His Majesty Has Departed, But...

"His Majesty has departed, but..."

"Oh dear... what a turn of events."

The Galakpad ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Dwarven delegation was utterly flustered. They had brought a special item they intended to present to Tae-hyun in person... Seeing their hesitation, Pelmas's eyes gleamed with opportunistic greed.

There's something... there is definitely something valuable here!

As the old legends went, dwarves were fundamentally a wealthy race. They were a species that lived with all kinds of gold, silver, and treasures hoarded deep underground! Why else would dragons put dwarves to work? Because they were the richest race of all!

Pelmas caught the scent of money off the dwarves with ghostly precision.

I must get close to them!

If he became friends with the dwarves, he could get gold, receive treasures, and maybe even ask them to co-sign a loan later...

"But you need not worry. As the scribe, administrator, magistrate, and diplomat of the Archisus Church, I shall personally attend to you."

What a grand array of titles! At Pelmas's dazzling list of positions, the dwarves' eyes went wide.

"Ohhh...!"

"He seems like someone of great importance...!"

"To think he enjoys such deep trust from His Majesty...!"

"Now, please follow me. I shall host you with the utmost hospitality until His Majesty returns. By the way, my friends, do you happen to have a gold mine or something similar back home?"

"We only have iron mines."

"...That is quite alright. Surely you have something else..."

Majestic! The military power Tae-hyun possessed was truly majestic. Various knight orders, holy knights, kingdom soldiers, and warrior squads. On top of that, even a naval fleet.

...The problem was that dragging all of this to Nodranche presented a massive logistical nightmare!

"We used to be able to fit the entire Archisus Artillery on top of Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk, but now it's a bit..."

"Tell me about it."

Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk had recovered a lot of their strength, but they were still not quite at the level of dragons in their prime. Even if they maximized their size, they were only about two to three times larger than a wyvern. And the Archisus Artillery... carried an immense amount of baggage.

—"How about taking this opportunity to set us free, Your Maj—Aaargh!"

Starting from the demons locked in their cages, to the massive, heavy cannons, and even the giants who transported them. If they tried to carry all of that, the dragons' backs would literally snap!

In the end, Tae-hyun's group made a simple decision.

—"For now, let's just go by ourselves!"

"Will it be okay? Will it really be okay???"

"Well, what else are we supposed to do if it's not? We have no choice. You said it was urgent."

Nodranche happened to be an isolated island in the far north of the continent, so traveling by sea required sailing all the way around the landmass. Admittedly, even Tae-hyun felt a bit uneasy. The enemies had "Ancient" attached to their name, Carbanog had issued a warning, and judging by the previous battle, their strength and constitution were no joke. It looked like it would be a head-on clash of raw power for the first time in a while!

Hmm. I'll just have to mobilize the local races as much as possible and improvise something on the spot.

Tae-hyun planned to respond by utilizing every single resource at his disposal.

"Oh, look! A wyvern!"

"That's not a wyvern. The color is a bit..."

"Isn't that the legendary golden wyvern??"

"Ah, I told you there's no such thing, you lunatic! Stop obsessing over colors! Why does the color matter so much to you?"

"This bastard doesn't know how important color is... Do you even understand the soul of us gamers who cry and laugh over a single digit difference in RGB values?"

"That's not a wyvern! It's Kim Tae-hyun! It's Kim Tae-hyun's pet!"

"What?? Kim Tae-hyun is here?"

"Didn't that bastard Cain just come alone? If it's just Cain, let's hang him."

"Yeah. If Cain dared to show up without Kim Tae-hyun, we have to bury him alive."

The pioneer expedition murmured in voices dripping with resentment. If Cain had brought Tae-hyun with him, they would forgive him, but if he had left Tae-hyun behind... they would tie him up and throw him into the sea!

Thud.

Contrary to their dark expectations, Tae-hyun lightly leapt down from the dragon and landed. In that instant, everyone forgot the situation and screamed at the top of their lungs.

"Waaaaahhhhh!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"

"What's going on? Did something happen?"

Among the players gathered here, there were those who disliked and envied Tae-hyun. But at this very moment, they were of one mind! They were nothing but ecstatic that Tae-hyun had arrived. When facing a brutally difficult quest, he was the single most welcome person in the world! That much ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was an absolute certainty.

"...Hey. Isn't that my statue burning over there?" Cain asked, noticing something bizarre. The wooden statue crackling merrily in the bonfire looked suspiciously familiar.

"N-no, it's not. That's a shaman skill... you have to burn a wooden statue to get the buff..."

"What do you mean it's not?! It has six arms!"

"It's a six-armed monster!"

"Where on earth would you find a monster like that? It's obviously me!"

While Cain was busy grabbing someone by the collar, Tae-hyun surveyed the surroundings with his companions.

It's a total mess. A complete disaster.

Though he had heard Cain's explanations and watched a few videos, Nodranche was in an even worse state than he had imagined. The terrain was wide open in all directions, and the village had virtually zero defensive structures. At least The Valley had excellent natural defenses, but this place was a perfect target to get pummeled from every angle. The only saving grace was that it was cool?

"At least it's nice and cool."

"Indeed. It was so hot on the way here."

Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk nodded in agreement, flapping their wings. They had been sweating from the heat during the flight.

At those words, the pioneer players practically jumped out of their skins.

"It was originally freezing cold!"

"You need to experience how brutal this cold really is!"

"Why... should I?"

"Because... it feels like a waste to suffer through it alone...?"

"..."

Tae-hyun ignored them and turned his gaze. There were wooden palisades and stone walls erected here and there. It seemed the pioneer players had hastily thrown them together before his arrival.

Those are practically useless.

What was the point when the enemies could just grab onto them, climb over, or smash them to pieces? They wouldn't even buy them any time.

