Chapter 278
Chapter 278
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 278
Chapter Title: Murim Alliance Leader Election
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Namgung Hwa-young received the report that had just arrived.
Reading the report brought by Chief Strategist Zhuge Dan-cheon, Namgung Hwa-young asked in a weary voice.
"This happened just now?"
"Yes."
The report detailed the events that had unfolded at the Sacheon Tang Clan just before Il-da-gyeong.
An urgent message received through Kit, compiled by Zhuge Dan-cheon and delivered to Namgung Hwa-young.
"It happened before Il-da-gyeong, but there must have been precursors."
"I heard the Blue Zone guild master recently met with the Shinryeon Castle Lord and the Tang Clan head."
"So that's how it is."
Namgung Hwa-young gave a bitter smile.
Nothing ever happens out of the blue. It only seems that way because we're unaware, but every event has its signs.
"Some are already talking a lot about this incident."
Was it just talk?
The head of the Sacheon Tang Clan was dead. The Poison King, a supreme master of his generation, known throughout Murim, had fallen.
Moreover, the Sacheon Tang Clan had long been bound with the Five Great Families, maintaining close ties with the Namgung Clan.
This was no small matter.
"Voices are rising to capture those bastards as soon as possible."
"Do you think they didn't know that?"
"......"
"They're not fools enough to think they wouldn't make enemies of all of Murim with this."
Namgung Hwa-young recalled an event from not so long ago.
"I might have to fight you all."
After the great battle, when she'd gone personally to recruit Lee Soo-hyuk, those were his words.
In response, Namgung Hwa-young had retorted that it sounded like he was declaring war on all of Murim.
It was a natural reaction. At the time, his words were tantamount to a declaration of war before the Murim Alliance Lord herself.
But she hadn't believed he meant it.
"Why, though?"
Namgung Hwa-young's eyes fell on a particular line in the report.
The unidentified player who fought the Shinryeon Castle Lord was suspected of using lightning.
"Why is the streamer Lee Soo-hyuk moving with the Dark Queen?"
"......I don't know."
The words "I don't know" came from Zhuge Dan-cheon's mouth.
It was the first time she'd heard such an answer. No matter the question, he always provided perfect responses, or close to it.
"I'm sorry. Even racking my insufficient brain, I can't find any connection between the two."
"What if it's a pure intention to help a ranker he admires?"
"I've considered that too, but it doesn't explain how the two even met."
Namgung Hwa-young nodded, realizing her mistake. She'd only thought about Lee Soo-hyuk's motive for helping the Dark Queen, not how they connected.
It had been over twenty years since Kim Ye-ryeong, known as the Dark Queen in Murim, was reported dead.
The reason was unknown, but she'd vanished from the world like she'd gone into hiding.
For a streamer who'd been climbing the tower for less than a year to find such a Kim Ye-ryeong? It couldn't be just fandom.
"Truth be told, I'm not even sure it's really the streamer Lee Soo-hyuk."
"Pardon?"
At Namgung Hwa-young's question, Zhuge Dan-cheon hesitated before answering.
"Why the reluctance?"
"It's not something befitting my position as Chief Strategist."
Meaning it was a statement unfit for someone who should be the most rational and intelligent.
And it was more intuition than logic.
"It's fine. You're the wisest person I know, Chief Strategist."
Namgung Hwa-young believed him.
His intuition, honed over years as the Murim Alliance's Chief Strategist, would touch the truth, whatever it was.
"So tell me. Whatever you say, I'll listen carefully."
Namgung Hwa-young was prepared to believe even a mere speculation from him.
But.
"What if... what if he really is Lee Soo-hyuk?"
After much deliberation, Zhuge Dan-cheon's words were hard to believe.
"Then... everything falls into place."
Crack...
With every step, the ice shattered beneath his feet. A chill rose, freezing even his skin.
Kim Il-su looked around. Around the small cabin, dozens of people had turned into white ice lumps.
"They're all done for."
Seeing his white breath, Kim Il-su sensed the mana permeating the surroundings.
It was a familiar sensation. One he'd long forgotten—colder and more piercing than the frigid air, tickling his skin.
"Search the area more thoroughly."
"Yes."
At Kim Il-su's command, the rankers who'd come with him began scouring the vicinity. The cabin was empty, the surroundings desolate.
"Any traces?"
"Everything's buried in snow."
"Siwoo's handiwork, alright."
Ye-ryeong excelled at killing, Si-woo at protecting and escaping. His abilities seemed flashy at first glance, leaving many traces, but their excess made tracking difficult.
You needed footprints to follow, but everything was blanketed in snow, not even a single one left.
In the meantime, a tall woman in a mask approached Kim Il-su's side.
"I'm sorry. It seems they've gone too far."
She was Jang Se-ri.
Kim Il-su's most trusted subordinate, like his shadow.
Looking at her, Kim Il-su gave a wry smile.
"Should've sent you there instead."
