Chapter 199
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 199.
The day after Yoo Baek-jun left, Yoo Tae-rang took action.
Mobilizing assassins without anyone’s knowledge, he installed devices throughout the family estate.
He tampered with security plans and troop deployments within the family, preparing to incite chaos at any moment.
And then.
“Ja-yeon, how are you feeling?”
“Yes, I’ve gotten much better.”
“The physicians say otherwise.”
Late at night, Yoo Tae-rang visited Ja-yeon, who was still bedridden.
According to the diagnoses of several physicians, including Joo Jung-won, her condition had not improved, and she remained in poor health.
“It pains me to see someone as strong as you confined to a sickbed.”
“Thank you for your concern, young master.”
“…….”
Yoo Tae-rang, who had been gazing down at Ja-yeon, flicked his finger. The sound of someone rushing in from outside followed.
And then, the clash of weapons.
—Kgh, you bastards… Agh!
—Subdue them.
The unmistakable sounds of battle.
Shortly after, assassins drenched in blood entered the room.
Ja-yeon’s eyes widened.
“What is this……?”
“Put a magical restraint on Ja-yeon.”
“Young master, what is the meaning of this?!”
The assassins who had subdued Ja-yeon’s guards restrained her.
Ja-yeon resisted, but in her weakened state, she couldn’t muster any strength.
Yoo Tae-rang silently watched.
“I’m sorry, but you will become a major obstacle in the chaos to come.”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Ja-yeon, I will become the family leader.”
Yoo Tae-rang declared firmly.
“The chaos I will unleash—you need only watch it unfold from here.”
“Y-young master!”
Ja-yeon called out, but Yoo Tae-rang turned his back without listening.
He walked away slowly.
“The family leader will not stand for this if he finds out! Why are you doing this?!”
Her hollow cry echoed.
As Yoo Tae-rang stepped outside, Ryu Si-young, who had been waiting, approached.
“Ja-yeon’s disciples are deeply loyal. If we threaten her life, they’ll surrender easily.”
“Kill those who refuse.”
“Understood. And as for Yoo Jung-yeon’s faction……”
“Is the magic ready?”
“It is.”
Ha Yeon-jeong, who had just arrived, answered.
Yoo Tae-rang nodded in satisfaction.
“Yoo Jung-yeon is wary of me. She won’t be as easy to subdue as Ja-yeon. So… I’ll need to meet Yoo Min tomorrow.”
“What will you do?”
“…….”
He walked forward.
“I’ll make her choose.”
Neutrality would no longer be an option.
* * *
While Yoo Tae-rang made the final preparations for his rebellion, Lee Ja-yae of the Intelligence Division was also busy moving.
“…….”
Since the end of the Busan incident, Lee Ja-yae had focused on rooting out the traitors within the Intelligence Division.
The incident in Busan—
The information blackout and communication disruptions at the time could only have been orchestrated by an insider.
‘Because of that, I lost much of Yoo Tae-rang’s trust. Even now, thinking about it…’
Lee Ja-yae bit her lip.
Why had she taken such risks to cooperate with Yoo Tae-rang until now?
For a higher position.
But if she lost his trust, she might be exploited and discarded.
‘That can’t happen.’
So, Lee Ja-yae poured all her efforts into uncovering the traitors.
She monitored her subordinates with near-paranoid intensity—until she found what she was looking for.
“…This is it.”
She had obtained the information she sought.
One of her subordinates had been acting suspiciously, leaving traces of exchanging information with someone.
“So, this is it……”
Lee Ja-yae spent a long time tracking the information, trying to uncover the truth.
“There’s someone higher up. Catching just this one isn’t enough. We need to find the other collaborators within the Intelligence Division……”
She felt close to uncovering the higher-ups, but days passed without progress.
Lee Ja-yae grew increasingly impatient.
‘Yoo Tae-rang will soon make his move. I must produce results before then.’
What should she do?
As she bit her lip in frustration, welcome news arrived.
—Grandmaster Ja-yeon has been imprisoned.
The news of Ja-yeon’s imprisonment.
Hearing it, something occurred to her.
‘This… I can use this.’
Lee Ja-yae leaked the news to her faction within the Intelligence Division.
‘Only a select few know about Ja-yeon’s imprisonment.’
Since it had been conducted in absolute secrecy, even within the Intelligence Division, no one knew about it.
Lee Ja-yae had spread the news to her faction for one reason:
‘This will help me find the informants.’
It was to uncover other traitors.
Faced with unexpected, sudden news—and with their master, Yoo Baek-jun, absent—they would undoubtedly try to contact him.
“…….”
And sure enough.
“Just as I thought.”
Someone began to move.
Despite the late hour, someone tried to leave the family immediately after hearing the news.
Han Du-seon, who had previously acted suspiciously and drawn Lee Ja-yae’s attention.
‘How dare you.’
Lee Ja-yae trembled with betrayal.
He had been her subordinate for years. That he would betray her—
But that wasn’t all.
‘There are more.’
Several others in her faction began moving urgently.
Like Han Du-seon, they hurried outside, heading somewhere.
‘With the unprecedented news of Ja-yeon’s imprisonment, they must be gathering to discuss their next move.’
Naturally.
But she had no intention of letting them.
“Jeon Soo-yeon!”
“Y-yes?”
“Round up everyone on this list. We have traitors to deal with.”
“Right away!”
Jeon Soo-yeon hastily gathered the people Lee Ja-yae had named.
Those who remained after rigorous screening—trustworthy individuals.
Jeon Soo-yeon was no exception.
‘She wouldn’t betray anyone.’
She lacked the audacity, and there was nothing she desired enough to betray for.
She was a person of little ambition.
