The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 28



Only Noblemtl

Episode 28

28. Don’t block the way.

“Once the guild relocation announcement is made, we’ll have to decide where to place our headquarters. Do you have a place in mind?”

“There are several places.”

Kang Moo-hyuk nodded at Joo Se-ah’s question and touched the tablet. A map appeared on the 150-inch monitor installed on the wall of the guild leader’s office.

“The current special activity zone is a large area that includes parts of Gwanin-myeon, Yeongbuk-myeon, Idong-myeon, Yeongjung-myeon, Changsu-myeon, and Ildong-myeon in the northern part of Pocheon. The northeast is part of the Gwangju Mountains, so the mountains are developed and it is easy to defend the paths leading to the plains. However, the area adjacent to Nampocheon is flat and open in all directions because there are many golf courses built in the past. We have set up an electric fence, but it cannot completely stop the monsters that occasionally come down and move south. Considering this, we have marked several candidate sites.”

Joo Se Ah stared intently at the Nampocheon border displayed on the monitor. Since it was a map that Kang Mu Hyuk had meticulously prepared, the headquarters candidate locations and basic information were marked on it.

She picked a suitable spot and pointed.

“Then we should try to set up our headquarters at the border. It’s close to the city center and has convenient transportation. It’ll be easy to respond. How about here? Where Art Valley used to be. It says it closed down because of management difficulties. There’s a building that’s suitable for our headquarters, and there’s plenty of space for our training grounds. Since it’s a difficult place to deal with, I think Pocheon City will give it to us.”

“It won’t be completely free though. I’ll have to talk to Pocheon City, but it’ll cost some money.”

“Is it really expensive?”

“Considering the previous expenses and the severance pay for the defectors, the budget is tight. I would accept an offer to pay in installments, but… Well, it’s not the condition I want. Although it’s close to the city center, it’s a bit far from the border.”

When Kang Mu-hyeok erased Art Valley from the map, Joo Se-ah scratched her head and looked elsewhere.

“Then, how about here? Pocheon Adonia CC. As a golf course, it has a large area that can be used as a training ground, and the clubhouse can be used as the headquarters building. It’s on the front line leading into the city. Plus, it went out of business due to the threat of monsters.”

“It’s not bad, but it’s not suitable for implementing the resource acquisition rights and planned businesses.”

“What? Then, all the places that are marked now are the same. If I erase all of that, the places that remain are… . Chief Kang, you can’t possibly… ?”

“Yes. We will establish our headquarters here, not on the border. Inside Bukpocheon.”

“Hey, is that a place where people can live?”

“There is a very good place. Right here. It is Sanjeong Lake.”

A resort came to mind as a new place that Kang Mu-hyeok had marked.

It was a completely closed place after it became a monster den.

“This resort has a wide area, large buildings, and an offensive sweeping operation instead of a passive defense along the border. Except for the need to sweep away the established goblin colonies, it is the best place that meets all the conditions I presented in the plan. In addition, the gate resources are all concentrated in this northern mountain range. Even if the hunters come here to collect resources, they will be a burden to carry while hunting. We can also purchase resources for you, store your luggage, and if you pay a certain fee, you can use it as a mid-term supply point.”

“You want to do business with hunters?”

“There are quite a few freelance hunters who visit Bukpocheon every year. Since monsters are constantly spawning, there are also many guild hunters who come in to maintain their combat sense. However, most of them cannot go deep into the north due to supply issues. I plan to attract them and provide lodging, item sales, and resort development businesses. It is a way to provide an urgent source of income for the guild and also an alternative to the search of special areas that the guild cannot consistently send due to a lack of manpower.”

Joo Sea had never seen a guild run like this. No, she had never even heard of it.

It may have been a common business practice in corporate terms, but they had no means to afford the special treatment.

The guild also didn’t even think about special activity projects because they were more profitable from gate raids or monster hunting expeditions.

It was the same in the Slayer Guild where Joo Sea had been for 10 years.

She chewed over Kang Mu-hyeok’s explanation, feeling absurd.

Once I put aside the prejudice that it wasn’t the traditional guild method, it started to seem plausible.

‘There are no gates in the special zone. The area itself is gated. Instead, it offers the merits of resource purchase rights, tax exemption, and free access to various privileged businesses, but what kind of business can you do in a place where monsters pop out? People don’t come. But if you think of hunters as customers… …?’

A place that no one had ever paid attention to suddenly turns into a golden land with countless possibilities.

