Chapter 202
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 202.
An untimely civil war had broken out.
The flames of rebellion ignited by Yoo Tae-rang showed no signs of being quelled and only grew fiercer.
“How foolish! The only one worthy of the family head’s seat is Yoo Tae-rang!”
“Yoo Baek-jun inheriting the family is unthinkable! If that bastard becomes the family head, the Sword Saint’s family will rapidly decline!”
The rebels following Yoo Tae-rang inflicted massive damage on the hostile factions within the family through their surprise attack on the first day.
The survivors either fled or occupied parts of the family estate, continuing their resistance.
“Those insane bastards…!”
“They’re no different from fanatics.”
The rebels blindly followed Yoo Tae-rang and slaughtered those who resisted.
It was the effect of Yoo Tae-rang’s trait, Ruthless Charisma.
A talent for ruling over people, much like Yoo Baek-jun’s King’s Dignity.
The difference was that Yoo Tae-rang used ‘fear’ to control his subordinates.
As long as that fear persisted, his subordinates found it difficult to defy his orders.
“Satisfactory.”
Yoo Tae-rang knew this well.
Had he not possessed that trait from the beginning, the rebellion would never have succeeded.
His subordinates wouldn’t have followed him otherwise.
“Did you say the resistance is in the north?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“How much time do you need to wipe them all out?”
“Two days will suffice, young master.”
“Good. Assign troops to Yoo Min as well and have her deal with the resistance.”
“Understood.”
The swordsmen under Cheon Jong-won, who supported Yoo Jung-yeon, had mostly surrendered.
The problem was those who supported no successor—those loyal only to the family head.
They were holding their ground, waiting for Yoo Moo-hak’s return.
“Times like these make me resent how vast the family estate is. Don’t you agree?”
“I share the sentiment.”
The Sword Saint’s family was enormous, and internal barriers had been erected to defend against external invasions, making this possible.
They erected barriers to divide the space, rescued those trapped behind magical barriers, and merged their forces.
But in the end, it was futile.
“Reinforcements will arrive soon. Join them and wipe them out within two days.”
“Yes!”
Lee Jae-im and Kim Rae-ho led their subordinates toward the northern part of the family estate.
Yoo Tae-rang moved as well.
His destination was the family’s detention chamber.
“Young master!”
“Where is Cheon Jong-won?”
“Inside. As you ordered, we’ve sealed his strength with magic restraints.”
It was where Cheon Jong-won and the instructors and trainees who followed him were imprisoned.
Yoo Tae-rang stepped inside the detention chamber.
They were held in the deepest part.
“How pitiful you look, Grandmaster.”
“……”
Bound by magic restraints, they were imprisoned separately, scattered apart.
Yoo Tae-rang sneered at Cheon Jong-won.
“Had you supported me from the start, none of this would have happened. Don’t you regret it?”
“Not at all.”
Cheon Jong-won stated firmly.
“Seeing you like this only confirms that my choice back then was the right one.”
“Oh-ho….”
In the past, Yoo Tae-rang had approached Cheon Jong-won before he pledged support to Yoo Jung-yeon.
He had asked if Cheon Jong-won would consider following him instead.
Cheon Jong-won had flatly refused the offer and remained steadfast ever since.
“This rebellion was bound to succeed. Who could have dared to predict you’d resort to such madness?”
“……”
“Your lust for power consumes you. Twisted desires and the first taste of failure have driven you insane. How pathetic.”
Cheon Jong-won looked at him with deep pity.
“I thought you were colder and more unshakable than anyone—a man of ice. Who could have guessed you’d be so mentally unstable?”
The thick sympathy in Cheon Jong-won’s eyes made Yoo Tae-rang scoff.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“What more is there to say? Rather than waste time on pointless exchanges, I’d rather confirm whether the young lady is safe.”
“Quite the lengthy speech for a defeated man. I have no interest in hearing it.”
Yoo Tae-rang clicked his tongue and turned away.
