The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 494



Only Noblemtl

Episode 494

#494. You must follow my orders unconditionally.

It wasn’t hard to get to where Ayla was. I just had to follow the path the guide showed me.

The problem came after I got there. Even though I went to the place the guide told me to, I couldn’t find Airal at all.

Kang Mu-hyeok couldn’t figure out why he couldn’t find Ayla.

“It’s definitely here. But I don’t know why Lady Ayla can’t be seen.”

Alex has the answer to this question.

“The Elf Uhla is a ritual where one becomes one with nature and becomes a part of the World Tree. I have heard that it is difficult to confirm with human perception because one becomes one with nature.”

“It’s not just that you don’t recognize it. You can’t even explore it with your skills.”

Mr. Cho added. She scanned her surroundings while speaking, but kept shaking her head as if the results were not satisfactory.

Raven looked at Kang Mu-hyuk with eyes full of anxiety, like a frightened child.

“What should I do?”

It was a question that seemed dependent on Kang Mu-hyeok, unlike his usual attitude of not being friendly towards him.

Instead of answering, Kang Moo-hyuk looked down at the leader he was holding in his hand.

“If you are a truly determined person, you will be able to find an answer to this as well.”

Kang Moo-hyuk spoke to the item, which was nothing more than a tool, as if he were talking to a person. Then he smiled bitterly and turned away.

‘Oh my, what am I thinking? No matter how much help I’ve received so far, there’s no way you’ll understand what I’m saying… … .’

Kang Moo-hyuk stopped thinking. His hand was glowing. The light that came from the leader flowed down his body and headed somewhere.

Kang Mu-hyeok followed the light without realizing it.

“What is this?”

Mr. Joe asked in surprise, but Kang Mu-hyeok had no time to answer. He himself just kept walking as if he was possessed.

“Come on, Captain! Hey, I told you not to go alone.”

Mr. Cho, who was tasked with taking responsibility for Kang Moo-hyeok’s safety from Joo Se-ah, hurriedly followed after him. Hyun Jeong-geon also put aside his curiosity and followed along.

Alex and Raven instinctively felt that that light was the key to finding Ayla.

The two looked into each other’s eyes and nodded, hoping that Ayla would be where the light reached.

After a long time of following the path led by light.

The light settled on the rocks jutting out between the stalagmites.

Kang Mu-hyeok stared intently at the rock. The party members tilted their heads to wonder why the light was lingering on the rock.

At that moment, Kang Mu-hyeok approached the light and placed his hand on the rock. In an instant, the rock transformed into a work of art that had just unveiled its curtain.

“This, this is… … .”

Kang Moo-hyuk looked at the delicately carved statue. A scream erupted from behind him.

“Lady Ayla!”

Raven ran towards him. Kang Moo-hyuk stopped him.

“Don’t touch me!”

At his warning, Alex grabbed Raven’s shoulder sharply. When Raven tried to shake off his touch, Alex shouted.

“Don’t be stupid!”

Only then did Raven calm down and stop resisting.

As soon as Raven became quiet, Kang Moo-hyuk placed his finger under Ayla’s philtrum.

‘There is no breathing.’

He then put his hand on Ayla’s neck and felt her pulse. There was still no pulse.

‘It looked like a rock, but as soon as I touched it, it returned to its original shape. Its body wasn’t stiff, and its skin was soft. It just didn’t feel like it had any biological activity, but that doesn’t mean it looked lifeless.’

Kang Moo-hyuk asked Alex if there was any difference between the biological responses of elves and humans.

“Do elves have a beating heart and can feel a pulse?”

“You can think of it as basically the same as a person. But why are you asking that…?”

“I can’t feel him breathing. There’s no pulse either.”

When Raven was startled and tried to approach Ayla, Alex just knocked him over.

Raven didn’t get angry even after falling, but crawled on the floor to get to Ayla. Alex knocked him unconscious by hitting the back of his neck.

“I’m sorry. To this guy, Lady Ayla is like a mother and an older sister. He’s probably not in his right mind.”

“I understand.”

Kang Moo-hyuk spoke sincerely, because he knew how great the sorrow of losing a mother was.

He wanted to save Ayla somehow.

“Is Uhhla irreversible?”

“Actually, I don’t know much about it either. There is a lot of information about elven rituals that only those with a high rank or higher within the race know.”

“Then you’re saying we won’t know until we take Lady Ayla to the Federation Headquarters?”

“One thing is certain: Uhla means returning to nature, not death. The perspectives of humans and elves are quite different. Considering that elves have their own expression for death, there may be a way.”

Alex tried hard to look on the bright side, but Kang Moo-hyuk saw it differently.

“Even if there is a way, I don’t know if Lady Ayla can hold out until then.”

“yes?”

“Look at the legs.”

Alex looked at where Kang Mu-hyuk was pointing.

“T, this can’t be happening… … .”

“The rest of it still feels like human skin, but this part is hardening. It’s turning gray, as if it has lost its life. It seems like Uhhla has a time limit.”

