Chapter 301
The sight of several hundred warriors inside the hall dropping to their knees all at once and loudly chanting the name of the Overlord was nothing short of spectacular.
The only ones who remained standing were Sun Woo-jin and his group, the Overlord’s sons, and the elite fighters they had recruited from outside.
Yet even those who didn’t kneel couldn’t help but swallow hard as they took in the overwhelming scene around them.
The Overlord himself hovered in the air like a god, and the warriors of the Overlord’s Legion knelt before him in utter submission—both images were utterly imposing.
Then, folding his arms, the Overlord slowly descended from the sky, as gently as a feather drifting down.
He was heading straight toward Gwe Jeong-gi.
“F-Father… how could you…?”
Gwe Jeong-gi’s eyes trembled as he stared up at his father descending from the void.
The closer the Overlord came, the more his fear intensified.
The cold, indifferent gaze the Overlord fixed on him was terrifying—like looking at an inanimate object.
From the very beginning, Gwe Jeong-gi had understood clearly that their relationship was not that of a father and son.
His father never looked at his children as sons, but only as heirs to the Overlord’s throne.
And the Overlord would never tolerate a mistake from his chosen successor.
Gwe Jeong-gi had to come up with some excuse.
He barely managed to stammer out, “F-Father, th-this is…”
His face was pale with fear, his voice trembling—something no one had ever seen from him before.
His subordinates looked on in shock at their leader’s childlike terror.
At that moment, the Overlord, Gwe Gal-hyeon, spoke.
“Did you poison the brothers of the Overlord’s Thirteenth Branch?”
His tone was flat, devoid of any emotion, as casual as if he were asking whether someone had eaten.
Gwe Jeong-gi hurried to defend himself.
“N-No, I just…”
But Gwe Gal-hyeon cut him off without listening.
“You tried to harm the Thirteenth Branch—the very branch the First Overlord forbade anyone to touch—by poisoning them?”
His voice remained light and even, but Gwe Jeong-gi immediately realized the truth.
No matter what he said, his father wasn’t listening.
And he had no intention of hearing him out.
Desperately, Gwe Jeong-gi tried to shout, “F-Father…!”
But no sound came out.
It was as if something was choking his throat, binding his entire body so he couldn’t move.
“Ugh…!”
It was the Overlord’s intangible energy.
Before he knew it, the Overlord’s invisible force had completely ensnared him.
Gwe Jeong-gi struggled to force out a voice, but it was useless.
Then, with an indifferent gaze, the Overlord said to him,
“I have never had a son who would use poison to harm the brothers of the Thirteenth Branch. You are no longer a candidate for the Overlord’s successor—or even my son.”
With that, the Overlord lightly tapped Gwe Jeong-gi’s dantian with his index finger.
Suddenly, unbearable agony surged through Gwe Jeong-gi.
A scorching heat exploded inside him.
“Ugh…!”
The pain was like his entire body was being torn apart by flames.
His muscles felt shredded, and his eyes rolled back in torment.
“Ughhh…!”
Yet even in that agony, he couldn’t move or make a sound.
He could only drool as his body trembled, eyes rolled back.
After a moment, the excruciating pain subsided, and he finally collapsed to the ground.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Gasping wildly, Gwe Jeong-gi suddenly realized something was gone from within him.
He muttered in disbelief, “My… my internal energy…?”
He could no longer feel the energy inside his body.
His dantian had been destroyed.
“!”
Horrified by the realization that his life as a warrior was over, Gwe Jeong-gi was about to scream—
“Gah!”
But his mouth was forced open, and he was restrained again.
No sound came from his throat.
The Overlord, still holding him with intangible energy, said casually as if passing by,
“Oh, I almost forgot. You can no longer call me ‘Father.’”
His eyes flickered sharply.
Crackle!
“Ugh…!”
Gwe Jeong-gi writhed in fresh waves of unbearable pain.
His struggles were powerless; he couldn’t move an inch.
He looked despairingly at a pink object floating beside him in midair.
It was his tongue.
The Overlord had torn out Gwe Jeong-gi’s tongue with intangible energy and suspended it in the air.
For Gwe Jeong-gi, this was an unimaginable horror.
Then, the tongue fell limply to the ground.
Plop.
With that, the Overlord completely turned his back on him.
Gwe Jeong-gi sat on the floor, dazed, staring blankly at his severed tongue lying before him.
The Overlord paid him no mind, his expression cold as he casually scanned the room.
Everyone present, shocked by the brutal scene, quickly lowered their heads to avoid his gaze.
Though it had been a while since they’d seen him, all members of the Overlord’s Legion already knew.
They knew how cruel and merciless Gwe Gal-hyeon could be.
As everyone bowed deeply in submission, the Overlord suddenly locked eyes with Seol Poong, who stood stiffly before him.
His gaze was unreadable, indifferent.
