Weapon-Eating Bastard [EN]: Chapter 89

The fairies vanished, leaving the tomb’s entrance as desolate as it was when I first arrived.

Looking at the darkly shadowed clearing, a bitter smile touched my lips.

“They didn’t even clean up.”

True to form for fairies, the Inwang [Guardian Kings] statues used in the battle against me were sprawled on the ground in disarray.

Fairies are known for hiding or moving things as pranks; they’re certainly not the diligent type to tidy up.

I brushed my hand across the surface of a fallen Inwang statue.

The smooth bronze was now rough, and a crumbly powder clung to my fingertips.

‘Did it deteriorate as soon as the fairy magic faded?’

The tomb’s entrance and the Inwang statues guarding it aged rapidly, as if time had been accelerated.

The once-glossy yellow surface of the Inwang statues was now covered in dull, greenish-blue rust, and the arched brick entrance of the tomb was crumbling, with loose joints between the bricks.

‘I wonder if this will be a problem when I report to the family later.’

Upon my return, I’ll report on my warrior training, and this place, a significant achievement, will naturally be included.

The problem will arise when scholars come to investigate.

From the start, Inwang statues at a human tomb are unusual, and finding them scattered in disarray will raise questions.

‘Well, they’ll figure it out.’

I shrugged and turned away.

The scholars’ headaches were none of my concern.

Exiting the tomb was easier than entering.

On the opposite side of the chamber from the entrance, twelve stones were arranged.

However, there was one key difference.

‘Fortunately, I don’t need to inject mana this time.’

The mana injected from the outside seemed to remain until the person returned.

I gathered my belongings and stood in the center of the twelve stones.

Whoosh!

As before, a torrent of mana surged.

I preemptively gathered my mana to brace for the impact.

‘Ugh!’

Preparation didn’t seem to make much difference.

It felt like the sky and ground were flipping.

My head spun, and my stomach churned.

Thud!

I was thrown down, almost slammed into the ground.

I struggled to regain my balance and sighed.

A wave of nausea washed over me, but I swallowed it down.

‘I can’t seem to get used to this.’

I shook my head and slowly opened my eyes.

It had been around dawn when I entered the tomb, but the world was still shrouded in deep night.

I had been awake for two full nights.

I should visit Valerie, say a quick hello, and then take a short break.

That’s when it happened.

Ominous!

My nerves stood on end.

I hurriedly dropped my luggage and drew Mujin.

“……!”

Dozens of figures had surrounded me.

In the dark mountains, moonlight escaped the clouds, illuminating their heads.

Smirk!

In an instant, they all tilted their heads and smiled at me.

* * *

My heart plummeted.

Almost instinctively, I sensed the danger and leaped backward.

Swish! Bang!

An object flew in a beat late and embedded itself where I had been standing.

‘An arrow?’

Evading without fully processing the situation was a primal reaction.

If I had ignored my sixth sense, that arrow would now be lodged in my forehead.

“Who are you?”

I drew Mujin and immediately activated my Mystic Eyes.

‘What……?’

For a moment, I doubted my senses.

I wasn’t seeing the aura of humans.

I saw the distorted mana signature of monsters.

Everyone surrounding me possessed the aura of monsters, not humans.

‘But their presence is clearly…….’

Clearly, I’m seeing the mana of monsters, but I feel the presence of humans.

The discrepancy between what my Mystic Eyes show and what I feel.

At that moment, they began to stir.

“Foundfoundfoundfound.”

“Piece, pie, ce is. Found, it!”

“The mask…… we must take off the mask…….”

“Aaaaaaaah!”

They simultaneously spewed out words like madmen.

Dozens of voices mixed together in a jumble, echoing unpleasantly.

‘What the hell are these guys?’

Their presence is bizarre to the point of being repulsive.

I felt my brow furrow involuntarily.

“What are you?”

In response, one of the freaks snapped his neck at a bizarre angle.

“Blue is always fast, great animal! We follow. Humidity is always strong. But people don’t know. Put in freedom.”

Words that made no sense, as if possessed.

The voices of others followed.

“The mask is great, why are you crawling like that, running is enticing.”

“Door. Opened. How can a human be in that place.”

“Give it back. That is. Great freedom. Mask!”

“Kiek! Keeeeeek!”

Unidentifiable mumblings, collapsed languages poured out.

The sounds were grotesque, with tonal ranges that made me want to vomit.

‘Communication is impossible.’

Just as the noisy voices were messing with my head.

“Twee! Twee!”

Thump!

Someone walked forward from the middle of them.

No, the moment I felt they were walking forward, they rapidly approached, and something was swung.

“Hmph!”

Having already activated my Mystic Eyes, I immediately swung Mujin to block it.

Mujin, in sword form, clashed with ‘something.’

Boom!

The air burst, and a gust of wind swept the ground.

I felt an unbelievable weight on my fingertips.

I widened my eyes in surprise at the opponent’s weapon.

‘They swung something like that?’

The weapon was as abnormal as their bizarre words and actions.

What collided with Mujin was a log.

A huge tree trunk that an ordinary person couldn’t even lift, let alone swing, cut through the air.

A log.

“Kyaaaak!”

Whoosh!

Just swinging it created a rough tearing sound.

It wasn’t human strength.

