The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 437



Only Krnovel

Episode 437

#437. I want to remove all obstacles.

“The tentative number of victims is said to be 200,000. This number excludes missing persons, so the number is likely to be higher.”

Zhao Kezhi rubbed his chin and expressed regret at Yuan Hao’s report.

“1.5% of the population disappeared in one day. At a time like this, we need to take over the Hunter community in Taiwan Province.”

“Taiwan?”

The one who asked was Xiao Zhan. Unlike Yuan Hao, who was good at information and operations, he was a pure combat agent and was unaware of such circumstances.

Zhao Keji also explained without paying much attention to Xiao Zhan, as he was only expecting him to be able to fight.

“Its roots are weak. It may look healthy on the outside, but its land is small, and its industrial base collapsed after two Gate Wars. Because of that, it hasn’t been able to make a name for itself in the new field of Gate Industry. This means that the entire Hunter community is having trouble obtaining equipment, potions, etc.”

“It would certainly be annoying at the gate if the potion wasn’t cool.”

“It’s not just that hunting is difficult. It’s frustrating that what we lack in our own country has to be obtained from other countries. If this situation continues for a long time, hunters become accustomed to using foreign equipment and are reluctant to use domestic products, which also kills the industry’s self-sufficiency.”

Domestic consumption was important to save industries that were heavily dependent on foreign products. Since no country would import products that were not well-known, it was necessary to first encourage the use of domestic products to secure a base and then increase product competitiveness.

However, patriotic marketing did not work for Gate Resources products. Since hunting itself was a life-threatening affair, hunters were reluctant to use unverified equipment and potions.

“China has been taking advantage of Taiwan’s internal situation to take over the gate industry. At first, it was cheap, but after it took over the market, it was expensive. It seems that they are aware of this and have recently enacted a law to make it mandatory to purchase domestic products… But who are the hunters listening to?”

There was a hint of laughter in Zhao Keji’s words.

Although Taiwan was geographically under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province in southeastern China, the major guilds there and the Yellow Dragon Guild had a close cooperative relationship.

Since the industrial base for manufacturing various gate products was located in Tangshan City, Hebei Province, which was under the influence of the Yellow Dragon Guild, Fujian Province grew by receiving these products and conducting intermediary trade with Taiwan.

In other words, it could be said that the conquest of Taiwan was under the grand plan of the Yellow Dragon Guild led by Fujian.

Yuan Hao, who is familiar with these parts, mentioned the concerns.

“If our own hunter community were to take advantage of Taiwan’s misfortune and advance into the region, they might face great resistance.”

“Are you saying that because of the failure of the divine order?”

Zhao Keji pointed out sharply. Yuan Hao closed his mouth, and he spoke again.

“Jang Joong-sun was definitely a pushover. It was a natural choice since it was an opportunity to enter the main guild, but he still aimed for prey beyond his ability. I wonder why Guan Hong trusted such a guy with all his authority. Tsk tsk. If he had come to me instead, I would have supported him as much as possible.”

“Sinuiju is a sensitive area. It was a half-abandoned place, but administratively, it was Korean territory. There was nothing wrong with Team Leader Gwanhong’s approach at the time.”

“Are you defending a traitor now?”

“I’m telling you to look at the situation from the perspective of the past. The failure of the Jang Joong-sun Hunter was not due to the lack of ability of the people involved, but due to the strong resistance of the enemy.”

“Well, who would do anything to Joo Se-ah… … .”

Won Hao swallowed the gossip.

‘It’s not Joo Seah.’

The main character of the strong resistance he spoke of was Kang Mu-hyeok.

‘Even I, who was there, couldn’t figure out everything.’

At first, I only thought of Kang Mu-hyeok as a sly conman.

But after the Sinuiju affair went wrong and the operation in Ma-gyeong fell apart, Won-hao saw Kang Mu-hyeok bring up Guan Hong, who had been dismissed from office due to the failure, and sit him down at the negotiating table. Only then did he realize that he was the main culprit behind the failure.

‘According to word coming from the Gloria Guild, they’ve also formed a negotiating team in Korea. Kang Mu-hyeok is among them.’

This was information that Zhao Keji had found out through a mafia family related to the Gloria Guild.

Won Hao was aware of Kang Mu-hyeok. He had no idea what kind of plot he might hatch next.

So I sent a warning to Zhao Keji. Unfortunately, all I could hear was a formal response that he would be careful.

‘Chief Zhao Keji sees Kang Mu-hyeok as nothing more than a copycat who is riding on Joo Se-ah’s influence. I know that Bi Won-jun agreed to the alliance with Kang Mu-hyeok because he saw Joo Se-ah’s face. I also think that Guan Hong’s surrender to Iron Will was because Joo Se-ah led him to step forward.’

Won Hao, who had been treated badly by Kang Mu-hyeok, saw it the other way around.

Joo Se Ah gave full authority to Kang Moo Hyuk, and Kang Moo Hyuk could do whatever he wanted. I don’t know what kind of relationship they had or what kind of contract they made, but Joo Se Ah didn’t stop Kang Moo Hyuk at all.

In the case of the Yellow Dragon Guild, it was as if S-rank Biwonjun was completely following Guan Hong’s words.

This was something that could never happen in Huanglong.

‘No, it’s more than that. At least Guan Hong is a high-ranking hunter. On the other hand, Kang Mu-hyeok is a non-awakened one. It doesn’t make sense for an absolute being called S-rank to follow the orders of a normal person.’

Even though Won Hao knew it was a prejudice, he shook his head every time he thought about Bi Won Jun, because he couldn’t imagine it at all.

When Yuan Hao was lost in thought, Zhao Keji decided that he had become quiet due to his own soothing.