But as the exchange lingered, unease began to spread among the others.
They worried that Seol Poong might be next to suffer the Overlord’s wrath.
Then, the Overlord shifted his gaze to Gwe Hang-gi.
He spoke to him with the same cold expression.
“Hang-gi, do you have nothing to say to me?”
Startled, Gwe Hang-gi shouted,
“I-I had no idea! I never knew anyone would ambush the Thirteenth Branch with poison! I swear, I had nothing to do with it!”
The Overlord nodded.
“Good. Hang-gi, you’re not the kind of child bold enough to do such a thing.”
Though it sounded like a slight against his courage, Gwe Hang-gi breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as he wasn’t lumped in with Gwe Jeong-gi and didn’t suffer the same fate, he didn’t care what happened.
But the Overlord wasn’t finished.
He continued,
“Then why did you break the rule not to harm other heirs within Jiangsu Province?”
Gwe Hang-gi’s breath caught.
“W-What?!”
He instinctively blurted out,
“I never harmed anyone inside Jiangsu Province! Look! Seol Poong is perfectly fine! I only tried to push him out of Jiangsu Province! And it wasn’t even me—it was my subordinates!”
At that, the Overlord’s gaze turned icy.
Gwe Hang-gi fell silent.
The Overlord’s voice was cold as he asked,
“Are you trying to play word games with me? You attacked but never harmed? Your subordinates did it, so it’s not your fault?”
“N-No, that’s not—!”
Suddenly, the Overlord’s eyes flashed brightly.
With a ripping sound, Gwe Hang-gi screamed in agony.
Crackle!
“Ughhh!”
Clutching his left shoulder with his right hand, Gwe Hang-gi realized his arm was no longer there.
His severed arm floated in the air, blood dripping from the wound.
The Overlord spoke casually,
“I never harmed you. I only tore off your arm. Isn’t that right?”
Those watching couldn’t help but swallow dryly.
It was clear the Overlord’s actions were meant to refute Gwe Hang-gi’s excuses.
But even so, no one had imagined such a brutal punishment—tearing off the arm of one of his own sons and a candidate for successor.
Of course, it was less severe than ending Gwe Jeong-gi’s life as a warrior entirely.
But considering the gravity of Gwe Jeong-gi’s crime—using poison against the Thirteenth Branch—and Gwe Hang-gi’s offense, the Overlord’s punishment seemed excessive.
If he still considered Gwe Hang-gi a candidate for successor, this was a penalty he could never allow.
As expected, the Overlord turned away from the screaming Gwe Hang-gi without hesitation and looked around the room, declaring coldly,
“From today onward, the eldest, Gwe Jeong-gi, and the third son, Gwe Hang-gi, are stripped of their qualifications as heirs.”
As he spoke, those around bit their lips, realizing their suspicions were correct.
The Overlord then explained his reasoning.
“If the Overlord were merely someone skilled in battle, our Legion would never have become a force to be reckoned with. Nor would we have lasted this long. If those who seek to inherit the title of ‘Overlord’ treat the rules as a joke and offer nothing but weak excuses, who would truly follow them? I have no intention of having a successor who would make a mockery of the name ‘Overlord.’”
At his words, everyone in the Legion bowed their heads even lower in submission.
Not all were convinced, but no one dared to voice opposition.
Afterward, with the Overlord’s permission, Gwe Jeong-gi and Gwe Hang-gi were supported by their subordinates and escorted away.
What stood out was that their subordinates—those recruited from outside, like Baek Gi-ryang of the White Horn, Hong Chu of the White Bone Demon, and Go Sang-jong of the Ruthless Faction—had not followed them.
Not only had they refused to follow, but they had completely distanced themselves, not even exchanging greetings.
Their cold demeanor seemed to say plainly that, having been eliminated from the succession of the Four Kings, they had no further business with the others.
Yet, despite lingering nearby for some unknown reason, never fully leaving the vicinity, the members of the Four Kings’ Thirteen Houses were exchanging warm greetings with bright smiles.
Meng Dohu, head of the Bi-ju Alliance—famed for their swift and fierce martial arts style known as the Black Leopard Technique—cheerfully approached Yeon Changbinglang, head of the Go Sun-inga House.
“Hwamae! No, Lady Yeon! It’s been ages. How do you manage to stay so beautiful, no matter how many years pass?”
Though actually in her forties, the icy beauty In Gyo-hwa looked no older than her early thirties. She responded with a proud smile.
“Ha ha, I’m all wrinkles and age now. It’s you, Brother Meng, who still looks in great shape.”
Meng Dohu laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! What good is a warrior’s body if it’s not in top form? I never stopped training, so I can only get better.”
His lithe, muscular frame was indeed as agile and powerful as a leopard—befitting his nickname, the Black Leopard Warrior.
