Against the Clock: The Team Leader’s Pursuit of Glory

"Close the door. It's too loud."

"Yes, sir."

Despite his seemingly indifferent tone, Sung Seonjae was also focused on the sky above Sinuiju.

'Who is that? If that's an enemy, we're in trouble.'

Destructive power beyond the force he felt. Maybe if it was because of the special abilities, but the force controlling the sky over a city alone was not something to be taken lightly.

'Even if they belong to Iron Will, they're still a headache. Ju Se-ah is already enough of a problem. It'd be better if they were a Hunter from old North Korea. That way, at least we could try to persuade them.'

Hearing the increasingly intense sounds of battle from afar, Sung Seonjae urged the pilot.

"Let's hurry. We're already running late."

Since the best of the Slayer Guild had been mobilized, they had to make the most of it.

'Kang Mu-hyuk isn't supposed to die yet. He's not on our side, but he's a much better business partner than Ju Se-ah.'

Only remnants of light remained where Go Eul-ji had passed.

A long trail of light stretched like a meteor, followed by a sonic boom. The shockwave that trailed behind shook the streets of Sinuiju. Windows shattered, and car alarms blared uncontrollably.

The anti-aircraft guns couldn't keep up with Go Eul-ji. The mages casting spells couldn't even react, and the Hunters with enhanced eyesight and agility in archer positions couldn't respond either.

Flying through the sky, Go Eul-ji felt something rising in her throat.

'Gulp. Ugh, this fishy taste in my mouth. I'm way too nauseous. Maintaining this for long was definitely too much.'

Forcing herself to change direction, she swooped towards the anti-aircraft encampment that had been targeting her. The anti-aircraft guns belatedly adjusted their aim, but it seemed they wouldn't make it in time. The Hunters on standby around them poured their skills into forming a barrage, but all missed their mark.

'You've had your fun shooting at me, haven't you? Take this now!'

Shielding herself, Go Eul-ji flew past the building housing the anti-aircraft guns.

Crash! Smash!

Windows exploded.

Thud! Thud! Boom!

And the anti-aircraft guns that were bolted to the rooftop were torn out.

"Whoa!"

"Hold on tight... Ah!"

Hunters were flung into the air. One Hunter who had tried to get close to intercept Go Eul-ji had half his body turned to mush. After a few more swoops, all the anti-aircraft artillery went silent.

The spells stopped, and no arrows flew.

"Whew~"

As Go Eul-ji exhaled, the light enveloping her body disappeared. She pulled out a health recovery potion from the ampoule kit on her waist and drank it. She mixed in a mana recovery potion and a nerve stabilizer as well.

Her pounding heart and throbbing veins calmed down.

"This is exhausting."

But there was no time to rest. She flew straight towards the prison village. From the sky, the village looked utterly devastated. It was no longer a place anyone could call home, with everything burnt and collapsed.

She expanded her senses to find Kang Mu-hyuk. Thankfully, she found him quickly. A place where Hunters were gathered, with one non-Hunter among them.

It was Kang Mu-hyuk.

A battle was about to start there.

"Why is he always in the middle of a fight when he's not even a Hunter?"

Go Eul-ji felt a sense of déjà vu as she landed in the playground.

Boom!

A crater formed on the ground. She sent the Hunters charging at Kang Mu-hyuk flying.

"I'm not too late, right, Guild Leader Kang?"

"Just in time."

The awaited reinforcement.

Kang Mu-hyuk also felt a sense of déjà vu, as if he had seen this situation somewhere before.

"Final stage. Please start, Hunter Go Eul-ji."

"Yes, sir!"

Go Eul-ji's hairpin began to glow again. A flash sparked in her eyes.

Zhang Zhongxun noticed that the opponent was about to do something serious. The amount of mana being gathered was immense.

"What the hell is this now? Everyone, stop her! Stop whatever she's trying to do!"

As Zhang Zhongxun gave the order, Hunters charged from all sides.

"Stop her!"

With Yeon Jung-moon's command, the Hunters from the prison village also began their counterattack. Zhang Zhongxun no longer held back and charged towards Go Eul-ji. He was intercepted by Cheon Deok-soo.

"Where do you think you're going? You're fighting me."

"You traitorous bastard!"

"Forgotten already? You betrayed us first."

Watching Cheon Deok-soo and Zhang Zhongxun clash, Go Eul-ji spoke.

"Guild Leader Kang, but this won't work on A-rank Hunters. Its range is limited. It'll only work around here."

"We don't need it for A-rank Hunters. What's important now are the lower ranks. And I'm aware of its range. That's why we retreated to the prison."

"Wow, I've got more guts than the average person, but Guild Leader Kang, you're literally risking your life. You let yourself get surrounded for this? Phew. Good thing I trained and led the guild, or we'd be screwed. You were really lucky."

