A Sudden Declaration of War

However, regardless of Gerald's wicked resolve, the fortress itself was perfectly fine. Gerald was no fool. If he got caught, he would face severe retaliation! A truly masterclass revenge had to be hidden so subtly that it wouldn't be easily discovered, waiting in the shadows to strike a decisive blow at the perfect moment.

"We made it back alive! We actually survived!"

"I was really skeptical, but now I see why everyone talks about Kim Tae-hyun!"

While McPhil and Liu Song were racking their brains, the lower-ranking guild members were celebrating without a single care in the world. They were absolutely thrilled! Escaping the Plague Wasteland alive was cause enough for celebration, but above all, they had shared a portion of the experience points Tae-hyun gained from hunting the giant serpent and conquering the fortress. Though it was nothing compared to what Tae-hyun received, for them, it was an astronomical amount of experience. The reason why Tae-hyun's fans always said, "Just put your absolute faith in Kim Tae-hyun," suddenly clicked with them. The reward was so sweet that all the grudges they had harbored against him melted away in an instant. If they could do this just a few more times, it wouldn't even be strange for them ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to jump ship and switch guilds entirely!

"McPhil! Look at the rewards! Have you checked them? How many levels did you gain?"

"When everything was exploding, I thought Kim Tae-hyun had abandoned us, but he didn't! I guess he really has softened up a bit!"

"Yeah, the guild definitely exaggerated how bad he is, right?"

The guild members casually chatted, saying things that would make Su Ning and the other rankers who had been personally victimized by Tae-hyun clutch their necks in sheer outrage. But in truth, this was only natural. One's own level and class always came first; there was no reason for them to carry a torch for the humiliation Su Ning and the other rankers had suffered since the days of Pan-On 1! While the members of the Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild were busy singing Tae-hyun's praises together, the two rankers finally sorted out their thoughts.

"Charge! Get inside!"

"Huh? What?!"

"Just run! I'll explain later!"

"O-Oh, okay..."

But Liu Song went even further than McPhil.

"Attack those bastards!"

"What?!"

"Attack them! I'll take full responsibility!"

Along with his shout, Liu Song began unleashing ice magic indiscriminately. The members of the Guild Alliance were caught completely off guard by the sudden ambush.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Hmph. As if we'd let you occupy the fortress!"

"This was originally our fortress!"

"If you're going to play that game, the Auston Kingdom wasn't originally your kingdom either!"

"You want a piece of us?!"

"You bet your ass we do!"

Listening to their bickering from the sidelines, Tae-hyun couldn't help but marvel.

"Wow, look at those guys. The moment the Idergo Cult is out of the picture, they immediately start tearing each other apart."

"What should we do?" Lee Da-bi asked.

"Let's just grab the serpent's corpse and get out of here. Why get involved in their fight? Let them have the fortress or whatever."

Crack! A stray shard of ice magic unleashed by Liu Song flew over and embedded itself right in front of Lee Da-bi.

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun spoke in a chillingly cold voice.

"Liu Song. If a single spell splashes in our direction again, I will hunt you down until you delete your account."

"N-No! Wait! It wasn't intentional! I swear I wasn't aiming at you! It was just splash damage!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! That bastard Liu Song definitely targeted you! You have no idea how much he despises you!" McPhil shouted gleefully, desperately trying to drag Kim Tae-hyun into the fray.

Tae-hyun ignored him and walked away.

Gwoooooh.

"Ah. I forgot you guys were here."

The giant beasts cast pitiful gazes toward Tae-hyun. Please set us free!

"..."

Two conflicting quests had appeared at the exact same time! Tae-hyun didn't hesitate for a second. In truth, it wasn't even a choice worth agonizing over.

"I'll let you go."

The quest contents aside, nothing good ever came from listening to Sadiq! In Tae-hyun's eyes, there was hardly a religious order in all of Pan-On as cursed with bad luck as the Sadiq Church. There was absolutely no benefit to completing a quest for a cult like that.

No wonder they don't have any friends, living like that.

Gwoooooh!

The giant beasts shed tears of deep gratitude.

One by one, the giant beasts were set free! The very last one remaining was the Turtle. The Turtle stared at Tae-hyun with eyes full of anticipation. Hurry up and release me, human!

"Not you."

...!??!

Standing beside him, Heuk-heuk and Yong-yong nodded in solemn agreement. Of course! If it's a divine beast of the Phaitos Cult, it deserves to suffer a little longer!

Kwoooong!!

"Turtle. There is a very good reason why I'm not letting you go."

?

"It's because you belong to the Phaitos Church."

...

What kind of absolute bullshit is that?! Yet Heuk-heuk and Yong-yong nodded once more. Indeed! If it's the Phaitos Church, that makes perfect sense!

—Turtle. How did you form your contract with Phaitos?

The giant turtle clan had been living peacefully deep within the ocean. They had promised Phaitos, "We shall fight in the name of Phaitos," and sealed the contract. Upon hearing the answer, Yong-yong nodded and spoke.

