Chapter 279
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 279.
“Ooh! Divine Messenger!”
“Divine Messenger! Thank you!”
“The Divine Messenger has come to us……!”
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the followers praising him with cold, indifferent eyes.
‘Stop it…….’
Every time he heard the title ‘Divine Messenger,’ he felt an itch crawl down his spine.
It was cringe-inducing.
‘It’s not like I don’t understand why they’re acting like this, and it’s true that I led them to do so, but still…’
The reason they acted this way was simple.
Because Yoo Baek-jun possessed the Thunder Spear. The fact that he could freely wield lightning must have been impressive to them.
“As expected, the Thunder God has not abandoned us. In this dangerous situation, He has sent us His Messenger!”
“Hmm… Oh, uh… Yeah.”
A man leaned in closer.
He was a middle-aged man with striking white hair that stuck out like a bridge, contrasting with his golden strands.
He drew a holy symbol over his chest.
“I am Imron, a servant of the great Thunder God. Though lacking, I hold the position of High Priest.”
Laypeople, priests, high priests, elders.
That was the hierarchy of the temple serving the Thunder God.
A high priest was someone with a high rank and considerable power.
Indeed, Imron’s physique was almost on par with a warrior, and his magical energy was strong.
“Let us go first. This is not a suitable place for conversation. I will guide you to a safer location.”
“Yes.”
After organizing the wounded, Imron led Yoo Baek-jun to the rear.
The surrounding area was a plain, but most of what was visible was rotting.
‘It’s because of the miasma.’
The vile miasma permeating the area was corrupting life itself.
Moreover, undead creatures could be seen roaming in all directions.
‘This is going to be annoying.’
The rear area where Imron guided Yoo Baek-jun had several tents.
‘The conditions here aren’t great either.’
It looked like a refugee shelter.
Injured followers were groaning in pain all around. Those with lighter injuries were busily moving about, tending to the wounded.
The tents were tattered.
“It doesn’t look good, I know.”
“What happened here?”
“First, let’s go inside……”
Imron guided Yoo Baek-jun to the largest tent.
It was a sort of meeting room with a large map documenting the area.
“We call this area the Battlefield of Proof.”
Imron spoke while looking at the map.
“A place where one fights more bravely than anyone else to prove themselves. Here, one can either gain power or earn the right to die and join the Thunder God’s side… That kind of place.”
“What are you fighting against?”
“The undead.”
Though he already knew, Yoo Baek-jun asked anyway. Imron glared sharply at the map.
“The army of Thanatos. This is the place where the evil god Thanatos was sealed. It is a gateway to the underworld.”
“The underworld……”
In the past, there was a war among the gods.
A great war between the evil gods who sought to dominate the world and the gods who tried to stop them.
In that war, the evil gods were defeated, and Thanatos also suffered a miserable loss.
‘Thanks to that, he was punished.’
Having lost the war, he was condemned to never leave the underworld.
The seal created by the combined power of the gods prevented him from escaping.
“The areas near where Thanatos is sealed are saturated with his influence, causing miasma to fester. The dead affected by it rise again.”
The one who vowed to stop this was the Thunder God.
He led his followers and swore to guard the seals in the areas where Thanatos’s forces emerged.
The followers, too, had been dutifully dealing with Thanatos’s legions and monitoring the seals without complaint—until an anomaly occurred.
“But recently, the miasma in this area has grown unusually strong. It’s as if it’s boiling over. Stronger undead, in greater numbers, are swarming in at an alarming frequency.”
“Do you know the reason?”
“No. There was no warning, no sign. It was sudden.”
Imron bit his lip. Yoo Baek-jun wore an awkward expression.
He knew the reason.
‘The Cult of Resurrection.’
It was because of the summoning ritual they had conducted.
Vincent’s plan to summon Thanatos to Earth had failed.
But did that mean the plan had completely fallen apart?
Not exactly.
‘Should I call it exquisitely ironic?’
The summoning ritual had ultimately failed, but it had progressed to some extent.
As a result, it succeeded in weakening Thanatos’s seal, and the effects manifested in this land.
“We were helpless. At first, we were holding back the undead in this area, but now……”
He pointed at the map.
Initially, they had established a defensive line near the center of the area, but now they had been pushed to the outskirts.
If they were pushed back any further, they would be completely driven out of the area.
“We can’t afford to retreat any further. We are prepared to lay down our lives to hold this defensive line.”
“You don’t care if you all die?”
“If we die, we simply go to the Thunder God’s side. He will welcome us.”
Yoo Baek-jun was appalled.
Imron’s fanaticism reminded Yoo Baek-jun of the Cult of Resurrection he had encountered before.
Of course, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible.
‘Well, in a world where gods actually exist, becoming a fanatic is… understandable.’
Yoo Baek-jun sighed.
He had heard enough.
“We don’t have much time, so let’s get to the point. What you want from me is help in driving back the undead, right? Am I wrong?”
“You are correct.”
“What I want is simple. To meet the Thunder God. He told me to come find him.”
“Our interests align.”
Yoo Baek-jun lied smoothly and held out his hand.
“Give me the mark.”
“Hmm, you already knew. As expected……”
Imron nodded in admiration and clasped his hand.
“…….”
Suddenly, Imron knelt and began to pray.
Golden currents of lightning flickered around him, and soon, a light began to glow on the back of Yoo Baek-jun’s hand.
Zap!
“Hmm……”
A slight pain.
The electricity Imron emitted quickly faded, leaving behind a mark engraved on Yoo Baek-jun’s hand.
The mark of the Thunder God.
