The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 450



Only Noblemtl

Episode 450

#450. Should I just do it on my own?

In February, Morocco had temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius, and it felt hot when standing under the sun.

The capital of Morocco is Rabat, but the largest city is Casablanca. The most used airport is also located here, Mohammed V Airport.

Kang Moo-hyeok and his party landed in Casablanca via Mohammed V Airport.

Originally, the plan was to explore the Atlas Mountains from Rabat, further north, but the destination was changed en route due to unrest near the capital.

“I like it. Casablanca. The city of romance!”

Mr. Joe shouted “Hurrah” as he passed through the immigration office with a passport that said “Noeuljira” written on it.

Johanna followed behind her and guided her.

“The romance of the past is gone. Casablanca today is a newly built city.”

“I know, I know. So let’s just cheer up.”

Mr. Joe grumbled, sticking out his mouth.

As Johanna said, Casablanca itself was lost during the Great War.

The Casablanca of the black-and-white era a hundred years ago is now a distant memory, replaced by a fully modernized, economically vibrant city.

Mohammed V Airport, which had been open for just over 10 years, still smelled like new.

Johanna got off at the airport and approached Kang Mu-hyuk with her smartphone turned on.

“Boss, I just checked the text and the guide said it would take some time to get here from Rabat. For now, I’ll head to a place in Casablanca that the guild has a connection to, so I’ll go there.”

Kang Mu-hyeok, who was on the phone at the time, raised his hand to indicate that he wanted to wait instead of answering.

Johanna jumped back in surprise at the voice coming through her smartphone.

-Are you listening, Captain Kang Mu-hyeok?!

“Yes, Guild Master. I am listening.”

-I think you were being rude.

“No. I am answering the phone with both hands clasped together politely.”

-There’s no way a normally rude person would answer the phone like that.

“When I came to Europe, I became more generous and polite.”

-Yeah, that. Why is someone who did a good job in Europe and Italy suddenly going to North Africa?!

“I guess you didn’t read the whole report. It was explained well in the report I sent you yesterday… .”

-How dangerous is it there?!

“North Africa is different from Central Africa. Morocco in particular has high-level gate security capabilities similar to those in Europe… … .”

-That place raised Nagas that much! Here, they catch Nagas so much that the smell of blood clings to your body!

“Oh? You read the whole report.”

Joo Se Ah shouted in disbelief at Kang Mu Hyuk’s response.

-Then, what if I didn’t read it?! You thought I didn’t read it and tried to pass over it like a snake jumping over a wall?!

“Me? No way. How dare I commit such a fraud against the guild leader… .”

-There are seven people.

“sorry.”

-It’s good that recognition is quick.

“As expected, S-rank intuition cannot be avoided.”

-Even if you’re not an S-rank, wouldn’t someone who knows Captain Kang have suspected you at least once?

“I suddenly feel doubtful about my life. But I am a person who relies solely on credit.”

-What about credit? I heard all about that from Mr. Cho. You don’t trust people and you try to lure them by giving them rice cakes? It’s not a scam, it’s almost like you’re being bewitched.

Kang Moo-hyuk glared at Mr. Joe. There was an internal spy. Mr. Joe met his eyes and, with his special spy instincts activated, sensed that something was wrong.

“Johanna, I want coffee. No, I’ll buy you coffee. Let’s have coffee.”

“Coffee all of a sudden? You can drink it at your accommodations… … .”

“I’ll pay. Okay, let’s all go get some coffee. Thomas too. Mr. Hyun, you eat with your own money.”

“I’ll secretly poison you.”

“This kid has a knack for talking about killing people as if it were real.”

“It’s true.”

“Okay. I’ll buy it for you.”

“I’ll let you off this time.”

“You didn’t think I’d take drugs, did you? Hehehe.”

“Oh, really? I politely decline.”

On the way to the cafe, where Mr. Joe led the group, Kang Moo-hyuk’s ears were still itchy.

-Anyway, the news here says the situation in Morocco is a mess. Why are you going there?

“Wasn’t it unstable throughout the Moroccan Gate era? It’s not much different now. And Gloria Guild is currently backing me up. And Thomas Hunter is there too. The other two Hunters are also reliable.”

-Mr. Cho is cursing Hyun Jung-geon Hunter like that?

Kang Moo-hyuk glares at the back of Mr. Joe’s head once again.

Mr. Joe quickened his pace, sweat dripping down his face.

“They are hunters who fight fiercely, but they show their skills at crucial moments. You don’t have to worry.”

-Ugh, anyway, Director Kang isn’t the type of person who’ll listen to what I have to say. And the work there isn’t important either, so I can’t say anything.

“This is the starting point for resolving the Naga situation. I will definitely finish the job.”

-Yes. I think you’ll do it foolishly. So be careful. Don’t get hurt. Take your medicine properly. And don’t lose your medicine like you did with Shin Ui-ju.

“I packed a lot this time, so you don’t have to worry.”

-Okay. If anything happens, stick with Thomas. Surely you won’t be going to Central Africa next time?

“There is no sea there, so there is no reason to go there.”

-If there’s an ocean, I might be able to go there. Anyway, I’m going to travel around the world like this. Well, that’s all set. As soon as I’m done with Morocco, I’ll come straight to Korea.

