The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 66



Only Noblemtl

Episode 67

67. Why are you here?

Kim Soo-jung was having a strange experience.

‘What is it? Why is it like this? What, something is different.’

A new world?

A vision that she had never experienced before was opened up. Something was changing her hunting style completely. Although it was not a major change, she felt that something had changed.

What’s even more surprising is that the current method is more convenient than before.

‘The battle feels easier when the orders are given by someone who only fights with his mouth behind the scenes. Even though the Orcs were struggling so much just a short time ago,’

Perhaps because I was distracted for a moment, the pressure on the marked orc was relieved.

The orc swung his axe with uncanny timing to try to get Kim Soo-jung away from Yoo Seong-ju.

“Kim Soo-jung Hunter! Left! Turn counterclockwise! Yoo Seong-ju Hunter, turn right and come out to meet me!”

Whenever I was like that, a sharp order would hit my ears.

Kim Soo-jung’s body reacted on its own as she came to her senses at Kang Mu-hyeok’s voice.

As I moved according to his instructions, the connection with Yoo Seong-ju, which had been cut off, was revived.

At this point, anyone who wasn’t an idiot could figure out Order’s intentions of never letting the two of them apart.

‘Is this the rumored Captain Iron Will?’

At first, I was hesitant. But since he had appeared on TV and in the press several times, I quickly recognized that the man giving the order was Kang Mu-hyeok.

‘You said you weren’t a hunter… . So it’s not like just anyone can be a captain?’

The opponent’s voice had a strangely focused power. His judgment was also accurate. He figured out the hunter’s fighting style, which he had never seen before, and gave orders to block the orc’s movements at every element.

As Kim Soo-jung’s movements regained stability, the orcs began to panic again and became anxious to prevent the two hunters from passing.

‘Hunter Kim Soo-jung is a bit awkward when using a shield. When an attack comes in, she tends to block it by blocking her vision. Although this is a two-tank party, she probably plays the dealer more. Instead, she moves quickly and has good sense. If she masters the tactics of a multi-tank type, she will become a pretty good force.’

On the other hand, Yoo Seong-ju could be called a true tank. He blocks with certainty and counterattacks accurately. Since his fundamentals are solid, if he can just acquire tactical flexibility, he will likely show considerable growth.

‘The problem is that I can’t land the finishing blow.’

Both of them had weak attack power. Of course, if they were ordinary orcs, I would have finished them off long ago.

He doesn’t show any special skills. He had a few crucial chances, but he just let them slip away.

It was a scene that made it clear why they were freelancers.

“Who are those people?”

Kang Mu-hyuk turned around at the sudden sound of a familiar voice.

“Captain Lee Jin-ju… … .”

“Hey, our captain. It’s been a while since you even picked up a gun? I’m sorry I’m late.”

Sorry?

Kang Moo-hyuk noticed that sweat was beading on Lee Jin-joo’s forehead. He also saw her carefully shrugging her shoulders and catching her breath while she was talking.

It was unusual for someone as skilled as Lee Jin-ju to look so disheveled without even having fought a fierce battle.

‘The place that Hunter Lee Jin-ju was in charge of was quite far away. Even if she had arrived, it was a distance that other hunters would have had to arrive first. She probably came at full speed.’

If Jinju Lee, the swordsman, had run at full speed using magic, it would have been much faster than coming from the city by car. The mana and stamina consumption would have been equally severe. Nevertheless, the fact that she was taking it easy was partly due to the expedition leader’s bluff, or rather, his awareness of his position.

The one who stands at the front is the one who doesn’t feel tired even when it’s hard. Kang Moo-hyuk nodded inwardly at the fact that Lee Jin-joo, who had just become a rookie expedition leader, was realizing this.

He answered as if he didn’t know.

“We’re Hunter Kim Soo-jung and Hunter Yoo Seong-ju. Do you remember the hunters who bought you time during the raid on the daycare center last time?”

“Oh, that freelancer? Whatever it was, he definitely saved me some time this time.”

“If this is also a connection with our guild, then it seems to be a connection. Their skills are not bad either. They are friends who have a lot to improve on.”

“A relationship is only a relationship if it’s alive. I think it’s starting to get out of hand. I’ll finish it up and come back.”

Lee Jin-joo stepped forward and drew her sword.

Her face was reflected on the sharp blade that was so sharp that it made her teeth ache just looking at it. Her eyes, which were black like obsidian, slowly began to burn.

Cheongyeon.

Blue flames flashed as if they were burning my eyes, but then quickly subsided.

Then the sword blazed purple.

The moment the tip of the super-hot sword slowly pointed towards the sky, Jinju Lee kicked the ground and jumped out.

