The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 426



Only Noblemtl

Episode 426

#426. I had a mouth full of teeth.

When Kishin showed his confidence, Yoshimura began to suspect that there might be some kind of backroom deal that he was unaware of.

“No matter how good a negotiator you are, it would be difficult to persuade the Gloria Guild with just money. Mr. Kishin, do you have another plan?”

“You’re still quick-witted.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Sakuramantite.”

“No way… you!”

“I sent you some of the mining rights for that mine.”

Sakuramantite.

It’s easy to understand if you think of it as a Japanese Gate plate ore of adamantite, one of the strongest minerals among Gate discovery resources.

Most of the properties of sakuramantite are similar to those of adamantite, but it differs in two aspects.

One was the color of the ore. Adamantite, which had a dark green glow, had a dull color when finished, but sakuramantite was a light pink color like cherry blossoms, and after being refined, it gave off a beautiful and mysterious glow, and was highly regarded for its aesthetics.

Another characteristic was that its mana efficiency was better than that of adamantite. Even when using the same skill, a weapon made of sakuramantite showed better destructive power with less power.

It showed excellent effectiveness in terms of battle stamina even when facing weak monsters, but the difference was even more evident when facing strong monsters.

Hunters unconditionally preferred weapons made of Sakuramantite when it came to weapons made of two minerals.

Unfortunately, Japan has designated sakuramantite as a strategic material and banned its export.

In foreign countries, importing this ore was almost completely abandoned unless there was a large-scale project to produce unique weapons.

“Not an exchange, but a mining right?”

Yoshimura looked quite surprised.

That was because Kishin was the one who had the largest share of Sakuramantite.

To be exact, it belonged to the guild ‘Ilkwang’ that Kishin had established before his retirement, but since his influence on the guild was absolute, it could be said to be Kishin’s.

Since the only thing Kishin could do as he pleased was the shares of Ilkwang, it was essentially the same as giving up his own interests.

“Don’t look at it that way. I’m also a person who cares about this country. I don’t like politicians, but I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Since I got hit hard this time, I’ll probably keep my mouth shut for the time being. I think we should start moving to resolve things.”

“Your determination is certainly admirable. But what are you going to do with the young Hunters who died because you turned a blind eye to the government’s foolish plan?”

“What power does a retired old man have in his voice that he can tell the Prime Minister what to do?”

“Aren’t you too energetic to call yourself old?”

Yoshimura frowned at the wrinkle-free Kishin. In contrast, Yoshimura had a wrinkled forehead.

Although I knew that S-rank bodies were beyond human limits, I was still amazed to see Kishin still maintaining a youthful body despite being in his 60s.

“You know that I even gave up the Sunlight Guild and stepped down, right? I don’t want to get involved in the secular world.”

“I know you’ve been involved in some noisy business here and there, even though you say you don’t want to get involved. You’re also interested in Korea, right? I’ll take this opportunity to say something. Think of it as advice from an old comrade.”

“Go ahead.”

“How about creating a cooperative relationship rather than an antagonistic one with Korea?”

“… … .”

Yoshimura, who viewed Kishin’s silence as a positive, continued.

“The threat of monsters is growing by the day. It’s not just the Naga incident that’s the problem. The Ma-gyeong incident is also like that, and the three-headed evil dragon born there could wake up at any time. What will we do when the dragon comes to Japan? You know that from your experience at Nine Dragons, don’t you? This is a time when harmony is more important than confrontation.”

“Guryongneung… … .”

“Yeah. Are we going to repeat that nightmare?”

“I was a teenager when the Guryongneung Massacre occurred.”

“I know. You were the youngest member of the raid team.”

When Kishin suddenly became lost in thought and muttered, Yoshimura also followed suit.

Kishin continued speaking.

“Although I was not yet an adult hunter, I became a high-ranking hunter faster than any other hunter today.”

“Back then, days when we risked our lives fighting were routine. Everyone had to get stronger quickly. There was no time to train like hunters do these days. We had to learn through fighting and use what we learned the next day.”

