Murim Login - Chapter 285

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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 285
‘How dare you lay a hand on my disciple!’
‘I merely repaid what was owed. The principal debt is settled, so please discuss any remaining interest with our guild leadership.’
‘…You.’
‘I take that as your acceptance.’
‘I will never forget what happened today.’
This was the conversation we’d had mere minutes ago.
Lee Jung-yong left those words dripping with murderous intent and departed.
Though he’d administered first aid with potions he carried, Park Ji-hoon’s injuries ran too deep for potions alone to heal. With his disciple in such a state, he must have been desperate.
“Phew.”
The moment Lee Jung-yong’s presence vanished completely into the distance, a sigh of relief escaped me.
“Man, that was exhausting.”
The moment I released the tension I’d been gripping until the very end, my strength drained away.
I was tired. The clash with Lee Jung-yong had left me with some internal injuries, but the mental fatigue weighed far heavier.
‘I really pulled off something reckless today.’
Today, I’d made an enemy of an S-rank Hunter recognized worldwide and a mega-sized guild.
A precarious tightrope walk staged on a dizzying cliff.
Lee Jung-yong and I met in the middle of that rope, and in the end, it was he who retreated.
‘It couldn’t be helped. I simply exploited that exact weakness.’
Those with much to lose always fear risk.
If the tiger called Lee Jung-yong, the Ares Guild, were to fall, the honor the Mountain Lord possessed would crumble to dust, and his corpse would become fine sustenance for the forest’s creatures—his competitors.
‘Of course, silencing me cleanly would have been the neat solution….’
Lee Jung-yong knows. I’m not an opponent to be trifled with.
Though he’d confirmed his superiority in a single clash, it was enough for him to realize the wolf before his eyes was a formidable threat.
I wiped the blood from the corner of my mouth and reflected.
‘Three steps.’
Today, I retreated three steps against Lee Jung-yong.
But today’s three steps will become two, and soon those two will narrow to one.
And after that….
‘I will surpass you.’
I’ve never seen a documentary where a wolf defeats a tiger in a one-on-one fight.
But I possess endless potential for growth. Just like the epithet “Latent Dragon” suggests.
‘By that time, both I and our guild will be far stronger than you ever imagined.’
What I’ve achieved today isn’t merely Lim Hyuk-jun’s revenge. I’ve gained a golden opportunity to elevate the Peace Guild.
Had we cowered and retreated when the Black Hunters first attacked, the Peace Guild would have remained just another mid-tier guild. But because we stood our ground, we gained revenge and compensation, and what comes next depends on Choi Team Leader’s capabilities.
‘That man will handle it well.’
Suddenly, a conversation I’d had with Choi Team Leader a few hours ago came to mind.
‘What are you planning to do?’
‘Well, if my guess is right, he’ll lose his mind and do who knows what.’
‘Are you thinking of raiding the Myeongdong Guild?’
‘I can’t say for certain that won’t happen.’
Song Song-i called me crazy after hearing my words, while Kim Butler simply watched in silence.
But Choi Team Leader was different.
What he said far exceeded my expectations.
‘Then go ahead.’
‘Pardon?’
‘The Myeongdong Guild. Go there and tear it apart, turn it upside down. Though I’m not telling you to collapse buildings in the heart of Seoul or kill people. If you’re not careful, the prison will become our Guild House.’
‘…I thought you’d try to stop me.’
‘I would have, if you weren’t Jin Tae-kyung. I would have wracked my brain searching for alternative methods.’
‘Then why.’
‘Jin Tae-kyung may seem reckless at first glance, but you always move with the worst-case scenario in mind. And you always deliver the best results.’
‘Are you truly certain about this?’
‘I intend to make the Peace Guild the best in the world. We can never achieve that if we retreat when our guild members are attacked.’
‘Then you’re really….’
‘Go ahead. Whatever the outcome, I’ll take responsibility.’
The final words Choi Team Leader gave me echoed vividly in my ears.
‘I trust you, Jin Tae-kyung. Perhaps even more than I trust myself.’
I repaid the boundless trust he had placed in me.
I returned to Park Ji-hoon everything that Lim Hyuk-jun had suffered, and implicitly secured apologies and compensation from formidable enemies who dared not be approached.
‘The world’s greatest guild.’
Recalling Choi Team Leader’s bold ambition, a quiet laugh escaped me.
I pulled out my phone and made a call.
Before the signal could even fully connect, someone answered.
– Yes. This is Choi Min-woo.
Choi Team Leader. That’s him.
“I have a lot to tell you. Where should I go?”
– Jin Tae-kyung! You’re alive!
“…?”
– I thought you were dead. Is this really Jin Tae-kyung?
“….”
You said you trusted me more than yourself, you bastard….
* * *
“Ji-hoon! Come to your senses!”
