What's the Difference Between Reclaiming a Temple and Stealing One?

What was the difference between reclaiming a temple and stealing one? In truth, it might be impossible to distinguish between the two. After all, the land belonged to no one in the beginning. It was only human greed that arbitrarily designated owners...

"We can never surrender this temple to that Archisus bastard!"

"Offer our faith to Lord Idergo!"

"Haha! Go ahead, pray to your precious Idergo all you want!"

I have no choice if I want to trigger my Eloquence skill.

Tae-hyun swept aside the weeping priests who tried to block his path. He looked incredibly villainous, but he had no choice. This was the only way to activate his Eloquence skill!

While classes like Warlocks or Shamans weakened their enemies with various curses and debuffs, Tae-hyun did it with his Eloquence skill. When his stats—Reputation, Infamy, and Terror—stacked with his Eloquence skill, almost any enemy was bound to falter!

Crash!

"Sadik's Flame!"

Crash!

"Sadik's Flame!"

"Stop setting everything on fire, you absolute lunatic!"

"Stop that crazy arsonist!"

The Idergo Cult NPCs screamed in terror. Tae-hyun was charging through the underground chambers, unleashing Sadik's Flame left and right. Since he was completely immune to fire damage, he had absolutely no restraint! Naturally, a divine fire like Sadik's Flame was highly lethal to the plague-wielding Idergo Cult. To make matters worse, the cult's elite knights and warriors happened to be deployed outside. True to his reputation as an Archisus follower, his timing was impeccably, ruthlessly perfect.

"Look, the Erangs Kingdom's army is on the move!"

"Though Lord Idergo's sacred domain has vanished, we are not defeated. We shall make the name of Lord Idergo echo across the land once more!"

"Forward! Slay our enemies and make them our slaves! We must summon an even stronger divine beast!"

Aquatarta, an NPC holding the glorious title of Plague Knight, was currently targeting the Erangs Kingdom's army as they marched out of Miriban City. He planned to launch a surprise attack from behind while Erangs was focused on the Auston Kingdom!

"Listen well! They say a desolate wasteland of plague lies in the southern reaches of the Auston Kingdom, where nothing can survive. Who do you think created that plague zone?"

"It was created by Lord Idergo!"

"Indeed!"

(In reality, it was much closer to being Archisus's doing, but...)

The Idergo Cult NPCs happily interpreted history however they pleased. Of course, to any player listening, it was utter nonsense.

"Hey. They're spouting total garbage. Are we really supposed to believe them?"

"What choice do we have? Stop worrying about what they say and focus on what we can squeeze out of them."

Jekas and Do Dong-su had successfully managed to join the Idergo Cult. Normally, they would have live-streamed it under a title like 'Idergo Cult Live Broadcast,' but they held back. Promoting it right now could prove highly dangerous!

Ugh. There can't be many players who've managed to join the Idergo Cult. Just like with the Sadiq Church and other evil factions, whenever a wicked force emerged on the continent, a swarm of players would inevitably rush to join them. Humans didn't always choose the path of righteousness!

However, the Idergo Cult was notoriously difficult to join. They would attack most players on sight without even listening to them. Without Jekas's information, neither of them would have made it in.

"The Idergo Cult won't collapse, right?"

"The Idergo Cult won't fall. They have accumulated so much power that even if they seem to falter briefly, they'll rise again. And look at the situation. This will only work to our advantage as the Erangs Kingdom and Auston Kingdom go to war."

Do Dong-su looked convinced by Jekas's words.

"I see... Wait a minute. Didn't you say last time that we could take down Kim Tae-hyun, only to get completely trashed multiple times?"

"..."

"Aren't you all talk? If you're wrong this time too—"

"Holy Knight! This fellow keeps uttering blasphemous words against Lord Idergo!"

"What?!"

"Y-you bastard...?!"

Do Dong-su was utterly dumbfounded. Jekas stared coldly at him and spoke.

"Don't overstep your bounds, Do Dong-su."

"Fine, I get it! I get it!"

"We need to get close to that NPC, Aquatarta, and build favor. We must secure at least the rank of Plague Knight or Plague Lieutenant. Go get a quest."

"..."

Do Dong-su grumbled under his breath as he walked away.

Teaming up with that guy wasn't a mistake, right?

Teaming up with him definitely feels like a mistake.

"Are you kidding me? Another trash quest."

Do Dong-su grumbled as he reviewed the quest details. He needed a high-difficulty quest with good rewards to make this worthwhile. Even if they had to curry favor with the cult, a chore quest like this was ridiculous. It was literally just an errand to go check on a hostage and come back!

