The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 436



Only Krnovel

Episode 436

#436. It’s not an easy task.

Edoardo’s hospitality was simple but splendid.

It’s an expression that doesn’t make sense at first glance, but that’s the only way to explain it.

All we could do was enjoy drinks and snacks on the terrace under the sunset, but they were all expensive delicacies that ordinary people would have a hard time eating in their entire lives.

But no one present was interested in the delicacies of the mountains and seas.

Kang Moo-hyuk and Thomas were originally not interested in luxury, and it was something they were very familiar with for Edoardo.

They continued their conversation without touching the food. The table looked exactly as it did when Edoardo first came, except for the occasional sip of wine.

“I know that Joo Seah Gilma is a great hunter. To have that cockroach cornered is really a shame. That Illusion guy should have died there. We almost caught him many times. But I wonder where the teleportation scroll keeps coming from, he always escapes at crucial moments.”

“I wondered about that too. Teleport scrolls are only produced in limited quantities each year. They are also quite expensive, so I understand that even the world’s top tier guilds only have a few.”

“That’s right. Even though Gloria has been attending auctions for so many years, she’s only managed to secure three tickets.”

Kang Mu-hyeok flinched slightly. This was because Edoardo had revealed the number of teleport scrolls.

‘The scroll is the guild’s top secret. But how can you say it so easily? Is it a simple mistake, or a lie?’

Edoardo smiled at Kang Mu-hyeok’s reaction.

“These days, kids are the ones who think about how many pieces of paper someone has. A true hunter never backs down from danger. That’s why he became an S-rank.”

“That’s right. Our guild leader doesn’t know how to retreat either.”

“I like it more and more. I’d like to meet you and talk sometime.”

“I’ll make some arrangements for you soon.”

Edoardo smiled pleasantly and took a sip of his wine, but he did not look very expectant.

Even S-ranks from the same country rarely met each other outside of official settings or battlefields.

What about S-ranks from different countries meeting to promote friendship?

‘It’s impossible unless it’s a really special case. After all, the government would hate it if an S-rank left their country.’

Didn’t the US even have a law called ‘Double S Article 11’ that mandated that a certain number of S-ranks must remain on the mainland?

If an unmanageable gate were to burst on the North American continent and all the S-ranks were to vacate their seats, a catastrophe would occur.

Of course, Kang Mu-hyeok’s thoughts were different.

‘It’s tricky, but it’s not impossible. There are a few conditions that have to be met, though.’

He truly had a plan to make Edoardo and Jusea meet again.

“From what I’ve heard so far, it seems like you’re a junior with a lot of insight. Let me ask you one thing.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“Fighting Mirage has always been tricky in two ways. Do you know what they are?”

“Please clarify whether you are talking about before the fight or after the fight starts.”

“I guess you know a lot since you brought that up first. You’re talking about going into battle.”

“You’re talking about magic circles and artifacts.”

“Wow, you don’t use the word ‘item’.”

Artifacts often refer to items of unique grade or higher.

The reason Kang Moo-hyeok referred to it as an artifact was because of the teleport scroll. The teleport scroll was a one-time use item, but it was classified as a unique item. That meant it was a valuable item.

“Even if it’s not just the Silk Teleport Scroll, they have a lot of strange items. Most of them are one-time use and don’t pose a threat to S-ranks, but they’re difficult to deal with because they make it hard to land a finishing blow.”

“I think it would be more correct to say that I created it rather than that I had it.”

“I see. Do you think so too?”

“I have reviewed the records of the Mirage’s terror and the combat associated with it. It would be unreasonable to secure that many teleportation scrolls. We must assume that they are procured on their own.”

“I went to the EHA (European Hunters Association) and argued about this until my throat hurt. But those old-fashioned guys said there was no way a single organization could have made something like that.”

Kang Moo-hyuk thought that EHA’s claim could not be considered as being completely wrong. In reality, there were only three organizations in the world that could produce scrolls.

All three places were forming a formidable force.

‘The first one is the World Hunters’ Association.’

To be exact, it was the ‘Mother Tree Society’, the highest council of the elven race of the Federation.

The Mother Tree Society created a teleportation scroll using the leaves of the World Tree.

Since the World Tree had only recently taken root on Earth, it was difficult to collect many leaves, so the quantity was limited, but it was the most stable source of supply.

This was one of the ways the federation obtained its enormous operating funds.

‘I didn’t know how it was made until I checked the data with Commander authority. I didn’t even know the World Tree existed.’

Next was the Quetzalcoatl, a secret group from Central and South America.

Quetzalcoatl was originally a god in Mesoamerican mythology, meaning ‘feathered serpent’.

In the Aztec pantheon, he was worshipped as the most important god along with several gods such as the god of wind, Venus, dawn, merchants, arts, crafts, and knowledge. These groups also produced various crafted items in the name of such gods and auctioned them on the black market.

‘Finally, Merlin’s Tower.’

‘Merlin’s Tower’ was a holy place for world magicians in England and also a workshop for making various magical tools.

This was the reason why Britain could still exert great influence despite its departure from the EU.

People called these three groups the world’s three greatest workshops.