In a twisted way, Lee Ja-yae trusted Jeon Soo-yeon and had recently entrusted her with many tasks.
“Is everyone here?”
Twelve people in total.
“Yes, Section Chief. But… may I ask why you’ve summoned us?”
“There are traitors among us.”
“……!”
The subordinate’s eyes widened.
Lee Ja-yae scanned the group—those she had vetted and deemed trustworthy.
Including Jeon Soo-yeon.
“Those traitors are meeting right now. You will move with me to… eliminate them.”
With the number of enemies unknown, acting alone would be too dangerous.
She planned to ambush them with her trusted subordinates.
“Succeed in this, and when Yoo Tae-rang becomes family leader, you’ll rise high in the Intelligence Division.”
The subordinates nodded.
“Good. Let’s go.”
Lee Ja-yae moved with her subordinates.
The traitors had headed outside the family, toward a mountainous area.
“Section Chief, footprints here……”
“They must have been in too much of a hurry to hide them. Perfect.”
Lee Ja-yae followed the traitors’ trail up the mountain.
They had gone deep into a densely wooded forest.
‘It’s a mountain near the family. They didn’t go far.’
Given the urgency, they likely lacked the time to go farther.
Lee Ja-yae smirked as she walked through the forest, soon spotting the traitors.
“There they are!”
“Unbelievable. So many traitors…”
One of the Intelligence Division agents gasped at the sight before them.
Nearly twenty traitors, gathered and conversing.
“Yoo Baek-jun… impressive.”
Lee Ja-yae was, in a way, impressed.
Yoo Baek-jun had benefited the most from the Intelligence Division’s chaos during the Busan incident.
His connection to these traitors was undeniable.
“How did he manage to recruit so many from the Intelligence Division?”
Moreover, Lee Ja-yae hadn’t noticed a thing.
The secrecy of his movements, the astonishing scale of his infiltration—
It was nothing short of remarkable.
‘But it ends here.’
Lee Ja-yae signaled her subordinates. They drew their swords, ready to charge at her command.
She listened to the traitors’ conversation, biding her time.
—Is everyone here?
—Yes. This is sudden. Meeting in a place like this… It’s a first, isn’t it?
—The family’s situation is dire. I’m not sure why we had to meet here, either.
The traitors conversed among themselves.
—I never expected Yoo Tae-rang to make such a move.
—Hmm, imprisoning Grandmaster Ja-yeon… He’ll likely make his move tomorrow night. We must act before then.
—Right. Our position is already compromised. That’s why we were summoned tonight.
—Exactly. When I first heard the news…
Lee Ja-yae remained cautious.
She listened to their conversation, assessing the situation and confirming their betrayal.
But then—
Rustle!
—What was that?
—Is someone there? Go check.
The sudden noise put the traitors on alert.
Lee Ja-yae bit her lip.
There was no more time to wait.
‘I wanted to wait longer…’
She swept her hand downward—the signal to attack.
Whoosh!
Her subordinates charged. Their speed was blinding, closing the distance before the traitors could react.
“Huh?!”
“You’re…!”
The traitors panicked at the sudden assault.
One of them spotted Lee Ja-yae.
“S-Section Chief?! What are you doing here?!”
“Traitors! Kill them!”
“What? Traitors— Agh!”
Lee Ja-yae and her subordinates overwhelmed the panicked traitors in an instant.
Blades flashed.
The Intelligence Division’s swift swordsmanship claimed the lives of the unprepared traitors.
“Guhk!”
“Aaaagh!”
Though outnumbered, the ambush gave them the advantage.
Half the traitors were cut down before they could retaliate.
“Kill them all!”
“Ugh!”
The rest were eliminated before they could regroup.
The traitors stood no chance against the relentless assault.
Soon, only one survivor remained.
“Why… why are you doing this…?”
“How dare you play the victim? Disgusting traitor.”
Han Du-seon.
Lee Ja-yae trembled with fury at the betrayal of her longtime subordinate.
“Traitor? I never betrayed—”
His pitiful protests only disgusted her further.
She considered hearing him out—but before she could,
Slice!
Han Du-seon’s head flew off.
Jeon Soo-yeon, standing beside him, had beheaded him without hesitation.
“S-sorry, Section Chief. I couldn’t stand listening to him…”
“Acting on your own is unforgivable… but fine. He was repulsive either way.”
Lee Ja-yae waved her hand dismissively.
“I never expected so many traitors.”
She clicked her tongue at the corpses. The losses were staggering.
Losing so many subordinates was a blow—but there was no helping it.
‘It can’t be helped. At least we’ve eliminated a potential threat.’
Lee Ja-yae sighed.
“The rest of you, handle this. Dispose of the bodies discreetly. The Intelligence Division mustn’t find out.”
“Understood.”
Too much had happened today.
With tomorrow’s preparations still ahead, Lee Ja-yae decided to leave the cleanup to her subordinates and return.
She turned to leave.
Thud!
And in that moment—
“Guh—!”
Something pierced her abdomen.
A searing pain flared as Lee Ja-yae looked down.
A blade protruded from her stomach.
And the one holding it—
“J-Jeon Soo-yeon? Why…?”
—was Jeon Soo-yeon.
No, not just her.
“Y-you… all of you… What is this…?”
Behind Jeon Soo-yeon, the subordinates Lee Ja-yae had brought—
All of them had their swords drawn against her.
“You failed to control your subordinates properly.”
A voice rang out.
Deep, authoritative—and familiar.
“Lee Ja-yae.”
A man stepped out of the shadows.
Lee Ja-yae’s eyes widened in shock.
“Y-Yoo Baek-jun.”
Of course she was stunned.
The one person who shouldn’t be here—was standing before her.
Yoo Baek-jun smiled faintly.