Chapter 201
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 201
"Surrender or die."
Upon hearing that demand, a scornful smile crept onto Yoo Jung-yeon's lips.
"Calling this a choice is laughable."
It was practically coercion.
There was only one way to survive.
Moreover, it was even more malicious.
"Are you taking not just my life but also the lives of the swordsmen who follow me as hostages?"
"You're unexpectedly sentimental. You're not the kind of cold-hearted person who can stand by and watch your subordinates die."
Swoosh—
Yoo Tae-rang tilted his head.
"That's why you still can't forget Yoo Jong-min and keep digging into the truth, right?"
"……!"
He whispered into her ear.
Her eyes widened in shock. But only for a moment.
"Rejoice. The enemy you've been searching for so long is right before your eyes."
"You…!"
Her face twisted in shock.
And then in rage.
"Khh!"
"Move, and you die."
Yoo Jung-yeon instinctively reached for her sword but couldn't draw it.
"Not just you—everyone who follows you will die too. Are you okay with that?"
Her actions didn’t just determine her own life.
With others' lives on the line, she couldn’t act recklessly.
Even as explosive rage filled her chest, there was nothing she could do.
"Y-you bastard…!"
Except for spitting curses.
Yoo Jung-yeon dropped her sword.
A nearby swordsman kicked it away, leaving her completely unarmed.
Yoo Tae-rang smiled quietly.
"Then, there’s something you must do right now."
He pointed outside.
Amidst the fierce battle, Yoo Jung-yeon's swordsmen were fighting.
"Tell your subordinates to surrender. Unless you want to watch them all die."
Yoo Jung-yeon's face paled.
But there was nothing she could do.
"……."
All she could do was nod.
* * *
A storm of blood swept through the once-peaceful family.
"Y-you damned traitorous bastards!"
"Wake everyone up! The enemy is upon us!"
"T-the barrier is…!"
It was late at night.
Most should have been resting in the estate, except for those on patrol rotation.
Yoo Tae-rang had secretly prepared a barrier to cut them off.
It was a backup of the traps Im Woo-do had set to ensnare Yoo Baek-jun.
"Damn it! We can’t get out!"
"Break it open if you have to!"
Those trapped inside the barrier tried desperately to escape, but there was no way out.
All they could do was smash through it.
But breaking the barrier would take time, and by then, the situation outside would grow increasingly dire.
"R-reinforcements… Kuaaah!"
"You madmen! How dare you point your swords at your own family?!"
Yoo Tae-rang's swordsmen began attacking those left outside the barrier.
Those who hastily dropped their swords and surrendered were merely subdued, but—
"Aaah!"
"Kill anyone who resists!"
Those who resisted were slaughtered without mercy.
These were once comrades—no, people they had just been speaking with moments ago.
Such brutality was unthinkable.
Amidst the carnage—
"Grandmaster Ja-yeon is at the family head’s estate. You stay here and rescue those trapped in the barrier. We’ll…"
The disciples trained by Ja-yeon rushed to save her first.
But before they could—
"Heading to rescue Grandmaster Ja-yeon, are you?"
"You bastards!"
The traitors surrounded them.
At the forefront, Ryu Si-young smirked viciously at the disciples.
"Grandmaster Ja-yeon has already been captured. If you don’t want to watch the master you revere die, surrender now!"
"G-Grandmaster Ja-yeon…"
"…Captured?"
The instructors and disciples were stunned.
"You vile—! Not content with imprisoning someone on their sickbed, you’re using it to threaten us?!"
"If it means victory, I’ll do anything. That’s what I was taught."
"How can we even trust your words…?!"
Ryu Si-young grinned and raised her sword, pointing toward the family head’s estate.
"Think logically, brats. Do you really believe we couldn’t capture Ja-yeon, who was bedridden and right there?"
"Khh!"
"Surrender, and we’ll let you see Grandmaster Ja-yeon. Refuse, and she—and all of you—will die."
