Chapter 159
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 159.
Noel was reading a book.
It was a book bound in leather, its cover impossible to discern, with an extremely ominous appearance.
Not only that, but the room was surrounded by bookshelves on all sides, filled with countless books.
“What did you learn today?”
“I was learning how to summon high-level undead. This book contains methods for handling Death Knights, so I was studying that…”
“Death Knights—they’re extremely powerful undead.”
Death Knights.
Undead created using the corpses of powerful warriors or knights.
They possess the ability to command other undead, making them ideal for leading troops.
“Was there anything you found difficult?”
“…A few things.”
“Ask me now. I’ll teach you.”
“Yes…”
Noel asked about the parts he didn’t understand, and Jerome answered him kindly.
To an outside observer, it looked like a benevolent grandfather having a conversation with his grandson.
“Is this enough?”
“…Yes, I think I understand now.”
“Hmm, what about the other books I told you to read?”
“I’ve read all of them.”
“Good. Excellent.”
Jerome clapped his hands in delight.
The books here were all related to necromancy, collected by him over many years.
They were treasures that couldn’t be obtained even if one wanted to, some with limited readings.
The fact that Jerome showed them to Noel without hesitation proved how much he valued him.
“Then it’s time for some practical training.”
“Practical… training?”
“Yes.”
Jerome snapped his fingers.
The door opened, and a group of undead brought in a crowd of people.
They were all hunters with severe injuries.
“Ugh, kuhhh…”
“L-let go! Let go of me!”
The hunters resisted fiercely, but their injuries were too severe for them to break free.
Even if they were left alone, it was obvious they wouldn’t last long before dying.
Noel’s eyes met theirs.
“Turn one of them into a Death Knight using what you’ve learned. You can do it, can’t you?”
“……”
Noel’s body flinched.
They were still alive.
Turning a living person into an undead…
“What? A Death Knight? You crazy bastards!”
“Ah, my mistake. I forgot we had to kill them first.”
Crack!
An undead snapped the hunter’s neck.
The hunter collapsed.
His comrades beside him let out agonized screams.
“……”
“Why are you hesitating? Didn’t you hear me?”
“…No, I heard you.”
Noel bit his lip.
His body language clearly showed hesitation.
Jerome’s gaze grew even colder as he watched.
“Think about your orphanage friends.”
“…!”
Noel swallowed hard.
He never had a choice to begin with. With trembling eyes, he looked at the dead hunter.
His hand glowed with a deep violet light.
Rumble…!
The floor vibrated in response.
The necromancy energy flowing from Noel’s hand seeped into the dead hunter.
“Ah, ahh…”
The corpse began to mutate.
Flesh disappeared, bones were exposed, the bones turned black, and grew monstrously large.
A moment later, a sinister light filled the room.
—Groooaaan…
Where the dead hunter had been, a Death Knight now stood.
Its appearance was so altered that nothing of its former self remained except the armor it wore.
The other hunters trembled at the sight.
“Magnificent… Magnificent, Noel!”
Jerome burst into mad laughter as he watched the process.
A prodigious talent capable of mastering Death Knight summoning in such a short time. And enough necromancy energy to actually perform the summoning.
Everything about him was perfect.
“Truly, my masterpiece… Perfect. Yes, you must be more perfect than anyone.”
“……”
The undead Noel summoned were stronger than ordinary undead, their movements brimming with vitality.
This was due to his unique ability.
Jerome lightly patted his shoulder and whispered quietly into his ear.
“Depending on how you act, the children at the orphanage can be happy. And that nun you miss so much… Understand?”
“I… understand.”
“Good.”
Jerome smiled and pointed at the remaining hunters.
“Then, shall we check if you’ve learned anything besides Death Knights?”
“…Yes.”
Screams echoed once more.
Jerome watched it all with deep satisfaction, thinking to himself:
‘Still rebellious. He hesitates. If he grows stronger here, he’ll become harder to control.’
His eyes gleamed ominously.
‘I’ll have to brainwash him completely before that happens.’
Once the lesson ended, Jerome pretended to praise Noel and stretched out his hands.
A pure white smoke drifted from his palms.
“Ugh…!”
Noel staggered as soon as he inhaled it, collapsing unconscious before he could even process what was happening.
A simple dark magic spell to put someone to sleep.
“Is anyone outside?”
“Yes, Lord Jerome.”
Jerome called for someone, and a cultist waiting outside entered.
“Prepare the artifact I brought earlier. I need to brainwash this one completely.”
“Understood.”
The cultists carried Noel away.
Jerome watched their retreating figures with greedy eyes.
“……”
And someone else was watching.
In the corner of the mansion, a man who had been standing unnoticed vanished like a ghost.
***
Yoo Baek-jun was hiding near the mansion.
“Why are there so many monsters here?”
It was similar to the valley he had visited before.
This place was also a remote area where few people originally lived, but after monsters began appearing, people stopped living here altogether.
The only difference was—
‘A few hunters came here to clear it out. The problem is how badly it ended for them.’
Several hunter teams had attempted to clear this area, but most met grim fates.
They either went missing, died, or returned mentally broken.
After such incidents, the Ulsan Hunter Association declared this area off-limits.
‘The mastermind behind it all… goes without saying.’
Jerome.
