Chapter 139
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 139.
Yoo Baek-jun immediately stomped the ground.
He gave no time to recover. Gripping his spear in one hand, he closed the distance in an instant.
Then, stepping forward, he unleashed the Nine Dragon Fangs.
"Grrruuuhhh!"
Nine thrusts accompanied by an overwhelming gust of wind assaulted Yoo Ji-woong.
Ji-woong instinctively raised a sword barrier and tried to retreat. But the hastily formed barrier failed to fully block the spear.
"Kuh-huk!"
The barrier shattered, and Ji-woong's body, caught in the wind pressure, was flung backward. Baek-jun pulled his spear-wielding arm far back and hurled it.
Whooosh!
The lightning-wrapped spear spiraled through the air, chasing the airborne Ji-woong.
And then—impact.
A deafening explosion sent dust billowing into the air.
Thud!
Baek-jun immediately stomped the ground and charged forward, aiming to deliver a follow-up strike.
But Ji-woong had already vanished.
'No way he'd die that easily.'
Baek-jun raised his head.
Ji-woong stood atop the ceiling, supported by a unique Footwork technique exclusive to the Intelligence Division.
"Grrr…!"
But Ji-woong wasn’t unscathed.
Though he had evaded with his footwork technique, he was too late—the spiraling spear had pierced his side, and blood now seeped from the wound.
Gritting his teeth, he landed on the ground.
'I need to escape. I have to regroup with the others outside. To do that…'
His only option was to cut his way through.
Ji-woong drew his sword—a blade thinner and longer than a standard one.
He assumed an unusual stance.
'Deal heavy damage and flee in the opening.'
There was distance between Ji-woong and Baek-jun. Both maintained it, eyeing each other warily.
The one who charged first—
"Haaap!"
Unexpectedly, it was Ji-woong.
The Intelligence Division’s sword techniques unfolded at his fingertips.
Kaaang!
The Extreme Swift Sword.
With a single swing, his blade rippled like a mirage.
Then, countless slashes surged forth.
Slaaash!
A single attack unleashed an uncountable number of sword strikes.
Was it magic? No.
'The Shadowless Sword Technique.'
Ji-woong’s attack was deceptively simple—he had swung his sword so fast that, in the blink of an eye, countless slashes appeared.
To an observer, it seemed as though a single strike had birthed innumerable blades.
"Ugh!"
A frost-imbued hand deflected the onslaught of slashes. But not all could be blocked, and Baek-jun’s flesh began to be carved away bit by bit.
A smirk crept onto Ji-woong’s lips.
'Did you think you could block all my Swift Strikes?'
Impossible.
This was the culmination of his years of training. Ji-woong explosively unleashed more Swift Strikes.
The exchange continued.
Blades too fast for the eye to follow rained down, and Baek-jun parried them.
"…!"
Ji-woong’s expression gradually shifted.
Something was wrong.
'He’s… blocking all of them?'
At first, he hadn’t.
Baek-jun had failed to fully defend against the Swift Strikes.
But the longer the assault continued, the more it seemed as though he was adapting—now blocking every single slash.
'No way.'
He refused to believe it. No one could keep up with his Swift Strikes.
Yet—
Kaaang!
Claaang!
Baek-jun blocked every single one. With minimal, hyper-efficient movements, he deflected what he could and dodged the rest.
As if he knew exactly where each strike would come from.
"That’s impossible!"
"Is it?"
Baek-jun sneered and charged. Wreathed in wind, his form blurred as he executed Heavenly Thunder—so fast even Ji-woong couldn’t keep up.
Thud!
A fist buried itself in Ji-woong’s stomach.
"Guh-huk!"
Ji-woong’s body was sent flying. He had intentionally thrown himself back to mitigate the impact.
Baek-jun pursued instantly, and Ji-woong, gritting his teeth, swung his sword.
Swiish!
The Shadowless Sword Technique’s skills unfolded relentlessly. Countless blades came from every angle, leaving no blind spot as they sought to cut Baek-jun down.
Baek-jun inhaled sharply and summoned his inner energy.
Whooosh!
A swirling surge of energy clashed against the incoming blades.
Then, the energy burst apart, transforming into countless sword-like projections that repelled every single one of Ji-woong’s strikes.
Ji-woong’s jaw dropped in shock.
Thud!
Baek-jun closed the distance in an instant. Planting his stance, he drove his right fist—imbued with the Heavenly Destruction —straight into Ji-woong’s abdomen.
Kwaaaang!
"Gaaahhh!"
The amplified Heavenly Destruction struck Ji-woong like a hammer, triggering a massive explosion.
Flames engulfed the surroundings.
Ji-woong, his body wracked with searing pain, screamed as he crashed into a wall.
"Kuh-huk!"
Ji-woong’s body twitched.
He desperately tried to rise, but the earlier impact had left him severely injured.
Further combat was impossible.
"How?!"
Ji-woong howled in desperation.
How had he blocked his sword? How had he known where he would strike?
This situation, this counter—it was as if Baek-jun had anticipated their presence from the start.
This was a trap. But how?
"How did you know we were here? And how did you know ’I’ was here?!"
Ji-woong’s stealth abilities were top-tier.
Moreover, the factory was dark—indoors, he could vanish entirely.
Yet Baek-jun had pin pointed his location and attacked with precision.
It shouldn’t have been possible.
"Limiting the entry routes makes predicting movement easier."
