Chapter 179
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 179.
The building where Vincent held the celebratory banquet was under special protection by the undead.
This place was the 'core' of the magic circle.
The power gathered through the magic circle would converge there and be used for the descent ritual.
"Do not let your guard down and stay vigilant."
"Yes."
Thus, Vincent's subordinate, Park Cheong-mun, was guarding the building alongside the cult members.
Although the interior was heavily fortified, they had set up a defensive line outside to prevent enemies from even entering.
'Everything is going according to plan.'
Park Cheong-mun looked around with great satisfaction.
The swarming undead and the sight of people dying at their hands.
'They will all become nourishment for the descent. And for Vincent's wish to be fulfilled...'
Park Cheong-mun had followed Vincent since the distant past.
It wasn't that he had no wishes of his own, but more than that, it was due to a personal debt.
Thanks to Vincent's help, he had survived, and out of gratitude, he had followed him until now.
"Park Cheong-mun, the Hunters and the swordsmen of the Sword Saint family are evacuating people. What should we do? Should we send a pursuit team...?"
"No need. It's just futile resistance."
A sneer formed on Park Cheong-mun's lips.
"Once this magic circle is activated, no matter where they go, they will encounter the undead."
"Yes, understood."
All they had to do was wait.
There would likely be no one foolish enough to attack this building, knowing its importance. Everyone would be too busy trying to survive their immediate predicament.
"......"
Park Cheong-mun took out a small orb.
An item that showed how much soul and life force had been gathered through the magic circle.
But something felt off.
"What's this? It's slower than expected..."
The accumulation of souls was lagging.
By now, an enormous number of people should have died and become nourishment, but there was no sign of that happening.
The orb wasn't even a third full.
"Why are you so flustered?"
"...!"
At that moment, a familiar voice rang out.
Park Cheong-mun sharply raised his head. Standing before him was a man.
Yoo Baek-jun.
"You—why are you here?!"
“You’re probably thinking something like, ‘Why is the guy who should’ve died at the donor celebration still alive?’ Sorry about that. Guess the guy who was supposed to die is still walking around.”
"Tch!"
Yoo Baek-jun tapped his shoulder with the shaft of his spear, speaking in a mocking tone.
Park Cheong-mun's eyes turned fierce.
'If this man is here, then something must have happened to Vincent upstairs...!'
He had assumed everything was going smoothly and hadn't paid attention to Vincent's side.
But now, something might have gone wrong.
Park Cheong-mun sent men to check while keeping a wary eye on Yoo Baek-jun.
'He's a strong Hunter.'
He had thought Yoo Baek-jun was deeply devoted to the cult's cause.
But if not...
"So you never intended to be loyal to the cult from the beginning."
"Why would I pledge loyalty to some damn cult?"
"How long have you known... about our goal?"
"From the start."
Then he was no ordinary opponent.
Park Cheong-mun ordered the cult members and undead around him to prepare for battle.
He also drew his sword.
“I don’t want to overdo it, but you’re too dangerous. I can’t let you live.”
"You're going to kill me? Think you can?"
"What can you do alone against these numbers? Especially when—"
Park Cheong-mun sneered.
The number of allies guarding the building, including those inside, easily numbered in the thousands.
And if they included those spread throughout Busan, it would easily surpass tens of thousands.
"—Facing an endlessly replenishing army."
Currently, Busan had become the underworld due to the magic circle's influence, a place where corpses were endlessly created and undead were summoned infinitely.
But Yoo Baek-jun was alone.
Given the situation in Busan, there would be no one to support him.
"It's all a futile struggle. You'll die here without accomplishing anything—!"
"Hey, bastard. You talk too much crap."
Yoo Baek-jun looked up at the sky.
"Thanks. You helped me buy time."
"What?"
He gazed into the distant sky.
Park Cheong-mun instinctively followed Yoo Baek-jun's gaze and saw the same sight.
There...
"Took you long enough."
A massive island was approaching.
An island so large it could completely blot out the sky and still have room to spare.
The Floating Island.
―Did you miss me?
A familiar voice echoed in Yoo Baek-jun's ears. He let out a sigh.
"Aren't you a bit late?"
―What can I do if the island you're so proud of is slow?
"Hey, that's its top speed. Why are you insulting our Floating Island like that?"
―Does it have a personality too?
A light laugh followed.
Yoo Baek-jun imagined Jin Seo-yeon looking down at him from high above the island.
―Enough, save the small talk for later. Right now...
Whoosh!
A brilliant light erupted from the base of the Floating Island.
―Rescuing people comes first, right?
The light etched a large magic circle on the ground—a teleportation circle.
A two-way magic circle.
One that allowed travel from the ground to the Floating Island and vice versa.
Whoosh!
As the magic circle completed, those transported from the Floating Island began to appear.
First, the Crimson Crusade.
Next, the Peng Family.
The swordsmen following Han Seong-ah, the Grandmaster Ja-yeon, and finally, Han Chang-woo.
"Those are...!"
"Quite the numbers, huh? And there's more."
An enormous surge of magical energy erupted from the Floating Island.
A signal that Jin Seo-yeon and the mages of the Magic Tower were preparing a magical bombardment.
Yoo Baek-jun smirked at Park Cheong-mun.
"We've got firepower too."
―Magical bombardment, commence.
Jin Seo-yeon's voice rang out. And then—
―Duck. You might get blown away.
The magical bombardment began.
The Floating Island, hovering high above, unleashed countless magic circles on either side, all aimed at the building where Vincent was.
More precisely, at Park Cheong-mun and his subordinates.
"No...!"
Someone screamed.
But before the scream could even fully escape—
KABOOM!
―KYAAAAAAH!
"Explo— GAAAAAH!"
The magical bombardment engulfed them.
