The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 425



Only Noblemtl

Episode 425

#425. Here is the solution.

“This is not the worst-case scenario.”

“Isn’t that the worst?”

Someone asked in confusion. Kang Mu-hyeok answered calmly.

“This map is a story about when the Hunters’ power was maintained to some extent. If we go out to subdue them blindly like last time and let the Hunters die, we will not have enough power to resolve the inland gate, which could lead to an even more dangerous situation.”

A groan like a terminal groan was heard here and there. Then a heavy sigh was heard. People were unable to come to their senses due to the shocking scenario.

The fact that the seas of the Korean Peninsula fell to Nagas in just one year was not only a problem that would bankrupt the national economy, but would also completely cut off its lifeline.

Naturally, there were bound to be views that denied this.

The director of the National Security Office, who came out of the Blue House on behalf of the president, pointed at the screen and spoke in an accusing tone.

“Isn’t that a very pessimistic outlook? No matter what, it’s like that. That it’ll happen in just one year? Honestly, I doubt that this data was created intentionally by the director.”

“What is your intention?”

“It’s a material to push through your own claims. It’s to instill fear and cloud your judgment so that you follow.”

There was a mixture of suspicion and open hostility.

Kang Moo-hyuk nodded and shrugged.

“It’s a valid negotiation strategy to create anxiety and then suggest a solution. I admit that. That’s the intention.”

“See? Am I right?”

The security director looked around at the people around him, muttering.

Kang Moo-hyuk deliberately raised his voice to overlap with his words.

“But this scenario is not a lie. It is based on actual, similar cases.”

“A real case?”

“Do you know what these countries have in common: Cuba, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, etc?”

“Central and South America?”

“Yes. To be exact, they are maritime countries in the Caribbean. They are island countries like Japan.”

Kang Moo-hyuk pressed the controller in his hand to manipulate the screen. The next page showed a map centered on the Caribbean Sea.

“During the Great War, the island nations of the Caribbean suffered greatly from the Mermen, sea monsters with similar characteristics to the Nagas of the Mediterranean.”

Every time Kang Mu-hyeok pressed the controller, information about Merman appeared on the screen.

“Unlike Naga, Merman could not set foot on land, but it brought about catastrophic results. With the sea completely blocked, half of the population of the affected countries starved to death while fighting the monsters inland. They still haven’t recovered their population from that time and are living in coexistence with the monsters. The current situation on the Korean Peninsula is on the verge of a situation that is worse than this, not worse.”

Finally, it ended with the population status of the countries that Kang Mu-hyeok had mentioned earlier.

Again the crowd was silent.

The security chief thought that he had given the impression to the people that he was being pushed around. He could not afford to look down on the leader of a mere guild while he was trying to resolve this situation and was in a premature lame duck state. He threw out a word as if he was in a rage.

“Isn’t that a case from decades ago? The situation then and now are very different. Isn’t that right?”

The director of the National Security Office sought the consent of those around him, but no one took his side.

Kang Mu-hyeok said.

“What makes the situation different?”

“That… the hunter’s skill, the level of equipment, etc. Yeah! Isn’t the support capacity of the country also very different? Korea is still one of the world’s leading economic powers.”

“Well, that’s not wrong. The fact that we have to fight underwater is the same as before. It’s worse than when Merman simply blocked the sea route. They come up to land by surprise at any time and catch people as prey, like fish. I ask you, sir. Can we protect all the coastlines of this land?”

“that…….”

There was no way to get an answer. It was impossible. If we mobilized all the hunters, we could at least monitor them, but we couldn’t give up on attacking the gates that were popping up everywhere.

Even though his momentum was completely broken, the National Security Director persisted.

“Even so, where did so many Nagas come from that they could completely blockade an entire country? During this incident, not only Korea, but also China and Japan were attacked, right? I heard that many Nagas died there. Isn’t that why the number of Nagas has decreased so much? If we find the gates that the Nagas came from and close them, we might be able to subdue them more easily.”

Kang Mu-hyeok smiled and opened the next page of the PPT.

This time a world map was spread out.

“Naga breeds quickly. It takes a short time to reach adulthood. It is not a size where a gate of this size can open to come out. It is difficult to do so with the limited food inside the gate. So I tried to track down where the naga came from. Fortunately, there is a lot of information, so it is not that difficult.”

Europe was enlarged on the world map. Then the Mediterranean coast was highlighted. A speech bubble appeared over the Italian peninsula. Inside it, a view of Naga and Venice appeared. It was a picture of smoke rising here and there, as if a great battle had been fought.

“Last November, the Siege of the Walls of Venice, known as the Muro di Terra. It started with a large-scale surprise attack by Naga, and several cities along the Mediterranean coast were attacked.”

“I remember seeing it on the news.”

When Han Byung-goo, who had kept his mouth shut until now, started to speak, Kang Mu-hyeok moved to the next screen.

This time it was North Africa. Scenes similar to Italy came to mind in many places.

“And Egypt. There’s an article about Nagas appearing on the Red Sea side of the Suez Canal. It’s not covered much, but it says that Nagas have been found in various places.”

The screen moved to the Red Sea between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, passing through the Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea.

“Then there were similar reports from the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. And India. There was an article about a village being attacked by Nagas and many people missing.”

Thousands of people were killed, but because India had such a large population and had clearly shown a disregard for human life since the Gate era, it was treated as an occasional disaster and did not become a major issue.

“Next is Southeast Asia. Here, they openly attacked people. It’s a place with hot and humid weather, lots of rain, islands and coasts all around, and a large population. Hunter power is concentrated in major cities, so they can’t protect the people in the outskirts. It’s the best habitat for Nagas. Food is everywhere.”

