181. I Do What I Can
⊳ Abandon current formation.
⊳ All units, move to Secondary Rally Point.
⊳ Switch to Plan C.
⊳ Special Task Force, execute your roles.
⊳ End transmission.
Seong Seon-je's message echoed in her mind, but Go Eul-ji couldn't make out the words properly.
Her body was under constant overload from the relentless direction changes at Mach speeds, leaving her mind in a haze.
Thanks to the eye reinforcement skill she'd acquired and mastered from her Sinuiju experience, her eyes were protected. But her body, not built for the tank role, had its limits.
'Ugh, just keeping up is exhausting.'
The gravitational acceleration a normal human could endure was about 10G. Even trained fighter pilots needed G-suits to barely handle that.
Go Eul-ji was enduring an average overload of 15-20G, peaking at 30G. Chasing a Garuda that turned sharply at supersonic speeds left no choice.
Of course, she was leveraging her space-manipulating ability to the fullest to withstand the gravity.
But there was one fact she'd overlooked, regardless of her powers.
'Ughhh, motion sickness! Should've taken some Dramamine.'
Even hunters weren't immune to seasickness.
Perhaps worried about Go Eul-ji, who was tasked with luring the named monster, Pyo Beom-hee sent a message.
It was a location mentioned during the briefing.
Go Eul-ji barely recalled the name, but annoyingly, she'd forgotten the exact spot.
She wanted to ask, but figured she'd get an earful, so she kept quiet. Instead, she used her spatial search ability—trained during the minefield exercise—to track the hunters' movements.
The physically superior hunters were traversing the rugged mountain paths like it was their backyard. Even carrying two civilians on their backs, they showed no signs of strain. At this rate, they'd rendezvous at the rally point soon.
Go Eul-ji decided she needed to grab the Garuda's aggro first. Just tailing it wouldn't accomplish the mission.
She unleashed her original skill, tailored to her traits.
Tenfold Chains
The technique, which bound a single target with ten gravitational chains, tried to ensnare the Garuda—but unfortunately, it accelerated and slipped free before full restraint.
'Playing hard to get, huh? Fine. I'll match your speed first.'
Sonic Boom
For an instant, the scenery shifted backward. The world seemed to freeze as the flying bird halted mid-air.
Go Eul-ji overtook the Garuda in a flash. It glared at her in panic. She accelerated further, unleashing shockwaves in all directions.
The Garuda's wings wobbled precariously, losing balance and veering off course. It spiraled wildly before regaining equilibrium and hovering in place.
"That's right. Stay put."
Go Eul-ji came to an abrupt stop, exiting the Mach world. The shockwaves trailing her rocketed skyward with a deafening boom. She raised both hands high.
Layered gravity in the space compressed intensely. An invisible colossal gravity hammer slammed down toward the Garuda.
Heavenly Punishment
The Garuda sensed the unseen force. It crossed its talons overhead in defense. But at the last moment, it changed course, surging upward. A supersonic spear pierced toward the gravity hammer.
Crack!
The sound of shattering paper reverberated across Nampo Taesan. Startled mountain birds took flight en masse, only to plummet. Monsters lurking in the forest convulsed and fled outward.
"Ngh!"
The shock of the shattered Heavenly Punishment reverberated straight to Go Eul-ji's hands. Her palms tore, blood spraying. Her wrists and shoulders throbbed.
But there was no time to whine in pain. The Garuda, unrepelled, charged straight at her.
Go Eul-ji erected ten layers of barriers in an instant. On collision, nine shattered. The tenth cracked. The Garuda halted before her, puffing its cheeks in frustration and emitting a bizarre cry.
"Kruuuwr. Kruuuwr."
"You hit hard, huh?"
Blood trickled from her mouth, but Go Eul-ji didn't groan.
The Garuda spread its wings wide. The feathers stood rigid like blades, closing in to envelop her.
Go Eul-ji dove downward in alarm. Where she'd been, the wings clapped together like striking hands. A chilling metallic screech rang out.
'Wings are metal. Ripping them off won't be easy.'
Go Eul-ji looked up at the Garuda from ground level. It flapped, appraising its prey.
Its sharp eyes scanned her, then its body swelled. Feathers across its frame morphed into hundreds of blades again.
"Charging in?"
Go Eul-ji read its intent. A supersonic dive from above—an attack too powerful to block head-on.
She deliberately hugged the terrain closer.
"Miss and you'll crack your skull?"
Go Eul-ji played matador, awaiting the Garuda. She'd dodge the strike and, the moment it embedded in the earth, unleash her maximum assault from above.
What started as a simple lure mission had turned into a duel for survival, but with a winnable setup, she didn't back down.
Then a message from Pyo Beom-hee arrived.
Go Eul-ji's eyes twitched.
Retreat or fight on?
She calculated the battle in a flash. The odds favored the Garuda. It had pierced Heavenly Punishment bare-handed. Even dodging and countering wouldn't guarantee victory.
A named monster's might was beyond what an A- rank like her could handle.
"We'll settle this later."
