No One to Save the Dragon

But there was no one to save Nitinger. He grumbled inwardly as he spoke.

"But ten times is simply too much, Lord Archisus. I will fight so fiercely that it will feel like ten battles, so please, let us make it three..."

"Three times? Who do you think you're kidding?"

'If it's a battle that requires mobilizing a dragon, isn't three times already more than enough?!'

Nitinger cursed inwardly. He wondered what kind of battle-starved glutton he was dealing with to call three times "too few." It wasn't as if battles massive enough to warrant a dragon's intervention happened every day.

'It's not like we're in the middle of an all-out war between the Heavens and the Demon Realm...'

In the ancient past, when gods and demons waged total war against each other and Archisus pulled his schemes from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the shadows, such conflicts were common. Back then, dragons might boast of their supremacy on the continent, but they were ultimately a step below gods and demon archdukes. In those days, dragons merely bowed their heads, summoned hither and thither at the whims of higher powers.

But this was a peaceful era. The gods and demons had long departed the continent, so what could there possibly be to fight over? No matter how powerful the Avatar of Archisus was, he was still a mere human—a mortal. Unless he had somehow marched into the Demon Realm and personally insulted the demon archdukes, there was no reason for the denizens of hell to target him now.

Of course, Nitinger had no way of knowing that Tae-hyun had already made sworn enemies of multiple demon archdukes. Even in a peaceful era, Archisus was still Archisus.

"Fine. Eight times!"

"F-Four? How about four times?"

"Tsk, tsk. Four times? What good is that going to do?"

Tae-hyun and Nitinger continued their fierce negotiations. Though they looked incredibly serious on the outside, the actual content of their discussion was trivial. Of course, the players watching from afar had no way of knowing that.

"What on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠earth are they talking about?"

"Well, at least Nitinger has stopped attacking..."

Once it was clear that the area was safe, the number of players swelled rapidly. Among them were representatives from major guilds, watching the negotiations unfold with expressions of tense anxiety.

"Auditory Enhancement!"

"Urgh...!"

They desperately tried to eavesdrop, but Nitinger's magic barrier was of an absurdly high difficulty. It was a level that players could never hope to breach.

"Does anyone know what they're saying? What about his stream?"

"Kim Tae-hyun turned off his stream..."

"Did you try sending donations to ask him to turn it back on?"

"You know how he is. Even if billions of won are piled up in donations, he won't stream if he doesn't feel like it."

"Find a way to persuade him!"

"If we could do that, he'd be Cain, not Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Damn it!"

With information completely cut off, wild rumors naturally began to circulate. Absurd speculation about the negotiations spread like wildfire among the players.

"I heard Nitinger got hit once, surrendered to Kim Tae-hyun, and now Tae-hyun is changing classes to a Dragon Rider!"

"What? Is that true?"

"That's what they say. Apparently, Nitinger is trying to convince Tae-hyun to join forces and conquer the continent together."

"T-Then what about Erangs Kingdom or Auston Kingdom? And what about the guilds that secured territories nearby?"

"What do you think? They're completely ruined."

"Who do you think Kim Tae-hyun will strike first?"

"It has to be the Guild Alliance, right?"

It was a legendary rivalry! Ever since the launch of Pan-On 2, the Guild Alliance had sought to reign supreme as a mega-guild, while Tae-hyun simply walked his own path, completely ignoring their demands. The two forces were destined to clash. They had fought so many times that there were content creators who specialized solely in analyzing their conflicts.

So many people had milked this topic that whenever a similar video was uploaded, comments would immediately read, "Stop trying to get easy views, how many times are you going to recycle this?" Yet, there was a reason people kept milking it. Tae-hyun's name alone was a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that drew everyone's attention. It was to the point where even major broadcasting networks and movie production companies, not just individual streamers, were keeping an eye on him!

"It's definitely the Guild Alliance, right?"

"Obviously the Guild Alliance."

"Yeah, the Guild Alliance..."

As a result, if you asked a hundred people there, "If Kim Tae-hyun decides to beat someone up, who will it be?" ninety-nine of them would answer, "The Guild Alliance!" Hearing this, the faces of the Guild Alliance members turned pale.

The officers were also watching the live broadcasts from players on the scene. Although Kim Tae-hyun and Nitinger were sitting face-to-face, there was certainly no leash in sight.

However, the panicked guild members swallowed the rumors hook, line, and sinker.

'Kim Tae-hyun is building a dragon cage in his territory to drag it around, creating a terrifying army he can summon whenever he wants!!!'

Because the scouts on the scene spoke with such absolute conviction, the officers began to waver as well.

'They wouldn't be making this up out of thin air. Is that really what's happening?'

'If Kim Tae-hyun tames a Red Dragon...'

A cold shiver ran down their spines. Tae-hyun was already a force of nature on his own. If he managed to get his hands on a Red Dragon, there was no telling what kind of havoc he would unleash.

When a crisis strikes, the loudest voice always drowns out the voice of reason. The officers, who still carried the deeply engraved trauma of being tormented by Kim Tae-hyun, began to panic as if the sky were falling.

The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold. A quick-witted officer hastily changed the subject.

A representative sent by the investors spoke up, pouring oil on the fire. He looked absolutely delighted at the prospect of a short-term profit spike, completely unconcerned with whether the Guild Alliance went under or not. Naturally, the officers' faces contorted into sour grimaces.

'That bastard...'

'Is he mocking us?'

Indeed, streaming platforms had been desperately hunting for high-quality Pan-On content lately. If they could provide exclusive coverage of a "Kim Tae-hyun vs. Guild Alliance" showdown, streaming companies would line up to throw money at them. In today's highly competitive market, premium Pan-On footage was a goldmine. Rumor had it there were even plans to produce a drama series based on it...

They had indeed purchased bombs from him during a territorial war with another guild. But claiming they were close based on a simple business transaction was incredibly embarrassing!

Alcott was the most loyal and selfless ranker among all the Guild Alliance members! While others selfishly focused only on their own quests, Alcott had always prioritized the guild. It was no wonder that despite being a foreign player, he was one of the most trusted rankers among the executives!

The officers were deeply moved. While other rankers were walking on eggshells around Nitinger, Alcott had bravely led a group of rankers to stop the dragon. And he had even swallowed his pride to join Kim Tae-hyun's raid party! They could only imagine how humiliating it must have been for him to join Tae-hyun's squad.

The officers chanted Alcott's name in a wave of overwhelming emotion. Just then, one of the newly joined Chinese rankers spoke up in a disgruntled tone.

The ranker's face turned pale under the sudden barrage of criticism. He had never expected to face such intense backlash just for badmouthing a single foreign ranker!

Hearing Su Ning and the officers' words, the other rankers grumbled inwardly.

'Since when did they care so much about someone's feelings...'

'These are the same people who would throw a massive fit if we didn't follow orders immediately!'

They were absolutely coddling Alcott! Filled with jealousy, the disgruntled rankers spoke up.

'Heheh. Alcott, you bastard. Let's see you suffer.'

'The humiliation of bowing down to Kim Tae-hyun...! And if he fails the task on top of that, it'll be a double humiliation!'

'He's been acting so smug ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠lately because he's doing well. It's time to bring him down a peg.'