Murim Login - Chapter 734

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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 734
Choi Team Leader typically displayed minimal facial expressions.
He rarely revealed his emotions to others, and in interviews with the press, he always spoke only the essentials so concisely that even veteran reporters who had held a microphone since their first assignment would fumble for words.
But even Choi Team Leader was a man with blood flowing through his veins. He occasionally displayed quite rich emotions.
Especially when conversing with me, he would pour out his hidden feelings without restraint.
Just like now.
“The Odin Guild, huh? I’m thinking I’d like to see the face of that place’s master.”
“…!”
Before the words even finished, his mouth fell open blankly. Beneath his trembling eyelids, his pupils were already experiencing an earthquake.
This bastard’s planning to cause trouble again.
Choi Team Leader, who had been regarding me with exactly that kind of gaze, barely managed to extract his voice after a long silence.
“Are you speaking in earnest right now?”
“Hmm.”
I continued after a moment of thought.
“Probably fifty-fifty?”
“So you’re half-insane, then.”
“Is that how it works?”
“I’m genuinely curious about this—where does this insane idea of immediately going to meet the Odin Guild Master come from? Your heart? Your head?”
“My heart.”
At my brief answer, Choi Team Leader let out a sigh.
“At least that’s a relief. You’re not completely mad yet.”
“You call a perfectly sane person mad. I just want to see his face and have a cup of coffee. Besides, there’s an Ares Guild branch in France anyway, so I can use that as an excuse and kill two birds with one stone….”
“It’s a guild branch, not a chain outlet. And you expect me to believe that now? Are you joking?”
At Choi Team Leader’s stern question, I smacked my lips.
“Well, if the conversation doesn’t go smoothly with them, there could be some trouble.”
“I’ll interpret that as meaning enormous trouble will occur.”
I was about to retort, but held back.
In all conscience, I couldn’t tell Choi Team Leader that his concerns were too exaggerated.
It was only a few weeks ago in modern time that I had stormed into the Ares Guild alone and smashed Seok Go-jun’s head in.
‘I’ve done enough that I can’t say anything in my defense.’
Besides, I’m not a fool.
I was fully aware that if I moved according to my heart’s desires right now, I would meet a rather unpleasant end.
“I understand.”
“The Eiffel Tower collapses, the guild collapses, public opinion toward us becomes desolate… right?”
“I understand.”
Choi Team Leader, already suffering from hallucinations one step ahead, blinked his eyes.
“Really?”
I nodded slightly and answered.
“There’s no justification for it in the first place.”
Even in the Murim where human lives are equivalent to livestock, there’s a need for at least minimal justification, but flying to Paris right now and attacking the Odin Guild would only net me an Interpol warrant.
‘At least when I dealt with Seok Go-jun, I had the people’s support.’
Though it had sparked significant global attention, it was an incident that occurred domestically, and unlike this situation, the testimony and evidence were clear-cut.
Add to that the public’s fury toward Seok Go-jun for his countless crimes against humanity.
The reason I could avoid becoming a criminal despite acting outside the bounds of law was due to these various factors.
‘But Paris will be different.’
My heart was screaming at me to march into Paris and cause chaos, but my remaining rationality kept me grounded in reality.
At my decision, Choi Team Leader’s eyes widened, and Skeleton King, who had been intently scrolling through his smartphone while slurping oxtail soup, dropped his spoon with a clatter.
“This is unbelievable. Are you talking about justification right now?”
“This makes no sense. You’re a monster, you bastard! How could you do this to a cunning human!”
“….”
“Jin Tae-kyung, this is just a simple verification procedure, so please don’t take it the wrong way. Where was the place we first met?”
“Hey! Doppelgänger! Get out of that cunning human’s body!”
These guys were absolutely infuriating.
Instead of answering, I grabbed the spoon from the table and smacked Skeleton King on the crown of his skull.
Crack!
“My beautiful skull!”
Watching Skeleton King wail, Choi Team Leader nodded in satisfaction.
“Good. It’s definitely Jin Tae-kyung.”
“….”
After completing this oddly unsettling verification procedure, Choi Team Leader exhaled in relief.
“In any case, I’m glad you’ve reconsidered.”
“If this could be solved so easily, I’d have booked a ticket to Paris right now, international crime or whatever.”
“Exactly. If Odin Guild disappears, another Odin Guild will simply emerge in its place.”
It was the same as when Ares Guild had been our enemy.
The world is vast, and the void left by a fallen foe is filled by another.
Just as we had seized Ares Guild through siege warfare, they would do the same. Now my duty as City Lord was to defend the castle from the swarm of competitors surrounding us and expand our territory as much as possible.
Moreover, Odin Guild wasn’t some stray dog that had wandered in from who knows where.
A beast with a massive body and razor-sharp claws.
Greedy, even. Just like the contents written on the tablet PC that Choi Team Leader had just handed me.
“This is….”
“During the Sichuan Province Monster Wave, this was a participation proposal that the Chinese government transmitted to Odin Guild. Of course, it’s unofficial and has no legal force.”
An unofficial proposal.
I wondered how Choi Team Leader had obtained material that was nearly impossible to leak, but the answer came quickly.
“Did Uncle Jong-seok give it to you?”
“It wasn’t Uncle Jong-seok—it was Chairman Xiao Yang.”
“Yes. So, Uncle Jong-seok.”
“….”
“What does it matter? It’s friendly and nice. Besides, that old man really likes me anyway.”
