The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 456



Only Noblemtl

Episode 456

#456. Looks like it’s going to be tough this time too.

For a moment, Hawk even forgot the pain in his right arm.

‘He’s way above me. We’re not of the same rank.’

Hawk’s rank is A+.

It is said that even at the same rank, the fighting power differs depending on the characteristics, but it was not to the extent of being defeated to this extent.

If so, the result was obvious.

‘It’s an unknown S-rank!’

As soon as he reached that conclusion, Hawk’s mind flashed. At the same time, the pain returned.

“Ugh!”

Hawk finally gave in to the pressure, which was stronger than before.

At this point, Alex had no choice but to actively intervene. If he wasn’t careful, he might end up making one of the European branch team leaders a cripple.

“Stop! Let’s stop, Thomas Hunter.”

Alex grabbed Thomas’ arm and tried to stop him, but he wouldn’t budge.

Thomas said with a sidelong glance.

“There are only four commanders in the Federation. Would our leader have acted like this even if he were a Hunter? This is also your fault for not warning us in advance, Alex Hunter.”

“I admit it. I did warn you, but I guess it wasn’t enough.”

“As much as you think? If so, I think you should look at the standard of that thinking differently. In the end, it means that you were also looking at Director Kang carelessly.”

The momentum just flowed out of Thomas.

Alex sucked in a breath of air. He felt trapped in Thomas’s realm. His vision was blurry. He felt as if he was being crushed by the pressure of the dark depths of the ocean. Soon, his eye level was level with Hawk’s.

‘There’s no doubt about it. It’s S-rank. Thomas Hunter is an S-rank wizard!’

I had been suspicious since LA. To be exact, I discovered something strangely creaky during the investigation after the LA incident. It was a time when I was putting in even more effort because it turned out that Chun-lian’s ominous prophecy had come true.

In the meantime, Thomas’ presence was discovered, and it was discovered that he was a hunter who had rushed to the scene with Kang Mu-hyeok.

After that, I heard several testimonies from Powder and the Call My Name Guild hunters who had participated in the beehive raid at the time, and I began to doubt Thomas’s level.

‘But you’re revealing like this what you’ve been hiding all this time?’

Alex turned his gaze to Kang Moo-hyuk. Normally, he would have stopped him long ago. No, that timing had already passed. Kang Moo-hyuk was condoning Thomas’s actions.

‘I see. Well, it wasn’t Hawk who was doing the taming, but Kang Mu-hyeok.’

Alex accepted defeat cleanly. He didn’t want to fight, but it was his own mistake that led to this situation.

Moreover, he was in a position where he received help to save Ayla. It was a shame that he was the one who got it. It wasn’t Kang Mu-hyeok.

Alex said in a crawling voice.

“Ker, Commander… Thomas Hunter… How about… … .”

Thomas looked back. Kang Mu-hyuk nodded.

“Thomas Hunter. That’s enough.”

With those words, the mana that had been weighing down the space disappeared.

“Ugh… … .”

“omg!”

“The field is empty,” Thomas warned, hovering over the heads of the two hunters, who were gasping for breath and lowering their heads.

“I’m glad it’s me. If it were up to us, Hawk or Sparrow, his arm would have been torn off already.”

Kang Moo-hyuk, who heard Thomas’ threat, inwardly denied the opinion.

‘Even if he’s the guild leader, he wouldn’t be that aggressive… right? Hmm, I’m not sure.’

No, the denial failed.

Anyway, Kang Mu-hyeok helped up the now docile Ales and the even more docile Hawk, and spoke with the most friendly smile he could muster.

“Let’s begin the briefing.”

* * *

Casablanca, Mohammed V International Airport.

Gary Dee, arriving on a large military transport plane, took the runway to the hangar located on the outermost part of the airport.

The military aircraft belonged to his mercenary band, but the outside of the fuselage bore the flag of some country.

The flag of the former Republic of the Congo features diagonal stripes of green, yellow, and red, one of the Pan-African colors representing sub-Saharan Africa, with a black crown in the center.

It was the flag of the Central African Republic.

The Central African Republic was ruled by Emerson Mugabe, a dictator and S-rank hunter, and was not even allowed to join the UN. However, on the surface, it had diplomatic relations with each African country.

Morocco was a North African country supported by Europe, but it also maintained relations with the Central African kingdoms, which had strong hunter forces, just in case.

Because of this, they were able to land at Mohammed V Airport without any obstacles since they had an agreement regarding the use of the airport by military aircraft.

The doors closed as the military aircraft entered the hangar assigned to the Central African Republic.

As soon as the outside view was blocked, the back door of the military aircraft opened and dozens of hunters poured out.

They worked tirelessly, each performing their assigned roles. They unloaded supplies and organized equipment.

“Potion box first. Don’t drop it.”

“Check the number of auxiliary weapons!”

“Where’s the polish? And to keep me from getting hurt, bring some ogre belly fat.”

“Did you check the size of your camouflage armor coat? If you take it off and walk around with it not fitting, you’ll die.”

“Hey, hey, that’s just a scarecrow! Instead of our mercenary unit’s mark, wear an armor coat with the kingdom’s flag on it. How many times do I have to tell you before you understand?!”

The mercenary force, composed of various ethnicities, communicated in English as their common language.

