Murim Login - Chapter 706

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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 706
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
‘Haven’t I done enough by now?’
The greater good. Sacrifice. Self-denial for others. And so on and so forth.
All noble sentiments, every one of them. Warm enough, yet somehow uncomfortable. They’re fine words, but….
‘I feel like I’ve done plenty of it already.’
I came to this cursed continent’s version of a green belt for the greater good, and fought with sacrifice etched across my entire body like a tattoo.
No, considering the number of battles I’ve fought in the Southern Wilderness, even calling it “fighting” feels unfair.
I fought like absolute hell.
In forests. In fields. In swamps and jungles.
I drove my spear into the bodies of spiders the size of houses. Against the Southern Barbarian warriors who swarmed endlessly coveting the orb, I countered with nothing but fire and fists.
If it had ended there, it would have been better.
In the Poison Blood Land, I faced the insane situation of fighting two supreme masters simultaneously, and before I could fully recover from those injuries, I had to clash with that monster called the Nantian Demon Empress.
‘And on top of that, the Annihilation Strike.’
Annihilation Strike.
It literally means killing everything in one blow, but lately I’ve been wondering if that “everything” includes me.
What the hell. I can’t tell if I’m pouring my martial power into this one strike, or my lifespan.
Still, it wasn’t all bad. Just when I thought this might be the day I saw my life end, the Beast King Miao Wang and the Baekcheon Brigade appeared, and with the Beast King’s help, I recovered some of my internal injuries, plus I learned that our allies were already swarming outside the Inner Palace.
The fact that the tide had turned in our favor finally let me breathe easier.
Until that insane tiger suddenly accelerated.
Whoooosh!
Damn. Does this bastard’s diet consist of cornflakes?
Ever since I first encountered it on Ai-nao Mountain, I’ve felt that Su-ho-ryung was faster than three hundred members of the Baekcheon Brigade, even faster than the Beast King Miao Wang.
The vast Inner Palace, now reduced to ruins. And a thousand transformed beings standing like an iron wall before me.
Toward the Nantian Demon Empress who existed beyond them, a silver body shot forward like the wind.
At the same time, hearing Su-ho-ryung’s will resonating in my mind, I thought:
– Hold tight, human!
‘An assassination attempt…?’
That was the moment. Above the transformed beings’ heads, a massive yet turbid light erupted.
Roooaaaar!
– Duck down.
With a brief transmission of will, Su-ho-ryung tilted its body. Powerful front paws pressed against the ground, and the massive form twisted diagonally in a new direction.
Screeeech!
Sensing and movement truly worthy of a spiritual creature—or perhaps the term “divine beast” fit even better.
The Nantian Demon Empress’s palm strike, infused with tremendous martial power, missed its target and lashed down at the ground instead.
Boom! Crack crack crack!
A dust cloud rose with the explosion.
Simultaneously, toward the countless fragments that tore through space and descended upon me, I swung down the blade of my Baek Yeom spear.
Whoosh!
The spear blade, creating a sound of air-splitting, tore through space, and the countless fragments deflected by the shockwave of the palm strike scattered into powder.
And in that moment.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
Hundreds of figures mounted upon the backs of colossal beasts pierced through the encompassing darkness and hazy clouds of dust, launching forward like arrows.
A triangular wedge formation, laden with tremendous weight and momentum.
At its apex stood a gray-haired middle-aged man—Beast King Miao Wang—who unleashed a single punch.
Whoooosh, crash!
No cry of rage, no command issued.
Yet the emerald fist energy that erupted in place of his voice crushed dozens of mutants in an instant, carving a void through which three hundred charging spears pierced like keen awls.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
Blood sprayed forth, and severed limbs shot skyward, torn from their bodies.
One thousand against three hundred. Humans and beasts against monsters—a clash of forces.
Slash! Slash!
Screech, splurt-splurt-splurt!
“Ugh!”
– Kraaaaaaah!
Horrific screams and the sound of tearing flesh echoed from all directions.
What awaited the Baekcheon Brigade after their coordinated assault had crushed hundreds of mutants was fierce close-quarters combat, and Beast King Miao Wang surged forward toward the true enemy awaiting him beyond.
“Nantian Demon Empress!”
With a roar, his form shot forth like a beam of light. Immediately after, the shockwave of their collision, carrying blinding radiance, shook the very earth.
Boom! Crack-crack-crack!