The magic circles unleashed countless pillars of light, instantly covering the enemies on the ground.
Normally, such an attack would risk hitting allies, but here— There were no allies to worry about.
"Is this something you can survive by just ducking?!"
Except for Yoo Baek-jun.
He retreated to the safest spot possible and waited for the bombardment to end.
And it didn't take long.
"Huff... Huff..."
All that remained were the mangled remnants of the undead army and cult members, and Park Cheong-mun, who had barely survived by using defensive magic.
Yoo Baek-jun stepped forward.
The undead he had subjugated earlier began to emerge from the shadows.
"Well, the tables have turned."
"Grrr...!"
Yoo Baek-jun laughed, delivering a clichéd line straight out of a movie.
Park Cheong-mun's face twisted in despair.
* * *
And just as Yoo Baek-jun had said, the tables had turned.
The appearance of the Floating Island served as the signal for everything he had prepared across Busan to activate.
First, the defensive facilities.
BOOM!
"Wh-what is that?!"
Cylindrical structures suddenly burst from the ground.
People surrounded by undead stared blankly at the structures.
Then, the cylinders glowed—
ZZZZAP!
―SCREEEECH!
"W-whoa!"
Divine power erupted in all directions.
Lightning created by the Divine power covered the surroundings, striking the undead.
Divine power was the natural enemy of the undead. The creatures shrieked horrifically as they melted away.
"Uh... wha?"
"What... just happened?"
In an instant, the undead were gone.
The same phenomenon occurred all over Busan. Defensive facilities suddenly appeared, attacking the undead, and various holy magic erupted.
These were the preparations Yoo Baek-jun had made through Choi Gun-woo in anticipation of this event.
"Holy knights, advance! Fight against those unholy dead!"
And now, the fruits of those preparations were finally revealing themselves in Busan.
"Kill them all! Kill them!"
"Don't feel guilty just because they look human! Sending them off quickly is the best mercy! UOOOH!"
Holy knights clad in heavy armor roared as they charged.
Members of the Crimson Crusade.
They were fanatics in another sense—devotees of their god.
"Hahaha! Undead! Our god will be pleased! Crush them all without mercy!"
"O god! Grant me the strength to strike down these blasphemers!"
True to their fanaticism, the Holy knights plowed through the undead like tanks.
People watched the spectacle in a daze.
Then, priests approached them.
"Are there any injured?"
"Anyone hurt or in discomfort, please come this way. We will treat you."
"Huh? Oh, uh, yes."
Unlike the Holy knights charging like berserkers, the priests smiled warmly as they approached.
People, still stunned, received treatment from them.
"Hmm, an unexpected sight. To think they could fight undead on this scale. And in a city overrun by them... Impressive."
Ryu Il-woo, the guild master of the Crimson Crusade, observed the scene from the rear.
"It's like watching a movie. Isn't this what they call a zombie apocalypse?"
"The problem is that this isn't a movie—it's reality. Evacuate the people to the designated points! You, follow me. We're rescuing those trapped inside buildings first."
"Yes!"
Many were trapped indoors due to the sudden undead outbreak.
Rescuing them would be arduous and difficult, so Ryu Il-woo took charge personally.
His willingness to step forward in tough situations was why his guild members followed him.
"The gods will bless us."
Divine power was the natural enemy of the undead.
In that sense, the Crimson Crusade was the perfect group for the Night of the Dead event.
Their usefulness made the trouble Yoo Baek-jun went through to recruit them worthwhile.
And the Crimson Crusade wasn't the only guild Yoo Baek-jun had called.
"Alright! Everyone, move according to plan! Rescuing people is the top priority!"
"Yes, young lady!"
The Peng Family.
The warriors wielding blades literally tore through the undead as they rescued people.
Under the command of Peng So-young, whose constitution had been improved thanks to Yoo Baek-jun, moved swiftly.
"Kuh...! To think I'd live to see the young lady fighting enemies so fearlessly. I could die without regrets now...!"
"If you die now, you'll just come back as undead, so that's not an option, Mr. Peng Do-hyeok."
"I know that!"
Peng Do-hyeok swallowed his tears and followed.
"It's begun. Time to move."
"It must be confusing to train under Grandmaster Ja-yeon and suddenly face real combat like this, but just remember what you've learned. Understood?"
"Yes!"
The swordsmen of the Sword Saint family—specifically, the numerous disciples who trained under Ja-yeon.
Han Seong-ah led them into action.
'But where did Yoon Song-ha go?'
She wondered about Yoon Song-ha, who hadn't appeared alongside Min Yi-jae.
And finally, the Hunter Association.
"This is... worse than I thought."
Han Chang-woo clicked his tongue as he surveyed the surroundings.
Yoo Baek-jun had warned him to mentally prepare, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
He gestured to the Hunters with him.
"Deputy Director Chae has gone to the Busan branch of the Hunter Association. He’ll take command there."
"Then our job is...?"
"Stabilizing the situation."
Whoosh!
The Dragon's Flame ignited.
"Let's go."
And so, across Busan, the defensive facilities Yoo Baek-jun had set up began to take effect, and the forces he had summoned started securing the area.
"Get the people onto the Floating Island! Once they're up, the rest will be handled there!"
"Undead are swarming in!"
"Hold the line! The defensive line must not break! If it falls, those people will die! Use the undead summoned by our side as meat shields!"
With the undead crisis spreading across Busan, there was no safe place to evacuate.
The shelters Yoo Tae-rang had prepared were already compromised, rendering them useless.
So where could they take the survivors? The Hunters and police in Busan were at a loss.
Then the Floating Island appeared.
"Don't you dare die! Just hold on, and Yoo Baek-jun will handle the rest!"
Indeed, the tables had turned.