The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 406



Only Noblemtl

Episode 406

#406. They’re probably hanging around here and there by now.

“Oh, hello. Haha… Nice to see you again.”

Hangaram smiled awkwardly as he looked at Noh Songrin again. Noh Songrin glared at him with a sullen expression and pointed to the side as she spoke.

“The interviewer is not me, but our manager.”

Hangaram slowly turned his head, which was creaking with nervousness. Kang Muhyuk was sitting at the top of the interview booth.

Kang Mu-hyeok spoke to Noh Song-rin without looking at him.

“This is not an interview. We need to come to an agreement, Hunter Noh Song-rin.”

“No, can’t you do that for me, Captain?”

“I am in charge of the aftermath of the accident that Hunter Noh Song-rin caused. I have to personally resolve the issues that need to be resolved before that.”

As Kang Mu-hyeok spoke with a smile, Noh Song-rin decided to use her last resort.

“Can’t a hunter who has signed a contract with a guild delegate legal and administrative responsibility for any accidents that occur during the performance of a mission to the guild?”

“!!”

Ta-da!

‘What is it? I’m hearing sound effects in my ears… … .’

Han Garam swallowed dryly without realizing it when a suffocating atmosphere suddenly appeared between Kang Mu-hyeok and Noh Song-rin.

Kang Moo-hyuk said with a surprised expression.

“When did you find out about the guild rules?”

“Hehehe, I learned a lot from looking over the shoulders of the captain. Knowledge is power. If you don’t know, you’ll suffer. Thanks to you, I was able to study for the first time in a long time.”

Kang Moo-hyuk rubbed his chin and snickered.

“But today’s work isn’t about clearing the gate or hunting, so wouldn’t it be a bit of a stretch to call it a hunter’s mission?”

“In the past, I would have flinched at that remark, but now I can’t even imagine it. I know that carrying out a mission isn’t just about fighting monsters. It also includes carrying out the captain’s official schedule.”

“You didn’t study it superficially. However, I am the captain. The current Iron Will regulations, which are based on the basic Taesung Guild regulations, do not specify the position of the captain.”

“I know there is a revised version. The position of the captain includes the content of inheriting the position of the old Bugilma. Do you want to do more? I will deal with you as much as you want. Hehehe!”

Noh Song-rin was confident.

While carrying out Kang Mu-hyeok’s duties, he was trapped in the shackles of being Kim Myung-jun’s spy, and suffered much oppression. That shackle was not a mistake that could be removed in an instant simply by repenting. So he had been thinking about what he should do to break it.

And the conclusion is.

‘You have to deal with the captain rationally. Emotional appeals like proving how loyal you are won’t work.’

So, the first thing I started doing was to accurately understand the guild rules.

‘But if I bring up the rules first, my loyalty that I’ve built up over time could be questioned. I should use this last. But it would be good to appeal that I can use it at least once. Now is the perfect time. It’s not a big deal, and I have to wrap it up as a minor incident.’

There is a saying that if a dog studies for three years, it will be able to recite poetry.

Since Noh Song-rin is not a Seodang dog, he was able to make strategic decisions in less than two years. Of course, only with regard to Kang Mu-hyeok.

‘… … you’re probably thinking?’

Kang Mu-hyeok read Noh Song-rin’s expression, which was completely transparent.

It was obvious what he was thinking, since he was holding back laughter with his lips curled up even though he was maintaining a poker face with all his might.

‘Even so, it’s really admirable. You even studied. At first, you were just like a gangster. I thought I’d take advantage of this opportunity to renew the contract, but it won’t work. Then, should I just wrap it up here?’

Kang Moo-hyuk tried to end this matter, thinking that there would be another opportunity.

At that moment, Hangaram, who had been observing from the side, carefully raised his hand and spoke.

“Excuse me. I… don’t have an interview?”

Noh Song-rin shook her head in disbelief and made an intimidating expression.

“This isn’t an interview. I called you here to settle the matter. Hey, rookie! Let’s just let that go. Do you need money? Yes, if you’re going to be freelance, you’ll need to buy gear, so you’ll need money. I’ll give you a generous settlement fee. If you’re going to write up the settlement, talk to the team leader here… .”

“Pass.”

“You’re going to give me a certificate… Huh?”

Noh Song-rin was startled and turned to look at Kang Mu-hyeok and asked back.

“Huh?”

“Yes. Since you had an interview, you should tell me whether you passed or failed.”

Kang Mu-hyeok responded with a new expression.

Noh Song-rin was at a loss for words before finally opening her mouth.

“This is not an interview, this is an agreement… … .”

