A Stolen Legacy

However, the terror of the Idergo warriors lay not just in their numbers, but in how incredibly annoying they were to deal with. Even after death, they left behind various lingering effects to plague their opponents!

'At this rate, they're more like undead than a religious order, aren't they?'

Honestly, it was absurd that bastards like this claimed to be a holy order and used divine power. They were practically undead...!

“Ugh! You filthy bastards!”

“Using plague like cowards! Fight us fair and square!”

The Ancient Empire deserters from Sky Island and the Garuda warriors groaned as the plague spread. Because their levels were so high and their HP pools so massive, a little plague wouldn't make them collapse immediately. However, the true terror ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of these debuffs was that they stacked.

If the stacks kept building, even high-level players would eventually drop!

“Priests, cast your heals!”

“Yes, sir!”

“Sadiq's Flame of Regeneration!”

Whoosh!

Naturally, the Sadiq priests possessed recovery skills of their own. It turned out the Sadiq Order didn't just run around playing with matches all day!

“Does it not restore HP?”

“Uh, it only cleanses status ailments...”

“...Well, I'm the fool for expecting anything. Lee Da-bi! I need some heals over here!”

“On it!”

“...”

The Sadiq priests suddenly felt a wave of sorrow. Every order had its strengths and weaknesses, but to be dismissed like this just because they couldn't restore HP...!

News of Tae-hyun's party setting out to subjugate the Idergo Cult spread like wildfire. Since they hadn't tried to hide it in the first place, it was only natural for the word to get out.

Above all, the Idergo Cult was currently the hottest topic of interest among the players of the Central Continent.

Should they fight them? Should they avoid them? Or should they just flee as far away as possible?

In the midst of such uncertainty, Tae-hyun's group—who was the very first to march out to subjugate the cult—couldn't help but draw everyone's eyes.

It was only natural. The Idergo Cult was currently rising up and running rampant all over the place. Moreover, having absorbed the monster waves, other kingdoms were declaring states of emergency and mobilizing. If they couldn't stop them now, it would be truly catastrophic!

Spurred by the testimonies popping up everywhere, players began to grow intrigued.

While Tae-hyun's gameplay was legendary, the truth was that following him felt incredibly daunting. Since he was always the first to tackle the absolute hardest quests, even most high-level players didn't dare to dream of joining him.

But that was a complete misunderstanding! If there were players around, Tae-hyun would find a way to put them to work. Utilizing whatever resources were available to their absolute limit—that was the essence of Kim Tae-hyun.

“Tae-hyun, players are constantly arriving.”

“Really? More than I expected. Perfect. Let's divide them by class, form parties, and have them stand by.”

“Understood!”

By the time they fended off the fifth wave of the Idergo Cult's warriors, the enemy's assault had slowed down significantly. Tae-hyun seized the opportunity to organize the players.

“Chefs, gather in the center! Blacksmiths, right next to them! Group up by profession! I'll supply the materials, so craft whatever you can and hand out buffs! Priests, over here!”

“Uh, our levels are pretty low... Is it really okay for us to craft?”

“It's fine! Numbers are what matter anyway! Archisus priests! Buff them!”

While the Archisus priests couldn't cast powerful recovery magic themselves, they could bestow incredibly potent buffs on players who could cast recovery spells—especially when it came to crafting professions!

“!!”

For most of them, it was their very first time receiving a Luck buff from so many priests at once. With racing hearts, the gathered players began activating their skills.

“Atali Kingdom Secret Intermediate Cooking!”

“Soup Specialization Cooking!”

“Meat Butchering ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Cooking!”

“Abnormal Co—”

“Wait, abnormal cooking is a bit...”

“What? Are you looking down on abnormal cooking?!”

The player who had mastered the Abnormal Cooking skill flared up in anger. How dare they look down on the culinary art of abnormal cooking!

“That's because you guys have had a smooth ride in Pan-On without any brutal quests! Once you've suffered through as many hellish quests as I have, abnormal cooking tastes like a sweet dessert!”

“What kind of bullshit is that?!”

“Hey! We don't have time to bicker! The Idergo Cult bastards are marching up again! We need to craft, fast!”

“Ooh!”

“Me too! Me too!”

Masterpieces that players would normally never see—items that required astronomical luck to produce even once—were now being churned out in droves. Archisus's Luck had a way of pulling the slimmest possibilities into reality.

Even with the beasts and warriors of the Idergo Cult swarming right in front of them, the players were too thrilled to care, happily spamming their crafting skills.

