Chapter 176
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 176.
Yoo Baek-jun looked around.
Just a few dozen minutes ago, Busan had been peaceful, but now it was overrun with undead.
This was because the world of Thanatos had descended.
‘The Summoning Ritual.’
The Summoning Ritual was simple.
It involved summoning Thanatos, the god of death in Halpeon, into this world.
And in addition to that—
‘The descent of Thanatos’ world, the underworld.’
That world was ruled by Thanatos, a place akin to what is commonly referred to as the afterlife.
It was where the dead of Halpeon went, a place where countless souls and corpses resided.
Before summoning the god of death, Vincent had first brought forth Thanatos’ world.
—Kreeeeeh!
—Bodies, living bodies, give us your bodies…!
This was the result.
The outcome achieved through the magic circles installed underground across Busan and the countless sacrifices offered.
The large-scale magic circle first used the lives and souls of people as sacrifices to bring forth the underworld, and secondarily, it summoned Thanatos.
‘Since they’ve summoned the underworld, their primary goal has been achieved. But we can’t let them succeed in their secondary goal.’
Yoo Baek-jun observed the unfolding events from a vantage point overlooking Busan.
People were screaming and fleeing, while undead creatures attacked from all directions.
‘This is different from Seoul. In the Night of Death event, defensive battles are meaningless.’
Corpses would continue to appear, and the undead would be endlessly spawned.
Thus, a defensive battle was futile.
The enemies would pour out overwhelming numbers until this side was crushed.
A war of attrition would leave no chance of victory.
‘Above all, Vincent wants nothing more than for people to die in a war of attrition.’
Vincent had succeeded in summoning the underworld by offering the sacrifices he had gathered so far.
But it wasn’t enough to summon Thanatos. So, he would sacrifice the people of Busan to bring forth Thanatos.
That had to be stopped.
‘The only way to stop it…’
Yoo Baek-jun raised his head.
The skyscraper in Haeundae where Vincent was hosting a celebratory banquet with his patrons—the tallest building in the area.
That was where the ‘core’ of the large-scale magic circle was located. He would be on the rooftop of that building, preparing to summon Thanatos.
‘We have to stop that.’
The preparations to do so were already complete.
Yoo Baek-jun touched his ear and focused his magical energy. Then, voices from his subordinates came through the magical earring.
—Young Master, we’ve cut off the intelligence network the Intelligence Division was using in Busan. Chief Lee Ja-yae is furious… Is this really okay?
“That woman’s done for anyway. Ignore her.”
—Y-yes… Later, we’ll pretend to restore the network and spread false information…
First, Jeon Soo-yeon.
Yoo Tae-rang was using the Intelligence Division’s network to gather intelligence.
That had been cut off first.
Without eyes or ears, responding to unexpected situations would be difficult.
—We’ve also blocked the Busan branch’s communication network. Yoo Tae-rang is isolated, so Im Woo-do will try to send reinforcements, but we’ll interfere.
“Good. And you know what to do, right?”
—Yes, at the time you mentioned… We’ll bring Im Woo-do to the target location.
A smile crept onto Yoo Baek-jun’s lips.
—We’ve arrived on-site. We’ll start by rescuing survivors and forming a defensive line.
—I’m here! Just do as you said, right?
—Young Master, the Hunter Association and Noel have arrived. We can move at any time.
Communications from the various allies he had prepared for this situation continued to come in.
And finally, Jin Seo-yeon.
—I’ll be there soon.
“Good.”
The call he had been waiting for.
Yoo Baek-jun stood up.
“Now, it’s time to counterattack.”
* * *
Busan was in utter chaos.
The swordsmen of the Sword Saint family had formed defensive lines at various points under Yoo Tae-rang’s orders.
Yoo Tae-rang had commanded them to hold the defensive lines at all costs. But…
“T-this is different from what we expected!”
“Undead?! And this many of them…!”
“Shouldn’t we retreat?!”
The number of enemies was overwhelming.
Holding the defensive lines was impossible. Reason dictated they should fall back.
But they couldn’t.
“Aaaah!”
“H-help us!”
Beyond the defensive lines were civilians.
They couldn’t collapse the lines until the civilians had escaped to safety.
Even without Yoo Tae-rang’s orders.
“We just have to hold out until the civilians evacuate. Grit your teeth and endure! If we do…”
“Huh?”
As they steeled their resolve, a group of people appeared beyond the defensive lines.
Figures clad entirely in black robes.
“…….”
Followers of Thanatos—among them, the necromancers trained by Jerome.
Their leader, Liao Wei, stepped forward.
“A futile struggle…”
A mocking tone.
The swordsmen scowled.
“Who are they?”
“They don’t look like civilians…”
The swordsmen were wary, but the undead were too numerous to do anything.
The necromancers raised their staff high.
“Come forth.”
Boom!
As they slammed their staff down, corpses emerged from the cracks in the ground.
Unlike the undead rampaging through the streets, these corpses had extraordinary appearances.
Even in death, their power was palpable.
“Heroes of the past, serve us.”
Though Earth’s people wouldn’t know, these were the corpses of renowned figures from Halpeon.
Some were called heroes, others infamous villains.