“Why bother reaching an agreement? It would be easier if we were the same family. Hunter Han Garam.”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Would you like to join the Ironwill Guild?”

“Yes? Yes. Old!”

Hangaram answered instinctively before even understanding the situation.

Kang Mu-hyeok stood up and offered a handshake. Han Ga-ram bowed without realizing it and grabbed his hand with both hands.

“Welcome to Ironwill.”

* * *

After Han Garam left the interview booth cheering, Noh Song-rin looked bewildered and asked Kang Mu-hyeok.

“No, sir. Didn’t you call me to come to a settlement with that guy?”

“I thought about it and thought I should pick one or two people while I was here. I just participated for show, but I thought it would cause unnecessary misunderstandings if I had no recruiting record at all.”

“Isn’t that why I came here to misunderstand you in the first place?”

Kang Mu-hyeok was lost in thought for a moment after hearing Noh Song-rin’s words.

‘It’s true what Hunter Nosongrin said… … .’

Kang Moo-hyuk recalled why he participated in the second draft.

‘There have been many people who have been wary of Iron Will’s recent rapid growth. It was necessary to dilute this view.’

Iron Will was already a guild that was hated by the industry, as it revived the title of leader.

That was the case when the unified attack force was revived in the Northeastern Defense Battle, and as a result, the influence of the large guilds became stronger.

The problem is that if you gain something, you lose something.

The growing influence of the guild meant, on the contrary, that the government’s reins were weakened. Iron Will was secretly hated by the government.

‘Strictly speaking, it’s true that I’ve become a target of high-ranking officials and politicians. But it’s true that because of me, the power I can exert over the large guilds is not what it used to be.’

In today’s world, the relationship between government and guilds is as strong as the collusion between politics and business. In particular, the stronger the collusion, the more stable the society.

From the guild’s perspective, a stable country was essential to enjoy comfortable wealth and luxury unless they wanted to become a dictator, and from the country’s perspective, a system was needed to appease the hunters who could overthrow the country by force at any time.

The falling rice cakes in the meantime were a necessary evil.

But the rice cake was shrinking as the guild’s voice grew louder.

It was natural that I was hated.

Of course, since Joo Se Ah was the only S-rank hunter in South Korea, they couldn’t openly oppose each other, but they kept each other in check by continuously postponing the legal action they wanted and slowing down the administrative process.

Because of this, the bill on S-rank hunters and the revision bill on hometowns, which should have been passed a long time ago, were still pending in the National Assembly’s Hunter Special Committee.

‘Chairman Jeong Woo-su, who joined hands during the Unified Strike Force, is putting in effort, but it can’t be helped that it takes time.’

Kang Moo-hyuk wasn’t too worried about the bill itself being passed. No matter how much obstruction there was, the political world’s calculation was that the trend could not be reversed.

As Iron Will was emerging as a national guild, the current situation was that it was not possible to simply shout opposition for the next election.

‘The problem is that this pressure is not simply a check on the government or the National Assembly.’

Kang Mu-hyeok’s thoughts were broken by Noh Song-rin’s subsequent words.

“You said that the large guilds are being blatant these days and that it’s hard to secure skilled hunters. You even showed up in the second draft to show that difficulty. And wasn’t the original plan to give the impression that you failed to supplement the Hunter pool by not selecting any Hunters?”

“That’s right. So the plan was to make it look like the guild leader had to step in and do some sales.”

“But why did you suddenly change your mind? Is it really because of me…?”

Noh Song-rin asked with anticipation. Kang Mu-hyeok shook his head and said.

“I just came up with a fun picture spontaneously.”

“A fun plan?”

Noh Song-rin expressed disappointment, curiosity, and anxiety at the same time.

“Do you remember Team Leader Jo Ik-jun from earlier?”

“Are you the Taegeuk Guild guy I saw this morning?”

“Yes. Team Leader Cho looked at me with suspicious eyes. Why did I come here?”

“That’s right. Most large guilds don’t even bother with the second draft.”

“But Iron Will isn’t a large guild. In name only.”

“Instead, isn’t there a Guild Master named Jusea? The presence of an S-rank guild is greater than that of a Tier guild.”

“There is that kind of gaze. So, would it be a bit simpler to just go back empty-handed?”

“Simple?”

“If I’m going to do it, it’s better if the other person sees it as a headache.”

Noh Song-rin thought that Kang Mu-hyeok’s bad habits had started again.

Kang Moo-hyuk continued.

“As originally planned, there is no need for the guild leader to complain to other guilds.”

Kang Moo-hyuk’s plan was simple.

This is a suggestion to the Tier Guilds while showing Iron Will’s weakness.

