The Accidental Conquest of Saig Fortress

"Are you here to eat the meat?" Tae-hyun asked, looking puzzled.

Why else would the knights of the Erangs Kingdom be here? Surely, it was because they coveted this snake meat.

"No, I don't think that's it..." Lee Da-bi said, but Tae-hyun remained unshaken.

If they were knights, there was no way they wouldn't be interested in such a health food!

- "H-how did you know, Your Majesty?"

- "As expected of Your Majesty! A man of honor indeed, knowing exactly what we desired!"

"They really came to eat your cooking?!" Yu Ji-soo was dumbfounded. A fierce battle was raging right in front of them, and they actually came here asking for food?!

- "Ah, no. We did want to eat, but that's not the only reason we came."

- "Indeed."

"Is that so?" Tae-hyun sounded disappointed. He had wanted to test out his cooking...

"Tae-hyun-nim. Isn't abnormal cooking too risky? Wouldn't it be better to call a chef from Power Warrior to serve them a delicious meal instead...?"

"But abnormal cooking has guaranteed effects. It'll definitely satisfy the knights."

"Why take such a gamble?!"

"Because even if we fail, we don't really lose anything."

That's true! Lee Da-bi found herself nodding in agreement. Tae-hyun was the King of the Atali Kingdom. Even if his affinity with the Erangs Kingdom knights dropped slightly, it didn't really matter. Other players walked on eggshells around the Erangs Kingdom, but Tae-hyun was a king himself!

- "Your Majesty! Please help us conquer this fortress!"

"Wait. Are they asking for help without offering anything in return?" Tae-hyun was taken aback. Did these knights eat something bad? Even the shameless NPCs of the Archisus Church didn't hand out quests like this.

Fortunately, the knights weren't completely shameless.

- "If Your Majesty helps us capture this fortress, we shall present this fortress to you!"

"!" Tae-hyun was shocked. They were really giving him a fortress?

The rest of the party was equally stunned.

"They're giving us a fortress?!"

"We have to take this!"

"You must accept it, Sunbae!"

Their reactions flipped in an instant! If it was a territory, there was more than enough reason to do it.

"Guys. If we accept this, it's basically a formal declaration of war against the Guild Alliance."

"But does that even matter?"

"Yeah. It's not like we haven't fought them before."

That's true! Tae-hyun couldn't argue with that. Honestly, he wasn't particularly afraid of the Guild Alliance. Whenever a quest required it, Tae-hyun had never hesitated to slap the Guild Alliance in the face.

But capturing a fortress carried a different weight. The moment they attacked a fortress coveted by both the Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild, neither side could back down. Both guilds had their pride on the line, so it would immediately escalate into an all-out war.

"We'll think about the fortress later. Let's clear the cooking quest first."

"A cooking quest is easy to clear."

"The attack has stopped!"

The guild members let out sighs of relief. They had managed to hold them off somehow! Of course, there were still plenty of fresh soldiers outside the walls, their eyes gleaming...

"..."

"..."

Once they had a moment to breathe, an awkward silence suddenly descended.

McPhil and Liu Song stared at each other, both thinking:

Can I trust this guy?

Shouldn't we attack right now?

McPhil had to defend the fortress with the Guild Alliance, but Liu Song was someone who had tried to capture this fortress multiple times with his Midas Guild members. It was bound to be extremely awkward and delicate.

"Liu Song. Listen to me. The Erangs Kingdom has declared war on the entire Auston Kingdom. That includes your Midas Guild."

"For a barbarian warrior, you sure speak well—"

"Just listen, you bastard! This is no time for us to be fighting among ourselves!"

"I agree."

"...Then why are you backing away?"

Liu Song and his guild members were slowly backing up, creating distance! The Midas Guild was a guild with the most mages. Liu Song himself was a high-ranking mage, and most of his guild members were mages as well. And what a mage needed most was distance!

"We're doing this because we're afraid you guys might attack us."

"Don't be ridiculous! Why would we attack you when there are enemies right outside!"

"Well, the Guild Alliance has always been famous for acting emotionally and lacking situational awareness..."

"What? And what about you guys?"

"We're better than you. Honestly, if I had been given the Guild Alliance, we would have hit rank one in Pan-On. It's ridiculous how you guys mismanaged it, ruined it, and let the guild split up."

As expected of a former ranker of the Guild Alliance, Liu Song knew exactly where to strike to hurt them the most. He was the best at badmouthing Su Ning!

"Failing to catch a single player and ruining the guild, yet you shamelessly hold onto the guild master position... If it were me, I would have quit the game. Truly."

"Watch your mouth, you bastard!"

McPhil was furious. He was even angrier because he had no comeback! It was true that Su Ning had mismanaged a guild that could have aimed for the top spot in Pan-On, but hearing that from a guy who had split off and left made him incredibly angry.

I can tolerate anyone else, but I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠won't take this from you!

"We let you into the fortress out of the goodness of our hearts, and you dare...!"

