How to Turn a Heatwave into a Crusade

They glared at the Guild Alliance players with burning eyes.

"N-No! It's not our fault! It could be for some other reason!"

"Think rationally, guys!"

"Attacking us when the reason isn't even clear is absurd—argh!"

Thud!

Someone threw an object before they could even finish their sentence. It was simply too hot to think rationally!

As the humid, scorching air filled the area in an instant, the players' sanity snapped.

"It's because of those bastards! Ugh! Kim Tae-hyun moved the Sky Castle because we let those bastards run wild!"

"It's... it's our fault! We were too selfish!"

"Damn it...! Why were we so selfish? We should have burned those Guild Alliance bastards to death the moment we saw them!"

"??!?!"

"Hey, the mood here is..."

The Guild Alliance players looked at each other in sheer terror. They were crafter-class players, not combat classes. They had a few Guild Alliance guards with them, but...

They're running away?!?!

The combat-class guild members quickly assessed the situation. If we fight here, we'll be wiped out! They immediately hid their guild emblems, lowered their heads, and slunk away. They didn't have enough loyalty to die together.

"Kim Tae-hyun! We were wrong! Please bring back the air conditioner... no, the Sky Castle!!"

"You bastard! How dare you speak so insolently! You should call him Lord Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Lord Kim Tae-hyun! Please bring back the air conditioner!!!"

"Lord Kim Tae-hyun!! We were wrong!"

Mob mentality was a terrifying thing. A few players thought, Kim Tae-hyun isn't even here, and if he was watching, wouldn't he just show up and solve it? But it was simply too hot and humid for such logic.

Moreover, when hundreds of players around them shouted, "Those guys ruined the order of the territory, and because we stood by and did nothing, Lord Kim Tae-hyun got angry!" it started to sound plausible.

"It's our fault!"

"It's our fault for forgetting our roots!"

"In the past, we used to help and care for each other!"

"...??? When did we ever help and care for each ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠other..."

"Shh. Quiet. You'll get dragged out too."

The players who had been there since the early days of the territory were baffled by this non-existent "original mindset," but they had to keep their mouths shut.

"Burn the Guild Alliance!"

"Follow the rules!"

"Burn the Guild Alliance!"

"N-No. Calm down... ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠calm down... aargh! They're actually hanging us! You crazy bastards! Aren't you afraid of the Guild Alliance?!"

The crowd of hundreds quickly swelled into thousands. Players fiercely brandished weapons and screamed! It was extremely rare for so many players to unite and act so quickly. Because the territory had gotten hot, pissed-off players kept coming to see what was happening!

Pelmas, who was in charge of managing the territory while Tae-hyun was away, ran over in horror. The territory had gone mad!

"P-Pelmas, what should we do?" a priest asked.

Pelmas wiped his sweat. Honestly, he was terrified too. The eyes of the adventurers gathered here were completely bloodshot.

"...I, I don't know either."

"Pelmas, should we forcibly disperse them?"

"Are you crazy?! If we do that in this situation, we're doomed!"

"T-Then?"

"We have to let them vent their anger! We have to give them what they want!"

Pelmas listened closely. Even after rising to a high position, Pelmas's strength was that he never forgot his roots and was always willing to kneel when necessary. What did these adventurers want?

"Let's burn the Guild Alliance bastards and reflect on our actions!"

"Bring back the air conditioner!"

"Find the Guild Alliance bastards! The air conditioner won't return until we burn every last one of them!"

"You're one of those Guild Alliance bastards, aren't you?!"

"N-No, I'm not! I'm just in a regular guild!"

Listening to this mad conversation, Pelmas slapped his knee. He realized what was going on.

"This is actually perfect!"

"Pardon? Pelmas. Have you finally lost your mind, just like Galakpad said?"

"...I'll deal with you later. Now, follow me! I must persuade those adventurers!"

Pelmas ran forward, his cloak fluttering. The players paused as Pelmas suddenly appeared.

"This is all my fault!"

"!"

"I should have persuaded you all better and stopped you from acting selfishly! I simply left you all to be too comfortable!"

"No, Pelmas!"

"It's our fault! We turned off the air conditioner!"

An enthusiastic response! Pelmas wiped away a fake tear and continued.

"From now on, I will establish more rules!"

Trading only in authorized areas, paying taxes on those permits... things like that! Normally, the players would have said, Wow, Pelmas has lost his roots, smh -_-, but in this situation, they clapped and cheered.

"Pelmas! Pelmas!"

"Pelmas for Parliament!"

"Only Pelmas can make the Valley great again—no, cold again!"

Clap clap clap clap!

Pelmas, having secured what he wanted, grinned. But Pelmas had underestimated the players. The problem was not solved yet.

"Pelmas! So how do we get the air conditioner—no, the Sky Castle—back?!"

"Uh... uh..."

"......"

"......"

"Don't tell me you don't have a plan..."

As the voices suddenly turned cold, Pelmas quickly shouted.

"No! Of course I have one!"

"What is it?!"

"Destroy every last one of those Guild Alliance bastards!"

