The Time-Limited Leader Makes the Raid a Success - Chapter 441



Only Krnovel

Episode 441

#441. He asked me to make sure to convey this message.

There are individual differences between hunters, but the typical distance for using message skills is around 5km.

There were occasional cases where it exceeded 10 km, but these were extremely rare.

One research team hypothesized that the reason for this difference in distance between hunters is the difference in synchronization rate of mana wavelengths between hunters.

It wasn’t just a matter of having similar wavelengths, it was a matter of the pieces fitting together like a puzzle.

Unfortunately, the distance between the hotel where the Hwangryong Guild’s negotiation team was staying and the resort where Kang Mu-hyeok and his group were staying was about 7km, which was outside the range of using message skills, and the wavelength of Thomas and the other two hunters was not very good either.

Although Thomas could change the wavelength at will, it was meaningless since he had never directly aligned himself with the two.

While Kang Mu-hyeok was driving, Thomas took the smartphone he was trying to talk on from his ear.

“The phone is also turned off.”

“This is to ensure that no interference occurs during the operation. Maybe it’s already too late… … .”

“Shall we prepare for battle?”

“In Venice? That would be an act of disrespect to the Gloria Guild. The negotiations we had barely managed to secure would be lost. We could even be exiled for fighting in our own city. If that happens, even the Archduke will have a hard time protecting us.”

“Because you are a person whose cause is important to him?”

Thomas spoke with a hint of sarcasm. He was a hunter who had experienced the absurdity of a large guild through his former affiliation, the Ithaca Guild. The arrogance of trying to fit the world to their standards sometimes forced someone to make a sacrifice.

To Thomas, there was little difference between Edoardo’s old-fashionedness and the principles of the large guilds.

Kang Moo-hyuk read the intention and defended Edoardo.

“It may seem frustrating, but these days, it’s rare to find a hunter who holds such beliefs. The more chaotic the world becomes, the more we need someone with clear standards. It could be said that the reason Gloria was able to establish itself as one of the top guilds in Europe was because Hunter Edoardo maintained balance.

“I see. I never thought about it that way. Hunters are beings who are swayed by power rather than character. Others also look at power first. As a result, their own standards become vague. Even I, these days, think that it is easier to solve things with power.”

“It is certainly convenient if you have overwhelming power. You don’t need to persuade or coordinate others. However, you can’t end the gate era by just standing above others with power. If that were the case, the tragedy of this era would have disappeared long ago. There is a limit to the influence of one individual or one force. What is more important is how you use that power and in what direction you lead the world. I think that can be achieved when a firm standard is established.”

Thomas thought about Kang Mu-hyeok’s words.

‘You said the standards were vague, but originally I had no standards.’

Although he was a hunter, he lived from hand to mouth.

Mayflies do not prepare for tomorrow, nor do they look back on the past.

Thomas in Ithaca was a hunter who was worried that he would die from mana addiction. He met Kang Mu-hyeok and was able to cure his illness, becoming an S-rank hunter.

Because he suddenly gained great power, he didn’t know how to use it.

But he was not wandering, dissolute, or debaucherous.

That was because there was a person right next to me who was like a guide.

‘This person is truly worth following. I learn something new every day. He makes me realize what I should do.’

Perhaps it was a side effect of the illness, but Thomas was not even aware of his own emotions. As a result, he would often get lost if he let his guard down even for a little bit.

On the other hand, Kang Mu-hyeok did not get lost even though he had similar symptoms.

I didn’t know that it might be because of the firm standards that Kang Mu-hyeok spoke of.

Because he was influenced by him, it became clear that Thomas also had that standard recently.

The trigger was the gate explosion.

At that time, Thomas was able to face his inner feelings for the first time in a long time.

‘The anger I felt at that time towards the gate and the monsters. That is the standard I should have as a hunter. Let’s follow this person. Whether it’s a happy ending or a sad ending, at least I won’t regret it.’

As Thomas’ thoughts deepened, the car’s speed increased.

Kang Moo-hyuk stepped on the accelerator without hesitation and turned the steering wheel. He checked the rear view mirror. He knew that Thomas had warned him that there was someone following him again, but this time he did not let go.

“But do you really just leave the back alone?”

“Yes. There is no reason to ignore it.”

“If we bump into the Chinese, won’t it only give a bad impression?”

“It doesn’t matter. I plan to use it when the time comes.”

“Well, with Gloria here, it would be difficult for the Chinese hunters to act rashly.”

“What about the distance?”

Thomas used his message skill after understanding what Kang Mu-hyeok was saying. He seemed to be concentrating for a while as if he was exchanging messages, and then opened his mouth.

“I’ve been connected with the current hunter. I understand the situation and I understand his intentions.”

“Why did you say you went there?”

While questioning Thomas, Kang Moo-hyuk drew up several scenarios as to why Hyun Jeong-geun and Mr. Cho went to the hotel where the Chinese negotiating team was staying.

Since both of them were hunters skilled in infiltration and espionage, I assumed they went there to extract information.

Or maybe there is an intention to manipulate information to cause confusion in the enemy camp.

‘I can trust their skills, but I can’t guarantee their unexpectedness.’

There are currently several such people in the Iron Will Guild.

First of all, there was Gilmain Joo Se-ah herself, and the idol fanatic Go Eul-ji who is the most promising rookie and could be the ace of the future, Hyun Jeong-geon who is a former Titan assassin who has now disappeared, Mister Joe who is a spy daring enough to infiltrate Slayer, the best guild in Korea, Noh Song-rin who is from Woojungdo and works as a double spy between Iron Will and the Japanese Hunter faction, Jang Deuk-gu who is usually serious but shows his teeth when he sees a villain, and Yeom Soo-hyung who loses all sense of reason when he transforms into a giant… … .