The swordsmen were aghast.
But they had no choice.
All they could do was drop their swords.
"Should’ve done this from the start."
Ryu Si-young smiled in satisfaction.
Meanwhile, in the family’s north, where a fierce battle raged—
"What in the world…"
Moo-jang, the Sword Lord of the Heavenly Blade Unit, was horrified by the chaos unfolding within the family.
Something unthinkable—something that should never happen—was happening.
He rallied the swordsmen around him, desperately holding back the traitors.
"Where are the other successors? No, where are the Grandmasters? Grandmaster Ja-yeon?!"
"I don’t know! But…!"
A swordsman pointed at the faces among the traitors.
Realization dawned on Moo-jang.
"I see… If Yoo Tae-rang is behind this rebellion, then Jeon Dae-kwon and Lee Gun-mo must be involved too!"
"Moo-jang!"
From across the battlefield, a familiar middle-aged man rushed over with his swordsmen.
It was Chang-yeon, the Sword Lord of the Guardian Blade Unit.
"Chang-yeon! You’re unharmed!"
"I am, but my men aren’t! Some are trapped in the estate, others slaughtered by those traitorous bastards."
"Damn them. What about the other Sword Lords?"
"Scattered everywhere! The patrol rotations were changed, so there’s no telling where they are!"
"Yoo Tae-rang planned this from the start…!"
Moo-jang gritted his teeth.
After handing over the acting family head position to Ja-yeon, Yoo Tae-rang had been acting suspiciously. Now it was clear—he had been plotting rebellion all along.
"Those trash even tried to persuade me to surrender. Ridiculous!"
"What did you do?!"
"I cut them down! Like this!"
Chang-yeon sliced through a traitor in crimson robes charging at them.
The family was divided into factions based on which successor they supported, but many remained neutral.
Those who served only the family head—the Heavenly Blade Unit and Guardian Blade Unit were among them.
"If Yoo Tae-rang’s goal is to seize the family head’s seat, the successors are in danger! We must find them first—!"
"Look out!"
Just as they were about to leave to search for the successors—
A crescent blade came flying at them. Moo-jang blocked it, but his hand trembled slightly.
Such power—this wasn’t an attack from an ordinary swordsman. Then—
"You bastards!"
Moo-jang glared ahead.
The traitors swarmed forward, and the faces at their forefront fueled his and Chang-yeon’s fury.
"Branch Leaders, what is the meaning of this?!"
"Sorry. I’m in a position where I can’t afford to let Yoo Tae-rang fail to become family head."
"We’ve got too much at stake too!"
Branch Leaders like Jeon Dong-heon and Han Shin-ok.
"Yoo Tae-rang promised us the swordsmanship only the main lineage can learn. If it means gaining greater power…"
"For such a trashy reason…!"
And even rankers.
Lee Jae-im, Kim Rae-ho, and others led the charge.
The swordsmen were being pushed back, unable to hold their ground. Moo-jang roared in fury.
"You madmen! Have you forgotten what the family has done for you?!"
"Shut up, Moo-jang! You, favored by the family head, wouldn’t understand our feelings!"
The Heavenly Blade Unit, led by Sword Lord Moo-jang, was the family head’s direct force.
Chosen by Yoo Moo-hak, they enjoyed privileges even above Branch Leaders.
"When the family head returns, he won’t let you get away with this! Do you think he’d allow you to seize power like this?!"
"And what if he doesn’t?"
Then, Ha Yeon-jeong appeared.
"By the time the family head returns, the family will already be in Yoo Tae-rang’s hands. What can he do alone?"
"How dare you?!"
Such treacherous words.
Moo-jang, Chang-yeon, and their swordsmen seethed with rage.
"The successors you’re trying to save are already in our grasp. I assume you were planning to rescue them?"
"What?!"
"Commonly, this is called…"
Ha Yeon-jeong smirked at them leisurely.
"Checkmate."
She snapped her fingers.