“Yoo Jung-yeon will be executed today.”
“What…?!”
Cheon Jong-won’s eyes widened.
“The only reason I kept her alive was to force your surrender. Now that it’s unnecessary, she’ll be disposed of.”
“That wasn’t the agreement…!”
“Did I ever make any agreement with you?”
Yoo Tae-rang slowly turned his head to look at Cheon Jong-won. A faint smirk played on his cold face.
“The agreement was between Jeon Dae-kwon and Lee Gun-mo. Take it up with them.”
“Don’t play word games with me!”
“And…”
Yoo Tae-rang flicked his finger.
The guards inside the detention chamber moved, opening the cells where the trainees were held.
As everyone froze in confusion at the sudden action, some began to move.
“You’ve fulfilled your role. Come out now.”
“……”
As if obeying Yoo Tae-rang’s command, the disciples stood and stepped out.
They were Cheon Jong-won’s disciples.
Realizing the implications of what had just happened, he was aghast.
“You traitors…!”
“A fool who couldn’t even detect the betrayers in his own ranks calls himself a Grandmaster. The outsiders would laugh.”
Yoo Tae-rang chuckled as he stepped back.
“Then watch from there. Witness the death of the Yoo Jung-yeon you cherished…”
Yoo Tae-rang left the detention chamber with the traitorous disciples in tow.
Cheon Jong-won, who had watched it all unfold, bowed his head in apparent despair.
It seemed so natural that even the guards didn’t find it strange.
‘So, the traitors have been weeded out.’
Had they seen Cheon Jong-won smiling faintly with his head lowered, they might have thought it odd.
‘Now, we wait for Lady Yoo Min.’
* * *
Around that time.
Yoo Min was walking through the family estate.
After a long, silent walk, she arrived at a spacious mansion.
“Oh my, if it isn’t Lady Yoo Min? You must be busy—what brings you here?”
“My brother asked me to handle something. I need some swordsmen.”
“Hmm, please, have a seat first.”
As she stepped inside the mansion, Jeon Dae-kwon, who had been waiting, greeted her.
He gestured for her to sit across from him and ordered a servant to bring tea.
“So, what is it that Lord Yoo Tae-rang has asked you to do?”
“To locate and capture the resistance forces hiding throughout the family estate.”
“Ah, those troublesome pests. It must be even harder for you, Lady, since you don’t have your own faction of swordsmen. How unfortunate.”
Aside from the armed resistance led by the martial faction, there were scattered guerrilla fighters hiding across the estate.
Yoo Min, having remained neutral, lacked her own forces, making it difficult for her to suppress these rebels.
“Tsk, this is something we should be handling, not you, Lady… It doesn’t sit right with me.”
“……”
Yoo Tae-rang, suspicious of Yoo Min, had assigned her this task to implicate her as an accomplice.
Jeon Dae-kwon smiled warmly and called forth the swordsmen within the mansion.
“These are men I’ve personally trained. They’ll be of great help.”
“Thank you.”
Jeon Dae-kwon slowly sipped his tea.
He seemed to have something more to say, and Yoo Min waited.
Finally, he spoke.
“It’s late to say this now, but allying with Yoo Tae-rang was the right decision, Lady.”
“Was it?”
“Yes. The family is nearly under his control. Once the anti-rebellion is dealt with, the family will wholly belong to Yoo Tae-rang-nim.”
A faint smile played on Jeon Dae-kwon’s lips.
“Only one thing remains. Dealing with Yoo Baek-jun when he returns.”
“He went to conquer the gate, didn’t he?”
“It’s no easy gate. And crossing these treacherous snowy mountains will leave him utterly exhausted by the time he returns.”
He set down his teacup and lightly drew a finger across his throat.
“Then, it’s over. Killing Yoo Baek-jun and his exhausted subordinates will end this rebellion.”
“Simple enough.”
“Exactly.”
Yoo Min glanced at Jeon Dae-kwon.
