacking, no matter how outstanding they are?

‘Damn it! We’re being pushed back!’

-Kieeeeeeeek!

-Kyaaaaak!

The monsters’ charge is too powerful.

Even in the battle when they first encountered the Primeval Monster, it wouldn’t have been this bad.

Yi Jin-yoon shouted urgently.

“Yi Seo-hyun! Take command! You have to do it!”

“No! There’s no need to!”

“What?”

“There!”

Yi Seo-hyun pointed to the distant sky.

And Yi Jin-yoon’s eyes widened.

“You’re late.”

“We were exhausted from running away, but we’re not late!”

“귀수대 [Gwisudae – Ghost Hand Unit]! 철기대 [Cheolgidae – Iron Cavalry Unit]! Have you become this weak while I was gone! Defend the flanks! Support the front of the wedge formation!”

……Those who were more worthy of the name of Sungmu Yi Clan than anyone else.

They promised to return, and they actually returned.

“Clan Head.”

“You’ve come, Choi In-ha.”

Choi In-ha, Kim Bo-sung, Kim Han.

Their 20 or so classmates from the 생도대 [Saengdodae – Cadet Unit] appeared before Yi Cheol.

“Did you know?”

“Yes, you guys aren’t the type to die like that. Do you know how much I trained you?”

“Haha!”

“Then go now. Go and prove it, like you said you would.”

“That’s what I was going to do anyway! Follow my back!”

Kwaaaaaaaang!

Their appearance brought a change to the Sungmu Yi Clan’s formation.

As the commander took his place, the formation that had been pushed back finally found its place.

But.

‘It’s not enough. Damn it! Is it still not enough!’

If they could overcome just one moment, just one moment, they could take Yi Cheol to the front.

‘Heavens! Just once is enough. Help me!’

Yi Jin-yoon frantically swung her 거산 [Geosan – Mountain Cleaver] and looked back.

And in her eyes, she saw Yi Cheol looking at the distant sky.

Is that child also looking for God?

No, no.

Only that child doesn’t look for such things.

“……You’re late.”

At that time, Yi Cheol smiled.

Late? What is he talking about?

It was at that moment.

-Kieeeeeeeek!

“Kuek?!”

In the moment she was distracted, the 괴신병’s [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers] sword rushed in front of Yi Jin-yoon’s nose.

A sword-wielding immortal monster. What an absurdity.

‘This……!’

And at that moment, more than three 괴신병 [Gwaesinbyeong – Aberrant Divine Soldiers] suddenly thrust their dark, featureless faces at Yi Jin-yoon.

At that moment, she gritted her teeth.

“Hey, big guy. Move aside.”

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

Something fell from the sky.

It was truly a whirlwind.

The whirlwind that rushed through the monsters in an instant knocked all the monsters away.

“A, a goblin?”

“Call me 산지기님 [Sanjigi-nim – Mountain Spirit], brat.”

Keuhahahaha!

What was bursting into laughter loud enough to shake the heavens and the earth was none other than 산지기 [Sanjigi – Mountain Spirit].

“Hahahaha!”

“You’re late! Kid!”

“You damn goblins! You 귀쟁이 [Gwijaengi – Goblin Scoundrels]! You 땅딸보 [Ttangttalbo – Shorty]! It’s the last fight! Let’s let this world know that we are also the masters of this land!”

Led by Elder Seop and Elder Ryeo.

Kwaaaaaaaang! Kureureureung!

Fire, lightning, storms, floods.

Numerous natural phenomena rushed into the battlefield.

They were the 신비종 [Sinbijong – Mystic Sect]!

They had returned to the battlefield, those who were expected to have fallen and died!

“You haven’t forgotten us, have you! Mister!”

“Hehehe! Are we going wrestling when it’s over?”

“Let’s goooooooo!”

Suddenly, there were three young goblin boys who revealed their faces next to Yi Cheol.

Kyung Chang-ryung. Familiar faces that I hadn’t seen in a long time were there.

And.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang!

There were beings who broke into the battlefield again with a rough explosion.

“Sorry! Yi Cheol!”

“We were late crossing the desert.”

Sky.

A huge airship was flying there.

That shout was heard from that sky.

On the side of the airship, there was a picture of crossed swords and a lion.

The First Sword Family of the West.

The Russell family.

Ron Russell and Henry Russell’s swords spewed out 검리 [Geomri – Sword Qi] like a tidal wave, supporting the rear of the collapsing formation.

“Waaaaaaaaa!”

“Warriors of Europe! Save the world!”

The troops of the European Union, whose contact had been lost, stepped forward to support the rear of the troops with high morale.

Truly everyone had gathered.

To send Yi Cheol alone to that distant future.

To break through the path.

Like that, once again.

Once again, I stand in this place.

“I see you again. Monster.”

In front of the Primeval Monster.

Towards that despair.

It was at that moment.

From that dark shape, a long tentacle pushed straight into my face.

Jjeoeoeoeoeok!

And the very front of that tentacle splits open.

It resembled a mask.

And below that.

As if opening its mouth, from that split, a voice was heard.

[Being.]