176. Give Them a Call
The opening ceremony had devolved into a tense standoff of egos, but in the end, they patched up the conflict without any real incidents and wrapped things up.
The unified strike force set up their base camp at Cheongjin City University. It was close to the Grand Hotel. They needed a training ground to get their coordination down pat. The hotel worked fine as lodging, but it was too cramped for hunters to really cut loose.
Most major guilds had dedicated training rooms built with special materials, but in a backwater like Cheongjin, such facilities were nowhere to be found.
As a compromise, they secured a school with a wide open field, and among them, the largest university became headquarters.
In a large lecture hall at Cheongjin University.
Kang Moo-hyuk gathered the hunters who'd been running through raid warm-ups for the past few days and held a briefing. The goal was to set the unified strike force's top priority.
Their first mission as a unified force: raid the four named monsters from the Makyung that had pushed into the Korean Peninsula.
"We'll target Garuda first."
In the darkened lecture hall with curtains drawn, Kang Moo-hyuk pointed to the monster on the massive screen.
It had a vaguely humanoid shape with wings—a bipedal form with a bird's head and a serpent's body.
"Why that one first?"
A hunter spoke up without waiting for permission to talk. These were headstrong types, so without the rule they'd set a few days back—raise your hand first—they'd turn it into an endless game of verbal dodgeball. No one called him out on it, though.
Kang Moo-hyuk didn't mind and answered calmly.
"The fact that it can fly makes it a threat right off the bat. Unlike the others, Garuda might not creep south slowly. It could pop up in Seoul out of nowhere."
"If it shows up in Seoul, we'd cut it down on sight. We've got anti-air batteries galore, and the big guilds' mages could handle an aerial fight. Even a named monster wouldn't stand a chance. Hell, I could drop it solo."
Gong Jung-mun, the mage from Na Geune Guild, brimmed with confidence.
Kang Moo-hyuk shook his head, not buying it.
"There'd still be casualties. And Garuda's mobility is beyond what you imagine."
"How do you know? You haven't even fought it."
"Titan Guild was the first to try raiding Garuda. My old workplace. I drew up the strategy myself and gathered as much scouting intel as I could. Take a look at this, and it'll make sense. Next slide: Garuda's known specs."
Kang Moo-hyuk advanced to the next screen.
Instead of a full-body shot, a clean diagram appeared—like Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man—with Garuda's arms and legs spread wide.
"Height: 2.5 meters. Weight: 1.5 tons. Wingspan folded: 2.8 meters; extended: 6 meters. Top flight speed: 348 m/s. That's Mach speed. It hasn't been measured directly, but it could be even faster. Attack patterns..."
Once Kang Moo-hyuk finished the Garuda briefing, the hunters' reactions were unanimous.
"Titan was gonna take that down?"
It was no surprise they were stunned.
Put simply, Garuda was a named monster no A-rank guild could handle.
Kang Moo-hyuk cleared up their confusion.
"It wasn't this strong back then. First sighted in the Gaema Plateau special zone, almost two years ago. The raid got scrapped right before launch when it fled into the Makyung. Hasn't been spotted since. The size difference from the initial data means it's evolved several stages further."
The hunters nodded, murmuring their takes.
"Thought Titan had leveled up overnight or something."
"Wings aside, doesn't look like much."
"One party could wrap it up, easy. What's for after?"
As the hunters chuckled smugly, Seong Seon-je stood from his seat. He strolled up to the podium where Kang Moo-hyuk had been, hands in his pockets, swaggering casually.
"Like you all said. If it stays grounded, it's no big deal. The problem's the flying. Monsters get a massive difficulty spike just buzzing around like flies. Now imagine it zipping at Mach speeds while slinging skills. Blink, and you're dead."
Seong Seon-je pulled his right hand from his pocket and tapped the screen.
"Listen up. Don't get cocky and die stupid. Tier guild elites—you've got the skills, fine. But right now, not a shred of tension in this room. You here for a side gig? This how you roll into gates for your own guilds, one screw loose? Shape up. Lose this thing, and hundreds, thousands die in a flash. What if it drops on some podunk town with no anti-air? Hunters there wipe too. We're the last line—treat it that way and nail it. Got it? Sit straight!"
