Murim Login - Chapter 642

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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 642
Rustle.
A faint sound accompanied the presence rapidly drawing closer from the distance. The moment I sensed it, I aimed the White Flame toward the direction of that aura with lightning-fast speed.
Beast King Miao Wang, who had instantly gathered his power, was likely entertaining the same thought as me.
‘The Spirit of Mount Aenoe.’
But in the next instant, that assumption shattered spectacularly. Catching sight of a pure white form flickering beyond the darkened grass, I let out a sigh and lowered my spear blade.
“Mu Ya-ho?”
–
Kraaang!
Swish swish swish!
With a short but powerful cry, Baek Ho came rushing like the wind, greeted me warmly, then passed right by me and flopped onto his back at Beast King Miao Wang’s feet, his belly exposed.
–
Pant. Pant. Pant.
“There, there. You found your way here quite well. What a clever creature you are.”
At this point, shouldn’t Baek Ho be called a Silver Retriever instead? Though his size seemed equivalent to ten Retrievers combined.
‘The fact that this beast has returned means…’
As if reading the thought that had crossed my mind, Beast King Miao Wang, who had been stroking Baek Ho’s belly as the creature frolicked about, asked a question.
“Where are the others?”
–
Growl.
Baek Ho rose with a pleased rumble, then suddenly let out a mighty roar. As the beast’s cry pierced through the thick darkness and poison mist, torches flickered in the distance not long after.
Their number was roughly fifty to a hundred.
And at their head were familiar faces.
“Palace Lord.”
“Father! Are you unharmed?”
The warriors of the Southern Beast Palace, led by Baek Sang and Ya-ryul Mok with their unusually stern expressions, rushed toward me, followed by the members of the Fire Dragon Pavilion.
“Section Chief!”
“Moo-jin. I’m telling you this just in case—if you try to embrace me or anything like that, you won’t die a pretty death.”
“…Yes, sir.”
I immediately blocked Hyuk Moo-jin, who was rushing at me while possessed by the spirit of a tragic heroine, and gave a shrug to the other members who were about to speak.
“If I start from the beginning, it’ll take a while… Do you want to hear it here? Or outside?”
The answer was obvious.
It would be different if this were an upscale cafe with sentimental pop songs playing. But in the desolate atmosphere of the Poison Blood Land with its poison mist drifting, no one would want to listen to a long story.
And the system did not forget to inform me of the Quest I had momentarily overlooked.
Ding.
– Quest,
[Do Not Cross That Swamp]
has been successfully completed!
– Quest rewards are being granted!
– You have acquired substantial experience and renown!
–
[Superior Poison Blood Essence x5]
has been obtained!
– Very rare Achievement,
[How Did You Even Make It Back]
has been unlocked!
– Rare Title,
[Pioneer of the Poison Blood Land]
has been acquired!
* * *
That night, the darkness of the Southern Wilderness seemed unusually deep and endless. Yet all things have their beginning and their end.
When the hundred elite warriors who had rushed toward Ai-nao Mountain returned to the Southern Beast Palace in the depths of night, it was already approaching dawn, and those who witnessed their arrival were far from few.
“Did you hear? Something extraordinary happened last night.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Well, you see. I heard it from old man Mong who lives near the West Gate of the Outer Palace….”
“Gasp!”
“What? I haven’t even finished speaking yet.”
“That old man is still alive? I could have sworn he died last year.”
“Damn it.”
The essence of the rumor that spread rapidly with the morning sun was this:
Something significant had occurred somewhere in the Southern Wilderness last night, and Baek Sang, the Great Tribal Leader of the White Tribe, along with the Young Palace Master Ya-ryul Mok, had led a hundred elite warriors out of the Outer Palace. And at the forefront of those who returned within mere hours were their Palace Master, the Beast King Miao Wang, and Jin Tae-kyung.