Go Eul-ji swiftly disengaged, sending a message.
Seong Seon-je loaded the two helicopter pilots rescued by 5th Party onto his own chopper and sent them back, then organized the raid formation.
With each party's positions and roles set, he checked individual hunters' assignments.
"Go Won-mae."
"Yes. Team leader... er, Raid Leader."
"5th Party's sniper missed. Can you clip the Garuda's ankles?"
"5th Party's Yuk Seong-ju, right? From Raven Guild. Guy's skilled. Couldn't land a hit?"
"Answer the question. Can you or not?"
Seong Seon-je was hard to approach even as a guildmate. But as integrated raid leader, being near him felt like razor-sharp menace. Hard to believe he'd been away from the field for nearly a decade.
Go Won-mae tensed.
"How much faster is it?"
"At least 1.5 times estimated. Agile turns too."
"Hmm, at that speed... I can probably disrupt its movements?"
"Debuffs are your specialty. Time to earn those skill books the guild hammered into you. Slow it down as much as possible."
"Got it. I'll empty the arsenal."
Next, Seong Seon-je called 2nd Party's Yeo Mun-gi.
Slayer Guild's top mage spoke first, preempting the order.
"I'll prep freeze magic. Once Won-mae slows it, I'll target."
"Good. I trust you."
Then 3rd Party's Gong Jung-mun, the airborne enchanter from Nagrene Guild—another mage role for buffs.
"Calling me separately means no business as usual, right?"
"Yes. Fast flying bugs are hard to aggro. It'll bounce around. Don't concentrate buffs on 1st Party—apply to the tanks of whichever party engages."
"Chaotic. Shortening buff delays will be tricky."
"You've got the skill."
"Mess up after that pep talk? Embarrassing. No pressure."
"Per Hunter Go Eul-ji on lure duty, its attack power is insane. Boost defenses solid."
After detailed orders to each party's key assets, Seong Seon-je approached the Special Task Force last.
His focus was Pyo Beom-hee.
"How much poison you packing?"
"Enough not to flinch anywhere."
"With a unique item, you wouldn't flinch at red gate monsters, right?"
Seong Seon-je pointed to the talisman accessory tightly fastened at the collar of her armor coat.
Pyo Beom-hee flinched. The disguised talisman was the rare unique item Poison Well, one of few in Korea.
Loaned long-term from the World Hunter Federation, it elevated her beyond a mere A+ rank.
Unique items were that powerful—coveted by all.
She'd disguised it to avoid notice, yet it was spotted effortlessly.
Seong Seon-je continued to ease her guard.
"No need to startle. Raid Leader Kang Moo-hyuk told me."
"Kang did?"
"Since it's a raid mission, he shared various tactics. Like blocking monster swarms or poisoning them."
"Then no long talk needed. What do you need?"
"Others will pin the Garuda. Can you poison it? No need for lethal—just slow it max."
"Mixed in some paralyzing toxin. Let's try."
"Yes. Good. And Hunter Yeom Soo-hyung."
"M-me?"
"Heard about Gigant trait. I'll order separately if opportunity arises. Stay ready."
Yeom Soo-hyung nodded without further questions.
Seong Seon-je glanced at Jang Deok-gu but said nothing, just a light nod.
It meant 'free role' for Jang Deok-gu.
Jang Deok-gu nodded back curtly.
"Incoming. Nampo Taesan east slope."
With the report from the detection-skilled hunter, Seong Seon-je shouted.
"To positions! Garuda raid begins!"
The raid slipped from Kang Moo-hyuk's hands with the Garuda's first strike.
The operations officer's role ended here. As a non-hunter, he had no place intervening directly.
Especially against a named monster—civilians could do zilch.
'Operations officers were army officers in the Great War's early-mid stages anyway. Later, it went to veteran hunters with field experience.'
By the war's end, operations officers led raids personally, issuing orders on-site.
That didn't make Kang Moo-hyuk's role trivial. He'd designed every formation and tactic for this raid.
Though formally approved by the raid leader, Seong Seon-je barely altered them.
Beyond that, from forming the integrated raid team to selecting elites from each guild and securing cooperation—Kang Moo-hyuk handled it all.
He borrowed guilds' items smoothly and resolved internal frictions via negotiations with their leadership.
Handling the unseen work, hunters didn't grasp the operations officer's value.
Only Seong Seon-je recognized Kang Moo-hyuk's worth in solving it all.
That was the main reason he proposed recruiting him.
'Can't settle for operations officer here. Until the raid ends, I do what I can.'
But even Seong Seon-je subtly limited Kang Moo-hyuk's role to pre-raid.
Sensing something amiss, Kang Moo-hyuk checked raid feeds from UAVs and drones.
'Weird. What is it? Different from usual raids. Was Garuda this sensitive? Spotting enemies from that far? Flying monsters move freely unaffected by boss influence. No need to descend south...'
Rehashing Garuda intel, he reached a conclusion.
'Wait. Pre-evolution, Garuda was a harpy, right? Then... no way?!'