Chapter 299
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 299.
As soon as Yoo Baek-jun sat at the counter, he ordered a drink.
A drink not listed on the menu.
The owner, who had been casually wiping a glass, quickly glanced at him.
"...How was the weather outside?"
"The sky was clear, but it was raining."
"Hmm, care for a drink?"
"Not in the mood today."
"There are days like that."
The owner handed him a glass filled with red liquor. Yoo Baek-jun pushed the drink away again.
Jeon Soo-yeon, who was beside him, stared at Yoo Baek-jun as if he were a madman.
The owner took the glass back and whispered into his ear.
"Who owns the underground of this city?"
"The Banstein family, no?"
"......"
The owner nodded and opened the door behind the counter.
Then, he gestured for them to enter.
Beyond the door was a warehouse, where guards were waiting inside.
"Follow us."
They were led to a staircase. After descending for a long time, a massive door appeared.
Creak—
The guards opened the door.
"Welcome to the underground market."
Beyond it was a marketplace.
But not one that sold ordinary goods. It was a place where shady items, the kind that couldn’t be sold in the light, were traded.
Namely, slaves.
"Here, here! Take a look! Freshly captured demi-humans from the west! Still full of energy!"
"Buy now, get one free!"
"Customer, this way!"
Iron-barred cages were visible everywhere, with slaves trapped inside.
Merchants standing in front of the cages shouted at passersby.
"That, that’s......"
Delowin was horrified at the sight of the slaves locked in the iron cages.
It was inevitable. Inside were demi-humans.
'Disgustingly plentiful.'
Demi-human slaves were everywhere.
Demi-humans trapped behind iron bars. Among them, the rare or exceptionally beautiful demi-humans were even put up for auction.
“Our next item is something special for buyers looking for unique demi-humans! This one here…”
"This one possesses a beautiful voice. It will sing for you until you fall asleep."
A Demi-human resembling a fairy was sold for an exorbitant price.
Yoo Baek-jun signaled to Jeon Soo-yeon with his eyes.
"Yep, working on it~"
Silver threads could be seen emanating from her hands.
The Demi-humans being sold like that were still in relatively better conditions.
Those who weren’t, the Demi-humans with low commodity value...
"Yeah, fight! Fight!"
"Hey, Red! I bet money on you! Get up, you bastard!"
They were being used as gladiator slaves.
Demi-humans captured together were forced to fight each other to the death, reduced to mere entertainment for humans.
"Beastkin, huh."
A significant number of the Demi-humans fighting in the arena were Beastkin.
A humanoid race with traits of bears, tigers, wolves, and all sorts of animals.
"Grrroar!"
"Ugh, grrrugh...!"
Their eyes were bloodshot.
It seemed they were given drugs to incite combat fervor, as they wouldn’t fight otherwise.
"...There’s a Beastkin village not far from our forest."
"Did they raid it?"
"Yes, a few... familiar faces."
Delowin couldn’t continue.
Among the fighters were Beastkin she had seen a few times before.
"The Beastkins also have a chieftain. I heard the former chieftain recently retired, and his son succeeded him..."
"Is he not here?"
"Doesn’t seem to be."
Then he must be somewhere else.
In the Kingdom of Baim, the hunting of Demi-humans is being conducted on a national level.
If he’s someone as important as a chieftain, he’s probably in the castle.
"......"
Among the auction items were also elves.
Delowin stared at the elves with a sorrowful expression for a long time.
"Familiar faces?"
"They’re elves from the Ruwinid Forest."
By the time Yoo Baek-jun arrived at the Ruwinid Forest, the Kingdom of Baim had already begun hunting elves.
They rescued as many as they could, but not all.
"Elves from the outskirts?"
"...Probably."
Elves from the outskirts.
Either the guardians who fought against the Kingdom of Baim or those who happened to be there for errands.
"Family head, what will you do? Will you rescue them now?"
"How many enemies?"
"There are quite a few, but with a human weapon like you..."
Yoo Baek-jun silently looked at Jeon Soo-yeon. She smiled faintly.
"The underground structure is more of a problem than the number of enemies. There are escape routes everywhere."
"If we act recklessly, they’ll escape with the slaves."
"Yes, unless we block those escape routes first, it’s tricky."
They lack manpower.
They came with the full gate limit of 20, but it’s still not enough.
They need help.
"Horrifying. Truly..."
Delowin muttered gloomily.
"I’ve heard of Demi-humans being used as slaves before, but never on this scale."
The Kingdom of Baim isn’t the first to enslave Demi-humans.
It’s more common than one might think.
The problem is the scale. Cases of slave markets this large are rare.
Especially right beneath the capital.
'This wouldn’t be possible without someone’s tacit approval.'
The Banstein family, mentioned by Yoo Baek-jun in code before entering.
The family to which Farowell, whose neck he had once slit, belonged—a family with immense power in the kingdom.
"Family head, I’ve placed threads around. We can track the locations of the sold Demi-humans."
"Good work."
Yoo Baek-jun lightly patted Delowin’s shoulder.
"Is there any way I can help them?"
"There is."
Currently, the Demi-humans here are extremely wary of humans.
To persuade them, Delowin’s help is absolutely necessary.
"But let’s retreat for now. I have a plan in mind."
"...Okay."
Yoo Baek-jun looked around the underground market before heading back above ground.