Finally, Kang Mu-hyeok said a word that completely changed Joo Se-ah’s mind.

“Crucially, this resort is free.”

* * *

It was when we were having a meeting regarding the guild relocation.

Papapapapapapapapapapapapapapap!

Joo Seah’s smartphone rang loudly.

Kang Moo-hyuk pretended to recognize the familiar bell sound.

“It’s the same phone ringtone as mine. It’s really old, so I have to download it separately.”

“I’ve been using it for over 10 years so I’m used to it.”

Joo Se Ah replied lightly and furrowed her brows when she saw the caller ID that appeared on her smartphone.

“Where is it?”

Instead of answering, he showed the screen to Kang Mu-hyeok.

“Is that inspiration someone I know?”

“That’s right, Chairman. Why is this old man suddenly contacting me and causing such a fuss?”

Papapapapapapapapapapapapapapap!

Kang Mu-hyeok’s phone also started ringing loudly.

“I guess the article came out. I’m getting calls from people too.”

“Let’s deal with them individually for now.”

Joo Seah spoke lightly, but the guild was in chaos.

The most intense battlefield was the public relations team.

All the phones rang like they were on fire.

Next up was supposed to be the strategy team, but they strategically chose to hang up the phone early.

The next ones to suffer severely were the hunters.

Other guild hunters have been contacting me through personal connections.

However, they also had nothing to say about the leader. He had no decision-making authority, and he was indifferent to the internal affairs of the guild to begin with, and since it was a remote guild that was ignored by other guilds, the sudden interest was burdensome.

Since they weren’t looking for good things and were all calls to find out about the manager’s system or something, many hunters ended up turning off their smartphones.

As it became difficult to connect with the Taesung Guild Hunters, the management team was the one who was in trouble.

Since the role of the managers was to be the hunter’s assistant, other guild hunters tried to pressure them to get even a single piece of information.

but.

“It’s no use asking Hunter Cho Dong-jin about guild decisions. Of course, I don’t know anything either. Even if I knew, I couldn’t tell you.”

-Hey, you said you were in charge of Dongjin? Dongjin and I were in the same year of training. There wouldn’t be any good in acting so stiffly, right?

“Hunter, you’re Hunter Jo Dong-jin’s classmate, not mine?”

-Wow, this girl keeps talking back to me? Hey, what’s your name? Talk to Dongjin and give him a little encouragement?! What the hell kind of guild doesn’t have any system? Is this how you teach people to act? I knew it when you brought in a guy with no family tree as the leader… … .

“I am the former head of the management team, Oh Jeong-yeon. Even Hunter Jo Dong-jin can’t say anything to me about something like this. And.”

-Oh my, this is real. And what? What is it?!

“What kind of mere hunter is calling someone else’s guild leader ‘a bastard’?! Do you call your guild leader this bastard, that bastard? Be careful what you say!”

bang!

Oh Jeong-yeon hung up the phone as if she was going to break it.

“Huh?! Are you kidding me? Are you the captain’s friend? Ignoring people isn’t the first or second time. You’re acting like you’re some kind of someone. Tsk!”

This reaction wasn’t limited to Deputy Oh Jeong-yeon.

After the Byun Jeong-cheol incident, a trend of defending Kang Mu-hyeok developed within the management team.

Management Team Leader Kim Dong-yong, who knows this atmosphere well, said as he unplugged the phone that was constantly ringing.

“Just cut it all off. Dealing with each and every one of the things related to the manager is a waste of energy. Let’s do some work instead.”

As the Taesung Guild contact line began to gradually break down, sparks flew to the group headquarters.

The number of complaints and interview requests from reporters was so disruptive to the point where the group ended up just hanging up the phone.

It would be understandable for the chairman to be angry since it was something that was causing trouble to the group. But surprisingly, the chairman’s office was quiet.

Instead, Tae Soo-cheol, the chairman’s eldest son and vice chairman, lost his temper.

“Tell them to join the group right now.”

“Last time, Joo Sea Gilma refused… … .”

“Not that guy, the captain.”

“yes?”

“That guy named Kang Mu-hyeok. When he came into contact with the second one, I tried to just leave him alone, but he got too noisy. We need to take action in advance.”

The fire that had spread here and there has now begun to spread to other guilds.

The place that burned the hottest was Joo Seah’s former guild, the Slayer Guild.

A man leaning against a luxury Italian desk and reading an article was stroking a nameplate next to him and thinking of someone in the air.

