152. Use Them as You Will.

Bomb Spore Flowers were plant-type monsters.

Aside from the fact that they parasitized living organisms instead of soil or water to draw nutrients, and that they could move freely.

In truth, they resembled houseplants so closely that they were simply classified as plants for convenience.

The problem was their unplantlike maternal instincts, akin to those of animals.

According to monster scholars, even the way they used dust explosions to eliminate predators when dispersing seeds—allowing the seeds to move freely—was rooted in this behavior.

Most mothers, excluding humans, stopped interfering once their offspring became independent. But these monsters were different. If the seeds they had scattered went hungry, they moved in themselves.

"The mother bodies are descending."

The jellyfish-shaped mother bodies floating in the sky were slowly lowering toward the ground.

Only two were visible from the county office, but considering the seeds scattered across the entire county, there had to be at least dozens more.

"We've transitioned to Phase 2 way too quickly."

"Because our response was swift."

"It'd be easier to wrap this up before the next phase..."

"We need to gather the hunters, Commander."

Kang Moo-hyuk nodded at No Song-rin's suggestion.

He agreed completely.

It would take too much time to hunt down every mother body scattered across the county, breaking through attacks from the seeds. They might even need to prepare for the next phase.

They had to gather the hunters quickly—no, unconditionally.

"Once we hit Phase 3, it'll be a full raid. Can we handle that in this situation? Without a regular strike team?"

"Normally, no."

Kang Moo-hyuk turned to No Song-rin. Then he glanced down at the floor and up at the ceiling again.

"But luckily, we've got three high-rankers to hold the center. And a liaison to coordinate with the embedded stones."

Four in total, including Yi Suk-young over his shoulder—the entire Makyung scouting party.

Coincidentally, they were specialists in tanking, dealing, and reconnaissance.

If Yi Suk-young could connect with the local unaffiliated hunters, things could proceed smoothly.

"Hunter No Song-rin, team up with Hunter Hyeon Jeong-geon and Hunter Hwang Dong-soo for a strike squad. Eliminate the mother bodies near the county office."

"Got it. We'll handle it right away."

"And you there—civil servant!"

"Y-yes? Yes, sir."

"We'll issue orders to the hunters in Da Hong Dan County via disaster alert text. Draft it immediately."

The civil servant spoke with a troubled expression.

"B-but... how does the chain of command work here...? Even a small rural county office has its protocols..."

Civil servants were sensitive to responsibility. Kang Moo-hyuk, who had tangled with them multiple times back when Titan Guild was just a regional outfit, understood this well. To work with them, you had to ease their burden.

"Is the county governor in?"

"He left for an appointment this morning... We can't reach him."

Probably dead.

"What about the deputy governor?"

"He went with him..."

"If both are absent, responsibility for monster incursions in emergencies falls to the Safety Measures Section Chief, right?"

Kang Moo-hyuk addressed the middle-aged man seated at the head of the situation room. He was the one who had stayed silent even as this unidentified outsider barked orders at the staff.

It might have been No Song-rin's intimidating face keeping him quiet, but it felt ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more like panic in a crisis.

Kang Moo-hyuk asked the man, who still hadn't regained his composure.

"Chief. I fully understand you're not accustomed to handling monster incursions."

Who besides hunters was?

No, even hunters weren't used to massive incidents like this unless they were strike team leaders from major guilds. You needed at least an expedition leader to propose county-level solutions.

"Per Guild Relations Act Article 9, a responsible officer from a prominent guild in emergencies is stepping in to take command. Chief, do you consent to Iron Will Guild controlling the situation?"

A "prominent guild's responsible officer" typically meant a major A-rank or higher guild. The role was limited to guild master, vice master, expedition leader, or strike team leader.

Commander wasn't legally defined yet.

But digging into precedents, it could be interpreted as vice-master level.

Plus, "major guild" was vague—based on social consensus around size, revenue, and influence.

Was Iron Will Guild a major guild?

In terms of hunter roster, scale, record, revenue? No.

Influence?

Major corporate guild, Guild Master Joo Se-ah, North Pocheon ties. We're the hottest topic right now.

It depended on interpretation.

"Y-yes... Please take over."

Of course, a panicking mid-level county official had no headspace to nitpick.

Kang Moo-hyuk wrapped up the legal formalities and sat the civil servant at the computer.

"I'll dictate. Send the text immediately."

Practically shoved into the seat, the civil servant stared blankly at Kang Moo-hyuk's mouth.

"As of 1:17 PM. All hunters in Da Hong Dan County, excluding Tumen River frontline defense forces."

"......Tumen River frontline defense forces. Excluded. Da Hong Dan County's......"

The civil servant muttered along, typing the order.

"Temporarily assigned under Iron Will Guild."

"Temporarily. Iron Will Guild.... Assigned."

"Classify this incident as a war-scale raid."

"Classify this incident... as."

"Form Da Hong Dan Strike Team."

"......Form."

"Rally point: County office. Rally time: By 2 PM. Hunters, bring all available strategic assets and tactical gear. End."

"............End."

"Sender: Iron Will Guild Commander. Kang Moo-hyuk."

Freelancer hunter Wang Ki-cheol, the type who never shut up—like a common weed—had come to Gaema Plateau hunting for work. Hearing rumors that the Makyung border was lucrative lately, he'd headed to Da Hong Dan County.

He'd barely formed a party and was about to enter the Makyung when shit hit the fan.

