Murim Login - Chapter 352

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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 352
‘They’re coming.’
A single, disjointed utterance from the Green Shadow Guard.
Yet to Dang Sa-dok, it struck like lightning—a revelation that crystallized the vague unease he’d harbored, the conclusion his years of experience had been quietly drawing.
‘Hyung Soo doesn’t act alone!’
The One-Armed Man who had slain his father and Gyeong Cheon Shin-ni. He was leading his subordinates toward the Sichuan Tang Sect.
The true mastermind’s identity, their numbers, how they moved through Sichuan as though it were their own courtyard—none of it mattered now.
In the next instant, a thunderous command erupted from Dang Sa-dok’s lips.
“First Division, Third Party, Fifth Squad—prepare to meet the enemy!”
Boom, boom, boom!
The Pavilion trembled beneath the weight of his voice, infused with tremendous martial power.
An extraordinary event unfolding in the Family Head Hall itself. The first to respond were Dang Sa-dok’s guards encircling the Pavilion.
“Family Head!”
Crash!
By the time the guards burst through the shattered Pavilion doors, the household servants had already begun relaying their master’s orders throughout the compound.
Within moments, hundreds of the Tang Family—bound together by poison and vengeance—would assemble.
And…
‘I will show them what the Tang Family’s vengeance truly means.’
Despite the turmoil burning in his chest, Dang Sa-dok’s eyes had grown as cold and sharp as a winter wind from the north.
“Family Head, what is happening?”
“Men who should have died long ago are coming. That is all.”
He waved dismissively at his bewildered guards, then fixed his gaze upon the Green Shadow Guard.
The martial robes, torn and soaked in blood, were unmistakable evidence of battle.
“Tell me what transpired. Hold nothing back.”
Only then did the Green Shadow Guard, catching his breath, speak in a weary voice.
“While searching near the Golden Hall, we discovered a suspicious group.”
“A suspicious group?”
“Yes.”
“The Golden Hall lies but half a day’s journey from the Main Residence. The Beggar Clan and the imperial garrison have already completed their checkpoints. How could they—”
Dang Sa-dok’s words trailed off, his eyes narrowing sharply.
“…The imperial garrison. They were disguised as the imperial garrison.”
The Green Shadow Guard, eyes wide, nodded at his master.
“Yes, that’s it! They were certainly wearing official military uniforms!”
“A change of clothes.”
Tap, tap.
Dang Sa-dok drummed his skeletal fingers against the table.
They had found his weakness perfectly.
Only two days prior, the Beggar Clan and imperial garrison—having verified Chengdu’s safety multiple times—had expanded their search perimeter.
The enemy had slipped through the loosened net and entered the city.
‘It would have been simple enough.’
Elite forces are always deployed to the frontlines. Among the Beggar Clan and government troops, those with experience and keen eyes had already left Chengdu.
Moreover, wasn’t this after thousands of government soldiers had been wandering Chengdu for nearly ten days? Had they acquired the uniforms of such troops, they would have blended in naturally.
“How many heads are we talking about?”
“To avoid suspicion, they were moving in separate groups, but from what we’ve ascertained, there appear to be at least three hundred of them.”
“Three hundred?”
“Yes. Without question.”
The Gate Master, listening to the Green Shadow Guard’s report with an anxious expression, spoke with triumphant inflection.
“Ha, merely three hundred? They must be mad with a death wish. Isn’t that so, Uncle?”
“….”
“The martial artists of the Main Residence alone that can be deployed in battle number over three hundred. And that’s not all, is it? Isn’t the Iron Fortress built precisely for moments like this? Those fools won’t even dare scale the City Wall—they’ll perish from poison and hidden weapons.”
It was then that Dang Sa-dok’s lips, which had been sealed, finally parted.
“Silence.”
“Yes?”
“I said silence.”
“U-Uncle. Why would you say such a thing? They’re merely three hundred. At that rate, in the blink of an eye….”