He quickly intervened between the two orcs, and his sword danced briskly. In the middle of the day, blue will-o’-the-wisps were dazzlingly embroidered, and the orcs’ bodies were torn apart and burned.

The black that set fire to the orcs returned to its original color.

Lee Jin-joo looked back as she put her sword back in its scabbard.

“Thank you both for your hard work. I survived thanks to you.”

An unidentified hunter suddenly intervenes.

Kim Soo-jung and Yoo Seong-ju couldn’t help but be astonished when they saw Lee Jin-ju.

You killed an orc in one breath that I couldn’t catch despite my best efforts.

Kang Mu-hyeok approached them, who were unable to close their gaping mouths.

“I know you must have been surprised by my sudden order. Thank you for your cooperation. I am Kang Mu-hyeok, the leader of the Iron Will Guild.”

The two people greeted each other absentmindedly, each taking Kang Mu-hyeok’s outstretched hand in turn.

To the dumbfounded people, Kang Mu-hyeok made an unexpected suggestion.

“It might be an uncomfortable topic to discuss in such a noisy place, but if you don’t mind, how about joining our guild?”

“yes?”

“I heard you are a freelancer. I will make you an official offer.”

“Huh?!”

* * *

Kim Soo-jung and Yoo Seong-ju were standing far away, glancing at Kang Mu-hyeok.

“Seongju, what do you think that person is doing?”

“What are you doing? What are you doing? Examining the corpses of orcs.”

“Why that?”

“Of course I’m seeing the monsters that the hunter killed… Huh? Isn’t that guy a hunter?”

Yoo Seong-ju corrected his mistake. Then, Kim Soo-jung’s question came to his mind as well.

“Why is someone who isn’t even a hunter looking at a corpse like that?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

As they said, Kang Mu-hyeok was carefully examining the corpses while exchanging opinions with Lee Jin-ju, who was next to him.

Kim Soo-jung looked at him silently for a while and then suddenly spoke.

“But why did you really ask us to join? Because you saved us?”

“I heard you said it was impressive.”

“Even though that impressive point is a bit awkward?”

“Well… the reason why he’s good at summoning monsters is a bit like that.”

I don’t know how much of it was a joke, or if he said it because he’s not good at expressing himself in words, but even taking that into account, there were parts of Kang Moo-hyuk’s comment that were difficult to understand.

It was no different from saying that they made him a gangster because they thought he would get into trouble easily.

“Ugh! Why are you suddenly touching an orc’s foot?”

“The rest was burned?”

“You don’t have a fetish for the smell of orc feet, do you?”

“… … .”

“Why are you looking so absurd? To be honest, that’s true. The ridiculous offer to join the team is also absurd. Maybe there’s something missing in him.”

“Isn’t the order a bit too inappropriate for a screw loose? The ability is good though.”

“They say there are quite a few crazy people among the smart ones. Since they are not in their right minds, they would have been the strategy team leader in an A-class guild. Think about it. Which guild would give that position to someone who is not even a hunter?”

As Kim Soo-jung continued to raise reasonable doubts, the person who had raised those doubts was observing the orc’s feet with his face closer to the floor.

“There’s dirt on my feet. This smells like a cesspool.”

“Orcs actually smell terrible, sir.”

“No. Captain Lee Jin-ju, come up close and smell it. It’s different from the smell of a normal monster.”

“I’ll decline. I’m sick of the stench of monsters just from the gate. More importantly, Commander, you have to save face, so please get up.”

“Wait a minute. I’ve smelled this smell somewhere before… It’s the smell that comes up from the sewer when the weather is cold─yes, the sewer!”

“yes?”

Kang Mu-hyeok jumped up and ran towards the main gate. Lee Jin-ju followed him without knowing what was happening.

He looked around and checked the CCTV above the guardhouse. Then he found a traffic light and a CCTV hanging on a utility pole across from him, then he took out his smartphone and made a call.

“Team Leader Gong, tell the city hall to secure the CCTV footage from the city hall entrance and the parking lot. Also notify the police and ask for their cooperation in collecting footage from the road in front of the main gate. Oh, okay. It’s footage from the time the orcs appeared, so it shouldn’t take too long to review.”

At this point, Jinju Lee could no longer hold back her curiosity.

“Why are you doing this?”

“The reason why the hunters and police were mobilized so much but the orcs couldn’t be found. I think I’ve figured out the reason.”

“The reason I couldn’t find it is… Ah! Maybe because I’m hiding in the sewers?”

“There were no reports of the orcs coming to the city hall from this open area. They just showed up out of nowhere. I think they were moving into the sewers. That’s why they weren’t detected.”

“But are our country’s sewers really that big? Enough for orcs to walk through?”

“We’ll have to find out from now on.”

