The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 45



Only Noblemtl

Episode 45

45. It’s going to be a disaster.

Kang Moo-hyuk took a step forward. Joo Se-ah stopped him in a crawling voice.

“Above, it’s dangerous.”

“It’ll be okay. They called me first.”

“Call me?”

“I’m more worried about other people.”

Kang Moo-hyuk looked over his shoulder. Joo Se-ah’s gaze followed him.

“D, Mr. Deukgu… Other people too?”

At the entrance of the resort, guild members were seen with their bodies frozen and their eyes clouded over as if possessed by something.

“We met at the lake and came together. But for some reason, I seem to be the only one allowed to sit here. The others are unconscious.”

As Kang Moo-hyuk took another step forward, Joo Se-ah used all her strength to straighten her back. No matter who the opponent was or what the reason was, she couldn’t let Kang Moo-hyuk go alone.

As he approached the unknown being in step with him, signs made of shapes and sentences began to ripple.

Only then did I see the mark in detail. The mark was made up of a halo of light. Each grain of black light gathered together to form a shape. It was a form where darkness and light coexisted.

The light distorted the background and sucked in the sunlight. When the surroundings became dark and the sunlight poured in again, it greedily devoured the light as if it had been waiting.

When I was blankly staring at that scene, I felt like I was being sucked into a black hole.

Then Joo Se Ah saw it. It was a hand. A white, slender hand appeared and then showed its palm.

The unknown being pushed her away lightly, as if it was not allowing her to approach.

Joo Seah forced herself to take another step forward and then vomited blood. Her body collapsed, but she held on by getting down on one knee.

‘Why is Kang Mu-hyuk okay?’

Suddenly, this question occurred to me.

“I told you, it seems like I’m the only one invited.”

Joo Se Ah felt a chill down her spine as she watched Kang Mu Hyuk answer as if he had read her mind.

It was because a person who wasn’t even a hunter was overly calm in front of that being.

‘You’re not even a hunter, and yet you can stand in front of that? Did you change as a person after dying and coming back to life? No, it’s a bit strange that you can stand up to that monster just because of that.’

Kang Moo-hyuk was also aware of the contradiction that Joo Se-ah felt. However, he did not know why he was fine. He simply accepted the situation as it was.

“Guild Leader, don’t push yourself too hard. If you were going to kill us anyway, you wouldn’t have been able to escape. There must be a reason why you haven’t killed us yet.”

Kang Mu-hyeok, who was one step ahead, stretched out his hand to stop Joo Se-ah and stared straight ahead.

She said with a look of bewilderment.

“No, how… do you stay so calm in a situation like this?”

“It’s confusing enough. Being blunt runs in my family.”

“This is a matter of history and not something you can do about it.”

Kang Moo-hyuk controlled his ragged breathing and spoke to the invisible being.

“I received an invitation, but what exactly is your identity? … … I don’t have the right to know? Then why did you call me? Hmm. … … I never called you. … … I just heard about it? What does that mean?”

Joo Se Ah tilted her head, wondering what Kang Mu Hyuk was doing. He asked and answered questions on his own. It seemed like there was a voice that only he could hear. He looked crazy.

Kang Moo-hyuk continued speaking without paying attention to Joo Se-ah’s gaze.

“It was your voice that I heard. But if you didn’t call me, then what on earth called me? … … What? Mana? What does it mean when Mana calls… … Hurray!”

Suddenly, I felt a squeezing pain in my chest.

“Nakup. Eduhit Wiuh.”

The sign approached, making a sound.

Kang Moo-hyuk was speechless under the pressure. In an instant, cold sweat soaked his entire body.

At first I couldn’t breathe, but at some point I felt the pressure weighing on my body gradually disappear.

Before he knew it, Joo Sea was blocking his path.

As soon as he could breathe, Kang Mu-hyeok barely opened his mouth and began to listen to the words of someone who Joo Se-ah could not understand at all.

“A blessing? A curse at the same time? What is… a blessing, and what is a curse… .”

I can’t see the figure, so I can’t confirm the expression either.

Kang Moo-hyuk could feel it somehow.

That the other person is observing you with interest.

“I’m curious. What are you?”

The sign did not respond. Mana’s voice could no longer be heard.

Kang Mu-hyeok was about to ask another question, but then closed his mouth.

It was because I saw Joo Se Ah’s slumped shoulders.

She, who had been protecting Kang Mu-hyeok from the pressure, was reaching her limit.

Kang Moo-hyuk put aside his curiosity. Instead, he decided that he had to deal with the situation.

‘I don’t know what kind of magic it is, but it’s a being summoned by the Goblin Godmother… ‘

Although very few, hunters also had similar skills.

【Summoning】

‘If we assume that the being was summoned, the conclusion becomes simple.’

He recalled the three elements of summoning magic.

The ‘sacrifice’ was probably a human sacrifice. One of the hostages was lying dead, bleeding.

The ‘price’ for summoning was usually mana. Especially powerful summons had to pay a large amount of mana in order to exist in this world.

But what if the summoner is already dead and the summoned being does nothing?

The conclusion was simple.

‘The summoning must be incomplete.’

For once, I was able to communicate with that being.

Kang Moo-hyuk thought that there might be room for compromise at this point.

‘There’s no other way. This is an opponent I can’t defeat with force anyway.’

I have no choice but to try.