“In the first place, the three major workshops do not monopolize item production. There are many manufacturers and workshops that are comparable to them, even if they are not as good. And yet, EHA does not accept my claim that Mirage has the production ability to do so.”

“Do you think there are protective forces within EHA?”

“No. No matter how stupid they are, they wouldn’t be that stupid. They’re just too stubborn. They don’t believe unless there’s visible evidence. Instead, they’re judging that those who buy teleportation scrolls have some kind of connection to Mirage. Well, that’s suspicious, but unless Mirage is an idiot, she wouldn’t touch a few scrolls and a route that’s clearly traceable.”

“In that case, you should check the magic circle field.”

“You two fit together really well. I was thinking the same thing.”

As for the magic circle that Kang Mu-hyeok mentioned, the difficulty of its development process was greater than that of the item itself.

The magic circle was called the pinnacle or crystallization of the Gate’s academic disciplines, encompassing not only fields that developed after the Gate era, such as magical investigation and magical engineering, but also various modern academic disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, machinery, and mathematics.

Not only that, but the development process required a large testing facility larger than a weapons testing facility, and the resulting risk was also high, making development impossible for an organization like Mirage that operates in secret.

So, Kang Moo-hyuk was suspicious that the source of the various magic circles used by Mirage might be an officially active guild, government, or company.

“To secure that many researchers, we would have to kidnap them in the hundreds or thousands, but there has been no news of that yet. The development facilities are not able to avoid the Federation’s eyes either.”

“If it’s a federation, does that mean Clairvoyance?”

“You know.”

“Just that there is such a thing. However, clairvoyance is not omnipotent. If it knew everything, Mirage and Illusion would have been finished long ago. There are probably certain conditions for obtaining information.”

Kang Moo-hyuk felt a pang inside. He knew that Cheon-rian was a hunter with the ability to foresee.

But it was truly surprising that European hunters, whose information about him had been blocked, were vaguely aware of it.

Even though a world that seemed like something out of a dream, with gates and monsters, had arrived, prophecy was a field that was difficult to accept.

“Anyway, if we can destroy these two weapons, we can take down Mirage. And then we can capture Illusion.”

“Hmm, neither of them are easy.”

Edoardo crossed his arms and looked up at the stars that were just beginning to rise.

As we were chatting absentmindedly, time passed quickly and night fell.

‘Is it that time already? I met a friend I can communicate with after a long time, and I was so happy to talk to him that I lost myself in thought. I’m sure he came because he wanted something from me.’

And I knew all along that what they wanted was a flying seahorse.

Edoardo was troubled. How should he refuse?

Regardless of the fact that he liked the young man named Kang Mu-hyeok, he was in a position where he had to completely exclude personal feelings.

At least there has to be a justification that everyone can accept before sending the Flying Seahorse out of Europe.

Otherwise, there would be no excuse for handing over strategic materials that had not been sold to even allies until now. And the excuse was not money.

‘You never talk about the deal until the end. You’re a very patient guy, which is rare these days. Should I be the one to bring it up?’

Edoardo made up his mind and opened his lips.

At that time, Kang Mu-hyeok spoke one step ahead.

“And I hold the cards that can take down both of Mirage’s weapons.”

Edoardo had no choice but to close his mouth.

* * *

Cijin Island, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

“Whoa!”

“Mom, why is there a monster here?!”

People enjoying swimming on the sandy beach were startled by the sudden appearance of a group of nagas and ran away.

But it was difficult to escape from Naga on the coast.

At first glance, its lower body, made up of fins and no legs, may seem like it would have difficulty moving on land, but when you see it running by twisting and bouncing like a snake, it is not at all like a sea monster. It would never be able to escape with human legs.

Even if they were not caught, they could not escape. It was common for them to be impaled on claws shot out by Naga or spears held by Naga warriors, and unable to leave the sandy beach.

Tourists and locals who came to the beach were unable to leave Chijin Island and were slaughtered.

The Taiwanese government and guild, unable to respond preemptively to Naga’s surprise attack, had no choice but to make an extreme choice.

They agreed to give up Chijin Island and defend the mainland.

“Block the roads and lines from Chijin Island to the port!”

It was a measure that could be taken because we had been somewhat prepared after the Northeast Asian Naga incident.

However, citizens criticized the government for not closing the coast despite seeing the situation in Northeast Asia.

The government actively explained that it could not close tourist sites in order to stimulate the Taiwanese economy that was only just beginning to recover, but it could not avoid responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of people.

The only good thing was that the Hunter faction supported the government.

“Taiwan, surrounded by islands on all sides, is vulnerable to attacks by sea monsters. Fortunately, the government’s quick measures prevented the situation from escalating. The problem is not the present, but the future. Naga’s attacks are unpredictable, and the key is how to deal with them.”

After the interview with the guild official, public anger seemed to have died down, but that evening, when Naga’s attacks continued simultaneously in multiple locations, panic struck all of Taiwan.

“The sea is blocked.”

“Ah, Taiwan is finished.”

The incident that day was the most horrific massacre in Taiwan’s history since the Great War and the Little War.