The Illegitimate Who Devours Weapons

Weapon-Eating Illegitimate Son Episode 47

After finishing my business at Sungmusan Mountain, I joined up with Deacon Choi.

We headed towards Cheonwisan in earnest.

As we pass through the city center filled with buildings, even the few houses scattered here and there disappear and the place becomes deserted of people.

We arrived at our destination.

‘This is Cheonwisan Mountain.’

Before returning, I hadn’t even completed the cadet training, so I didn’t even have a chance to come to Cheonwisan.

‘I’ve seen it in the literature, but this is my first time seeing it in person.’

A high and rugged mountain range.

The sound of old trees pulsating shallowly whenever the wind blew gave me a deep feeling as if I was encountering a giant living creature.

If Sungmusan was a quiet mountain where you couldn’t hear even the swaying of trees or the howling of animals, Cheonwisan felt like everything on it had its own liveliness.

furthermore,

‘The magic is strong.’

Even though I hadn’t even reached the foot of the mountain, I could feel a thick magical power around me.

If the magic of Jeokcheongdo was a stagnant lake, Cheonwisan Mountain was reminiscent of a huge river.

“Isn’t it a really nice mountain?”

Butler Choi asked with a pleased smile.

“Yes, it feels different from Mt. Sungmusan or Mt. Jeokcheongdo.”

“They say that the founder of the Lee family recognized the energy of Cheonwi Mountain and made it a place to train his descendants. I’m sure you will be able to achieve satisfactory results.”

Satisfactory performance.

It was natural.

So I used this important opportunity to ask my father for something.

That was when.

“These guys are coming in like a pack of dogs again, making a lot of noise. Man, this is driving me crazy.”

An unfamiliar voice came from behind.

I turned my head in surprise.

“Why, what? What are you looking at?”

A middle-aged man stood there as if he had been there from the beginning.

He’s wearing fluorescent hiking clothes, has a red face, and is even holding a bottle of makgeolli in his hand.

A common(?) sight of hikers that you can see anywhere.

The problem was that this man appeared behind the Sungmu family’s entire cavalry and without even being noticed by me.

‘When on earth did it happen?’

A distance that can be reached by stretching out one’s arm.

Instinctively, my hands went to my waist.

“Who are you!”

Chaang!

Chilseongdae surrounded the man, drawing his sword a step late.

“Step back, Your Majesty. Butler Choi. You are strong.”

The Chilseong Commander stood between Butler Choi and the man with a tense expression on his face.

“Oh, these kids… Aren’t they going to put that in? Are they really going to lose?”

“All formation……!”

General Chilseong, who was about to shout, “Spread out,” was unable to continue speaking.

“Anyway, those black-haired guys can’t understand anything if they have a lump of iron in their hands.”

Bam! Bam! Crunch!

There were several instances where a quick afterimage flashed as if an insect had been flying around.

Before I knew it, what appeared before my eyes were thirty Chilseong members who had dropped their weapons or were rolling on the floor.

“Ugh…….”

“Wh, what. What the heck is this…….”

I was shocked once again.

‘I missed the movement. I didn’t see the movement after subduing the Chilseong General!’

He must have moved several times since he subdued thirty Musa, but in reality, I only saw him move once or twice.

“These guys are so useless. Ugh-.”

Sure! Sure!

The man glared at Butler Choi while swinging his hand at the bottle of makgeolli he was holding.

“Hey, you immoral brat. Didn’t I tell you to tell me a month in advance? If you come here without even a single bottle of alcohol, you’ll die. Seriously.”

Butler Choi let out a deep sigh towards the man.

“I’m sorry about that part. It was a bit excessive. The authors were just trying to protect us… … .”

“Excessive? You’ve grown a lot? You even talk back.”

“Heh heh, sorry. But…….”

“This kid suddenly ordered me to do something and now he’s going to nag me about it? By the way. Did you bring some alcohol?”

The man walked towards me with a thug-like tone, as if he were trying to steal money.

Butler Choi smiled in vain, as if he was not bothered by the man’s appearance.

