Murim Login - Chapter 400

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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 400
The moment the Black Knight first clashed with Jin Tae-kyung, he instinctively understood.
‘He is strong.’
The young human before him was truly a formidable warrior. One who possessed power that even with his full strength, he could not guarantee victory against—or perhaps even greater.
With each exchange, each advance and retreat, this conviction only solidified.
‘This will be a difficult battle.’
Yet the Black Knight neither faltered nor retreated.
He was the lord’s most faithful servant, bound by the mission to complete his command.
This was a battle between warriors who transcended limits. A single moment of hesitation could reverse the tide of victory.
‘If I do not surrender, opportunity will come.’
The Black Knight knew this truth well.
It was a principle he had repeated since childhood training, and through countless battles, he had survived and grown into a formidable warrior.
‘…Me?’
Confusion descended once more. As his mind wavered, his limbs grew unsteady.
And his opponent was not one weak or careless enough to miss such an opening.
Slash, scrape!
The spear blade tore through lifeless flesh.
Whoosh!
Azure flames lashed across his chest.
Within that searing heat, palpable enough to grasp, the Black Knight suddenly felt a sensation. That sensation had a name: pain.
‘What is this…?’
What startled the Black Knight was not the pain itself, but that this sensation—which should have been unfamiliar—felt far too familiar.
‘These memories… what are they?’
His chest throbbed, his head ached.
As the Black Knight staggered, allowing a relentless barrage of attacks, fragmented memories of someone whose identity he could not fathom flashed rapidly before his eyes.
‘This cannot be…!’
‘The mana adaptation rate is extraordinary. The highest on record!’
‘He must be enrolled in the Central Development Training Program immediately!’
Humans in pristine white garments speaking excitedly. And a middle-aged man in a dark, angular uniform.
‘Central Development Training Program? You mean to raise this child as a Hunter?’
‘Of course. At merely thirteen years old, he possesses a mana adaptation rate equal to Faye Chen. He has more than enough potential to become an S-rank Hunter—the finest in our nation!’
‘I refuse.’
‘Yes, yes?’
‘No, General. What do you mean? This child…’
‘Enough.’
The middle-aged man continued in a subdued voice.
‘He is my only nephew. What I promised my sister was to make that child happy, not to turn him into a Hunter and expose him to danger.’
‘Being a Hunter is a noble profession. If that child becomes an S-rank Hunter, it will be a source of pride for all the people!’
‘I know how noble their work is. But even so, my brother-in-law…’
The middle-aged man paused, shaking his head.
‘My mind won’t change no matter what you say. If there hadn’t been orders from above, I wouldn’t have even submitted to the examination. We’re leaving now, so do as you see fit.’
‘General, General!’
Ignoring the cries echoing from behind, the Middle-aged Guard approached with long strides, forcing a smile as he extended his hand.
‘You’ve waited long enough, haven’t you? Come on, let’s go now.’
The Black Knight—or rather, the one presumed to be the owner of these memories—grasped the Middle-aged Guard’s hand.
A pale, small hand.
Soon, a child’s clear voice flowed out.
‘Uncle.’
‘Hmm?’
‘I… I want to become a Hunter.’
In that instant, a torrent of emotions crossed the Middle-aged Guard’s face.
After biting his lip and staring for a long moment, he exhaled a worried sigh, and behind him came people whose expressions had brightened considerably.
‘The Central Development Training Program is a project we’ve devoted ourselves to creating. Safety is thorough, and the results are certain. Wu Hei-xing, who is the same age, is doing well too.’
‘If the child’s mind changes at any time, we will stop immediately.’
The oldest-looking man placed a hand on the Middle-aged Guard’s shoulder and spoke.
‘Please trust us and entrust him to our care. General Wei Penghu.’
Wei Penghu, Wei Penghu….
A name that echoed endlessly in the Black Knight’s mind. A name so familiar and longed for.
Thump!
Was the aching in my chest because I allowed the attack, or for some other reason?
Before the wavering Black Knight’s eyes, yet another memory surfaced.
‘Just because the adults praise you, do you think you’re the best?’
A boy in a bow tie and black formal suit, wearing gleaming shoes, glared at him with sharp eyes.
‘Don’t be mistaken. I’m the best. You’re second!’
The Black Knight’s vision tilted to one side, and soon an innocent voice flowed out.
‘Okay. Then let’s do it that way.’
‘What?’
‘I like being third too. Being last is fine with me as well.’
The sharp-featured boy’s mouth fell open.
‘Are you stupid? You want to become worse than Zhang Wei, who’s last in the Training Facility right now?’
‘But Zhang Wei is kind and helps others well, isn’t he? That guy will become an excellent Hunter.’
‘Y-you! You’re making fun of me right now!’
‘Huh? No, I’m not. I just… if you’re happy, then anything is… Oops!’
Crash!
Subduing the boy who suddenly lunged at me was instantaneous. The boy pinned underneath thrashed and shouted.
‘I’m the best! Wu Hei-xing is the best at everything!’
As one memory fades, another surfaces. Like someone throwing stones one after another into a still pond.
The memories of some unknown person continued to cloud the Black Knight’s mind.
‘Top student, ■■■■, step forward.’
A handful of people filling the vast space.
For reasons unclear, my body moves of its own accord to a summons I can barely hear.
Step. Step.
My strides are measured and broad, my vision commanding from this height.
Having grown tall and become a young man, a middle-aged officer approaches and drapes a medal across my chest.
A familiar face—someone I encountered in my earliest memory—whispers softly.
‘Will you not regret this?’
‘I will not regret it. I have not regretted it until now, and that will never change.’
‘Most people will never know of your existence. Perhaps you must live your entire life in shadow.’
