Chapter 152
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 152.
Yoo Baek-jun extracted the information he needed from Roben.
First, he asked about the size of the Royal Army. Then came the deployment details—who was leading them, and where.
“The knight commander…Commander Farowell is leading them. He came here with other knight orders.”
“Farowell. What kind of guy is he?”
“He’s a knight famous in the kingdom for being close to Sword Master-level strength. They say he’ll rise to a higher position than just a knight commander…”
“Hmm.”
Fortunately, nothing had changed.
Farowell.
One of the knights who is like a symbol of the royal army, a figure evaluated as a leading force who will carry the next generation.
He’s definitely a tough opponent.
Being close to a Sword Master means he’s practically S-rank if compared to hunters.
‘The risk is high, but if I kill him, the rewards will be just as great.’
The quest in the Ruwinid Forest is connected to other quests that exist separately.
Among them, some lead to the downfall of the kingdom, so considering that, killing Farowell here would make things easier.
‘Farowell’s location is… near the exit, right?’
Like it or not, they’ll clash.
Then, it’s better to eliminate future troubles now.
“Good, that was quite useful information.”
“S-so, you’ll spare me, right?”
Roben looked up with an expectant face.
He had told everything he knew. So, he must be hoping he’d be spared.
But contrary to his expectations.
“I never said I’d spare you, did I?”
“You son of a—!”
Splat!
Before his words could even finish, Yoo Baek-jun’s blade severed Roben’s head.
Yoo Baek-jun shook the blood off his sword.
“Be grateful I sent you off without pain.”
The knight who had been struck by the Tendon-Shattering Bone Crush was still writhing in terrible agony.
Roben was a guy who had traveled many places, hunting innocent elves.
Even so, sending him off without pain was something he should be thankful for.
“You’ve suffered enough too.”
Yoo Baek-jun ended the moaning knight’s life and stepped outside.
He had something to discuss with the elves.
* * *
After the battle ended, the elves disarmed the captured soldiers and brought them to the village.
“Lord Ignasil, we pursued the fleeing ones and captured them all.”
“Well done.”
The captured royal soldiers sat in the village square with dazed expressions.
They hadn’t expected to be defeated like this.
Ignasil looked at them and fell into thought.
‘There are too many of them.’
What should be done with them?
The elven village’s holding facilities were too poor to keep them as prisoners. Killing them all here would only breed resentment among some.
—If you commit unnecessary slaughter, the World Tree may not look kindly upon it. Considering that, wouldn’t it be better to imprison them instead of killing them?
Ignasil let out a sigh.
That World Tree had withered long ago, and yet…
“Delowin, what do you think?”
“You’re asking about what to do with those people?”
“Yes. You’ll have to learn to make cold, rational decisions if you’re to take on your future role in this village.”
Ignasil looked straight at Delowin.
She was someone who would take on important responsibilities in this village. Seeing how she would handle such situations was crucial.
“…My emotions tell me we should spare them. But….”
Delowin closed her eyes.
“My reason says that would be dangerous.”
“Meaning?”
“We should return them to nature’s embrace. The elders of the village might not agree, but…”
A faint smile appeared on Ignasil’s lips. A smile that seemed to rejoice in her growth.
“Well, if that’s your decision…”
“Ah, human!”
Just then, Yoo Baek-jun returned.
He walked over, holding Roben in one hand and the knight in the other.
“Delowin, is that the human you mentioned?”
“Yes, he helped me and Baimar. If it weren’t for him, we would’ve been captured too.”
“Hmm…”
Ignasil’s expression turned complicated.
Thinking of what the humans had done in the Ruwinid Forest, he couldn’t bring herself to feel welcoming toward this human.
But he was Delowin’s savior.
Not only that, but if viewed more broadly, he was also the one who had saved this elven village.
“I should express my gratitude.”
Ignasil quickly composed himself.
If someone had done them a favor, it was right to thank them.
Meanwhile, Yoo Baek-jun approached.
“Greetings, human. I am Ignasil, in charge of this forest’s defense. Thanks to your help, we were able to escape the crisis.”
Ignasil bowed deeply in gratitude.
Yoo Baek-jun waved his hand dismissively.
“No need. I didn’t do it to receive thanks. But why have you gathered these soldiers?”
He pointed at the captured soldiers.
“Well…”
“We were debating how to dispose of them.”
“Hmm, dispose of them, huh?”
The soldiers trembled violently.
It was understandable, given their lives were at stake.
“Are opinions divided?”
“Yes. We elves are not accustomed to killing. Some in the village suggested imprisoning them somewhere instead of executing them. However…”
“What nonsense.”
Yoo Baek-jun scoffed.
“Where do you plan to imprison so many of them? If things go wrong, they could become enemies within.”
“I think so too. We don’t have a proper place to hold them, and the risk of escape is too high.”
After suffering such a defeat, they would surely hold grudges. Yet, some elves still preferred imprisonment over execution.
Yoo Baek-jun made a slicing motion across his neck.
“Why hesitate? Just kill them.”
These were the same people who had slaughtered elves in the forest.
There was no reason to spare them.
