A Crash Landing and an Unwanted Promotion

Rankers who hunted safely with supportive party members versus Tae-hyun, who threw himself into disadvantageous situations alone. Even if they had the same level and class, they wouldn't have been able to do what Tae-hyun did.

"Why are you guys so bad at this?"

"..."

The Guild Alliance rankers, who had been shivering at the sheer gap in their skills, snapped out of it at Tae-hyun's words. Bad... we're bad?? Us????

One of the phrases players hated hearing most was, "Why are you so bad!" Hearing that as rankers, the shock was multiplied several times over.

"W-we're bad? Say that again!"

"But you are bad."

"Ugh... you..."

If it had been anyone else, they would have thrown down a duel flag and yelled, "Let's see how good you actually are!" But because their opponent was Tae-hyun, they couldn't even do that. If they threw a flag, a sword would probably end up in their skull!

Beside them, Cain snickered. He felt incredibly satisfied seeing others receive the exact same scolding he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠got every single time they went hunting.

"You guys shouldn't just do party hunts all the time. Try some solo play. Because you cowardly avoid solo play, you're all weak and your controls are pathetic."

"..."

Su Ning listened to Tae-hyun's words with highly complex and subtle emotions. As a guild leader, it made his blood boil to hear someone talk down to them like that... but because it was Kim Tae-hyun saying it, he found himself thinking, Wait, is that true? Are our rankers actually weak?

Honestly, the words of the world's best player were hard to just brush off.

"Uncle. Are your friends cowardly? What does cowardly mean?"

"...It's nothing!"

"Hmph. You always say it's nothing."

Beside them, Cain happily chimed in to explain. "Being cowardly means being scared and acting cheap!"

"No way! My uncle is super brave!"

"..."

"..."

"Stop staring, you bastards!" Su Ning barked fiercely. He was just trying to bluff a little, did they really have to stare at him like that and embarrass him?!

"But shouldn't we use this chance to escape?"

"Why bother? If we go out now, we'll just get pelted by long-range attacks."

Of course, if he used the Authorities of Archisus, he could temporarily become semi-invincible and break through the encirclement. If he did that, escaping downward was entirely possible! ...But Tae-hyun had no intention of doing so. What a waste of an Authority.

Honestly, wasting an Authority just to save the Guild Alliance bastards was a bit of a waste. There were plenty of other ways... And one more thing. If things go well, I might be able to launch the Sky Castle this time.

The life force had filled up rapidly due to the bloody battle that had occurred inside! If they blocked just a few more attacks, the Sky Castle would rise on its own.

"But once those guys snap out of it, won't they swarm us again?"

"That's why you should've lived a nice life. Just how much tyranny did you guys commit for them to be this relentless?"

"..."

"Don't worry. Once they get blocked at the entrance, their momentum will break."

And the Sky Castle will rise, too.

"The enemies aren't so easy that they'll be stopped by traps like this..."

KABOOM! CRASH! BAM!

"..."

Su Ning was utterly dumbfounded when he saw the sturdy entrance passage of the Sky Castle collapse entirely. That crazy bastard...! Just how many bombs did he plant?!

"Hmm. Was that a bit too much? Well, it's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not my building anyway."

"Exactly. It's fine if the entrance gets a little broken."

Su Ning felt dizzy listening to their conversation.

There were a few more waves of attacks, but Tae-hyun defended effectively. The gathered players hesitated. Not only because their attacks failed, but because rumors that Tae-hyun was there began to spread.

"Is it really Kim Tae-hyun?"

"How many players use bombs like that?"

"Why is Kim Tae-hyun with the Guild Alliance?"

"Was the rumor about them teaming up to conquer Sky Island true?"

"Come to think of it, didn't the Guild Alliance members build the roads in the Atali Kingdom last time? Is this similar?"

"What do you mean similar?"

"Kim Tae-hyun made them do it."

"That's ridiculous... Lending guild members is one thing, but dragging the guild leader himself? Unless Su Ning is insane, why would he do that just because Kim Tae-hyun told him to?"

"Who knows? If it's Kim Tae-hyun, he might have actually pulled it off."

The rumors began to spread in a bizarre direction.

Before long, messages started flooding in for Su Ning as well.

An executive sent by the investors spoke up, making Su Ning tense. What nonsense were they going to spout now...?