Kim Il-su had just learned of the Sacheon Tang Clan incident.
The Poison King was dead. Along with all the high rankers there.
And the Poison King's death meant Ye-ryeong had gotten what she wanted.
"That fool. I told him not to let his guard down."
"Just in case, we'll search more."
"No need."
Glancing around briefly, Kim Il-su shook his head.
"They've already gone too far to catch. Damn it, no one does anything right."
In this operation, Kim Il-su had two plans.
One was to catch Ye-ryeong when she came to the Sacheon Tang Clan using the Poison King and Uncheongeuk. He wasn't fully confident in that one.
On paper, the Poison King and Uncheongeuk with home advantage and twenty high rankers had the edge, but it wasn't certain.
Because of Ye-ryeong's stealth and reversal skills, and the wildcard Lee Soo-hyuk.
"Is it that Lee Soo-hyuk again?"
Jang Se-ri's eyes gleamed. She seemed hung up on Lee Soo-hyuk, who kept thwarting the guild.
But this wasn't solely Lee Soo-hyuk's doing. Even Kim Il-su himself hadn't fully trusted the Poison King.
"That's part of it... but the Shinryeon Castle Lord moved unexpectedly."
"The Shinryeon Castle Lord?"
"Yeah."
Shinryeon Castle Lord Uncheongeuk.
He was one of the few Kim Il-su respected for his skill. In this very operation, Kim Il-su had trusted Uncheongeuk more than his own Tang Clan subordinates.
Yet Uncheongeuk had acted out of character.
"He gave Ye-ryeong the antidote."
Uncheongeuk hadn't fought to the end. The moment he judged the tide had turned, he'd handed over the antidote to Ye-ryeong.
With the antidote passed, Hyomin would wake up again.
"We should've caught at least this side somehow..."
While aiming for Ye-ryeong, he'd targeted Hyomin too.
Judging that at least one of them would protect Hyomin, and it was most likely Si-woo's role over Ye-ryeong's.
He'd finally found where the two were hiding, but he was already one step late.
"We'll keep tracking for now."
"Yeah. Do that."
No sooner had Kim Il-su replied than Jang Se-ri vanished from the spot. He trusted her, but didn't expect much.
"Did they flee in advance?"
Si-woo had anticipated their arrival.
He must have known Kim Il-su would separate the two and prepared accordingly.
"I..."
Gazing at the snow-covered wasteland, Kim Il-su muttered in resignation.
"...am one move behind."
Puffing white breath, Unhyang followed behind Si-woo.
Hyo-min was on her back. To prepare for any contingency, Si-woo's hands and feet needed to be free.
So protecting Hyo-min fell to Unhyang.
The two ran like mad for a while. Si-woo moved swiftly, as if familiar, erasing their tracks.
Judging they'd reached a safe distance, Si-woo slowed down. They'd run so far that Unhyang's breathing grew ragged.
'Has he been this quiet?'
Si-woo, leading the way, said nothing.
They'd grown close lately from spending so much time together.
But what was this cold chill?
It wasn't from the icy air or the snow on the ground.
Unlike his ice abilities, Si-woo was a warm person— the opposite of his cold appearance.
Yet now, he seemed the one who fit best with ice in the world.
'Is he angry?'
He'd suddenly said they had to flee, blanketing everything in snow.
At the time, she hadn't understood, only suspecting something was up, too rushed to hear explanations.
How long had they walked in this heavy silence?
"Huuuuh..."
Suddenly stopping, Si-woo let out a long sigh and looked up high.
"I think we're good around here."
"R-Really?"
"Sorry."
The abrupt apology.
Realizing what it was for, Unhyang waved her hands hurriedly.
"N-No! I'm fine. Anyway, if we're safe, that's a relief."
"No. I was too down in the dumps alone. Felt like you were walking on eggshells."
"......Was it obvious?"
"Yeah. Extremely. Even knowing it showed, I couldn't calm down. Shouldn't have been like that."
Si-woo had a skill to detect within a certain range using moisture.
Though he couldn't move while using it, the vast range was top-tier among detection skills due to the drawback.
Thanks to it, they'd evaded detection for over twenty years. Even if spotted, they could escape first.
"That guy came."
But in all that time, Kim Il-su coming personally was a first.
"......Made me want to kill him."
As killing intent rose, the surrounding temperature dropped chillingly, beyond his control.
Unhyang, nearby, felt Si-woo's grudge against Kim Il-su. It was a blazing fury that could melt this entire snowfield.
Yet the grudge he showed outwardly was less than a fraction, suppressed as it was.
"How did you hold back?"
In that long-awaited moment, he must have wanted to fight instead of flee.
At Unhyang's question, Si-woo glanced back with lingering regret. Like her question, he yearned to clash with Kim Il-su, now so close.
But he had to endure.
"I made a promise."
The day he'd lost his friends.
And lost Kyu-seong too.
Si-woo had promised Ye-ryeong.
"Never... to die."