Moreover, if things went according to Yoo Baek-jun’s plan, they would abandon this village.
If the soldiers were imprisoned, the royal army would eventually rescue them.
‘Can’t let that happen.’
They needed to inflict damage on the royal army here. The answer was to eliminate the soldiers.
Ignasil nodded.
His mind had already leaned toward execution after his talk with Delowin.
“There’s no need to show mercy to invaders.”
“…….”
Ignasil left with the other elves, leading the soldiers away.
They would likely execute them out of sight.
Delowin, who had been watching, looked sullen. Her long ears drooped heavily.
“What’s wrong?”
“No matter how bad they are, letting someone die… doesn’t feel good.”
“Hmm…”
Currently, the elven village has no elder.
The elder had disappeared along with the World Tree’s blessing.
Delowin was that elder’s daughter. In other words, she was effectively the next elder of the village.
‘So Ignasil probably asked for her opinion to prepare her for that role… no wonder she’s upset.’
Yoo Baek-jun thought for a moment.
The Ruwinid Forest had been isolated from the outside world for a long time.
Because of that, the elves here were, to put it nicely, pure—or, to put it harshly, naive.
“Even if you regret it later, believe that you made the best choice you could now. Think of this decision as the right one.”
“…….”
“Well, even if it turns out to be the wrong choice, at least your heart will be at peace until that time comes. Right?”
Delowin nodded quietly.
“Then, can you gather all the elves who hold important positions in the village?”
“All of them? Why…?”
“I have something to discuss.”
Delowin nodded, puzzled.
* * *
All the elves holding important positions in the Ruwinid Forest gathered at the elder’s house.
A particularly large house in the elven village.
‘Must be because they hold high positions.’
Many of the elves were quite old.
Middle-aged or elderly elves. They aged very slowly and lived long lives.
Yet, if signs of aging showed on their faces, it meant they had lived an extremely long time.
“Human, we heard you called for us.”
An elderly female elf spoke.
She was an elf who had long taught the ways of handling spirits in the village.
Her name was Elonan.
She was highly respected for it.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“What did you call us for? As you know, the situation is urgent. If possible, we’d like to settle this quickly…”
“Before that, I should introduce myself briefly. You should know who I am to continue the conversation properly.”
Yoo Baek-jun started with an introduction.
Where he came from, why he had come here, and what humans called him.
“A Traveler from another world?”
“Other worlds besides this one exist? What in the world…”
The elves all looked shocked.
It was like telling people on Earth that other planets with intelligent life existed—a similar level of shock.
Their reaction wasn’t too surprising.
“My goal is to guide all of you out of here to a safe place.”
“Abandon the village?”
“Impossible! How can you ask us to leave the place we’ve lived for thousands of years?”
As expected, fierce opposition arose.
The middle-aged and elderly elves reacted violently, while the younger ones were less intense but still disapproving.
He had no choice but to persuade them.
“Then, do you all want to die here?”
“We’d rather die than—!”
“Silence.”
Elonan stopped the vehement opposition.
“Human, I’d like you to explain in more detail. Why must we abandon the village?”
“Because you can’t protect it.” Yoo Baek-jun sighed. “As you know, outside are the forces of the Baim Kingdom targeting this forest. According to the information I gathered, their numbers are around six to seven thousand.”
“That many…!”
Compared to the elves here, that was an overwhelming number. Impossible to resist.
“Do you think you can fight and win against them? They’ve brought elf hunters—they know exactly how you fight.”
“That’s…”
“Well, let’s say you miraculously repel that army. Do you think the Baim Kingdom would accept defeat and retreat quietly?”
Yoo Baek-jun shook his head firmly.
“No way. Even in their current troubled state, they’ve mustered an army of that size. That means they consider the Ruwinid Forest extremely important.”
“…You’re saying they’ll keep attacking until they succeed, even if they fail.”
“Exactly.”
It meant the Baim Kingdom valued the forest’s resources that much.
“Can you withstand those attacks?”
“…….”
The atmosphere in the room grew heavy.
The elves knew.
They couldn’t hold out.
Even if they miraculously repelled this attack, they couldn’t stop the next.
The forest would eventually be conquered, and the elves would become slaves to the kingdom.
“If you want to live, you must leave the forest.”
“…Assuming we do abandon the forest, where could we go to live?” Elonan spoke self-deprecatingly. “Do you think the Baim Kingdom is the only one targeting us elves? If we go outside, more humans will hunt us.”
“True. Elves who once lived under the World Tree’s protection would find it extremely difficult to survive in the outside world now.”
“Yes, at the very least…”
The mood grew increasingly gloomy.
Elonan couldn’t hold back a deep sigh.
“If only the World Tree were still here…”
At those words, Yoo Baek-jun’s eyes gleamed.
This was the moment he’d been waiting for.
“Yes, exactly that.”
“What?”
Yoo Baek-jun leaned forward and spoke meaningfully.
“What if I told you… I could guide you to where the World Tree is?”
“……!”
Yoo Baek-jun pulled out a necklace from his pocket.
A necklace woven from the World Tree.
“This is!”
Elonan gasped in shock upon seeing it.