The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 138



Only Noblemtl

Episode 138

138. Why do I feel nervous?

The path swept by mana was turned into scorched earth.

The shack swayed in the wind, and the dirt floor was completely dented by the mere tread of running feet.

The tank, with its skill level increased, flew and hit the persimmon tree. With a thud, the tree’s waist broke. Then, the dealer who was waiting for an opportunity pounced on it.

“Dead!”

“Who would say that you are! You shameless bastards who don’t even know this promise!”

The sword of flame burned the air. When it collided with the sword filled with mana, sparks flew in all directions.

High enough to melt skin if not protected by mana.

The floor was burned, the shack turned to ashes, and the faucet in the front yard melted and flowed like a thin metal like lava.

“Group 1! You’re going to let your tanks die?! What’s Group 2 doing?! Who are you going to blame when you get kicked out?! Why can’t you come back in right away?!”

The tangled wires were gradually restored by Cheon Deok-su’s shouting. He broke out in a cold sweat. It would be an instant for a party to disappear in an instant. In a fight without available power or follow-up support, the absence of a single party could be fatal.

‘We fought in our yard so this is what happened. If it were anywhere else, I would have died ten times over already.’

Even that was possible only because Kang Mu-hyeok used some trick to divert the remaining enemy attack force here and there.

As time went by, it became more and more disadvantageous.

“Cheon Deok-su.”

Amidst the hunters’ cries, a familiar voice cut through their ears.

Cheon Deok-su looked back at the hunter who was glaring at him.

“I finally found it.”

“I want it!”

Won Hao hit the floor with the window and then jumped high up and attacked Cheon Deok Su.

Cheon Deok-su also drew his twin swords and faced him. The spear blades crossed between the sword blades that were crossed in an X shape above his head.

The moment their weapons touched, they both pulled up their mana with all their might. It was a precarious moment where if either side was even a little late, they might lose their weapons.

It used to be a technique used by high-ranking hunters to fight for a long time without wasting mana, but now it has become a personal tactic that has gone beyond technique and has become a battle of timing to catch the opponent off guard.

The two of them put strength into their hands holding their weapons. Their faces came closer to each other.

“You damn bastard. Die quietly.”

“Where is the hunter who would die quietly? You should die properly!”

Cheon Deok-su used his great strength to deflect the spear. Won Hao stepped back and repeatedly stabbed him with his spear. It was a restraining move to keep his distance. Cheon Deok-su brushed it off and doggedly followed him.

The narrow alleyway soon became the scene of a showdown between two hunters. The two hunters who had been fighting fiercely could no longer face each other and retreated to catch their breath.

The twin swords and spears swept around, leaving behind a chaotic afterimage. All the obstacles that had been in the way just a moment ago were torn to pieces and scattered. If there had been people, not even a single drop of blood would have been left behind, let alone fish meat.

The hunters, who were shocked by the sight, each swallowed their saliva and prayed.

I hope their leader wins.

If not, they will be the next victims.

* * *

Kim Gil-young regretted it. Park Cheol-i also regretted it.

‘I shouldn’t have come out.’

At the same time, they were both relieved. It was a good thing they hadn’t brought their friends.

The battlefield was much larger than the children had imagined. The battle lines were already so mixed up that they were fighting without any sense.

The two children ran screaming in the fierce frost.

“Eww!”

“Woooooooo!”

Every time the hunters who jumped up the alley clashed, sparks flew in all directions. Wherever the sparks touched, they caught fire. Where there was rubber or vinyl, thick smoke rose up, obscuring the view. When the wind blew through the invisible black smoke, the two flew up and lay down.

It was an act of terror, but it saved their lives. A storm of mana swept over their heads, blowing away a house behind them.

“Wow!”

“This is all your fault, hyung. Oh, please save me.”

A few of the Prison Village Hunters saw the children, but they couldn’t help them. They were too busy to turn around and their necks would fall off.

Some of them recognized the children as the sons of their fellow patrolmen, but they were unable to do anything about it. All they could do was hope that the children would run away as far as possible while they distracted the enemy.

“Let’s go. We have to get out of here somehow.”

Kim Gil-young grabbed Park Cheol-yi by the back of his neck and stood up. Park Cheol-yi’s legs gave out as the eerie scene from earlier lingered in his mind.

But I wasn’t scared enough to cry like other kids. My father, who was a patrolman, always emphasized and yelled at me, and I could still hear him.

‘When evacuating, don’t stop your legs. You have to keep moving.’

Park Cheol-yi moved instinctively. He ran, kicking his trembling legs. The karambit sword he was holding in his arms felt so heavy. He wanted to throw it away.

“All right! I’m out! Mr. Kang is probably at my house! Just get out of here and go three more intersections!”

As the explosion and flames died down, Kim Gil-young looked back at Park Cheol, who was following him, and smiled happily at being out of danger.

“uh……?”

Park Cheol-i was lying down.