“Back then, I thought I was the best. I thought that if I was given enough time, I would naturally become an S-rank. Everyone thought so. There was no one with more talent than me.”

“Isn’t that what I said?”

“I felt the wall then.”

“If they are dragons of Guryongneung, then it makes sense.”

“No. I mean the Korean hunter.”

Yoshimura recalled the Korean hunters from the Great War.

“Are you talking about Yongjabi Jeon Ye-jun? He was definitely one of the best swordsmen in the world.”

“It’s not just Jeon Ye-jun. Son Tae-beom, Seo Jung-hwan, the Scarlet Wizard, etc… There were so many people in Korea with talents like mine. Do you know what I felt back then?”

“… … .”

“Jealousy… and discouragement.”

Kishin’s eyes sank.

Yoshimura felt darkness in his eyes. The one who had walked the brightest path of any hunter in Japan was actually walking in darkness.

‘Was it because it shined the brightest that it was sensitive to darkness?’

It was an understandable situation. Even Yoshimura himself had felt intimidated when standing in front of Korean hunters.

People praise those who shine even in the darkness of war as heroes.

Korean hunters were truly worthy of the title of hero.

The nobility of sacrificing one’s life to hunt monsters, as well as the skills one possessed, was a story that only the survivors of the great war knew, and was unknown to the people of the current generation.

“After Guryongneung, the Korean hunter world went down the path of decline. However, even after that, hunters with great talent continued to emerge. If we hadn’t stopped even one of them, there might have been more S-ranks like Joo Se-ah in Korea by now. Japan would have kept quiet and not been able to pray to Korea. I just do what I have to do.”

Yoshimura sensed the firmness in Kishin’s voice. He noticed that Kishin was making the refusal as politely as possible.

If it weren’t for their connection on the battlefield since the Great War, Kishin wouldn’t have even considered Yoshimura as a conversation partner.

In fact, none of the lords of Gildanryun except Yoshimura were able to meet Kishin alone.

The only people Kishin treated as equals were Yoshimura and the other two S-ranks from Japan.

‘I felt the wall at such a young age. Even after decades, the trauma still remains. I too am sometimes in awe of the power of Korean hunters, but now is not the time for this… … .’

Yoshimura sighed, feeling complicated.

“I won’t nag you any more either. What can I do if you don’t want to? But please don’t forget that you have that option when the time comes.”

“I will always keep it in my heart.”

What Kishin said was just the minimum courtesy he had to show toward Yoshimura.

Yoshimura confirmed his stubbornness that would never change, and thought of another comrade across the sea.

‘Han Sang. It seems that we cannot undo the wrong choices of the past.’

* * *

Kang Moo-hyuk finalized Johanna, Hyun Jeong-geon, and Thomas as the hunters who would join him on his trip to Italy and booked their plane tickets.

“Wait a minute. I object.”

After hearing the news from somewhere, Go Eul-ji came rushing into the chief’s office and questioned Kang Mu-hyeok’s decision.

“Let’s say Johanna is Italian. And Thomas is in rehabilitation anyway, so he’s out of action and can’t go out on the field. But why Mr. Hyun?”

Kang Mu-hyeok spoke slowly to Go Eul-ji, who was raising the issue with a serious face.

“Goeulji Hunter, but why are you here? What about the southern coast?”

“I’m on a break from combat. I got a day off because I worked hard for a few days. But isn’t this day a bit weird? I’m dying from being on standby 24 hours a day. Gilma isn’t stingy with money, but this is too strict. Who said being a Hunter is a good job? There’s no such thing as work-life balance in the Hunter dictionary. No, is Iron Will the only one like that?”

“Didn’t you hear the warning not to leave your assigned area during your break?”

“I’m going to go down right away. But I couldn’t just sit still because I had something else in mind.”

“What did you hear?”

Kang Moo-hyuk suddenly became interested.

I thought that if he came all the way to Bukpocheon, even leaving his post, he must have heard some high-level information.