Countless movements intertwined between them, sharp weapons clashing. Above their heads, darkness gradually scattered, pushed back by the emerald energy.
‘The Nantian Demon Empress is already exhausted. Beast King Miao Wang holds the advantage.’
Yet the situation on the battlefield, now descended into close combat, was far from favorable.
The beasts, grown larger and stronger through their mutations, rivaled first-rate masters, and the warriors who retained the martial prowess of their human forms moved at speeds incomparable to before, targeting the Baekcheon Brigade.
Just as now.
Slash, scrape!
With a sharp cutting sound, a mutant’s head flew skyward.
A Baekcheon Brigade warrior, belatedly aware of what had transpired behind him, stared at me with wide eyes.
“No matter how pressed for time, you must always watch your back.”
“Much obliged. But who are you…?”
Beast King Miao Wang, and the Baekcheon Brigade.
Hesitating briefly at this crossroads, I answered.
“I’m on your side. Follow my lead.”
It was an unavoidable choice.
The Baekcheon Brigade, with each member having reached at least the pinnacle of first-rate mastery, could hold their ground even in numerical disadvantage. The mutants, already completely consumed by demonic energy, possessed formidable strength.
With Beast King Miao Wang gone as the linchpin, Su-ho-ryung and I had to assume the role of vanguard.
“…Damn. Now that I think about it, why am I…”
– Is it just my imagination, or does he seem to fight well even while complaining?
“Be honest. You resent me, don’t you.”
Crack!
Whether it was the ferocity born from demonic energy, or loyalty to protect the commander—I couldn’t say for certain.
Beyond the haze of dust rising thick into the air, Su-ho-ryung crushed the mutated beast that charged forth to fill my entire field of vision in a single, devastating blow.
– Resentment?
“I know exactly what you’re thinking, you bastard. You’re throwing a fit because I torched Ai-nao Mountain.”
Crunch-crack!
With one swipe of his foreleg, four tiger heads tore free. Su-ho-ryung, a tiger of all things, clicked his tongue in response.
– That’s not even funny.
“You sure?”
– No.
“Then is this revenge for the Thousand Year Spider that lived upstairs?”
– What kind of nonsense is that?
“I’ve been thinking about it, and something feels off. There’s even a saying about it—our friendly neighborhood spider. The Thousand Year Spider… look out!”
Thrust!
With the cry, my white-flame spear extended upward, its blade casting a shadow above Su-ho-ryung’s head as it pierced cleanly through the charging tiger’s skull.
Gurgle…
The roar cut short in an instant. I swung the spear with the tiger’s final breath still escaping its body, the corpse impaled upon the blade.
Whoosh, crash!
A carcass weighing several hundred pounds flew through the air, crushing other mutated beasts beneath it.
“No one consumed by hatred would throw a patient like me—someone who needs recovery—into this hellhole. That’s my conclusion.”
Slash! Scrape!
Following the arc of my spear as it swept horizontally like flowing water, five heads flew upward.
Headless corpses collapsed even as they charged forward. Su-ho-ryung, watching the spectacle unfold, muttered softly.
– You seem different from the patient I know.
“Are you insane? Can’t you see my condition?”
– I’m looking at it directly as we speak.
“You don’t understand my state. Every breath I take makes my bones ache.”
Thrust!
– Yet you keep poking around everywhere with that spear, so your words carry no weight.
“Damn it. I’m just trying to survive however I can…”
– Do you know something?
“What?”
–
For a human, you’re terrible at lying.
“What does that even—”
I had no chance to finish.
Crack, whoosh!
Silver mane stained with blood scatters through the air. Su-ho-ryung bursts upward, the mutated beast’s head exploding, and swings his foreleg down as he descends.
His claws, sharp as hooks, carried with them a blade-like wind and a force that could be called Qi.
Boom! Crack-crack-crack!
A single strike.
Amidst the deafening roar and tremors, dozens of mutants were pulped and sent flying, only for even more to surge forward and fill the gaps.
Shwiiing!
– Kuaaaagh!
A movement swift and fierce, utterly at odds with their bestial cries.
The blade auras streaming from the weapons of several mutants bore witness to their past—once renowned warriors of the Southern Wilderness.
But….
– Kraaaang!
A guardian existing solely for the Divine Stone. At the roar of the colossal Baek Ho—a sound no one had ever heard—the mutants’ bodies froze rigid.
