The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 389



Only Noblemtl

Episode 389

#389. It has to be now.

The moment I heard the word “illusion”, I involuntarily sucked in air.

It was just a noise heard through the receiver, but Kang Moo-hyuk captured the moment.

“That’s an interesting reaction. Did you really think we wouldn’t know?”

Illusion didn’t answer. Instead, the disturbed breathing calmed down.

Kang Moo-hyuk couldn’t see his expression, but he thought he knew what he was thinking.

‘You noticed. The more you talk, the more information leaks out. The provocations you made earlier were just a show of force.’

Kang Moo-hyuk decided to shake up his opponent a bit more. He couldn’t cause direct harm since it was just verbal damage, but he hoped that he would feel anxious. At least it would help Joo Se-ah.

“I’ll take your answer as it is. Well, from now on, I’m going to go and ruin your plan. I’ll hang up now.”

-What do you know?

The human mind is such that when you push, you resist, but when you turn around, you hold on.

When Kang Mu-hyeok tried to end the conversation without any hesitation, curiosity arose in Illusion’s heart.

Whether the other person really found out, is bluffing, or is it a trick to test themselves.

If you don’t deal with anything, that’s fine, but if you lose your composure and get to the point, then dealing with it becomes meaningless.

Kang Moo-hyuk continued speaking with a smile of conversion.

“If you’re going to use Outbreak as bait, then any tricks won’t do. There are many worse disasters, but the worst that humans, or rather Hunters, can do are only a handful.”

-You have a habit of giving long answers.

“EMP.”

-… … .

“You’re not saying anything? Am I wrong? Isn’t this really embarrassing?”

-This kid… … .

Beep!

“Oh, you hung up?”

It seemed as if he had intentionally hung up the phone. Do Jin-san, who was watching the scene right in front of him, looked at him with a tired expression.

‘Wasn’t that an illusion just now? Joo Se Ah connected it, so it can’t be a lie. But is it okay to just cut it off like that?’

When Kang Mu-hyeok called me out of the situation room, saying he had important information to tell me, I wondered what was going on, but the person on the other end of the line was Illusion.

Do Jin-san, who had listened to the conversation with the volume turned up all the way, was quite surprised not only by the information in the conversation but also by Kang Mu-hyeok’s attitude.

‘EMP is shocking, but it’s more surprising that he risks his life to provoke an S-rank.’

It was when Dojinsan was looking at Kang Muhyuk in a daze for a moment.

Kang Moo-hyuk spoke up.

“You heard. Outbreak is a problem, but EMP is a bigger problem. If we’re not careful, Seoul could be paralyzed.”

Only when he reminded Dojinsan of the word EMP did he come to his senses.

A wide-ranging shockwave generated during the forced closure of a gate via blast.

The accident, which is technically called a ‘wide-area mana vacuum phenomenon’ and is more commonly known as EMP, was the last and worst measure that could turn modern civilization back to the primitive era.

“I understand the importance of this matter, but I have no idea where to start. I don’t think we have enough time.”

“I will use that time.”

“What time is it?”

Dojinsan asked with a puzzled look. Kang Muhyuk answered easily.

“You do realize that we need at least 10 hours to blow up the gate, right?”

“Yes. Because we need to superheat the gate energy.”

“Usually, the gate conquest camp contacts the headquarters every two hours. Let’s find out which gates have lost contact after that period.”

“If contact had been lost, the guild in charge would have taken action to find out the reason.”

“What if even the guild headquarters were paralyzed?”

“That doesn’t make sense… … .”

“It’s possible if it’s S-rank.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

Even if it was an S-rank, it was impossible to subdue all the guild members before contact was made with the outside world unless the entire building was destroyed.

Do Jin-san refuted this by pointing out this part, but Kang Mu-hyeok persuaded him by proposing another condition.

“We just need to secure at least 10 hours. What about the night time when the guild staff has left work? There won’t be any hunters except for a few on duty. Also, let’s not be limited to the sights of the large guilds. What about the small and medium-sized guilds that are attacking the Green Gate? Even if the damage area is smaller than the Blue Gate when the Green Gate explodes, if it explodes in the middle of Seoul, the result will be the same.”

Dojinsan applied the conditions that Kang Muhyuk had mentioned to the situation.

If an S-rank were to do something under these conditions, what would be the chances of success? How much damage would there be?

‘The Green Gate explodes in the middle of the city… Seoul will become donut-shaped.’

Considering the complex network of electricity, water, sewage, and roads, most of Seoul would actually be paralyzed.

Soon, Mt. Dojin began to move.

“I’ll search for the conditions right now. It’ll take some time though. I’ll try my best to contact the guilds, but since this is a recommendation, no guild is listening properly. It gets even worse if you go to small and medium guilds. Are there any regions or conditions that I should prioritize?”

Kang Moo-hyuk thought of Baek Seong-bin, the starting point of his notice of this matter.

The Seodaechi party chasing him was heading to Gwanghwamun.

“Gwanghwamun. Please identify that area first. In particular, please identify the gates on the side where people don’t see you.”

“If you don’t want to stand out from that side… Bukaksan seems like a good option. I know what you mean. I’ll even send a search team there.”

