Breaking the Knights
Even after that, Tae-hyun didn’t stop driving the knights into the ground.
If monsters appeared?
“Charge! Deal with those monsters honorably!”
“N-no. Could you help a little—”
“It would be dishonorable for adventurers like us to interfere in a knight’s battle too! Charge!”
When it was time to rest?
“Isn’t there anything else to eat? If someone other than those people made it... no, it’s not that I can’t eat it...”
The knights were becoming pitiful at an alarming rate.
“Ughhh...”
“Die! Die, you monsters! Die!”
As time passed, the knights changed a great deal.
The neat, gleaming exterior they once had was nowhere to be seen. Now they were filthy and ragged.
Judging by appearances alone, they looked like men who had spent years being ground down on battlefields.
More like mercenaries worn to the nub than honorable knights.
No one looking at them now would think honorable knight.
And there was one more thing that had changed.
The way they fought.
“I’ll chew out your heart!”
“Come any closer, you bastards! I’ll tear you apart so thoroughly there won’t even be bone fragments left!”
Their tempers had grown so savage that even monsters recoiled in fear.
Don’t feed them, don’t wash them, don’t groom them, work them like beasts—of course people got meaner by the day.
The knights’ morale decreases.
The knights’ affinity decreases.
The knights’ obedience increases.
Tactics increases.
Very nice.
Tae-hyun nodded in satisfaction as he looked at the rising stats.
“Break time!”
He halted the group and walked over to where the knights had gathered.
The knights had dismounted and were resting.
The way they sat with their heads hanging low, staring blankly into the campfire without moving, they looked practically like corpses.
That was how exhausted they were.
Instead of talking to them, Tae-hyun set a pot on the ground and began to cook.
You begin making a soup using four ingredients that give off an extremely delicious smell.
You receive a bonus from your Intermediate Cooking skill.
Tae-hyun was very deliberately making something that smelled irresistibly good.
At this point, his skill was enough to slap around most chefs with ease.
His recipes might have been a bit limited and repetitive, but overwhelming Luck covered for all of that.
Chop, chop. He sliced up the spices, vegetables, and meat he had on hand and tossed them in, then boiled everything over a fierce flame. Even the rest of the party, who were already full, found themselves sniffing the air.
And for the knights, who had been going hungry the whole time, the smell was even more agonizing.
“Nngh... nghhh...”
“Nngghhh...”
Watching the suffering knights, Tae-hyun grinned.
“Want some?”
“...!”
“Wait. Come to think of it, you said last time you didn’t really want any, didn’t you?”
“That was about the food those people made!”
“That’s right!”
The knights had become very polite.
But Tae-hyun wasn’t easy to deal with.
“What those guys made and what I made—it’s all the same thing. It’s all somebody’s sincere effort. You insulted that, and now you want to eat? Can’t you see those wounded expressions over there?”
When Tae-hyun pointed with his finger, the blacksmiths stared at the knights with vacant expressions.
If you stretched it, sure, maybe those were wounded expressions.
Though they looked a lot closer to blank stares.
“Still, if you really want to eat, I suppose I can think about it. They made it for someone else to eat, and if it goes to waste because no one touches it, that’d make me sad, wouldn’t it?”
Listening to him, you’d think he was a kind, sincere chef.
Woo Jeong-sik heard that and shook his head.
The knights, however, failed to notice anything and raised their hands, shouting eagerly.
“We want to eat!”
“Please let us eat!”
Tae-hyun asked again.
“Really?”
“Really!”
“We really want to eat!”
“Eating is one thing, but that’s not what you were saying before. Is it okay to change your tune like that?”
“...”
“...”
The knights clammed up like men struck dumb.
Tae-hyun smiled and went on.
“Then again, if you think about it, words are supposed to change depending on the situation. Right? People can’t help it.”
“T-that’s true.”
“Being too stubborn all the time isn’t exactly honorable behavior either, is it?”
The knights nodded and agreed with Tae-hyun’s words.
At this point, they looked like they’d sell their armor for a spoonful of food.
“So from now on, you won’t be so stubborn, and you’ll listen to my orders properly too, right? Hmm?”
“...”
“...”
The knights fell silent again.
They were struggling with the last scraps of their pride.
But Tae-hyun was the sort of man who could read exactly what was going on inside them.
“Don’t want to? Fine, then. I don’t want to force-feed anyone either. I made this with all kinds of effort! With complete sincerity! If you don’t want it, then forget it. Right?”
“N-no!”
“Then after you eat, you’ll listen to me better from now on, right? Hmm?”
“...”
“Only those who agree can come up and eat.”
The knights’ obedience rises to the maximum.
You have completely brought the knights under your control. Infamy increases by 150.
No, what did I even do to get Infamy?
Before Tae-hyun could complain, more messages popped up one after another.
Speech levels up.
Beginner Speech changes to Intermediate Speech. You will now receive bonuses when persuading NPCs.
Beginner Threaten changes to Intermediate Threaten. You receive additional bonuses when threatening NPCs.
Beginner Tactics changes to Intermediate Tactics. You receive bonuses when commanding subordinates. You can command more and stronger subordinates.
You have obtained the title: Heartless Commander.
Heartless Commander
Heartless Commander: You do not rule your subordinates through trust and virtue, but through fear and obedience.
Those under your command have no choice but to obey any order out of fear.
Additional bonus to Tactics.
Morale penalty when commanding subordinates.
Subordinates do not rebel.
Infamy rises quickly.
“U-ugh... ah, damn it!”