“Merely three hundred?”
The fingers of Dang Sa-dok, which had been tapping the table, suddenly went rigid.
The emotion reflected in his gaze as he looked upon his sole nephew was nothing but contempt.
“You cannot be ignorant of the bloodshed of the Year of Tilting Moon.”
“…How could I not know of it?”
The bloodshed of the Year of Tilting Moon was spoken of within the Tang Sect as though it were taboo.
Fifty years ago, it was the shameful day when the Sichuan Tang Sect had to abandon the land it had held for centuries and flee.
On that day, Dang Sa-dok lost his only elder brother, and the Gate Master was forced to lose his father before he was even born.
“But circumstances are different now!”
To the impassioned cry of the Gate Master, Dang Sa-dok replied in an icy voice.
“Indeed? Then what, pray tell, is so different?”
“The Demon Cult’s forces numbered two thousand, while the Main Residence’s martial artists were but three hundred, were they not?”
“That much is roughly accurate. Do continue.”
“Though we were defeated and forced to retreat, unlike the Main Residence, which suffered merely a hundred or so casualties, the Demon Cult sustained losses exceeding one-third of their forces.
“That too is fact. The damage they sustained then delayed the Demon Cult’s grip on Sichuan. The Main Residence, having lost its foundation, gained far greater renown in exchange.”
“Then why—!”
Crash!
The fist that the Gate Master brought down left a deep dent in the iron table. With blazing eyes, he continued, staring at his uncle.
“Why do you fear merely three hundred enemies, Uncle? Fifty years ago, the vile enemies of the Demon Cult—numbering several times that—had to shed countless blood just to breach the Main Residence!”
The resonant cry shook the air within the Pavilion.
And Dang Sa-dok’s answer to his nephew’s wrathful outcry was brief and simple.
“So, is that all?”
“…What?”
“Pathetic fool.”
Dang Sa-dok sighed as he watched the Gate Master’s wavering gaze.
“The blood massacre of the Jing-Yue year is a humiliation we must never forget, yet it also stands as a testament to the Main Residence’s power across the realm.”
“Y-yes, that is so. Thus, even now, martial artists throughout the world praise the Main Residence’s martial prowess and righteousness.”
“Ehehehe!”
Ignorance to this degree was a disease. Dang Sa-dok let out a hollow laugh as he observed his nephew still grasping at straws.
“Indeed. A fact known to all under heaven—do you think they remain ignorant of it?”
“…!”
“After the Great Righteous Demon Confrontation, the Main Residence erected an iron fortress none could breach. We expanded our household and armed them thoroughly. Is there anyone in the realm unaware of this? Anyone who does not know of the Main Residence’s strength and resolve demonstrated in the blood massacre of the Jing-Yue year?”
Before the tempest and thunderous fury pouring down upon him, the Gate Master’s face had turned ashen.
Only now did he comprehend that the three hundred enemies bearing down upon the Sichuan Tang Sect were far from being dismissed as “merely” a threat.
Meanwhile, the seasoned Family Head’s judgment remained keen and swift.
“Sound the Tang War Drum.”
At the Family Head’s command, agitation rippled through the honor guard, who had stood rigid as statues.
“T-the Tang War Drum, you say?”
“Distribute poison and concealed weapons to all, regardless of age or gender. Retired elders, craftsmen untrained in martial arts, women—none are exempt. The Main Residence shall commit all its strength to this battle.”
“Y-your will!”
The guards, their complexions shifting sharply at the blade-like tone of his voice, moved with swift efficiency.
When the Tang War Drum’s thunder soon shook the Sichuan Tang Sect, all would come to understand.
That their clan faced the crisis of annihilation.
And among them all, it was Dang Sa-dok who felt the gravest sense of peril.
‘This is dangerous as it stands.’
The experience and instinct he had accumulated while guiding the clan whispered to him.