The hunters flinched at Seong Seon-je's bark, straightening their slouched postures.
A few kept their defiant slouches—veterans with careers rivaling Baekho Guild and Seong Seon-je himself.
Seong Seon-je let them slide. Unlike the hot-blooded young ones prone to mental lapses, these vets could self-regulate.
Of course, if even they slacked, Seong Seon-je would've reamed them regardless of seniority.
Kang Moo-hyuk gave a slight bow of thanks to Seong Seon-je for stepping in at the perfect moment.
Seong Seon-je nodded and got down to business.
"Operations Officer Kang Moo-hyuk, when's the raid?"
"Garuda's exact position isn't pinned down yet. It's holed up somewhere in the Macheon Range for sure, but scouts are on it. Should locate it soon."
"Prep to launch the second we spot it, then."
"Yes. Gear checks and top-grade potion resupplies incoming."
"Briefing's over for today. Night party inspections at 8 PM—stay close and stand by."
The hunters grumbled like students hit with extra cram sessions and dispersed.
That's when Jeon Ye-seong approached Kang Moo-hyuk.
"Ops officer. Got a question."
"Shoot. What's on your mind?"
"Your guild master, Joo Se-ah—why isn't she with the strike force? No tank matches her."
Eum Yeong-jin from Baekho Guild, still lingering in the hall, glanced sidelong at Kang Moo-hyuk. Sharp-eared hunters could hear from there. Kang Moo-hyuk pretended to hesitate, buying time, then replied.
"On a secret op."
"I'd like in on that secret op."
Seong Seon-je cut in suddenly. Caught off-guard while eyeing Eum Yeong-jin, Kang Moo-hyuk swallowed dryly, tension spiking.
Kang Moo-hyuk shot Seong Seon-je a pointed look.
Wasn't this part already agreed on?
Agreed? More like I played along. But now I'm curious. Where is she?
Sparks flew invisibly between them, reading intents through glares alone.
Jeon Ye-seong found it odd that Seong Seon-je didn't know Joo Se-ah's whereabouts.
Slayer and Joo Se-ah aren't as tight as before, but this is weird. Both guilds training together, unified force forming, and he never mentions her—then jumps in the second I ask Kang Moo-hyuk? Who do they think they're fooling?
Jeon Ye-seong was a tier guild master—not naive enough to swallow their words whole. He figured they were acting.
"Come on, cut the crap. You stick the vice strike captain with this clowning? If you don't wanna say, just say no. Fine. Play it that way, and I guess I don't need to report jack to you either?"
"No, it's not an act."
"What're you..."
As Kang Moo-hyuk and Seong Seon-je turned serious, Jeon Ye-seong saw it as more posturing.
"Damn, getting the cold shoulder in the unified force. Have fun without me, captain and ops."
Jeon Ye-seong stormed out in a huff. Eum Yeong-jin, belatedly, followed suit.
Alone now, Seong Seon-je spoke up.
"We were just play-acting, and he buys it that hard? Makes me look bad."
"Perfect timing. Can't dodge forever. Excuses are wearing thin. Thanks for the save."
"You really won't tell me either?"
"Plan's not locked in yet. Can't blab casually."
Seong Seon-je didn't know Kang Moo-hyuk's personality inside out, but he got his work style: no loose talk on iffy plans, full steam on sure things. His bar was a tad higher than average, but Seong Seon-je clocked it instantly.
Birds of a feather. Just like Joo Se-ah.
Straight-line monster-slaying mindset.
Having dealt with Joo Se-ah, he got Kang Moo-hyuk.
"Whatever it is, bigger than a named or gate boss raid, right?"
"Yes. More dangerous."
A post-S-rank hunter calling it dangerous...
Makyung, then.
And tied to China or Russia.
Only another S-rank threatened an S-rank. The other two nations had to be involved.
