The Winged Bandits and the Sealed Library

"She was such a nice person. Don't you think?"

"Yeah. I can see why she's so popular these days."

Lee Da-bi and Tae-hyun returned to their lodging, praising Nam Woo-yeon. A true idol! Both of them were slightly touched by Nam Woo-yeon's kind attitude, as she gladly signed autographs and took photos. Of course, they had no idea Nam Woo-yeon was currently switching her allegiance to Yuseong Games...

"Just when I thought we could catch a break, another raid?"

"They'll probably handle it on their own again."

"They won't come all the way here, right?"

The number of players who had ascended to Sky Island was quite substantial. It was only natural, considering so many had come up that the Central Continent now felt practically deserted. However, not all of those players were eager to fight. Most of them were casual players who just wanted to enjoy the game at their own pace, rather than high-level rankers. They were players who enjoyed crafting or exploring! In truth, the number of these casual players far outnumbered the high-level players who lived and breathed Pan-On.

"They're telling us to get to the walls. Asking us to join the territory defense battle."

"Ugh... why bother?"

"The fortress I'm at right now has pretty flimsy-looking walls. Should we go somewhere else?"

"Shall we? I only stayed here for the view anyway. Moving wouldn't hurt."

The defining trait of these casual players was that they were as free as the wind! Unlike on the Central Continent, where settling down in a city made them reluctant to leave, they had no such attachments here. They hadn't been on Sky Island long, they had no accumulated intimacy or privileges, and the island was so vast that there were countless new places to explore.

It was an unexpected, massive exodus! From the perspective of the large guilds, it was a reaction that made them gasp in horror.

A large-scale territory war was a battle that required an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠astronomical number of people. It wasn't just combat classes that were needed; support and crafting classes were essential to back them up from behind! Very few guilds could supply all of this from their own ranks, so most had to rely on casual players by handing out quests. But now, the very players who were supposed to accept those quests were running away in droves...

"No! Come back!"

"Everyone! The territory is safe! They won't invade, so please stay!"

"If they're not going to invade, why do you want us to stay?"

"That... that's... Argh! Block the gates!"

Only then did the large guilds realize they had miscalculated. Unless they were the Guild Alliance, which forced players into compliance, or someone like Tae-hyun, who players naturally flocked to because of his sheer popularity... people simply didn't care about territory wars! If they could do it, they would; if they felt they couldn't, they would just back out. Especially now, with a Legendary Quest on the line and the large guilds looking thoroughly untrustworthy, everyone was opting out, thinking, 'Ugh, I'm not doing this,' or 'This doesn't look good.'

While everyone was panicking over this unexpected turn of events, the warriors of the Garuda Kingdom began their assault.

Flap, flap—

"?"

"Is that a bird?"

"A wyvern?"

"No... that's... It's a raid! Raid! Raid! Tell all guild members to get on the walls!"

"Screeech! Screeech!"

"Fire Steel Feathers!"

As the Garuda Kingdom warriors, flying with wings on their backs, unleashed their feathers, the projectiles flew in like heavy boulders and battered the top of the walls.

"Activate the magic! Use the defenses we prepared in case Kim Tae-hyun flew in!"

"Yes, sir!"

The magic siege weapons installed on the walls began to glow. They were weapons specifically designed to intercept flying targets! They had spent an enormous amount of gold to purchase them in preparation for Tae-hyun, but to think they would end up using them like this. Still, it was a relief they had prepared them. Otherwise, they would have lost the walls instantly.

"Hey, tell all guild members to run to the walls! This is no joke!"

"Why are there so many of these bastards?!"

Individually, they didn't possess the overwhelming power of knights with levels over 500 or 600, but the Garuda Kingdom warriors swarmed the walls like a cloud of mosquitoes, striking and retreating in waves. Flying enemies were already difficult to deal with once you lost the initiative, but their sheer numbers doubled the difficulty!

Swish-swish-swish-swish!

"Retreat! Retreat! We're going to get wiped out at this rate!"

"There are too many of them!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The guilds, which had expected a minor raid of perhaps a few dozen enemies, suffered a brutal beating. Those that were even slightly unprepared lost their territories immediately, while only those that had prepared thoroughly out of fear of Kim Tae-hyun barely managed to survive the first wave!

"In the name of Garuda!"

"Garuda! Garuda!"

The flying warriors chased after the fleeing players in high spirits.

"Lowlanders, get back down to the dirt!"

"The sky belongs to our Garuda Kingdom!"

The large guilds, already stressed enough by having to deal with Kim Tae-hyun, were driven to a massive headache by this sudden disaster.

With such massive numbers swarming them, everyone agreed that unless they set up a barrier, things would become incredibly tedious. However...

The Ancient Empire Deserters spoke with swollen faces.

"The Garuda Kingdom bastards are a fierce band of bandits hovering near Sky Island, waiting for any opportunity to raid and plunder!"

"Pirates... no, sky pirates, I guess. They call it a 'Kingdom,' so do they have a king?"

"Yes."

According to the Ancient Empire Deserters, the Garuda Kingdom was entirely composed of warriors and plunderers. A kingdom of fierce warriors roaming the skies looking for loot! Naturally, the king was just as fierce...

"So, a bandit boss?"

"You understand perfectly!"

'I'm proud too.'

It was worth all the trouble of "persuading" them! Truly, humans could understand each other as long as they communicated.

Ignoring the message windows, Tae-hyun continued speaking.

"Anyway, I need to investigate the inside of the Sky Castle, and I need to buy some time. If the Garuda warriors come here, you guys can hold them off, right?"

"Yes!"

"Perhaps we could take this opportunity to go plunder somewhere else..."

"Just guard the Sky Castle."

"Yes, sir..."

The deserters looked dejected, but Tae-hyun didn't care. Now he had plenty of time to search the Sky Castle.

'Whew. Seriously... normally, I could have just gotten permission to use the castle and searched it...'

"Ooh..."

The party marveled.

Even at a glance, the library contained thousands of books! Most of the bookshelves were knocked over, broken, and covered in dust, but even salvaging just 1% of these books would ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be a jackpot.

"Let's all look for books we can use."

"It says I can't read this," Cain said.

"...I'll let you know if I find anything."

Considering that players almost never had knowledge of the Ancient Imperial Language, Tae-hyun searched through the books and handed useful ones to his party.

"Cain. Take this book."

"Oh... what is it?"

"...Is there no normal shield skill?"

"Ah, do you think books just grow on trees?"

Tae-hyun hoped for bomb recipes. Of course, Tae-hyun was already a master of mechanical engineering with recipes for offensive, defensive, ambush, play, and decorative bombs. But a mechanical engineering blacksmith always seeks stronger, newer bombs! An ancient empire bomb would be perfect.

'What is wrong with these crazy people?'

Tae-hyun grimaced at the sudden notification while grinding stats. He didn't need that kind of evaluation! The people of Sky Island, descendants of the Ancient Empire, inherited various ancient classes.

The mainland Archisus Church was destroyed, but the Sky Island branch survived because they lost contact.

'...!'

Tae-hyun clenched his fist as the quest window popped up. He knew there was something on Sky Island!

And a Holy Knight Commander of the Archisus Church. Just the name sounded...

'...I was going to say reliable. Carbanog, prejudice is a bad thing. Look at Bishop Pelmarne. He's a highly capable bishop.'