Chapter 142
Translator: penny
Chapter: 142
Chapter Title: Sword Dragon's Challenge
Day two of clocking in at the Murim Alliance.
I was in a pretty foul mood.
It wasn't because I'd gotten chewed out by Squad Leader Daeju for getting distracted during training.
Stuff like that I could just let go in one ear and out the other.
No, the problem was my lack of progress with Baek Iryeong.
Tsk, how the hell do I seduce her?
Just yesterday, it felt like things were looking up.
I'd smoothed over the misunderstanding by selling Yeon-i's entry into the Mount Hua Sect, and even tossed out an invite for a drinking party with Moyong Hui.
So why the hell is there zero reaction?
A whole day had passed, bringing us to today—shouldn't there have been some kind of response by now?
But she was going about her business as if nothing had happened.
I can't exactly make the first move either.
Everyone had seen me bragging yesterday about dating Moyong Hui, so I couldn't just sidle up to Baek Iryeong now and start flirting.
In the end, I'd resorted to my last-ditch tactic from yesterday: staring at her blatantly...
"What the hell are you staring off at?! Focus!"
...only to get scolded by Squad Leader Daeju for getting distracted.
Meanwhile, Baek Iryeong—whether she actually bought the Yeon-i excuse I'd thrown out or not—showed no dramatic reaction no matter how much I stared.
Even when our eyes met by chance, she'd just casually look away.
But who am I?
Me, Mok Jimyeong, the guy who sticks with it to the bitter end once he starts.
If once doesn't work, twice, three times; if that fails, ten or twenty— that's me.
And the result?
I'd been dragged aside by Yang Dogun, the leader of First Squad, and was getting an earful.
"You little shit, if you're gonna slack off like that, get the hell out! Didn't you hear what the Captain said? It'll be ten days at most, or as soon as tomorrow—we're heading to the front lines. What are you gonna do if your squadmates die because of you?!"
Yang Dogun bellowed, his face flushed beet red.
I brushed off his tirade with a half-hearted, bored expression.
What am I gonna do? The weaklings who lose are just weak—that's all.
If my guess was right from the start, First Squad was doomed to get wiped out even without me.
Why bust my ass training for losers like that?
"Hoo... Come on, let's do better. Stop daydreaming, alright?"
Yang Dogun must've figured he'd scolded me enough, because he patted my shoulder with an overly gentle tone.
I nodded vaguely while racking my brains for a way to win over Baek Iryeong.
Tsk, this isn't gonna cut it...
Truth be told, it wasn't urgent.
Baek Iryeong wasn't going anywhere, and neither was I planning to leave.
Like the Captain had said this morning, the White Tiger Unit would head to the battlefield within ten days.
That would kick off the full-blown Righteous-Demonic Great War.
The war was set to drag on for two years anyway.
And if the Martial Emperor Cheon Seonwoo didn't meddle, it might last even longer.
All I had to do was seduce Baek Iryeong within that time.
Cheonbong Namgung Sua too, for that matter.
Once the Righteous-Demonic Great War ends, there's no reason to stick around the Murim Alliance.
Two years at the most—plenty of time.
So I didn't need to rush...
But damn, things don't go my way.
I just wanted to bag her quick if I could.
But no good ideas were coming to mind.
Use Hui-a as bait for another drinking party again? Hmm, from yesterday's vibe, she'd hate that...
Training resumed with the formation drills.
I kept getting distracted, lost in thought...
"You little bastard!!"
...while Yang Dogun kept yelling his head off.
Four days later, that morning.
The White Tiger Unit suddenly gained two new members who hadn't been there the day before.
One was that Wangjeom guy who'd been laid up in the infirmary.
His injuries clearly weren't fully healed—he was limping—but he still showed up at the training grounds.
And the other one was...
Eh? Why the hell is that guy here?
It'd been less than half a month since I'd last seen him.
Namgungchan.
"Alright, say hello. This guy's transferring into our White Tiger Unit starting today. No need to explain—you all know who he is, right?"
"The Sword Dragon in our White Tiger Unit?"
"Wasn't he in the Vermilion Bird Unit? What's going on all of a sudden?"
Namgungchan, bearer of the Sword Dragon moniker, was so famous that everyone recognized him.
He even seemed to know Baek Iryeong—they exchanged nods.