At that moment, a large man buried beneath layers of flesh, Jeo Hwang-woo, head of the Tae Chang-jeo House, interrupted their conversation.
“Hohoho! Of course, of course. What good is a warrior’s body if it’s not well kept? One must always stay the same.”
In Gyo-hwa shot him a startled look, eyes flicking to his jiggling flesh.
With a grimace, she said, “Brother Jeo, you’re still the same, huh? I suppose you still eat as much as you did in your youth?”
Jeo Hwang-woo shook his head, his cheeks wobbling.
“Hohoho! No, no. I’ve been eating less lately, probably because of age. I’m forced to watch my diet now.”
“…Really?”
As the heads of Go Sun-inga, Bi-ju Alliance, and Tae Chang-jeo exchanged warm greetings, a group of younger warriors nearby were also exchanging hellos.
Among them, Baek Mu-ho of the Soju Baek Clan dashed straight toward Jin So-eun, as if no one else existed.
“Lady Jin! How have you been? I’ve missed you terribly! I’ve been longing for the day we’d meet again!”
“Y-yes? Ah, th-thank you,” Jin So-eun replied, forcing a smile before slipping behind Sun Woo-jin for cover.
Since the Soju Baek Clan’s troubles had been resolved and he’d recovered, Baek Mu-ho had been openly courting Jin So-eun.
He claimed to have fallen for her the moment they clashed fists in battle.
Known throughout Soju and all of Jiangsu Province for his bold personality, he made no effort to hide his feelings.
Had Sun Woo-jin not asked him to help with healing and uniting the southern Jiangsu clans, Baek Mu-ho would have likely left the Soju Baek Clan to follow the group—specifically, Jin So-eun.
Sun Woo-jin stepped aside slightly to shield Jin So-eun more and smiled warmly at Baek Mu-ho.
“Lord Baek, you’ve worked hard. I didn’t expect you to do so well, even though I asked for your help.”
Baek Mu-ho glanced regretfully at Jin So-eun, then laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! Lord Sun planned everything and taught us the healing methods. If we couldn’t follow, we’d be monkeys, not men. By the way, let me introduce you—this is Yuk Dae-woo, eldest of the Yeodong Yuk Clan, their young master.”
A large, taciturn young man stood silently where Baek Mu-ho pointed.
His muscular, imposing frame and rough features contrasted with his gentle, honest eyes—he reminded one of a massive ox.
Yuk Dae-woo bowed respectfully and greeted them.
“Thanks to Lord Sun’s guidance, neither my father nor I reached a critical state. We’re grateful. We will forever regard you as our clan’s benefactor.”
Baek Mu-ho added, “Even among the Yang family healers, not all shared the same views. Those sent to other clans weren’t as aggressive in poisoning people as our Baek family was. That made treatment easier. Though, the head of Yeodong Yuk Clan was a bit more severe than the rest.”
Sun Woo-jin nodded.
“Still, it’s fortunate no one died.”
“Indeed. If only my brother had been found a little earlier…”
Baek Mu-ho’s face darkened as he thought of his brother Baek Mu-ryong, who had died months ago. The group fell silent, somber.
Sun Woo-jin glanced toward Seol Poong, who stood apart from the group, deep in conversation with the Four Kings’ Gwe Gal-hyeon.
With an indifferent expression, Gwe Gal-hyeon said to Seol Poong, “Congratulations. You’ve eliminated two rivals and gained the support of many clans.”
Seol Poong studied Gwe Gal-hyeon’s face, which betrayed no real warmth despite the words.
“Was it really necessary? You must have known what they’d done all along. And weren’t they all—Lord Ryeonju’s sons?”
A faint smile tugged at Gwe Gal-hyeon’s lips.
“You knew? Did Sun Woo-jin tell you?”
“Yes. He said you were probably already aware of Gwe Hang-gi’s deeds and the schemes Gwe Jeong-gi was plotting through the Daepung Yang Clan.”
The Four Kings’ Alliance had been created to gather and control the worst villains.
Its intelligence network for internal surveillance was renowned throughout the martial world.
So it was unthinkable that the Four Kings would be unaware of the strange incidents erupting simultaneously within the Thirteen Houses.
Yet, the Four Kings said nothing on the matter.
He only smiled faintly and said, “Who knows.”
Then he continued.
“The important thing is that Jeong-gi’s schemes were uncovered by you. If he’d succeeded, maybe things would be different. But since he failed, he must pay the price.”
It seemed the punishment was not because the plan was wrong, but because it failed—a glimpse into the Four Kings’ way of thinking.
Seol Poong’s eyes turned cold.
“So, only results matter to you?”
Gwe Gal-hyeon’s lips curled into a faint smirk as he retorted, “Isn’t that the mindset of someone who killed his sworn brother to seize the Four Kings’ throne?”
Seol Poong’s expression stiffened for a moment.
