The Stubborn Priest and the Divine Menagerie
In Pangaea Online, NPC groups with plausible-sounding names usually had something up their sleeves! Players were always easily fooled by this rule of thumb.
If they had been named something else, players might have panicked, thinking, 'Wait, the Arkhisus Crusaders? That sounds incredibly ominous!'
The Statue of Archisus is being installed!
A buff is applied to the siege force...
"They're putting up a statue...?"
"What is this?"
"Hmm. Maybe they're doing it for the buff."
The Archisus Soup Kitchen is being installed!
Members of the siege force can visit at any time to receive a meal.
A buff is applied to the siege force...
"...A-A soup kitchen...?"
"I mean, free food is great, but..."
The players buzzed with confusion. Free food was nice, but this was completely different from what they had imagined. Weren't they supposed to be fighting a fierce battle?
The Temporary Blacksmith of Archisus is being installed!
Members of the siege force can visit at any time to repair their equipment...
A buff is applied to the siege force...
"Wait, no. Aren't we going to fight?!"
"Are they just going to build things?!"
They were the attackers, not the defenders! The players were utterly baffled to see the attacking side doing nothing but construction work around the perimeter. Woodstock ran over, his heart pounding with anxiety.
"Excuse me... Elder! Shouldn't we be launching an attack?"
"The water must boil before the rice can cook! Does shouting at raw rice make it a meal?"
Of course, such nagging had absolutely no effect on Galakpad.
"We're running out of time, Elder!"
"Then go look elsewhere."
"...Ugh! Fine, I understand, so please, just hurry up..."
"I told you, rushing only makes the work sloppy and slow! A siege must be conducted with proper preparation."
Is this guy the 'Old Man Who Carved Clubs' or what?!
"Only when the faith of Lord Archisus has warmly enveloped the surrounding area will the time to strike arrive... That is how it is. Do you understand?"
"...???"
Woodstock suddenly snapped out of his daze at those words. Wait a minute...
...T-This man is a high-ranking NPC of the Archisus Church, isn't he?!
The Archisus Church—the only denomination in Pangaea Online resurrected entirely by a player!
At first, people had dismissed it, thinking, 'Bah, it's just a weak, minor cult with no real power.' But now, the Archisus Church was spreading like wildfire.
At this point, there was barely a corner of the Central Continent untouched by its influence!
While Tae-hyun's sheer capability played a massive role in this outcome, it was also thanks to the highly competent, high-ranking NPCs who supported the church by his side.
...Of course, the reality was quite different, but that was how it looked to the public.
Rumors always had a way of twisting into bizarre shapes once they started spreading.
Recognizing Galakpad's face, Woodstock gasped.
No way. Did Kim Tae-hyun really send an NPC of this caliber?!
Honestly, he hadn't expected Kim Tae-hyun to be this generous! What did Tae-hyun even stand to gain from this?
—What remains is you...
—What remains are the fans...
Ah, damn it. My guild members' stupid jokes are stuck in my head.
The meme was so popular lately that it had popped into his mind out of nowhere!
Regardless, Galakpad was indeed one of the highly capable, high-ranking NPCs assisting the Archisus Church alongside Kim Tae-hyun. His presence here had to mean something!
The siege weapon, Archisus's Divine Catapult, has been completed at the Temporary Blacksmith of Archisus!
The siege weapon, Archisus's Great Ballista, has been completed at the Temporary Blacksmith of Archisus!
"????"
By now, every single one of the Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths had reached the Advanced tier of Mechanical Engineering.
In any profession, reaching the Advanced tier was enough to guarantee royal treatment in any guild, which spoke volumes about the sheer caliber of the blacksmiths gathered here.
On top of that, these Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths were fanatics who had dedicated their entire lives to explosives!
The Advanced Mechanical Engineering skill reduces the malfunction rate of the bombs!
The Explosive Enhancement skill increases the blast radius!
