The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 399



Only Noblemtl

Episode 399

#399. Then prove again that you are the master of this place.

“It wasn’t just Joo Seah who was in Iron Will.”

Bubagla groaned at the unexpected blow. It was a power he had never expected. He had left the Slayer alone, with only minimal defenses in mind, and before he knew it, he had broken through a part of his defenses and was aiming for his neck.

“Sir, just hit me. I’ll hit you once.”

Especially that girl.

There really was no such thing as a little devil.

Abilities: simple telekinesis.

But that simplicity became the most fearsome weapon.

It was a chilling sight to see him flying straight towards Bubagla while blowing away the hunters of Mirage.

In addition, the woman who handled poison extensively was also a problem. When dealing with monsters or hunters, it was standard to apply poison to weapons, so she was prepared. However, if she sprinkled poison like that, it was like pouring a bucket of water on a burning forest.

‘The problem was that this formation was destroyed. Who could it have been?’

This range-type item, secretly developed by the Hwangryong Guild and secretly passed on to Mirage, boasted an extremely high level of difficulty that allowed for free real-time transformation using the Paljindo and Maze.

It fully demonstrated its power in its first real battle, but was unable to exert any power as its core was instantly destroyed by an unidentified hunter.

It seemed like the hunter wasn’t here now, but if he had stayed here… … .

“It would have been better to decide the issue early. Is this it?”

Bubagla took out a scroll. It was a means of escape prepared for emergency purposes.

The telekinetic girl who was flying towards him screamed as she realized the identity of the item he had taken out.

“Run away? Fatally?!”

Bubagla returned the enthusiastic greeting.

“Do not hasten death, girl. The vision of death can replace your dreams at any time.”

“What are you saying?”

The attack of the telekinetic girl who had just arrived landed on Bubagla’s head.

Bubagla managed to dodge the formless energy that was trying to crush his entire body while tearing the scroll.

Then a creepy piece of iron flew towards the spot he was trying to avoid.

“Huh!”

Bubagla, who had his side pierced, gritted his teeth and tore the scroll to pieces. As his body faded, he searched for the one who had attacked him.

‘Is that person… Gam Woo-young?’

A hunter known as the next ace of the Slayers.

Gam Woo-young finally managed to break through Mirage’s thick defenses and strike himself.

“You too will remember.”

After leaving those words, Boubagla disappeared.

With this, the battle at Mungyeong Pass ended.

* * *

Even as the situation was over, the remnants of Miraju were dealt with, and measures were taken to prevent the forest fire from spreading due to the embers, Go Eul-ji and Gam Woo-young were glaring at each other and arguing.

“I could have caught it if you hadn’t interfered.”

“It was a dagger originally thrown with the intention of hitting the heart. Even if you hadn’t dodge the attack with your brute force, you would have killed him before tearing the scroll.”

“Still, it was like a Mirage Bread, but was it possible to catch it with just a dagger?”

“Didn’t Sister Sea teach you the basics? If you’re going to make a surprise attack, you have to do it properly. What’s the best surprise attack? It’s to do it secretly. You don’t know how to do it because you just learned it.”

“They only attack the weak. Have you seen our Gilma attack?”

“Oh, I’ve seen it a lot. They say that if you hit first, you win. I heard it when I got knocked out in one blow during our first fight.”

“Well, I can’t deny it because I’ve been through it myself. Anyway, for someone like me, a head-on confrontation is better than trickery. I guess that’s the difference in our abilities.”

“I definitely learned how to make people angry from Sister Sea. Ah, there’s no way to hit this little guy. You should know that you’re lucky today.”

“You should look for a four-leaf clover. You must have used up all your luck today.”

“As expected, he speaks like a child.”

“Do you want to get hit by a kid?”

It was the moment when the conflict between the two hunters reached its peak. At the same time, there were beings grabbing the back of their necks.

“Whew!”

“Coolook!”

Go Eul-ji and Gam Woo-yeong were caught by Jang Deuk-gu and So Sang-yeop, respectively.

“Hehehe, Master Wang… … .”

“It’s Cheolsu, Goeulji. Get ready to go.”

“Deposit.”

Goeulji ran away from Jang Deuk-gu at a brisk pace.

So Sang-yeop, who saw her back, clicked his tongue in pity and scolded Gam Woo-young.

“Gam Woo-young, do you want to fight a high school student? If you’re going to fight, why don’t you fight with a sword? Why do hunters fight with words?”

“Was he real? He was kind of childish.”

“You’re more immature. I guess the battle was boring since you have so much energy left. Be prepared when you go back. I’ll treat you well.”

“Ugh, no way, that hellish set play… … .”

“You too, prepare to retreat before I turn two laps.”

“Yes… … .”

Gam Woo-young turned around with his shoulders slumped.

So Sang-yeop bowed briefly to Jang Deuk-gu and then walked away.

“Okay, that’s it.”