With his left arm gone.

The blood sprayed in the air was unrealistic. The wet, crimson stains on the floor and Park Cheol moaning on top of it. It all seemed like a dream.

And above it all, a house that had lost its pillars was collapsing.

“It’s iron!”

* * *

“I can’t stand it anymore. How many hours have you been dragging your feet? This is such a disgrace just because a few outsiders have joined.”

Zhang Zhongxun was only able to understand why the attack force was stalling and unable to advance after receiving a report late.

Because someone had intervened and messed up the chain of command.

And then I could tell that that someone was Hyun Jung-geun(?) with someone else’s face.

Moreover, even the central attack force led by the Nakhwa Guild, which could be considered the main force, was sluggish.

Even though I took the damage and actively used the party, I somehow lost my momentum at a delicate point.

It feels like someone is deliberately digging a trap and waiting for me.

‘Who the hell is that guy Kang Mu-hyeok? Damn it. He’s really looking at me like a joke.’

Jang Joong-sun thought of the attack force waiting in Dandong. If deployed, it was a powerful force that could change the situation in an instant.

‘No. Not yet. I can’t be branded as incompetent.’

They were an elite attack force that would have entered Sinuiju just by crossing a bridge from Dandong, but if they had called them from the beginning, it would have been different. Calling them in now would have raised doubts about their abilities before saving face.

Jang Joong-sun decided to put aside his pride. He gave orders to all the hunters of the Goryeo Alliance.

“Deploy all five of the Shinuiju. Strike the enemy’s head off. Tell the rest of them to lift the siege and enter the village.”

* * *

Kang Moo-hyeok kept giving instructions while looking at the map. His contact was Noh Song-rin, who had messaging skills.

Fortunately, several high-ranking executives, including Yeonjeongmun, Cheon Deoksu, and Hwang Dongsu, had messaging skills.

The rewards of the Demonic Realm were as great as the dangers. Even though skill books were rarely found outside the gate, there was still the result of hunting for so many years. That was a blessing in disguise for Kang Moo-hyuk.

“Group 3 of Yeonjeongmun-dae. Go to Gamnamu intersection. Groups 4 and 5 of Hwangdongsu-dae, wait in front of Yeongcheol’s house.”

Kang Moo-hyuk gave orders to the Prison Village Hunters using familiar place names. It was efficient to number each area, but it took time for the Hunters to become familiar with it.

Kang Mu-hyeok had no choice but to complete a map of the neighborhood with the help of the villagers and memorize it all.

“Chief, Yeongcheol’s family has completely disappeared.”

“Where’s Byungsoon’s one block behind?”

“Just a moment… … . Yes, it’s still okay there.”

“Tell them to set up an ambush on the way to Shinuiju Prison. Tell them to hold out while the 1st and 2nd divisions of Cheon Deok Su Battalion attack from the left and right.”

Noh Song-rin, who was relaying Kang Mu-hyeok’s orders, frowned.

“Is Cheon Deok-su tough?”

“why?”

“I got into a fight with a guy named Wonhao.”

Kang Moo-hyuk could immediately recall the name Won Hao, because he was the person in the documents that Noh Song-rin had obtained from the information agent.

‘The 5 girls of Shinuiju. A-rank. On par with Cheon Deok-su. Is the deployment at this point an attempt to snipe at our high-ranking hunters? I’ve been avoiding them as much as possible, but I’ve been bitten.’

The five pillars of Shinuiju.

It was a funny joke that they gave each other nicknames on the narrow Shinuiju floor, but it also meant that they were the strongest in this place.

The problem didn’t end there. Kang Moo-hyuk thought that the Shin Ui-ju Five were starting to come to the forefront.

As if to prove his intuition, messages arrived one after another for Noh Song-rin.

“Hwang Dong-su, Yeonjeongmun-do, I met with some guys called ‘5 Girls’ or ‘5 Girls’. And one of the patrolmen’s side. Hmm, they’re all going to be wiped out. What should I do? Should I go?”

“If Hunter Noh Song-rin leaves now, our communication network will collapse.”

“You’re so cool.”

“I knew that sacrifice was inevitable. But if you get caught up in emotions, you die. It’s time to be cool-headed.”

Kang Moo-hyuk bit his lips firmly as he cut her off.

‘My job is to protect. Let’s not get sentimental.’

The first thing to do was to come up with an immediate solution.

I wanted to call in a replacement hunter with message skills and send Nosongrin there, but given the current situation, it seemed difficult for any of my allied hunters to just leave.

Kang Moo-hyuk checked his watch. It was just past 2 p.m.

‘Two hours… If we held out for that long, we could say we held out for a long time. But considering the speed of the guild-only helicopter, we’ll have to hold out for at least another hour, no matter how fast the support comes. Should I take the guild leader out here?’

It seemed that Joo Seah’s response would be faster than that of the Slayer Guild, which needed approval from the higher-ups and preparation for battle.