—Turtle. You have been thoroughly deceived.

—?!? Which exact part of that conversation led to that conclusion?!

—He's right, you were scammed. Mmhmm.Heuk-heuk agreed.

Gold Dragons and Black Dragons were considered the absolute pinnacle of all monsters. When such transcendent beings declared that it had been "deceived," the Turtle began to panic.

—Kwoong? (Deceived?)

—You ask what you were deceived about? Why, the very fact that you signed a contract with Phaitos is the deception itself.

—Exactly. The moment you signed that contract with Phaitos, you were already scammed.

—?????

For the pure and innocent Turtle, the words of these two incredibly jaded, street-smart dragons were far too difficult to comprehend.

—Think about it carefully, Turtle. What did you actually gain after contracting with Phaitos?

—Kwoooong... (The holy power...)

—Any god can give you holy power! Literally any deity will hand that over the moment you sign a contract!

—Exactly. It's high time you started being a bit more selective about which god you contract with.

Even though Tae-hyun hadn't given them any orders, the two dragons began tag-teaming to persuade Phaitos's Turtle. It was an incredibly heartfelt persuasion! Perhaps because of that, their words carried an immense amount of conviction. Tae-hyun was actually a little touched. My two dragons have really learned a lot under my wing!

—Kwoooong... (But we already made a contract with Phaitos...)

—What era do you think we live in to be holding onto such outdated notions? It's not a bad idea to dump Phaitos and jump ship to someone else!

—Of course, breaking your contract with Phaitos right now would count as a breach, but who says you can't just hang out with other cults while keeping the contract active? Kehehehe.

Yong-yong was serious and stern, while Heuk-heuk was sly and underhanded. The two dragons coaxed and wheedled Phaitos's Turtle. Meanwhile, the battle at Saig Fortress was rapidly escalating.

"Call for reinforcements! Call them now!"

"But isn't everyone on high alert because of the Idergo Cult?"

"We cleared the Plague Wasteland, so the immediate crisis is averted! Right now, we need to focus on crushing the bastards right in front of us! If we lose this fortress, we're screwed!"

"Get inside the fortress! Even if you take a few hits, push into the inner keep and start the capture process! If we hold out until it reaches 100%, the fortress is ours!"

It was absolute chaos! Since this wasn't a meticulously planned battle but a sudden skirmish that erupted the moment they exited the Plague Wasteland, there was no strategy to speak of. Mages were engaging in melee combat while warriors attempted ranged attacks in a dizzying display of confusion! And right then, several ships appeared in the distance, sailing down the river.

"Are those reinforcements?!"

"Is that our guild? Please tell me it's our guild!"

But they were wrong. The flag flying high on the ships belonged to the Erangs Kingdom.

Stomp, stomp, stomp—

"Hear me, you vile usurpers!"

"?" Tae-hyun flinched. Wait, are they talking about me? Fortunately, they were not.

"The reason why chaos, plagues, and demons run rampant across this continent is because unworthy scoundrels like you wear crowns!"

"...!!!"

"Therefore, His Great Majesty has commanded us to sweep away usurpers like you and restore honor to the continent! Surrender and withdraw, and your lives shall be spared!"

A declaration of war exploding out of nowhere before the threat of the Idergo Cult had even been fully resolved! It was a declaration so sudden that even Tae-hyun hadn't anticipated it. What on earth had happened?!

"Here's some popcorn, Tae-hyun."

"Thanks, Lee Da-bi!"

Crunch, crunch! Tae-hyun and his companions watched the unfolding spectacle with eyes sparkling with excitement. The three-way free-for-all at Saig Fortress was highly entertaining, and the conversation between the two dragons and the Turtle was equally amusing... Which show should they focus on first?!

The princes of the Erangs Kingdom had always yearned to prove their capabilities. Had they been competent enough, they would have already proven themselves in the Demon Realm, but alas, they were still princes! The King of Erance had decided to grant them one final opportunity. The princes sought to put an end to the continent's chaos by subjugating the notoriously infamous kingdom! Immense rewards awaited those who participated in this grand crusade!

A server-wide quest had actually triggered!

Wow. Living a righteous life really does pay off.

Even though Tae-hyun had ruthlessly extorted individual players, he had managed his territory with absolute benevolence. And now, he was reaping the rewards! Thanks to his territory's stellar public sentiment and flawless security, a powerhouse like the Erangs Kingdom wouldn't dream of targeting him. In stark contrast, the Auston Kingdom was plagued by heavy taxes, tyranny, and endless public discontent... It was the textbook definition of an evil kingdom!

"Aaaargh! You crazy Erangs Kingdom bastards! Go fight the Idergo Cult instead!"

"You lot are far more dangerous and despicable than those plague-mongers! You're the ones harboring demons in your own territory!"

It was a hard claim to refute! Though, strictly speaking, they hadn't actually "harbored" them...

The news of the Plague Wasteland being cleared left countless players utterly dumbfounded. To think it was cleared so suddenly when not a shred of information about the Plague Fortress had even been released!