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

Kang Mu-hyuk, engrossed in locating the hidden orcs, received a report from his operator that made him question his hearing.

"Orcs have attacked?"

Not just that, they had specifically targeted hunters.

Could it be a coincidence?

'Impossible.'

Kang Mu-hyuk had the locations of the attacks marked on a map.

"Where are the attack locations?"

As soon as the marked locations appeared on the screen, Kang Mu-hyuk realized he recognized the places.

'One is the guild's private parking lot, and the other is... the National Army Pocheon Hospital.'

Although the National Army Pocheon Hospital had no connection to Iron Will, the Hunter Association operated a special wing in the hospital building, leased from the Ministry of Defense.

Before Iron Will established its foothold, North Pocheon had been a hunting ground for freelance and novice hunters. Many were inexperienced and prone to injuries.

To aid the growth of these new hunters, the Hunter Association had arranged special beds at the National Army Pocheon Hospital.

While small in scale, it was a significant facility, staffed by hunters dispatched by the association.

"Thankfully, there were no casualties in the parking lot except for damaged cars. What about the hospital?"

"A capable hunter party happened to be visiting a comrade and collaborated with the dispatched team from the association to eliminate all the threats."

"How many?"

"Two."

So far, seven orcs were known to exist, with one suspected to be at the commander level.

'I missed two at the parking lot. So, four have shown themselves. Where are the other three? No, before that, are these seven all there is?'

As Kang Mu-hyuk sank into thought, Gong Du-ri cautiously asked,

"What should we do with the reinforcements we sent?"

"What? We sent reinforcements? Who?"

"Uh... it was an on-site decision... to go?"

"Who took the liberty to go?!"

"The Head of Strategy and Tactics..."

Kang Mu-hyuk gave a hollow laugh.

'Why is Cho Chung-hyun appearing here?'

Cho Chung-hyun was, in name, the head of Iron Will Guild's Strategy and Tactics Team.

He was also the right-hand man to Tae Soo-man, the second son of the Chairman of Taesung Group and the Chief Strategic Planner.

'If he's moving, is Tae Soo-man intervening?'

Kang Mu-hyuk considered various scenarios but couldn't find a reason why Tae Soo-man would issue such an order. Then he realized he was overthinking it. Simplifying the problem clarified everything.

'It’s because of me.'

Kang Mu-hyuk had been working to marginalize the Strategy and Tactics Team recently.

He had Tae Soo-man's support for now, but there would come a time when he'd have to turn his back. He couldn't leave Tae Soo-man’s men in the guild then.

He had shifted most of the team's responsibilities onto himself, planning to gradually reduce Cho Chung-hyun's influence.

'He must have sensed his waning influence within the guild. He’d be desperate. He would have felt the pressure to do something. Especially since Do Gyeong-hoon, one of the guild's three major factions, was fired, he must have felt some emotional shift. Is he trying to make amends by taking action?'

Cho Chung-hyun's situation was easy to guess. The fear of losing one's position was a common sight during the transfer seasons at Titan.

However, acting so selfishly during an important operation that involved human lives was inexcusable.

'It's my mistake. I should've cut him off sooner.'

Of course, it wasn't an easy decision. To avoid Tae Soo-man's scrutiny, he needed to keep his eyes and ears close. Acting hastily and removing Cho Chung-hyun could lead to significant retaliation from Tae Soo-man.

The timing wasn't right yet.

"What's the point of rushing there now? Everything's already compromised. Tsk! Where was Team Leader Cho in charge of?"

"That's..."

"What is it?"

"The area Team Leader Cho was in charge of was the previous lines of... that person."

Gong Du-ri couldn't continue speaking and instead displayed the relevant area on the screen.

"The area's been completely breached?"

Kang Mu-hyuk muttered as if he couldn't believe it.

The encirclement was entirely broken.

'Can't do anything about what's already happened. Time to clean up.'

Kang Mu-hyuk checked the time of the attacks on the parking lot and the hospital.

As expected, the Orcs first attacked the hospital closest to downtown, and later Orcs were found in the parking lot.

The delayed report from the hospital was due to it being under the jurisdiction of the Association, not Iron Will.

With Cho Chung-hyun focusing on the hospital, the Orcs had taken advantage of the gap and moved toward the parking lot.

'These creatures move as if they're planning. Just like humans.'

There was no evidence, but enough reason to suspect.

Until now, they had assumed the Orcs were merely evolved and possessed minimal intelligence. Hence, they had built an encirclement and conducted simple searches.

But they hadn't expected the creatures to counter-attack.

"Do we need to strategize as if we're fighting hunters, not monsters?"

Hearing Kang Mu-hyuk's mumble, Gong Du-ri spoke as if something was odd.

"Isn't it weird that these creatures know the geography too well? They attacked the hospital and parking lot related to hunters as if they already knew. It's like they're using a map hack in a game where they knew where the base, turrets, and enemies are."

"Wait, what did you just say?"

"What? Map hack?"

"No, after that."

"Turrets? Base?"

A lightning bolt of possibility streaked through Kang Mu-hyuk's mind.

'If we assume they've evolved enough intelligence to survey the geography, they'd know where the vulnerabilities are. The reason for the ineffective attack is secondary. What's troubling is that the whereabouts of the remaining three are unclear...'

If the enemy weren't Orcs but rather intelligent beings, what would he do under the same circumstances?

"Base."

Kang Mu-hyuk echoed the word Gong Du-ri had mentioned.

"I would attack the base."

As soon as his words ended, the sound of a distant explosion filled the air.