Once he made up his mind, Dojinsan took action quickly.

Kang Moo-hyuk sent Do Jin-san away and fiddled with another card.

Just in case, he was covering the Mungyeong Pass by switching places with Joo Se-ah.

The phone rang with a call connection tone, and shortly afterwards a voice was heard.

-hello.

“Thomas. This is Kang Mu-hyeok.”

-Did the illusion appear over there?

“Yes. He must be engaged in combat with Hunter Jusea by now.”

-Then, let’s switch to Plan D.

“D?”

Kang Moo-hyuk questioned Thomas’ choice.

When Illusion appeared in Seoul, Plan C was the priority. But then Plan D was chosen.

“You’re saying that we need to reveal Thomas Hunter’s existence. Is the Moonkyung Pass area struggling?”

-I came here and saw that a range-applying item was activated here. It was a powerful item that changed the terrain. Of course, I think I could win even if I left it alone, but it would take quite a while.

“If that’s a magic circle, there will be people who get hurt. Quite a few of them.”

-So I’m going to open the floodgates. All you have to do is break the range items.

Thomas’s operational proposal was not an option for Kang Moo-hyuk.

In the Moonkyung Pass, Iron Will’s high-ranking hunters, including Jang Deuk-gu, were also deployed. Even Slayers couldn’t send them alone to a trap that would be difficult.

“Then, just destroy the trap and return to Seoul right away. I would like the guild leader to catch the illusion before that, but if that is difficult, I will intervene even if it means exposing Thomas Hunter in full view.”

-Yes. I’ll finish it right away.

Kang Moo-hyuk’s work did not end here. There were still many things that needed to be arranged in case of an emergency.

He felt sorry for himself, unable to go out into the field and only making phone calls.

‘All the members are fighting with their lives on the line. I… … .’

It wasn’t to the extent of self-loathing, but I felt a sense of guilt that was just as great.

Kang Moo-hyuk let out a hot breath that filled his lungs, blowing away all the negative thoughts.

He quickly cheered up and made a phone call to someone.

“This is Kang Mu-hyeok.”

* * *

“This kid dares… . Damn it! Hang up the phone?!”

Illusion took the communicator out of his ear and threw it on the floor.

Joo Se-ah, who was standing next to me, frowned and muttered.

“That’s not a phone. It’s expensive, and if you throw it away like that, you’ll have to pay for it.”

“Yeah, that tone. It’s the same whether you’re the captain or the sergeant. Are you playing with people? You’re playing with me, not someone else?!”

“Why do you get slapped in the east and take your anger out on the west?”

“Whether it’s the right cheek or the left cheek, it’s the same old cheek.”

Brain electricity surged throughout Illusion’s body.

“Is it the second half?”

Joo Sea also turned her neck and prepared for battle.

She recalled what Kang Mu-hyuk had said before handing the communicator over to Illusion.

‘Didn’t you say that Illusion might get really angry after the conversation?’

Honestly, if Kang Mu-hyeok made up his mind, would there be anyone who wouldn’t be angry? Wasn’t he the kind of person who made even the elves, the symbol of peace, angry?

Joo Se-ah was convinced that even Gandhi would have no choice but to use his fists against Kang Mu-hyeok.

“Okay. I happen to have a cheek to slap. Let’s compare whose slap is stronger.”

Joo Sea and Illusion clash again.

* * *

During the brief silence, Seongseonje was able to approach Seoul Forest.

At first, I thought the battle was already over, but I sighed in relief when I confirmed that the two powerful, even ominous, energies were still there.

“Huh? I’m really something. It’s fortunate that someone who wants to join the S-rank fight is saying that.”

Seongseonje muttered to himself out loud to ease the tension.

Since he was human and a high-ranking hunter, the road to facing an S-rank couldn’t be anything but scary.

If I didn’t have a strong desire to become an S-rank, I would have given up on it a long time ago.

At that moment, the battle began again.

The ripples of thunder and mana struck the body of the Holy Emperor.

Although there was no major damage to the body, the energies that made one shrink on their own were making a fuss in the ruins that used to be called Seoul Forest.

Seongseonje moved forward one step at a time, trying to comfort his heavy legs.

As I approached the center of the battle, a pressure weighed on my shoulders, making it difficult to even breathe.

Sometimes, my whole body would become numb and paralyzed by the brain energy spread by the illusion.

But the closer I got, the more certain I became.

‘My instincts, no, my nature, are telling me that there is something I want there.’

The special trait of the Seongseonje, ‘Wish’, was the ability to give appropriate rewards when you desire and challenge something.

The reward was to become stronger.

At the tip of the A+ rank. Having experienced the next level of mentality, he was now left with only one step left to overcome the wall.

That one step was like a giant step that would cover the world, so most of the time it seemed far away, but sometimes it felt like a line right in front of me.

That’s why people go crazy. Because they can’t cross that visible line.

When Sungsunje learned that Illusion was in Korea, he realized this was his chance to cross the line.

If not now, then when will another opportunity like this come?

Maybe Joo Seah could once again experience the 11 years she waited to become an S-rank.

‘So it has to be now. I will definitely overcome this time. And I will stand at the top of the Slayers and become the best.’