A master’s heartfelt cry toward his young disciple, and urgent footsteps.
Park Tae-seop, the Myeongdong Guild Master who had been following closely behind Lee Jung-yong, gazed at his back with astonished eyes.
‘Did Lee Jung-yong have this side to him?’
He had observed Lee Jung-yong for many years.
During the great upheaval, he had only thought of him as someone difficult to approach for some reason.
But after the war ended and the Ares Guild was established, with Lee Jung-yong wielding real power, he could see his true nature clearly.
Hard as steel, secretive as a viper, and executing deeds that made others shudder without hesitation.
From Park Tae-seop’s perspective, Lee Jung-yong was precisely that kind of person—someone he never wanted to face as either enemy or ally.
‘So he was human after all.’
Yet the peculiar sense of emotion Park Tae-seop had felt vanished without a trace the moment he stepped out of the long corridor and stood alone.
“You’ve arrived.”
“…!”
A middle-aged man stood before him. His movements possessed the precision of a soldier, and his exceptionally trained physique was unmistakable even beneath the black suit he wore.
The twenty men and women standing behind him like iron pillars bore the same quality, their chests emblazoned with the emblem of the Ares Guild.
‘I didn’t sense a thing.’
Park Tae-seop’s shock extended far beyond that.
His eyes widened as he spotted roughly a hundred Myeongdong Guild members collapsed behind the middle-aged man’s shoulders.
“What in the…!”
The middle-aged man answered in a dry voice.
“I merely put them to sleep with a sleep spell. For now, at least.”
For now, at least.
Those words carried weight. They were asleep by magical power now, but the implication was clear—they could sleep forever.
Park Tae-seop was about to cry out in rage when—
“Is there some problem?”
Lee Jung-yong’s body slowly turned around. And the moment Park Tae-seop saw his face, he realized he had made a grave mistake.
‘It was all an act.’
The expressionless face devoid of any emotion, the eyes sunken deep—there was no trace of hurried footsteps or the desperate cries of concern for his disciple’s safety.
A chilling coldness crept up Park Tae-seop’s spine like a creeping vine.
“Listen here, Guild Master Park.”
Hidden within the soft voice lay a concealed blade. With each flick of the viper’s tongue, venom dripped forth.
“About twenty years ago, you came to me one day and suddenly knelt before me.”
“…!”
“Do you still remember?”
“…Of course I do.”
Park Tae-seop clenched his teeth.
How could he forget? Nearly twenty years had passed, yet the desperation he felt then remained etched deep in his bones.
Successive massive business failures, astronomical debts, and the pitying gazes of those who saw him as a failure….
For Park Tae-seop, it was a living hell more terrible than any catastrophe.
After countless rejections from those around him, the person he finally sought out was Lee Jung-yong.
Lee Jung-yong had stared at the kneeling Park Tae-seop for a long moment before asking a single question.
‘If I help you, what will you do for me?’
Park Tae-seop’s answer came without hesitation.
‘I will do anything.’
‘I like that.’
What would have happened if he hadn’t said those words?
He had asked himself that question hundreds, thousands of times over the past twenty years, but it was meaningless now. He had already traveled too far to turn back.
There was no such thing as kindness without a price, and he had been forced to commit countless illegal acts for Lee Jung-yong.
When I came to my senses, all I could see was myself being dragged along by a leash around my neck.
“Lately, whenever I see Guild Master Park, I can’t help but think about it. All those things he said when he came to find me back then—they feel as hollow as a rice cake with no filling.”
“That couldn’t possibly be the case.”
“No, it’s just how people are. Even when they receive kindness, they forget their gratitude in an instant and just accumulate complaints. Save a man from freezing to death, and the moment he warms himself by the fire, his thoughts change completely. Ha ha.”
“….”
Despite the corners of Lee Jung-yong’s mouth curling upward, his eyes remained as cold as ice.
When Park Tae-seop lowered his head with a rigid expression, a noticeably softer voice continued.
“I said it as a way of saying let’s continue to do well together. Your guild members will be fine, so don’t worry about anything. Isn’t that right, Seok Team Leader?”
Seok Team Leader, the middle-aged man responsible for Lee Jung-yong’s security, answered in a flat voice.
“Of course.”
“Well then, I should be going. See you next time.”
Pat, pat.
Park Tae-seop remained rigid as Lee Jung-yong patted his shoulder twice and departed, his gaze following the man’s receding figure.
* * *
Inside the descending elevator, Seok Team Leader spoke up.
“Should we take care of it?”
“Who? Ah, Park Tae-seop.”
“Yes. His expression seemed quite anxious.”
“That guy wears all his thoughts on his face. He was obedient for the first few years, but now that his back’s warm and his belly’s full, he’s starting to get ideas.”