‘In the parking lot, the hospital, and the city hall—a typical diversion. They'd scattered a small number of troops to disperse our focus. This was a strategy usually employed against lower-tier monsters. The purpose of striking the base at this time—’

Kang Mu-hyuk approached the window and opened it.

Through the billowing smoke, he saw Orcs.

"What's their game? Creating chaos... What are these Orcs up to?"

There were no Hunters in city hall at the moment. They'd all gone off in pursuit of the Orcs, who were assumed to have fled. Somehow, time had to be stalled until the nearby Hunters could be summoned.

Kang Mu-hyuk fumbled at his waist. His hand gripped the emergency handgun he'd prepared.

'If it comes to this...'

He burst out of the building.

"Team Leader Gong, send an emergency call to the nearby Hunters!"

"Wa-wait! Guild Leader! Hey, where do you think you're going?!"

Gong Du-ri tried to stop him, but couldn't catch Kang Mu-hyuk who was already on the move.

…

In front of the city hall's main building, where the electric car charging station had been destroyed.

Thick smoke lingered due to the explosion, and people were screaming and running away in every direction.

Two Orcs began by smashing nearby cars and then charged at fleeing civilians.

A pregnant woman was their first target.

"Ahhaaaa!"

Bang!

With the sound of a gunshot, an Orc collapsed.

But it wasn't dead—only writhing in considerable pain.

"Run!"

Kang Mu-hyuk yelled at the pregnant woman without taking his eyes off the Orc. Despite her trembling legs, she mustered a mother's strength and tried to crawl away.

As the Orc bared its fangs and reached out again, Kang Mu-hyuk pulled the trigger.

Bang!

"Gruaaargh!"

The Orc, which had even resisted bullets from a revolver, groaned in pain.

'Lucky that these bullets are worth their price. Good thing they work here.'

Kang Mu-hyuk was not using ordinary bullets.

Mana bullets.

Bullets imbued with mana.

While the power was significantly reduced due to mana interference in Special Activities Zone or Gates, they still could deliver significant damage to monsters in non-magical areas.

Against a large or high-ranking monster, it might have been a different story, but these bullets could inflict considerable pain on an Orc.

This was true even for evolved Orcs.

No matter how much they evolved, there were inherent limitations to their species, and the Orcs before him were nothing more than low-tier soldiers.

It was fortunate that Kang Mu-hyuk didn't see any of the feather-adorned Orcs he'd been concerned about.

'Good thing I took firearms training.'

The tactical training he'd received since his days as a field support agent during the Titan era was proving to be immensely helpful now.

Each mana bullet cost as much as a potion, but it was a small price to pay compared to human lives. He hadn't stocked up on many due to their expense and the rarity of situations that required their use. A few missed shots could have been disastrous.

Kang Mu-hyuk aimed at the head of the Orc, which was struggling to rise despite its pain.

"Groooar!"

Suddenly, another Orc lunged at him from the side.

Kang Mu-hyuk rolled along the ground, putting distance between himself and his pursuers. With the orc chasing after him, he aimed his gun low and pulled the trigger in haste. The orc that had been tailing him let out a scream and stumbled to its knees.

As Kang Mu-hyuk stopped his roll and aimed his gun again, the other orcs quickly took cover behind a vehicle.

Even monsters can't shrug off pain.

During his descent into the parking lot, Kang Mu-hyuk had been conservative with his limited bullets, planning his moves carefully.

No matter how he thought about it, the best he could do was inflict as much pain on the orcs with his gun and stall for time.

Things had gone as planned, giving him a moment to catch his breath.

"Whew…"

Just then, one of the orcs in the distance moved.

One orc pushed forward, using a compact car as cover. The other circled around, using parked cars as shields.

'Clever tactic for an orc. Still, they're not the brightest creatures.'

Kang Mu-hyuk retreated, aiming to secure a shooting angle without being encircled. However, the multitude of cars made it too easy for the orcs to hide.

Even in this critical moment, Kang Mu-hyuk remained composed.

'I've bought some time with the gun, but it won't last for long.'

His plan was to hold out as long as possible until nearby hunters could join the fray. If that failed, he would resort to suppressive fire while retreating.

Though his expression was neutral, he was inwardly sweating, scanning for escape routes, when suddenly—

"Hey, long time no see! I heard some noise and came to check it out. You look familiar."

At the unexpected voice, Kang Mu-hyuk turned his head. The orcs also shifted their attention.

He recognized the voices.

One woman, one man.

The woman had spoken.

Their attire suggested…

'Hunters?'

Their gear was sparse, but they were unmistakably hunters.

They were not members of Iron Will, his guild. He would have known them if they were.

"Hey, orcs. Just the two of you? Where are your friends?"

"Graagh?"

"Right, we've met before. At the kindergarten. That was a tough day."

"Hey, think we can handle these guys one-on-one?"

Only then did Kang Mu-hyuk understand who they were.

They were the two freelance hunters he had cooperated with at the kindergarten a few days ago. He had only learned about them through reports his staff had written.

'Were they still around?'

His memory pulled up the details from the report. By all accounts, their skills seemed to be fairly competent.

'I overlooked their unusual two-tanker party setup. The report indicated they wouldn't be easily defeated by orcs, even if they couldn't dominate them.'

Before they knew it, Kang Mu-hyuk shouted orders.

"Hunter Yoo Seong-ju, take the front line. Hunter Kim Su-jeong, switch to a support dealer formation."

"Huh?"

"What are you talking about? And how do you know our formation...?"

Confused by the abrupt command, the two looked at Kang Mu-hyuk in bewilderment.

Unfazed by their puzzled stares, Kang Mu-hyuk spoke again.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but for now, please follow my orders."

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