"Yes. This is what the mine-clearing training was for."

"Huh? Wasn't that the Guild Master's idea?"

"The training to pick out mines buried in the ground. It was a way to supplement our guild's lack of wide-area magic and non-lethal suppression power. We wanted to control the battlefield by clearly distinguishing between friend and foe. That training bore fruit earlier than expected. We're fortunate."

"Fortunate? I almost crapped my pants doing that!"

"You're not an ordinary Hunter, Go Eul-ji. Show them."

Go Eul-ji was at a loss for words and gaped.

"Grandpa was right. You really do have a sly mouth. Makes me want to punch you."

"I'm your superior."

"Kick me out of the guild then!"

"Should I cancel the LA concert tickets?"

"Ayy, come on, I just have to get rid of them, right? Use me as much as you want, Guild Leader Kang Mu-hyuk."

"I'll book you a hotel. Right next to the concert hall."

"Whoa!"

Excited by the unexpected guild perks, Go Eul-ji increased her output.

At that moment--

"Huh?"

"Wh-what is this?"

"M-my body... Argh!"

Suddenly, the bodies of the Hunters from the Goryeo Alliance began to rise into the air. However, they didn't rise very high. They were just immobilized. While their limbs could still move, they couldn't leave their spots. Of course, being fixed in place during a fight was a terrifying experience in itself.

"All of you... Get out!"

With a sweeping motion of her arms, Go Eul-ji sent the Hunters flying in all directions.

All that remained on the playground were the prison village Hunters and the high-ranking Hunters known as the Five Top Fighters of Sinuiju.

"What is this...?"

Wen Hao muttered in disbelief.

Despite their lower ranks, it was astonishing that hundreds of Hunters had been swept away.

"Don't be fooled! Use the telepathy skill to check! They're not dead; they were just pushed outside the village boundaries!"

Zhang Zhongxun yelled, Wen Hao and the rest of Five Top Fighters quickly contacted their subordinates who had the messaging skill. Soon, they realized that, as Zhang Zhongxun had said, the Hunters were back outside of the village.

'C-Can he say dismiss this so easily? Hundreds of Hunters... And on top of that, only the enemy Hunters were selectively thrown out? What kind of monstrous spatial awareness is this?'

Wen Hao felt a chill as he looked at the small girl who was panting heavily. Maybe this was the kind of talent that could become an S-ranker.

"Huff, huff... Guild Leader Kang, I swear I can't do this again."

"You've done enough. We've bought time."

"Bought time? How ridiculous."

Pushing Cheon Deok-soo aside, Zhang Zhongxun shouted.

"We can just call our subordinates back! They'll come back and wipe you all out... Urgh!"

In the middle of his threatening tirade, Zhang Zhongxun suddenly groaned in pain. He reached for his back, where a dagger had pierced a small gap that his basilisk leather armor didn't cover.

"Wow, this is expensive stuff, huh? I aimed for a vital spot, but missed?"

The person admiring from behind, with eyes gleaming, was an unfamiliar face.

Tchtchcth!

"It's me."

"Hyun Junggeon...!"

"Huh? Oh, I'm Hyun Junggeon!"

"You bastard!"

"Commander Zhang!"

Wen Hao threw his sword, but Hyun Junggeon had already moved out of the way.

Kang Mu-hyuk welcomed him as he approached.

"Mr. Cho. You didn't run away?"

"I stick to my contracts. I was waiting for the right moment."

"If things were unfavorable, I think you would've fled though."

"Eul-ji, you're still a kid, so you don't know this world well. I'm a professional spy. Professionals earn their pay. Even if it means bringing your Guild Master Mr. Kang's body... Oops!"

"See? You were planning to sneak out after we died."

With the tables turned, Wen Hao gathered the remaining Five Top Fighters of Sinuiju. He spoke while guarding Zhang Zhongxun.

"It would be wise to retreat for now and attack again. They're exhausted and won't be able to chase us except for a few high-rankers. We can handle those."

"I agree. We've been publicly humiliated. We'll pay them back for this grudge immediately."

As Zhang Zhongxun showed signs of retreating, Kang Mu-hyuk pointed to the sky. It was to the south.

"If you come again, you'll die."

Following Kang Mu-hyuk's finger, Zhang Zhongxun's face twisted into a grimace. Since he had the vision of a Hunter, he could see twenty helicopters approaching from a distance.

"Did you call reinforcements? But Iron Will is only C-rank, right? You think you can stop us with just that?"

"No, it's Slayer."

"What? Why... Why are they here...?"

"Gotta have at least Slayer to keep those in Dandong from making any rash moves."

"You knew about our forces... How...? You're lying, no way!"