Choi Team Leader regarded me with eyes that seemed half-resigned and continued speaking.
“As you know, Jin Tae-kyung, in the early stages of the crisis, the Chinese State Council and Standing Committee were reluctant to request foreign assistance. They particularly opposed Western support vehemently.”
The Skeleton King, who had been tenderly caressing his skull, interjected with an expression of bewilderment.
“You opposed it? Why?”
Well, why indeed.
There were several reasons I could cite, but ultimately, the answer boiled down to one. I offered the solution to his question in a gentle voice.
“Because it’s China.”
“What are you saying? Humans are dying regardless.”
“Because it’s China.”
“No, you cunning wretch. It seems you fail to comprehend this body’s question….”
“Yeah. China.”
“…?”
“That’s just how it is. You might not understand yet.”
Leaving the Skeleton King’s face full of question marks behind, I turned my head toward Choi Team Leader.
“But regardless, you did request support from the Western powers, didn’t you? Prince Felix Alexander Louis from Britain, and Magic Johnson as well.”
“Yes. As the damage from the Arch Lich became astronomically severe, the Chinese leadership had no choice but to accept Chairman Xiao Yang’s argument. However, they had to build their forces with the understanding that once the situation is resolved, they would need to pay appropriate diplomatic and material compensation.”
So many S-rank Hunters gathered—four of them, excluding myself.
Of course, that alone constituted tremendous power, but what mattered now was the fact that the Odin Guild, which should have been pivotal alongside the Ares Guild led by Lee Jung-yong, had withdrawn.
“But why did they reject the proposal? At this level, the Odin Guild should absolutely accept it—the compensation seems astronomical.”
The employment fee listed in the unofficial proposal on the tablet screen was truly staggering, enough for me to ask such a question.
Compared to the employment fee of the Ares Guild I’d heard about before, it was nearly double, and there were several additional options attached as well.
Truly the finest treatment befitting the name Odin itself.
But my doubt was cleanly resolved by Choi Team Leader’s voice in the next moment.
“The one who ultimately rejected it was the Chinese government.”
“Pardon?”
“Just as negotiations were nearly concluded, the Odin Guild attached an additional condition.”
“An additional condition, you say….”
Choi Team Leader, who had taken a sip of lukewarm coffee, continued quietly.
“They demanded a 99-year lease of ten cities including Chengdu, Meishan, Ziyang, and Suining—the representative activity zones of Sichuan Province—to the Odin Guild, and permission to establish an official branch in Beijing.”
“…!”
“It was essentially a proposal to cede Sichuan Province. The establishment of an official branch, which is forbidden by the Chinese government, was merely a bonus.”
Good heavens, what exactly had I just heard.
Staring blankly at Choi Team Leader, I muttered softly.
“Wow, those crazy bastards. That’s even worse than the Chinese.”
“According to information provided by Chairman Xiao Yang, the Odin Guild apparently made contact with the French government right before the negotiations.”
“Even so, how could they make such an insane proposal?”
“It’s France, sir.”
“No, but there’s such a thing as common sense.”
“France, sir.”
“…Excuse me. Team Leader Choi?”
“France.”
“….”
For some reason, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu. Perhaps it was merely my imagination.
And to me, who wore a disgruntled expression, Choi Team Leader spoke in a gentle voice.
“Jin Tae-kyung, did you know that people in our country call France by a different name?”
“Ah.”
In that instant, understanding flashed through my mind, and I let out an exclamation.
“The European version of that stereotype…!”
Seeing my reaction, Choi Team Leader nodded.
“Different skin color and culture aside, they’re cut from the same cloth. Whether the President commits adultery or does whatever else, the French don’t care. It’s no coincidence that the Odin Guild has its headquarters in Paris. Even with scandal, there’s no real backlash.”
“But wasn’t that just an internet meme?”
“It reminds me of my school days in Paris. When my grandfather’s photograph appeared in the history textbook, everyone in the classroom looked at me and made that gesture.”
“Ah.”
“The teacher was doing it too.”
“Oh… oh my.”
“It’s fine. It’s all in the past now.”
Choi Team Leader, having set aside that painful childhood memory that suddenly surfaced, continued.
“The crucial point right now is that even the Odin Guild, backed by the French government, cannot move easily. Just as with the assassination of Wu Shaming’s family, they can only resort to warnings rather than physical threats.”
That much was true.
Currently, Cheon Tae-min’s flag waves above the walls of the Ares Guild, and the image I’ve presented to the world thus far cannot be ignored.
Even if it were the Odin Guild, ranked as the world’s greatest, or any other massive Guild, the same principle applies.
And above all….
“People around the world are cheering for us. Though the media cannot openly condemn the great Guilds, public opinion criticizing them is considerable.”
The will of the people.
The most powerful weapon and shield obtained through the revelation of the Mana Cultivation Method.
We must maximize the will of the people we’ve gained. We must make it so that even the Odin Guild cannot dare to approach….
“Um, sorry to kill the mood.”
Skeleton King suddenly opened his mouth and held out his smartphone.
“Is this what you mean by that cheering?”
On the screen of the smartphone he offered, a news alert posted merely tens of seconds ago was displayed.
[Odin Guild Declares Support for Ares]
[Odin Guild Unveils New Mana Cultivation Method]
[High-ranking Official: “A project we’ve been preparing for years”]
[“Though we’re a step behind, we wish to change the world alongside them.” World’s finest grace]
What the hell is this now.

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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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