The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 474



Only Noblemtl

Episode 474

#474. That was really cool.

Joo Se Ah was suddenly shaken out of her thoughts by the stinging gaze she felt. She answered hesitantly, feeling burdened by the gaze of the ‘Nogo’ pair.

“It just happened like that.”

A breath of disbelief came out of both of them.

Before Joo Se Ah got into trouble due to the persistent interrogation, she tried to avoid this situation by invoking Gil Ma’s authority.

Then a familiar, yet unfamiliar silhouette suddenly appeared.

“Excuse me, Gilma. Expedition leader Lee Jin-ju is looking for Gilma.

Joo Seah was glad for the appearance of a guild member who gave her an excuse to escape.

‘Nice timing. Hunters are all about timing. What was your name?’

Yes, Hangaram.

It was the name of a new hunter picked up in Busan.

“Hunter Han Garam, why didn’t you just call me? It’s hard on people. I’m not that kind of person. I don’t care about authority or face. It’s about efficiency.”

“Be careful with your fists, they’ll hurt you.”

Goeulji added an extra leg. Joo Se-ah immediately punished him with a honey chestnut.

Hangaram swallowed dry saliva as he witnessed a simple chestnut breaking through the high-ranking hunter’s defenses right in front of his eyes.

Joo Se Ah said to him, who was nervous.

“From now on, by phone. Okay?”

“The base station here is broken… I can’t get through on calls.”

“Ah, so that’s what happened? Then, I’ll contact you by message. Captain Lee Jin-ju, too.”

“You said you weren’t receiving messages… … .”

“Oh, I lost contact for a moment. Haha, I forgot.”

Joo Se Ah was intentionally turning off her messaging skills to have some time alone due to her overflowing work.

Kang Mu-hyeok’s empty spot was neatly filled by Gwan Hong, but the field had its own set of things to do.

Especially for a growth guild like Iron Will, feedback from hunting was more important than anything else.

Joo Seah was directly responsible for this feedback.

While sharing hunting know-how learned from Slayer, the best guild in Korea, I occasionally checked the basic skills of hunters.

He was especially concerned about the expedition hunters who were the guild’s flagship, and the fact that Lee Jin-ju was looking for her must have had something to do with that.

“I’ll take care of getting to Captain Lee Jin-ju, so go and rest. You haven’t adjusted to the guild yet, and you’ll be tired after coming out to the field.”

“No. It is difficult. On the contrary, I am learning a lot.”

Joo Se Ah knew that Han Garam’s specifications were a bluff.

Even for a hunter, the mental fatigue felt by a low-ranking hunter, especially one who was new to the field, brought about considerable stress.

‘Come to think of it, this guy was also one of Captain Kang’s picks? Where on earth does he pick up hunters like these?’

Only then was Joo Se Ah able to remember Han Garam.

A rookie hunter who was sent to the field because there was a shortage of hands despite being a new recruit. The reason he was sent straight to work after only completing basic training was due to the guild’s circumstances, but also because he had a reputation for being useful.

‘You’ve only been in the league for a short time, but you’ve already been ranked up. You’re already in D-?’

A hunter who has just finished the curriculum.

After the chaos in Busan during E-rank, I was able to jump two levels with just the training of the Iron Will instructors.

When I wake up the next morning, I am a low-ranked hunter who is different from yesterday, but the instructors’ report said that my growth was unusually fast.

Although he is now retired, if instructors who were high-ranking hunters in previous generations give him the same evaluation, it means that his talent is certain.

It was amazing how Kang Mu-hyeok was able to unearth such a gem.

Joo Seah was also a promising prospect who was paying attention to the growth of her junior hunters.

‘Originally, I wanted to train new recruits more and bring in hunters with a lot of hunting experience, but since the headquarters is a special area, I have to take care of that management as well, so I can’t just take away the manpower.’

However, it was even more difficult to pass on the head office work to a new employee.

So the decision was made to assign the low-ranking new recruits who were still in training to support work that was far from hunting.

The hunting scene did not revolve solely around combat. Other support tasks were also quite important.

Even if you don’t directly engage in combat, providing support such as replacing Hunters’ equipment or carrying supplies on the battlefield has a significant impact on the overall combat power.

Normally, this task would be handled by regular staff, but with the number of attacking Nagas so large and the front lines so vast, they did not have the resources to protect each and every civilian and fight.

Iron Will had no choice but to deploy new recruits who were still difficult to send to the battlefield.

This wasn’t just Ironwill’s job. Most guilds were already operating in this way.

‘There’s nothing we can do. Let’s think positively. These hunters grow faster the more they experience the field.’

Joo Se Ah looked at Han Garam with admiring eyes. She could feel the enthusiasm in his clenched fists.

“Okay, try hard.”

She left after leaving a word of encouragement. Go Eul-ji and No Song-rin followed Gil-ma.

As Hangaram hesitated and looked at Joo Seah’s back, Noh Songrin turned around and said.

“Aren’t you going?”

“Oh, yes. Joe, I’ll stay here for a bit and then go.”

Noh Song-rin looked at Han Garam’s face. Then she smirked. That would make sense. After all, it was encouragement from an S-rank hunter. In the hunter world, they are like idols. To low-rank hunters who have just entered the industry, they are almost like gods. It was enough to make Han Garam excited.