"So this was all your doing?!"
"Correct."
Baek-jun replied casually.
Then, suddenly, his expression twisted slightly, as if displeased.
"Though, your manners are lacking. Weren’t you taught how to address the family heir?"
"My loyalty lies only with Yoo Tae-rang…!"
"Oh, really?"
Baek-jun clenched his fist. In that instant, Ji-woong backflipped away.
Then, he pulled something from his pocket and hurled it.
Paaaat!
A small sphere exploded.
The light contained within burst forth, blinding the surroundings like a flashbang.
Baek-jun staggered momentarily.
'Now!'
Ji-woong immediately bolted toward the factory window. He had to escape at all costs.
Or so he thought—
Kaaang!
"Guh-huk!"
He couldn’t leave.
As he crashed into the window, an invisible barrier repelled him.
A barrier.
"Thinking of running?"
A voice came from behind.
Not Baek-jun’s—a woman’s voice.
"Guh…!"
Thud! Before he could react, a sharp blade pierced his abdomen.
Then, his body was flung backward.
Slaaash!
A flash of light followed.
As Ji-woong was thrown back, Baek-jun—who had been waiting—swung his sword.
The slash severed both of Ji-woong’s legs.
"Gaaaahhh!"
Ji-woong screamed in agony. A cold blade pressed against his shoulder.
"The Intelligence Division, meant to serve the family, was spying on me."
Baek-jun glared at him icily.
"Any last words?"
No answer came.
Ji-woong only stared back with bloodshot eyes—at Baek-jun and at Yoo Jung-yeon, who had stabbed him moments ago.
The two stood before him.
"Who would’ve thought the Intelligence Division’s rising star would end up like this?"
"Fuck… you…!"
"Such foul language."
Craaack!
Baek-jun stomped on Ji-woong’s sword arm. A sickening crunch followed as the arm shattered.
Ji-woong let out a bloodcurdling scream.
"What… do you plan to do with me?!"
"Hmm. Sister, any ideas?"
"The best option would be to extract information about Yoo Tae-rang from him. But…" Jung-yeon shook her head. "Intel agents are trained to resist torture. He won’t talk easily, and even if he does, we can’t trust it."
"It’d just create more confusion."
"Exactly."
"Then…"
Baek-jun looked down at Ji-woong. A cold glint flickered in his eyes.
Instinctively sensing danger, Ji-woong opened his mouth to say, "Wait—"
But before he could—
"Let’s just kill him."
Baek-jun swung his sword.
Blood splattered violently, and a life was extinguished. Jung-yeon grimaced, wiping the blood that had sprayed onto her face.
"Couldn’t you have talked a bit more before killing him? Now there’s blood everywhere."
"You can just wipe it off."
"Do you not see my makeup?"
"Why wear makeup to a place like this?"
Jung-yeon let out a deep sigh.
"Fine, whatever. But are you sure killing him was the right call? I thought restraining him would’ve been better."
"It’s fine. There’s a chance he’d escape, so it’s better to eliminate him. I’ve already planted someone in the Intelligence Division. We’ll get our intel from them."
Keeping Ji-woong alive was too risky.
If they tried to detain him for interrogation, escape attempts were inevitable.
That would only complicate things.
'Killing him is simpler.'
He hated leaving loose ends.
A principle hardened from years on Heroes Road.
Couldn’t he have been turned into an ally? Wasn’t his situation somewhat pitiable?
Such thoughts often led to betrayal or unforeseen variables when events unfolded.
'It might seem cruel…'
But this was the best course.
Baek-jun dismissed the system window before him—a message about skill proficiency increasing.
Jung-yeon spoke up.
"What about the ones who escaped?"
"Don’t worry."
Baek-jun glanced out the factory window.
"I’ve already called for backup."
***
Choi Yi-chang and Yoon Seo-ha were leading the remaining subordinates through an escape route.
An underground passage.
Originally built as a contingency during monster outbreaks, it had since faded from memory, unused by anyone.
"What about Jeon Chi-hoon?"
"No idea. He just said he’d shake off Han Seong-ah and then… went silent."
"Let’s hope he wasn’t caught."
Yi-chang grimaced.
Han Seong-ah was one of the Grandmaster Ja-yeon’s top disciples.
Even Chi-hoon couldn’t guarantee victory, especially while fleeing.
"Shouldn’t we worry about ourselves right now?"
Seo-ha fiddled with a card in her hand.
This passage was accessible only with a keycard—one held by a select few in the Intelligence Division.
They should be safe here.
Or so they thought.
Scrreeech!
From the darkness ahead came the sound of metal scraping against the ground.
Before they could process it, flames erupted from the floor with terrifying force.
"What the—?!"
"Gyaaahhh!"
The flames took the form of fiery birds, swooping down on Yi-chang and the others.
Yi-chang and Seo-ha rolled aside frantically, but the subordinates weren’t fast enough.
They screamed as they collapsed, writhing on the ground.
"This is…!"
A familiar attack.
Seo-ha’s eyes widened as she looked toward the source.
Someone stood in the darkness.
The moment she recognized the figure—
Whooosh!
—the surroundings lit up with flames.
"Welcome."
A woman stood opposite them.
Tattoos adorned her face, her ash-blonde hair long and wild, her clothing rugged.
"Yoon Song-ha!"
A Ranker hunter—Yoon Song-ha.