Murim Login - Chapter 417

I didn’t misunderstand. I was just waiting.

The moment they bared their fangs at me…

“Rather than that… I’m certain.”

“Certain?”

“Yes.”

Without realizing it, the corners of my mouth lifted. I finally said the words I had been holding back for so long, over and over again.

“You bastards are more interested in stabbing me in the back than fighting the Arc Lich, aren’t you? That’s what I’m certain of.”

「…!」

In that instant, the short charade came to an end.

Step.

Lee Jung-ryong, who was walking ahead, stopped.

Bang!

A violent gust erupted from behind me, three blades of wind aiming for the vital points in my body.

I didn’t need to turn around to know where Wu Haixing’s daggers were headed and what I needed to do.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The three daggers, aimed at my neck, spine, and right arm, missed their mark, slicing through the empty air.

No, that’s not right.

Was it thanks to my heightened senses? Everything felt slow and crystal clear.

I reached out, grabbing the hilt of the dagger that brushed past my right arm. At the same time, I twisted my body and threw my arm like lightning.

Swish!

「Gasp!」

Wu Haixing, who had been charging at me, hastily swung his sword.

Boom!

With a muffled roar, his body was pushed back. Wu Haixing, his face twisted in frustration, tried to charge at me again, but a calm voice stopped him.

“Enough.”

「Master Lee, why…?」

“He’s not someone you can handle. Wait for a moment.”

Lee Jung-ryong, who had halted Wu Haixing, stared at me with an indifferent gaze.

“Your instincts are sharp.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at his change in tone.

“An old man stating the obvious. If I didn’t have this level of instinct, I’d have died long ago.”

“Since when did you know?”

I answered without hesitation.

“From the moment we first met.”

The day I stormed into the Myeongdong Guild alone, Lee Jung-ryong and I had already stood on opposite sides, with no room for retreat.

That had been set in motion when that bastard Park Ji-hoon ordered the Black Hunter to cut off Uncle Geokjeong’s arms.

“That incident was caused by the excessive loyalty of my subordinates. If you’re going to spew that crap, you might as well roll up your moldy tongue and shove it back in.”

“It’s not like that. It’s just regrettable.”

“Regrettable that you’ll soon be smelling incense behind a folding screen?”

Lee Jung-ryong shook his head.

“No. It’s regrettable because I rather liked you.”

“Then you shouldn’t have cut off my friend’s arms.”

“It was a light warning. I wanted to teach Min-woo a lesson. At that time, you, Jin Tae-kyung, weren’t really a significant factor.”

“And now?”

Lee Jung-ryong smiled softly as he answered.

“I came here personally. Does that answer your question?”

“That’s more than enough.”

I leaned against the shattered concrete debris, letting **Baekyeom** (White Flame) hang loosely in my hand.

On my left was Wu Haixing. On my right was Lee Jung-ryong. There were about ten meters between us, but that distance could disappear in an instant.

“I’m surprised. I thought you’d wait until we dealt with the Arc Lich before making your move.”

「Pfft! You idiot Bangzi!」

Wu Haixing, suddenly butting in, laughed.

Just a few days ago, he couldn’t even look me in the eye. Now, he proudly declared with confidence.

「You’re the one who’ll be fighting the Arc Lich, Jin Tae-kyung.」

“What nonsense… Ah.”

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind, and I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.

As I suspected, these guys are really something else. Their way of thinking is on a whole different level from mine.

“Hah, you bastards sure are ambitious. Your imagination exceeds expectations.”

「Now do you understand? Do you realize what kind of situation you’re in?」

“So… from the start, you had no intention of fighting the Arc Lich?”

Wu Haixing smirked as he answered.

「Why should I take that risk?」

「Today’s battle will be recorded as a loss, and your name will be at the top of the list of casualties. I’ve already prepared the inscription for your gravestone.」

Wu Haixing spread his arms theatrically.

「Bangzi from Korea, killed by the Arc Lich. How about that? Isn’t it a fitting epitaph?」

Even after he finished speaking, I couldn’t find any words for a while. I blinked, dazed, as if I had lost my mind, and the chills running through my body wouldn’t go away.

Was it because of his treachery?