In that same instant, as though we’d made a pact beforehand, I brought Baek Yeom down in a diagonal slash.
‘I’ll cut them down. In one breath.’
The scorching heat that once burned for thirty years, the cyan-white flames that had wrapped around the transparent spear blade—neither could be found now.
All that remained to me was perhaps a handful of inner force, a body heavy as water-logged cotton, and only one thing I could truly rely on: Baek Yeom, this divine weapon.
Surely that was all there was… yet I couldn’t understand.
Scraaape!
Cutting without pause.
Thruuust!
Piercing.
Swiiing!
Why I continued to fight the mutants, swinging my weapon.
Why I endured, pouring strength into legs that screamed in agony, refusing to fall from Su-ho-ryung’s back.
No—perhaps I understood it dimly.
The meaning of what Su-ho-ryung had said to me moments before.
“…Damn it.”
At the curse that escaped my lips unbidden, Su-ho-ryung laughed softly.
– Did I not tell you? You are terrible at lying.
“….”
– Had you truly wished to live, you would never have come to this place from the start. Yet despite your exhaustion, you do not cease this fight.
“Enough. Shut your mouth.”
– Why? Do you pity those who, like yourself, have fallen from human to monster? Or do you wish to sever the breath of some vile human who made them into monsters?
“…!”
The moment I heard that whisper echoing in my mind, my breath caught, and something hot surged up from deep within my chest.
Yet my extended hand drove the spear toward another mutant’s throat.
Thruuust!
The transparent spear blade cleaved flesh and severed bone. In the eyes of my opponent, once entirely blackened without a trace of white, I saw the darkness slowly receding.
And in that emptiness, death descended.
Thud.
As the grotesque form collapsed, I gazed upon the nameless warrior whose face was twisted into a nightmare, and I murmured softly.
“Did they feel pain?”
– Yes. Likely so.
Swiiing!
As I paused my movements, the leopard that had been charging forward was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
Su-ho-ryung, who had swept his massive foreleg to end the mutant’s life, continued his thoughts with calm composure.
– But after that brief moment of agony, a great and warm peace would have awaited them. For them, merely existing had become suffering.
“…!”
– They do not resent you. So, human, cease your self-recrimination.
Damn it all.
I know. I did my best. I always fought at the cost of my life and came this far to prevent terrible calamity.
But as always, my best efforts did not yield the best results.
‘I should have stopped it.’
In the end, I could not. I saved many, but many others I could not save.
Ultimately, all I could do was give my utmost effort to end their lives.
Just as I do now.
Whoooosh!
The spear blade, swung with all my strength, tore through the wind and split the space itself. Simultaneously, my entire body screamed in agony from bearing the full force of that single strike.
For a moment, my vision turned pure white from the excruciating pain.
But I gritted my teeth and endured. I unleashed a single spear, brimming with terrifying power and speed, upon those who were once human like me.
Craaash!
The massive arc traced by the spear blade. At its end, a violent wind laden with crimson blood whirled forth.
Severed necks and limbs shot upward, followed by countless deaths and merciful rest.
Ding. Ding. Ding.
This was the first time. The first time I wanted to cover my ears against that clear bell chime announcing experience gained. The first time the sight of enemies crumbling and spraying blood felt so sorrowful.
But I did not stop moving.
Slash. Slash. Slash!
Cut. Cut. Cut again.
Until everything blocking my path disappeared. Until the spear blade carved through empty air.
Whoosh!
The world tilted.
No—my body, unable to withstand the force channeled through the spear blade, tilted.
And in the next instant, a rough hand caught my body as I tumbled from Su-ho-ryung’s back.
“It is finished. Stop now.”
Wang Ho, commander of the Baekcheon Brigade.
At his voice, filled with shock and astonishment, I gasped for breath and surveyed my surroundings.
The Baekcheon Brigade, now reduced by more than half, and countless corpses submerged in pools of blood scattered in all directions.
But….
‘No.’
His words were wrong.
This battle, today’s calamity—it was not over.
Not unless I completely severed the breath of one particular person.
“Let us go.”
– …Human.
“I have to end this.”
Su-ho-ryung, who had been about to respond to the voice flowing between my cracked lips, extends his body heavily forward.
Whoosh!
A wind sweeps across my entire body. At the end of the path we’re heading toward, there is a figure writhing in desperation to live, even as blood pours from its mouth.
No—a monster.

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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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