Chapter 272
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 272.
Yoo Baek-jun headed underground.
Thanks to the dwarves developing the mines, there was plenty of space underground, and one of those spaces had been turned into a prison.
That was where Dante was.
“Looking good.”
Yoo Baek-jun stood before Dante.
Having endured considerable torture in the Magic Tower, there wasn’t a single unscathed spot on his body.
Dante raised his head to see who it was, then smirked.
“Heh, finally decided to show up? You’re late.”
“I’ve been busy. If I had as much free time as you to just sit around getting tortured, I’d have visited more often.”
Even so, the guy wasn’t broken, and mentally, he was perfectly fine. His battered body was also recovering quickly.
As expected of a Dragonkin.
“Annoyingly tough, aren’t you?”
“Just one of my many virtues…”
“Hmm.”
Yoo Baek-jun stepped outside for a moment and met Ho-yeon, who had been waiting.
The latter bowed his head.
“Family head.”
“What information did you get?”
“Not much. But we did manage to obtain some of the information you wanted.”
Ho-yeon handed over some documents.
“Jin Baek-cheon’s Demon Eye was of great help. Without it, we might’ve ended up with nothing.”
“Oh? That’s good.”
Jin Baek-cheon’s Demon Eye had proven effective.
Yoo Baek-jun reviewed the information obtained from interrogating Dante.
Several pieces of intel. Among them, one stood out as particularly useful.
‘Information about the organization’s structure.’
They had obtained similar information before, but this time it was more complete.
‘Nothing different from what I remember.’
The Black Shadow had a simple internal structure.
At the top was the Master, followed by seven direct subordinates, each overseeing their own faction.
And lastly, several mid-level officers who acted as intermediaries between the direct subordinates and the rank-and-file members.
‘Ideal.’
These factions kept each other in check while competitively building achievements to catch the leader's attention.
It wasn't a bad structure.
‘Above them are the direct subordinates.’
The seven direct subordinates had received the Dragon’s essence from the Evil Dragon, becoming Dragonkin.
That essence originated from the Evil Dragon, granting those who became Dragonkin exceptionally strong power.
‘Besides them, there are also the mid-level officers…’
They became Pseudo-Dragonkin.
Not true Dragonkin, but beings created by receiving the essence of dragonkind—literally, Pseudo-Dragonkin.
In exchange, while they didn’t reach the level of true Dragonkin, they still gained considerable strength.
‘Quite a few of them have tricky traits.’
The mid-level officers had one goal.
To accumulate contributions and rise to become direct subordinates—thereby receiving the complete Dragon’s essence and achieving perfection.
‘Motivation is clear enough.’
The rank-and-file members were similar.
Seeing the direct and mid-level officers, they too harbored the desire to succeed and become Dragonkin.
“Getting anything more out of him will be tough, right?”
“Yes, we’ll likely need other methods. Mentally, he’s just too resilient… It won’t be easy.”
The information was useful, but there was something else Yoo Baek-jun wanted to know more about.
He opened the door. Dante grinned at him mockingly.
Thud!
Yoo Baek-jun summoned the Dragon Slayer’s Spear like lightning and drove it into Dante’s solar plexus.
The blade sank deep.
“GAAAAAH!”
Dante writhed in obvious agony. Until now, no amount of torture had fazed him.
But even he couldn’t withstand the energy of the Dragon Slayer’s Spear.
“T-This spear… Cough!”
“What, finally coming to your senses?”
Yoo Baek-jun pulled the spear out and used the shaft to forcibly lift Dante’s chin.
“I’m not planning to interrogate you right now. It’s still too early.”
Dante had been captured.
There was no way the Black Shadow wouldn’t know. They would undoubtedly make a move.
Among their internal factions was one specialized in stealth and covert operations.
“You’ll have to play bait for us.”
They were extremely tricky opponents.
But knowing their objective made dealing with them not so difficult.
Yoo Baek-jun scoffed.
‘The elves are holding a festival to welcome their new members, weren’t they?’
He felt a little sorry for them, but he’d have to make use of that festival.
* * *
The elves held a festival to welcome their new members—the Lizardmen and Naga.
It wasn’t anything grand, just a simple gathering for a meal.
“Ugh… It’s all greens.”
“How do they survive eating just this?”
“……”
The problem was that the elves’ dietary habits made the food heavily skewed toward vegetation.
The Lizardmen and Naga were taken aback but had no choice but to eat happily—
Because the elves were watching them with sparkling, expectant eyes.
“……”
And in the shadows, unseen observers watched this scene.
Members of the Black Shadow, along with one of their mid-level officers, Asir.
“Listen well. Our objective is singular: rescue the captured Dante. If that proves impossible, kill him on the spot.”
Asir’s appearance was peculiar.
It was as if one of the Pseudo-Dragonkin, a wyvern, had been shrunk down and modified for bipedal movement.
His form was barely humanoid, more akin to a monster.
“And if even that fails—”
Asir continued.
“We resort to the last measure, even at the cost of our lives. Understood?”
“Yes.”
Shadows moved within the darkness.
Asir activated his ability, and he and his subordinates melted into the shadows.
Whoosh!
Asir and his men advanced swiftly through the floating island’s interior.
Having received the essence of a Shadow Drake, a Pseudo-Dragonkin, Asir had gained exceptional stealth abilities in return.
‘…Impressive.’
Asir couldn’t help but marvel.
The sight of the floating island inevitably drew admiration.
