The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 113



Only Noblemtl

Episode 113

113. You say they’re C-class?

Bukpocheon Gate 6.

This is the gate that connects National Road No. 387 to Sanjeong Lake, one of the seven gates installed on the barbed wire fence dividing the north and south of Pocheon.

Usually it was so quiet that only spider webs and weeds were growing, but today was different.

It was the most crowded place since the citizens of Bukpocheon fled south. If I may exaggerate a bit, it was more lively than when people continued to visit Sanjeong Lake as a tourist destination.

“Wow! This is a special zone? Isn’t this the entrance to an amusement park?”

In the midst of the noisy crowd, freelance hunter Seo Su-ji looked around with surprised eyes.

She had visited the place several times during her early years as a hunter, but at the time, it was treated as an almost abandoned hunting ground. At best, it was a place where she could get a feel for the newbies or work with promising guild members as an OT.

But today, there were a lot of hunters around the gate. There were also quite a few ordinary people. Everyone was busy taking commemorative photos with the gate entrance in the background.

On both sides of the gate, there were street vendors selling light snacks and souvenirs. People flocked in and each store was packed with people.

What impressed Seo Su-ji the most here was the huge billboard towering over the gate fence.

“Hey, is the Hunter version also being baptized by capitalism now?”

“They say this world never ran on money.”

“Mr. Taejin!”

Seo Su-ji welcomed the middle-aged man who came in biting the tail of his words.

“Why are you so late?”

“There was more traffic than I thought. It’s the first time I’ve seen this many cars in Pocheon.”

“That’s why I said to get moving early. Even if you can’t do a full inspection, you should come early to get a feel for the situation.”

“We can’t even get in before opening anyway, so what’s the point of checking out the atmosphere? We’re not going to team up with other parties.”

“Anyway, the world is at peace. What about Oppa Cheoljin?”

“Well, when we spoke on the phone last night, you seemed to be running a lot. I don’t think Hunter is passed out from drinking. Shouldn’t you be home by now?”

“These people, really. Drinking before hunting… Hey, let’s stop talking. If it weren’t for the Gangbyeonbuk-ro connection, we would have switched to another party a long time ago.”

Seo Su-ji recalled when this party was first formed.

Hunters who became connected when the gate suddenly burst on Gangbyeonbuk-ro.

At that time, there were two more people besides the current members.

One of them was from a solid mid-sized guild so he couldn’t join us unfortunately, and the other one wasn’t a hunter.

‘Team Leader Kang Moo-hyeok. No, he’s the team leader now. How is he doing? Yeah, he’s probably doing better than me. He’s the most popular celebrity these days.’

At that time, I wasn’t jealous of the position of the strategy team leader of the A-class guild Titan, even though I was discouraged.

why?

Because I’m not a hunter.

She believed that there was a limit to how far a non-hunter could climb in this field. She also believed that she had gotten the position of team leader by sheer luck.

Surprised by the sudden gate-out breaking, I followed his orders absentmindedly, but inside I was resentful of the fact that he was a non-hunter.

‘That non-hunter is now the biggest one. Haha… … .’

After the Gangbyeonbuk-ro incident, Kang Mu-hyeok became the leader of the guild that Joo Se-ah was a member of, and that guild even succeeded in a war-level raid, becoming the hottest guild in South Korea recently.

Seo Su-ji also took notice of Iron Will. Naturally, her interest was drawn to the Bukpocheon Special Zone, and since they were opening a new hunting ground service called Hunter Village, she couldn’t help but come and see it.

“Okay, it’s almost time for the reservation. Let’s go catch the shuttle bus.”

“Come to think of it, what would have happened if I hadn’t made the reservation? The old man said he would, but he forgot. Luckily, I registered right before the deadline, so I almost sucked my thumb. I was glad it was a lottery system instead of first-come-first-served.”

“When you grow up to be my age, you’ll start to forget things you never had before.”

“It’s not even a vitamin, so why bother taking it and forgetting to take it?”

The two headed to the bus stop while chatting about various things that happened during the year-end break.

Fortunately, Lee Cheol-jin also arrived there on time. He had placed his luggage at the end of the line of carrier bags lined up in front of the bus.

He waved when he found Seo Su-ji and Yoo Tae-jin.

“Oh my, why are you coming now when you were told to come quickly?”