I twisted my waist to dodge and looked at the opponent who had swung the log.

‘What is that?’

I doubted my eyes.

‘An Orc?’

Dull green skin, a burly physique, and facial features resembling a pig.

It was an appearance that could only be described as an Orc.

Suddenly, a monster in Gyeongju, which is known for not having dungeons or gates.

‘No, it’s not an Orc.’

Focusing, I realized that what I thought was an Orc was actually just leather.

Flesh-colored skin peeking out from the seams and human eyes visible in the eye sockets.

A human was wearing the skin of an Orc.

‘Why is a person wearing the skin of an Orc?’

And how could a human possess the mana of a monster just by wearing the skin?

“Human! Kiek!”

Moreover, even the voice was closer to that of an Orc than a human.

The moment the log was swung, something else flew from behind.

Clang!

Instead of blocking the log, I twisted to dodge and cut down the thrown weapon.

“……A needle?”

A pungent smell brushed past my nose. It was a poisoned needle.

Squeak-.

A non-human voice came from the bushes.

A boy in the form of a goblin.

With a pipe in his mouth, he shot poisoned needles with gleaming eyes.

An Orc and a goblin.

‘What the hell are these things?’

I clicked my tongue.

Without a moment’s respite, numerous things flew from all directions.

With the sudden battle and the difference in numbers.

There are too many enemies to even look around.

Something kept flying in.

‘I don’t know what these guys are doing, but…….’

I know they are enemies trying to kill me.

Flash! Ting!

I continued to knock away the weapons and focused.

‘First, I need to relocate. It’s not good to face a large number alone here.’

To do that, I needed to break this flow.

Spirit Power Art, Lightning. Modified.

A variation of lightning that I had used against my sixth sister.

Like an instantaneous discharge, aura spread, deflecting all incoming attacks.

‘Now!’

The moment the aura skill ended, I activated Swiftness Art to enhance my muscles.

“Chwieeeek!”

“Kieeeeek!”

The enemies who had distanced themselves due to the lightning belatedly rushed in, and I quickly kicked off the ground.

The freaks chased after me.

They were fast, but slower than me.

If I keep my distance like this for a while…….

‘……!’

My Mystic Eyes and sixth sense sounded the alarm.

No, this way is blocked.

Ka-ga-gak!

The moment I sensed that, I abruptly stopped by plunging Mujin into the ground.

Immediately after, a hazy thread-like substance stretched out like a net, covering the direction I was moving.

If I had moved straight ahead, I would have been helplessly bound.

“Kieeeek!”

Swish! Swish!

The moment I stopped, white projectiles flew in incessantly from the darkness, as if they had been there from the start.

‘This is possibly.’

I swallowed hard, knocking away the incoming balls of thread.

The balls of thread caught fire with a musty smell as soon as they touched the aura wrapped around Mujin.

I had seen something similar in the Forest of Human-Faced Spiders.

The spiderwebs that the Human-Faced Spiders used to turn prey into cocoons.

I turned and identified the being that had shot this thread.

“Tsk…….”

That woman, or rather, the being that I couldn’t even tell if it was a woman, had eyes that were not human.

Like the Human-Faced Spiders, it had dozens of compound eyes instead of white and iris.

“Catchcatchcatchcatch.”

“Mine mine mine. I’m going to catch it aaaaaaak!”

Attacks followed again.

Numerous deformed beings, consumed by madness, rushed towards me like a tide.

* * *

There was no room to create distance and assess the situation.

In the end, I had no choice but to face the attacks one by one and quickly organize my thoughts.

‘The number of enemies is about thirty. Their identity is…… honestly, I don’t know. They are clearly human, but they are using the power of monsters.’

I have never heard of things that use that kind of power in my past or present life.

I can’t even be sure whether humans have turned into monsters or monsters have taken human form.

‘Goblins, Orcs, Human-Faced Spiders, and even a Dragonkin…… the types are all different. It seems to be one organization, but they don’t move in an organized manner. Their movements often get tangled.’

The movements are amateurish.

There is no sign of handling mana.

Even though there are many, they just rush in and pour out attacks without moving in an organized manner.

‘Where the hell did these guys suddenly pop out from?’

I slowly felt frustrated.

“Give it back aaaaaa!”

Thud!

Moreover, the freaks were not only using the power of monsters.

They were also utilizing human weapons such as bows, firearms, swords, and the log that the Orc swung earlier.

Pit!

In an instant, one hidden weapon that I couldn’t block grazed my skin.

I was fighting with all my might, mobilizing my Mystic Eyes and sixth sense, but there were too many enemies to dodge all the attacks, and the place was unfavorable.

‘It’s not certain, but these guys know about my ancestor’s tomb. They are demanding something from me.’

I hastily stopped the bleeding with mana manipulation.

I ignored the chilling sensation that spread through my blood vessels for a moment, as if poison had been applied.

Anyway, I have become immune to poison since eating the Amethyst Stone Marrow.

“Hoo…….”

I took a deep breath and looked around.

The freaks were rushing in like crazy.

The enemy was numerous, and I only had one body.

I had cut down a few, but they kept rushing in as if they didn’t care about the death of their comrades.

If I had faced them individually, it would have ended quickly, but with this number, I was also in danger.

This was the limit.

The reconnaissance.