‘To think it’s developed this much…’
Word of the demon's great invasion had spread far and wide, even in the underworld.
As had the existence of the floating island acquired by the Sword Saint’s family in its aftermath.
‘I heard it was just a barren wasteland. A dead land…’
But what he saw now was entirely different.
Expansive plains, lush forests, and at the island’s heart, the towering World Tree.
It was all breathtaking—enough to stir the aesthetic sensibilities of a dragonkin.
‘The World Tree.’
Asir swallowed hard.
A treasure almost symbolic of the Magic Tower.
Countless organizations had coveted it, and countless had died for overreaching ambitions.
‘It must be because of that World Tree.’
That this floating island had flourished.
How they managed to bring it here was beyond him, but he couldn’t help but admire the feat.
“The enemies are off their guard.”
“……”
The interior of the floating island was lively.
Though many different races were present, they were all celebrating the festival welcoming the newly joined Lizardmen and Naga.
Among them were swordsmen as well.
“A festival. At a time like this…”
Asir sneered at them.
The external defenses were full of holes, and the family’s swordsmen were absent.
Due to the Magic Tower’s restoration efforts.
“Careless fools. But their negligence works in our favor.”
“Yes.”
Asir pinpointed Dante’s location.
Though only a half-blood, he too carried the essence of a Pseudo-Dragonkin.
Thanks to that, he could roughly sense where Dante was being held.
“Underground. Let’s move.”
“Yes.”
The underground mines. Deeper inside was a makeshift prison.
Naturally, there were swordsmen guarding it.
Men clad head-to-toe in heavy armor, their faces hidden behind helmets.
“Die.”
Thud!
Asir and his subordinates systematically slaughtered the guards.
Their movements were swift, decisive, and practiced.
“Leave none alive.”
“Yes.”
As they slaughtered the guards, Asir and his men advanced rapidly toward Dante’s cell.
Creak—the door opened.
‘Here.’
Guards inside.
Asir activated his ability, momentarily plunging the area into darkness.
Tap!
He and his subordinates fanned out with practiced ease, killing the guards inside.
“Muffle the noise.”
“Yes.”
One of his subordinates used a Silence spell to suppress any sound.
A precaution against unforeseen complications.
Asir stood before the door where Dante was imprisoned and channeled magic into his dagger.
Crash!
The iron-barred door shattered in one strike.
Asir approached Dante, who was hanging his head low.
“Lord Dante, by the Master’s orders, we’ve come to rescue you. We’ll remove your restraints now—”
Asir moved to destroy the magical bindings restraining Dante.
But at that moment—
Poof
“……?!”
The figure of Dante dissipated like a mirage the moment his hand made contact.
A horrified Asir stumbled back.
‘Something’s wrong.’
Asir and his subordinates all thought the same and immediately tried to retreat from the cell.
But it was too late.
“Guh! The door…!”
The door they’d entered through wouldn’t open.
Looking closely, they could see a barrier enveloping it.
“How do you like our floating island?”
A voice rang out.
Asir spun around like lightning and attacked the source.
Clang!
“Kuh!”
But his strike didn’t land.
Something unseen blocked it, sending his attack rebounding—only for something sharp to pierce his side in retaliation.
“Hope you like it.”
A mocking voice.
Whoosh!
Flames ignited around them, revealing the Black Shadow members.
“Guh!”
“This is…”
The walls parted, and dozens of swordsmen emerged from behind them.
At their forefront stood Yoo Baek-jun, relaxed.
“A trap…?!”
Asir tried to unleash his power at full strength.
The power of a Pseudo-Dragonkin.
But before he could, Yoo Baek-jun moved.
“Ghk!”
Asir tried to stop him, but his body stiffened.
The moment he saw the Dragon Slayer’s Spear in Yoo Baek-jun’s hand, fear gripped him.
A searing pain radiated from the small wound in his side.
“T-This is…”
The power of Dragon-Slaying.
Asir felt his body grow unbearably heavy. The power he’d always wielded with ease was now beyond his reach.
“GAAAAH!”
“L-Lord Asir!”
His subordinates were being slaughtered by the swordsmen.
Asir bit his lip.
‘No way out.’
Should he surrender?
No—that would only mean interrogation. Asir clenched his eyes shut.
‘At the very least…’
Seeing no other option, Asir activated an item given to him by the Master.
Something triggered, and magic began converging around Asir.
“Fall back.”
“Yes, Family head!”
Yoo Baek-jun ordered the swordsmen to retreat.
Magic wasn’t just converging around Asir—it was gathering around his subordinates as well.
And moments later—
BOOM!
A massive explosion erupted.
Centered on Asir and his men, the blast was powerful enough to engulf the entire prison.
But Yoo Baek-jun had anticipated it.
Whoosh!
The Absolute Shield he deployed instantly blocked the incoming explosion.
The violent blast quickly subsided.
“Kuh… Ugh…”
All that remained were the Black Shadow members, their bodies now unrecognizable.
And Asir, barely clinging to life.
Yoo Baek-jun stood before him.
“Forgive… me… Mas…ter…”
Asir and his subordinates’ bodies began to fade. Then, something like a soul burst forth from them—
And flew toward where Dante was held.
“Family head, it seems they did something before dying.”
“I know. Let it be.”
Yoo Baek-jun had noticed Asir using an item before his death.
He could’ve stopped it, but there was no need.
Because this was what he’d wanted all along.
“It’s heading to Dante.”
“Yes.”
Yoo Baek-jun turned away.
“Now we can meet the Master.”