“Let’s just eat first!”
In the end, the knights surrendered.
They rushed in a pack and began ladling out the food and stuffing themselves.
After starving for so long, just eating made their faces light up with happiness.
Watching that, Tae-hyun smiled benevolently.
“There you go. There you go. Eat up, everyone.”
That more or less settled control over the knights.
Now it was time to head for the Valley of Despair and Sorrow.
“We got here first!”
It had been worth rushing over with guild members as soon as they got the quest.
The players from the first guild to arrive threw their hands up with delighted expressions.
There weren’t just one or two players participating in this large-scale quest.
To pull ahead by one step in the contribution race—it was impossible not to be happy.
You are the first to arrive at the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. You receive a contribution bonus.
“Hey, hey, hey. It’s too early to celebrate. We’ve got to kill as much as possible before the others get inside.”
The guild leader calmed his guildmates down.
Being the first guild to reach a dungeon came with all sorts of bonuses.
You are the first to enter the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. You receive an additional bonus.
Item drop rate and experience gain increase.
You gain additional Fame when fighting.
The guild members’ expressions brightened at once.
It was the kind of bonus that would make anyone grin.
“Damn it!”
“We’re late!”
While they were celebrating, the other guilds arrived in a rush behind them.
They clicked their tongues in disappointment at having lost the first-arrival advantage.
“It’s not too late yet! Get in there, fast!”
“We need to kill as much as possible before the others show up!”
The players poured inside in a flood.
It was obvious from how hurried they were that they feared others might steal contribution points from them.
No one thought the quest would fail.
Large-scale quests with this many players usually didn’t.
Grrrrrr...
“A monster. Take it down!”
The moment they entered the valley, monsters began appearing.
Sadiq’s Black Horned Demonic Beasts.
Huge creatures with massive bodies and powerful four-legged movement.
But the players gathered here had all come because they were confident they could clear the quest.
They didn’t retreat. They immediately got ready to fight.
“Priests, get the buffs on us. The second you’re ready, we go in!”
“Intermediate Blessing of the Goddess Demer.”
“The Goddess’s Power That Envelops the Earth!”
As the two priests in the rear began casting holy magic, dazzling light began shining from the other players’ bodies.
The priests here both belonged to the Demer Order, worshipers of the Earth Goddess Demer.
And both of them had Rare Class jobs.
Everyone acknowledged that the Demer Order’s buff spells were the real deal.
“We’re going in! Tankers! Pull aggro first!”
“Got it!”
The warriors acting as tanks charged forward.
Not all warriors were the same.
There were light-armored types like Tae-hyun, who dodged attacks while dealing heavy damage, and there were heavy-armored types like knights, who advanced while taking hits head-on.
The latter were the ones who served as tanks in a party.
Boom! Boom!
“Shield Brace!”
In a virtual reality game, it wasn’t enough to simply be high level and have good stats.
You had to move your own body to fight, so actual combat sense mattered.
The three tanks planted their huge shields and encircled Sadiq’s Black Horned Demonic Beast.
They formed a wall so the monster couldn’t rampage through and slip behind them.
“Hit it!”
Then came the attack.
As soon as the tanks started, the players behind them unleashed their own skills.
“Stealth, Identify Weak Point, Ambush, Poisoned Blade!”
One rogue darted behind the beast and unloaded a skill combo into it.
The monster staggered.
“Kuaaahhhhk!”
As the beast shuddered violently from the blow, the tanks exchanged glances and shouted.
“It’s about to go wild! Hold it!”
“Got it!”
Monsters used skills too.
Movements like that were tells before they fired one off.
What kind of skill do you think it’s using?
With a body like that? Might be a charge. Be careful.
“Kraaahhh!”
The beast let out a huge roar, crouched low, and launched itself forward explosively.
“...!”
“Block it!”
The tanks moved fast, ducking behind their shields.
“Summon Iron Wall!”
“Counterattack!”
The tanks here were experienced in party play.
They’d dealt with plenty of giant beasts rampaging like this.
But...
HP instantly drops below 50%.
You are afflicted with Stun. You cannot move temporarily.
You are afflicted with Bleeding. You take bleed damage.
“Aaaagh?!”
The tanks screamed as they were flung aside.
The beast’s attack had been far stronger than expected.
“What the hell was that?!”
One spearman and the rogue attacking from the rear cried out in shock.
The tanks had been blown away just like that.
This was not the sort of attack you blocked.
It was the kind you were supposed to dodge.
And monsters this strong usually didn’t show up right at the dungeon entrance.
“This is the entrance, isn’t it?! Why the hell is something like that here?!”
“How should I know?! It’s coming again! Watch out! Protect the mages and priests first!”
The players cursed and scrambled into motion.
They had underestimated it because it was the first monster they encountered after entering the dungeon.
But the demonic beasts in this dungeon were far stronger than they had expected.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the beast stomped its feet, the earth shattered and jagged rocks burst upward.
“Rapid Mana Barrier!”
One of the mages hastily threw up a defense, but the spearman trying to dodge was hit head-on and went sprawling.
“Aagh!”
“Hang on! I’ll heal you now!”
They had entered the fight at ease, but the party had already descended into chaos.
And from atop the cliffs of the valley, there were people watching that entire scene unfold.
Holy Knights of the Sadiq Church.
“Ha. Look at that pathetic lot. Aren’t those wretches truly foolish?”
At the words of the high-ranking Holy Knight, Burford bowed his head and answered obsequiously.
“They truly are.”
“Then we should teach them the lesson of Sadiq.”