Chapter 235
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 235.
“M-My arm… Aaaargh!”
Song Tae-yeon let out a scream.
A terrible pain shot through him, followed by an overwhelming sense of humiliation.
“What? I thought it was just some dog barking. Did you really think I’d mistake you for a person?”
“You son of a bitch!”
In stark contrast, Yoo Baek-jun remained utterly relaxed, even taunting him.
A subordinate hurried over and began treating Song Tae-yeon’s wound.
“You need professional treatment immediately. If this continues…”
“I might lose my arm?”
Yoo Baek-jun set fire to Song Tae-yeon’s severed right arm, which lay rolling on the ground.
The arm quickly began to burn.
“Not a bad idea.”
“M-My arm! Ugh! You bastard!”
Song Tae-yeon’s face twisted in fury.
“What the hell are you doing here?! I’ve never heard anything about the Sword Saint’s family being involved in this!”
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that?”
Yoo Baek-jun smirked, still at ease.
“Hah, haha. You idiot. Even so, you’re alone. Even if you combine all your forces, you’re no match for our Golden Lion!”
Song Tae-yeon grinned viciously.
He gestured to his subordinates, and figures hidden in the mist began to move.
“Kill him now! They’re too exhausted to do anything anyway!”
“…These guys?”
Thud! Thud! Thud!
From within the impenetrable mist, the sounds of people collapsing one after another echoed.
Song Tae-yeon’s body stiffened.
“Pathetic fools…”
“Y-You!”
Stepping over the fallen, Min Yi-jae emerged like a wraith.
Song Tae-yeon was stunned.
“It’s too dark. Let’s light things up.”
He pulled a scroll from his pocket, tore it, and activated a spell.
Whoosh!
“The mist!”
The wind magic imbued in the scroll instantly dispersed the surrounding fog.
Revealed were the Golden Lion guild members—and the swordsmen surrounding them.
The swordsmen of the Sword Saint’s family.
“W-We’re surrounded!”
“When did they…?”
The Golden Lion members were horrified.
They hadn’t sensed a thing. The swordsmen had moved like literal ghosts, encircling them from all sides.
“From now on, anyone who moves unnecessarily will die.”
Yoo Baek-jun tapped his shoulder with his sword and pulled out a crystal orb.
“I’ve recorded everything—you using that incense, ambushing Yoon Song-ha and the White Wolf guild.”
The orb had a special function: it could record what the user saw, even through darkness or mist.
“This is what they call…”
Yoo Baek-jun spun the orb in his palm and grinned.
“…a checkmate, right?”
Every Golden Lion member felt it. A perfect checkmate. There was no way out.
Except for one person.
Just one.
“What are you doing?! Kill them now! Kill the bastard who hurt our guild master!”
Foaming at the mouth, Song Tae-yeon screamed for Yoo Baek-jun’s death.
The guild members hesitated, unwilling to follow the order.
‘We’ve taken care of all the guild members Yoon Song-ha marked for elimination.’
The ones Min Yi-jae had attacked and taken down were precisely those targets.
The rest were less guilty.
Yoo Baek-jun took a step forward.
“I trust you know the punishment for attempting to harm fellow hunters without just cause.”
His cold voice rang out.
“Surrender now, and I’ll ensure your sentences are reduced as much as possible. But if you refuse—”
“Aaaargh!”
Mid-sentence, Song Tae-yeon suddenly charged, weapon in hand.
Swinging clumsily with his left hand, his strikes were wildly unstable.
Yoo Baek-jun read the trajectory.
Swish!
Dodging with minimal movement, he swung his leg with full force.
A blade of ice enveloped his leg, slicing through Song Tae-yeon’s ankle.
“Guh— Aaah!”
“All of you will die here.”
Yoo Baek-jun used Overwhelm.
The overwhelming aura crushed the Golden Lion members.
“Ugh— What are you doing?! Kill him! Kill him!”
Song Tae-yeon screamed in rage.
In contrast, Yoo Baek-jun simply stared at them in silence.
A moment passed—yet it felt like an eternity.
“…….”
“T-This is insane…”
The Golden Lion members dropped their weapons.
Song Tae-yeon paled. They were abandoning him, their guild master, instead of protecting him.
“What are you— Aaaargh!”
“You talk too much.”
Yoo Baek-jun sealed Song Tae-yeon’s mouth shut and used Tendon-Shattering Bone Crush.
Crack! Crunch!
A surge of violent magical power.
Every muscle and bone in Song Tae-yeon’s body twisted horrifically.
“……!”
He wanted to scream in agony but couldn’t—Yoo Baek-jun had silenced him.
“If you’d been content with the legacy Song Dae-san left you, this wouldn’t have happened. No, if you’d been even slightly decent, things might’ve been different.”
But all such hypotheticals were meaningless now.
With Song Tae-yeon’s body shattered by Tendon-Shattering Bone Crush, Yoo Baek-jun restrained him.
“From now on, you’ll reflect on your sins until you’re sick of it.”
He ordered the swordsmen to restrain the surrendered Golden Lion members.
Yoon Song-ha approached him.
“Whew, that was easier than expected.”
“The guy Song Tae-yeon attacked earlier?”