Kang Moo-hyuk went to the Pocheon City Hall Urban Safety Bureau. It was a mess because of the orc’s intrusion, but he was able to find the person in charge of waterworks and sewage with the guidance of a civil servant.

“Ok? Hmm… . It’s possible. Not all of it, but since about 5 years ago, a significant portion of the sewer pipes have been replaced with sewer pipes with an inner diameter of 1,000 mm to 1,500 mm. The sewer pipes needed to be repaired due to frequent flooding in the city. In particular, the sewer tunnels connected to the rainwater pumping station are wide enough to stand in.”

“Rainwater pump station?!”

The moment he heard the sewer manager’s words, Kang Moo-hyuk’s guess turned into confirmation.

“Is there a map showing where the large-diameter sewer pipes are installed? And also some information on the sewer tunnels?”

“It was originally confidential information, so I had to get approval from our manager. But he’s out of the office right now… … .”

“It’s urgent.”

“Is this something to do with orcs?”

“There are still some guys out there. This will help us catch them.”

Kang Moo-hyuk thought of the orcs that had run away from the parking lot and the feather-decorated orcs.

In particular, the feather-decorated orcs were expected to be of the rank of 1st Lieutenant based on the orc tribe warriors. Since they had fully evolved, they were judged to be more dangerous than small orc units.

“I’ll send you the file by email. It should be processed urgently.”

The person in charge, after understanding the situation, responded without delay.

The world of civil servants was one where it was difficult to make decisions without the approval of a superior, regardless of right or wrong, but when it came to monsters, they knew that this kind of quick cooperation was the best way to solve the problem.

Kang Moo-hyuk expressed his gratitude by giving me his email address.

“Thank you for your cooperation.”

“No. I am the one who needs to ask this. I want you to defeat all the orcs.”

Kang Moo-hyeok and Lee Jin-joo returned to the National Assembly building in a hurry. As soon as they returned to the command and control center on the 5th floor, Gong Du-ri came with a tablet and reported.

“I got the footage and checked it right away. Look here, here. Outside the guardhouse, next to the sidewalk. You can see the manhole opening toward the septic tank under the flagpole. And then the orcs came out.”

“It’s true. Wow~ Those orcs are no joke.”

Even Jinju Lee, who had been through a lot, was impressed. She had experience fighting evolved orc tribes, but she had never faced them in the city like this.

So I never imagined that the orcs would be hiding using the city’s infrastructure.

Moreover, his cunning was even more cunning than that of any other orc that Yi Jin-ju had hunted.

“Team Leader Gong, I’m going to send you a file right now, so display it on the screen.”

Gongduri brought up a map of the sewer system on the screen.

The neatly organized sewer system centered around Pocheon City Hall stretched throughout the city.

“Mark the location of the guild parking lot and the hospital.”

“yes?”

“Oh my! It’s connected to the sewer at the end in an amazing way!”

Lee Jin-ju exclaimed in admiration at the location of the sewer pipe, which perfectly matched the scene of the incident.

It was quite far from the city center, so there was a break in the middle, but instead, a section connected by a river was visible.

“Fortunately, there aren’t many places in the sewers where orcs can roam.”

“I’ll start a party right away. If we go in from each entrance at the same time and rush them, I think we can catch them.”

“There will be some Hunters who will complain if you enter the sewers. Be sure to listen to them carefully so that they do not interfere with the operation.”

“The sewer may be dirty, but it’s better than not seeing the gate. There are countless times when you don’t brush your teeth for over a month. You can think of it as training in advance.”

As soon as Lee Jin-ju outlined the operation, she got moving. She looked at the map, took her position, and took the lead by entering the sewers.

As the Hunters began to deploy in earnest, it was not long before the Orcs, presumed to have escaped from the parking lot, were discovered in the sewer tunnels.

As they were the elite hunters of the current Iron Will, the two orcs were easily eliminated.

But the feather-decorated orc was never found.

When Kang Mu-hyeok received the report that the search had failed, he finally made a face of disappointment and muttered to himself.

“I wondered why the orcs were doing the Seongdonggyeokseo. It turns out they were trying to make that guy run away.”

Kang Moo-hyuk searched the area around the barbed wire with the help of the military and police.

The next day, as he had predicted, the ground near the barbed wire was discovered to have been dug up. Just as when they had infiltrated Nampocheon, a tunnel had been dug.

Kang Mu-hyeok, who had been inspecting the scene, looked north beyond the barbed wire.

That was why I guessed where this orc had gone.

‘North… Is it Cheorwon?’

Somehow I had a feeling that this incident was just beginning.

* * *

The moment when Kang Mu-hyeok missed the last orc.

Joo Se-ah was witnessing an unbelievable sight in Cheorwon.

“This is!”

A huge triumphal arch with a large reservoir in the background.

“Why is the gate here? And that too… … .”

Why is it open!!