As soon as I made up my mind, I changed the subject and started talking.

“The being that summoned you is already dead. Is there any reason for you to stay here? You probably don’t have the mana to hold out. It wouldn’t be bad for you to go back without pushing yourself too hard.”

It was a gamble.

The comparison to summoning magic above was just a guess.

‘I hope it fits.’

And I hoped you would understand.

‘please!’

Fortunately, the gamble was successful.

The presence of the sign twisted his lips into a smile and began to back away.

‘Did you laugh just now… …?’

I felt like I saw something I hadn’t seen before.

The invisible being leaves behind a smile, then gradually fades away and soon disappears.

“It was a ridiculous monster.”

Joo Se Ah spoke her thoughts in a voice that was as if she was dying, then fell to the floor on her butt.

Starting with her, all the goblins around her fell to the ground. They weren’t just unconscious. They were foaming at the mouth and rolling their eyes.

The hostages were in the same condition. Kang Moo-hyuk went closer to check. They were all dead.

Kang Moo-hyuk was startled and looked back at the hunters he had come with. They were all collapsed. He quickly ran over and put his finger under Pyo Beom-hee’s nose. Then he checked her pulse.

“Phew, I guess he just passed out.”

In this spacious resort, only Kang Moo-hyuk and Joo Se-ah were awake.

“If something like that comes out again, it will be a disaster.”

Joo Se-ah, who had barely managed to pull herself together, waved her hand and said.

“I agree.”

The two of them let out a long sigh without saying who would go first.

I felt like an empty can, having exhausted all my energy, stamina, and even my mental strength.

* * *

For some reason, except for Kang Mu-hyeok and Joo Se-ah, none of the hunters present at the scene remembered the unknown being summoned by the Goblin Godmother.

Kang Moo-hyuk hid the information about its existence for the time being. He judged that there was no way to explain it and that there was no need to incite unnecessary fear.

Instead, the fainting of the A-rank hunters and the deaths of the goblins were attributed to the magic of the Goblin Matriarch. The same was true for the deaths of the hostages.

Jang Deuk-gu shook his head after hearing the story.

“The Goblin Godmother was a monster beyond expectations. It makes sense that the Brazilian Guild was annihilated. She used such terrifying magic.”

“Yes. If it weren’t for the guild leader, we would all be in trouble.”

Kang Moo-hyuk agreed with Jang Deuk-gu’s sentiment. He concluded by saying that the cause of everything was the Godmother’s magic.

Kang Mu-hyeok later reported the details about the Goblin Godmother separately to the Hunter Association.

There was something to find out. Instead, I requested that the report grade be kept confidential, and put in an inquiry about the summons.

I thought that if the report was shared with the World Hunters’ Association in the future, there might be inquiries related to the Goblin Godmother who appeared in the Amazon.

“Let’s keep the matter of its existence a secret between the guild master and me. I’ve already submitted the report, so you might get some kind of answer.”

At this time, Kang Mu-hyeok only threw a light bait, but the report he wrote later brought about a huge storm.

It was something that even Kang Mu-hyeok had never expected.

* * *

“We haven’t yet dealt with all the scattered goblin remnants, but the area around the guild headquarters has found stability.”

“Ah, right… Ugh! Th, what is that smell… Ugh!”

“I’m sorry. It’s not even cleaned yet. I’m trying hard to clean it up, but the goblins poop everywhere… haha. But a professional cleaning company and a remodeling company will be coming in soon, so it’ll get better soon.”

Oh Jeong-yeon, a former member of the management team that changed its name to the communications team through organizational restructuring, guided the staff of the Guild Cooperation Office.

Most of them were people who just worked at the desk or outside the gate.

Since they had never experienced a scene where monsters roamed around, they didn’t seem to believe Oh Jeong-yeon no matter how much she said it was safe.

“Then, I will guide you to the temporary campsite. First, unpack your bags at the accommodations there, and starting tomorrow, you can inspect the guild’s planned site and the future location of the cooperative branch.”

Oh Jeong-yeon led the staff of the cooperative company with stiff expressions.

Then one of the employees raised his hand and asked.

“Can I see the manager today?”

It was Park Chung-soo.

He was an employee who was selected by Guild Cooperation Manager Cha Gil-ju because he was the first to receive a call from Kang Mu-hyeok at the Civil Complaints Reception Department.

In addition to his official investigation duties, he was also tasked with delivering Cha Gil-ju’s message.

“Unfortunately, the manager went to Seoul today.”

“Yes? Seoul?”

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have come here… … .

Park Chung-soo asked again, looking frustrated.

“Then, even if it’s Gilma… … .”

“He went with me too. He said he had something to do.”

“When are you coming?”

“I heard you have a lot of work to do. About… a week? To be exact, I’ll have to ask the secretary’s office.”

Park Chung-soo found himself clutching his head without realizing it.

‘I’m screwed.’

* * *

The first place that Kang Mu-hyeok visited in the busy old Taesung Guild building for the previous preparations was the Taesung Group Chairman’s office.

“I’ve seen you before. Was it Director Jeong?”

“The chairman wants to see you.”

“What should I do? I’m really busy right now.”

“The chairman is very angry. Please make sure I am not rude.”

“You talk so nobly about using your fists. Well, what can a weak person do? If you don’t want to get hit, you should go. Fine. Let’s go. It’s not like avoiding it will work anyway.”