"Kim Tae-hyun! What should we do?"

"Kim Tae-hyun! It looks like those bastards are climbing up from the cliff over there..."

"Kim Tae-hyun, Kim Tae-hyun, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Kim Tae-hyun..."

The pioneer players instantly regained their vigor and began throwing questions at Tae-hyun.

"First, let's abandon the village."

"What?!"

"Abandon the village...?!"

"There's nothing here anyway, is there?"

Tae-hyun looked puzzled. The village of Nodranche really didn't amount to much. It lacked almost all necessary facilities, and there were only a handful of buildings. Ironically, that made it easy to abandon. All they had to do was move the residents.

"B-but...! The general store we built...!"

"I just plowed that field over there...! It was a wasteland, but now it's a proper field!"

"The new stable... and we even have a ranch...!"

"...No, I get it, but it'll be fine." Tae-hyun continued his explanation with a lukewarm expression.

"Once we pull out with the villagers and draw aggro, those warrior bastards will chase after us. They won't bother occupying a village with absolutely nothing in it."

"A village with nothing in it?! Take that back!"

"We worked our fingers to the bone to build this place! Don't you dare look down on Nodranche ever again!"

Despite being dragged here against their will, the players had developed a deep affection for Nodranche due to all the hardships they had endured! Was this some kind of Stockholm syndrome?

Ah, what a pain in the ass.

"That's right! Nodranche is small and crappy, but it's a good territory!"

"...Cain. If you don't get over here right this second, I'm throwing you into the ocean."

"...Okay..."

Cain, who had tried to jump on the bandwagon, trudged over dejectedly.

"Anyway, what I'm saying is the village will be safe. Those warriors won't touch a village that has *nothing of value*."

"Then where are we retreating to?"

Among the pioneer players, those who actually had a brain immediately understood Tae-hyun's point.

"The only place around here where we can hold our ground... is the western forest."

The cold, gloomy forest where the Vampires had settled when the expedition first arrived! Players never went near it unless they needed to chop wood. It felt both eerie and even colder than the rest of the island.

"Vampires. Is there anything useful inside?"

—"Aside from the forest being vast, it is a desolate place, Your Majesty."

The Vampires who had settled there beforehand spoke firmly. Although they were trying their best to plant and cultivate grapevines, there was literally nothing else in the forest. It was a certified piece of garbage land!

"Good grief... I have no idea what's so special about this place. Is the ruin really that useful?"

The quest demanded they repel the ancient warrior tribes and revive the ruins buried in Nodranche, but honestly, nothing here looked remotely useful right now.

"First, we move to the forest. Giants, clear out the trees in the areas I designate to create some space. Goblins, plaster the outskirts with traps. I'll supply the bombs."

—"As expected of Your Majesty...! We believed in you!"

—"Castle Destroyer!"

—"Great Destroyer!"

—"Self-Destructing Mechanical Engineer!"

The goblins marveled, chanting Tae-hyun's various titles! The players standing nearby could only look on in sheer horror. What kind of insane titles were those?!

"First of all, the most important thing in defense is your lives. Everything else can be destroyed, so keep that in mind."

"Kim Tae-hyun...!"

"Sob... I'll keep that in mind! I'll make sure to protect my own life."

The players were deeply moved by Tae-hyun's warm words. To think Kim Tae-hyun could be such a warm-hearted person!

"What nonsense are you spouting? I wasn't talking about you guys. I meant the NPCs' lives."

"..."

"..."

"This land has nothing to begin with. If the resident NPCs start dying, it'll be incredibly difficult to recover."

If the resident NPCs in a territory started dying, all sorts of penalties, starting with high discontent, would pile up. In a place like Nodranche, it would be fatal!

"Let's move the residents inside and prioritize their protection. The rest of us will prepare to fight on the outskirts."

"W-what about us?"

"You guys have to look after your own lives. At your levels, do I really need to babysit you?"

It was so painfully true that they couldn't even argue!

"Ugh...! So cold-blooded!"

"I wasted my emotions being touched for a second...!"

Empowered by Tae-hyun's tactical skill, the work that had been sluggishly dragging along began to progress at a breakneck pace. Of course, it wasn't all bonuses.

On the outskirts of the forest, goblin-style traps were laid. Once the enemies entered the forest, players lying in wait would launch the first wave of attacks. If things looked dicey, they would retreat. The moment the enemies approached the clearing, the second wave of attacks would commence. At that point, they would utilize the makeshift barricades to strike back more aggressively.

"...We hit and run like this. No matter how strong they are, after a few rounds of this, their morale will break, and they might just retreat."

"Oh... Ohhh... That actually sounds plausible...!"

"This is the absolute basic of basics."

What do you mean basic, you lunatic!

Not everyone fights entire guilds by themselves like you do!

The pioneer players grumbled inwardly. Tae-hyun's standards were far too high! What ordinary player could pull this off? Most players rarely had the chance to experience something like this in the first place.

Carving wood on the spot to build barricades, narrowing the terrain, designating trap locations, feeding the hungry giants with stones, reinforcing the traps with bombs, confiscating the players' weapons to enhance them before handing them back... It was an superhuman workload!

The pioneer players shook their heads in awe. Now they truly understood why he was considered a top-tier ranker. He was essentially doing the work of dozens of people all by himself.

"Looks like we're mostly done, so we should go lure them over. Anyone want to come with?"

"..."

"..."

"Hmm. Then shall we roll dice to decide?"

"That only favors the Archisus Church!!"

It was already a proven fact that joining the Archisus Church and accumulating high contribution points made your dice rolls turn out better. Before this fact became public knowledge, the Archisus Church players had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made a killing off of rolling dice!