Chapter 317
I Became the Successor of the Martial God
Chapter 317.
Yoo Baek-jun looked up at the sky.
The battle between Yamato-no-Orochi, Thanatos, and the Evil Dragon had reached a lull.
‘None of them are in good condition.’
The most severely injured was Yamato-no-Orochi. Though it was a mighty monster, it was outclassed by the other two.
Naturally, its injuries were the worst.
Thanatos had retreated to recover from its wounds, while Yamato-no-Orochi steadied its breathing and surveyed its surroundings.
—Kyaaaaaaah!
“I-It’s eating them!”
Yamato-no-Orochi began devouring monsters and others indiscriminately.
It was trying to heal its wounds.
Thanatos watched indifferently.
And the Evil Dragon…
—Kuhahaaa!
The Spirit King and the Evil Dragon.
Monsters beyond human comprehension clashed violently.
Kwaaaaah!
A breath attack surged toward Eldaim.
He spun his spear, creating a massive tidal wave.
The corrupting breath collided with the wave, turning the pristine blue water pitch black in an instant.
—Utterly foul!
Eldaim signaled to the spirits.
Countless spirits unleashed their pre-prepared water magic simultaneously.
—Hmph…! A futile effort!
Yet none of the attacks penetrated the Evil Dragon’s barrier.
Unfazed, the Evil Dragon didn’t even stagger.
Swoooosh!
The spirits combined their power to conjure a massive spell.
The ground rippled like an ocean, and from it rose a colossal tsunami.
The towering wave surged as if to swallow the Evil Dragon whole.
—How long do you think you can hold out?
The Evil Dragon ignored the tsunami, advancing while exhaling its breath.
It judged that the spirits’ magic lacked the power to harm it.
Crack!
But in that moment, the massive tsunami crashing over the Evil Dragon began to freeze.
Right above the Evil Dragon’s head, the wave turned to ice in an instant.
—What…! Grk!
It was due to Yoo Baek-jun’s Cold aura.
Using his Frigid Air and the Frozen Soul Palm power, he froze the tsunami solid.
The frozen wave became a massive hammer, slamming into the Evil Dragon with crushing force.
The creature’s body lurched violently.
—Water can transform into anything.
—Human…! Do you think such an attack can wound me?!
The Evil Dragon’s bloodshot eyes locked onto Yoo Baek-jun. Eldaim immediately charged, engaging it in close combat.
—Stay out of my way!
—Hohohoho! Your injuries are severe! Can you even fight properly in that state?!
The Evil Dragon’s strike hit Eldaim, but at that moment, Eldaim’s body turned liquid, dispersing the impact.
Yoo Baek-jun and the spirits supported Eldaim, buying time.
‘We don’t need to win.’
Just then, Han Chang-woo and the airships brought down another dragon.
Yoo Baek-jun’s necklace glowed as it absorbed the dragon’s soul.
‘Just a little more.’
Yoo Baek-jun had one goal.
To use the Dragon Slayer’s Destiny absorption ability to consume dragons.
By doing so, he aimed to unlock the artifact’s final function.
—Stop! Do not devour my kin with that abominable power!
The Evil Dragon roared in fury.
The Dragon Slayer’s Destiny was an artifact that absorbed dragon corpses—and even their souls.
Which meant…
‘Those absorbed cannot be revived.’
Dragons consumed by the artifact were utterly annihilated.
No resurrection, no return.
For the Evil Dragon, who dreamed of rebuilding its kin, this was unacceptable.
‘That thing…’
In response, the ritual magic circle behind it flashed ominously.
A sinister light flowed from the circle, seeping into the Evil Dragon.
—Do not consume them with that power…!
Black, corrupted slime spewed violently from the Evil Dragon.
The slime hit the ground and began to transform.
—Kheeeuu…
Into dragonkin.
In an instant, countless dragonkin charged at the spirits and Eldaim.
—Ugh! What is this…!
—Kyaaaaah!
Their sudden appearance caught everyone off guard.
Spirits struck by them were forcibly recalled, and Eldaim grimaced.
Yoo Baek-jun frowned.
‘What? I’ve never seen this before.’
The number of dragonkin was overwhelming, all wielding the power of corruption.
A force that decayed everything it touched.
The water spirits instinctively recoiled, retreating from them.
‘The magic circle…’
Yoo Baek-jun noticed the circle that had earlier granted the Evil Dragon an unknown power.
A sinister light had flowed from it into the Evil Dragon.
“Eldaim! Do you know what that is?”
—I do not! This is my first time seeing it!
Even the Spirit King, who had lived for ages, didn’t recognize the magic circle.
Yoo Baek-jun wanted to destroy it immediately, but attacks had no effect.
—The only thing I can tell is… that the circle is connected to the Evil Dragon!
“Connected?”
Yoo Baek-jun’s eyes flashed.
If the circle’s impenetrable barrier was linked to the Evil Dragon…
Then killing the Evil Dragon might dispel it.
‘No other choice.’
He had to do whatever it took.
There was no time to hesitate.