‘He’s a remnant of Guan Hong, so he’s a bit creepy, but he’s actually a good guy. Except for the fact that he still has loyalty to the late Zhang Zhongxun, there’s nothing to criticize. If you coax him well, you can recycle him.’

When Zhao Keji introduced Yuan Hao and Xiao Zhan to Bi Yuanjun, he lumped them together as hunters on the verge of being discarded, but in reality, there were not many people who recognized their abilities.

It was inevitable that they would be pushed out of the center of the guild due to a major failure, and since they were potential competitors, no one would protect them, but Zhao Keji had brought them into this negotiation team, saying that he could use them as a means of getting rid of them.

‘I don’t have many cards given to me anyway, so I guess I’ll have to use them like this. And besides, you’ve brought me some good material.’

Zhao Keji thought that he should take advantage of Yuan Hao’s raising of the Taiwan issue.

“With this large-scale attack by Naga, Taiwan Province will once again realize its own shortcomings, so it wouldn’t be strange for it to ask the continent for help. A large-scale exodus may even occur.”

“If that happens, the country will collapse. Even so, do you think a country that survived two gate wars would collapse so easily?”

“It would be fine if Naga’s attack ended in one go. But isn’t Taiwan an island? And compared to the continent, it’s an incredibly small island.”

Zhao Keji smiled, revealing his teeth.

“How long will it last?”

* * *

When Edoardo showed his interest through silence, Kang Moo-hyuk continued speaking without hesitation.

“Instead, in order to neutralize the secret weapon of Mirage and Illusion, a condition is needed.”

“condition?”

Edoardo leaned forward and concentrated.

On the other hand, Kang Mu-hyeok straightened his back and leaned against the back of his chair.

“Yes. It’s simple. Illusion must be brought into the battlefield.”

It was easy to say, but difficult to do in practice.

Basically, Mirage was a terrorist group, so guerrilla warfare was their main tactic, and no one had been able to track the movements of their leader, Illusion.

I don’t know if it was a special skill or a trait, but I couldn’t recognize his face.

When I actually saw him in person, I could tell what kind of impression he had, but after that, as if it were a lie, I couldn’t remember his exact face.

Because of that, even though the powers and hunters from all over the world were chasing him, they were unable to catch him.

To Kang Mu-hyeok, such an illusion was no different from saying that he would dig a trap in the desired battlefield and wait.

‘No. You can’t catch an illusion by setting a trap. Unless you block that damn scroll first… ‘

When he thought about it that way, Edoardo finally realized what Kang Mu-hyeok’s card was.

“You… are there any way to disable the teleportation scroll?”

Kang Mu-hyeok nodded and answered.

“It’s a magic circle.”

“Huh!”

Edoardo let out a gasp.

A guarantee that you can eliminate the biggest headache when dealing with Mirage and Illusion.

For Europe, which had suffered greatly from the terrorists, this could not have been more welcome news.

“But the only one who can do that is Thomas Hunter here.”

Kang Moo-hyuk pointed to Thomas without any explanation.

Edoardo looked back at the S-rank wizard whom he had never known before.

Because he was just sipping wine in silence and occasionally eating snacks, he didn’t have much of a presence in the conversation, but with one word from Kang Mu-hyeok, he became the center of conversation.

Edoardo knew a lot about the sorcerer race.

Because he was friends with a really shitty wizard in Merlin’s Tower.

‘The magic of a wizard works in the same way as a hunter’s skills, but a normal hunter cannot learn skills classified as magic unless they have a special talent in that field. Since the probability of having wizard talent is extremely low, their personality is also eccentric.’

And as eccentric as he was, he showed off some strange talents.

“Is it magic?”

“It may be magic, but it may not be.”

Thomas, who was debating whether or not to eat the caviar, answered instead.

“But isn’t this spicy? I don’t really like fish dishes.”

“It’s shark eggs, so it must be bad. Honestly, I’m the type of person who eats anything I can chew, so I’m not very good at gourmet food.”

“You only picked out expensive ones, considering you’re a cheapskate?”

“When I become an S-rank, they only buy me expensive things. As I eat them, I end up ordering the same things I eat every day. Anyway, even if someone tells me what’s good, I don’t bother looking into it, so I don’t go shopping for it.”

Thomas thrust the caviar on top of the biscuit at Kang Moo-hyuk.

“Boss, does this taste okay?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Is there anything you don’t know, Captain?”

“Because I haven’t tried it.”

“why?”

“Because it’s expensive.”

“iced coffee.”

Since the oceans ceased to be solely a fishing ground for humans, global fish production has declined significantly compared to the past.

Prices have gone up even further. Expensive ingredients like caviar have become even more expensive.

For Thomas, who had lived as a makeshift, disposable wizard for many years, this was a reason that touched his heart.

As the topic took a strange turn, Edoardo coughed and tried to continue the conversation.

“You can magically render teleportation and magic circles useless? Just knowing this fact would be of great military value. Perhaps the guys from Merlin’s Tower would rush in with their eyes wide open? But why is it so easy to reveal this? Are you trying to trade Flying Seahorses with this method?”

“No way. I don’t want to negotiate with the Gloria Guild over something like this.”

“I think you know better than anyone that its value is too great to be trivialized like this.”

“It depends on what you value. I don’t know what it might be like from Grand Duke Edoardo’s perspective, but to me, ‘this is all I can think of’.”

Edoardo looked at Kang Mu-hyeok with even more suspicious eyes.

Kang Moo-hyuk sighed and added.

“I’m not a hunter. But I want to kill monsters more than anyone else. But there are too many people who stand in my way.”

“… … .”

“I want to remove all obstacles.”