“I was here first. My luggage is over there in front.”

“I’m there too.”

“Haha, am I the last one? Sorry, sorry. But I’m still safe, right?”

“We were going to meet early and have a meal before we go… sniff sniff! What is that smell? Oh my, the smell of alcohol. How much did you drink that you still have alcohol in you? Are you planning on going on a drunken hunting expedition? Even for a hunter, this would be enough to rot his liver. Didn’t I tell you to control yourself before the hunt? Oh my, you idiot!”

When Seo Su-ji hit the mound and started to hit, Lee Cheol-jin stepped back, strengthening his back.

“Oh my! What kind of woman has such sharp hands?!”

“Hey, you’re blocking it? Oh, you even used your skill?”

“You didn’t even use mana, you hit me with all your heart. Don’t use the strength of your bow here. If it was a normal person, your spine would’ve been broken.”

“If you hit me, I’ll get hit.”

“Hey, what did I want to drink? The end of the year is usually the off-season. But this year, I have to start moving the day after Christmas, so I have to break all my promises. I even pushed all my training alumni meetings forward to drink.”

“You’re so popular. Why do you skip out on all those drinking appointments?”

“You know how important connections are in this world. At times like this, you have to show your face to go out hunting one more time. You have to have one or two lines to quickly fill in the gaps in your party members.”

“Where is the bottom to go? Why are you talking about connections? Just take care of the connections you have. Before the party gets completely ruined.”

“Come on, stop fighting and go load the luggage onto the bus over there. If you keep doing this, they’ll leave us alone.”

Yoo Tae-jin stepped in and stopped the fight. The two shouted at the same time, saying that they did not like what he said.

“Who is a couple?!”

“That’s not my style, bro.”

“Who knows my style?”

“Ouch! Hey, stop pinching me with your bowstring. Your grip strength is like that of a gorilla.”

“Gorilla? You want to get your flesh torn off by a gorilla? Huh?”

And then the argument continues again.

Yoo Tae-jin shook his head and left the two behind as he packed his suitcase.

As soon as the luggage was loaded, people started to rush to the bus doors. Ironwill Guild staff members stood in front of the lined up buses and shouted loudly.

“We will check your ID and reservation. For ordinary people, we will only check your resident registration card or driver’s license, and for hunters, we will only check your hunter’s ID. Please take it out in advance to ensure smooth verification.”

The boarding procedure was thorough. Entry to Bukpocheon was by reservation. Reservations were only possible with real names, and in the case of a party, registration was possible in bulk as the party leader.

Seo Su-ji and her group also stood in line.

at that time.

chin!

“what?”

There was a guy who bumped shoulders with her and tried to sway her.

Seo Su-ji frowned.

Judging by the pain in the shoulder he had hit, he was definitely not an ordinary person. Of course, in a place with many hunters, there wouldn’t be anyone brave enough to do it.

But the same hunter is doing a trick? This means he is being ignored.

Seo Su-ji grabbed the shoulder of the person who had cut in front of her and turned him around. A pretty but dirty face was revealed under the hoodie pulled over her head.

‘What’s that? Your face looks like it hasn’t been washed in days. Did you go hunting or something?’

The dirty appearance was enough to make one frown, but the smell was even worse.

Seo Su-ji asked, hiding her embarrassed expression.

“Hey, stand in line.”

“Um, sorry. I’m in a hurry.”

“What’s with your speech… Are you from the North?”

“That’s… Anyway, I’m sorry for interfering.”

The woman hurriedly cut off her words and left the place.

Seo Su-ji, who had been angry when her opponent ran away with his tail between his legs, became embarrassed and scratched the back of her head.

“Just leave? It’s embarrassing for an angry person.”

“What the heck. What is a North Korean doing here?”

Yoo Tae-jin tilted his head as he watched the woman speaking in a northern dialect walk away.

Seo Su-ji glanced at him and said.

“Who would say you’re an old person? What are North Koreans? North Koreans? When was unification? You know that’s a discriminatory statement, right?”

“It’s not discrimination. It’s just something that’s ingrained in us from when we were young.”

“If someone who doesn’t know heard this, they’d think there was a few dozen years age gap between you and me.”

“When I was young, all adults called North Korea North Korea. You guys are from the pre- and post-Gate generation, so I don’t know.”