Seong Seon-je pictured Korea's hunter power balance tipping to Iron Will. Beyond strike captain, as Slayer's strategist, he needed his next move. Calculations done, he winked at Kang Moo-hyuk.
"Once this wraps, let's grab a meal—you bring Guild Master Joo Se-ah, Strike Captain Kang."
Catching the intent, Kang Moo-hyuk crossed his arms, feigning thought.
"Too soon to move. Gotta shop offers around. And she doesn't exactly love my old gig."
"Trash-talking ex-jobs is universal—corporate or hunter. Dirty or petty, hard to top Slayer as a partner."
"I'll pass it along."
"Waiting on good news."
"No sign of Joo Se-ah. Kang Moo-hyuk's dodging, so maybe Teacher Gwan was right—they're hiding an injury."
"Guess that's why they're bunching tier guilds in Sinuiju."
"Tier guild expeditions instead of Joo Se-ah? That's overkill. Even Korea's top hunter isn't that big a deal."
"Just countering our full force in Dandong."
Gwan Hong mumbled evasively, but Eum Yeong-jin wasn't fooled. He had a rough grasp of the Sinuiju situation.
Tier guilds massed first, then Hwangryong threw their expedition into Dandong. They're hiding something.
Eum Yeong-jin hadn't dreamed Joo Se-ah hit S-rank. He fixated on Hwangryong's schemes, facing off against industry sleaze kings Seong Seon-je and Kang Moo-hyuk—no room for other theories.
They don't know she's ranked up yet. Good for them—no upside in spilling. Baekho's full of opportunists ready to jump ship. Once Joo Se-ah's S-rank leaks, they bolt. Better to hold 'em with secrets.
Gwan Hong, who'd cut his own separate deal despite riding with Baekho, kept Joo Se-ah airtight.
He could guess why Kang Moo-hyuk hid her.
Japan.
China was a superpower—crush with force. But Japan, island mentality runt, constantly sabotaged Korean hunter growth.
Their guild org, Gildanryeon, annoyed even China. Kang Moo-hyuk dodging made sense.
Leak to Japan for interference? Nah, loses more than gains letting Baekho slip. Japan doesn't dance to our tune anyway.
That sparked a sly scheme in Gwan Hong's head.
Too good a card to discard. Japan, huh... gotta milk it somehow.
He rushed to hang up.
"Call if new intel drops."
Cutting off mid-reply, Eum Yeo-in scowled.
"Dodging talk. Something's up. Kang Moo-hyuk's scheming via Joo Se-ah. Either way, time to prep."
Japan.
Kishin Takeru, a top figure among Gildanryeon's branch leaders, had bided his time fuming since his dispatched assassins—the Iga Clan—got wiped out in Korea.
When Korea's north heated up, he cheered inwardly and reactivated his embedded network.
As another group infiltrated Korea awaiting orders, a suspicious tidbit reached Kishin's ear.
"Joo Se-ah's vanished?"
"Intel says closed-door training."
"Training?"
Kishin's face hardened.
Closed-door training—aka secret training. The secrecy shrouded the results.
Hunters went full hermit for retirement or rank-up breakthroughs.
With the northern peninsula in chaos, reviving Great War-era unified forces, and Joo Se-ah MIA?
Couldn't ignore it.
But as Japan's top hunter, Kishin stayed cautious.
"Source?"
"Three places."
"One's Kim Myeong-jun."
"Others: black market. And China."
"China?"
Kishin tilted his head. Black market made sense—global info brokers scraped everything.
China, though...?
"We have lines into China too."
"Surface-level at best. Joo Se-ah intel wouldn't leak that sloppy..."
"China doesn't watch Korean hunters like we do. Arrogance—they figure no way she tops a superpower. Might dismiss it."
Kishin pondered. Fake intel? No harm. Real? Countermeasures needed.
Didn't take long. He zeroed in fast.
"Korea has a Guild Cooperation Office, right? Give them a call."
"What message?"
"Can't ignore a neighbor's hardship. Japan offers aid."