Given the Southern Beast Palace’s characteristic of not intervening militarily in disputes between tribes, the fact that the Palace Master had personally taken action was itself quite a significant event. Yet the rumors did not end there.
“But the problem occurred at none other than Ai-nao Mountain.”
“Ai-nao Mountain? You mean that Ai-nao Mountain?”
“Is there another Ai-nao Mountain in the Southern Wilderness? The Yao Tribe merchants living in a village a hundred li away from Ai-nao Mountain told me this morning, so it must be true. They happened to witness it while organizing their ledgers late into the night.”
The name Five Poison Sect was like a yoke that would never be erased from the hearts of the Southern Wilderness people. The ancestors of this land had fought against the Five Poison Sect, and only after countless sacrifices had they been able to establish the current order and laws.
Yet of all places, the incident had occurred at Ai-nao Mountain, the former headquarters of the Five Poison Sect.
Normally, it was a forbidden place one would not even wish to speak of, but if a problem had arisen there, the matter was entirely different.
“This is insane. Continue with your story. Hurry!”
Market Street lined with endless vendor stalls. Secluded alleys. Inns where footsteps never ceased….
The words that left one mouth traveled through ears and flowed out again through the lips of another.
And these unsettled circumstances and rumors were already well known to the tribal leaders who had gathered for today’s tribal council.
The rumors circulating throughout both the Outer and Inner Palaces were proving to be far more accurate than expected.
“Everyone is in an uproar over these rumors right now. There’s hardly anyone who hasn’t heard.”
“The bigger problem is that this isn’t merely idle gossip. Isn’t that so?”
Though they had gathered in one place for the first time in a year for the council, there was no time for pleasantries.
The tribal leaders, who had each taken their seats in the grand hall of the Inner Palace, continued their conversation with grave expressions.
“You all must know, having received advance notice, but this is no ordinary matter. Ai-nao Mountain. And a hundred elite warriors have already been sacrificed to those who should have remained in the Poison Blood Land.”
“I’ve heard that the Thousand Year Spider appeared. But to be honest, I find it difficult to believe. Even more so when it comes to the part about five of them.”
“It’s hard to believe, but every word is undeniable truth. Their corpses remain as evidence, so it cannot be a lie. The Palace Master, enraged by the deaths of the warriors stationed on Ai-nao Mountain, pursued them to the Poison Blood Land and annihilated them, it is said.”
The middle-aged tribal leader answered without hesitation, then added in a low voice.
“That young Han from the Martial Alliance. Yeolhwa Shinryong Jin Tae-kyung is with him.”
The tribal leaders gathered here were lords ruling portions of the Southern Wilderness, regardless of their tribe’s size. They naturally possessed information about the young outsider, and their reactions varied widely.
“Hmm.”
“Yes.”
“Ahem.”
Some tribal leaders nodded with exclamations, while others stared blankly into the void with uncomfortable coughs.
Yet there was one clear difference from the atmosphere of days past—this time, not a single one of them uttered the phrase “damned Han bastard.”
Even the tribal leaders who typically despised the Han knew the truth. Jin Tae-kyung’s contributions to resolving this crisis were far from negligible.
“Without him, this matter would not have concluded so swiftly. Perhaps the Palace Lord, who hastily pursued them, might have suffered harm instead….”
Bang!
A sudden thunderous sound buried the voice that was about to continue.
Simultaneously, thirty pairs of eyes fixed upon one point. One tribal leader, who had worn a displeased expression since Jin Tae-kyung was mentioned, had struck the stone table.
“I’ve tried to restrain myself, but I can no longer bear to listen. Mind your words, Jang Tribal Leader. The Palace Lord is far stronger than you imagine. Indeed, all of the Southern Wilderness are the same. We need no assistance from a weak Han wretch!”
The middle-aged tribal leader who had been leading the discussion furrowed his brow.