“I knew you weren’t the type to be quiet. But this is crossing the line too far. As the captain… What does our expedition leader think?”

In response to Samunhyeok’s questions, Slayer Guild Expedition Leader So Sangyeop remained silent.

Samunhyeok laughed lightly, perhaps because he was not pleased with that attitude.

“Well, I guess it’s hard to say anything since he was a friend that the captain cared about.”

“Even if we don’t touch them, they won’t leave us alone from any direction. Since we have old ties, wouldn’t it be better to leave them alone at this point?”

“I want to do that. But other people told me not to. Didn’t you come all the way to the lobby and make a fuss last time? What’s the point of saving face?”

“If we hadn’t touched it first, nothing would have happened.”

“I swallowed the Immortal Guild and hit the back of their head, and you’re just going to let that happen?”

“We were the ones who left a lasting impression due to the contract renewal issue before.”

“I don’t know whose side you’re on. Joo Se-ah or me?”

“Of course I am a member of the Slayer Guild. However, I am telling you that there is no need to turn your old comrades into enemies.”

In the Slayer Guild, Sosangyeop was an expedition leader with more power than Bugilma. Even for Bugilma, he was a hunter that could not be ignored.

The reason Samunhyeok didn’t attack Joo Se-ah directly was because of So Sang-yeop.

‘That doesn’t mean he’s not loyal to the guild. He’s a very difficult friend in many ways.’

Samunhyeok swallowed a sigh inwardly and showed himself taking a step back.

“It’s fun to go back for now, so let’s just watch. But if it affects us or ruins the industry atmosphere, I can’t just watch forever.”

It was an ambiguous statement.

The short-term system itself is already causing a stir in the hunter industry.

However, So Sang-yeop nodded because he knew that Gil-ma had made significant concessions to save face.

“If things go in a bad direction, I’ll go and warn you.”

* * *

“Welcome, sir.”

“Association President. You punk, call me Association President.”

“You always say this guy, that guy.”

“He just doesn’t say a word. That guy.”

Unlike his appearance of holding a cane, the old man with a booming voice that seemed to have eaten a boiled train car, Han Byeong-gu raised his mana.

He swung his staff as a weapon, trying to hit Jusea’s head.

Joo Seah dodged the staff with nimble movements, creating an afterimage.

When he was unable to hit even once, Han Byeong-gu got angry and shouted.

“You punk, just one. What good will it do if I hit you just once?”

“If I get hit on the head with your cane, even I’ll go to the bone. You don’t know moderation, moderation.”

Jang Deuk-gu opened the door to the guild master’s office and came in, breathing heavily and passing between the two who were standing guard with a tray of coffee and green tea.

“Both of you, please take some time to relax. The secretary is too surprised to come in. At this age, am I the type of person who would run errands for tea? Chairman, would you like some green tea?”

Han Byeong-gu, who put away his cane and sat down after Jang Deuk-gu’s persuasion, brought the cup of green tea to his lips, but put it down without even drinking it.

“Hey, is that a tea bag? It’s real green tea only when you steep tea leaves.”

“Don’t come to the poor guild and find fault with them, just drink it. Where is this that isn’t plain water?”

“Why is a subsidiary of a large corporation so rude?”

“Can’t you just tell me what’s going on quickly?”

“You’re still a bit impatient. Okay. I won’t make this long. Where did that guy go? Cut him off right now.”

A bulging vein appeared on Joo Seah’s forehead.

“Is your spirit finally going crazy? Why are you cutting down people from other people’s guilds? Why are you doing that?”

“This is not advice from a guild leader, but from a position of authority. I have a duty to coordinate so that the guilds do not act out of their own accord.”

“Isn’t that duty just to avoid bothering the inspiration?”

“What does a brat who hasn’t even experienced the Great War know? Don’t you know that stopping the Hunters from acting up is more of a headache than attacking the Boss?”

“I don’t know about the Great War, but I do know its horrors. I also made my decision after much thought.”

“If causing trouble is your decision, then you still have a lot of growth to do as a guild master. Why don’t you quit being a guild master and look for a suitable guild position? With the attitude of training. If you need help with the Slayer Guild, I’ll arrange a position for you.”

As Han Byung-goo came out strong, Joo Se-ah’s expression, which had been heated just a moment ago, calmed down.

She spoke as she examined the wrinkles on Han Byeong-gu’s face with cold eyes.

“Look, Chairman. I acknowledge your accomplishments. But don’t block the path of a young hunter just because of what other people think.”