“I brought a few bottles of the things you said tasted good at the time.”

“Okay. Okay. Then I’ll close my eyes.”

“Thank you, Mountain Keeper.”

Mountain ranger.

The moment I heard those words, I also realized the man’s identity.

The man looked at me again, then smiled broadly.

“Is that you? The guy that Taeshin brought from outside?”

Butler Choi looked at me and smiled bitterly as he answered.

“Yes, I am the ninth son who has entered the mountain this time, Prince Lee Cheol.”

“Confucius is just Confucius. Confucius is just a nobleman who appears when studying literature.”

The mountain man looked down at me, stroking his rough, jagged beard.

“You saw a little bit of my movements?”

I couldn’t help but flinch in surprise for a moment.

I never thought you’d figure that out.

That was really a great insight.

“……Yes, that’s right.”

“Hmm, not bad. You’re funny. Taeshin reminds me of that guy a little bit. You smell a little weird though.”

The mountain keeper stared at me intently, winking.

Dismissed!

At that moment, the back of my eyes started to sting and my magic eye was activated on its own.

“This guy, his eyes are weird too.”

The mountain man’s eyes widened as if he had discovered a fun toy.

After a brief moment of confusion, he quickly controlled his magical power and tried to release the magic eye.

But I couldn’t avoid seeing the mountain keeper during that brief moment.

‘That’s… … .’

The form that Ma-an showed was not human.

Before returning, I had heard about the identity of the mountain keeper of Cheonwisan Mountain.

At that time, people called the existence of the mountain keeper like this.

‘goblin.’

The deep, dark eyes of the mountain keeper, as if they contained the starry night sky, stared at me intently.

* * *

The mountain keeper and the injured Chilseong members started to climb Cheonwi Mountain.

The mountain path was quite steep.

Not only was there no mountain path, but the slope was very steep and the temperature was low, so the ground was frozen.

In the meantime, the mountain man continued walking up the steep slope as if he was walking on flat ground, holding a bag full of alcohol in one hand.

“Hey hey! You young ones are acting strange! Come out quickly!”

The mountain man glanced behind him and shouted.

Behind me, the Chilseongdae were following in formation.

He wasn’t falling behind, but he was constantly groaning due to his injuries.

“Are you okay?”

“……it’s okay.”

Chilseongdaejang answered with a crumpled face.

Not only was he in pain because of his broken arm, but he also seemed to have a considerable amount of pride hurt by being held down and unable to do anything.

‘How pathetic.’

It’s pathetic that my eyes waver over things like this.

Even the cadets of Class 5, who were much weaker and younger than them, were not like this.

‘by the way…….’

I frowned as I followed the mountain keeper diligently.

‘What is this feeling?’

The feeling of something unidentified following me. The sensation became stronger as I climbed the mountain.

As if he had read my expression, the mountain man, who had been walking along with a steady pace, turned around and smiled faintly.

“Oh my, you have a pretty good sense.”

“What are you talking about?”

“That strange sensation you are feeling is the gaze of the spirits of this mountain. They are just watching you, so you don’t have to be too cautious.”

“Spirit… you mean? Why them?”

It’s surprising that there’s a spirit, but it’s watching me.

“That’s because you smell bad.”

“Are you talking about the smell?”

I realized right away that he wasn’t talking about body odor.

The mountain man sniffed through his nose.

“Yeah, you smell weird. It’s not a human smell.”

How far up the mountain did you climb?

A wisp of steam could be seen rising from beyond the slope.

Only then did the mountain man stop walking.

“They’re all here, you filthy bastards.”

What appeared beyond the slope was an open-air hot spring with white steam rising from it.

“Normally, you wouldn’t even be able to set foot here! This time, I’ll give you a special treat, so once you’ve fully recovered from your injuries, get out of the mountain!”

As soon as I heard the mountain keeper’s words, I could tell what this place was.

‘This is it. The healing water that can only be found in Cheonwisan Mountain.’

On the outside, it looks like a hot spring.

However, the Korean Peninsula is not a volcanic area except for a few areas, so hot springs with this level of temperature could not have formed.