“Fall back behind me!”
Yoo Baek-jun ordered the retreating spirits to regroup behind him.
Then, from his subspace, he drew forth the King of the Dead.
The aura of the Death King stirred.
Boooom!
Countless sinister black magic circles spread across the ground.
With ghastly laughter, undead crawled out from beneath.
—Uhehehe…
The blackened undead rose one by one, quickly forming ranks.
These undead were different from those summoned during the Kingdom of Baim incident.
—Raise… your shields!
Undead wielding massive shields stepped forward, blocking the front lines.
Behind them, skeletal spearmen formed ranks.
The charging dragonkin.
—For our lord…!
Just before impact, the spearmen thrust their weapons.
Spears wreathed in dark energy mercilessly pierced the dragonkin.
—Kyaaaaah!
—Gyaaaaah!
The dragonkin tried to break through despite casualties.
But the shield-bearing undead held firm.
—Hold formation…!
The undead at the vanguard—a general clad in black full-plate armor—activated a skill.
He and his undead became an immovable wall, halting the enemy advance.
Thud!
—Grrrr…!
The spearmen behind them stabbed relentlessly.
Though the corrupting aura clung to them, it didn’t matter.
They were already dead.
—Fear not, my children!
Eldaim, locked in fierce combat with the Evil Dragon, encouraged the spirits.
Though uneasy about the undead, the water spirits had no choice but to fight alongside them.
‘How much longer?’
Yoo Baek-jun glanced at his necklace.
Dragons were appearing faster, accelerating the soul absorption.
But it still wasn’t enough.
‘Faster, as fast as possible…’
—Contractor!
Eldaim urgently called out, pointing skyward.
The massive reaper, Thanatos, was descending slowly.
‘…It’s about time.’
Yoo Baek-jun looked up.
* * *
Thanatos had withdrawn briefly to heal its wounds.
Below, death priests and undead waged a fierce battle.
—Strange. Something’s… off.
Thanatos observed the battlefield, puzzled.
Why was the unexpected Evil Dragon here? Why had it been summoned to this place?
—Was the portal connecting here just a coincidence?
Could such a coincidence exist?
Thanatos shook his head. The odds were too low.
Someone had orchestrated this.
Someone who summoned him here, pitting him against the Evil Dragon.
—…….
The Evil Dragon came into view.
Consumed by rage, it fought the Water Spirit King.
And beside it, the human.
—The one who interfered with me.
They had met again.
The human who had disrupted his Summoning ritual and even mocked it.
For unknown reasons, this human wielded the Death King’s power.
And even had a contract with the Spirit King.
—Now is the time…
The Evil Dragon and Yoo Baek-jun.
Both were enemies to eliminate now.
Thanatos descended slowly, leading his undead.
—I told you before.
Yoo Baek-jun’s gaze met Thanatos’s.
—That I would return, and we would meet again, human…
The reaper grinned ominously.
—You hindered my descent. Ruined my plans. And now…
Thanatos gripped his scythe.
He intended to strike both the Evil Dragon and Yoo Baek-jun simultaneously.
The Evil Dragon, locked in combat with Eldaim, couldn’t move, and Yoo Baek-jun’s situation wasn’t much better.
—You will pay the price!
Thanatos unleashed a terrifying aura, swinging his scythe—
Or at least, he tried to.
Rumble…
If not for the sudden thunder.
A rift split the sky, and from it emerged a colossal arm.
In its grasp—lightning.
Kwaaaaaaang!
A divine punishment of tremendous size struck Thanatos directly.
There was no time to react.
In an instant, the lightning blasted the reaper.
—Guh, graaaaah!
A massive explosion erupted, and violent lightning ravaged the surroundings.
Undead caught in the blast were incinerated instantly.
—T-This power…!
Thanatos sensed something ominous.
A familiar power, a familiar presence.
—No way!
High above, a vast rift opened.
And from it emerged…
A ‘god.’
—How does it feel to taste freedom after so long? Thanatos.
—Thunder God…!
A being of pure white light.
Only its silhouette, vaguely humanoid, was visible.
Lightning raged around the Thunder God standing within the rift.
—So it was you… You were the one!
The portal connecting here.
The one who summoned him to this place, forcing him to fight the Evil Dragon.
Thanatos realized the Thunder God was the mastermind.
—Again! You would imprison me again?! For centuries, millennia, in that abyssal world!
Thanatos shook its head violently.
—No! That won’t happen!
—Thanatos…
A mocking laugh echoed.
—You fled to this world in haste, before the seal was fully broken… driven by greed.
—I needed power! Power to take revenge on you!
—I see. But sadly…
The Thunder God gestured.
The rift widened, revealing other gods beside it.
—That chance will never come.
—What?!
Thanatos was speechless.
From the rift, an overwhelming divine power erupted.
It engulfed Thanatos.
—Guh, ugh… Aaaaah!
Thanatos thrashed, but in his weakened state—and already injured—
Resistance was futile.
—Thanatos, you…
The Thunder God declared coldly.
—Will be executed.