In a dark alley, Han Seong-ah and Baek Jun-kyung, who had been waiting, greeted him.
"Family head."
"Huh? You don’t look well?"
Baek Jun-kyung tilted his head as he noticed Delowin behind him.
Her expression was deeply somber.
"...Let her calm down. Let’s go for now."
"Where to?"
"The mansion."
Yoo Baek-jun unfolded a map.
The area in the capital where only nobles reside. There lies the mansion of the Golden Wolf Knight Commander.
Hayden’s mansion.
"No time to rest."
Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue.
* * *
The noble district was heavily guarded by the city’s soldiers.
A place where ordinary citizens couldn’t set foot—without a pass, Yoo Baek-jun couldn’t even approach.
"Four of us will go."
Delowin, Jeon Soo-yeon, Baek Jun-kyung.
Yoo Baek-jun infiltrated the noble district with these three.
Han Seong-ah, left behind, grumbled about being the only one left out, but he ignored her.
"Whereabouts?"
"Over there, the mansion on the hill."
"Huh, you’re quite something, Family head."
Baek Jun-kyung looked at the hill and then at Yoo Baek-jun with amazement.
"Isn’t this your first time in this gate? You know your way around like you’ve been here many times."
"Curious about the secret?"
"I am, but would you tell me if I asked?"
"No, trade secret."
"Thought so."
Perhaps because it was evening, soldiers were patrolling.
As they approached the hill with the mansion, the security grew tighter.
Baek Jun-kyung climbed to a higher spot to assess the situation.
"How is it?"
"Strange. The knights around the mansion... They seem to be surveilling it rather than guarding it."
Yoo Baek-jun looked at Baek Jun-kyung with surprise. He hadn’t expected her to be so sharp.
"Why the surprised look?"
"Nothing, you’re just spot on."
Correct.
The knights and soldiers around Hayden’s mansion weren’t there to protect him.
They were there to surveil him.
"Did he commit some crime?"
"He did. Jeon Soo-yeon, any infiltration routes?"
"Hmm... Yes, should be possible."
With Jeon Soo-yeon’s help, Yoo Baek-jun climbed the hill and infiltrated the mansion.
She had mastered all sorts of skills useful for infiltration.
Though the place was heavily guarded, her skills made it easy.
"......"
"...It’s quiet."
On the hill stood a mansion.
A spacious, antiquated mansion. A low wall, like a scaled-down fortress, surrounded the entire property.
And inside, it was silent.
'Few servants. No one but the surveilling soldiers and knights. And on the top floor...'
A powerful presence could be felt.
No need to say who. The owner of this mansion, Hayden’s presence.
'What a pitiful state.'
The Golden Wolf Knight Commander, Hayden, was imprisoned in his own mansion.
The reason was simple.
He had refused the kingdom’s order to invade the demi-humans territory.
—This is an order I cannot obey. I’d rather renounce my knighthood.
Hayden continued to refuse the order, and as a result, he was losing his influence in the kingdom.
Now imprisoned in his mansion, excluded from duties, his subordinates being transferred to other knight orders.
'They’d love to just dispose of Hayden, but...'
There are reasons they can’t.
One. With Farowell dead, Hayden is the kingdom’s only Sword Master. There’s no replacement.
A Sword Master possesses power comparable to an S-rank hunter.
Losing such a human weapon would be a massive blow to the nation’s strength.
'And the second is his popularity.'
Hayden is immensely popular among the commoners, especially due to his origins and achievements.
Removing him without a major reason isn’t easy.
'Hence this uneasy coexistence has continued until now.'
To the king, Hayden must be a thorn in his side.
The strongest in the kingdom, with deep public support.
Such a person refusing his orders must be grating.
'There’s room to exploit that.'
Yoo Baek-jun quickly subdued the knights guarding the mansion’s top floor.
Then, telling Jeon Soo-yeon and Baek Jun-kyung to guard the stairs, he approached Hayden’s room with Delowin.
"Let’s go."
"...Okay."
Yoo Baek-jun used a Silence spell to mute the surroundings.
Then, after making eye contact with Delowin behind him, he opened the door.
Slowly, very slowly.
"......"
Inside, a massively muscular man stood with his back turned.
His body was covered in scars, making him quite striking. He was lost in thought, staring out the window with a troubled expression.
"Sigh......"
The man let out a long sigh.
Just as Yoo Baek-jun, using Shadow Form, was about to approach him—
"...A bug has crawled in."
A flash of light.
The man turned around in an instant and swung his sword with blinding speed.
The golden aura gathered at the tip of his sword shot toward Yoo Baek-jun.
A literal desperate strike.
Kaaang!
"......!"
But the attack never reached Yoo Baek-jun.
His fists, clad in Aura Install, caught the man’s sword.
The man’s eyes widened.
"No ordinary bug. Who are you? Who sent you?"
"Hayden."
Yoo Baek-jun slowly spoke.
"I have a proposal for you."
"A proposal from someone whose identity I don’t know is worthless—"
Hayden, about to flatly refuse, stopped mid-sentence.
Beyond the door Yoo Baek-jun had entered, Delowin walked in.
She pulled back her hood and removed her mask—.
"You’re......"
—Revealed was the face of an elf.
Delowin spoke to Hayden, who was frozen in shock, with a resolute expression.
"Please listen to us."