As they moved busily, Gary Dee was the last to disembark from the military aircraft.

He was accompanied by a secretary who managed all matters related to the mercenary corps.

Gary Dee had his sights set on the target.

“What about Kang Mu-hyuk?”

“I confirmed that you have unpacked your luggage at your accommodation.”

“You weren’t tailed, were you?”

“Yes. As you ordered. But is it really okay if I don’t follow you?”

“If you don’t get someone involved, they’ll notice. I heard from Zhao Keji that Kang Mu-hyeok has S-rank intuition. There’s no need to be on guard unless he’s completely ready to attack. But that doesn’t mean you’ve completely given up, right?”

“Of course. I bribed the hotel manager. Even if it’s hard to track their movements, I can track their comings and goings.”

“So where is the hotel that has a contract with Gloria Guild?”

“This is the Imperial Garden. I am staying in the Royal Suite on the 47th floor.”

“As expected from a wealthy guild. They got the most expensive room in Casablanca.”

“It will soon become the most expensive coffin ever.”

“Kang Mu-hyeok must not be killed. If possible, he must be taken to Illusion-nim without being killed.”

“What about the rest?”

Gary Dee stopped walking at the secretary’s question.

“Is it really necessary to ask that? Just kill them all like you said.”

* * *

The briefing began with Alex’s opening remarks.

“I will convey the message of Clairvoyance.”

Alex pulled out a black envelope. Thomas noticed that the envelope was magically processed.

Alex drew an unknown pattern on the surface of the envelope with his finger. It was like a smartphone that opened by drawing a pattern. The only difference was that his finger contained mana.

Soon, the magically unlocked envelope tore open on its own, leaving behind a black note in Alex’s hand.

The note was folded in half. He opened the folded note and read it right away.

“In a gap whose location and depth are unknown, a red and blue being is glaring.”

There was silence for a moment.

Kang Mu-hyeok asked cautiously.

“Are you sure that’s the answer?”

“yes.”

“That’s not enough to call it a clue. Even for me, it’s a bit too much. No, no one can figure it out.”

When Kang Mu-hyeok looked embarrassed, Alex looked embarrassed.

“I’m sorry. This is the way Clairvoyant’s messages are supposed to be.”

“You managed to figure out that it was Morocco with that message.”

“In fact, the message is just a description of what the clairvoyant saw. Just like in LA, I also find out about places by seeing them with my own eyes.”

“It seems that Chun-lian saw a scene related to Morocco here.”

“That’s right. It’s not the exact location in Morocco, but I came here after getting some clues about the location, such as the general shape of the terrain and major historical sites.”

“Then, this also has something to do with that existence… … .”

“Yes. Clairvoyants not only see the sights, but also feel the energy and emotions of the place. They said it was the same as what they felt in the events related to those beings they had previously confirmed.”

Kang Moo-hyuk organized his thoughts about Cheonrian.

‘It is clear that the prophecy of the Celestial Eye is one of the Federation’s most powerful weapons. However, it has many ambiguous aspects, so it can be a double-edged sword.’

In other words, it meant that there were too many variables to believe it outright.

Kang Mu-hyeok asked.

“Then, I guess we can narrow down the scope based on the clues given by Clairvoyance.”

“Yes. I have a few places in mind, and among them, there is one I have chosen with the highest probability.”

This time, Hawk took Kang Mu-hyeok’s words. Unlike before, his voice was polite.

He put the screen on a large screen he had prepared in advance. The screen showed an enlarged view of the Atlas Mountains.

Hawk pointed to the northeastern part of the mountain range, below the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Europe and Africa by only a few dozen kilometers.

Part of the Atlas Mountains, which jut out toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Kang Moo-hyuk knew the place names of the Atlas Mountains because he had researched them before coming to Morocco.

“Medusa’s head… … .”

“Yes, that’s right. It’s home to some of the most dangerous and tricky monsters in Morocco.”

Kang Mu-hyeok groaned inwardly.

‘I hope it’s not that place.’

Kang Moo-hyuk exchanged opinions with Edoardo and predicted several good places for Nagaga to hide.

One of them was the ‘Medusa’s Head’ that Hawk had pointed out. That was also the most likely place.

‘It was created when the seafloor was uplifted as a result of the aftermath of the Great War. The land was also pushed away from the mountain range.’

According to Greek mythology, the giant god Atlas, tired of holding up the sky for so long, asked Perseus, who was returning after beheading Medusa, to turn him into stone, and when he saw Medusa’s face, he was turned into a mountain.

In that sense, the tangled terrain that juts out like Medusa’s head seemed like a good fit for a place name based on a mythological story.

‘In addition, just like its ominous name, Medusa’s Head, the flow of mana is also tangled and chaotic, making it a place that hunters avoid.’

Although it was less severe than the Demonic Lands, it was a place where people did not venture too deep due to the rough terrain with holes here and there on the jagged coastline.

‘If we have to be specific, it’s a place with similar characteristics to Korea’s special activity area. Of course, the difficulty level is higher.’

As always, Kang Moo-hyuk quickly regained his composure and formulated a plan to attack ‘Medusa’s Head’.

The strategy is to search, not raid bosses or hunt.

Given the danger of the location and the survival of the missing, it was going to be a race against time.

“It’s always like that. It looks like it’s going to be tough this time too.”