Though it was only a faint smile, he sensed a deep bitterness beneath it.
Perhaps the original sin of breaking the rules to become the Four Kings made it impossible for him to apply those rules strictly to others.
A heavy silence fell between them—not because they had nothing to say, but because Seol Poong hesitated to speak.
His lips moved slightly for a long moment, but no words came.
The Four Kings waited patiently.
Finally, Seol Poong found his voice.
“What happened to my mother?”
Seol Poong had never seen his mother, Dong Ah-yeon, in her final moments.
When the Seol family fell, she had entrusted him to his grandfather Dong Gyu-ram and gone to find Gwe Gal-hyeon.
Later, he only heard rumors of her death, but never knew how or why she died after meeting Gwe Gal-hyeon.
Gwe Gal-hyeon gazed silently into the distance.
After a moment, he spoke.
“Ah-yeon, your mother, told me about you before taking her own life. She ruptured her own blood vessels—there was no saving her.”
Seol Poong simply nodded.
He had expected as much, so it was no great shock.
Only a bitter taste remained.
Suddenly, Gwe Gal-hyeon asked, “Do you blame me?”
Seol Poong gave a self-deprecating smile.
“My mother’s last wish was that I neither blame you nor seek revenge. She said it was all her own greed and mistakes.”
Seol Poong recalled that day vividly.
The white pear blossoms in full bloom, the Seol family estate burning bright red, and his father, Seol Chunhu, shouting for everyone to flee as he charged the attackers.
His mother, tears streaming, held young Seol Poong tightly and whispered so no one else could hear.
“Poong, my precious child. All this happened because of my greed. It’s all my fault. The uncle who attacked the Seol family is actually your biological father. I married into the Seol family, wanting to be the Four Kings’ wife, even though I was already carrying you. That’s why this happened.”
At the time, Seol Poong couldn’t understand her words.
He just listened, stunned.
“You’re too young to understand now, but the one who was pure and kind enough to give up the Four Kings’ throne to his sworn brother was made like this because of me. So promise me—never blame him, never seek revenge against your true father.”
Back then, Seol Poong was too young to grasp the full meaning.
He only saw his mother’s tears and promised to do as she asked.
After that, her mother entrusted Seolpung to his maternal grandfather, Dong Gyuram, and went to find Goigalhyeon.
She left him with a final message: that Seolpung’s survival depended on her going to Goigalhyeon, and that in the meantime, he needed to escape quickly.
The last image Seolpung had of his mother was of her watching him go, tears streaming down her face until the very end.
That memory haunted him throughout his childhood, a source of torment.
Suddenly, Goigalhyeon asked,
“If you don’t resent me… then why insist on being Seolpung?”
Seolpung snapped out of his reverie and looked at Goigalhyeon.
In his seemingly indifferent eyes, there was something new—an intense, burning desire that Seolpung had never noticed before. It was like a flame blazing fiercely, and he couldn’t understand why he hadn’t seen it until now.
Meeting that gaze, Seolpung spoke slowly,
“My birth mother is my mother, but the one who raised me was my grandfather. Throughout my upbringing—and even until his last breath—he begged me to take revenge on you.”
Unaware that Seolpung was Goigalhyeon’s blood relative, his grandfather Dong Gyuram had forced him to harbor a deep grudge against Goigalhyeon.
He had always poured out his hatred for the man who killed his son-in-law and daughter, and until his dying moment, he made Seolpung swear to avenge them.
Seolpung could neither reveal the truth to his grandfather nor refuse his plea.
So, in front of his grandfather, he vowed revenge, but behind his back, he wept, wracked with guilt.
Because of this, Seolpung both resented the mother who had put him in this impossible position and longed for her at the same time.
This was the root of the fear and disgust he had harbored toward women until recently.
Turning to Goigalhyeon, Seolpung spoke firmly,
“I swore before my mother that I would not take revenge on you, and I swore before my grandfather that I would. Even if I don’t avenge you, I cannot become Goiga. That would be an unforgivable sin against the grandfather who raised me. I am… and will always be Seolpung.”
It was a declaration so resolute that there was no room for argument.
Goigalhyeon stared silently into Seolpung’s unwavering eyes for a moment.
Then, his gaze turned icy cold again as he muttered,
“Is that so?”
With that, he turned away without a trace of hesitation, as if he had nothing more to say.
He was about to walk off when Seolpung called out hurriedly,
“Thank you for your advice last time.”
Goigalhyeon paused and asked,
“Advice?”
Seolpung hesitated briefly before answering cautiously,
“The advice to cherish not only those you love but also other connections… It helped me a great deal.”
Hearing this, Goigalhyeon stood silently for a moment, then resumed walking.
Though his back was turned, Seolpung couldn’t see the faintest smile—the clearest and most genuine one he had ever seen—spread across his face.