The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 400



Only Noblemtl

Episode 400

#400. Who’s that guy?

The end of the year has passed and the new year has begun.

Like all guilds, Iron Will, which had been around for a year, was also running to take a new step.

But the weight on his ankle was too heavy to move forward. Kang Moo-hyuk felt the need to sort out this weight.

“Hunter Baek Seong-bin. I hereby announce that you have officially been dismissed from Iron Will.”

Kang Moo-hyuk met Baek Seong-bin at the Hunter Investigation Agency detention center and informed him of his resignation. It was the day Baek Seong-bin was transferred to Ujungdo.

Baek Seong-bin accepted it calmly, as if his mind had become more composed than before.

“Thank you for everything.”

There was no long conversation between the two.

Kang Moo-hyuk was disappointed that the hunter he had been looking forward to had collapsed in vain, and Baek Seong-bin was frustrated that he had failed in monster hunting, which had been his lifelong dream, but he did not show it on his face.

We just accepted each other.

Kang Mu-hyeok watched him leave in the rain-damaged vehicle until the very end.

Our eyes met just before we got into the car, but there was no expression on our faces.

Soon, the transport vehicle left the Hunter Investigation Agency, and Kang Moo-hyuk watched its back for a while.

‘Which number is it?’

It was quite common for Kang Moo-hyuk to see corrupted hunters while doing this job. Whether it was voluntary or involuntary, living as a hunter meant encountering countless temptations.

I knew full well that justice and reality do not always look in the same direction.

Still, I felt it was unfair that righteous actions did not lead to righteous results.

Baek Seong-bin was a hunter more righteous than anyone else, but the shackles of that justice became poisonous to him as they bound him.

‘So the hunter just keeps compromising.’

Baek Seong-bin suffered from not knowing the compromise and collapsed, giving in to temptation.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault. That’s just how hunters are.

A bitter taste soaked my tongue.

“Sir, the meeting time is almost over. You need to get going now because you need to get medical attention later.”

As Kang Mu-hyeok spent his time without moving an inch, Noh Song-rin, who felt that he was starting to feel pressed for time, cautiously reminded him of this.

“I feel like eating something sweet today.”

Kang Mu-hyeok turned around. Noh Song-rin tilted her head as she watched Kang Mu-hyeok get into the car.

“Are you asking me to buy you some chocolates? Valentine’s Day is in February?”

* * *

Guan Hong was sitting leisurely in the cafeteria of the guild headquarters, working, just like he did when he was with the Hwangryong Guild.

He started working for Iron Will after Baek Seong-bin’s betrayal incident, and officially joined the company when the year changed.

Thanks to this, his transfer became a rumor in the industry and he was the subject of various gossip.

Moreover, as news of him spread to the Yellow Dragon Guild, trouble began to arise in the Demon Realm.

Kang Mu-hyeok said he would sort things out on his own, but as for Gwan-hong, the current situation was making him feel uneasy and uneasy.

‘If the non-aggression pact with the Yellow Dragon Guild in the Demon Realm is broken because of me, the Tier Guilds that invested in Shinuiju will not stay still.’

Normally, the Slayer’s Holy Emperor would have mediated, but his position was currently vacant.

Since there was an S-ranked Joo Se Ah, there were many ways to pressure her without being noticed, even if they couldn’t push her overtly. The only person who had to bear that pressure was Kang Moo Hyuk.

Guan Hong pondered over several solutions, but it didn’t look good for the parties involved in the conflict to step forward. There was a chance that it would backfire, so he couldn’t rashly express his opinion.

All he could do now was to take care of the guild’s affairs perfectly and lighten Kang Mu-hyeok’s burden.

‘Expeditionary force expansion and personnel redeployment. Woo Dae-sik’s rehabilitation is confirmed.’

Woo Dae-sik, who was injured by Baek Seong-bin, received mana therapy and organ regeneration treatment as his major internal organs were severely injured.

Fortunately, he survived thanks to a quick evacuation, but he was diagnosed as needing at least a year of rehabilitation.

‘We need to choose a new expedition party leader.’

Plus, he was out of the expedition team.

It would be possible to return after rehabilitation and be re-examined, but if there were any aftereffects or if fighting ability had declined, it would be difficult to return.

While he was handling guild business, Guan Hong felt the eyes of those around him and raised his head.

The cafeteria was empty. Instead, members of the group were passing by the main lobby, urging their steps and glancing at him.

