Chapter 283
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 283.
The battlefield of proof has several divine temples. Yoo Baek-jun found one among them that had no followers of the Thunder God.
“Good, there’s no one inside.”
Since it had been occupied long ago, there were no followers left.
All that remained were the undead and the Death Priests.
“Ugh… I feel useless again……”
—Uung?
Jeon Soo-yeon seemed displeased that Yoo Baek-jun had scouted the temple alone.
The whirlwind guarding the temple was something only Yoo Baek-jun could pass through, so there was no helping it.
It was thanks to his trait as the Successor of the Death King.
‘Since there’s no one inside, I can destroy it without worrying about casualties.’
Though the Thunder God’s followers might complain if they found out.
With so many temples in the area already lost, trying to reclaim each one would take too much time.
Some just had to be destroyed.
“Shall we test it out?”
Yoo Baek-jun raised the Thunder Spear high and channeled all his magical power.
Hwaaak!
A pure white mist flowed from him. It was his magical energy.
Every last drop of his magical energy took the form of mist.
“Huuu……”
Jeon Soo-yeon gulped.
The sheer amount of magical energy was so overwhelming that her skin tingled.
What could he possibly be planning to do with this much power? The thought naturally crossed her mind.
Shoooook!
The Thunder Spear greedily absorbed the mist-like magical energy.
And moments later.
‘It’s gone……?’
The Thunder Spear left Yoo Baek-jun’s grip and soared high into the sky.
A brief silence followed.
Kurururu!
Then, the heavens roared.
A storm began gathering in the dark sky. In an instant, fierce wind and rain swept through, and the ground trembled violently.
And then, thunder struck.
Kwaaaang!
A bolt of lightning poured down toward the temple.
Like rain, the falling thunderbolts pierced the black whirlwind surrounding the temple and struck the temple itself.
—Uwaaaak!
—W-what’s happening… Ahhh!
Screams echoed.
The Death Priests inside the temple were caught off guard by the sudden turn of events.
The weather had been fine just moments ago, and now the ground was shaking—it was impossible not to be startled.
—Kuhk, even an earthquake…!
—L-look! Look at the sky!
The ground shook so violently that keeping balance was difficult.
The Death Priests, clinging to the walls, all looked up at the sky.
And they were horrified.
—That’s…….
The sky was splitting apart.
The storm clouds pouring down thunderbolts were torn as if someone had ripped them open.
And beyond the torn sky, a massive arm revealed itself.
—What… is that……?
The arm spread its hand wide.
The small Thunder Spear entered its grasp, and the surrounding thunder began coalescing around it.
The spear, wrapped in thunder from all directions, grew larger and larger.
Taking the form of a colossal thunderbolt.
—Re…….
Someone shouted in panic.
—Retreat! Get out of here!
But it was already too late.
The massive arm, just as Yoo Baek-jun had done, drew back the hand holding the Thunder Spear with all its might.
And then.
Kwadudeuk!
It hurled it.
The colossal Thunder Spear was launched straight at the temple.
There was no time to react.
In an instant, the spear from the sky split the temple in half.
Kwaaaaang!
As the spear struck the ground, a tremendous explosion erupted.
The thunder wrapped around the spear scattered, igniting everything in its path.
The ensuing explosion turned the temple into a wasteland.
—Kyaaaak!
The relentless wind and rain, the crashing thunder, the shaking ground.
And the temple, now reduced to unrecognizable ruins, burning fiercely.
It looked as though divine wrath had descended, bringing divine punishment.
“…….”
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun and Jeon Soo-yeon, watching from not too far away, fell silent.
They were speechless.
One was stunned by the immense consumption of magical energy, while the other couldn’t believe what she had just witnessed.
“I’m dead……”
“M-Master!”
As Yoo Baek-jun staggered, Jeon Soo-yeon quickly supported him.
He waved her off.
“No, I’m fine. I’ll be okay after resting. I just used too much magical power.”
“If you were fine after using something like that, you’d be a monster, not human. Wait… I think you were already a monster……”
“What was that?”
Jeon Soo-yeon pretended not to hear and whistled, looking away.
Yoo Baek-jun sighed.
‘Even with the Power of the Thunder God, this much magic is consumed…….’
It meant he still wasn’t fully capable of wielding it.
But he wasn’t unworthy. If he were, the skill would have backfired the moment he used it.
“I didn’t think I’d feel lacking in stats after coming this far.”
Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue.
Raising stats wasn’t easy, so time was the only remedy.
He caught the Thunder Spear as it returned after completely destroying the temple.
“Let’s go. We have work to do.”
“Yesss……”
They needed more achievements.
* * *
Over the next few days, Yoo Baek-jun reclaimed temples and gathered achievements.
“O, oh……”
“Divine Messenger……”
Thanks to him, the Thunder God’s followers, who had been pushed to the outskirts of the Battlefield of Proof, could now return to the temples.
Imron and the other followers knelt as soon as they saw Yoo Baek-jun.
“Divine… Pfft, Messenger, ahem!”
“…….”
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the praying followers with discomfort, while Jeon Soo-yeon laughed at the sight.
“I’ve dealt with the undead in this area, so it should be safe for a while.”
“We are truly grateful. We never imagined receiving such great help……”
Imron bowed deeply.
He promised that if any treasures remained in the temple, they would be given to Yoo Baek-jun.
‘I don’t really need them.’
But there was no reason to refuse if they were offered.
After briefly watching the followers’ recovery, Yoo Baek-jun descended underground.
The now-familiar altar. Yoo Baek-jun offered all his achievement points to it.
