Murim Login - Chapter 414

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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 414
There are faces I never tire of disliking, no matter how many times I see them. Lee Jung-yong and Wu Hei-xing fell squarely into that category for me.
Still, I spoke first because Wu Hei-xing looked surprisingly presentable today.
“Fancy meeting you here. I thought I’d never see you again.”
At my cheerful greeting, Wu Hei-xing—his appearance disheveled and worn—shot me a venomous glare.
「Shut your mouth.」
“Oh….”
「One more word, and I swear by my grandfather’s honor that I’ll tear you to shreds.」
A Chinese Kim Jeon-il, perhaps. I couldn’t fathom why these types wielded their deceased grandfather’s honor like a credit card.
I opened my mouth with a serious expression.
“Did you and your grandfather have a falling out?”
「What?」
“I mean, why stake your grandfather’s honor on something impossible? It’d be far more realistic to bet on yourself getting torn to shreds instead….”
「You bastard!」
Wu Hei-xing shot to his feet with a furious cry, but Lee Jung-yong raised a hand to block him.
“That’s enough.”
「Teacher Lee! But that bastard….」
“Fighting amongst ourselves before the final battle serves no purpose. Calm yourself.”
Grrr.
Wu Hei-xing, grinding his teeth as if they might shatter, glared at me before responding.
「Understood, Teacher Lee. Since you insist, I’ll let it go.」
“Good thinking.”
Watching Lee Jung-yong—who wore a soft smile despite Wu Hei-xing’s sudden compliance—I tilted my head slightly, wondering if that brute had ever possessed such restraint.
In that brief moment our eyes met, I read volumes in Choi Team Leader’s gaze.
“Jin Tae-kyung, what about you?”
I shifted my gaze from Choi Team Leader and gave a casual shrug.
“I respect my elders’ words.”
“I didn’t know you were the type to care about such things.”
“Respect for hierarchy is fundamental.”
At my composed reply, Lee Jung-yong burst into hearty laughter, while Wu Hei-xing shot me another murderous glare.
「Respect for hierarchy? Stop spouting nonsense that doesn’t suit you. Then what about me, who’s seven years your senior?」
“If you don’t want to write your will, at least wipe that look off your face.”
「This fucking bastard…!」
“Don’t act up.”
Wu Hei-xing’s next outburst died before it could fully form.
I fixed him with a cold stare and continued.
“If you’ve still got the nerve to get worked up over this, go check on the friends you brought. They risked their lives following you here.”
「…!」
“They’re not disposable tools to be used once and discarded.”
I made no effort to hide my contempt—I let it show plainly.
Currently, only about fifty hunters remained in Wu Hei-xing’s vicinity.
According to the reports from headquarters, the Suicide Squad had departed with five hundred members, but most of them had either fallen or been left behind—that much was certain.
“Troop losses? That’s entirely possible. We’re in combat, after all. But….”
Even so, his armor was drenched in blood yet remained structurally intact. It meant he’d fought while preserving himself even as his comrades fell around him.
“You got something to say, you bastard?”
That line had come from a classic hero movie I’d watched as a child.
With great power comes great responsibility, they’d said. And that wasn’t something that applied only to people bitten by radioactive spiders.
If someone could draw an Aura Blade instead of a web, if someone had used that power to accumulate vast wealth and prestige while covering up their own crimes, then at minimum they should bear some responsibility.
“You might become S-rank, but you’ll never be a true hunter. So from now on, when you introduce yourself, don’t say you’re a hunter. Just say: I’m the fortunate S-rank Wu Hei-xing. Understand?”
「….」
In place of Wu Hei-xing, whose fists trembled silently, Lee Jung-yong opened his mouth.
“He did his best.”
“Looking at his armor, I don’t think so. It’s in good enough condition to wipe down and sell on the secondhand market right now.”
“Having sturdy, quality armor isn’t something to criticize.”
“I’ve been noticing this for a while now… you’re unusually taking his side. Did that bastard somehow get some leverage over you?”
“Everyone has weaknesses. And I happen to be quite skilled at hiding mine.”
“Get his computer checked. Who knows—maybe Chinese hackers are sharing videos of you watching adult content in a group chat.”
“I’ll be careful.”
A formidable opponent indeed.
Lee Jung-yong smiled without the slightest tremor, but the man standing behind him was different.
I waved my hand toward the figure emanating a faint killing intent, acknowledging him.
“Who’s this, Seok Team Leader? Isn’t this our Go-jun?”
Lee Jung-yong’s bodyguard captain and disciple.
I distinctly remembered beating him thoroughly before departing for China, yet the figure before me now appeared not just unscathed but even more solidified.
Just from the depth and profundity that now dwelt in his eyes, I could tell his abilities had advanced considerably.
‘He’s cultivated patience too.’
Seok Go-jun was the most loyal of Lee Jung-yong’s loyal hounds.
In the past, he would have charged at me without hesitation, but this disciple had suppressed his killing intent as if washing it away, choosing silence instead of drawing his weapon.
Lee Jung-yong gazed at his disciple’s demeanor with satisfaction before speaking.
“We’ve now reached the doorstep of the Arch Lich. By coordinates, we have only 20 kilometers left.”
I swept back my blood-matted hair.
“That’ll be the longest and most brutal 20 kilometers on Earth.”
“True. The Arch Lich has kept sufficient forces in reserve.”
“How many?”
“Estimated fifty thousand.”
The moment those words left his lips, a collective groan erupted from among the Suicide Squad members, whose every sense had been focused on our conversation.
Combined, the Suicide Squad under my command, Lee Jung-yong’s, and Wu Hei-xing’s numbered only about five hundred.