“The manager is going on an overseas trip at this time.”

“Oh, right, it was Goeulji?”

Kang Mu-hyeok muttered, thinking that it was a good idea for a local government. The local government looked puzzled and asked back.

“Huh? Why is my name?”

“There is something like that.”

“What is that?”

“But what does my going to Italy have to do with the Goulji Hunters?”

“If it’s Italy, then France is right next door, right?”

“That is true once you cross the Alps.”

“There’s a K-Pop World Adventure event in Paris. BTA will be there. Besides Mr. Hyun, I… … .”

“You know that’s not possible, right? Not in these times.”

When Kang Mu-hyeok hit back at her with the words she had just said, Go Eul-ji kept her mouth shut like a mute who had eaten honey.

When Kang Mu-hyeok just stared blankly without saying anything, Go Eul-ji had no choice but to back away, sweating profusely.

“I was just saying, just saying.”

Even though Goeulji knew in his head that it wouldn’t work, he just followed his heart.

She’s been having a hard time lately.

BTA withdrawal symptoms.

Concerts, fan meetings, new song release events, etc. Every time I tried to be a fan, something happened, so there was no point in making money.

If it were a normal job, I would have taken my annual leave, and if I was a college student, I would have skipped class and gone, but since it was a hunter job with people’s lives at stake, I couldn’t do whatever I wanted.

As I spent my school days hunting and training as a teenager, I wanted to reward myself by enjoying my fandom as an adult.

‘It’s my karma, my karma. I got my nose pierced by Captain Kang.’

As I let go of my regrets, the original question came back to me.

“But I’m really curious about Mr. Hyun. Why is he going and not Mr. No?”

“Did Hunter Nosongrin ask you to ask?”

“Just out of loyalty. I care about that kind of thing.”

“The two of you get along well. It’s nice to see that side of you as the captain.”

As Kang Mu-hyeok nodded with his eyes wide open, Go Eul-ji waved her hand and made an excuse.

“I hate you. I hate you. That old man would be the one who would be picked on by the guild if it weren’t for me. You have to take care of the country so that I don’t quit. If I leave the guild at that age, I won’t be able to rejoin.”

“High-ranking Hunters are a welcome force everywhere… … .”

“Oh, okay! Just skip it. So why Mr. Hyun?

“It’s simple. The Nosongrin Hunter has better power against monsters than the Hyunjeonggeon Hunter. It would be a waste to divert such effective power when even one Hunter is needed.”

Go Eul-ji probably knew that Hyun Jeong-geon was an assassin who was better at catching hunters than monsters.

It was a convincing answer, but he couldn’t help but ask about it for the sake of Noh Song-rin, who claimed to be the chief’s confidant.

“Mr. Hyun is in the strategy team. Isn’t that important too?”

“With Director Kwanhong’s arrival, there’s more leeway there. Anyway, I think there will be a lot of work to be done in Italy that will make use of Hunter Hyun Jeong-geon’s special skills.”

“Assassination? Who are you trying to kill?”

“A good assassin is also a good spy.”

“Wouldn’t it be better if it was Mr. Joe?”

Kang Mu-hyeok stopped listening to Go Eul-ji’s monologue.

“Huh? You didn’t think about Mr. Joe?”

“I see. There was Mr. Joe. I wonder why I didn’t think of Mr. Joe. It’s thanks to Hunter Goeulji. I should contact him right away. I was worried that it would be difficult with only Hunter Hyunjeonggun since there’s a lot of work to do there. Now I have a good worker.”

Goeulji witnessed the evil laughter that the guild people often spoke of when looking at Kang Mu-hyeok.

That smile that makes someone bleed whenever Kang Mu-hyeok smiles.

I don’t know if he’s aware of it, but people who know him really don’t want to be the butt of the joke.

‘Sorry, Mister Cho. I was being sarcastic.’

* * *

“Eh, etch!”

“Does the Hunter have a cold?”

In response to Mansuro’s question, Mr. Joe sniffled and muttered.

“I suddenly got chills… … .”