Seo Su-ji agreed with Yoo Tae-jin’s words.

There was only a slight age difference between him, who was in his mid-20s, and Yoo Tae-jin, who was in his late 30s, but the two were clearly of completely different generations.

Born at the end of the Great Gate War and spending his childhood in the chaotic period following the collapse of North Korea, Yoo Tae-jin was part of a generation that vaguely remembered what it was like before the unification of the Korean Peninsula.

“But why a hunter from the North? What’s so strange about it?”

“Have you ever seen a hunter from North Korea?”

“What, how many times during the Battle of Yalu River?”

“Not above, but below.”

“Hmm… Now that I think about it, I strangely don’t remember. Why is that?”

“Why? After the Great War, the North Korean Hunters rose up once. They were destroyed then. After that, they didn’t come down to Pyongyang very often. Well, there aren’t many North Korean Hunters left, except for the newly awakened ones.”

“Ah? I heard it in the Hunter class during regular training. I heard that the kids from the North went over to China?”

Lee Cheol-jin pretended to know and intervened. Yoo Tae-jin added to it.

“There are a lot of people who changed their nationality because the situation in Korea was dire after the Great War, so it’s nothing special. But North Korean kids are a little different. You could almost say they defected.”

“Why do you seek asylum? Our country is such a great place to live.”

“You’ve done everything you could. You failed in your attempt to overthrow the government, so you should run away. The rest of you have to live with your wits about you.”

“When was that? And it’s still not over yet?”

“A country with such twists and turns like ours is not tolerant of attempts to overthrow its system. And back then, there were many countries that had fallen overnight, so it was sensitive. Once a stigma is set, it’s hard to erase it. Of course, the public’s opinion was not favorable, but more than anything, the government discriminated against hunters from North Korea. Skilled North Korean hunters would not have been able to hold out. They were treated as potential criminals.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I barely managed to avoid failing the Hunters exam. I hate headaches.”

“If you’re a hunter, you should keep this much common sense in your head.”

Lee Cheol-jin clicked his tongue. Seo Su-ji covered her ears, shuddering at the annoying sound.

While the conversation was going on, it was Seo Su-ji’s turn for the party.

Not long after checking my ID and boarding the bus, I felt the engine vibrating. It was a heavy vibration, different from that of a normal bus.

While ordinary people just looked out the car windows in excitement, the hunters felt uncomfortable.

“I told you, this damn mana cartridge car doesn’t have a very comfortable ride.”

“Is it time to talk about ride comfort? You should be grateful that you’re riding a bus in the special area. In Jirisan, you have to move around on your own two feet.”

“That’s why I hate special forces. You have to pack a lot of gear when you go in, and even if you get some, you have to walk with a bundle on your back. You should rank up quickly and join a decent regular force. At least you can afford to hire porters there.”

Seo Su-ji turned her gaze out the car window, complaining about Lee Cheol-jin’s beating.

Traffic officers controlled the road, which was packed with tourists. Eventually, the gate opened and a bus entered the special zone.

It felt like she was heading into an unknown world. Having been employed by the Green Gate Guild, she felt a strange sense of anticipation, similar to when she first entered the gate.

Not long after the bus picked up speed, something appeared to be following it.

“Monster!”

Seo Su-ji’s butt wiggled.

It was a creature called the ‘Saw-Beaked Ostrich’. It was a bird monster that resembled an ostrich overall, and it was named so because its beak resembled a saw blade.

It wasn’t difficult to deal with, but its fast legs and steel-cutting beak were a threat.

“Isn’t this bus supposed to go somewhere? Don’t you have to go out and take care of that?”

When Seo Su-ji got worried, Yoo Tae-jin tapped her shoulder and pointed to the back of the ostrich.

“Look over there.”

Where his finger pointed, there was a thicket of bushes. Two shadows appeared between the bushes. The shadows were quickly following the saw-beaked ostrich.

“A wolf…? There’s a person riding it?”

“I guess that’s Iron Will’s Rider Wolf. It’s more believable than I thought.”

The sight of the magnificent wolf made ordinary people take out their smartphones to take pictures. Unfortunately, the machines did not work within the special zone. It was a moment that made me feel sorry for the anti-mana zone of the hunter village.

While they were feeling sorry, one of the two rider wolves jumped up and struck the saw-beaked ostrich in the tail.

