Murim Login - Chapter 410

‘Has it really been 30 years?’

Lee Jung-ryong muttered to himself.

The foul stench of numerous monsters and the scent of blood mixed in the air. It was a smell that reminded him of the battlefield, almost nostalgic in a grim way.

‘Yes, it truly has been a long time.’

He stared at the approaching fog with eyes that reflected his years of experience, a sharp contrast to his outward appearance. The thick fog, hiding what he estimated to be thousands of monsters, exuded a palpable sense of dread.

While most of the troops were shaken, this was a familiar sight for Lee Jung-ryong, who had survived the Great Cataclysm.

“How old are you?” Lee Jung-ryong suddenly asked.

The man standing a step behind him, Head of Security Seok Go-jun, responded.

“I’m thirty-five.”

“You’re in your prime. Looking back, I was the same. Every day was a fight for survival, but I had dreams back then.”

Lee Jung-ryong gazed into the empty air, as if seeing a glimpse of his younger self—a man filled with ambition and the will to survive, striving to be the best.

But now, thirty years later, the person standing here was an old man nearing seventy.

“Sometimes, I wonder… Will everything I’ve built come crumbling down?”

“I don’t have the slightest doubt it won’t,” Seok Go-jun replied confidently.

“And why is that?” Lee Jung-ryong asked.

Seok Go-jun’s lips twitched.

“Because Master is here.”

Lee Jung-ryong chuckled softly.

“What if I fall?”

“I guarantee that will never happen.”

“There was a time when I thought that way about someone else—a man stronger than anyone, a wall that seemed insurmountable no matter how much of my life I dedicated. He was the beginning and the end of the Great Cataclysm, our savior, almost like a new god. But in the end, he was just a man.”

The hero who had achieved immortal feats had long since disappeared, and few knew his secrets. One of those few was Lee Jung-ryong, who spoke in a low voice.

“Nothing is eternal. Nothing is certain. Lately, I’ve been thinking about that more and more.”

“Is it because of Jin Tae-kyung?” Seok Go-jun asked.

“When a crack begins, collapse follows in an instant. He is that crack.”

“Then we need to seal the crack before everything falls apart.”

Lee Jung-ryong turned his gaze to the fog creeping across the barren field. His voice, soft but carrying a hidden sharpness, slipped out from between his lips.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, sir.”

Seok Go-jun, who had bowed his head deeply, drew his sword.

Srrrkt! Clang!

Following him, hundreds, no, thousands of weapons were drawn in unison.

The elite forces of the Ares Guild, forged through countless raids and training, and the shining weapons in the hands of countless Chinese hunters shimmered like a tide.

“Please give the order,” Seok Go-jun said.

Lee Jung-ryong began to walk slowly.

There was no place here for soldiers or artillery. This was a battle between superhuman hunters and monsters, and Lee Jung-ryong would reign as the god of the battlefield.

“Let’s go.”

With a single word, Lee Jung-ryong shot forward like the wind. The fog that filled the field split apart in the wake of his sword’s path.

**Boom!**

—

*Splat!*

A young man, drenched in foul-smelling green blood, barely held back his gag reflex.

No, to be more precise, he hadn’t even been given the time to gag.

*Whoosh, Boom!*

The top part of his tower shield shattered, and sharp fragments grazed the tip of his nose. Blood spurted out, filling the air with the scent of iron.

While the stench eased a bit, in front of him, an undead ogre, looking as if it had just recently died, raised its massive iron club.

“*Grooooaaar!*”

The terrifying roar sent chills down his spine.

The young man gritted his teeth and bent his legs, protecting his head with his mana-infused tower shield.

*Bam!*

An enormous shockwave swept through the young man’s body. His head rang with dizziness, and his arm throbbed with pain as though it had been broken.

‘Or maybe it really is broken,’ he thought.

But a broken arm wasn’t even worth worrying about right now.

A five-meter-tall monster, roaring fiercely, swung an iron club as large as a grown man as if it were a mere twig.

*Bam! Bam! Bam!*

Under the relentless assault, the young man let out a tearful scream.

“Hey, what the hell! Why is this thing so strong?!”

The young man was a veteran B-rank hunter and had faced ogres before.

Ogres, as A-rank monsters, were known for their incredible strength and endurance, but they weren’t *this* strong.

But now…

*Crack*

He stared in disbelief at his tower shield, purchased at a great cost earlier this year, shattering after just five strikes from the club.

‘This is insane… Did these things get high or something?’

They were way too strong. Staring at the iron club once again lifting through the mist, the young man felt death approaching.

At that moment, one name crossed his mind.

‘Jin Tae-kyung.’

This was all because of him.

If Jin Tae-kyung hadn’t ignored him that day, he wouldn’t have been scolded by his superiors, wouldn’t have been assigned as a frontline tank, and wouldn’t be facing death right now.

*Whooosh*

There was no way to avoid it. He couldn’t even summon the courage to face the incoming iron club.

The young man squeezed his eyes shut and screamed with all his might.

“Jin Tae-kyung, you son of a—!”

And then, in the next instant…

*Slash!*

A chill breeze brushed past his body, and something poured down like rain.

A voice, piercing through the chaos, reached his ears.

“What did you say?”

“…Huh?”

The young man opened his eyes wide. The green blood splattered in the air, and before him, the enormous undead ogre, headless, slowly toppled over. And there, with a furrowed brow, stood one man.

“…Wha… What?”

“You’re that guy from last time. The one in Verdian.”