The parts that had changed into inanimate objects were still changing at a rate so fast that they were visible to the eye.

‘At this rate, it’ll be completely reverted to nature before the Federation’s elves can take it.’

Kang Moo-hyuk didn’t know exactly about Uhula, but he had a feeling that if Aila changed completely, she wouldn’t be able to go back to how she was.

Alex’s face turned pale as if he was thinking the same thing.

“Isn’t there any way?”

Kang Moo-hyuk noticed that Alex was panicking as he asked him how to do it.

‘How could I know about elves? Even in the Federation data, the Mother Tree Society doesn’t share that information.’

However, it was not possible for the doctor to give a terminal diagnosis such as, ‘There is no hope.’ This was because he had experienced it himself and knew what the despair that would come would be like.

‘Let’s think more positively. The leader must have brought me here for some reason.’

As his thoughts reached that point, Kang Mu-hyeok tried to place the guide on Ayla’s body just in case.

And after waiting for a long time, there was no response. The phenomenon of turning to stone continued, and breathing did not return.

“What should I do? Why did you call me here? Tell me!”

Kang Moo-hyuk glared at the leader and muttered softly.

There is no torture more vicious than giving hope and then taking it away. It is not possible to say that the leader who has helped so far has tortured, but it is a resentment that can come out because it was so desperate.

That was when.

“!!”

As if the guide was giving an answer, the light that had been hovering around Ayla’s body turned towards somewhere again.

Everyone turned their heads to follow the light. The light was returning the way it had come, passing through Raven’s fallen body.

Kang Moo-hyuk intuitively realized where the light was headed. He followed the light and gave instructions.

“Alex Hunter, pick up Lady Ayla. Hyun Jung-geon Hunter, wake up Raven. Let’s follow the light.”

Kang Moo-hyuk ran after the light. This time, too, Mr. Joe followed him quickly.

“This is the first time I’ve seen such a loud item. Commander, do you know where it’s going this time?”

“I know.”

“Huh? You know?”

Mr. Joe’s eyes widened in surprise when I simply answered his question.

Kang Mu-hyeok answered next.

“Battlefield… I’m going to where Thomas is.”

* * *

Kang Mu-hyeok went back the way he came.

The evolutionary Nagas that had collapsed on the ground along the way were still unable to move.

Kang Moo-hyuk thought he had to get rid of all of these guys, but the immediate need was not to get out.

After he finished everything, he decided to get rid of them and moved quickly.

He even had Mr. Joe carry him so that his slow feet wouldn’t catch up to his ankles.

Finally, Kang Mu-hyeok arrived at the place where the battle was taking place.

When he arrived there, an unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.

The hunters and the Nagas were all fallen together.

“What? What happened?”

Mr. Joe screamed in horror. A loud noise filled the room, drowning out her voice.

The battle between light and darkness.

What appeared at first glance to be light was Thomas’ magic.

The Phoenix fought against the darkness, but it seemed that there was a limit to overcoming darkness with fire rather than light.

Thomas was battered and bloodied like his phoenix. His armor coat was torn to shreds, and the wizard’s protective gear he had worn underneath the coat was no longer functioning properly.

It was a brave sight to hold on to one’s body that was shaking dangerously.

“Captain, what do I do with that?”

Mr. Cho asked urgently. She expected that Kang Mu-hyeok would have an answer, but she also thought that there was no hope.

Who can stand against that darkness when S-rank is suffering?

Hyun Jeong-geon spoke coldly while everyone else was thinking the same thing as her.

“Chief, you should take refuge. You can’t win this.”

“That, that’s right. Even the captain can’t die here. Gilma will come for revenge. That looks dangerous for Gilma too.”

Mr. Joe agreed to Hyun Jeong-geon’s proposal.

Alex, who was standing next to him, looked back and forth between Ayla and Kang Mu-hyeok, who were carrying Thomas on their backs, and the darkness attacking Thomas from afar, and then gritted his teeth and said.

“Commander, let’s retreat.”

“Alex!”

“Be quiet, Raven! It’s important to save Lady Ayla, but there’s no way around it. At this rate, we’re all doomed to die. Commander, you’re too good to die like this. Run.”

Alex’s voice, Raven’s anger, Hyun Jung-geon’s suggestion, and even Mr. Joe’s grabbing hand.

Kang Mu-hyeok was unable to feel anything and was only staring at the darkness.

‘All the unknown beings I’ve met so far have been able to communicate. They weren’t just there for the purpose of destruction and killing.’

Of course, just as each human being has a different personality, the unknown beings would also be different from each other.

‘But here we have no choice but to turn away from the disaster. We have to try, no matter what.’

Kang Moo-hyuk took a deep breath and collected his thoughts.

Simple conversation alone was not enough to defeat that being. Another plan was needed.

Although the crisis was right in front of him, Kang Moo-hyuk’s mind spun even faster.

He finally made a plan and told everyone.

“From now on, no matter what happens, you must unconditionally follow my orders.”