The saw-beaked ostrich rolled along the ground, and the hunter’s sword flashed above the wolf that charged a beat later.

The ostrich’s head flew into the air as it tried to regain its balance and stand up.

That’s the end of it.

It happened in an instant.

The ordinary passengers on the bus let out exclamations of admiration, while the hunters sighed inwardly.

“Wow, so smooth… … .”

“Is this real? I didn’t even use the Mana Sword just now. I just used the Rider Wolf’s running speed to cut it.”

“I don’t know the rank, but I can definitely tell that Rider Wolf is amazing.”

The reactions of other hunters were not much different from Seo Su-ji’s party.

The Rider Wolf who had dealt with the monsters stood next to the bus, waved his hands coolly, and slowly retreated. Following this, other Rider Wolf parties followed in relay and escorted the bus.

“These guys are C-class? I would believe you if you said this was A-class.”

The hunters’ minds were gradually losing the idea that Iron Will was a C-class weapon due to the majesty of the Rider Wolf.

* * *

– The rental of the Dokjeong has been approved. Thank you to Ayla for your hard work. The captain only needs to send us the Dokjeong usage data once a month.

“Thank you for your hard work. The data will be sent to you starting at the end of next month.”

Kang Moo-hyuk, who had finished talking with Alex, turned his head to the window.

He looked up and saw a middle-aged man with gold-rimmed glasses and a beaked nose looking out the window, holding a teacup.

“I’m sorry, Director. It’s difficult to delay contacting the Union.”

“No. Our relationship with the Coalition is important not only to Ironwill but also to the government. It must be dealt with immediately.”

Guild Cooperation Office Director Gil-Joo Cha, unlike the usual conversations he had over the phone, visited the Iron Will Guild headquarters today.

Because there was a serious problem.

Kang Mu-hyeok had anticipated the reason he came.

‘Is it Russian?’

He pretended not to know and changed the subject.

“I was planning to meet you, Director. I haven’t had a chance to do so because I’m just now getting ready to present the initial stages of the business model I proposed during our first meeting. Since you’ve come all this way, why don’t you take a look around Hunter Village?”

“I’ll put that off until later. I have more important things to check.”

“It’s something that requires you to come in person… What is it?”

“The progress report on Vladivostok. There were some gaps there.”

“Well, was there something like that?”

Kang Mu-hyeok made a puzzled expression, but Cha Gil-ju didn’t just let it go.

“I’m talking about the part where Joo Sea Gilma was attacked while smuggling. There was a gap before she joined up with Captain Kang.”

“Moving the vehicle after joining at the port. What’s wrong with that?”

“Even if it wasn’t as bad as before, Russia also has our informants. I understand that the two hunters captured by the Tyran Guild during the Upumangbau raid have joined. The Tyran Guild wouldn’t have just released them because they were crazy, right? If that’s the case, then you negotiated with the Tyran Guild between the incident where Jusea Gilma was attacked and the raid… . I didn’t see any mention of that.”

Kang Moo-hyuk guessed where Cha Gil-ju’s suspicions began.

“It seems that my request to you separately piqued your curiosity. Please mobilize the National Intelligence Service to thoroughly investigate the situation in Vladivostok.”

“That Demonic Cult is the same. I always keep an eye on it because of the Northern Defense Battle every year. But since you suddenly told me to keep an eye on the Russian line, I couldn’t help but connect it to this Russian incident.”

“As I said before, the reason I told you to keep an eye on the Demonic Realm was because of the Tyran Guild. This incident has made our relationship with them strained. I don’t know about your vice-mind, Darden, but the tyrant is a very emotional person, so you never know what he might do. If he were to harm our country, there’s a high chance that it would happen in the border area. I’m just trying to prevent that from happening in advance.”

“That’s the problem. Normally, even if Director Kang didn’t say anything, I would have just turned a blind eye to it. We’ve gained a lot, so if it wasn’t something that would harm the country, I wouldn’t have bothered to bring it up.”

Kang Mu-hyeok’s face hardened after understanding Cha Gil-ju’s meaning.

“That means it’s not usual.”

“Yes. Hunters from China and Russia are flocking to the Demon Realm. They are a lot more numerous than usual. Is it related to the eventuality that Director Kang mentioned, or is it just a coincidence? I’m trying to find out.”