The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 448



Only Noblemtl

Episode 448

#448. Still, I can’t help but feel frustrated.

Vito originally planned to make Johanna a key member of the expedition team that was being reorganized this year.

He may not be able to be an ace from the start, but we tried to give him enough experience to at least settle him down as a main tank.

But another of Johanna’s choices ran into a snag.

He had warned Johanna.

It’s like throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. It might never come again.

However, Johanna chose to go to Korea without hesitation, saying that she had to pay off her debt.

‘I even offered to pay it back for you, but you refused. It’s hard to persuade you since you didn’t tell me what the debt was. It’s also hard to interfere with the big hunter. I suspect that Kang Mu-hyeok may have had something to do with this.’

Vito looked at Kang Mu-hyeok with suspicious eyes.

My eyes met with Kang Mu-hyeok’s, who happened to be turning his head, and I had no choice but to hide my feelings with an awkward smile.

At that time, Zhao Keji and Tatsuya happened to see that scene.

‘I guess there was some kind of communication. Even during the Guanhong incident, he moved behind the scenes to resolve the conflict with Biwonjun Bugilma. Kang Moo-hyeok prefers to resolve things directly with his superiors. It is said that creating such a position is also a skill, but Lee Ja does it too easily. I think we need to keep him in check to some extent.’

‘According to Paolo, Kang Moo-hyuk met Johanna Hunter, whom Vittorio Gilma had introduced earlier, in LA. Considering that she is the next candidate for the Gloria Expedition, it must have been Gilma who took care of her personally. There will be many opportunities to build a good relationship with Iron Will in the future. Did he prepare a foundation for taking flight again as Kishin had worried? I need to report it.’

The negotiation was able to conclude safely amid a confusion of truth and misunderstanding.

“The Flying Seahorse will be transported by a special aircraft owned by the Guild. It will be delivered starting next week, and can carry twenty at a time. Before that, the instructors will be delivered first to begin training, so please coordinate the schedules of each country with the instructors in charge. The person in charge of the Knights in charge of China will be in Venice tomorrow, so I will contact you then.”

“Thank you, Vittorio Gilma, for your consideration.”

Zhao Keji expressed his gratitude with a smile, at least on the outside.

The Japanese side approached Vito hesitantly, as if they had some regrets. It seemed like they wanted a chance to build more connections.

Vito, who noticed this, spoke first.

“I would have liked to have dinner with my guests, but unfortunately, two gates were created this afternoon, and I am out of my mind. I hope we will have a better opportunity to meet again later.”

With those words, as Vito left the room, the rest of the negotiating team gathered their materials and prepared to return.

Zhao Keji had already experienced Jiang Wuhyeok, so he left without saying a word. On the other hand, Tatsuya actively sought to learn about the person known as Jiang Wuhyeok.

“Director Kang Mu-hyeok, how about having dinner together tonight? I’d like to talk about how we can continue our cooperative relationship in the future regarding the subjugation.”

“This is exactly what I was hoping for. Thank you for inviting me. If you tell me the time and place, I will come and meet you accordingly.”

“I’ll get things sorted out first and then report back to the home country… I’ll see you around 8 o’clock. Our hotel restaurant is famous for its quality. Is the Italian food any good?”

“I will come to the hotel you are staying at at 8 o’clock.”

Since Korea had the smallest number of negotiating team members, Kang Moo-hyuk was about to leave the conference room right after making a dinner appointment with Tatsuya.

Then Johanna came and gave a signal.

“Please wait a moment.”

Kang Mu-hyeok tilted his head, wondering what was going on.

Then Thomas came and whispered.

“Edoardo is nearby, Commander.”

Aside from the Gloria Guild officials, only Thomas felt Edoardo’s presence.

Only after the Japanese negotiating team left did Johanna make a move.

She guided me to an office right next to the conference room.

As we opened the office door and entered, a short hallway appeared. Across the hallway, another door greeted the group. In front of the door, two armed hunters who appeared to be guards stood guard.

As Johanna and Kang Mu-hyeok and their group approached, they stopped them.

“I am a guest summoned by His Majesty the Grand Duke.”

“There’s only one guest over there.”

The hunter pointed at Kang Mu-hyeok. Johanna frowned. If it was the Grand Duke’s order, there was nothing to say, but Thomas was among the people they had stopped.

Johanna knew that Thomas was an S-rank. She had seen the scene where he confronted Bertrand at the airport when he went to Korea, and neither Kang Moo-hyuk nor Thomas hid this from her.

The only thing Johanna didn’t tell Gilma was about Thomas.

‘Well, you didn’t ask about Thomas. I didn’t lie. So is it inevitable that this will happen?’

While Johanna was struggling, a deep voice was heard from inside the door.

“Don’t be picky about who you receive.”

It was Edoardo.

With his words, Johanna realized that it was not the Archduke’s intention for the Hunters to block the rest of the group.

‘Did Gilma tell him to do that?’

If it was Gilma’s order, I thought I knew what his intentions were.

‘Chief Kang is an ordinary person. He might want to see how he acts when there are no hunters on his side around.’

It was a symbol that was not only mischievous but also evil.

The intention is to blatantly pressure others.

If not, he would not have done something like that without the Archduke’s orders.

The guards, following the Archduke’s orders, stopped blocking the door and opened it.

The inside of the door was a completely sealed room without even a glass window.

