The Clearing of Devotion

The noble lord NPCs in the south, who had been boasting, "If we join forces, even the King can't touch us!" were now in a state of absolute panic. It wasn't just one city under attack anymore—suddenly, multiple cities were being assaulted simultaneously.

"Count Milene! The blood of your people cries out for justice! Come out, you coward! Face the judgment of justice!"

"What nonsense is this?! You lawless vagabond adventurers! Do you think you will get away with this?! How dare you attack my city! Are you mocking the Atali Kingdom?! I will not forgive you in the name of the Kingdom! The other nobles of the Kingdom will—"

"Guys, don't listen to his drivel! Attack! Begin the assault!"

"Y-you adventurers! Tell me what I did wrong! Sure, I collected a bit too much tax and worked the commoners hard, but that's hardly a crime, is it?!"

"...That is exactly why!"

The players, who had thrown out a plausible excuse without much thought only to hit the bullseye, quickly changed their tune.

"Yeah! That's exactly why we're attacking you!"

"Let's save the people of Milene!"

"Attack! Attack!"

"T-those absolute madmen... Quick, send a request for help to the other Counts!"

"Shall we also contact the King?"

"Do you even have to ask?! Send it immediately!"

The nobles were already terrified because the city of Tillau had been captured by some random adventurers. They had assumed the Count of Tillau would defend it well enough on his own, but that idiot had gone and lost the entire city! They were now desperate enough to contact Tae-hyun, whom they usually ignored. Of course, Tae-hyun made excellent use of Pelmas.

"Keep telling them I'm not here."

"Yes, Your Majesty! Understood!"

"Right now, it looks like four Counts—Tillau, Pinelle, Milene, and Treum—are about to be wiped out..."

Tillau was already captured, and the rest were only a matter of time. Even if they held out, they wouldn't win.

"So even if the remaining nobles try to rebel, it won't really be a problem."

Even if the noble NPCs triggered a quest like:

It wasn't scary anymore. Before they could even reach him, they would have to fight through the territories of Kim Tae-san, Chairman Yoo, Woodstock, and various other guilds!

"At this rate, I can run the kingdom however I want."

"Indeed..."

Lee Da-bi agreed, looking at him with admiration. Tae-hyun definitely possessed a broader vision than she did. While she was only worrying about how to squeeze gold out of the players in the Valley...

He was already thinking about how to squeeze the entire kingdom!

"Now that we have plenty of gold, I'm thinking of increasing the number of kingdom soldiers."

Paving roads and stationing soldier NPCs in various places yielded all sorts of benefits. Public security would improve, monsters and bandits would be cleared out...

And best of all, taxes could be collected from places that previously yielded nothing!

I should expand the kingdom by building new villages and fortresses on the vacant lands.

The Valley was almost completely packed, so it was time to expand their territory outward!

"Tae-hyun."

"Yeah?"

"Leave it to Power Warrior!"

"The pioneering? There won't be much profit in it, you know."

Quests to build new villages or fortresses weren't particularly lucrative. They were typically menial labor quests suited for beginners—gathering materials, laying bricks, and building walls. The difficulty was low, but so were the rewards.

"No, the rewards might be small, but those guys have nothing but time."

"...They're your own guild members...!"

Lee Da-bi was ruthlessly objective, even when judging her own guild members!

"And this is an investment for the future."

"?"

"If we buy up shop buildings in the newly established villages and fortresses beforehand, we'll hit the jackpot later."

The answer was always real estate! The guild members had already witnessed the buildings and land they had bought in the Valley on a whim skyrocket in value.

If it was them, even if she asked, "Hey guys, want to do a village-building quest for free?" they would eagerly shout, "Yes!!! Just let us do it!!!!"

"...W-well, if Power Warrior takes charge of it, that's great for me."

Having them do it was far more trustworthy than letting other large guilds enter the territory to do business. With a single command from Tae-hyun, they could pull off all kinds of underhanded tricks... err, operations!

And so, the internal construction quests of the Atali Kingdom began. It was a modest, quiet start, completely different from other large guilds.

"Hmm. Let's clear those statues out of here."

"No, Your Majesty! What a waste... Aren't those the very symbol of your authority?"

Pelmas tried to flatter him. He had a guilty conscience about many things he had done while Tae-hyun was away. One of them was trying to raise taxes while the players were running wild! Of course, it was a time when everyone was voluntarily saying, "We were wrong! Please raise our taxes!" but still, who knew who Tae-hyun would decide to punish?

"Pelmas."

"Yes?"

"Should I make a statue of you too?"

"A-ah, no...!"

Pelmas was deeply moved. Even though Tae-hyun seemed cold, he really cared about him!