"Check for yourself if you think I'm lying. Even if I didn't know about Dandong, I would've called them. I like to ensure a clear victory. If you take half-ass measures, certain people just keep crawling. Like snakes."

"You bastard!"

"Commander Zhang! This isn't the time for this. We need to retreat now!"

Wen Hao forcibly pulled him away. Zhang Zhongxun knew it was time to retreat, but withdrawing like this meant nothing but disgrace. The guild he actually belonged to wouldn't overlook such a colossal failure.

"Your life comes first."

At Wen Hao's words, Zhang Zhongxun ground his teeth and turned to leave.

[Slayer won't back down easily. Tell them to open the Gates. Contact Dandong as well.]

Startled by the sudden telepathic message, Wen Hao froze.

[Really open the Gates? Sinuiju will become unusable. And if we call in the attack squad from Dandong, it will mean full-scale war with the Slayer Guild. The Korean Hunter community may be in ruins, but they are an exception.]

[What exception? A small country without a single S-rank. Let's show them what happens when they mess with a major power.]

Zhang Zhongxun slowly retreated.

Cheon Deok-soo was about to pursue him, but Kang Mu-hyuk stopped him.

"The threat isn't over yet. Tend to the wounded and set up a defensive perimeter."

"But we have reinforcements now. We can win."

"The elite attack squad from Dandong is on standby. Who knows what other tricks they have up their sleeve. We'll have to fight those guys eventually when the urban warfare in Sinuiju begins. There's no need to rush and risk danger now. Time is on our side from now on."

Cheon Deok-soo obediently followed Kang Mu-hyuk's orders. At first, he had been wary of him, but without the leadership Kang Mu-hyuk had shown today, the villagers would have all perished here.

Before long, helicopters landed on the patrol base's playground. Sung Seonjae was the first to disembark.

"I kept my promise, Guild Leader Kang."

"I'll keep my promise too. Sinuiju will fall, and we'll even take the demon realm."

"Stupid."

Xiao Zhan, who was in charge of the attack squad waiting in Dandong, was annoyed by Zhang Zhongxun's message.

"If he was going to fail, he should've failed alone. He makes a mess and leaves the cleanup to me?"

"What should we do, Mr. Xiao Zhan?"

At his subordinate's question, Xiao Zhan yelled, "What do you think?! We can't just go back. At least we need to show those Slayer bastards our faces. I hear Sung Seonjae is quite a character. Maybe bringing back his head will make the higher-ups less angry?"

"Better than nothing."

"Then we'll do it. It's a shame Ju Se-ah left the Slayer Guild. If she were still there, I would've caught her and offered her as a gift."

Xiao Zhan gathered the attack squad. Those who had been drowning in alcohol, those who had been obsessed with women, and even those who had been gambling all day long. They were human scum, but they were skilled in fighting Hunters.

That was why the guild had hired them.

At the top of these scum was Xiao Zhan.

"Everyone, gather up. We're crossing the Yalu River Bridge. Once we're in Sinuiju, kill all the Koreans."

The Yalu River Bridge, known in Korea as the Amnok River Steel Bridge, was the only one left standing after the great war and the minor wars, having been reinforced to remain sturdy.

The Dandong attack squad marched confidently towards Sinuiju. They were eager to indulge in slaughter, something they couldn't do freely in China due to the watchful eyes of their superiors. Causing trouble and fleeing would only lead to being hunted down by the guild's assassination squad. So, they could only unleash their desires during expeditions like this.

As Xiao zhan led them across the bridge, he spotted something. A figure sitting on the railway in the middle of the bridge. At a glance, it appeared to be a woman.

"What's with that girl? She looks pretty decent."

As one of his subordinates stepped forward eagerly, Xiao Zhan held him back.

"Stay still if you don't want to die."

"Captain, what's wrong? You want her all to yourself?"

"Idiot. Tch! Everyone, wait here."

Xiao Zhan waved his men back and approached the woman alone. When he was ten steps away, the woman stood up.

"From here on, it's Korean territory. Where are you going? Got a visa?"

"I'm honored to finally meet the famous witch."

"So you know me, huh? Who are you?"

"You wouldn't know my name. But I'd like you to remember it. I'm called Xiao Zhan."

"Oh? You're Xiao Zhan?"

"You know me?"

Xiao Zhan felt pleased that his opponent recognized him.

"Of course. You're trash among trash. A waste product. Worse than uranium. You've got a lot of nicknames."

"Haha... Hearing that from a foreigner feels strange."

"Why are you acting like it's the first time you've heard it?"

"It feels so strange. I want to kill once, twice and third time, over and over again. It's such a shame I can only kill you once. How unfortunate, Ju Se-ah!"

"Looks like Guild Leader Kang was right. I couldn't let someone as dangerous as you set foot on Korean soil, after all."