"We fought alongside you, and this is what we get? Unbelievable... The Guild Alliance bastards really have no conscience."

The Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild were in the same boat. The Erangs Kingdom wouldn't distinguish between them when attacking. If they were rational, they would join hands and combine their strength to defend.

But...

Humans don't always act rationally!

"Fine, you bastard! Let's see what you've got! Bring it on!"

McPhil drew his weapon. As if he had been waiting for this, Liu Song immediately unleashed a spell.

Boom! Crash!

Ice shards flew and skills were spammed across the top of the walls. The fortress walls, which were already battered thanks to the snake crashing into them, began to crumble even further.

"???"

Tae-hyun paused in the middle of cooking and looked toward the fortress. The attack had stopped, so why did it sound like a fight was breaking out inside?

"Hey, knights. Are you guys attacking right now? Did you launch a surprise raid?"

- "No, Your Majesty. We are the honorable knights of the Erangs Kingdom. We do not employ such cowardly tactics."

If the knights had heard that, they would have wept! However, only Tae-hyun could hear Carbanog's words.

"If you didn't launch a surprise attack, then what's going on over there?"

"...Could they be fighting among themselves?"

"Come on, Lee Da-bi. No matter how crazy they are, with all these NPCs standing right here, who would be insane enough to fight among themselves... Wait, what?!"

Before Tae-hyun could even finish his sentence, several players leaped down from the fortress walls. They were starting to escape before they got surrounded!

"Those crazy bastards are actually fighting!"

"Have they lost their minds?"

"Sunbae! Let's attack!"

Thinking this was their chance, Yu Ji-soo drew her bow and shouted. Her hands had been itching for action anyway, and at this rate, they were practically begging to have the fortress taken from them!

"No. Let's finish cooking first. If we stop midway, we'll fail the quest."

"...Why is the broth green?" Cain asked, suppressing a shudder.

"It's because it's good for your health. Just think of it as green juice."

"What kind of bullsh—"

"Drink it, Cain."

"Gulp, gulp, gulp!"

The knights watched this scene with envious eyes.

- "That knight is truly fortunate."

- "To be the first to receive such an honor..."

Where else would you find a king who personally cooked and took care of his knights! The knights were incredibly envious of Cain.

Gulp, gulp—

"It... It's delicious?"

"!"

"Is he lying just to make us eat that too?" Choi Sang-yun suspected sharply.

"No! It's really delicious!"

"Well, cooking skills are heavily RNG-based, so it's bound to turn out delicious once in a while..."

Because Tae-hyun had been forced to cook with such bizarre ingredients all this time, they had forgotten, but his cooking skill level wasn't low either. It wasn't strange for a delicious dish to pop out occasionally!

- "Ah. It is truly delicious, Your Majesty!"

- "To think Your Majesty possessed such a talent!"

- "To think he would complain while being served such a dish... That knight named Cain is truly..."

- "I thought well of him since he's the prince's escort knight, but as expected, he's a bit..."

Cain, who had done nothing but stand there, suddenly had his reputation tank!

"No...! I eat it happily! Usually!"

- "Is that true?"

- "I cannot believe it. Prove it. A true knight must know how to be grateful for what he receives. A true knight must digest whatever garbage is served with a stomach of steel..."

To think he would get a quest to eat abnormal cooking just to prove himself!

"Kim Tae-hyun! Make me some abnormal cooking! I'll eat it!"

- "Wh-what insolence...!"

- "Is that a knight or a thug?"

"...Kim Tae-hyun-nim! Please make me some abnormal cooking...!"

However, such an opportunity never came to Cain. The fortress walls had completely collapsed.

"...?"

"Aaargh! Just you wait, Liu Song, you bastard!"

The Guild Alliance was defeated and began to retreat outside the fortress. The Midas Guild cheered in victory, but their joy didn't last long. With the fortress walls completely destroyed, defense was impossible!

- "..."

- "...All-out attack! Soldiers! Charge! God is watching over us!"

- "What a stroke of Archisus's luck!"

The Midas Guild had no choice but to flee in tears as well.

"...I will participate in the quest! I must help capture the fortress!"

- "No, Your Majesty. It's almost over..."

"So, are you going back on your word now? Surely you're not suggesting I was just waiting around to see how things would turn out?"

Tae-hyun ruthlessly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠crushed them using his fame, achievements, and title. These were powerful weapons that the knights couldn't possibly counter!

In the end, the knights were persuaded and had no choice but to nod.

- "We... we acknowledge your participation."

He got it for free! Without fighting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a single battle, he had simply boiled snake meat and ended up with a whole fortress.

Let's not attribute everything to him.

"The resources produced near the fortress are copper and maple trees. The copper and maple trees are advanced-grade, and the horses are intermediate-grade."

Tap, tap, tap, tap—

Lee Da-bi was calculating the estimates with the happiest expression in the world. She loved calculating money the most!

"Is it going to make us some good money?"

"Yes! Are you going ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to put it up for auction again?"