*Slash!* *Thud!*

In an instant, Jin Tae-kyung’s blade, invisible to the naked eye, tore through several monsters. They crumpled like puppets with their strings cut.

The young man stammered out a response.

“N-No, that’s not me…”

“Not you? My ass.”

*Slash! Slash!*

Jin Tae-kyung wiped out monsters left and right without missing a beat. Blue flames soared, and with each flash of power, the once-crowded battlefield cleared.

The young man, staring blankly at the sight, blurted out.

“Are you… a god?”

Jin Tae-kyung, who had been silent for a moment, looked back and asked.

“Are you… an idiot?”

With a single sweep of his sword, blue flames devoured the ground, melting iron and sending monsters screaming in pain.

Jin Tae-kyung glanced at the young man.

“Hey.”

“Y-yes?”

“Stay alive. I’m going to make you my errand boy.”

“What?”

“I’m not joking. If you die, I’ll kill you myself.”

“…!”

“And take this.”

*Whizz! Crash!*

Something shot towards the young man, shattering against his forehead before he could even react.

A soft voice filled his ears as a transparent liquid soaked him.

“You’ll feel better now. Fight again, but don’t mess with the ogres—stick to weaker ones. Got it?”

“…Yes, sir.”

“And with that, I’m off.”

“Take care, sir!”

The young man bowed deeply, forgetting that he was still in the middle of a battlefield. When he raised his head again, Jin Tae-kyung had disappeared, and a group of hunters was rushing past him.

*Sshh! Sshh!*

About 200 hunters followed the path Jin Tae-kyung had cleared, cutting down monsters effortlessly.

Two figures stood out at the front.

“*&%$#!”

“The formation is broken! Charge!”

Speaking in incomprehensible Korean were two hunters—one a handsome man, the other a youthful-looking boy.

Their movements were swift as wind, and their blades, enveloped in radiant auras, carved through the monsters.

‘The Death Squad.’

The young man had heard the stories. A select group of S-rank hunters, led by Jin Tae-kyung, charging across the front lines to take down the Arch Lich.

Yesterday, he would have dismissed it as nonsense…

‘Incredible.’

Could I ever be like that?

Watching the scene in awe, the young man suddenly felt a surge of heat in his chest. A strength he hadn’t known he had started to rise within him.

He raised his half-broken tower shield and charged toward the nearest monster.

“Yaaaahhh!”

*Bam!*

Damn it. It was an ogre.

Staring at his completely shattered shield, the young man turned on his heel and started running.

“Where are the orcs?!”

—

*Splat!*

The feeling transmitted through his fist was unmistakable. As soon as the certainty flashed through his mind, the head of the Lycanthrope trying to bite at his neck exploded.

**Ding!**

– You have defeated [Lv.92 Dark-infused Lycanthrope]!
– You have gained a small amount of experience!

‘A Lycanthrope with a level in the 90s?’

Jin Tae-kyung’s brow furrowed. He already knew that level wasn’t always an absolute measure of strength, but the monsters on this battlefield were definitely stronger than the ones he’d faced in previous Gates.

‘They’re tougher…’

Not only were their levels slightly higher, but their agility and brute strength had increased as well.

One or two monsters being stronger might not have seemed strange. But when it applied to everything from F-rank Goblins to A-rank monsters, it was clear something abnormal was happening.

“Jin Tae-kyung!”

“Brother!”

A voice called out urgently from behind. Jin Tae-kyung turned his head to see the horde of monsters once again closing in, filling the gap he had carved out.

The Death Squad was locked in intense combat, struggling to hold their ground.

“Everyone, get out of my way.”

*Bam! Bam! Bam!*

To the monsters, Jin Tae-kyung was an unstoppable force, someone they couldn’t avoid or block. Dozens of phantom fists, formed from pure energy, rained down on their heads like a barrage of cannonballs.

Some monsters were flung far away, while others collapsed right where they stood, crushed by the overwhelming force.

Jin Tae-kyung rushed toward the newly cleared space.

*Swoosh!*

His spear, infused with qi, cut through bone and flesh, tearing apart everything in its path. With each monster that fell, the system alerts continued to chime.

*Ding! Ding! Ding!*

– You have defeated [Lv.55 Dark-infused Orc Warrior]!
– You have gained a small amount of experience!

– You have defeated [Lv.83 Dark-infused Lizard Mage]!
– You have gained a small amount of experience!

And then, a familiar sound that Jin Tae-kyung hadn’t heard in a while echoed in his mind.

*Ding!*

– Level Up!
– As a result of leveling up, some of your fatigue and minor injuries have been healed!
– You have gained 10 stat points!
– Your body has reached its peak condition!

He could feel it. The energy that had been slowly depleting was now replenished, and the exhaustion in his body had vanished like it was never there. But there was something even more pressing on his mind.

“Chief Choi! Xiao Shen!”

“Yes, sir!”

“At your command!”

Jin Tae-kyung shouted loudly enough for his voice to echo across the entire battlefield.

“Get out of the fog! Everyone, move out of the fog’s range as quickly as possible!”

This wasn’t just some unpleasant, damp mist. It was a form of magic—something that the Arch Lich had cast.

Within the fog, the monsters were not only stronger but also becoming “dark-infused,” or more accurately, “corrupted.”

‘That damn magic…’

As Jin Tae-kyung glared at the thick fog enveloping the battlefield, a deafening roar split the sky.

**KABOOM!**

It sounded as if the heavens themselves were being torn apart.