At that time, Jang Deuk-gu spoke carefully.

“I just heard the news about Team Leader Sung. I hope he gets better soon.”

So Sang-yeop paused for a moment, then nodded silently and turned away.

Judging from Gam Woo-young’s reaction, it seemed that only So Sang-yeop knew about Seong Seon-je’s condition.

Jang Deok-gu turned his back as he heard the sound of a helicopter coming from afar.

“Slayer must have changed a lot too. He was a pitiful person.”

* * *

The Christmas Eve terror attack committed by Mirage was officially declared a non-event.

The disappearance of half of Bukaksan Mountain was attributed to a boss monster that emerged from the gate, and the devastation of Seoul Forest was also covered up for the same reason.

The government controlled the media, and the mouths of officials were cracked down on at the guild level.

But because so many people were involved in this incident, it was impossible to stop all the rumors from leaking out.

All the words that came out of those people’s mouths became ‘Karda communications’ and spread as rumors on the Internet.

Regarding these measures, the Guild Cooperation Office held a video conference with the heads of the relevant guilds, with Director Cha Gil-ju personally stepping forward and making the following request.

“The security of the gate is under threat after the Northeast Defense Battle early this year. In addition, with the public sentiment being tense due to the consecutive outbreaks, and the terror attack by Mirage on top of that, it will be difficult for the people to calm down if they learn of this. Until this chaos subsides, I ask that each guild thoroughly maintain security.”

In a democratic country, freedom of the press should be guaranteed, but gate security was an exception.

The government kept it a secret and hoped that the end of the year would be peaceful and bustling like usual.

The guild also held the same position.

In particular, Slayer and Iron Will were in trouble. Slayer had to reduce the shock caused by the loss of Seongseonje’s power, and Iron Will had to avoid responsibility for carrying out the operation unilaterally while hiding the existence of Illusion.

Even if the operation required a lot of secrecy, the fact that a single guild was secretly carrying out an operation against a world-class terrorist and S-rank hunter could easily be seen as having impure intentions.

Even without that, the government and the National Assembly were looking at Iron Will with a serious eye due to the events in Shinuiju and Magyeong.

Being branded as the main culprit of this incident could make it difficult to seek the government’s cooperation in the future.

At least this time, I had to pretend to lie down flat.

Kang Moo-hyuk decided to cooperate with the government’s policy as much as possible to cover this up.

Of course, he also agreed that it would be better if the whole story of the incident was not revealed to the world.

If we were to judge the pros and cons of the Gate explosion because Baek Seong-bin’s work was involved, Iron Will was at a disadvantage.

Besides, there was a mountain of work that needed to be done right away. The last thing I wanted was for the guild to become noisy.

Time passed by so quickly. The day to hear the New Year’s Eve bells came.

* * *

Joo Se-ah visited the Hunter Specialty Hospital where Seong Seon-je was hospitalized.

I invited Kang Mu-hyeok to go with me, but he declined, saying he had already been there.

Seongseonje was in a secure ward at the hospital that only some VIPs from the Tier Guild could use.

Each ward was completely independent, and the medical staff were tight-lipped, so no one could easily tell who was hospitalized there.

The hospital room that Joo Se-ah visited had tight security from the entrance.

The Slayer’s hunters were guarding the gate.

They did not allow Joo Seah to meet them.

“I’m sorry, but you must go back.”

“I just wanted to see Team Leader Sung’s face before I go. I think I’ll be able to feel at ease only after seeing him in person.”

“A few days ago, the leader of your guild, Kang Mu-hyeok, came by. Let’s hear from him.”

“You?”

Joo Se Ah felt hostility from the hunter guarding the entrance to the hospital room.

The tone was so emotional that it was difficult to see it as simply a poor choice of words.

‘What should I do? I can just push through.’

It didn’t seem like they came here to fight, so they didn’t seem to be making a fuss.

But if I went back like that, I felt like I had been treated coldly by my parents and I would feel very hurt.

While she was pondering, the intercom at the entrance rang.

The Hunter security chief answered the intercom and bowed. Then he put the receiver down, approached Joo Se-ah, and spoke.

“Please come in from inside.”

Joo Se-ah realized that the person inside the hospital room had identified herself through the CCTV at the entrance.

‘Seeing that he’s telling me to come in, I guess this feeling is from the old man who is a sly snake.’

The energy of the Holy Spirit felt inside was calm but weak.

But the energy around him was powerful and fierce.

Joo Seah already knew who the source of that energy was.

As expected, the one waiting for Joo Se Ah as she passed the entrance to the VIP ward and stepped into the ward was the Slayer Guild Master, Samunhyeok.

Half-gray hair, a sharp nose, and eyes that represent stubbornness.

Joo Se-ah greeted Samunhyeok briefly, whom she was seeing for the first time in a long time.

“It’s been a while, Gilma.”

Samunhyeok opened his mouth while looking only at Seongseonje, who was lying on the bed, without looking at Joo Se-ah.

