The Wise Cleaning Life Of A Returning Genius Hunter [EN]: Chapter 282

281

“Didn’t you hear me?”

German Association, Berlin Headquarters.

A man who appeared before Association President Amelie glared and repeated his order.

“I said, disband them immediately!”

“……”

However, Association President Amelie did not answer.

She merely glanced sideways at me once.

“I refuse.”

She answered in a firm voice.

At that, the man’s eyebrows twitched greatly.

“…What?”

“I said I refuse. As the Minister knows, we are currently in a state of war. Isn’t the first priority to defend the nation by any means necessary?”

“……”

“All personnel are already on standby. We just need to deploy them, so why disband them now?”

The man only glared at her question without a word.

But that was only for a moment.

“Well, I expected as much.”

He shrugged with a smirk.

“Amelie Müller, you are under arrest for insubordination during wartime and acts of national disruption.”

“…What did you say?”

“Take her away.”

Military police officers who had been waiting outside the office burst in and immediately restrained Association President Amelie.

“Minister! What are you doing right now!”

“I told you, all decision-making power rests with me. In a state of war, no one can oppose what I decide and determine.”

“Do you really think you can stop them with just regular troops?! Are you crazy or what…!”

“Aren’t you the crazy one? Trying to deploy Hunters, who should be strictly controlled, into battle. Do you even think?!”

“Are you, even in this situation, trying to line your own pockets…!”

“Listen, Amelie.”

The moment Association President Amelie uttered those words, the man’s eyes changed drastically.

He glared at her as if he would tear her apart right then and there for a moment.

“One more word and it’s immediate execution.”

“……”

He finally issued an ultimatum.

Association President Amelie eventually closed her mouth.

Just as the military police were about to leave the office with her.

“But… who are you people?”

Only then did the man’s gaze reach us.

Before answering, I briefly scanned the surroundings.

Judging from the atmosphere, revealing that we belonged to WDSO [World Dungeon Security Organization] here would not bode well.

We might end up being dragged away alongside the Association President.

I need to play it cool for now.

“We are dispatched to the German Association…”

“We’re the cleaning crew.”

“……?”

The one who spoke those words instead of me was none other than the restrained Association President Amelie.

“Cleaning crew…?”

“Yes. The Association is short on cleaning staff, so we signed a contract this time.”

“Isn’t exchange with foreign countries prohibited? That’s another charge to add.”

“We are a private dungeon cleaning company. I believe transactions with corporations are not a problem?”

“……”

As Association President Amelie spoke calmly, the man made a displeased expression.

But that was only for a moment.

“Well, whatever… there’s no problem.”

He nodded and gestured towards me.

“Outsiders, get out.”

“…Understood.”

I immediately lowered my gaze and hurried away.

Just as I was about to pass them and leave the office.

“Even if I’m not here, carry out the contract as agreed. If you need anything, talk to my aide.”

Association President Amelie whispered those words to me in a low voice.

“…Understood.”

I answered briefly and left the office.

As I walked out into the hallway and hurried away, Branch Manager Lee Ah-young asked with a bewildered expression.

“W-We should stop them, right? If the Association President is taken away like that, there will be no one to issue the deployment order?!”

“That’s true… but unfortunately, we have no justification to stop the arrest.”

“But if we just leave her like this…!”

“Association President Amelie also hid our identities. She must have a plan; that’s why she left us behind. But if we get caught as well, then it’s really over.”

I continued, keeping my gaze forward.

“So, let’s avoid it for now.”

“……”

Branch Manager Lee Ah-young seemed to have a lot to say, but she didn’t open her mouth any further.

It was right after we left the Association building.

“Huff, huff…!”

“Wait… just a moment.”

A group of men in suits suddenly appeared and blocked our path.

‘Tch, are they that man’s subordinates…?’

Now that the Association President has been taken away, hiding is the top priority.

I don’t want to cause trouble, but if they keep blocking us, I’ll have to knock them down….

“Are you perhaps WDSO employees?”

“……!”

What.

They know our identities?

“What is it? Who are you?”

“Looks like it.”

They didn’t answer my question and took out their cell phones.