‘I learned that another name for a Hunter is Guardian. My honor does not vanish simply because I remain unseen.’
‘There is something I have never said until now.’
The middle-aged man’s grip tightens on my shoulder.
‘I am so proud of you. Thank you for growing so splendidly.’
‘Thank you. Uncle. No… Father.’
With a radiant smile, the man’s eyes grow moist.
As a single tear slides down his weathered cheek and falls onto the platform, a new memory surfaces.
‘Are you here?’
On a warm spring day, I found myself in a small flower shop. As I peer inside, admiring the vibrant blooms, she approaches.
‘Welcome!’
Her bouncing gait and eyes sharp as a cat’s.
Her voice is so cheerful and bright. And so beautiful…
The Black Knight, now more mature beyond his youthful years—no, the man I have become—feels his heart thunder.
‘Can I help you?’
‘No, I, well. I came to buy flowers.’
‘For your parents? Or a lover?’
‘For my, my parents. Though, strictly speaking, they are not my parents—they are my uncle who raised me…’
‘I see. But your way of speaking is so stiff. Are you perhaps military?’
‘S, something similar, I suppose.’
It was a strange memory. My words came in fragments, and my vision kept fading to white.
When I came to my senses, I was standing dazed in the hospital room, cradling a vibrant bouquet of flowers.
‘You fool. I told you not to come—it’s only mild pneumonia. But what is that?’
At Wei Penghu’s question, I answer in a hollow voice.
‘Flowers.’
‘Did you bring those as a get-well gift?’
‘Yes.’
‘So you’re telling me you brought chrysanthemums as a get-well gift for me?’
‘Yes… wait?’
‘Have you ever seen such an ungrateful wretch! Hey, you fool!’
Whack! Smack!
I laugh even as the bouquet strikes me. My own foolishness draws a chuckle, and thinking of her—who resembles chrysanthemums—I cannot help but smile.
In the memories that follow in rapid succession, I visit the flower shop every single day.
‘Oh, hello there!’
‘Welcome… oh my, you’re back again?’
‘Haha.’
‘White chrysanthemums, right?’
Spring, summer, autumn, winter.
After four seasons had passed, the relationship between the two was no longer that of a flower shop owner and a customer.
‘I have something to say.’
‘What is it?’
‘Will you marry me?’
‘…Yes.’
‘I’ll make you happy.’
It was the longest silence in all my memories.
After what felt like an eternity—a single second stretching into ten years, a hundred years—she finally spoke.
‘I have something to say too.’
‘No, wait, let me give you my answer first….’
‘I’m pregnant.’
‘What?’
Thump, thump-thump. Thump-thump-thump!
The man’s heart surged violently, and the Black Knight writhed in agony.
‘Ahhh, ahhhhh!’
My head felt as though it would split apart, and it felt like someone’s hands were wringing my insides.
Along with pain I had never even imagined, another memory forced its way into the void.
‘Waa, waaaa!’
‘This child is….’
‘Congratulations on becoming a father. Honey.’
The birth of new life. And growth.
‘Dada. Dadadada!’
‘Honey. Honey! Did you just hear that? Already calling for daddy—isn’t our child a genius?’
‘Can you change the diaper for me?’
‘Wait a moment. Let me hear it one more time.’
‘Dada, mama!’
‘Yes! That’s right! We’re your daddy and mommy!’
The day the swaddled baby successfully rolled over. The day I crawled on all fours for the first time, the day I took my first steps….
The man was happy as though he possessed the entire world.
But it did not take long for those dreamlike days to transform into a nightmare.
‘Magical energy readings are spiking in Gaoping District!’
‘Gaoping District? Maintain continuous contact and mobilize the 2nd Regiment in preparation for contingencies.’
‘S-sir. Communications have been cut off.’
‘What?’
Catastrophe struck without warning.
The man hastily assembled his subordinates and rushed toward the source of the problem, only to witness an unbelievable sight.
‘Kyaaaaaaah!’
‘E-everyone flee… Hack!’
Crash! Boom!
Flames erupted into the once-peaceful sky of the city, while on the ground, countless monsters slaughtered humans without mercy.
A land overflowing with screams and death. Before this incomprehensible massacre, the man drew his blade.
‘Public Security Armed Forces!’
Shwing!
An aura blade blazed brilliantly, spiraling around the sword’s edge.
A thousand Hunters answered his cry with a solemn roar.
They were humanity’s shield and guardian. They could not retreat even a single step.
‘Annihilate them all!’
‘Waaaaah! Long live the People’s Republic of China!’
With the red five-starred flag emblazoned upon their armor, they surged forward like a wave, only to shatter and scatter, spraying blood instead of white foam.
‘Perish in the flames of calamity—Fire Rain.’
Screeeech.
Beneath the ashen sky that gaped open, as the rain of fire poured down, the man thought of his beloved wife and his five-year-old daughter.
And then he faced ‘that existence’.
‘Had I fled, I could have lived.’
‘I will kill you.’
‘How noble. What is your name, human?’
‘I am….’
* * *
“…Lei Fei?”
At Jin Tae-kyung’s voice piercing through his ears, the Black Knight’s body went rigid.
The dam that had held back the flood crumbled, and everything began to reassemble.
Thirty-six years of memories lived as a human crashed down like a tidal wave, obscuring his vision.
– I am, I am….
What am I, exactly?
As the Black Knight trembled with confusion and anguish, a thunderous command echoed through his mind.
– You are my most loyal servant and commander of my legions. Your lord commands you—fulfill your duty until you crumble to ash!
– …!
It was an irresistible word of power.
The crimson eyes, flickering like a candle before the wind, blazed fiercely.
Immense magical power surged from the entire body of the Black Knight—no, Lei Fei—who had been lying defeated with one final strike remaining.
Boom!

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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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