“You should have stopped it.”

Unlike the words, the voice was not filled with resentment. It was just filled with regret and regret.

“If he had been someone who listened to what was said, would Gilma have chosen him as his successor?”

“Well, he is a guy with a lot of determination. But he is a guy who doesn’t listen to me, so it’s difficult sometimes.”

“I learned everything by watching Gilma. Who are you to blame?”

“You brag, you punks. You have nothing to learn, so you just do reckless things like this.”

Joo Se-ah felt like she had gone back in time with Samunhyeok for the first time in a long time.

Although they had been estranged due to their retirement and quarrels, she had originally been on good terms with Samunhyeok.

After all, it was he who brought Joo Se Ah to be a Slayer, and it was he who supported her to get to where she is now.

It seemed like the good atmosphere was finally going well, but Samunhyeok finally started complaining.

“If you left home, you shouldn’t have even looked back here. Why did you come here and make a fuss like this when you were just pretending to have something to eat?”

“It’s business. It’s not something I did.”

“You were the one who chose that leader. Judging by the way you seduced him, you’re no ordinary monster. Even if the kids tried to stop you, you shouldn’t have listened and you should’ve weeded him out a long time ago.”

“I didn’t come here to fight. And I’m warning you, if you mess with our Captain Kang, you’ll understand.”

“Oh my, how can I live in fear of an S-rank hunter?”

“Don’t be so sarcastic. Team Leader Sung also wanted to become that S-rank, so that’s why he became like that.”

“No one pushed me to become S-rank… I was too hasty in taking the initiative.”

Samunhyeok’s regret came from right here. He felt that he had left all the big and small matters of the guild to Seongseonje, which had made him obsessed with S-rank.

Joo Se Ah felt remorse and changed the subject.

“What did the doctor say? Didn’t he say anything about when Team Leader Sung would wake up?”

“They said something about the mana circuit and a blow to the depths. To sum it up, he’s in a vegetative state.”

“That means… … .”

“There’s no guarantee… I might never wake up. I might suddenly wake up one day. The odds of that happening are close to a miracle.

Joo Seah kept her mouth shut.

It wasn’t that I didn’t have any words of comfort to offer. I had something to say, but I was afraid that if I gave her false hope, she might end up resenting me.

‘The energy of Team Leader Sung that I felt in Seoul Forest has already gone over the wall. It’s just that I don’t feel that wall like I used to. But if I’ve become a vegetable… What will happen in the future?’

It wasn’t a matter that could be spoken of carelessly.

At that time, Samunhyeok said.

“No matter what, I have to fill Seonje’s empty spot.”

“Why are you suddenly talking about that?”

“Doyu will return.”

“!!”

Joo Sea was startled.

“Bughilma… …?”

“I’ll warn you in advance. That guy will be different from Seonje.”

“Gilma. Bugilma is the person that Team Leader Sung tried so hard to kick out. If you call that person, how are you going to face Team Leader Sung later?”

“Shouldn’t I also take care of this situation? If Seonje wakes up, that’s great, but what if he never wakes up? If the best isn’t possible, then I have to choose the second best.”

“Isn’t Bugilma the worst?”

“He’s a capable guy. He must have had a change of heart after reflecting on himself for a long time. Why? Are you nervous that someone you didn’t get along with is coming back?”

Joo Seah shook her head and sighed.

“No way. Do you think I’m the kind of guy who would be scared? I’m just worried about the Slayer.”

“When will you leave because you don’t like Slayer? What are you worried about?”

“The ending is really annoying. You won’t have to worry about Slayer anymore, so hold on tight to Bugilma’s reins. Don’t tire Team Leader Sung out when he gets back.”

Joo Se Ah left the hospital room that way.

Seongseonje was still worried, but there was no reason to stay here any longer.

and.

‘Choi Do-yu is back. Things are going to get noisy from now on.’

Her mind was already in battle mode at the announcement that the Slayer Guild’s Bugilma was returning.

There was no direct fight, but the appearance of a character who made me feel so tense. I had no time to look elsewhere.

Meanwhile, a secretary came into the hospital room to inform Samunhyeok, who was guarding the place Joo Se-ah had left, of his schedule.

“Your Majesty, everyone above the party leader level has been summoned to headquarters.”

“Okay. Let’s go now.”

Samunhyeok followed his secretary out of the hospital room. Before closing the door, he looked at Seongseonje one last time.

‘Seonjeya, today I will reverse your previous decision. When you return, then prove that you are the master of this place again.’

After Samunhyeok left, the hospital room became quiet.

Only the sound of Seongseonje’s thin breathing could be heard. His chest rose and fell with his breathing.

His inhalation and exhalation were exactly the same interval, without a single inch of error.

That was when.

Click.

For a moment, the tips of Seongseonje’s fingers twitched and then stopped.

And a small light appeared in his chest and then died down.

The ward was now completely silent.