[Mark of the Thunder God (A)]
A mark only granted to those who serve the Thunder God. Those who possess this can accumulate achievements in the Battlefield of Proof.
The rank was quite high, but it wasn’t an item with any special options.
Its function was essentially one thing:
The ability to accumulate “achievements.”
“The Thunder God will evaluate your actions in the Battlefield of Proof. Based on that, you can accumulate ‘achievements.’”
Imron also had the mark on his hand. He stroked it.
“Once you’ve accumulated a certain amount of achievements, the mark will glow. If you pray at a special location at that time, the Thunder God will respond and grant you a reward.”
When Yoo Baek-jun touched the mark on his hand, a window appeared before his eyes.
[Current Achievements: 0]
Simple.
In other words, this was a point system. Accumulate enough points, and you could exchange them for necessary items at the “store.”
‘Hmm, if my memory serves me right……’
Among the rewards requiring many achievements, there were some decent ones.
It would be a shame to miss out.
“If you wish to meet the Thunder God, you must accumulate many achievements. Then, He will seek to meet you in person.”
“Simple is good. But what about those ‘special locations’ you mentioned……”
“That’s the problem.” Imron sighed. “This area is heavily influenced by Thanatos. Because of that, unless special methods are used, even the Thunder God cannot hear our prayers.”
Imron pointed at the map.
Scattered across the area were several large temples.
“These temples have special altars. Through them, you can offer your achievements and pray to the Thunder God.”
“There isn’t one here?”
“I deeply regret to say……”
Imron’s face reddened, a mix of shame and anger.
“The situation was so sudden that we didn’t have time to bring anything with us.”
“Hmm……”
So, to meet the Thunder God and exchange achievements, he would have to go to a temple.
Not much of a change.
“All communication with the temples has been cut off. We don’t even know if the followers inside are alive or what has happened to them.”
“I’ll go take a look.”
If they were alive, rescuing them alone would earn him a significant number of achievements.
Even if they were dead, it wouldn’t matter. Just reclaiming the temples would grant plenty of achievements.
Yoo Baek-jun stood up.
“We will accompany you.”
Imron and the followers had no intention of letting Yoo Baek-jun fight alone.
Fighting to the death in this battlefield was an honor to them.
Especially if they could fight alongside Yoo Baek-jun, whom they believed to be the Divine Messenger.
‘That’s a bit……’
Yoo Baek-jun had no such intention.
On the contrary, they would only get in his way. He shook his head.
“I’ll move alone.”
“But……”
“On my way here, I saw that there are many undead nearby. Rather than following me, you should prioritize defending this place.”
Yoo Baek-jun recalled the number of wounded he had seen on his way here.
With so many injured, if they sent support for him, there wouldn’t be enough people left to defend this place.
“Then, we pray for your safe return.”
Imron, understanding this well, sighed and accepted his words.
Yoo Baek-jun stepped out of the tent.
“Divine Messenger, please……”
“It may not be much help, but……”
The followers outside handed Yoo Baek-jun various items.
Recovery potions, scrolls, and even a map of the area.
He accepted them, thinking they might be useful.
“We pray for your victory!”
“Divine Messenger!”
“Oh, ooh……”
Leaving the followers behind, Yoo Baek-jun walked away.
When he reached a place with no people around, he glanced around.
“Jeon Soo-yeon.”
At his call, Jeon Soo-yeon emerged from the nearby shadows.
She looked at him with an oddly displeased expression.
“Divine Messenger!”
“…….”
As soon as she saw Yoo Baek-jun, she suddenly raised both arms and shouted just like the followers had earlier.
Yoo Baek-jun’s expression turned cold.
“Hehe, Divine Mes— Ow ow ow!”
“What’s this? Trying to piss me off?”
“Ah! Aah! Family head! It hurts! My ear’s gonna fall off! Ow ow ow!”
Jeon Soo-yeon flailed.
Even if she wanted to push him away, Yoo Baek-jun’s strength was far beyond ordinary. She couldn’t budge him.
After tugging at her ear for a while, he sighed deeply and let go.
“Sniff… Did my ear fall off? I think it’s bleeding… Oww.”
“Stop exaggerating. Just give me your report.”
Yoo Baek-jun waved his hand dismissively. Jeon Soo-yeon, still pouting, began her report.
“First, as you said, I tracked where those weird-looking undead were going. They were scattered… heading toward places that looked like temples.”
“Temples?”
“Yeah, but……”
Jeon Soo-yeon scratched her cheek.
“Some places I couldn’t tell if they were temples or not. There were these black vortex-like things swirling around them……”
“Couldn’t you get close?”
“If I got close, I felt like my whole body would be torn apart. I was curious, so I threw a rock at one, and it got obliterated.”
“A barrier.”
Jeon Soo-yeon also informed him about the defenses around the temples and how many undead were present.
She clapped her hands.
“Ah! And there was one temple where an unusually large number of undead were gathering. Of course, I couldn’t approach there either, so I just marked it.”
“Wow, how useless.”
“Th-that’s too harsh! Ah! How can you say that after seeing this?”
Jeon Soo-yeon grinned and spread her palms. Translucent threads appeared in her hands.
“I attached threads to track those guys. Hehe, with this, you can easily find your way to the temples.”
“…We have a map, though?”
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun pulled out the map he had received from the followers earlier.
Jeon Soo-yeon, who had been looking triumphant, froze.
“Huh? Am I useless……?”
“Just kidding. Let’s go. We have a lot to do.”
This much was a decent haul.
Yoo Baek-jun grabbed the stiffened Jeon Soo-yeon and quickly moved on.