No. My mind was blank, except for the words Wu Haixing had thrown at me earlier, echoing in my head.

‘Why should I take that risk?’

It felt like I’d been hit on the back of the head. At the same time, the images of countless deaths and mutilated bodies from the past month flashed before my eyes.

Young parents who had embraced their children in their arms, hoping they might live, only to meet their end.

Elderly people who couldn’t flee, torn apart, and pregnant women clutching their swollen bellies as they breathed their last.

And…

‘I swore when I became a Hunter that I’d fight monsters until my dying breath. That vow still holds.’

Like Lei Fei, who fulfilled his mission until his last moment, and the 500 Public Security Hunters who rose from the dead and charged bravely.

Like Chief Choi and Xiao Shen, who tied their hands and sword hilts with cloth to kill just one more monster, ready for their final stand.

‘Why did all of them take such risks, I wonder? Like fools.’

One by one, their faces passed before my eyes. My chest burned as if I had swallowed a ball of fire, and my breath came out in hot bursts.

I took a deep breath and looked at one person.

“Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“If you think the same as him.”

“No, I don’t. Not at all. He’s afraid of the Arc Lich…”

Lee Jung-ryong spoke calmly.

“But I see it as an opportunity. The longer this war drags on, the more benefits I can reap.”

After a moment of silence, I nodded slightly.

“I see.”

I lifted myself from the concrete debris. The searing energy of **Yeol Yang Jigi** (Fiery Flame Technique) surged through my body, flowing through my hundreds of meridian points. A blue flame flickered from **Baekyeom**’s spear tip.

“Let me ask you one thing.”

“Anything.”

“**Chakjjangjukjjang** [1]. Piece of trash Lee. I just made up your gravestone inscription. Do you like it?”

「…!」

“…Hahaha.”

Wu Haixing’s face contorted in anger, and Lee Jung-ryong’s eyes narrowed into crescent moons just before—

Whoosh!

A blinding flash erupted from both sides.

—

Lee Jung-ryong had already made up his mind.

‘Don’t be careless. No matter what, I must kill him.’

Even a lion gives its all when hunting a rabbit. To hunt a wolf like Jin Tae-kyung, a lion must use all its strength.

No matter how much of a lion Lee Jung-ryong was, he couldn’t ignore the wolf’s fangs.

Swish!

With a single step, he closed the ten-meter distance in an instant, and his hand blurred.

A longsword, already drawn from its scabbard, shone brightly as it shot toward one person—Jin Tae-kyung.

Whoosh!

It was a strike filled with sincerity, one Lee Jung-ryong had not shown in any of the battles until now.

Moreover, Wu Haixing had also joined the attack. Though lacking compared to Jin Tae-kyung, he was still an S-rank Hunter wielding an aura blade.

「Die!」

Wu Haixing, eyes bloodshot, screamed, but Lee Jung-ryong clearly saw it.

The smooth movements of Jin Tae-kyung, as if gliding, and the spear wrapped in blue flames.

Boom!

The two swords and the spear collided.

A deafening roar echoed, causing the surrounding buildings to crumble and concrete to turn to dust.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

It looked like a scene from a bombing.

The ground caved in, and the intense tremors shook a radius of hundreds of meters.

But this was just the beginning.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Dozens, hundreds of slashes sliced through the air. Lee Jung-ryong’s sword moved so quickly it was invisible, cutting through the space around Jin Tae-kyung.

Or so he thought.

Until Jin Tae-kyung sent Wu Haixing flying with a fiery palm and swung his spear downward.

Whoosh, crackle!

The superheated spear burned through the air, swallowing the dense fog that covered the city and the humidity brought by the weather, slicing toward Lee Jung-ryong’s entire body.

It resembled the talons of a dragon descending from the sky.

‘What is this…’

Lee Jung-ryong frowned.

Jin Tae-kyung’s spear was tearing through the aura he had scattered, racing toward him.

The overwhelming heat caught his breath and froze his body.

The young man in front of him, not even in his thirties yet, was no longer the same person Lee Jung-ryong knew.

‘How did he grow so much in such a short time…!’

But even though Jin Tae-kyung’s strength exceeded his expectations, Lee Jung-ryong was no ordinary man. He, too, was a transcendent warrior, far beyond the capabilities of any regular S-rank Hunter.