“From what I’ve heard from Director Kang so far, it seems like the Naga from the Mediterranean has flowed all the way to Northeast Asia. Am I right?”

Han Byung-goo asked a question that had been agreed upon in advance. Since it was an official event, he gave off the nuance of treating Kang Mu-hyeok with formality.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“But why did Naga come here instead of settling in Southeast Asia? You don’t intend to make the entirety of Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia Naga territory, do you? It’s not like a single species could occupy a territory of that size, not even during the Great War.”

“Well, please take a look here.”

Kang Moo-hyuk enlarged the map of Southeast Asia.

It was a narrow sea route between the Malaysian Peninsula and Indonesia, or more precisely, between the island of Sumatra.

“It’s the Strait of Malacca. When you think of Malacca, something comes to mind.”

“The Hydra of Malacca… … .”

“That’s right. A nine-headed dragon monster. It’s a monster that used to cause devastating damage to Southeast Asian hunters. At that time, I heard that it lost eight of its nine heads and went into hibernation. On top of that, the sealing wizard created a barrier to prevent the hydra from waking up. It’s a reptile that looks like a snake, and in a broad sense, it’s the lowest species of dragon. In the real dragon territory, other monsters can’t spread their wings. It’s common sense in monster science that lower species of the same category can’t live there either.”

“Are you saying that Nagaga left because the dragon clan was no longer active and hibernating?”

Was he the Minister of National Defense? The Minister of Public Administration and Security? Judging from his stocky body and his eyes, he seemed to be from the Ministry of National Defense.

Kang Moo-hyuk looked at him and said.

“Monsters consider mana as their scent. The mana of the dragon tribe is special. It doesn’t completely disappear even after decades. In a territory where the scent of the Hydra is everywhere, the lowest species, the Naga, would not be able to live comfortably. Since the Naga are highly socialized monsters, they cannot accept being ruled by someone. That’s why they usually don’t even unite with each tribe. The dragon tribe has the devilish nature to rule and control the monsters in their territory. It’s called the ‘Dragon Lair.’ Southeast Asia is the best habitat, but they had no choice but to leave.”

“Wait a minute. Didn’t you just say that we can’t come together, Captain? Then that means we’re a single tribe. Is it possible for this number to be in a single tribe?”

Cha Gil-ju, who had been sitting quietly at the end of the conference room, raised his hand and spoke. This was also a prepared question.

“As the director said, it’s an impossible number for a single tribe.”

“That means… … .”

“I expect that there will be a being who unites all the Naga tribes. In simple terms, a Naga king has been born. For the first time since the Great War. You all know. What kind of damage the Naga king inflicted on Europe at that time. The disasters of the past could recur in Northeast Asia.”

Silence again.

Now, they are starting to see the national destruction scenario that Kang Mu-hyeok had brought up in the beginning as a reality.

The security chief, who had been arguing throughout the meeting, spoke in a trembling voice.

“Tongue, according to the chairman, Director Kang has a plan to solve this problem… … .”

Kang Moo-hyuk turned the world map back to Europe.

“The answer is simple. The starting point of the problem. Europe. Here is the solution.”

“In Europe? Oh? No way, in Italy… … .”

“You must have heard of it. It is the secret weapon that saved Europe from the tyranny of Nagas. That is.”

Kang Moo-hyuk finally opened the last chapter of the PPT.

The photo that appeared on the last page was… a monster.

“Flying Seahorse. The world’s only underwater riding monster. I have to get this.”

* * *

Japan Guild Federation.

Yoshimura looked at his friend sitting in front of him, sipping tea.

‘It’s embarrassing to call you a friend. There’s an age difference. Would it be better to call you a comrade?’

Kishin Takeru.

An S-rank hunter who lives in seclusion in the mountains and dominates the Japanese hunter community.

He rarely showed himself in the secular world except when he was attacking a dangerous gate.

This point has become more sacred and now the Japanese people call it the ‘guardian deity of the archipelago.’

Although there was an age difference of nearly 20 years between him and Yoshimura, who was in his 80s, he still called him “Kishin-kun” in private because they had fought together in the Great War and the Little War.

Perhaps because he became an S-rank at a young age, Kishin has the appearance of a middle-aged man, and the title of Yoshimura suits him very well.

Perhaps irritated by Yoshimura’s disgruntled gaze, Kishin put down his teacup and explained the reason he had come to the Gildanryeon headquarters.

“Yoshimura Bong-gong. Are you having a headache because of the Naga problem?”

“You talk as if it were someone else’s business.”

“Why are you so prickly?? To the person who came to solve that problem.”

“solve?”

“I don’t know why Naga came all the way to Northeast Asia, but I do know what prevented them from spreading their wings.”

“Are you talking about the Flying Seahorse?”

“As expected, you knew that.”

Yoshimura let out a long sigh.

“I think you’re suggesting we introduce Flying Seahorses. Do you think that’s possible?”

“You don’t know until you try.”

“The Flying Seahorse is a vehicle that has never been sold outside of Europe. It has never even been given to the United States, an ally of Europe. It was treated as a strategic material because it was used to deal with Nagas in order to prioritize European monster security. Are you selling that to Japan?”

Kishin took another sip of tea and sipped it slowly, savoring the taste.

“I have already sent a negotiator I know to Italy. I told him not to spare any money this time. Money is no business. You tell the government to organize a budget.”

“If money could do it, America would have done it long ago.”

“Can we just sit back and do nothing? We have to try anything. The guy we sent as a negotiator is a bit shallow, but he’s quite resourceful, so we’ll figure out a way. For now, we’ll try other methods, but we’ll also continue negotiations with the Gloria Guild.”