The name of that water is healing water.

It was a spring that was said to have been created by the magic of goblins.

Its efficacy is to treat internal and external injuries.

The direct descendants of the Sungmu family who entered Cheonwisan treated the injuries they sustained during training here.

“Okay, now that’s out of the way. You two, let’s go over there.”

Not far from where there is a healing water source.

The mountaineer guided Deacon Choi to a high rock face with a large hole in it.

“Come in here.”

After saying that, the mountain man goes into the cave alone.

As I looked at him, I doubted my eyes.

‘It’s gone?’

The moment we crossed the boundary of the cave, the mountain man’s figure disappeared in an instant.

Butler Choi said with a grin.

“Please come in, your highness.”

I slowly took a step into the cave.

It feels like you’re walking through rippling water.

And slowly the scenery began to change.

The rough ground became level, the damp forest air became pleasant, and a warm breeze replaced the cold winter wind.

In that way, the surrounding scenery had soon transformed into a room in an old-fashioned Korean mansion.

‘Is this also a goblin’s magic?’

I felt like I was literally possessed.

It felt different from things like sorcery, magic, formations, or magic.

If that was the case, I would have felt some kind of force moving, but the scenery changed naturally, as if I was just watching the water flowing.

“There’s no cushion or anything, so just sit on the floor.”

A man in hiking clothes sitting in front of an old-fashioned folding screen.

There was no mismatch like this, but surprisingly, the look suited them well.

“Okay, now let’s hear what you have to say.”

Although he said that, the mountain man seemed not to be interested in hearing the story. He just laughed and opened each and every box of alcohol he had brought.

Penfold, Bombay Sapphire, Macallan, Armand… … .

I don’t know much about alcohol, but just by looking at the packaging, it looked like it was worth a lot of money, and they were ripping it off without hesitation.

“Taeshin, that bastard was originally a person who didn’t shed a single drop of blood, but he sent you to train a lump of flesh and blood like you. You must be quite hated.”

“No, I was hoping to come.”

“Oh, really? A brat like you? What’s going on? Tell me a story.”

The mountain man suddenly looked up from his drink and looked straight at me.

I briefly explained what had happened.

Cadet, father, and reward.

I didn’t necessarily include stories like the Forest of Inmyeonju or the Brothers’ Check.

“……Tsk, this is not fun. You are not a good storyteller.”

The mountain man decided on a drink, opened the lid, and began to gulp it down.

Then he slammed his knee and his eyes lit up.

“Ah! Good! Yeah, it wasn’t fun, but I listened to the story, so I should return the favor. I know how to read fortunes. How about it? Want to take a look?”

This is the point where the mysterious race of goblins strike.

I don’t really believe in that kind of thing, but I had no reason to refuse.

“Then please.”

“Okay. Good.”

The mysterious eyes of the mountain keeper, which seemed to contain stars, looked at me.

“Hmm, that’s interesting. Even though he’s still a child, he’s got all sorts of luck and fate woven into him. What is this…….”

The mountain keeper tilted his head.

“He died as soon as he was born, and even if he had lived, he would have suffered misfortune around the age of ten, but by some strange twist of fate, he avoided the misfortune. If he hadn’t come here this time, he would have suffered great misfortune…… Hmm? Hmm……?”

The mountain man began to tilt his head, rubbing his short beard.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Okay, that’s enough. There’s no point in you having your fortune told or your horoscope read. Unless you’re going to look back on it after it’s all over.”

“What do you mean?”

“In the end, fortune telling is about what will happen to you based on your fate. But people like you distort your own fate, so it’s meaningless.”

The mountain man moistened his lips with wine again and continued speaking.

“In short, your life changes depending on the way you live. Isn’t that interesting?”

I couldn’t help but laugh at that.

Because those words most accurately describe my life right now.

“Anyway, whatever. So what are you going to do with the one year you’ve been given?”

I glanced at Butler Choi.

‘What I’m saying now is something my father can hear.’

But I thought that even if Butler Choi wasn’t there, my father would have already guessed my choice.

“I am…….”