“One thing I’m curious about. Why did you side with my brother? What made you take such a risk?”
“I saw talent in him.”
“Talent?”
Jeon Dae-kwon nodded firmly.
“The same talent as the family head. Exceptional swordsmanship, ruthlessly cold judgment. It was like seeing the family head reborn.”
The current Grandmasters were active during the family head’s era.
Thus, they knew well the majesty Yoo Moo-hak had displayed in his prime.
“Yoo Baek-jun… is lacking. Whatever talent he may have, his personality is too weak to be the family head.”
“So that’s why you support my brother?”
“Yes. For the future of the family, nothing else. This family is where I’ve devoted my entire life.”
That couldn’t be the whole reason.
Jeon Dae-kwon and Lee Gun-mo had sided with Yoo Tae-rang, antagonizing Yoo Baek-jun.
If Yoo Baek-jun became family head, their positions would be in jeopardy.
“The tea is excellent.”
“Is it? It’s the finest—”
Tap, tap.
Yoo Min set down her teacup and lightly tapped the floor twice with it.
“But this conversation has ruined its taste. Disgusting beyond words.”
“…What?”
Yoo Min’s eyes flared.
"How dare you speak of the family’s future with that mouth that only seeks its own safety."
“You go too far—!”
“Shut your mouth, you wretched old fool!”
“Have you lost your mind, Yoo Min?!”
Yoo Min immediately drew her sword and charged at Jeon Dae-kwon, who roared and gripped his own blade.
“How dare you spout such nonsense!”
Amid the surrounding swordsmen, confusion at the sudden turn of events, the two swordsmen clashed.
Yoo Min closed the distance between them in an instant, moving at blinding speed.
Just as they were about to collide—
“Ugh!”
Whoosh!
Yoo Min suddenly stepped back using a footwork technique.
Jeon Dae-kwon’s sword, swung where he predicted she’d be, sliced through empty air.
Unfazed, he immediately prepared a long-range attack.
But then, something changed.
Oooom—!
A magical energy reaction.
An enormous amount of magical energy gathered in the previously empty space.
Jeon Dae-kwon sensed the magical energy movement. But his reaction was just slightly—just the slightest bit—too slow.
Swoosh!
And that proved fatal.
A figure emerged from the magical reaction, swinging their sword like lightning.
The sound of wind being torn apart.
Crunch!
“Guh—aaah!”
Jeon Dae-kwon’s right arm was severed.
Neither the armor he wore nor his superhuman physique meant anything.
A single strike had cleaved through his arm.
“Ugh, agh!”
Blood gushed from the severed limb.
Jeon Dae-kwon staggered back, switching his sword to his left hand.
“You should watch your back, Grandmaster!”
But Yoo Min was even faster.
She lunged forward in an instant, her blade flashing.
Clang!
The precisely aimed strike slammed into Jeon Dae-kwon’s sword, forcing him back unsteadily.
“Guh—! You bitch…!”
“Didn’t anyone teach you to watch your tongue around the family’s successor?”
Another slash followed.
Jeon Dae-kwon tried to block, but his stance was still unsteady from the earlier blow.
His leg was deeply cut, blood spraying violently.
He let out a pained scream as he wobbled.
“Gaaah—!”
The overwhelming agony turned his eyes bloodshot.
Desperately, he turned his head.
To see who had inflicted this suffering.
“Y-you…!”
Jeon Dae-kwon’s face twisted in shock.
Because standing before him was someone who should never have been here at this moment.
“Y-Yoo Baek-jun?!”
The man who should have been conquering the gate—why was he here?
And with his subordinates, no less!
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost, Jeon Dae-kwon.”
Yoo Baek-jun grinned savagely.
“I believe I told you before. I will become the family head.”
Swoosh!
The swordsmen behind him drew their blades in unison.
Yoo Baek-jun raised his bloodied sword and took his stance.
“I’ve come to keep that promise, Jeon Dae-kwon.”