The furniture consisted of a neat white table and some hard-looking chairs.

Kang Moo-hyuk realized that this place had the highest security level.

“I’m sorry to call you to such a desolate place. I wanted to have a drink and talk like last time, but Vittorio Gilma insisted that we talk here.”

“It’s not good if word gets out.”

Kang Moo-hyuk could guess what business Edoardo had just by the fact that he was here, even though he hadn’t seen him since he was negotiating with Vito, who was busy with the gate work.

“Is it because of the Naga problem I mentioned?”

“That’s right. I found out how Nagaga increased their numbers and moved to Asia. Our strategy team and analysis team members have been working since last night to gather information. And we’ve had some results. Hehe, I didn’t expect to find this in one day. Vittorio Gilma, give your employees some bonuses.”

“I am already receiving a high enough salary.”

“Why are you so stingy when you’re a horse?”

“I wonder how I became a hunter and ended up worrying more about money than monsters. Who is to blame?”

“Are you blaming me now? When did you say you would do it?”

“You threatened me that if I didn’t go outside, you’d order any hunter you saw to do it. I couldn’t help it, because you really were the kind of person who would do that.”

In fact, the first expedition leader of the Gloria Guild was a C-rank hunter.

When the A+ rank hunter who was chosen to be the expedition leader refused, saying that he would be burdensome, Edoardo declared that he would make the first hunter who entered the guild cafeteria the expedition leader, and what he thought was a joke actually happened.

After the expedition turned into a mess, the original candidate for expedition leader was dragged away by the other expedition members and forcibly became the leader.

Ironically, the unmotivated captain is still considered one of the most capable leaders of all Gloria expeditions.

The same thing happened when the next Gilma was selected after the expedition incident, and when Edoardo came out saying that he was full, Vito accepted the position of Gilma with tears in his eyes.

And Vito became famous as a gilma recognized throughout Europe.

So, there was a saying going around in the Gloria Guild that ‘the Archduke’s stubbornness will soon create Gloria’s history.’

When the conversation between Gloria’s former and current Gilma started to show signs of going off the rails, Kang Moo-hyuk quickly stepped in.

“Can you tell me more about how this was possible without being detected in the face of European pressure?”

“Don’t you have some idea of ​​what it is?”

When the Grand Duke questioned, Kang Mu-hyeok found the answer himself.

“Are you African?”

“That’s right. From the beginning, it was a problem that had no other answer.”

“But that’s a bit strange. I had my suspicions about that side, but isn’t northern Africa, which borders the Mediterranean, relatively stable? Cooperation with Europe against sea monsters is also going quite well, and the warning system is also working.”

“It would have been like that in North Africa in the past.”

Kang Moo-hyuk felt puzzled.

As far as he knew, North Africa was a stable region, unlike the central and chaotic south, which were called hell.

Since there had been no major events in the recent news that would change the political situation, Kang Moo-hyuk was not sure about the launch of Nagas from the North African coastline.

“Was there an incident that wasn’t known until now?”

“I think it should be seen as a change rather than an incident.”

“Change?”

“In recent years, the Hunter power in North Africa has been rapidly declining. The Central African forces are recruiting them. It has not been an issue until now because it is a social phenomenon rather than an incident, but cracks are appearing in various places.”

Kang Moo-hyuk estimated the hunter resources in North Africa.

This was the power of each North African country estimated by the Federation with the commander’s authority.

‘It was precarious, but somehow we were able to maintain a minimum level of gate security. But if that balance were to collapse… … .’

Until now, North Africa has been a breakwater for Europe.

Even Europe put in considerable effort to prevent threats from Central Africa.

If such a vital region were to collapse, the damage to Europe would also be severe.

‘Europe’s intelligence on North Africa is top-notch. I can’t understand why they haven’t intervened until now.’

Edoardo spoke as if he had read Kang Mu-hyeok’s thoughts.

“The EU is increasingly reluctant to intervene in North African affairs.”

“Is it a political issue?”

“It’s more of a money issue.”

At this point Vito intervened.

“No matter how much money we pour in, there is no sign of improvement. We provide 70 billion euros in support every year, but it is difficult to maintain the status quo.”

“70 billion euros… how much is that?”

Mr. Joe muttered in disbelief at the astronomical sum.

It was a huge expense of nearly 100 trillion won in Korean currency. It was no wonder she was surprised that it was being poured into North Africa and to no avail.

“70 billion euros is not the problem. That does not include additional support such as hunters and items. In reality, we should consider that the ship is being invested. No matter how much money the EU has, it cannot open the safe forever to throw money away.”

Kang Moo-hyuk was not just a desk sitter who simply advocated idealism. He also placed importance on practical issues, mostly money and manpower.

So I could sympathize with the EU’s distress.

‘Running a single guild is not without its share of headaches, but the EU, a huge organization, would be even more problematic. Finances in particular are bound to be a concern.’

When Kang Mu-hyeok made a serious expression in his mind that he couldn’t interfere with, Edoardo cut him off appropriately.

“Worrying isn’t going to solve the problem. And you’re not the one we should be worrying about right now.”

“I know. But I can’t help but feel frustrated.”

“Focus on identifying the cause of the immediate problem.”

“I will do that. So where is the problem area?”

“It’s Morocco.”

“Morocco?”

“The Atlas Mountains of Morocco. It seems that the Naga forces have been secretly growing their power there.”