Murim Login - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 23
The Taewon Jin Family.
As the name suggested, their headquarters was located in Taewon. However, much like major corporations in the modern world, the Taewon Jin Family’s influence extended far beyond Taewon alone.
With two centuries since the family’s founding, they had long since established branch offices throughout the various towns scattered across Shanxi Province, expanding their sphere of power.
Reconnoiter the vicinity of Jeong-yang and return within five days.
This was the first mission assigned to the reconnaissance unit. The team members’ initial reactions to the orders split into two camps.
“That’s nothing serious.”
While some, like Hyuk Moo-jin, expressed disappointment, others like Han Yeop let out sighs of relief.
Of course, neither reaction sat well with me.
Hyuk Moo-jin was consumed by pointless ambition, while Han Yeop cowered at the prospect of combat.
‘Still, a safe mission is preferable.’
Leading men like these into direct confrontation with enemies? The very thought was horrifying. I’d face far less danger fighting on the front lines with trustworthy soldiers than babysitting these fools.
‘Perhaps I should request a transfer.’
I sighed inwardly and raised my fist—one of the hand signals I’d drilled into them earlier. It meant halt.
Whoa.
The eleven horses, which had been galloping at a steady pace, came to an abrupt stop with the sound of reins being pulled. Hyuk Moo-jin, riding to my right, spoke curtly.
“Why are we stopping?”
“Rest.”
“Again?”
“One hour of travel, fifteen minutes of rest. Didn’t I explain this beforehand?”
“We can ride further!”
“Then ride alone.”
I glanced back slightly. The other team members were breathing heavily. Mounted travel was fast, but it consumed considerable stamina.
Hyuk Moo-jin, whose level was significantly higher, managed well enough, but the others were accumulating fatigue.
“Rest when I say rest. That’s an order.”
I ignored Hyuk Moo-jin’s scowling face and addressed the unit.
“Fifteen minutes of rest.”
Fifteen minutes of respite was granted, yet the reconnaissance team’s expressions remained grim. This was because I immediately retrieved a large leather backpack.
I reached into the pack and thought to myself.
‘Inventory open.’
With a metallic clang, three shields materialized inside the backpack.
The wooden shields with iron-reinforced surfaces had been obtained from the armory before departing the Taewon Jin Family Estate. They were light and sturdy—serviceable enough.
“Number Seven. Number Eight. Number Nine.”
The three designated reconnaissance members accepted the shields with grim expressions.
These three had been forcibly assigned to me as tanks.
‘Seven damage dealers. Three tanks. And myself.’
It was a composition that would result in total annihilation if we entered a gate, but for now, I had to make do with this.
“Take your positions.”
Next came the formation.
“Standard formation.”
Three shield-bearers stood at the front, followed by six swordsmen from Unit One under Hyuk Moo-jin through Unit Six. Han Yeop and I held the rear position.
A defensive formation oriented toward the front.
“Spread out. Break formation. Regroup. Scatter.”
Their faces were full of reluctance, but they executed the maneuvers with considerable skill now. At this level, they were far superior to F-rank Hunters who had just graduated from the Hunter Training Institute.
‘These NPCs are better than actual people.’
The difference likely stemmed from the presence or absence of inner energy.
Unlike F-rank Hunters who couldn’t manipulate mana itself, the NPCs of Murim possessed at least a modicum of inner energy to draw upon.
They were simply low-level and inexperienced, nothing more.
I had moved into the final stage of formation training.
“Full retreat.”
The scout team members hesitated for a moment.
“Pardon?”
“What do you mean by full retreat?”
“Exactly as I said. Retreat with everything you have.”
“Then what kind of formation should we—”
“By that point, formations become meaningless. Just flee with all your strength. Don’t even look back, and scatter as widely as possible.”
“Hah! Is that what you call strategy?”
The source of the mockery was, unsurprisingly, Hyuk Moo-jin.
“I can’t hold back any longer. Third Young Master, is war a child’s game? If you’re going to spout nonsense, you should at least have read a military treatise or two.”
“A military treatise?”
“Yes, a military treatise! Orderly retreat is one of the most fundamental principles of warfare, yet you’re spouting such drivel?”
As Hyuk Moo-jin openly objected, passive murmurs began to leak from the scout team members.
“He has a point.”
“We’re not even government soldiers. Why are we practicing formations and being forced to carry shields?”
“Full retreat? I’ve never even heard of such a thing.”
Look, they all think the same as I do. Hyuk Moo-jin’s smug expression seemed to declare.
At that moment, Han Yeop interjected hesitantly.
“I, I don’t think that way.”
“What?”
“Third Young Master, or rather, Squad Leader, I think you must have your reasons for doing this.”
“Reasons?”
Hyuk Moo-jin glared at him.
“Reasons? From childhood, the Third Young Master neglected training, surrounded himself with women, and drank himself senseless. And that’s not all—he’s caused every conceivable disaster. More than that, he was even the one who caused this war in the first place—”
“That’s enough.”
As I cut him off, Hyuk Moo-jin flinched. He seemed to realize he’d misspoken.
But there are always people like that—those who step forward when they should retreat.
“Wasn’t it the Third Young Master who caused this war!”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s pride was far too strong to let him stop speaking.
With those words finally uttered, a chilling silence descended.
A gulp. Someone’s throat bobbed audibly. Nine pairs of eyes fixed upon Hyuk Moo-jin and me.
“Do you have something to say?”
Something to say? Of course I do.
“Everyone rest for another hour.”
In the same breath, I brought my palm down hard across Hyuk Moo-jin’s cheek.
Crack!
“One.”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s jaw snapped to the side. It was a simple slap, devoid of any martial power—but his stunned expression made an easy target for the second strike.