Bathed in everyone's stares, Namgungchan introduced himself politely yet confidently.
"Pleased to meet you all. I'm Namgungchan, now part of the White Tiger Unit starting today. Looking forward to working with you."
""Woo!""
A world away from the reaction I'd gotten a few days ago when I introduced myself.
Of course, given his fame and title, it wasn't surprising...
Tsk, these assholes?
It rubbed me the wrong way, though.
The Captain quieted the squad members and assigned Namgungchan to a unit.
"Sword Dragon, you'll be in Third Squad from now on."
Still calling me rookie, but Sword Dragon for that guy?
Guess I had to take back what I said about the Captain's straightforward personality winning me over.
But seriously, why'd that guy transfer to the White Tiger Unit? Did this happen in my last life?
Back then, as the Flowery Playboy hanging out in Taewon, I had no clue if this was history or not.
I hadn't even known Namgungchan was called the Sword Dragon in the Murim Alliance until Moyong Hui told me—how would I know details like this?
Still, something felt off.
Hmm. If he'd originally come to the White Tiger Unit and racked up merits, I'd have heard about it back then.
Back in my Flowery Playboy days, Jeong Mutae—that guy I hit the brothels with—and I loved our armchair debates.
One favorite topic: the Righteous-Demonic Great War.
But I had no memory of us ever talking about the Sword Dragon?
That was weird.
So maybe my actions in this life had altered the future...
Because of Hui-a?
Moyong Hui had said that after that day, the guy stopped acting like he knew her.
Her old friend suddenly keeping his distance—it felt awkward.
Apparently, it wasn't just Moyong Hui he'd pulled away from.
But why the White Tiger Unit of all places?
The Vermilion Bird Unit guarded the rear, while the White Tiger Unit charged the front lines—their vibes were total opposites.
If it was discomfort around Moyong Hui, why not transfer to the Azure Dragon Unit instead?
And in a few days, the White Tiger Unit was heading to the battlefield.
A real battlefield, where lives were on the line.
Sure, the danger came with a shot at glory, but that still made it fishy.
If the guy was after fame from the start, he'd have been in the White Tiger Unit ages ago.
With the Namgung Family backing him and already holding the Sword Dragon title, what more renown did he need to chase into battle?
So only one thing made sense.
No way... because of me?
Could be rivalry, or maybe he couldn't swallow his rage from before and came for revenge.
On the battlefield, a sneaky kill wouldn't raise eyebrows.
"Alright, squad leaders, get your troops ready for training..."
The Captain, having assigned Namgungchan, was about to move on to the usual routine when someone raised a hand.
"Captain?"
It was Wangjeom, his broken nose from me still not fully healed.
The Captain, catching on late, looked enlightened.
"Oh, right—how's your body holding up?"
"I'm fine, sir. But more importantly..."
Wangjeom glanced around cautiously before speaking up gingerly.
"We've got new blood joining us. Don't we need to check their skills first?"
A beat of silence followed the out-of-left-field remark, then the squad members started cheering.
"Oh yeah! New guy's gotta show what he's got!"
"Third Eye, you bastard—first good idea in forever!"
In the midst of the cheers, Wangjeom shot me a sly, sinister grin.
Now I saw the full picture.
Ahh, so that's it.
On my first day, the Captain had greenlit a spar to test the newbie's skills.
And I'd picked my own opponent.
The result?
Wangjeom ended up in the infirmary.
So naturally, the guy was burning for payback against me.
No stretch imagining he'd teamed up with Namgungchan, who I'd pissed off at the drinking party.
I was a little curious how they'd linked up, but...
Eh, doesn't matter.
The process didn't matter.
Only the outcome.
And my hunch was spot on.
"Captain, if we do a spar, may I pick my opponent?"
Namgungchan floated the idea to the Captain, glancing my way.
Our eyes met, and he smirked.
The Captain pondered briefly.
"Hmm, you want to pick yourself, Sword Dragon?"
It was a different situation from my first day.
I'd been a nobody—no fame, no backing—while Namgungchan came vouched for.
But the mood had already swung his way.
Riding it, he cut straight to the chase.
"Yes. I'd like to face off against the most recent arrival."
The most recent arrival was me.
Mok Jimyeong.
This is getting fun.
Pretty clever setup.
Those two must've schemed hard.
But...
Everyone's got a solid plan.
Till they get punched in the face.