“Yes, Minister. We have found all three of them.”

“Understood. I’ll be waiting.”

They finished a few short calls and opened their mouths towards us.

“Could you wait a moment? The Minister is on his way.”

“Minister? What on earth…”

“Let’s talk in detail when the Minister arrives. For now…”

At that moment, their gazes turned behind me.

The man who was leaving the building with the military police was visible there.

I roughly guessed and nodded.

It’s certain.

These people belong to a different faction than the man who arrested Association President Amelie.

But the only people who would know our identities….

“So, you were here.”

A car urgently stopped in front of the Association, and the door opened. A familiar voice was heard from inside.

“Minister Lucas…?”

It was none other than Minister Lucas of the Ministry of Transportation and Construction.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you. It would have been less trouble if you had just been locked up nicely in jail.”

“You were looking for us? Why now, after the person who handed us over to the police?”

He was silent for a moment at my question.

“Help me.”

He answered in a heavy voice.

“Germany is in a very critical situation right now. The International Association has started an air raid. No matter how I think about it, it’s impossible for our military power to stop them.”

“…So, you want to receive help from WDSO now? Even though you didn’t listen to my story back then?”

“I’m sorry. We weren’t in a trustworthy situation back then either.”

I was drained by Minister Lucas’s words.

I was quite displeased, but I couldn’t argue about right and wrong in this situation.

I immediately got to the point.

“Even if you didn’t ask, I’ve already sent a dispatch request to headquarters. But it will take at least two days for them to arrive. In the meantime, we need to quickly deploy the local task force….”

I continued in a low voice.

“Just now, a man barged in, arrested Association President Amelie, and forcibly disbanded the standby task force.”

“…What?”

Minister Lucas’s eyebrows twitched.

“What man? Who on earth…?”

“I don’t know. But the Association President called him Minister Monahan.”

“…That son of a bitch.”

“Do you know him?”

When I asked, Minister Lucas sighed deeply and answered.

“He’s the Minister of National Defense of the German Federation.”

“…Excuse me?”

“He has all the decision-making power in a state of war. He blocked all support at the meeting earlier, saying that domestic forces alone are enough to stop them. The Prime Minister accepted that.”

“What…? He can’t possibly not know that it’s impossible, logically speaking.”

“He’s been in collusion with overseas companies and politicians for a long time.”

“Huh.”

The Minister of National Defense is playing games with the fate of the nation as collateral.

“Well… he must have known that Association President Amelie would ignore the order and deploy the task force anyway. But I never thought he would come to the Association himself….”

“As I said, we need to hold out for at least two days until the headquarters personnel arrive. With the person in charge arrested, all we can do is….”

The moment I opened my mouth again.

“I am Association President Amelie’s aide. Are you WDSO employees?”

A woman suddenly approached us and asked.

“Yes, but….”

“These are the documents that Association President Amelie prepared in case of an emergency.”

She handed over the documents with a fairly calm face, even though her superior had been arrested.

I checked the documents with a puzzled expression.

“Huh….”

A hollow laugh burst out without me realizing it.

It was none other than.

“WDSO Merger Agreement…?”

“Yes. If the Association President determines that she can no longer operate the Association for any reason, she told me to deliver this to you.”

“She prepared this knowing this would happen?”

“It was just in case of an emergency.”

Branch Manager Lee Ah-young smirked at the aide’s still calm words.

“She’s a tough one.”

“…You can say that again.”

I nodded.

Well, it’s fortunate if this is the case.

If we can acquire the German Association, all command authority will be transferred to us.

Then we can deploy the task force even without Association President Amelie.

As soon as I thought that far, I immediately took out a pen.

“Wait a minute!”

At that moment, Minister Lucas suddenly stopped me.

“What is it now?”

“Can you sign that? It’s not something an employee can decide on their own.”

“WDSO’s principle is to report after taking action.”

“Even so, at least report to the person in charge first….”

“Minister Lucas.”

Is he going to stick to principles even in this situation?

I continued with a frustrated expression.

“The person in charge of WDSO is the Secretary-General, but the final decision-maker is me.”

“…What?”