“Pass the food around! Eat up!”

“Wait, I'm already full...”

“Ah, the more you eat, the better! Stacking! Don't you know about buff stacking?!”

“Argh!”

Thanks to that, the combat-class players were showered with all kinds of bizarre buffs they would normally never even dream of receiving.

“What the hell am I supposed to do with a Speech skill buff?!”

“I mean, it's nice, but do we really need this much?”

“Take this herbal medicine made from abnormal cooking! If you're Korean, you've got to drink your herbal medicine!”

“...”

“...”

The players fell into a deep state of inner conflict. Ah... Abnormal cooking definitely has great effects, but... do we really have to eat that?

“They're not spawning anymore! Charge! We need to burn down their plague pools!”

At Tae-hyun's shout, the players let out a roaring battle cry and surged forward. Though the Idergo Cult had held their ground by summoning waves of beasts and warriors dozens of times, they finally began to crumble under the relentless pressure of Tae-hyun's raid team.

“Archisus's Divine Territory!”

Tae-hyun realized it was time to drive the final nail into the coffin. He immediately activated his Authority skill, buffing the entire raid team around him.

Boom! Rumble! Crash!

From behind, heavy artillery provided fiery support, unleashing attacks that completely pulverized the low-HP beasts!

“Sadiq's Wave of Flame!”

Flames surged and danced everywhere. The Sadiq priests had a habit of setting fires first and asking questions later. After all, playing with fire was the absolute best way to deal with the Idergo Cult!

“Hey, can you guys stop setting everything on fire?!”

“It's too hot! I don't even have fire resistance!”

“It's actually getting in the way!”

The players voiced their complaints. They were in the middle of a thrilling battle, so having to constantly dodge the flames just to move around was incredibly annoying.

At this ungrateful reaction, the Sadiq priests wept tears of blood.

“Those wicked bastards...! Who do they think we're setting these fires for?!”

“High Priest, please stay strong! They just don't know any better!”

Seeing that the adventurers failed to appreciate their sincere efforts, the Sadiq priests beat the ground in sorrow.

“Seriously, those Sadiq guys are way too destructive. I feel like they'd team-kill without a second thought.”

“Exactly. There's a reason they tried to destroy the continent.”

“Ugh...!”

“!”

In a final, desperate struggle, the Idergo Cult unleashed a giant beast. It was a creature that had bloated to massive proportions by devouring the corpses of other beasts! Though it resembled a flat lizard, its size was practically dinosaurian.

'Hmm. It looks like it can take a beating. If I disorient it with artillery, then close in to unleash a burst of critical damage, expose its weak point, and melt it down...'

While Tae-hyun was busy formulating a strategy, the Sadiq paladins beside him gasped in shock.

“Th-That...!”

“?”

“That's our order's demonic beast, isn't it?!?!”

“...”

Tae-hyun and Carbanog were simultaneously rendered speechless.

“Uh... it's not that I don't trust Sadiq, but no matter how I look at it, that thing looks like an Idergo Cult beast...”

“It is indeed our order's beast! Those bastards stole it and corrupted it!”

“I see. Understood. I'll defeat it and grant it a peaceful death.”

“You can't! We're already short on our order's demonic beasts! Please persuade it!”

“Kruaaagh!”

The beast roared right on cue. Its posture made it abundantly clear that it was in no mood for negotiations.

“...Hmm. I might be a master of Speech, but honestly, there are limits to what can be resolved through conversation...”

There was only one beast left running amok, so why bother trying to persuade it? It would be much easier to just kill it!

But the Sadiq priests pleaded with tearful eyes.

“If we capture it, it will be of immense help!”

“We can even put it in the stable! Please let us raise it! We will care for it with love!”

“...”

I don't want to put it in there! Tae-hyun grimaced in disgust. No matter how strong and powerful the beast was, why on earth would they want to keep that thing...!

“You trash who refuse to believe in Lord Idergo! Lord Idergo's beast shall punish you!”

The Idergo Cult beast-tamer NPCs riding atop the beast shouted triumphantly. Enraged by their shouts, the Sadiq paladins charged forward.

“Cut the crap! You stole and raised a Sadiq demonic beast egg, and now you dare spout such nonsense?!”

“What? The Sadiq Order? No wonder there were fools wielding pathetic flames here—you're those insignificant Sadiq bastards! We thought you were wiped out, but to think you're still clinging to life!”

“...”

Tae-hyun felt a sudden pang of guilt.