"Thank you, Your Majesty! To be honest, though I don't like to toot my own horn, haven't I achieved far more than Galakpad?"

"Right. Stand over there."

"Pardon?"

"Stand right there. I'll turn you into a statue on the spot."

"......"

Pelmas instantly became humble.

"On second thought, I don't think I am worthy of a statue yet. I believe Galakpad would be much better suited."

"Good. I like your humility."

Tae-hyun sighed as he looked at the main street and the plaza. There was a reason for his sigh.

"......"

In the short time he had been gone, an absurd number of makeshift statues had cropped up! When the Sky Castle disappeared and the players were panicking, they had rushed to build them, thinking, Hey, if we build statues, maybe Kim Tae-hyun will calm down.

A few of them, crafted by highly skilled players, looked decent and even provided buffs, but most of them were of highly inconsistent quality. The triple stone walls guarding the outer perimeter of the Valley already had statues that the engineering players had poured their souls into making, so why did they need more?!

It feels like a waste to use a skill on these.

The quality of the statues was simply too poor. In the end, Tae-hyun decided to remove all of them and dump them in a secluded clearing in the forest outside his territory.

Man, if it were up to me, I'd just melt them all down. They're needlessly massive...

They were made of iron, copper, and bronze, and some were even plated with silver or gold. Melting them down would probably yield a fortune. But since they were made by others, destroying or melting them was tricky, and above all...

......

What a garbage class! A game system that wouldn't even let him destroy statues of his own face! Tae-hyun was dumbfounded, but he had no choice but to comply.

"Giants. Chimeras. Pick up all those statues and move them outside."

"That giant looks like Your Majesty."

"Stop talking nonsense and get to work!"

The Giants and Chimeras searched every corner of the territory, carrying away all kinds of statues. The players had built statues in the most bizarre places.

"Some idiot built a statue inside the restroom. He must be a lunatic."

What? Really?

Tae-hyun, who was supervising the statue removal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in the secluded clearing, was taken aback. Had people really made a statue of Carbanog too?

Well, the Valley does owe a lot to the rabbit...

Since the territory benefited from Carbanog's blessing, the rabbits had been a huge help with farming. Thanks to that, the players had grown quite fond of them. Plus, Tae-hyun had used rabbit-related skills before!

Still, it's pretty surprising. How did they manage to make a rabbit statue...

"?"

Tae-hyun tilted his head. He couldn't see it.

"......"

Only then did Tae-hyun spot ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it. A tiny rabbit statue carved right at the foot of his own statue!

Tae-hyun suddenly felt a tear well up.

"...I'll just have a proper statue made for you..."

With so many people in the territory, posting a single quest would have them swarming to do it.

"All done. All done."

"There are way too many statues. Your Majesty, you don't need to build statues just to boost your self-esteem, you know."

"I didn't order them to be built!"

Tae-hyun snapped. Who did these guys think they were talking to, Cain?!

...I don't think this is exactly 'proof' of anything...

Was there actually any devotion in that madness?

"...?!?!?!"

Tae-hyun was stunned. Wh-what...

To think such a precious skill could be obtained in a humble place like this...!?

Isn't this a rare skill that only Archmages would use?

Among an Archmage's skills, there was a spell to create a phylactery that would be destroyed in their stead if they died. It was an Arcane skill that could basically only be learned after reaching the highest tier of magic skills and clearing all sorts of chain quests! To obtain such a skill just by dumping some statues in a clearing...

...As expected, living a good life brings blessings.

Tae-hyun regained his composure and nodded. It had been worth enduring all those times others made statues of his face and even sold souvenirs of him. It was all coming back to him now!

"A statue of holy devotion."

Tae-hyun did not hesitate to use the skill. Flash!

The statue that appeared was not a beautifully and exquisitely detailed masterpiece... It was a crude, blocky statue that looked as if it had been forced out by a sculptor who had only taken a beginner-level sculpting class! It blended in perfectly with the other inconsistently made statues, showing absolutely no sense of mismatch.

...It doesn't matter, as long as its durability is high. In fact, this serves as a better disguise...

If you want to hide a tree, hide it in a forest! Decoy Statue was a skill that fit the Archisus Clearing perfectly.

Hmm. Thinking about it that way, it's actually a good thing it was made so crudely.

I get it, I get it, Carbanog. But you know, it's only because I didn't make it myself. If I did, it would be a completely different story. This is just because of the skill.

Roar!

The forge in the Sky Castle burned without ceasing, running day after day.

This was all thanks to Bekelf, the reliable dwarf who was sweating profusely for the sake of the church!

"Ah! This is so rewarding! To think that someone as insignificant as me can help the people of the church with my work!"