The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 471



Only Noblemtl

Episode 471

#471. So that’s all we have.

The Eagles weren’t mercenaries from the beginning.

Although he is French-American, he made his hunter debut at the prestigious German guild ‘Mannschaft’.

Mannschaft was originally the nickname for the German national football team.

In Korea, the German national team is called the ‘Panzer Corps’, but that is a nickname that is only used domestically.

In Europe, including Germany, it was widely known as Mannschaft.

However, the nickname of the German national soccer team completely changed after the Gate era.

During the Great War, when all sports were completely halted, hunters emerged as heroes, and after the Little War, the name was completely changed to that of the German representative hunter guild.

As a side note, the Mannschaft Guild was actually founded by a young German man who dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player and then awakened to become a hunter. Instead of winning the Ballon d’Or trophy, he became Germany’s representative hunter, holding an S-rank.

There, the Eagles signed him as a promising prospect. If he had not left the team and come to Africa due to some incident, he might have been playing for Mannschaft’s expedition team by now.

He didn’t come to Africa with that red carpet because of money. It was a contradiction that a mercenary who put money first would not be motivated by money, but Eagles and his mercenaries had something more important than money.

The problem was that running a mercenary army cost a lot of money.

So what we needed was a sponsor.

The Eagles encountered more businessmen and tycoons than monsters or hunters, and were more often seen carrying calculators than swords.

‘Well, it’s not like we’re doing this for money, but the mercenary corps costs too much money. That’s why we need sponsors. If the Grand Duke supports someone, it will definitely help our mercenary corps.’

The Eagles saw many possibilities in Kang Moo-hyuk.

The fact that the Grand Duke came forward as an assistant and that the World Hunters’ Federation asked for help were not things that could happen to an ordinary person.

He trusted his intuition and planned to complete this mission to the best of his ability.

‘Just completing it won’t do. I definitely need to make a deep impression. Even though Team Leader Kang Moo-hyuk said he would support me, I think I’ll be called an idiot later if I’m satisfied with just that.’

The Eagles decided to take a gamble. He sent a message to his right-hand man in the back.

“Bring me the black box.”

“B, the black box? Can I release it here?”

“The customer is in a hurry. Do you really want to let the monster keep holding him back?”

“All right.”

As the Eagles decided to pull out the mercenary troop’s trump card, Kang Moo-hyuk checked the attack force’s marching route with Alex by looking at the map.

“I didn’t know the Federation had a map of Medusa’s head.”

“There’s no such thing as a map. It just shows the general terrain.”

“There is no other place that has this except the Federation.”

“This is just a compilation of information from the investigation teams that visited before Medusa’s head was sealed. There may be some inaccuracies.”

Alex pulled up a map he had downloaded in advance on his tablet screen and pointed to where Medusa’s head began.

“This is the jungle area where we came in from the entrance canyon. This is where we are currently located.”

“I thought I was pretty deep in, but I guess I’m only just getting started.”

“That’s right. Medusa’s head is a large area, even though it is a place where the terrain has been transformed. That’s why we need the method of elimination. We don’t know how long it will take to check all of these areas. Now is the time for the commander to make a decision.”

Alex said meaningfully.

Commander’s decision.

It was not an attempt to shift responsibility to Kang Mu-hyeok.

Kang Moo-hyuk noticed what Alex meant.

‘It’s not about pressuring people to show off their skills. It’s about sharing information.’

The reason why Kang Moo-hyuk came here leading the Eagles mercenary unit.

Alex had a glimmer of hope that it might have something to do with Ayla’s mission.

‘The Commander has encountered the unknown being. He has been involved since then.’

LA incident.

Kang Moo-hyuk played a major role in eradicating carnivorous wasps in LA, where the Federation’s Clairvoyant had predicted that an unknown being would appear.

‘As a result, the incident I was worried about did not happen, but Celestial Vision has already declared that the prophecy has come true. I have a feeling that the Commander is involved in that prophecy.’

There are many hunters who go through their entire lives without even hearing the name of an unknown being, but Kang Moo-hyuk, in his ordinary body, keeps getting entangled with unknown beings. Could it be that this strange fate has guided him this time too?

“As Alex Hunter said, I think we need to search more efficiently.”

Kang Moo-hyuk, who said that, snatched the tablet. He moved the map without hesitation. The map moved to the coast where the Atlantic Ocean meets in an instant.

“You must know the situation in Northeast Asia. You also heard why I came to Italy, right?”

“Flying Seahorse. Yes, I heard about it. I didn’t know it was possible. So I was quite surprised.”

“You can see coming here as an extension of that.”

“If it’s an extension, then it must have something to do with me.”

“We believe that the cradle of the Naga King is located here.”

Alex, being a hunter himself, knew what the Monster’s Cradle meant.

‘Usually a monster’s home base is called a nest, but a cradle is a slightly different concept from a nest.’