Regardless, they were figures who had left their mark on history.
And their corpses held far greater power than ordinary people’s.
Especially when turned into undead.
“Arise, O dead.”
A massive magic circle formed beneath their feet.
The circle glowed ominously as it greedily devoured the necromancers’ life force.
An immense amount of life force gathered in one place.
As it spread outward—
—Groooowl…
—…….
The undead rose.
These were far more powerful than the undead roaming the streets—high-tier undead rarely seen.
Death knights, Liches, Pit archers, Tattered golems, and… Countless top-rank undead revived and revealed themselves.
“W-what are those monsters?!”
“Where did those undead come from…?!”
The hunters were horrified.
Some of these undead were so powerful that ordinary hunters would never encounter them in their lifetime.
If such monsters ran amok, Busan would be destroyed beyond recovery.
Then, the necromancers issued their command.
“Lead the undead. Kill every last person here.”
“Not a single living soul must remain.”
—Heh, heh, heh… As you command…
The liches soared into the air.
In an instant, they unleashed large-scale dark magic, engulfing the ground below.
“Aaaargh!”
“Ugh! Deploy sword barriers!”
Screams echoed.
The swordsmen shielded themselves with sword barriers. But some seized the opening.
—Weak… flesh…
Death knights.
They led the undead in a charge, crashing into the swordsmen who had raised their barriers.
“Damn these monsters… Ugh!”
—Your sword… is weak…
The death knights, wreathed in dark aura and supported by the liches, overwhelmed the swordsmen.
Behind them, pit archers fired corrupted arrows, targeting gaps in the defense, while countless other high-rank undead pushed through the lines.
“W-we can’t hold this!”
“The line is breaking…!”
The swordsmen glanced at the people behind them.
Civilians.
Yoo Tae-rang had ordered them to form a defensive line and rescue them.
Even without orders, they would have tried.
But the enemy’s assault was too fierce.
—Kreeeeeh!
“Ugh…!”
“Damn it… Ugh!”
One by one, the swordsmen fell.
They couldn’t hold on any longer.
The line was going to collapse.
Just as they thought that—
Kwaaaaah!
A bolt of lightning struck from the sky.
Yoo Baek-jun.
Gripping a spear wreathed in lightning, he slammed it into the ground with all his might.
A Gale wall erupted from his fingertips.
—Groooowl!
The Gale wall sent the undead attacking the defensive line flying backward.
The swordsmen, who had thought they were doomed, stared at him in stunned silence.
“L-Lord Yoo Baek-jun!”
“Did my brother order you to hold this place?”
“Y-yes! That’s right!”
“A harsh demand.”
Yoo Baek-jun smirked bitterly.
“It’s fine now. You focus on evacuating the civilians. I’ll handle this.”
“But Lord Yoo Tae-rang said—”
“I don’t like repeating myself.”
Yoo Baek-jun’s cold gaze bore into the swordsman. An overwhelming pressure crushed him.
He swallowed hard and nodded.
“Don’t let them escape! Chase them down!”
A necromancer watching from behind commanded the undead.
As the Gale wall dissipated, the undead prepared to advance again.
But…
“Why aren’t they moving?”
The undead stood frozen.
Facing Yoo Baek-jun, they remained motionless as if blocked by an invisible wall.
He looked at the undead before him.
‘Jerome, you’re something else.’
To gather those with talent and train them to summon such high-tier undead.
He was glad he had killed him when he did.
“And… I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Yoo Baek-jun activated his trait.
—Groooowl!
—……!
The power of the Death King.
An intense aura erupted from Yoo Baek-jun, accompanied by overwhelming force.
A crimson haze spread in all directions, and Liao Wei’s eyes widened in shock.
‘What… is this…?’
He felt his body trembling.
For some reason, his heart sank, and his knees buckled on their own.
His instincts screamed at him to obey the man before him.
“Y-you… What are you?!”
“L-Liao Wei! The undead…!”
And the undead were no different.
They dared not even think of attacking, only staring at Yoo Baek-jun.
And then.
“To me…”
Yoo Baek-jun spoke.
“Submit.”
No—the Death King declared.
He who had received power from the gods in the past and raised an undead army against national oppression.
“Follow your master.”
The crimson haze pressing down on the undead intensified.
A suffocating pressure.
And then.
—We… obey…
—Groooowl…
The undead knelt.
The death knights at the forefront, the pit archers behind them, and the liches— All knelt as if before a king.
Directly toward Yoo Baek-jun.
“T-this is… impossible…”
Liao Wei couldn’t believe his eyes.
No one could.
“How… How are you controlling the undead we summoned…?”
The undead they had summoned were obeying someone else—it was unthinkable.
Not all undead obeyed.
Many were ordinary undead, and only about half of the high-rank undead they had summoned submitted.
But even that was unbelievable.
‘A single individual controlling that many undead… alone? Just how much dominance does he possess?!’
Liao Wei was stunned.
Then, Yoo Baek-jun issued his command.
“Attack your enemies.”
“……!”
The undead marched.
Not toward anyone else—but toward their summoners. The necromancers.
—Kreeeeeh!
—Screaaam!
A battle of the dead against the dead began.