Perhaps a river of blood and corpses awaited the Sichuan Tang Sect—one that would surpass even that fateful day of the Jing-Yue year.
And in the next moment, the sound announcing the beginning of all things echoed forth.
Boom, boom, boom!
At the majestic sound that set hearts racing merely to hear it, the Gate Master murmured.
“So this is the Tang Sect Drum….”
The Tang Sect Drum had last sounded before he was even born. It was at this very moment, hearing the Tang Sect Drum’s call for the first time in his life, that the Gate Master could no longer conceal his turbulent emotions.
“We have lost the initiative.”
“U-uncle?”
The Gate Master spun his head around in panic and beheld it—the infinitely deep abyss that had opened in Dang Sa-dok’s eyes.
At the same moment, figures with graying hair burst through the Pavilion’s entrance with swift, explosive movements.
“Family Head!”
“Enemies! They approach, sounding the War Drum!”
“They dare assault us while sounding the War Drum. Impressive foes indeed. Truly impressive.”
The ten figures gazing upon Dang Sa-dok, who had burst into hearty laughter, were painted with bewilderment.
“This is no time for laughter!”
“Family Head, please issue your command!”
Their faces were diverse. There was a youth who could not have been more than thirty, a middle-aged man with graying temples, and an elder of an age similar to Dang Sa-dok’s.
Yet regardless of age, each had proven their martial prowess among hundreds of household members.
Thus did Dang Sa-dok bestow upon them another name.
“The Ten Oddities of Tang Sect. Perfectly timed. I was just waiting for you all to arrive.”
“Family Head, what is the meaning of this! We should strike them down at once—”
“Well, ask that fellow over there for the details.”
The Ten Oddities’ gazes followed Dang Sa-dok.
The Green Shadow Guard, bearing the weight of their collective stares, swallowed hard.
“I-I will tell you anything I know, sirs!”
“That’s a welcome thing to hear. Then I shall ask you this…”
Dang Sa-dok’s voice continued, smooth as silk.
“Were you not the One-Armed Man?”
“…!”
“…!”
In that instant, time itself seemed to cease.
Even the magnificent drums of the Tang Sect’s bell tower, which had just begun to sound, and the urgent movements and shouts of the household members—all fell silent.
While time flowed unchanged outside, everything within the Pavilion froze in place.
Within that silence and shock, one person alone reversed the current of time.
Crack, crunch-crunch.
Bones lengthening and shortening. Muscles swelling and expanding.
The blood-soaked garments tore asunder, and the two characters of “Tang Family” embroidered in silk thread across the chest were split in half.
As the Green Shadow Guard slowly rose to his feet, he was no longer a youth in his twenties—nor was he any longer a Green Shadow Guard.
“Sharp eyes. Dok Wang raised his child well.”
The middle-aged man smiled thinly, stroking his left arm. The skin’s color was subtly different around the elbow, as though something had been removed and then reattached.
“And to answer your question… truthfully, I’m not entirely sure myself. Just call it Demonic Arts for convenience.”
Green light flickered in Dang Sa-dok’s eyes as he stared at the middle-aged man.
“So it was you. You who harmed Father.”
“Dok Wang Dang Sa-mun. Your reputation is well-earned. I must admit, I was impressed. I lost this arm during that encounter.”
The middle-aged man clenched and unclenched his left fist, deliberately furrowing his brow.
“The sensation isn’t what it used to be. I wonder if I can ever return to my former state…”
“Do not worry. I shall personally sever your head so you need never concern yourself with such matters again.”
“We shall lend our strength as well.”
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
A tremendous wave of energy erupted from Dang Sa-dok and the Ten Oddities of Tang Sect, shaking the Pavilion itself.
Yet before a poison potent enough to kill with a single breath, the middle-aged man—the Western Heavenly Demon Lord—merely smiled with composure.
“If you can, then by all means.”
Crash!

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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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