That was because Guan Hong’s true identity was known to everyone.

A strategist for the Hwangryong Guild. The planner of the Shinuiju and Ma-gyeong incidents.

From the perspective of the Korean hunter community, any villain would be a bad guy who wouldn’t even be able to hand out a business card.

There was a widespread opinion that it was natural for the Tier Guild to raise the level of unofficial criticism towards Kang Mu-hyeok and Iron Will, and that the leader had thought about everything and appointed Guan Hong as the Operations Director.

No matter what your opinion, Guan Hong was an unapproachable person.

Of course, he wasn’t the type of person to be swayed by reputation, so he didn’t care what other people thought.

at that time.

dump.

The chair across from me shook and someone took a seat.

“What are you doing? Working? But why are you working in a cafe? Sir, no, because of Director Gwan, people can’t use the cafe.”

Of course, it’s not like there weren’t any people who bothered me at all.

One of them was Goeulji.

Guan Hong carefully placed the tablet on the table, covered it, and looked at her as he spoke.

“Do you have any business?”

“Of course I came here to drink coffee. I’m an adult now, so I think I should enjoy a cup of coffee at work.”

“It seems to me that there is too much leeway.”

“Battle rest. Don’t you know what a battle rest is? I’m so tired from beating up Mirage.”

“There are no injuries.”

“I’m mentally tired.”

“It doesn’t seem like he’s mentally weak.”

Guan Hong spoke, recalling Go Eul Ji’s personal file.

I also carefully looked through the individual interview logs of the main hunters written by Kang Mu-hyeok.

In particular, it was impressive that in the peer evaluation, a hunter named Noh Song-rin described Goeulji as a crazy person with a flower in his hair.

When I asked Kang Mu-hyeok what this expression meant, he roughly summarized it as a Korean expression, mental strength.

‘I guess he is not a disciple of Jusea Gilma for nothing since he is still fine even after facing Mirage. After all, when he saved me, he alone went up against the Gudongjon Alliance.’

Guan Hong made an evaluation that was filled with misunderstandings. In the meantime, Go Eul Ji was rambling on about personal matters.

“Look, I even got a credit card now. I can play card swiping while drinking coffee. Well, I did have a check card, but it’s not fancy. But isn’t it funny that Hunter is held responsible as an adult, but he can’t make these cards because he’s a minor?”

“The drinks here are free for all members.”

“I made a card, so I need a place to swipe it. I want to swipe it, but I can’t leave the guild because it’s an emergency period. And when I try to pay online, swiping the card just doesn’t feel right. And what’s the use of receiving pretty clothes by courier? I’ll never wear them. So just in case, I need to take a vacation… No, I’m not saying I’m going to take a vacation. I didn’t tell Director Kwanhong because I was worried that Director Kang wouldn’t give it to me. But do you remember that? That I saved Director Kwan. They say that if a person doesn’t repay a favor, they’re worse than an animal. Hey, don’t feel too burdened by that. Hahaha.”

As Goeulji continued to talk, Gwanhong felt extremely tired.

‘I’m getting confused. Was mental attack your specialty?’

Guan Hong had to use his ultimate technique to escape from Go Eul Ji, who bragged about saving him whenever they met.

“By the way, Hunter Goeulji. Did you find the motorcycle?”

His question made Goeulji feel depressed.

“no.”

The motorcycle that Goeulji had parked at the guild and then stolen by Baek Seong-bin was still not found.

“That was a custom-made thing that moved around even near the special zone or open gate… . I couldn’t buy it even if I wanted to… .”

During the time when he was hiding his identity as a hunter, his maternal grandfather, Han Byeong-gu, gave him a motorcycle as a gift to relieve the stress of training and hunting that replaced his school life. It was a motorcycle that he had grown very attached to after riding it for a long time, but now its whereabouts are unknown.

“I reported the lost item to the police. Let’s see if they found it.”

Guan Hong took his tablet and left the place using his motorcycle as an excuse.

“Okay, then. Please contact me when you find the motorcycle.”

Goeulji shouted pitifully behind Gwanhong, who was quickly running away.

There was someone who responded to her voice at that time.

“Goeulji Hunter. Have you lost your horse?”

It was Choi Mi-ran who was just entering the lobby.

She had recently returned to the guild after recovering from the injuries she had received from Baek Seong-bin. Rumors had spread about the Baek Seong-bin incident, so Go Eul-ji had a vague idea of ​​the name.