[Current Achievements: 46,050]
He had attacked multiple temples and eliminated countless enemies.
Thanks to that, he had successfully gathered the achievements the Thunder God had mentioned.
—Impressive. I didn’t expect anyone to gather this many achievements.
The altar marveled.
—Your wish to meet the Thunder God in person shall be granted.
There was no need for lengthy conversation.
The altar shone brightly, and the light enveloped Yoo Baek-jun.
It was so intense that he couldn’t keep his eyes open.
Paaaat!
A familiar sensation washed over him.
The feeling of being pulled somewhere—like entering a gate.
When the sensation faded, Yoo Baek-jun found himself in an unfamiliar space.
“…….”
An entirely white space.
There was no ground, no sky. Yoo Baek-jun stood with his feet planted in the void.
Kururu…….
The only sound was distant thunder.
In this blank, white space, thunder was the only thing that fell.
Kwaaaang!
A massive bolt of lightning struck, blinding him momentarily.
Yoo Baek-jun looked ahead.
Where there had been nothing, a throne fit for a king now stood.
—You’ve come.
A man sat upon it.
No, to be precise, something in the shape of a man sat there.
‘Too bright to see.’
His entire body shimmered so brilliantly that nothing was clearly visible.
The only discernible features were his long hair and imposing physique.
—I’ve been waiting for you. You arrived faster than I expected.
“I don’t have much free time.”
—Mortals live finite lives. The way you burn through yours like a flame is always beautiful to behold.
“Huh? Ah, yes……”
The sudden philosophical remark left him puzzled.
The Thunder God gazed with interest at the Thunder Spear in Yoo Baek-jun’s hand.
—How was my gift?
“It was good. Though it’s a bit heavy for me to wield right now.”
—But it seems you were worthy. Truly an intriguing mortal.
The Thunder God chuckled.
—Mortal, under normal circumstances, those who do not serve me cannot meet me directly. But I gave you a chance.
The Thunder God tilted his head.
—Continue what you spoke of last time. It interests me, so try to convince me.
This was welcome news.
The topic from before—about breaking Thanatos’s seal to bring him to Earth and making him fight the Evil Dragon.
Yoo Baek-jun bowed his head.
—You mentioned it last time. Making the Evil Dragon and Thanatos fight each other.
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
—Not a bad idea. Thanatos, as he is now, is much weaker than in his prime. He’d be able to fight the Evil Dragon on equal footing.
It wouldn’t be a one-sided battle but a fierce clash.
And in the process, both would weaken.
—And you plan to deal with the weakened Thanatos and Evil Dragon yourselves?
“We’ll handle the Evil Dragon. There’s something we need to confirm. But Thanatos……”
Yoo Baek-jun looked at the Thunder God.
—You want me to deal with him?
He nodded.
Even weakened, Thanatos was still a god. Dealing a fatal blow might be possible, but finishing him off would be difficult.
But for another god, it was different.
—Bold. Do you really think that’s possible? I am a god of Halpeon, but I have no connection to your world.
“You can’t interfere?”
The Thunder God nodded.
Thanatos could interfere with Earth because he had established a pathway.
But the Thunder God had no such pathway.
“There is a way. Or rather… a way will appear.”
—What do you mean?
“The Evil Dragon will create the path.”
—…….
The Thunder God looked at Yoo Baek-jun with puzzlement. His confidence was so overwhelming that it was almost baffling.
—You expect me to believe that? Fine. But what if your plan fails? What if they join forces? What if the path doesn’t open?
“Then there’s nothing we can do.”
—Are you insane?
Yoo Baek-jun shrugged.
His nonchalance made the Thunder God burst into laughter.
—This is your world’s fate. Do you understand? If you fail, the world will burn, and you will die. Yet you speak as if it’s someone else’s world.
“Well… I’m still confident.”
—Confident?
Because he had already experienced it.
Of course, there was a chance of failure, but if they did nothing out of fear, they would all die anyway.
And above all, he had proof.
“You know, don’t you? What Thanatos did when the Evil Dragon that appeared in Halpeon was defeated.”
—…….
The Thunder God smiled.
The Evil Dragon that once appeared in Halpeon was defeated by heroes.
Not just the Evil Dragon, but his kin who aided him met the same fate.
—The Evil Dragon did not appear alone. He invaded Halpeon with his kin. We selected those capable of repelling them and bestowed our blessings.
The result was success.
Though the damage was immense, they succeeded in slaying the Evil Dragon.
But there was a problem.
—When the Evil Dragon invaded, the seals on the evil gods weakened. Thanatos seized that opportunity. He stole the dragons’ corpses.
As the Evil Dragon retreated in defeat, Thanatos mocked him and took all his kin’s corpses.
“And then he resurrected them as undead slaves. As death dragons… I’ve met them.”
—The Evil Dragon, uncharacteristically, cared deeply for his kin. Now I remember. The curses the Evil Dragon hurled at Thanatos.
If Thanatos had taken multiple dragon corpses, he wouldn’t have left them untouched.
He would have turned them into death dragons and would undoubtedly use them in his next attack on Earth.
“If the Evil Dragon sees that……”
—He’ll go berserk.
The Thunder God fell deep in thought.
After a long pause, he slowly nodded.
—A chance to eliminate that despicable Thanatos… tempting. And the Evil Dragon… he has a debt to pay.
A muttered soliloquy.
Yoo Baek-jun listened in silence, head bowed.
There was no need to interrupt.
—Congratulations, mortal. You’ve succeeded in convincing me.
He had already known the Thunder God wouldn’t refuse this proposal.
Yoo Baek-jun smiled quietly.