Behind her, countless swordsmen, golems, and magic artillery revealed themselves.
"Those are from the Daejeon and Cheonan branches. Their numbers… are overwhelming."
"Khh, this is…"
Moo-jang clenched his teeth.
Just as Ha Yeon-jeong declared, the situation was dire.
No matter how heroic, overcoming such numerical odds was nearly impossible.
"Sword Lord Moo-jang, we have more allies in the north. We should retreat there, rescue the trapped, and use the barriers to form a defensive line—"
"……."
"We don’t have time!"
Chang-yeon shouted urgently while fending off the enemy.
There was no time for lengthy deliberation.
"Fall back!"
Moo-jang covered the rear as his men retreated.
The traitors pursued but, surprisingly, didn’t chase them to the end.
"This much is enough."
Ha Yeon-jeong sneered at Moo-jang’s retreat.
"They’ll think the rear is safe. Reinforcements will arrive soon. Once they do, we’ll crush them in a pincer attack."
"Yes!"
The Black Shadows.
The reinforcements Yoo Tae-rang had summoned would arrive soon. Moo-jang and Chang-yeon could be dealt with then.
"Now, all that’s left…"
Ha Yeon-jeong looked westward.
"Is Cheon Jong-won."
As she said—
In the west, a battle as fierce as the one in the north raged.
Cheon Jong-won and Yoo Jung-yeon’s faction.
And—
"Your skills are as sharp as ever, Cheon Jong-won!"
"Haha! Such prowess at your age!"
Jeon Dae-kwon and Lee Gun-mo.
Yoo Tae-rang’s faction clashed with the swordsmen who hadn’t been trapped by the barriers.
Only Cheon Jong-won, Jeon Dae-kwon, and Lee Gun-mo were actively fighting.
Kaaang! Kuuung!
The three displayed swordsmanship so dazzling it left onlookers in awe.
To an outsider, Cheon Jong-won, fighting two alone, would seem incredible.
But—
'What’s going on?'
Cheon Jong-won felt uneasy.
'Their movements are strange. Rather than fighting aggressively, it’s like…'
They were stalling for time.
Frowning, Cheon Jong-won intensified his assault.
Jeon Dae-kwon and Lee Gun-mo only smirked, parrying his strikes.
Paaang!
Then, at some point, fireworks exploded high in the sky.
Jeon Dae-kwon laughed.
"Sorry, Cheon Jong-won, but it seems we’ve won this fight."
"What nonsense…?!"
"The one you serve, Yoo Jung-yeon, has been captured by us."
"……!"
Cheon Jong-won froze, his attacks faltering for a split second.
Jeon Dae-kwon and Lee Gun-mo seized the opening to counterattack.
"Ugh…!"
"Listen, Cheon Jong-won!"
"The Yoo Jung-yeon you raised since childhood is in our hands. You don’t want to see her harmed, do you?"
Lee Gun-mo sneered at Cheon Jong-won’s desperate struggle and pointed toward the family head’s estate.
"With your eyes, you should see it yourself—proof that we’re not lying!"
Cheon Jong-won looked where he pointed—
"Khh!"
And involuntarily lowered his sword.
There, in the estate, he saw Yoo Jung-yeon captured by the enemy.
"Then surrender peacefully."
"Are you threatening me now?"
"Hoho! Threatening? That’s an ugly way to put it. This is merely a suggestion."
But if he refused, Yoo Jung-yeon would suffer.
Making a swift decision, Cheon Jong-won dropped his sword.
The other swordsmen followed suit.
"Too easy. Far too easy."
"If things keep going like this…"
The rebellion was nearing its conclusion.
An overwhelming victory for the rebels—for Yoo Tae-rang.
Jeon Dae-kwon, Lee Gun-mo, Ha Yeon-jeong, Ryu Si-young, and Yoo Tae-rang’s swordsmen all smiled.
And then—
"Guess it’s time to move according to plan."
Deep beneath the family’s estate.
Yoo Baek-jun began to move.