With skills honed through relentless training and an incredibly high proficiency in bomb-making, the results were inevitable.
"Fire!!"
Rumble, rumble, rumble, crash!
The Archisus's Special Bomb successfully detonates! Additional damage is dealt!
The explosion triggers a chain reaction...
The Curse of the Volcano causes the bombs to detonate with even greater force!
"Whoa!"
"Behold! This is the power of Lord Archisus!"
Wait, doesn't the Curse of the Volcano have absolutely nothing to do with Archisus?
A relatively sane Mechanical Engineering Blacksmith player harbored a brief doubt, but he quickly shook his head and looked away. He had far too many bombs to throw to waste time worrying about such details!
The Rapid Fire skill increases the bomb firing speed...
A dazzling array of siege weapons! Though each had been custom-built by different Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths, they all shared a single, unified purpose.
To rain down as many bombs as possible, as violently as possible!
Boom! Crash! Kaboom!
The western wall of Tillau City has completely collapsed!
The massive explosions have triggered a minor earthquake!
An earthquake is occurring! Take caution not to lose your footing!
The western gate of Tillau City has been shattered!
The western guard of Tillau City has been wiped out!
The morale of the siege force rises!
"Th-This is insane..."
"Is this the end of the world?!"
The gathered players stared in absolute horror at the terrifying display of destructive power.
Even when the players had pooled their magic to bombard the city, the defenders had managed to counter and hold their ground. But the moment this relentless barrage of bombs began, the defenses crumbled instantly, unable to withstand the sheer volume of explosives.
Is this why the Guild Alliance and Midas were so desperate to get their hands on these bombs?
With this kind of power, you'd be crazy not to use them!
The typical drawbacks of bombs—being less convenient than magic, taking forever to craft, and being highly volatile to handle—completely vanished in a siege scenario.
While mages had to wait for their MP to regenerate and their skill cooldowns to reset, players with bombs could maintain a non-stop, infinite bombardment!
Woodstock now fully understood why top-tier guilds engaged in sieges were so obsessed with securing bombs. At this rate, they weren't just useful; they were an absolute necessity!
The shock wasn't limited to the players on the battlefield. Millions of viewers watching the live broadcast of the siege were equally stunned. The sheer force of the blast had leveled the stone walls in a single strike and triggered an actual earthquake!
The western wall of Tillau City has been captured!
The Tillau Knights are initiating a countercharge!
"The Knights are out!!"
"Block them! If the blacksmiths go down, the game is over!!"
The Tillau Knights seemed to know exactly who was responsible for the devastation. Charging out from behind the collapsed walls, their faces were contorted with fury!
The attacking players, who had suffered under the Knights' charges multiple times before, panicked.
"What are you doing?! Go block them with your bodies if you have to!" Woodstock bellowed, rushing forward with his guild members.
But the other players didn't follow.
"What?!"
"G-Guild Master! I think they're too terrified to move..."
"Ugh, you useless cowards...! I'll deal with you all later!" Woodstock gnashed his teeth. Could his guild alone stop the momentum of a full knightly charge?
"Vanguard, step forward. Form a wall."
Galakpad gave the order without so much as blinking.
Though the Arkhisus Crusaders were a ragtag army of various classes, they possessed a solid core of Paladins and Priests.
Paladins and Priests of Archisus!
The Paladins are using Shield of Faith!
The Priests are using Divine Barrier!
The Crusaders pray! The Luck of Archisus descends upon them.
Misfortune falls upon the enemy!
Flash! Flash!
A solid wall of Paladins materialized in front of the blacksmiths.
Watching this, the players held their breath in suspense. No matter how popular they were, the Archisus Church wasn't known for its raw combat power. Could they really stop a heavy cavalry charge with that? The Knight class practically lived and died by their charging momentum...
BOOM!
With a deafening roar, the vanguard of the Tillau Knights slammed directly into the Paladins' defensive wall. The impact was savage!
