I Became the Successor of the Martial God Chapter 144

I Became the Successor of the Martial God

Chapter 144.  

“Why do you have the same spear as me?”  

“Good question.”  

That was what Nacheol found puzzling.  

The Thunder Spear, Gungnir, was supposed to be one of a kind in this world.  

Seeing someone else wield it besides himself naturally raised suspicions.  

“Are you trying to play word games with me?”  

“No, well…”  

It was awkward to explain.  

He couldn’t exactly say, 

‘There was another version of you, and I smashed him to pieces and picked up the item he dropped.’

‘Well, this Nacheol is just a recreated memory.’  

He likely only had memories from his active days during the Joseon era. He wouldn’t know anything about what happened after he died and became a Guardian.  

Yoo Baek-jun raised his spear.  

“If you’re curious, why don’t you find out for yourself?”  

“How insolent. I have no idea what’s going on, but…”  

A faint smile touched Nacheol’s lips.  

“That insolence—I don’t dislike it!”  

He charged forward, thrusting Gungnir ahead.  

His speed was, quite literally, godlike. 

Far more overwhelming than the Nacheol, Yoo Baek-jun had faced in the Martial God’s trial.  

Yoo Baek-jun raised his spear in response.  

Swoosh!  

The charging Nacheol shifted his footwork.  

His figure vanished for an instant before explosively closing the distance between them. Then, with his arm pulled back, he thrust forward—a simple, textbook motion.  

‘Fast!’  

The speed was anything but ordinary.  

Even with the combat senses of a Battle Demon, it was hard to track.  

Yoo Baek-jun barely managed to deflect it, sending Nacheol’s spear bouncing upward.  

“Hup!”  

As if he had been waiting for the block, Nacheol immediately swung his spear downward from above.  

Yoo Baek-jun hastily tilted his spear horizontally, and Nacheol’s weapon slammed into it with full force.  

The impact sent tremors through his arms.  

Sssk!  

And then Nacheol’s relentless assault followed.  

Stabbing, slashing, tearing—three types of attacks mixed together without pause, forcing Yoo Baek-jun to focus solely on defense.  

But—  

‘I can’t just keep taking hits…’  

Even as he defended, Yoo Baek-jun watched for an opening. And then, in the briefest instant—  

When Nacheol pulled his spear back to reset his stance—he seized the opportunity.  

‘This isn’t my style!’  

Yoo Baek-jun exhaled a Cold aura and rushed forward. Nacheol’s movements, caught off guard by the sudden cold, slowed just enough.  

Kaaang!  

Yoo Baek-jun struck Nacheol’s extended spear with an ice-clad fist, knocking it aside.  

Then, closing the distance, he delivered a short but lightning-fast thrust.  

Nacheol’s eyes widened.  

“Not bad.”  

The spear tip struck his chest.  

The impact sent Nacheol flying backward—but the motion was too exaggerated.  

Sure enough, he corrected his posture midair and swung one arm wide.  

Kururur!  

A spiraling spear unfolded from his hand.  

The rotating Thunder Spear, now flying toward Yoo Baek-jun, pursued him relentlessly.  

Blocking it, Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue.  

‘He threw his spear like that from that stance?’  

It was unbelievable.  

Yoo Baek-jun, who had been about to charge, had no choice but to stop and defend.  

Nacheol, having regained his stance, rushed in.  

“Keuk!”  

The spiraling spear attacking Yoo Baek-jun returned to Nacheol’s grasp as if summoned.  

In an instant, Nacheol was back in front of Yoo Baek-jun, unleashing the Dragon Fang Spear Technique.  

“Huuup!”  

A fierce energy enveloped the spearhead.  

Then, Nacheol began swinging wildly—up, down, left, right—with brute force and no finesse.  

‘I knew it, but damn, he’s fast!’  

The speed was again, anything but ordinary.  

By abandoning intricate techniques, he gained explosive power and velocity, making his attacks nearly impossible to block.  

Whoosh!  

Each swing generated powerful gusts of wind.  

Yoo Baek-jun desperately parried—deflecting some with his spear, blocking others with his energy-clad fists.  

Still, he couldn’t stop everything. Small and large wounds began marking his body.  

“Fall back!”  

Nacheol swung his spear wide, forcing Yoo Baek-jun back. Then, pulling his right arm far behind him, he channeled his full strength into it.  

His arm trembled.  

Like an arrow about to be loosed.  

Twang!  

And then—it was released.  

The spear tore through the air, its energy intensifying as it flew.  

Then, its shape began to change—  

Kyaaaak!  

Into the form of a dragon.  

A massive dragon’s head opened its maw, driving its fangs toward Yoo Baek-jun.  

‘Dragon Fang Strike—blocking is pointless. But!’  

In an instant, he used his left hand to counter while pulling his right arm back.  

The Dragon Fang Strike crashed into his counter.  

“Grgh!”  

Though the counter absorbed some of the dragon’s energy, it only weakened the attack.  

As the counter faded, Yoo Baek-jun used his ice-clad left hand to hold the dragon’s fang’s apart.  

“Futile effort!”  

Nacheol sneered.  

This wasn’t an attack that could be stopped with one hand. Indeed, Yoo Baek-jun’s energy was pierced, and the dragon’s fangs dug into his flesh.  

There were limits to endurance.  

If this continued, his left hand would be torn off.  

“I know that!”  

At that moment, Yoo Baek-jun’s right hand—now swirling with energy—moved.  

Enhanced by Amplification, his Iron-Cutting Fist struck the dragon’s head dead-on.  

The energy exploded, countless blades of force clashing head-on with the Dragon Fang Strike.  

“Huh? This—!”  

Craaack! 

A deafening roar.  

The brief moment stretched long before the two forces annihilated each other.  