“Wh-what is this!”
At least he wasn’t completely useless; he raised his arm to block. What he failed to account for was the difference in our strength.
Crack!
“Two.”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s body slammed into the ground, but he scrambled back up immediately. My handprint was etched across one cheek like a tattoo.
It didn’t take long for shock to transform into rage.
“You bastard!”
He was truly furious now. Eyes blazing, he charged at me—and I swept his legs out from under him while driving my left fist down with full force.
Crack.
“Three.”
“Ugh.”
His legs buckled, and he staggered. Three consecutive blows of this magnitude would rattle anyone’s bones.
“Are you saving your martial power to cook soup with?”
That struck a nerve. Energy surged through his wavering frame, and killing intent blazed from his eyes as he glared at me.
“You’ll regret this.”
“I doubt it.”
I caught the fist flying toward my face. Speed, power, timing—
I could see it all clearly. He was nowhere near Lee So-gun’s level.
“Four.”
Hyuk Moo-jin’s head snapped backward, and thick blood sprayed through the air in slow motion. His pupils dilated, his legs went limp.
Yet somehow, he didn’t fall.
That was only possible because I was still holding his fist.
“Five.”
Crack!
That was his limit. Hyuk Moo-jin lost consciousness and crumpled to the ground in an awkward heap. Something small began falling onto his motionless form.
‘Snow?’
I looked up at the sky. The winter heavens were releasing tiny white flakes.
“Rest is over. We move out.”
I turned and walked away, leaving the scout team to exhale the breath they’d been holding.
* * *
Hyuk Moo-jin regained consciousness two hours later, and the first thing he did was charge at me.
“Damn it all!”
Crack. Thud.
“Clean it up.”
“Yes, sir!”
With a sharp crack, the unconscious man was dragged into a corner of the shelter by the other scouts.
‘A shelter. We got lucky.’
According to one of the scouts familiar with the local geography, we should have reached Jeong-yang before sunset at the latest.
But the sudden blizzard left us no choice, and this shelter was all we could find.
Some kind of hunter’s rest stop that only locals knew about?
‘It’s ridiculously small, but I’ll take it.’
The mission might be delayed, but it was infinitely better than stumbling into enemies while exhausted from trudging through snowdrifts all night.
It was at that moment.
“Um, Team Leader.”
It was Han Yeop. The other scouts behind me exchanged glances, gauging my reaction.
“What should we do now?”
“Huh? Sleep, of course.”
“No, that’s not what I meant….”
Watching the scouts fidget, something suddenly occurred to me.
You don’t mean….
“You want to train?”
Nod after nod. Look at those vigorous head movements and the gleam of enthusiasm in their eyes.
‘Seeing once is better than hearing a hundred times, they say.’
One beating is worth more than a hundred words of instruction.
* * *
It was around noon. The blade caught the sunlight and flashed brilliantly—the only thing the warrior could see.
“Cough.”
He collapsed. His knees buckled and his face slammed into the frozen ground.
From his shoulder to his chest, blood poured from a gaping wound. A fatal injury. The warrior sensed death.
“The others… please spare them.”
His voice faded to nothing. A middle-aged man clicked his tongue as he watched the warrior’s wide, dying eyes.
“Tsk, what a foolish bastard.”
Charging in like that without thinking—his next words never reached the dead man. Fifty-odd bandits surrounding the area cackled with laughter.
“Unlucky bastard, running into the boss like that.”
“What do you expect from a righteous sect dog? Playing the hero to the end. What do you say, boss?”
Hungry gazes turned toward the remaining survivors—a small group of seven: women and children.
“Great Hero, please spare the children.”
The oldest-looking woman spoke, and the middle-aged man, Jo Pil of One Question, One Death, smiled gently.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you. I’m not a great hero, you see.”
“But you are human. How can you bring yourself to kill children who cannot even understand right from wrong?”
“Hmph, for a woman, you have considerable spirit. Wait—didn’t they say the family of the Sak-ju branch chief survived? Could it be…?”
“My husband, sir.”
“Ah, so it is. To think such a refined wife would be bound to such a worthless man.”
Jo Pil smiled faintly, and the woman’s face hardened.
“You have no intention of letting us live.”
“Rest assured. I have no taste for needless slaughter.”
“The children….”
“In this harsh world, how could mere children survive without their mother?”
“You’re worse than a beast.”
“Your final words have been noted.”
That statement was the signal.
Blades flashed and screams tore through the air.
Moments later, the bandits, drenched in blood, hurled the corpses into the undergrowth of the forest.
“The wild beasts will feast well enough.”
Baek Sae-nun muttered. He was Jo Pil’s right hand, a first-rate bandit known by the alias Black Mountain.
“We must feast as well. If we finish this job cleanly, what is a fortune in gold?”
Jo Pil laughed with satisfaction. The reward for this work would be substantial, but he was savoring the moment itself.
“A day has come when we hunt the Taewon Jin Family. I never imagined it.”
A soiled leather shoe trampled the corpse of a fallen warrior.
The warrior had belonged to the Sak-ju branch, one of a dozen branches under the Taewon Jin Family.
“Was that the last one we dealt with?”
“No, sir.”
“The rats slipped away like cowards. How many?”
“Three in total. One warrior and two children. They passed through Jeong-yang just hours ago and are heading toward Hongjoo.”
“Troublesome. It will take half a day to catch them.”
“There is no need for you to go yourself, sir. I shall handle it.”
“Will you now?”
A satisfied smile played at the corners of Jo Pil’s mouth.
“Good. Take half the men. You have half a day. Can you do it?”
The answer was already decided. Black Mountain bowed deeply.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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