“Ah, him?”
The man who’d been lying on the ground stood up, perfectly fine.
“Whew, thought I was dead. One wrong move, and I’d have been done for.”
“That old man’s ridiculously tough. No need to worry about him.”
“Good.”
It had all been an act—one so convincing it was terrifying.
“Family head, what should we do with them?”
“Leave them here.”
“Here? Shouldn’t we take them down restrained?”
“No, it’s fine.”
Yoo Baek-jun looked beyond the mist.
“It’s about time they arrive.”
“…You’re terrifying.”
A voice echoed.
The swordsmen drew their blades like lightning, aiming into the mist.
From it, Chae Jeong-jun appeared, hands raised and smiling awkwardly.
“I surrender, I surrender. About the weapons…”
“…Family head.”
“Lower your weapons. He’s not an enemy.”
The swordsmen sheathed their blades. Chae Jeong-jun sighed in relief.
“Whew, thought I was dead.”
“One wrong move, and you’d have been cut down. Any trouble getting here?”
“None. It was surprisingly safe.”
Chae Jeong-jun gestured behind him.
Hunters from the Hunter Association began pouring in.
They surrounded the Golden Lion members and took custody from the swordsmen.
“T-The Hunter Association?!”
“You’ve got to be kidding…”
The guild members’ faces darkened.
They realized just how reckless they’d been.
“When I first heard, I couldn’t believe it. I never thought the Golden Lion guild would go this far.”
Chae Jeong-jun clicked his tongue.
The hunters escorted the Golden Lion members down the mountain—including Song Tae-yeon.
“Wasn’t that excessive? It’ll take years for him to recover.”
“Ah, personal grudge.”
Yoo Baek-jun glanced at Yoon Song-ha.
To be precise, it was more her grudge than his.
He and Chae Jeong-jun were left alone.
“The mountain air’s refreshing, isn’t it, Deputy Chae?”
“Yeah. Ah, a drink would be perfect right now.”
“Let’s not…”
Drunkards causing chaos on mountains were disgusting.
Chae Jeong-jun coughed awkwardly under Yoo Baek-jun’s icy glare.
“Ahem, just kidding. So… how have you been, Yoo Baek-jun?”
“Fine. Nothing particularly good or bad.”
Except for one thing.
“Things would’ve been smoother if not for the conflict with the Hunter Association.”
“True.”
Chae Jeong-jun smiled bitterly.
The Hunter Association and the Sword Saint’s family were openly at odds.
For high-ranking members like them to talk like this was absurd.
“If it were anyone else from the Association, we wouldn’t be speaking. But you don’t hold a grudge against our family, right?”
“How could I? After everything I’ve seen…”
“That’s why we’re talking.”
A warm atmosphere settled.
“But let me ask one thing.”
It didn’t last.
“Deputy Chae, are we enemies?”
“…….”
The warmth vanished.
Chae Jeong-jun’s faint smile stiffened into tension.
“I hold no grudge against the Association. We’ve fought side by side—how could I bear a grudge?”
The Association itself was useful.
Frankly, he could crush it if he wanted. But for what was coming, its complete collapse wasn’t ideal.
The best outcome?
“But I can’t stand the higher-ups. Especially…”
Turning them into allies.
Yoo Baek-jun lowered his voice.
“…the Association Chairman.”
“…What are you implying?”
Chae Jeong-jun’s face turned cold.
“The Sword Saint’s family doesn’t want conflict with the Association. But if attacked, we won’t take it lying down.”
“…….”
“Blood will be spilled. And I… have no intention of shedding mine. Absolutely none.”
He had the power to back that up.
“You’ve seen how I handle things lately. The Sword Saint’s family, Vulcanus, Black Hammer, and now Golden Lion.”
Yoo Baek-jun smiled faintly.
“I don’t leave enemies alive. I crush them thoroughly—no loose ends.”
“…Are you threatening me?”
“Warning you. For the Association’s sake, stop this now.”
A suffocating silence fell.
An open threat. Worse, Yoo Baek-jun had the power and will to follow through.
Chae Jeong-jun swallowed hard.
“…The Association Chairman won’t stop. He’s gone too far. It’s his lifelong ambition.”
“Should an entire organization be swayed by one man’s emotions?”
“That’s…”
“Listen, Deputy Chae.”
Yoo Baek-jun leaned in and whispered.
“Ever thought of becoming the Association Chairman ?”
“……!”
Chae Jeong-jun’s breath hitched.
He stared wide-eyed in shock.
“I’m serious. Haven’t you ever wanted to climb higher?”
“Th-That’s…”
“How long will you trail behind Baek Jang-hyeon? Even when his goals don’t align with yours?”
Yoo Baek-jun’s hand gripped Chae Jeong-jun’s shoulder.
“Live for yourself, Deputy Chae. Isn’t that what life’s about?”
A pat on the shoulder.
Yoo Baek-jun turned away, as if he’d said all he needed to.
“…For old times’ sake, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear this.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
That was all Chae Jeong-jun could say to his retreating back.
Left alone again, Chae Jeong-jun fell deep into thought.
His expression was solemn, tormented.
For a long time.