Nacheol was impressed.  

‘To think he could block that. And…’  

Yoo Baek-jun closed the distance in an instant.  

With his mangled left hand, he struck Nacheol’s face. The unexpected blow sent Nacheol flying back spectacularly.  

‘He even counterattacked!’  

But this wasn’t enough.  

Mid-flight, Nacheol caught his returning spear and hurled it from the air.  

The spiraling spear shot toward Yoo Baek-jun.  

Meanwhile, Nacheol tried to regain his footing.  

Then—Yoo Baek-jun’s eyes flashed.  

“Huuup!”  

“…!”  

Yoo Baek-jun threw his spear with all his might at the recovering Nacheol—mimicking the spiraling spear technique.  

At the same time, he drew his sword to block the incoming spear with Sword Barrier.  

“Ha! You even copy my spear techniques?! Fine!”  

Nacheol barely dodged by rolling across the ground.  

But the spiraling spear was a homing skill—it curved sharply midair and pursued him again.  

“Hup!”  

Meanwhile, Nacheol’s spear, blocked by Sword Barrier, returned to his grasp.  

He caught it, twisting his body to the limit before instantly untwisting—using the momentum to slam his spear into the ground with full force.  

Whooosh!  

A whirlwind erupted from the impact, forming a barrier that blocked the spiraling spear.  

The intense winds quickly sapped the spear’s momentum, sending it crashing down—deprived of its tracking power.  

Yoo Baek-jun clicked his tongue.  

‘Gale Wall.’  

A defensive technique from the Dragon Fang Spear Technique.  

By spinning his body and spear, the user generated fierce winds—a tricky move.  

In close combat, it could instantly repel enemies. At range, it could block attacks with a wind barrier.  

And—  

“Can you copy this too?!”  

It had the added advantage of transitioning seamlessly into offense.  

Nacheol gritted his teeth and stepped forward.  

His arm, pulled far behind his shoulder, gathered an immense amount of magical energy into the spear.  

Skreee!  

Then—he threw it.  

But the spear didn’t fly toward Yoo Baek-jun. Instead, it shot toward the ceiling.  

Had he put too much force and misfired?  

No.  

Crackle!  

The thrown Thunder Spear split apart.  

Tens, hundreds—maybe even thousands—of duplicates rained down, scattering lightning as they reached the ceiling before changing direction.  

Straight downward.  

“…!”  

Swoooosh!  

“Meteor Shower.”  

The sound of a thunderstorm rumbled.  

From the ceiling, the split spears poured down like a torrential downpour.  

It looked like countless arrows raining down—each accompanied by lightning.  

‘Can I dodge?’  

No. There was nowhere to dodge.  

Then, could he block?  

No. Even Sword Barrier would be pierced.  

There was only one way.  

‘Charge through.’  

Yoo Baek-jun swallowed hard.  

Blue magical energy enveloped his body. Using Lightness, he shot forward instantly.  

But even this wouldn’t be fast enough.  

Before reaching Nacheol, the meteor-like spears would pierce him.  

‘Then—get even faster.’  

Blood flow Acceleration. 

Yoo Baek-jun’s blood boiled.  

Generating wind in his grip, he activated Lightness—then immediately used Heavenly Thunder.‘ 

His body, now accompanied by wind, shot forward like a streak of lightning.  

“Hooh…!”  

Even Nacheol was stunned by the speed.  

In an instant, Yoo Baek-jun was right in front of him—their eyes meeting at close range.  

‘Nacheol has no weapon now.’  

Meteor Shower was powerful, but its casting time was long. 

Nacheol wouldn’t be able to retrieve his spear for a while.  

Yoo Baek-jun intended to exploit that.  

He closed the distance and unleashed ‘Thunderwheel Strike.‘ 

A lightning-fast blow slammed into Nacheol.  

“Ugh!”  

Followed by ‘Gale Kick.‘  

The rapid kicks pushed Nacheol back. Without pause, Yoo Baek-jun thrust his spear with full force—nine strikes in an instant.  

Seeing this, Nacheol smirked.  

“Did you think I couldn’t fight without a spear?!”  

He had trained in hand-to-hand combat for moments like this. Nacheol fluidly shifted into a martial arts stance.  

Not the Heavenly Destruction Fist Technique—that was something only the Martial God could master.  

But it was undoubtedly a formidable style.  

‘I can’t confidently say I’d win against a spear-wielding Nacheol.’  

An intense exchange followed—blows too fast for the eye to track.  

Energy clashed against energy, fists against fists, blood flying from both.  

But—  

‘If he’s harmed …!’  

Yoo Baek-jun had the advantage.  

True to that, Nacheol’s expression gradually twisted in frustration.  

‘Am I… being pushed back?’  

Yoo Baek-jun’s attacks were slowly but surely overwhelming him.  

Countless afterimages focused their assault on Nacheol. And while he struggled to keep up, Yoo Baek-jun swung his sword.  

“Keuk!”  

A sword beam—‘Moon Cleaver’—fired straight at him.  

Nacheol braced for defense. But Yoo Baek-jun, using the momentum of his swing, threw his sword.  

Then, pulling both arms back, he stomped the ground.  

“You—!”  

The distance closed instantly.  

Yoo Baek-jun’s hands brimmed with two different energies—‘Heavenly Destruction and ‘Iron-Cutting Fist.‘  

Nacheol’s eyes widened in shock.  

‘Two attacks at once?! This is—!’  

“Twin Dragons’ Clash.”  

A technique used by none other than the man Nacheol had devoted his life to serving.  

Two fists descended.  

“You talk too much.”  

Yoo Baek-jun grinned, baring his teeth.  

And then—  

Kwaaaang!  

The deafening blast shook the entire floor.