He had captured the people and hunters in this area to use as materials for his necromancy.
“D-damn, that bastard’s vicious!”
“Please keep your voice down. And why are you talking like an old man… Have you been watching dramas?”
“Uh, I was a little bored.”
Yoon Song-ha laughed awkwardly.
“Ah, whatever. He’s right, they’re vicious bastards. Let’s hurry up and take them down. Can we just go through the front door?”
“Do you really think that would work? Stop interrupting the young master and follow quietly.”
“That’s not my style.”
“What was that?”
Beside Yoo Baek-jun were Yoon Song-ha and Han Seong-ah.
This mansion had enough enemies that tackling it alone would be troublesome.
So he called the two of them.
The problem was—
“Well, this works out. Yoon Song-ha, your attitude toward the young master is too casual. When addressing someone of higher status, you should show the proper respect…”
“Ugh, so stiff. Unbearably stiff, seriously.”
“……”
The two of them had the worst compatibility.
Though she often acted naive lately, Han Seong-ah was fundamentally serious and reserved.
Yoon Song-ha was the complete opposite—unbearably carefree. There was no way they’d get along.
‘Did I make a mistake bringing them?’
Yoo Baek-jun sighed.
“…You’re being loud. Someone might hear.”
“Oh, Min Yi-jae. As gloomy as ever.”
“……”
Right on cue, Min Yi-jae appeared like a ghost. Relieved, Yoo Baek-jun spoke up.
“Why did I bring these two…?”
“Regretting it now. What’s the situation inside the mansion?”
“The ground floor is guarded by undead and cultists… And as you said, there’s a prison-like area underground where they’re keeping people.”
Min Yi-jae pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket.
It was a rough sketch of the mansion’s layout, marking the positions of the undead and cultists.
Yoon Song-ha peeked and whistled.
“Not bad at drawing. Unexpected.”
“…I learned because it was necessary.”
“Hoh.”
Yoo Baek-jun pointed at the underground section.
“What about the innermost part?”
“There is a boy named Noel… They seemed to be teaching him necromancy. If we’re moving, we should do it quickly.”
“Why?”
“I’m not sure, but it looked like they were trying to brainwash him… If we’re too late, it might be irreversible.”
“Hmm, good.”
Nothing had really changed.
Now that they had confirmed everything, there was no reason to hesitate.
Yoo Baek-jun quickly explained the plan to the others and reiterated their objective.
“Our goal is to rescue the people trapped underground. The team heading underground will be me, Han Seong-ah, and Yoon Song-ha.”
“What should I do…?”
“Min Yi-jae, disable the mansion’s defenses and prevent Jerome from coming down.”
“Not too difficult.”
Min Yi-jae nodded in understanding.
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the mansion ahead.
“Let’s get started.”
***
The interior of the mansion was eerily silent.
Aside from the cultists handling menial tasks, most of its inhabitants were undead, so this was only natural.
Undead patrolled the mansion on guard duty, while the cultists watched them with unease.
“This is so creepy, I can’t take it anymore. When can we go back to the cult?”
“Calm down. Our shift will end soon.”
“I’ll die of nervous exhaustion before then.”
Being surrounded by corpses all day was driving them insane.
A cultist sighed.
“Let’s get back to work. If we don’t tidy up, Lord Jerome will get angry again.”
“Yeah, we should…”
The cultists were about to leave to attend to their duties.
But at that moment—
Whoosh!
A flash of light streaked through the air.
Then, the sound of something falling.
The cultist looked down and saw the head of the comrade he had just been talking to rolling on the floor.
But he couldn’t even scream.
“Ghk—!”
His own throat was slit before he could.
In an instant, the other cultists’ lives were also cut short as Yoo Baek-jun emerged from the shadows.
Yoon Song-ha and Han Seong-ah, following behind, quickly hid the cultists’ bodies out of sight.
“Let’s go.”
Yoo Baek-jun swiftly headed underground.
The barrier protecting the mansion had already been dismantled by Min Yi-jae. Once they entered the underground area, he would handle the rest.
Thud!
“Ugh—!”
Yoo Baek-jun silently eliminated every cultist in his path until he reached the stairs.
At the bottom was a door.
The entrance to the underground prison.
“Ugh, it reeks. There aren’t many humans, but the stench of rotting corpses is overwhelming.”
“Why pretend to dislike it when you’re clearly enjoying it?”
Yoo Baek-jun gestured to Han Seong-ah and Yoon Song-ha, who began chanting spells.
And when their magic was complete—
BOOM!
Yoo Baek-jun kicked the door open.
The shattered door revealed a vast prison and the undead guarding it.
And the cultists as well.
“W-what the—?”
“Who are those—!”
Before they could react, Yoo Baek-jun’s attack swept through the underground area.
He gestured behind him.
Hummm!
As soon as they entered, Han Seong-ah used dark magic to create a barrier at the entrance.
A barrier that blocked passage in and out.
When Yoon Song-ha layered her magic over it, an even more impenetrable wall sealed the door.
“Good. That should keep them out for a while.”
Yoo Baek-jun scanned the underground area.
Despite his initial attack, many undead still remained. And not just any undead—these were far stronger than the ones outside.
“Let’s finish them before Jerome comes down.”
Yoo Baek-jun gripped his sword.