Since the weaknesses are clearly visible, the Tier Guild’s restraint and suspicion will be somewhat relaxed.

Then offer a carrot.

Since an S-rank will be supporting the gate, how about speeding up the slow progress of the conquest? Instead, please include Iron Will’s expeditionary force.

‘In a situation where the local guild cannot participate in the conquest of gates outside of the local guild, this is the only way to gain experience before the bill is passed.’

Of course, even if I had just made the suggestion without making it complicated like now, including acting, they would have accepted it.

However, the expedition team’s know-how on conquering the gate was not to be exposed to the outside world.

There would certainly be guilds that would either reject it outright or urge group action.

In a time when it was difficult to connect with the Slayer Guild like before, it was better to avoid this kind of restraint.

‘Team Leader Seongseonje is someone who gives what he gets. But other guilds aren’t that reasonable.’

Those who have something to gain but are reluctant to give it away.

In front of those people, I had to constantly show that I was clearly weak or strong but had weaknesses.

This was because we couldn’t elicit cooperation by just showing that we were stronger.

Originally, Kang Moo-hyuk planned to continue cosplaying as ‘Joo Se-ah is weak to Iron Will’ and ‘Iron Will is suffering from a severe shortage of hunters.’

At the same time, it was also a method that was not very appealing. It was nothing more than a last resort measure that had to be taken in the Korean market, where the hunter talent pool was small.

A plan to gradually expand the territory while avoiding restraint as much as possible.

‘Honestly, I don’t like it.’

Noh Song-rin, who knew about Kang Mu-hyeok’s plan, couldn’t help but ask at this point.

“Then are you going to recruit more Hunters? Originally, the idea was to give the impression that even though the Commander himself stepped forward, he still couldn’t recruit any useful Hunters.”

“No. Are you only going to pick Hunter Han Garam?”

“Why do you only pick one?”

“It looks like I have to pick only one, right?”

“What is that… … ?”

“Let’s season it a little. The leader didn’t come here to pick him, he came here to pick him. Huh? It would be better if you said it was the guild leader’s pick, not mine.”

“What is that… … ?”

“Since we’re going to go big, let’s go big. Really big.”

At the end, Kang Moo-hyuk muttered as if talking to himself.

At first, it started out as an impromptu project due to the incident involving Jo Ik-jun and Noh Song-rin, who met by chance, but as he thought about it more, plans began to branch out in all directions to fit Iron Will’s current situation.

“Instead of going out weak and trying to eat moderately, we should bluff properly and eat big.”

“That’s gambling.”

“It’s gambling. If you live in this world by default, you’ll always be at the bottom. You have to aim for the reverse to get to the top. But don’t we have a joker card? Two of them.”

Noh Song-rin noticed that the two Joker cards were S-rank.

“Are you planning to reveal Thomas as well?”

“We’ll hide it as long as we can. But just because it’s an S-rank doesn’t mean it’s hidden. There’s also the gate explosion thing. They’re probably hanging around here and there right now.”

* * *

Recently, Baek-Gwi and Pyo-Ha-Jeong have been in a very uncomfortable mood.

‘Guan Hong has made a nest in Iron Will. But the Yellow Dragon Guild is keeping quiet.’

At first, the movements within the Hwangryong Guild were unusual. It seemed that they would not leave Guan Hong alone.

However, the atmosphere changed abruptly when information about the operations of the Yellow Dragon Guild, which had been captured and handed over by the remnants of Mirage, was leaked to Chinese state-run media.

‘The Hwangryong Guild started to act like a victim. The testimony gained strength when the World Hunters’ Association pointed out Gu Ja-cheon as the terrorist of Miraju.’

On the other hand, the energy of the forces attacking the Hwangryong Guild was completely drained by their remarks.

Baek-Gwi believed that the Yellow Dragon Guild and Iron Will were behind this series of events.

‘Among them all, Kang Mu-hyeok. It must have been him who led the effort.’

Even Baek-Gwi thought that Guan-Hong was worth it. Just holding him was like pointing a sword at Hwang-Ryong and Baek-Gwi himself. Furthermore, since he was seeking to enter the Demon Realm through Shin-Eui-Ju, Guan-Hong’s presence as an expert on that would be a great help.

‘The problem is that my discomfort is not due to Guan Hong.’

Baek-Gwi was reading an article about the Slayer Guild on his smartphone.

The headline of the article contained a special name that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

“Bugilma Choi Do-yu… … .”

A relief pitcher for Slayer who will fill in for the absence of Seongseonje.

“Is it because of this guy that the people around me are uncomfortable?”