Bombs rained from all sides. In the chaos, the Kim guy he'd just been introduced to died. They weren't close enough for him to even remember the name.

Once the explosions stopped and he caught his breath, tiny grass-clump monsters swarmed him.

Individually weak, but their numbers were insane. Ignoring them felt risky—they'd stick like glue—so he went all out to wipe them.

By the end of the fight, his party was scattered. He felt his stamina ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and mana draining. He needed a base to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠regroup.

A convenience store appeared just in time. He ducked inside for rest, locked the door, and spotted the part-timer cowering under the desk, trembling. He revealed he was a hunter and calmed the kid down.

Hiding and munching snacks while scouting outside, he saw something ridiculous: the monsters wouldn't enter buildings.

They couldn't even shatter glass. So Wang Ki-cheol hunkered down in the store. He hoped guild forces or defense troops would handle the rest. Once the clerk knew a hunter was protecting him, he treated Wang like royalty.

Then the text arrived.

"Holy shit, Mom! What the hell? A raid? You nuts if you think I'm going there to die. No regular strike team...? Wait, Iron Will? Kang Moo-hyuk?"

Among freelancers—no, Korean hunters period—few didn't know this guild or name.

Especially after the hunter village opened. Wang Ki-cheol himself had hammered his mouse when reservations dropped, trying to get in.

Even with a hunter's fingers firing dozens of clicks per second, no dice. Competition was brutal.

That was how famous they were.

"Why the hell is Kang Moo-hyuk here? Isn't he in North Pocheon?"

It was only natural to wonder.

"Kang Moo-hyuk? That's Joo Se-ah's guild, right? Non-hunter doing commander?"

The clerk chimed in on Wang's mutterings. Clearly into hunter news, he launched into gossip.

"He's the real deal. Joo Se-ah herself appointed him, so he's no lightweight."

"You see the video? Taking down the orc tribe. Who'd guess we'd see a water siege there? Hunting monsters with engineering? Never dreamed it."

"Articles say he led the rider wolf business too. Even foreigners are buzzing. Bringing in Slayer Guild for ironclad defense? Impressive. Guild industry spies are swarming. Nice to have solid backing."

After rattling off Kang Moo-hyuk's saga, the clerk's punchline was:

"But why's he here?"

Same as Wang's initial gripe.

Then the clerk voiced a very reasonable doubt.

"Fake news? Name-dropping celebs makes compliance easier. Civvies pulling bullshit to make hunters obey in emergencies."

"Nah, not fake. Civvies aren't hunters—no raid creds. Why drop random names? Better to name-drop Slayer's Seong Seon-je."

"Then it's really him?"

"Dunno... Disaster texts are legit local gov systems. To pull this from county office? Takes a madman. And from what I know, Kang Moo-hyuk ain't ordinary."

"He's extraordinary, sure."

"Nah, in hunter talk, 'not ordinary' means crazy. He's next-level nuts. And he's not even a hunter."

The clerk didn't grasp Wang's "crazy"—his bar was way lower.

But the good kind of crazy...

What separated good from bad was minimizing hunter deaths while succeeding hunts.

Wang had never heard of heavy casualties under Kang Moo-hyuk—not in North Pocheon goblins or Cheorwon orcs, both war-scale ops.

'War-scale raid' means this could escalate. Going solo might get us killed. Protocol says rally. But it's not always right... Hmm, dither too long and we're screwed. Tough call.'

Kang Moo-hyuk's name nagged. Alerts usually omitted names—implied pressure to heed and show.

That tipped it. Wang's ass itched. Five years freelance, he had instincts. Experience honed his gut.

Ex-colleagues called it an "arrow tip"—sharp but flies far off.

But this felt dead on! Had to go. Kang Moo-hyuk staking his name? High success odds. Maybe schmooze the commander, snag Iron Will spot?

'Dare to hope?'

Wang shot up.

"Hey, clerk. Lock up tight."

"Huh?"

"Raid time."

"So Da Hong Dan County's Tumen River frontline is secure for now."

"Yes. Just got word from the military liaison there."

Kang Moo-hyuk drew a blue line on the map pinned to the situation room wall—marking the Tumen River front safe.

"Nothing from central command? They must know by now."

"Emergency task force mobilizing from Gaema Plateau, requesting nearby guild support... But Hoiryeong City's prioritized..."

"Won't make it in time. Guilds move after assessing."

"Yes. If you're right, Commander, they're swamped too."

Kang Moo-hyuk drew a red line toward Hoiryeong City, 80 kilometers northeast.

"North has Hoiryeong—decent size, heavy damage, but plenty of guild HQs and hunters. They'll manage. Key is other fronts holding... That's future talk, so table it. Focus on monsters inside Da Hong Dan now."

"But really no need for defense troops?"

"Pull them and front collapses—pointless. Unaffiliated hunters and non-defense guild hunters have local defense duty in emergencies. Conscripting them first is standard."

"Still, hunters... Who'd actually follow that...?"

The civil servant trailed off. No Song-rin's glare.

"I know hunters do their own thing. Most'll prioritize survival. But not all. Some call this home, some ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠remember duty. Others have ulterior motives. So what? Doesn't matter why. It's how you use them. If none come, we adapt. That's our job."

Kang Moo-hyuk said it half to steel himself. Inside: What if no one shows?

And reality answered.

"This all? No way."

Only three hunters before him.

One was Wang Ki-cheol.

'Fuck. Arrow tip!'