“A most valiant and prideful statement—truly impressive to hear. Yet have you not heard that this weak Han wretch dealt with two Thousand Year Spiders and thousands of poisons in the Poison Blood Land? Is he not the renowned warrior of the Central Plains who inherited the legacy of the Fire King?”
“That is….”
“And five years ago, despite the Palace Lord’s personal mediation, who was it that invaded our tribe’s territory? Was it not you? Let your mouth speak truth even if a viper has bitten it. The one you serve is not the Palace Lord, but the Great Tribal Leader Baek Sang. All of the Southern Wilderness know you are his loyal hound.”
“What? A hound! You bastard!”
“A hound? You wretched remnant of poison left behind by the Five Poison Sect, where do you…!”
Bang!
Two tribal leaders sprang to their feet, snarling as though they might draw blades against one another.
Creak!
The massive stone gate, which had been firmly shut, opened, and three figures stepped toward the Great Hall.
Step. Step.
Footsteps echoing through the suddenly silent interior. The man at the front paused, and from between his lips flowed a voice laden with icy coldness.
“It seems I’ve interrupted your conversation.”
“…!”
“…!”
Pay it no mind and continue.
Yet no voice emerged from anywhere.
As though nothing had happened, the loud voices that had been exchanged moments before vanished in an instant, and heavy silence pressed down upon the surroundings. Simultaneously, the expressions of the two tribal leaders who had been at odds shifted between joy and sorrow.
“You have arrived, Great Tribal Leader Baek Sang.”
Baek Sang glanced at the fawning hound, then fixed his gaze upon the middle-aged tribal leader.
“That was an intriguing conversation. Interesting enough to continue listening to.”
“….”
“You’ve become quite taciturn in my absence, Jang Tribal Leader.”
The middle-aged tribal leader bit his lip and lowered his head.
“I pay my respects to you, Great Tribal Leader Baek Sang.”
Yo-hee, the Great Tribal Leader of the Yao Tribe standing to Baek Sang’s right, let out a soft laugh.
“It seems we’re invisible to them. Isn’t that right, Elder Brother Hyuk-ung?”
“Huh? Oh, yes. That won’t do at all. We can’t be so discourteous before our lovely Yo-hee. That simply won’t do.”
Hyuk-ung, who had been grinning widely at Yo-hee, suddenly adopted a stern expression, but his plump frame soon shrank back under Baek Sang’s icy gaze.
“I-I apologize, Uncle Baek. But what could I have possibly done wrong…?”
“Oh, nothing at all. Our kind and handsome Elder Brother Hyuk-ung has done nothing wrong. Isn’t that so?”
“Y-yes. Yo-hee is right.”
Baek Sang stared silently at the two of them for a moment, then clicked his tongue and resumed his steps.
At the head of the enormous table, large enough to seat dozens, sat the sole position of honor. The three seats nearest to it were the positions of the three Great Tribal Leaders, excluding the Palace Master.
Click. Thud.
Twenty-eight tribal leaders who had arrived in sequence, and now the three Great Tribal Leaders who had just arrived. A total of thirty-one seats had found their respective occupants.
Yet within this familiar scene that Baek Sang had witnessed year after year, he suddenly felt a sense of incongruity and opened his mouth.
“Two seats are empty.”
The words spilled out abruptly.
At first, none of the tribal leaders grasped the meaning of what Baek Sang had said. But the brief confusion they felt soon dissipated at the sound of Yo-hee’s laughter-tinged voice that followed.
“Indeed. How strange. Why would two seats be empty?”
Only thirty-two seats were ever prepared for the grand council. It had been so a hundred years ago, and it remained so now. If one was not a tribal leader, even a minor palace master had to stand.
Yet today, there were two empty seats when only one should have remained.
“What on earth…?”
And in that very moment when someone’s murmured question, laden with doubt, escaped their lips.
Rumble rumble rumble.
Beyond the massive stone gate that moved once more, two figures finally revealed themselves. Upon confirming their appearance, Baek Sang’s pupils sank 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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