Even by conservative estimates, we would need to break through a force a hundred times our size to reach the Arch Lich—a prospect sufficiently terrifying to instill utter despair in them.
Perhaps that’s why someone cried out in a voice trembling with fear.
「W-we should retreat now!」
Like a dam crumbling, the cries of other hunters erupted in succession.
「Fuck!」
「There are too many monsters!」
「At this rate, we’ll be annihilated.」
「I came here to bring down the Arch Lich, not to die like a dog!」
Even the two hundred members of the Suicide Squad from the Western Front, who had arrived with minimal casualties, were no exception.
Yet amid the fear spreading like wildfire, two people remained unshaken.
Shao Shen, whose eyes held unwavering trust as he looked at me, and….
“There is a possibility.”
Choi Team Leader, who had deduced one crucial detail about the situation beyond mere trust in me, continued in a measured voice.
“An estimate of fifty thousand far exceeds the Supreme Command’s predictions.”
「Then shouldn’t we naturally retreat?」
Choi Team Leader immediately shook his head at someone’s cry from the Suicide Squad.
“And the number of monsters we faced was also fewer than expected.”
「What?」
“Though the numbers seemed vast, the monster forces we encountered on the front lines were not as overwhelming as they appeared.”
「Then….」
“Perhaps the Arch Lich was wary of such a situation. Rather than committing all forces to the front, it may have reserved fifty thousand troops as a final contingency—a failsafe for any scenario.”
The faces of the hunters watching Choi Team Leader hardened. Not from understanding his words, but from the increasingly violent tremors emanating from the ground.
Thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud.
All their bodies trembled at the resonance felt from dozens of kilometers away.
Beyond the destroyed road and the vast plains stretching on both sides, through the thick mist engulfing everything, tens of thousands of monsters united in a single, haunting wail and thunderous footsteps echoed faintly.
– Kwaaaaaaaaaah!
「This is insane….」
「Run, we have to run. This is a battle we cannot win.」
People’s footsteps began to falter and retreat.
The exception was the Ares Guild members standing firm without wavering, and Lee Jung-yong, who stood before them, gazed at Choi Team Leader with keen interest.
“So?”
Their gazes met in the empty air. I could see Choi Team Leader’s grip tighten on the [Hero’s Soul].
“Though the Supreme Command’s predictions were wrong, by not launching a total offensive, the Arch Lich has created room to maneuver on the front lines.”
“Yet our forces remain insufficient compared to the enemy.”
“And those left behind are precisely meant to fill that gap.”
Thud-thud. Thud-thud-thud-thud.
The tremors and shrieks grew fiercer. Amid the murmurs of anxious, agitated people, Choi Team Leader’s words, infused with mana, pierced through everyone’s ears.
“Beings capable of overturning the entire situation in an instant. S-rank hunters—those called one-man armies, each and every one of them.”
At that very moment.
Shwoooooosh-!
A brilliant burst of light exploded above everyone’s heads.
Along with the radiant glow, the air split as if cleaved by a sharp blade. Three figures descended, stepping on invisible air as if climbing down stairs.
「My great-grandmother would often sit me on her lap and tell me that royalty must fulfill obligations befitting their station. You commoners wouldn’t understand, of course.」
I let out a dry chuckle and bowed at the waist. Normally, he’s an insufferable nuisance, but this time I couldn’t afford to be out of step with him.
“Prince Felix Alexander Louis.”
「How pleasant it is to hear my name from your lips, Jin. Hunter of the East.」
At Prince Felix Alexander Louis’s deliberately haughty demeanor, the beautiful woman beside him clicked her tongue.
「Can’t you do something about this guy? Just seal his mouth shut.」
“I think we should let it slide today. Sister.”
「My.」
At my response, Faye Chen’s eyes widened in surprise before breaking into a bright smile.
「That’s delightful. All this effort was worth it. Don’t you think?」
At Faye Chen’s question, the last person among them burst into hearty laughter.
「Does this mean I can expect something too? What do you think, Jin?」
“Would you like a kiss?”
「Oh, that’s not a bad offer. But I must politely decline. I’m already married to my beloved Fred, and we have five adopted children.」
Whoooosh. Tap.
Magic Johnson, descending through the air, patted my shoulder with a palm as large as a pot lid.
「Jin. You brave little thing. How on earth did you come up with such a dangerous teleportation? I nearly gave up several times.」
“But you managed it in the end, didn’t you, Johnson?”
「The odds were different. This time, the failure rate was only 10%. You’re at least 80% braver than I am.」
Courage knows no measure. The very fact that they came to this place, braving death itself, proved they deserved to be called the world’s greatest hunters.
And the people who had received this unexpected reinforcement stared in disbelief.
「F-Faye Chen?」
「Prince Felix Alexander Louis and Magic Johnson are here too!」
「S-rank hunters! S-rank hunters have come to help us!」
「I love you, Johnson! fucking nice gay!」
But it didn’t end there.
Boom, boom, boom.
A different kind of tremor from what I had felt before.
It was a signal announcing the arrival of countless military forces moving in synchronized steps, and they appeared as a single thread of dots, filling the distant horizon far away.
「Did you think we came here recklessly?」
Faye Chen smiled and continued.
「Combined from the Western and Eastern Fronts, we have ten thousand. This should buy you enough time to escape.」
A dazed voice escaped from someone’s lips.
「We can survive now….」
And there was a voice that answered.
“No.”
Choi Team Leader. He raised the [Hero’s Soul] high.
Even in the thick mist, the translucent blade shone beautifully.
“We will achieve victory.”
I believe that too.

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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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