“Take it easy and come in. It’s still a bit messy around here.”

“Yes, yep!”

Even Nosongrin became distant like that.

At that moment, Han Garam’s posture loosened. He crossed his legs crookedly, grabbed his luggage behind his back, and stared intently in the direction where Joo Se Ah had disappeared.

“Ah, what a pity. It won’t work if I go out like that? That look back then. It was really cool, Gilma. Maybe I’ll get to see that when I meet someone stronger?”

The corners of Hangaram’s mouth went up like a reclining crescent moon.

* * *

After the Eagles fully unleashed the power of the artifact ‘The Leader’, the attack force’s advance speed became incomparably faster than before.

“That’s true. That item.”

Thomas kept exclaiming in admiration. The same was true for the hunters who were seeing the leader for the first time.

Even Alex, who knew a little about the leader, was astonished when he saw it in person.

‘This is a natural reaction. An item that prevents monsters from approaching. This isn’t something that can be grouped by unique grade or something like that.’

Unlike other hunters, Kang Mu-hyeok looked at the leader from a strategic and tactical perspective rather than the performance of the items.

‘It’s a useful item not only in Monster Heaven, such as the Demonic Mirror or Medusa’s Head, but also at the Gate. Depending on the situation, you can quickly attack the boss without having to clear out the surrounding monsters.’

How many gates have burst due to insufficient attack time?

Usually, boss battles involve clearing out all the monsters within the gate. That’s why it takes a long time.

There was no other reason to hunt all the gate monsters. To reduce variables.

Among the bosses, there were some who were so cunning that they would sometimes use the surrounding monsters as subordinates or intentionally draw them in.

Dragons were a prime example. Dragons built lairs and ruled over the monsters inside them, making them their guardians. That was why hunting dragons was difficult.

For the same reason, there was nothing more troublesome than when other monsters gathered while hunting the boss.

Inevitably, the raid force to eliminate the incoming monsters was divided, and the plan was bound to go awry.

‘But what if there is a leader here?’

This will save time in removing variables, which will allow us to close more gates faster.

Creepy.

At that moment, Kang Mu-hyuk got goosebumps.

‘An elite party of S-ranks quickly defeats the boss without clearing the gate.’

The gate attack time would have been drastically reduced.

Usually, when clearing gates, monster cleaning takes up the most time.

‘What should I do? Isn’t it too good just thinking about it? Hmm, I shouldn’t be greedy… … .’

I want that item called you.

“But why is this item called ‘Guide’? Its ability has nothing to do with its name. What, is it named that way because it can guide you around places like this?”

Mr. Joe’s sudden question.

Kang Mu-hyeok, who was already deeply in love with the leader, answered sincerely.

“The leader’s real ability is not the guardian function. This is just a side option. The real ability is somewhere else.”

“Is this an option? At this level, we could probably go on a picnic even in the Demon Realm.”

Even Mr. Joe, who spent more time on espionage than hunting, could see how great the leader’s protective ability was. And this was just an option? I gulped.

Kang Moo-hyuk continued to explain.

“The true power of the leader was first and last revealed during the Small War. According to the records, the leader has not been seen anywhere since then. Who would have thought that I would see it here… … .”

Kang Moo-hyuk glanced at the Eagle holding the leader. The Eagle smiled awkwardly as he met his gaze.

“Well, there was a reason for that.”

Kang Moo-hyuk didn’t ask any more questions. The fact that Edoardo had condoned this item meant that there was a reason for it.

‘If not, it would have been recovered already.’

Although Edoardo showed the dignity of an Italian gentleman in front of Kang Mu-hyeok, he was famous for his self-righteousness in the hunter world, living up to his reputation as a grand duke.

As pride was high, there was no compromise unless it was convinced, and there was no way to bow down to power or back down from the threat of monsters.

‘That also means, on the other hand, that there is reason to believe that the leader is in the Eagles mercenary unit.’

When Kang Moo-hyuk paused for a moment to think of something else, Mr. Cho asked in a complaining tone.

“So what is that ability?”

“It has the ability that the item’s name suggests.”

“Like the name? I don’t get the feeling.”

“A leader. A person who leads. In foreign countries, as Mr. Joe said earlier, they are called ‘guides.’ They are literally guides.”

“Guide? What?”

“that…….”

It was the moment when Kang Mu-hyeok was about to answer.

Kung!

The sound of a collision that could be heard from Asrai tickled their ears. The hunters’ gaze turned back, perhaps because they were annoyed by the unidentified noise.

Kang Moo-hyuk felt the air change. The peaceful jungle became fierce. That was the feeling. It was like a prickling sensation on his skin. He felt bad. An ominous feeling tormented his mind.

“Something just happened… … .”

“I will look into it.”

Thomas also felt a similar sensation to Kang Mu-hyeok and was about to check what had happened.

Kkugugugugu!

A vibration that seemed to be in time with the beat was transmitted through the soles of my feet.

Thomas waved his arms, spreading his mana.

【Force Field】

His senses extended for several kilometers.

‘T, this is… the leader isn’t the problem?!’

He shouted as he confirmed the change in the jungle through Mana.

“every!”

Everyone paid attention to Thomas’ shout.

He pointed ahead.

“Jump!”