“He knows far too much. This incident was handled too sloppily, and the fallout reached the Vice Guild Master.”
For the first time, emotion colored Seok Team Leader’s voice—pure anger.
Recognizing the unwavering loyalty directed toward him, Lee Jung-yong let out a soft chuckle.
“For now, let’s leave him be. Besides, I’ve only just taken a taste, so it’s natural it’s bland.”
“Sir?”
At that moment, the elevator doors slid open with a soft ding.
Lee Jung-yong continued speaking as he stepped out.
“I was merely probing. I wanted to see how they’d respond.”
“Then…?”
“You occasionally underestimate me. If I’d truly made up my mind, would I entrust such a task to these half-wits?”
Seok Team Leader let out a low exclamation.
“So you foresaw everything.”
“I’ve only taken a single spoonful and tasted it. If I see something’s amiss, I’ll add salt, I’ll add pepper.”
“You are truly remarkable, Vice Guild Master.”
Lee Jung-yong smiled gently at Seok Team Leader’s admiring gaze.
But his true thoughts were different. There was something he hadn’t revealed even to Seok Team Leader, his right arm.
‘Jin Tae-kyung—an extraordinary one.’
What had bothered Lee Jung-yong from the start wasn’t Jin Tae-kyung, but the Peace Guild itself.
Even if he had stepped in personally, he couldn’t guarantee that an incident like this wouldn’t have occurred. He was the type who wouldn’t use a butcher’s knife to slaughter a chicken.
It was certainly an efficient approach, but if an unexpected variable arose, the plan would crumble.
‘A wolf had been hiding among the chickens all along.’
Lee Jung-yong rubbed his tingling wrists.
For a moment, I felt tremendous heat and power radiating from him. The strength was far too intense to be dismissed as mere youthful exuberance from a fresh-faced kid.
‘He knew how to handle mana properly. How did someone who was merely F-rank not long ago possibly….’
There were certainly some clues to piece together.
After finishing his thoughts, Lee Jung-yong spoke to Seok Team Leader.
“Keep a close eye on that Jin Tae-kyung.”
“Don’t worry, sir. If he becomes a problem, I’ll handle him personally.”
Seok Team Leader had always been reliable. He was a natural-born combat genius and the finest among those I had personally trained, so his skills were beyond question. Even Park Tae-seop, a top-ranked hunter, couldn’t match him.
Yet Lee Jung-yong suddenly found himself wondering.
Could even Seok Team Leader truly surpass Jin Tae-kyung?
“Seok Team Leader. Or rather, Go Jun.”
The form of address shifted from his title to his name.
Seok Team Leader wasn’t the type to miss such implications. Had he lacked such perceptiveness, he could never have become Lee Jung-yong’s direct disciple.
“Yes, Master.”
“Hmm, it’s nothing. I was just entertaining an absurd thought for a moment.”
Lee Jung-yong clicked his tongue softly and exited through the Main Gate.
Five men and women dressed in robes embroidered with intricate patterns and holding staffs awaited him at the building entrance.
“We greet the Vice Guild Master.”
“Your attire is quite conspicuous. Couldn’t you dress more ordinarily?”
“We’ll appear ordinary to the eyes of others.”
They were A-rank mages under Lee Jung-yong’s direct command.
Just as the oldest-looking mage among them had said, none of the hundreds of people hurrying through Ren Dou paid them any attention.
They didn’t even realize that an enormous battle capable of toppling high-rise buildings had nearly occurred directly above their heads.
“This is what makes magic so convenient.”
They had crudely blanketed a radius of roughly two hundred meters with illusion magic. Only A-rank mages from the Ares Guild, where only the elite were selected, could accomplish such a feat.
They would maintain the illusion magic here until all cleanup operations were completed.
“Right. Use that convenient magic to handle things cleanly so no rumors spread. For anyone who seems dangerous, touch their memories with mental magic.”
“Understood. But that friend over there seems quite badly injured.”
“Ah, him?”
Lee Jung-yong glanced briefly at Park Ji-hoon, who was being carried on the back of an escort hunter who had followed behind.
“Give him adequate treatment and stash him somewhere.”
If he died, so be it. Even if he recovered, he wouldn’t be able to display half his current strength.
Lee Jung-yong had no hobby of collecting depleted batteries. He already possessed countless batteries, and one could simply be replaced with another.
‘Still, he proved useful in the end.’
Through Park Ji-hoon, I was able to confirm Jin Tae-kyung’s poisoned heart.
Once blood had been drawn, he should have killed. I myself would have done so without hesitation.
‘You couldn’t take that final step.’
What good is severing both arms and shredding the body? If the enemy still draws breath, it’s not true vengeance—merely catharsis.
‘That incompleteness will become poison later.’
Lee Jung-yong let out a soft laugh and settled into the waiting vehicle.

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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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