Kang Moo-hyuk hesitated for a moment, but he held back, thinking that calling Joo Se-ah back from her original position was the last resort. Using her was like taking out the lower stone and using it to prop it up on the upper stone.

‘I still have some cards left. But if I use them now, I won’t be able to use them when I need to. Should I intentionally create a situation where I can use them?’

Kang Moo-hyuk reviewed his strategy.

Insufficient power, outdated equipment, and almost no potions.

We divided what we had to give up and what we had to keep in order to fight with resources that were not enough to outpace our enemies.

The first priority among those to be targeted was the people of the prison village.

The Sinuiju Prison where they were. The current patrol base had to be guarded at all costs.

But the last resort was to put at risk what had to be saved.

‘If you skip the pre-planned response steps, there is no going back.’

That was when.

Knock, the door opened.

“mister!”

A young voice echoed throughout the house.

“Gilyoung? How did you get here… … .”

It was a moment when Kang Mu-hyeok’s mind became complicated.

Kim Gil-young’s body was covered in blood, with scratches and bruises here and there. Kang Moo-hyuk’s keen eyes scanned his body in an instant.

“It’s not your blood? Could it be that the patrol base was hit?”

“No, it’s okay there. But Cheol-i… … .”

“Cheol-i? Park Cheol-i?”

When Noh Song-rin asked, Kim Gil-young nodded.

“Mister Noh Song-rin, the two of you came out to bring me a knife… . It’s because of me. Sob, I told you to go… .”

“Hey, kid. So is Park Cheol dead?”

Noh Song-rin’s expression turned cold. Kim Gil-young flinched at his mood, but gritted his teeth and answered.

“He was still breathing when I got here. But he lost a lot of blood… Ugh, his arm is gone… Sob, sob, he’s trapped in the collapsed house. I tried to get him out somehow, but… Hehe, he kept crying in pain… … Please save him.”

Noh Song-rin couldn’t answer. She didn’t even look at Kang Mu-hyeok.

‘I can’t ruin a fight because of one kid. Hunters are dying, and it’s just one kid.’

shit!

“Sir, may I leave for a moment?”

“If you leave now, you’ll be in trouble.”

“I know. It’s difficult. But I have to go anyway. Of course, I’ll stay if you order me to.”

“Then, I give the order.”

Nosongrin clenched his teeth. He didn’t know why he couldn’t ignore a kid. Since when did he start thinking of children? Not only was he lacking in qualities as a hunter, but it was also something that was not like him.

I’m grateful that Kang Mu-hyeok rejected me.

Kang Moo-hyuk said while he himself was confused.

“Save me, the boy named Iron.”

“yes?”

“I think it’s time for me to make a decision. It’s a good thing I was thinking about it. My complicated mind has cleared up. Now, I’m moving on to the final stage.”

Kang Moo-hyuk picked up the satellite phone.

* * *

Brrrr! Brrrr!

Hyun Jeong-geon took out his smartphone, which was ringing loudly, from his pocket. The blood on his hand was sticky, so he wiped it off on the clothes that were on the floor.

Inside the clothes was a human being. The corpse of a hunter who couldn’t even close his eyes and was bleeding. Hyun Jeong-geon frowned at the more blood on his hands that he had wiped, then roughly wiped it off with his pants before answering the phone.

“Yes, sir. No. Only halfway? I haven’t finished it all. What kind of monster air defense network is this dense in a small rural city like Shinuiju? But why? It’s not the appointed time yet?”

-Moving on to the final operation.

“Already? Isn’t that really the last resort?”

-The enemies have also brought in their best troops. They will soon close the encirclement and come in.

“This is a ploy to tie up the high-ranking hunters and push them forward with numbers. The Chinese kids’ tactics are always the same.”

-Yes, it’s easy to read. But it’s also a difficult number to deal with. It’s the most lethal method for us right now.

“So should I write it now? I might regret it later.”

-If there is a later time.

“but.”

Hyun Jeong-geon shook the black-bladed dagger in his hand and wiped away the blood. He had left most of his equipment at the Titan Guild, but it was the only capital he had taken with him.

Five dead hunters were lying in the blood-splattered area. Hyun Jeong-geon confirmed that they were all dead and spoke.

“Then, can I proceed with the final mission now?”

-If you can. If it seems difficult, back off. After all, that mission was a plus option.

“Of course I’ll buy you a body. I’ve only been doing this business for a day or two. I’ll see you later.”

Hyun Jeong-geon completely turned off his smartphone. From now on, he couldn’t work on his tasks leisurely like before.

“Okay, shall we go and cut Jang Joong-sun’s neck?”

* * *

“Hello. Oh, Captain Kang! Why are you calling now? I was bored. Are you okay? When are you coming to my house?”

-Goeulji Hunter. 10 minutes later. Execute the final operation.

“The last one? Wow, this is my first time fighting. I’m a bit nervous.”