“I’m late with the introduction. WDSO Seoul Headquarters, Cleaning Team 3 Leader.”

I scribbled my signature on the document and said.

“Kim Jun-woo.”

***

Bang—!!

Puh-buh-buh-bang—!

Thump, Kwa-gwa-gwang—!!

Highway 81, heading from Stuttgart to Berlin.

Soldiers risking their lives to defend the line were pouring out bullets and shells.

But as if to mock such sacrifices, the International Association forces easily blocked the attacks and slowly advanced.

“Keep firing!! Slow them down even by one step!!”

German 1st Panzer Division, 3rd Battalion, 1st Company, 3rd Platoon.

Second Lieutenant Denver, who was in charge of the first defense line, shouted.

“Platoon Leader! We’re running out of ammunition!”

“No matter how much we attack, we can’t stop their advance!!”

But far from stopping them, they couldn’t even hold out any longer.

“Damn it, when are the reinforcements coming?!”

“It will take at least 6 more hours!”

“6 hours?! What’s the point of coming after we’re annihilated! Tell them to come within 3 hours no matter what!!”

Second Lieutenant Denver’s voice became increasingly agitated.

In fact, that was only natural.

This was a battlefield.

A battlefield where the price of even a second’s delay had to be paid with one’s life.

But in the current situation….

“Our forces are not enough!”

“You should abandon the defense line and retreat for now…!”

The soldiers realized that further combat was suicidal and requested a retreat from Second Lieutenant Denver.

But that was impossible.

“I just received a direct call from Minister Monahan.”

“Yes?! Directly from the Minister of National Defense?!”

“He said that national forces are gathering, so defend no matter what happens in the meantime.”

The soldiers’ expressions froze instantly at Second Lieutenant Denver’s words.

“T-That’s impossible! The opponents are ability users!!”

“They’ve already advanced 500m! From 300m, we’ll be within their attack range!”

“We’re all going to die like this!!”

“Damn it, who doesn’t know that?! What am I supposed to do when the higher-ups order it!!”

Second Lieutenant Denver also knew that there was no answer to this situation.

But as a soldier who ultimately receives orders, he had no choice.

“Then at least contact the Association and ask them to dispatch a task force! We can’t stop them on our own!”

“……It’s no use.”

“Yes?”

“I said it’s no use! Minister Monahan just arrested Association President Amelie! All the standby task forces have been disbanded!”

“W-Why on earth…?”

“Damn it, how would I know!”

Second Lieutenant Denver gritted his teeth.

Even as the platoon members were bickering, the International Association continued to advance.

Eventually, the entire defense line came within their attack range.

‘Damn it…….’

We’ve already poured out dozens of shells and tens of thousands of bullets… but they don’t budge.

Monsters that humans can’t do anything about.

Perhaps it was foreseen that something like this would happen from the moment the first ability user appeared in this world.

No, it would be strange if something like this hadn’t happened until now.

If they put their minds to it, hundreds of ability users can face tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of troops.

Yes.

From the beginning, defense lines and battles against such guys were nonsense.

This is just…….

Isn’t it a one-sided massacre?

The platoon members completely lost their will to fight and stared at the International Association forces with blank expressions.

And then.

[Unique Skill: Crystallize]

[Unique Skill: Shadow Lightning]

[Unique Skill: Atomic Sphere]

Shu-wuu-wung—!

Eventually, their skills floated into the air.

“…….”

“…….”

Everyone didn’t even think of running away or stopping them.

They know that it’s meaningless in the first place.

So they just quietly watched the skills falling over their heads.

At that moment, when all 30 platoon members were prepared for death.

[Acquired Skill: Omnipotence]

Pah-jee-jik—!

Suddenly, a huge pure white spear flew in from behind.

The spear swallowed all the skills that were falling towards the platoon members.

Bang—!!!

And it plunged straight towards the enemies.

“Wh-What…….”

“Did we live…?”

The platoon members had expressions that they didn’t understand what had happened at all.

But Second Lieutenant Denver immediately turned his head without even having time to panic.

And there.

“Good work.”

A certain Asian man with hundreds of people stood there.

“From now on, I will command the 1st defense line.”