Not just a place to raise young, but a place to train them to become worthy of the monster’s majesty.

It was one of the characteristics that occasionally appeared in evolved monsters that were intelligent enough to form civilizations and formed tribes.

“Are you sure that Nagawang was born?”

“That’s what I see.”

“What’s the basis?”

“The fact that the Naga tribes that were scattered after the great war have united as one, that tens of thousands of Nagas move in unison, and that they strategically exploit human weaknesses. This is a type of attack that could never be carried out without the existence of a king who encompasses all of this.”

Alex nodded.

“If there is a Naga King… . Based on his experience during the great war, he must have prepared a cradle as well.”

“Because a successor is needed to stabilize the kingdom. And in this case, it is not that the king prepared the cradle, but rather that the cradle gave birth to the king.”

Alex had a word that immediately came to mind when he heard Kang Moo-hyuk’s explanation.

“Irregular?!”

Kang Moo-hyuk waited for Alex to regain his composure before continuing.

“It is an evolved monster that goes out, but for such a monster, one generation is quite long. Naturally, its evolution also happens slowly. However, Naga was integrated all at once without any warning. This can only be seen as an integration process that took place in an extremely short period of time. The evolution happened in an instant. Normally, monsters that go beyond the limits of their species or go beyond common sense cannot be explained except when an irregularity occurs.”

It was information beyond expectations.

Alex groaned inwardly.

‘Ugh! I wanted to share the information, but did I end up worrying more?’

If you think about it another way, that irregular could have been a clue.

It was a time that coincidentally overlapped with the prophecy. There was a high probability that what Ayla was looking for and what Kang Mu-hyeok was looking for were the same.

“If, as you expected, Lady Ayla’s work was related to Nagaga, we can narrow the search area down to the coast.”

“The important thing from now on is to quickly break through here. The problem is that the monsters are holding us back, so our march is slow.”

Kang Moo-hyuk adjusted the scale of the map again to make the entire Medusa’s head visible.

A map where only one third of the terrain is shown.

I couldn’t help but sigh as I had to navigate the remaining two-thirds in total darkness.

‘Even if you modify your strategy to minimize the number of hunts, it will take quite some time to find your way. There may also be variables due to monsters.’

It would have been difficult if there had been an unexpected named monster. No, it would have been dangerous.

Fighting named monsters in dangerous places like Medusa’s Head wasn’t just a simple raid. The aftermath of the battle could also provoke surrounding monsters.

Even expeditions from large guilds were forced to rely on support from other raiding parties for battles in such complex and dangerous terrain.

While catching the names, the reserve force was prepared in case of an emergency.

‘Hunting without that support can be even more dangerous.’

As Kang Mu-hyeok’s worries grew, the Eagles approached.

“Captain.”

“Yes. What’s going on?”

“It seems like you’re having trouble deciding on a career path. I thought I could help you out.”

“Do you have any good idea?”

“Yes, there is.”

Kang Moo-hyuk opened his eyes wide when he got an unexpected answer to a question he asked without any expectations.

The Eagles waved their hands behind them. Kang Moo-hyuk looked over the Eagles’ shoulder. A mercenary was holding a black box.

The box had a unique pattern drawn on the outside. Kang Moo-hyuk noticed that the box itself was an elaborately crafted item.

Thomas, who happened to be nearby, saw the box and showed interest.

“That’s a magic item. And it’s a Merlin product.”

“Merlin?”

“That’s the pattern, that’s the magic circle. You see the line drawn in the first circle, with three lines? Thin, thick, and thin again. It doesn’t look like much, but it’s a very difficult procedure. Only Merlin’s Tower uses that.”

Merlin’s Tower, a group of British wizards.

The items made here were so expensive that they could only be purchased by large guilds.

It’s incredible that the mercenary corps has such an expensive item.

In fact, Kang Moo-hyuk was more interested in what was inside the item than in its existence.

‘What’s inside that the mercenary corps has Merlin’s top made products?’

The Eagles took the box and handed it over to Kang Moo-hyuk.

“This is where the Eagles mercenary unit starts and everything is contained.”

“What is that?”

“It’s an artifact.”

“!!”

Kang Moo-hyuk was surprised.

‘Things that are called artifacts in Europe or North America… … .’

Pointed to a unique item.

“Are you saying that what’s inside here is a unique item?”

Instead of giving a definitive answer, the Eagles brought up another topic.

“The Eagles Mercenary Corps’ main business is escort service. It’s escorting people in the African wilderness, where monsters abound. As you know, Africa is an extremely dangerous place. Protecting people here is not easy. It’s a place where you can easily lose your life. But do you know why our Eagles Mercenary Corps has been able to protect people in Africa and survive until now?”

“It must be because of the stuff inside.”

“That’s right. So this is everything to us.”