“Yes. I will return as soon as possible.”

Kang Mu-hyeok let out a long sigh after ending the call.

‘I sweat more than when I talked to the Archduke.’

Joo Se Ah was reluctant to let Kang Moo Hyuk go to Italy. This was because she still had trauma from her time in America.

Strangely enough, Kang Mu-hyeok is the type who brings trouble, so this trip to Europe was also met with uneasy attention.

‘I knew it was important to secure the Flying Seahorse, and I’m glad I had Thomas Hunter. Phew! If it weren’t for him, the guild leader would have been making a fuss about coming in person.’

Kang Moo-hyuk, who had overcome the great crisis of reporting to Joo Se-ah, checked again what Yohanna had been trying to do a little while ago.

Johanna turned the smartphone screen towards Kang Mu-hyeok and said.

“The guide said it would take some time to get here. He said that the protests in Rabat were quite intense and the airport and train station were all closed. He said that he would drive here instead. He said that he would arrive as soon as the road was cleared. He said that Gloria had arranged accommodations for him so that he could unpack here.”

“There’s no need to show your smartphone. You still have privacy.”

“Oh, I thought you liked something certain.”

Johanna put her smartphone in her pants pocket, her expression flushed with embarrassment.

“Okay, okay. How far is it from Rabat to Casablanca?”

“It’s not that far. Maybe 100km?”

A shadow fell over Kang Moo-hyuk’s face.

‘It’s a shorter distance than going from Seoul to Daejeon, but the guide said it would take some time.’

It meant that the situation in Rabat was more serious than expected.

Thomas, who was listening to their conversation from the side, also found the same thing suspicious as Kang Mu-hyeok and asked Johanna a question.

“Do demonstrations often occur in Rabat?”

“Not really. They’re usually dispersed by the civilian police, but sometimes there are protests so large that the Hunter Guard has to step in.”

“Hunter Garrison?”

“Morocco has an army of hunters.”

Kang Moo-hyuk added briefly. Thomas tilted his head and asked back.

“Isn’t organizing an army of hunters a violation of the UN convention?”

“Usually that’s true, but the scope of the agreement can be stretched and contracted like a rubber band depending on the circumstances of the major powers.”

“Is that the case in Morocco?”

“After all, it is a breakwater that prevents the threat from Africa from spreading to Europe.”

As Thomas had worked in a large American guild, he couldn’t help but have additional questions about Kang Mu-hyeok’s explanation.

“Even if it’s an army, it would be difficult to defend this vast land with just hunters… right?”

“That’s true. There aren’t many hunters who would go out of loyalty or mission rather than money. That’s why Morocco allows multinational guilds.”

The Multinational Guild was a hunter version of the Private Military Corporation (PMC) that was previously active in Africa.

Guilds that operate in countries with unstable gate security for the purpose of money and gate shares.

Most of them were from advanced countries and were trying to take a step back from the fierce competition at home and attack new markets.

In Korea, such multinational guilds were not allowed. Korean guilds were also prohibited by law from leaving. This was because they were concerned that it would cause insecurity in the gate or damage the competitiveness of the domestic hunter community.

At one time, the Baekho Guild attempted to circumvent this by collaborating with Chinese guilds, but later even this was blocked by law.

So, even though they did conduct illegal business, after falling for Kang Mu-hyeok’s scheme and completely falling into ruin, there are no more guilds in Korea that openly do this kind of thing.

“Our Gloria Guild has also expanded into Morocco.”

Thomas said, slightly surprised by the information Johanna had quietly leaked.

“Gloria Guild? Isn’t there anything to be sorry about there?”

“Of course, it is not a full-fledged advance. We are busy handling the gates in Italy. To be exact, it would be better to think of it as a cooperative relationship rather than a business advance. We helped Morocco when it was in crisis before. The relationship from that time is continuing.”

“I guess you could say we have a pretty good relationship.”

“Well, I guess I should call this a good relationship… … .”

Johanna trailed off. Thomas wanted to hear a deeper story, but seeing that Kang Mu-hyeok didn’t open his mouth, he held back his words.

As far as he knew, Kang Mu-hyeok liked explaining things to someone or listening to stories. When Kang Mu-hyeok kept his mouth shut, there was usually a good reason for it.

“Okay, let’s stop talking about complicated things and have some coffee. There’s a familiar American coffee shop here.”

The conversation was interrupted by Mr. Joe’s intervention.

The group sat down at the cafe and each ordered their own menu. It was when Mr. Joe took their order and left to buy coffee.

Suddenly Thomas pointed to a corner seat in the cafe and said.

“Chief, over there.”

Kang Moo-hyuk looked at the place where Thomas had pointed.

In the corner of the cafe, there was no one but someone reading a newspaper intently.

“You’re covering your face.”

“It’s a hunter. He quickly covered his face just before we entered the cafe.”

“Did you check the face?”

“No. I couldn’t see it clearly because it was blocked by the chair.”

“Is it possible that it was just a coincidence?”

“You are holding the newspaper upside down. Should I grab it?”

Kang Moo-hyuk looked around at Hunter, who was diligently reading an upside-down newspaper, and then smiled and said.

“You don’t have to do that. I know him.”