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

Not much was known about Garuda's behavior. What was known came from studying harpies, which were similar to Garuda. This meant that Garuda acted like a harpy in some ways.

If one thought about it that way, it made sense why Garuda came back to Korea and settled on a mountain top.

'One of Garuda's main habits is eating its own kind.'

Harpies ate their own when they were mating.

'It's like how a female mantis eats male mantis after mating.'

Kang Mu-hyuk wondered if Garuda's eating habit was part of its reproduction behavior. If that was true, it answered another question: Why did Garuda return to Korea?

'When harpies lay eggs, they return to where they were born. It's like how salmon swim back to their home rivers.'

If this idea was true, it also explained why Garuda chose to settle on a mountain top.

'Harpies ascend to high places when they lay eggs.'

Kang Mu-hyuk asked the operator, "How many drones do we have available, aside from the ones filming the raid?"

"We have about 20 drones as spares, just in case some get damaged."

"Send a few of those drones to the peak where Garuda was previously inhabited."

"We can send five drones. Should we send them all?"

"Yes, send all of them."

"Alright, sending them now."

Soon after, the operator reported that the raid team had started fighting. Kang Mu-hyuk glanced at the battle footage but quickly focused back on something more important: Garuda's nest.

'If Garuda laid eggs, or if they've already hatched, we have to destroy them.'

Multiple flying named monsters like Garuda would be a disaster. Garuda was faster than any monster they had found so far and could easily get past current air defenses. Kang Mu-hyuk watched the drone footage flying towards the peak of Nampo Taesan mountain, hiding his nervousness.

"They've arrived at the peak where Garuda was."

"Display it on the main screen."

The operator adjusted the controls, and the drone footage appeared on the big screen. Immediately, people let out quick screams. Then, they let out the breath they had been holding.

What had looked faint from far away now appeared clear in high definition. The video displayed a horrible scene of ripped-up monsters, their limbs and bits of flesh scattered everywhere. Guts of unknown origin were spread out, and dried blood was splattered across the ground.

Among the remains were intact bodies, and one of them was human. The body's head had been pulled off and stuck onto a tree branch. Some operators turned away, feeling sick, and one even vomited. One operator grimaced and mumbled to himself, "Ugh, did Garuda leave them to eat later?"

"It's marking its territory."

Kang Mu-hyuk answered, even though the operator didn't really ask that to get an answer. The other operators stared at Kang Mu-hyuk in shock, wondering how he could stay so calm while looking at the gruesome footage.

"There.. Zoom in on the center."

Kang Mu-hyuk said calmly. One of the operators, who had just been feeling sick, instinctively followed the command and moved the drone controls.

"What are you looking for?"

"The nest."

"What?"

"I'm looking for Harpy... I mean the Garuda's nest. It might have laid eggs, so don't miss anything. Check carefully."

Hearing the word 'nest,' the operators' faces changed. They were from the Slayer Guild, so they had experience supporting raids. They knew what a nest could mean and could imagine the trouble Garuda's offspring might cause. The operators focused harder than usual, scanning the footage carefully.

Kang Mu-hyuk assigned one of the five drones to each operator, and they began searching the mountain peak. But no matter how hard they looked, they couldn't find what he was looking for.

There was no nest made of twigs and feathers like a harpy's, and they couldn't see any signs of where Garuda had been resting on the ground.

'Am I wrong? Or maybe it hasn't laid eggs yet?'

Or there might be another reason. It could just be part of Garuda's usual behavior. It would be nice if that were true, but Kang Mu-hyuk's gut feeling kept telling him something was wrong.

'What am I missing?'

Kang Mu-hyuk decided to try a different approach.

"Contact the command posts in Cheongjin and Hyesan cities, and the outpost in Baekam County. Ask them to send the monster distribution charts and the list of monsters they've hunted. Oh, and get the information on the sacrificed Hunters as well. I need it as soon as possible."

The Unified Strike Force hid on the southern slope of Janggun Peak. Go Eul-ji, flying from the north, stopped above them and used her Divine Punishment skill on Garuda again.

Garuda broke the gravity hammer the same way as before. But now, it was flying even faster, making it more dangerous. Go Eul-ji felt that even ten layers of her shield weren't enough. Instead, she hit Garuda with her Tenfold Shackles skill, which slowed it down.

Ten invisible chains wrapped tightly around Garuda. Even though the chains broke quickly, it gave the strike force just enough time.

The first to act was Go Wonmae.

【Binding Arrow】

The arrow shot up and wrapped around Garuda's wings. A yellow rope, connected to the arrow, stretched down to the ground.

"I got it!"

Go Wonmae was a 'care archer,' a long-range fighter who used all sorts of debuffs and the Mesmerization skill. A care archer slowed down, bound, stunned, put enemies to sleep, or hypnotized them so the team could hunt more safely. Plus, he was also capable of dealing strong damage as a dealer, so after using his mesmerization skill to bind the monster, he switched to the main dealer and led the attack.

This kind of position was rare, even in all of Asia, not just the Slayer guild.

"Wonmae, hold on tight! I'll take care of the other wing as well."

Yeo Mungi rushed forward, his robe fluttering behind him. He pointed his staff at Garuda.

【Freeze】

Crack!

The moist air quickly froze, and frost covered Garuda's wings. The wings stopped flapping, but somehow, the Garuda still floated in the air.

"That thing's wings aren't the only thing keeping it flying, huh?"

Yeo Mungi realized the secret to Garuda's quick flight lay elsewhere. But for now, the most important thing was the hunting mission.

"Alright, how about this?"