Due to the Misfortune of Archisus, the charging knights slip and lose their footing!
Due to the Blessing of Archisus, the damage of Shield of Faith is significantly increased!
The Priests of Archisus cast the Curse of Misfortune! The knights' vision is shrouded in darkness!
Neighhh!
The charge has been successfully blocked!
The Tillau Knights suffer a charge penalty!
"They... they actually blocked it!!"
In some ways, this was an even greater shock than the siege weapons!
The Archisus Church had never been considered a combat-heavy faction. Yet, its Paladins and Priests had just halted a terrifying, full-speed knightly charge dead in its tracks!
Even Tae-hyun would have been stunned if he had witnessed this. Who would have thought the Archisus Church had grown this powerful while he wasn't looking?
While Tae-hyun had been busy showering them with resources and backing them up, the Archisus Church had quietly matured into a formidable force.
"By the way, did you guys manage to get the Siren's Tears?"
"..."
"..."
"??"
Seeing everyone fall silent, Tae-hyun looked at them in confusion. Surely they had captured it?
"The moment we mentioned the name 'Archisus', she just started crying on her own..."
"...I... I see."
Tae-hyun nodded, completely speechless.
Divine Menagerie
The Siren has been captured alive!
The Unicorn has been captured alive!
The Corrupted Unicorn has been captured alive!
The Chimeras of Archisus have been secured!
You can now construct the Divine Menagerie in your territory!
The Divine Menagerie is a facility for raising various rare divine beasts and demonic beasts, capable of providing powerful beasts to support the church!
If constructed now, you can raise the Siren.
If constructed now, you can raise the Unicorn.
※ The Chimeras of Archisus cannot reproduce.
...!
Tae-hyun stared at the unexpected building notification in surprise.
Wait, something like this was possible?
Come to think of it, other major churches usually had giant beasts of their own. Like the Sadiq Church, or the Salavian Church...
Carbanog points out with confusion that both of those are evil god denominations.
...Well, let's just ignore that.
It did seem like every church possessing giant demonic beasts was an evil one... but surely that was just a coincidence!
"We absolutely have to build this, right?"
"Yes! Divine and demonic beasts are incredibly hard to come by, so of course we should...!"
Lee Da-bi's eyes sparkled as she listened to the explanation.
Cities didn't have stable-like buildings for no reason; they were meant for breeding everything from ordinary horses to griffins and wyverns. But a Divine Menagerie could actually accommodate demonic and divine beasts!
"But unicorns can't be used for combat, right?"
They were notoriously timid divine beasts that would flee the moment a fight broke out!
"...Should we raise them and sell them for a high price?"
"...Shall we?"
While Tae-hyun considered them useless, other players would lose their minds at the mere mention of a unicorn. It was a legendary divine beast that most players would never see in their entire lives!
And it wasn't just unicorns; this menagerie was incredibly appealing.
Furthermore, hadn't Tae-hyun absorbed the Sadiq and Salavian Churches? He would be able to raise their demonic beasts as well.
Thinking of the sturdy demonic beasts of the Salavian Church, Tae-hyun's heart fluttered. Not like Yong-yong or Heuk-heuk, who would summon a breath attack and immediately pass out the moment they appeared, but actual, robust demonic beasts! Having just one of those would make sieges a breeze!
Master...
O Master...
Carbanog wonders why you aren't even considering the demonic beasts of Sadiq.
I feel like those would definitely have some sort of issue...
Pure prejudice against Sadiq!
Carbanog admits it cannot deny that possibility.
Given everything that had happened so far, it was impossible to deny!
Tae-hyun fell into deep thought.
Hmm. If I build all of this, the gold I barely managed to scrape together by selling off other people's territories is going to run dry again.
His relationship with the southern nobles was already completely ruined anyway.
...Should he sell off a few more?
There were still several other cities besides Tillau, after all...