Pelmas stomped his foot and screamed fiercely. With his life on the line, Pelmas's brain spun at lightspeed. First, throw the people they hate under the bus!

"I knew it...! I knew that was it!"

"Destroy the Guild Alliance! Destroy the Guild Alliance!"

"Find the remaining Guild Alliance bastards! Hang them all!!!"

"Ah! I just thought of a place where there are lots of Guild Alliance bastards!"

"Where is it?"

"The Demon Realm! A lot of their expeditions are active in the Demon Realm!"

"To the Demon Realm portal! Let's go to the Demon Realm portal and drag them back!!"

Seizing the opportunity, Pelmas quickly shouted.

"Today, entry to the Demon Realm portal is free of charge!"

"Waaaaah!"

"Pelmas! Pelmas! Pelmas! Pelmas!"

"Let's go! To destroy the Guild Alliance!"

"Let's go! To find the air conditioner!"

Dozens of participating guilds, hundreds of large and small parties! That was how many players were gathered in the Valley. Some were serious, some were casual, some were just swept up in the mood, some just hated the Guild Alliance... Their reasons varied, but in the end, their power united as one.

This was the beginning of an event that the Guild Alliance would later shudder at, calling it "The Great Air Conditioner War."

"Nothing bad will happen just because I moved the Sky Castle for a bit, right?"

"Oh, come on, Lord Tae-hyun. People don't die just because the air conditioner is turned off."

Lee Da-bi, who had lived perfectly fine without an air conditioner her whole life, spoke from her own perspective. Tae-hyun nodded.

"True. Ah, Ahjussi. That was an excellent catch just now."

"Haha... was it?"

"But the ice the person next to you caught looks a bit bigger..."

"What?! Just you wait! That was just me warming up!"

In the meantime, Tae-hyun had completely figured out how to handle these fishing Ahjussis.

I just have to treat them like my dad.

Kim Tae-san, who loved fishing! If Tae-hyun subtly said, "Oh, the ice you caught is smaller than I expected?" the fishermen would flare up in competitive spirit and go to catch the next block of ice.

"They really are amazing."

Lee Da-bi marveled as she watched the fishermen perform the feat of reeling in giant ice statues with a single thin fishing rod. It wasn't something just anyone could do.

M-My goodness.

What kind of reward is this...!

At first, the Ahjussis had started because they were baited by his provocations, but after catching one, they realized what an incredible quest this fishing was.

A fisherman's dream is to catch a legendary big one, but no fisherman has ever reeled in an ancient beastman warship... This was a massive reward that couldn't be compared to catching any rare fish!

"If you need help, should I call some other people?"

"N-No! We can do it ourselves!"

"Something this easy is more than enough for us!"

The Ahjussis hurriedly cast their fishing lines. They were anxious that if they went too slow, Tae-hyun would call more people. This... we have to keep this for ourselves!

"Urgh... I was saving this to use at a crucial moment... Take this!"

"!??!?"

Why on earth would you use that for fishing...! Tae-hyun was horrified and tried to stop him, but it had already been cast.

"Move quickly, move!"

Tae-hyun even mobilized the Archisus Artillery. Since he had deployed the Sky Castle, he could mobilize the Archisus Artillery ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as well.

The strong giants and Archisus Chimeras ran with all their might, carrying the frozen ships.

"To the Frost Core!"

"Cold Curse!"

Tae-hyun's HP, which hadn't decreased in a long time, began to drop! It wasn't a huge amount, but he couldn't keep it active for long.

"Argh! It's cold, it's cold!"

The giants shuddered as they carried the loads. The cold spreading around them was enough to make even the giants shiver.

Fox tribe, Boar tribe, Deer tribe, Rabbit tribe, etc...

Why?

Really?

Swoooosh—

Tae-hyun and his group transported them using every ounce of strength they had.

"We're... we're done!"

Leveling up just from carrying and moving things! The message ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠window showed just how difficult this quest actually was. Indeed, even Tae-hyun had broken a sweat. The proof was that he had moved the Sky Castle, which he usually left untouched.

"Player Kim Tae-hyun! Thanks to you, I leveled up eight times!"

"Wow. There's really no one like the Pope!"

"Seriously, there's no one like our Pope!"

"...Congratulations..." Tae-hyun said with a gloomy expression. From the looks of it, these people were already at a much higher level than him!

"Alright. Let's finish the rest. Artillery, prepare for battle!"

The Archisus Artillery dragged heavy cannons and demons down from the Sky Castle. Duke Gellendel tilted his head in confusion at the sight.

"Why do you keep those demons around, Your Majesty?"

Tae-hyun hesitated for a moment, wondering what to say. If he told the Elf the truth...

Why?

Are you a genius?

"Duke. Those demons are kept around so we can extract their energy to power the cannons. I am a man who hunts demons indiscriminately just to use them for such purposes."

Tae-hyun spoke in a sinister voice. Gellendel gasped in admiration at those words.

"Your Majesty... there is truly no other hero on this continent like you!"

...Carbanog? Carbanog???