In the blink of an eye, Lee Jung-ryong shifted his sword horizontally to block the incoming spear.

**Boom!**

Jin Tae-kyung’s spear struck harder and faster than Lee Jung-ryong had anticipated, but he responded in kind.

**Swish! Swish! Swish!**

Time seemed to split into infinitesimally small moments as spear and sword collided repeatedly, the clash of their strikes creating constant flashes and thunderous booms that echoed without end.

**Crack!** Jin Tae-kyung pressed down with his spear, forcing Lee Jung-ryong’s sword downward. At that moment, Jin Tae-kyung stretched out his free hand.

A fiery palm, infused with the power of the **Fire King**, surged toward Lee Jung-ryong’s chest. Just before it could make contact, Lee Jung-ryong shot out a lightning-fast punch, meeting Jin Tae-kyung’s attack head-on.

**Boom!**

The sound of compressed air exploding reverberated through the battlefield, and the two of them were blown backward as if by some unspoken agreement.

However, the outcome was surprising, especially to Lee Jung-ryong.

While Lee Jung-ryong was forced back two steps, Jin Tae-kyung had only retreated a single step.

‘I… was pushed back?’

For Lee Jung-ryong, a man who had accumulated vast amounts of energy over decades, this was unthinkable.

And yet, this young man—barely in his late twenties—had just forced him back. The idea that Jin Tae-kyung could have grown so much in just over a month seemed absurd.

‘It’s not just his growth…’

His strength, his speed, his movements—everything about him was astonishing, beyond words.

And right now, once again—

**Whoosh! Swoosh!**

Lee Jung-ryong tilted his head just in time, the tip of Jin Tae-kyung’s spear missing him by mere inches as it sliced through the air. But it wasn’t over yet—the spear twisted midair and changed direction.

**Slash!**

A burning sensation spread across his skin, followed by scattered droplets of blood.

For the first time in a long while, Lee Jung-ryong felt pain as the spear drew blood from him. He swung his sword in response.

**Boom!**

Their weapons clashed again, and through the transparent blue flames of the spear, Lee Jung-ryong could see Jin Tae-kyung’s determined eyes burning with cold intensity.

Between his tightly pressed lips, a low, chilling voice emerged.

“You’re… screwed.”

The moment he heard Jin Tae-kyung’s icy words, Lee Jung-ryong realized he needed to revise his earlier assessment of the young man.

‘A lion.’

He had been wrong. Jin Tae-kyung wasn’t a wolf—he was a lion.

A young, powerful lion that could overthrow the old leader of the pride and claim his throne as the new king.

**Crash! Crash!**

The old lion was thrown back by the force he couldn’t resist.

As Lee Jung-ryong flipped in the air and landed on the ground, the first thing he saw was the young lion, Jin Tae-kyung, gripping the throat of Wu Haixing, who had tried to ambush him.

「Gahk! M-My father is a prince of the Taidang…!」

“I don’t care.”

「I-I’ll reward you handsomely if you spare me! Cough! Please!」

“You want me to spare you? You, who tried to kill me?”

Jin Tae-kyung’s reddish gaze bore into Wu Haixing, his eyes filled with cold indifference.

Then, with a smirk, Jin Tae-kyung echoed the very words Wu Haixing had uttered earlier:

“Why should I take that risk?”

「…!」

With that, Jin Tae-kyung tightened his grip, and Wu Haixing’s body convulsed. The strength in his limbs faded as his body went limp, and Jin Tae-kyung tossed him aside like a rag doll.

Wu Haixing’s motionless body fell to the ground with a dull thud.

Lee Jung-ryong watched this from a distance, his eyes narrowing.

‘This is… unexpected.’

The situation had escalated beyond anything he had anticipated.

***

Footnotes:

[1] (Chakjjang) 착짱 : This is short for 착한 짱깨, which roughly translates to “good Chinese.” It is a sarcastic term used in Korean internet culture to refer to Chinese people or characters, often with a negative or mocking connotation. “Jjangkkae” (짱깨) is a derogatory slang term for Chinese people. (Jukjjang) 죽짱 : This means “bad Chinese should die” or “kill the bad Chinese.”