Su Ning blocked the executive. He was fighting desperately just to survive inside this Sky Castle, and these bastards were talking about this...!

Rumble—

"?"

The Guild Alliance members flinched at the sound of the castle vibrating.

"Did the castle just rumble? Did I hear wrong?"

"N-no. You heard correctly. I heard it too."

Rumble—

The dark, rusted Sky Castle suddenly let out a loud noise and burst with light, shocking the players gathered outside.

"The Sky Castle is moving!!!"

"What did the Guild Alliance guys do?"

"Idiots! It's obvious Kim Tae-hyun came here to secure another Sky Castle!"

"Then what about the Guild Alliance?"

"I told you, Kim Tae-hyun is using them. The Guild Alliance has a lot of people, so they're easy to exploit."

"It's rising! It rose!"

As the Sky Castle, which had barely been holding on, began to fly, the players watched as if possessed. It actually moves!

"But doesn't it look a bit wobbly?"

"Is it because it hasn't gained enough propulsion yet?"

"No... it looks really weird??"

"!"

It was activated, but... the state was completely bizarre. Tae-hyun realized after looking at the message window. This thing is a piece of junk!

While the Sky Castle owned by the Demon Duke had been steadily maintained, most of the castles here were broken down. Even if they revived it by infusing life force, there was no guarantee it would move properly!

Above all, the terrifying part is that we have to offer sacrifices to keep it moving.

Even the Demon Duke didn't run his castle like that!

"What happened!"

"I revived the castle as I said I would."

"I-is that so? Truly amazing!"

The eyes of the Ancient Empire Deserters turned slightly favorable. They had thought of him as a mere outsider from the lands below, but he possessed unexpected talents.

"But why is it spinning in circles like this and not moving forward?"

"The Sky Castle is a bit old, so it seems to be spinning on its own."

"...Then what should we do?"

"Who knows?"

"???"

"I said I'd revive it, I never said I'd pilot it. Shouldn't you guys, the owners of the castle, be the ones piloting it?"

"N-no. We don't know how to pilot it."

"What? And you call yourselves the owners of the castle after that? What a shameless bunch!"

Tae-hyun got angry, completely turning the tables. In situations like this, the one with the louder voice always ends up taking the blame!

"I said I'd revive it, but you couldn't even find a way to pilot it all this time? Does that make any sense! You incompetent fools! And you call yourselves descendants of the Empire!"

"N-no... we really didn't expect you to actually launch this castle."

"That's right. Besides, the method of piloting it was forgotten long ago."

The knights stammered in panic. They truly hadn't expected the castle to fly. And even if they had, they wouldn't have been able to find a method they didn't know.

"To think I came all this way to meet ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people like you... Unbelievable. Fine. I'll just have to speak to the Ancient Empire Prisoners."

"No! Calm down. We will prove our worth to you."

"By piloting this castle?"

"No, not that, but something else..."

"We will show you our combat strength."

Tae-hyun casually checked outside. Indeed, the Sky Castle was descending.

"Hmm. Guys. Let's use an Authority first. Authority of Archisus!"

When Tae-hyun's Authority skill was activated, luck was shared with the party. And at that exact moment, the Sky Castle crashed into the ground.

KABOOOOOM!

A sound incomparably louder than the previous explosions erupted, and a thick cloud of dust billowed out.

"..."

"..."

The castle was half-buried in the ground, and the people inside barely managed to pull themselves together and stand up. What on earth just happened?

"Very well! We shall temporarily entrust the position of Castle Lord to you. We recognize your knowledge of the Empire, and we acknowledge that you may possess some qualification to be a descendant of the Empire."

"...??"

"Give us your orders! We shall follow!"

"No, I have no intention of forming such a deep relationship with you guys."

Tae-hyun felt reluctant. What Tae-hyun wanted was to maintain a decent relationship with the Deserters while uncovering the secrets and various skills hidden inside the Sky Castles. Reviving the Sky Castle was just part of that affinity-building process!

However, ruling over a crashed castle on Sky Island and leading the Deserters was something he absolutely did not want to do.

Above all...

These guys seem like they'll be a massive pain.

They had terrible relations with the residents of Sky Island, and their personalities were stubborn and rigid... They were the type of people who would do nothing but cause trouble in every way possible!