“Ah, that… Choi, Choi, Choi Mi-sook?”

“I’m Choi Mi-ran. I’m B-rank.”

Choi Mi-ran approached Go Eul-ji, grabbed her hands tightly, and asked again.

“You lost your motorcycle? I know how you feel. Two cars were destroyed by monsters.”

“Two?”

“One for the Orc, one for the Griffin. Both were brand new, barely ridden. The second one was his first time driving.”

“Oh my god. Losing my horse to a monster. That’s horrible. I also lost my horse a while ago… … .”

The two hunters instantly became sympathetic and began to curse the culprits who had stolen their horse.

The cafeteria has become a restricted area that no one can use, even though the official residence is gone.

* * *

After completing her external schedule, Joo Se-ah stopped by the memorial park where the members who lost their lives in this incident were cremated and laid to rest.

Since I was near Paju, I was supposed to meet Kang Mu-hyeok, who tested me for mana addiction.

She went around to each member’s seat in the columbarium and laid flowers on them one by one.

They were hunters from the same guild, but I didn’t even know their names. I had seen some of them in passing, but I had never spoken to them before.

Still, she felt uneasy. It was a kind of sense of responsibility.

The burden that must be borne as the head of the guild.

My shoulders felt heavy.

Soon, Joo Se Ah reached the last seat. The name Baek Hyeong Gyu was written on it. She said, placing the flower in front of the photo.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t finish the illusion, Hunter Baek Hyeong-gyu.”

Joo Sea informed the dead man of the failure of revenge.

Although they had no obligation to take revenge, Joo Se Ah felt sorry for not being able to keep her promise.

So I made a new resolution.

“But as long as I roll around on this floor, there will come a day when I meet that guy again. I promise. When I do, I will kill him for sure.”

“I don’t want to fight the guild leader and illusion again.”

Kang Moo-hyeok’s face was reflected in the glass window containing Baek Hyeong-gyu’s remains. Thomas was also seen behind him.

When Joo Se Ah looked back, Kang Mu Hyuk said.

“So you were here. I couldn’t see you anywhere else, so I came to the Baek Hyeong-gyu Hunter.”

“Why? Why won’t you let me fight Illusion? Are you afraid I’ll lose?”

When Joo Se-ah snapped at him, Kang Moo-hyuk scratched his head as if in trouble.

“Fighting Illusion again means a terrorist situation. The rematch will be a big burden for Korea. Well, I don’t know if Illusion will come to Korea again.”

“So… you think the illusion has escaped from Korea?”

“Maybe? If you can’t find it after digging this far, there must have been a smuggling route. The Yellow Dragon might be able to help. Honestly, it would have been hard to stop an S-rank from escaping in the first place.”

“Then, next time we meet it won’t be in Korea?”

“Don’t even think about fighting outside. It’s a domestic issue, a demonic realm, and it’s a mess. Leave the rest to the World Hunters’ Association. It seems like they’ve started chasing us again in each country, so we’ll be tracked down wherever we go.”

Joo Se-ah nodded obediently at Kang Mu-hyeok’s words.

Of course, Kang Mu-hyeok did not believe her explanation outright.

She was the type of person who would bite Illusion’s neck whenever she got the chance. Kang Moo-hyuk was the type of person who wouldn’t give her that chance.

‘I agree that we need to get rid of the illusion, but it’s hard to catch him if we keep chasing him every time an incident occurs. To do that, we need to set a trap and wait.’

Kang Moo-hyuk declared while talking to Illusion.

As the commander of the alliance, I will hunt.

A good hunter doesn’t chase, he waits. He sets traps.

Kang Moo-hyuk was trying to figure out how to catch Illusion through the Federation’s information network.

Although there may be no immediate results, I believed that the illusion would eventually show its weaknesses.

I was thinking of moving when that time came.

“Then, I will go and pay my respects to the rest of the members. Will Thomas Hunter come with us?”

“Not really.”

“I’ll go alone.”

As Kang Mu-hyeok moved, Joo Se-ah asked Thomas a question in a subtle way.

“Thomas Hunter, how are you?”

“Overall, it’s good. Although the treatment schedule was delayed due to overdoing it.”

Thomas answered, wrapping his white front hair around his index finger.

The hair had lost its original color and turned white, but somehow it still had a sheen to it.

Joo Se-ah nodded and gestured with her chin toward the direction where Kang Mu-hyeok had disappeared.

“What about that person?”

“… … .”

Thomas paused for a moment.