【Crystal Peak】

An ice prison grew out from the frozen wings, trapping Garuda inside.

Then...

【Frozen Pillar】

A pillar of ice rose from the ground and wrapped around the prison, sealing Garuda inside.

"Wow, Mungi! It's been a while since you've showcased this much skill."

"Hmph! This is nothing,"

Yeo Mungi shrugged and smiled, though a bit proudly. Gam Wooyoung ran toward the base of the ice pillar, followed by other melee dealers from different parties.

"What are you waiting for? Get that thing down here so we can finish it off!"

"Hold on. Do you think magic manipulation is that easy?" Yeo Mungi replied, now sweating as he worked to control the mana, adjusting the spell he had already cast.

The tall ice pillar slowly lowered to the ground, bringing Garuda with it. Inside the ice prison, Garuda struggled to break free. The frost on its wings began to crack and fall off, and the wing wrapped by the arrow thrashed wildly. The rope of light connected to the ground looked like it might snap.

"Good job." Pyo Beomhee said, patting Go Eul-ji on the shoulder after she finished her task of luring Garuda. Then, she stepped forward, the Poison Well in her hands swirling with poisonous energy.

Go Eul-ji saw what Pyo Beomhee was planning and warned her.

"Be careful. That thing's not an easy opponent. Honestly, I'm not sure if the poison will work."

"I think so too. I didn't have time to feed enough poison to the Poison Well, so I'm a little worried. But it's better than doing nothing."

Pyo Beomhee passed by the waiting damage dealers and got close to Garuda, which had finally been brought to the ground.

【Black Mist】

Pyo Beomhee used the special skill connected to her unique item, 'Poison Well.' This allowed her to control poison from far away, which she did earlier by using a sword or using her physical strength. The poison mist she created entered Garuda's nose and mouth.

"Roaaar!"

The Garuda twisted its body to fight back, but it was no use. Its body turned black.

"Ugh, Iron Will's hardcore. If a Hunter faced that, they'd be dead."

Just as Gam Wooyoung said, anyone could tell that the poison was so deadly that anyone could tell it was dangerous.

Pyo Beomhee was using a strong poison on the Garuda because she knew that just using paralysis poison wouldn't be enough. She even added poison that she absorbed from the Oopoomangbawoo in there. Plus, she mixed in the poisons she had and the ones provided by the guild. This also made her the strongest poison sorcerer in Korea.

Soon, Garuda wobbled and fell to one knee. Its eyes became unfocused, and its tongue hung out of its beak.

Sung Seonjae relayed an order to Yoon Daemyung from the second party.

"Hunter Yoon Daemyung, check Garuda's condition."

Yoon Daemyung, a ranger from the High and Low guild, had skills that allowed him to check the state of monsters.

【Object ID】

Yoon Daemyung's eyes turned white as he examined Garuda's body. After a moment, his eyes returned to normal.

"It's poisoned!"

Once Yoon Daemyung gave the okay signal, Sung Sunjae shouted, "Attack the Garuda on three! Yeo Mungi, get ready!"

"Yes."

"One, two, three. Go!"

At the signal, Yeo Mungi released his skill. The ice prison holding Garuda disappeared, and the damage dealers rushed in to attack. Gam Wooyoung landed the first strike with a huge swing of his sword.

But...

Thud!

Gam Wooyoung's sword was caught in Garuda's hand before he could land his hit. He locked eyes with Garuda. It's once dull eyes were now shining brightly.

'It tricked us!'

When Gam Wooyoung realized that Garuda had been pretending to be caught, he was about to warn the other Hunters coming to attack it. Just then, the poison started pouring out of Garuda's blackened body and sprayed from its beak. The poison shot toward a Hunter charging from Garuda's right side.

"Argh!"

Pyo Beomhee reached out and retrieved the poison back from the poisoned Hunter, but this made her lose focus on Garuda.

Garuda's left wing flapped, sending ice particles into the air. Its right wing flapped wildly, shaking off the arrow that had pinned it down. With the skills restraining its wings now broken, Garuda wrapped its wings tightly around itself, preparing to defend itself.

"Cut off the wing joints!"

Sung Samshik of the Warrior Guild charged forward from behind the Garuda, aiming for Garuda's exposed back. His quick thinking showed why he belonged to a Tier guild. But seeing that Sung Seonjae yelled, "Fall back!"

At the same time, he sent a message to Gong Jungmoon.

[Defend Sung Samshik!]

Gong Jungmoon reacted instinctively, reaching out to Sung Samsik.

【Reduce Damage】

Just as Sung Samshik was shielded by the damage-reducing skill, Garuda sent razor-sharp feathers flying in all directions.

Sung Samsik stopped in shock and swung his sword wildly, trying to block the feathers. He managed to deflect some, but because of the close distance, he couldn't block them all.

In the end, Seven feathers hit his body. Luckily, Sung Samshik twisted his body to reduce the damage, protecting his head and avoiding a fatal injury. Gong Jungmoon's skill also helped prevent a serious wound. The other Hunters had moved back when Sung Sunjae relayed the warning, so they weren't badly hurt.

"This one is really not an easy opponent."

Sung Sunjae looked up at the sky.

The Garuda, already back in the air, was watching the Hunters below.

"Fighting against such an annoying monster on my first raid back is already bad enough. But this rascal dares to look down on us?"

Sung Sunjae's eyes burned with madness. This wasn't his usual calm, logical self.

Raw and unfiltered.

Like the old Sung Seonjae. This was the true Hunter Sung Sunjae. A deep growling voice rose from within him.

"I'm going to rip off those damn wings!"