‘What on earth have I done?’

We just gathered some unique hunters to create the best guild.

Not long ago, there was even Baek Seong-bin who fell into the clutches of Miraju.

Even if we put aside their personal regrets, they were hunters who would always have trouble with incidents and accidents if someone brought it up.

The situation is such that the strongest hunter group and the Konggaru Guild are only a sheet of paper apart.

Kang Moo-hyuk prayed that his choice would not be wrong and vowed to work harder.

While thoughts like rays of light passed through his head, Thomas explained the situation he had heard from Hyun Jeong-geon.

“Lastly, Hunter Hyun Jeong-geon asked me to convey this message.”

“What is the message?”

“This time, Mr. Joe was the one who set it up.”

“… … .”

“He said he was truly innocent. He said he would never have come if he had known Yuan Hao and Xiao Zhan were there. He said that his only crime was being deceived by Mr. Joe.”

“… … .”

For a moment, Kang Moo-hyuk thought, “Would it really work if I worked really hard?”

* * *

“You seem to have a lot on your mind.”

Zhao Keji said.

Hyun Jeong-geon moved to the lobby cafe to welcome him.

Behind Zhao Keji, Yuan Hao and Xiao Zhan were glaring at him with fierce eyes.

“I guess I was nervous because I met the big shot of the Yellow Dragon Guild.”

Hyun Jeong-geon moistened his parched throat with coffee. As he said, it wasn’t because he was nervous about meeting Zhao Keji. It was because he had received a message from Thomas.

‘I guess the captain caught on. He said he was coming here? How am I going to get through this? I don’t like nagging.’

While talking to Zhao Keji, Hyun Jeong-geon occasionally sent Thomas excuses to overcome difficult situations.

Even though he knew that Hyun Jeong-geon’s praise was just a formality, Zhao Keji felt excited.

Within the Hwangryong Guild, he was a person who could fall at any time if he failed, but at least from the outside, he would be seen as the person with the most power after the strategy team leader.

Currently, the position of the Yellow Dragon Guild’s Strategy Team Leader has been vacant since Guan Hong, so aside from the key leaders including Gilma and Bugilma, Zhao Keji’s rank can be counted on one hand.

The fact that he was in possession of such a piece of power made Zhao Keji extremely satisfied.

But he was a Chinese who valued his appearance before becoming a hunter, so he spoke with a pretended sense of humility.

“I don’t know what to do with myself when I hear such words from the person who played the leading role in ruthlessly destroying Guan Hong’s plan in Sinuiju.”

“I was just there as a side note.”

Won Hao, who was watching the two people laughing and talking behind him, burst into laughter inwardly as if he was dumbfounded.

‘They are both unsuitable for humility.’

Zhao Kejia was originally an arrogant person, and Xian Zhengjian was a person who said things without sincerity that would please others.

In particular, Hyun Jeong-geon had to be careful when putting honey in his mouth. It was a trick to hide his dark intentions and plot a conspiracy.

For Won Hao, who had been dealing with Hyun Jeong-geon in Sinuiju for a long time, this was an appearance that could raise his guard even more.

“I heard the gist of it from Xiao Zhan. Let’s push Japan out first?”

“We don’t have the power to deal with both at the same time. Wouldn’t it increase our odds of winning if we could eliminate at least one?”

“Wow, that sounds like you have confidence in us.”

“I don’t have confidence, but at least I can give a shit about those guys who have been harassing us.”

“And if we’re lucky, we might even get a deal with Gloria?”

“I won’t deny it.”

Zhao Keji felt uncomfortable with Hyun Jeong-geon, who was trying to make a deal while laughing.

‘At first glance, it sounds like a straightforward way to do it, but something doesn’t feel right.’

Moreover, the other party was not even the person in charge. As far as Zhao Keji knew, the person in charge in Korea was Kang Mu-hyeok.

‘You rescued Guan Hong from Mirage’s kidnapping, right? And what’s more, you even recruited him.’

When I think back to the pride of Guan Hong, who was the strategy team leader of the Hwangryong Guild, I couldn’t understand why he joined a low-level guild on the peninsula.

Of course, it was necessary to take into account the fact that the guild included S-rank hunter Ju Se-ah, but the Iron Will Guild was too small for someone who had been in the huge guild called the Yellow Dragon Guild.

‘Kang Mu-hyeok… He’s someone worth being wary of just because he recruited Guan Hong. And the fact that he reached an agreement with Biwonjun Bugilma regarding Guan Hong is also worthy of high marks.’

For someone like that to send one of his subordinates instead of stepping forward himself seemed like an act of ignoring him.

Zhao Keji put his fingers on his knees and flicked them. His worries deepened.

Should we join hands with Korea, or bring Japan in? Or should we exclude both?

Considering the prestige of the world hunter community, as well as its power and influence, it was the right choice to be wary of Japan, but considering that the recent failure of the Hwangryong Guild was related to Kang Mu-hyeok, it was not a very appealing idea.

‘The only way to rule out risk is to simply ignore it.’

Zhao Keji considered refusing even before exchanging detailed negotiation details.

When words are mixed, the heart can be moved and the ears can perk up. I wanted to avoid being fooled by sweet talk and ruining the work.

Because even if they just stayed still, they were the ones who had the highest advantage.

It was when he was about to stand up to express his refusal.

“Boss! I have caught the traitor!”

One of his subordinate hunters was dragging another subordinate across the ground.

“What’s going on, Shikai?! What’s going on with Wang Hedi?”

Xiao Zhan shouted and blocked the way.

The hunter called Shikai shouted in anger as he pointed at the unconscious Wang Hedi.

“It’s a spy! This guy tried to pass on the negotiation team’s data to the Japanese!”