The newly formed coalition guild, White Knight. It was an alliance of guilds spearheaded by the famous ranker, Smith. Since such a guild had descended from Sky Island with the intent to attack the Auston Kingdom, it was only natural for the Guild Alliance and Midas to be on edge. Yet, the Guild Alliance was surprisingly brimming with confidence.

"The Erangs Kingdom is a terrifying opponent, but those guys are nothing. Just think of all the bastards we've crushed up until now!"

In truth, excluding their encounters with Kim Tae-hyun, the Guild Alliance boasted an almost undefeated record. In the early days of Pan-On, they had fought countless coalition guilds and emerged victorious every single time. Such was the power of their massive numbers and financial backing!

"Think of the trials we overcame to grow this strong!"

"..."

"..."

A few guild members closed their eyes and shuddered, clearly remembering Kim Tae-hyun. Wait. Compared to Kim Tae-hyun, doesn't White Knight actually seem pretty easy to deal with?

"The Auston Kingdom is not what it used to be. Fortresses have been erected everywhere specifically to counter Kim Tae-hyun, and their defenses are so tight that they won't fall easily."

"And those White Knight bastards are nothing! They're just a ragtag bunch. Think about it. Why was our Guild Alliance so strong? We were strong because we stood united as one!"

To be precise, they were "united as one" because Su Ning had beaten down and expelled anyone who didn't listen to him, but no one was about to nitpick that right now. The biggest issue with coalition guilds was always the endless infighting, with everyone bickering over who got to be the leader. They should have been pooling their strength, but instead, they were bound to fracture.

In contrast, the Guild Alliance had now achieved a nearly unified command structure. Having rolled through battles and suffered defeats together repeatedly, almost all traces of their old individual guild cliques had vanished.

"That Smith guy from White Knight is just a figurehead they put up for publicity! There's nothing to worry about. They won't even be able to cooperate among themselves!"

At that very moment, similar speeches were being delivered within the Midas Guild. Speeches that bashed the enemy and declared their own guild the absolute best!

...And then, both guilds were utterly demolished by White Knight.

The supposedly disorganized White Knight had completely shattered both the Guild Alliance and Midas!

"All hail! Lord Smith, you were magnificent again today!"

"As expected of the greatest player in Pan-On! Lord Smith, you are the great leader destined to unify Pan-On and guide us..."

"..."

The other guild leaders listening to this looked incredibly uncomfortable. Geez, even the Guild Alliance didn't worship Su Ning this hard!

However, the players of Smith's Royal Guard seemed completely infatuated with him. He had the looks, the skills, and the personality, and now he was delivering spectacular results as their leader—it would be stranger ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠if people didn't flock to him! But to the guild leaders who had originally planned to use Smith as a mere puppet while running things behind the scenes, this was a massive headache. Furthermore... they felt a strange, unsettling vibe.

"Since you have entrusted me with the position of guild leader, I shall do my absolute best."

"Right, right! You just focus on fighting at the front, and we'll handle all the management!"

"No. I shall handle the management as well. Please select rankers from your respective guilds and deploy them to the vanguard."

"Well... it's not that simple to just deploy them. Our rankers have their own schedules, and it could be dangerous for them..."

Slam!

"You entrusted me with the position of guild leader! You must not behave like this!"

"A-all right, fine! We'll deploy them!"

"That bastard has quite a temper. I thought he was just a polite scholar."

At first, Smith had only used strong words...

"The recent battle went well. However, since the Guild Alliance has increased their numbers, we require more rankers. We shall double their numbers and deploy them in a mixed formation. Mages in the rear, warriors in the front."

"Wait, that's... rankers are usually given the courtesy to go ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠where they want. You can't just force them to sacrifice themselves like that."

"Yeah, that's the unwritten rule..."

"Are you refusing?"

"We're saying it's difficult."

"You entrusted me with the position of guild leader. How can you not follow my directives?"

"Look, it's not like we're doing this on purpose. The rankers themselves are complaining, so what are we supposed to do?"

"I shall ask one last time. Will you truly not comply?"

"Wow, Smith. You're hilarious. Are you threatening us right now? You're not Su Ning, and you're definitely not Kim Tae-hyun, pal. We're the ones who voted you in. You—*cough!*"

"To dare defy the command of the guild leader. You shall be punished!"

"Y-you crazy bastard! Hey! Do you think you'll get away with this?!"

*Thud! Thud! Bam! Bam!*

Right in front of everyone's eyes, Smith had player-killed one of the guild leaders. The others were so stunned they couldn't even react.

"Is there anyone else who objects?"

"I... I was in favor of it from the very beginning!"

"Exactly!"

A negotiation tactic that forced even the most disgruntled guild leaders to nod in agreement!

Has that guy lost his mind?!

What if this causes a massive backlash?!

Yet, surprisingly, there was barely any backlash. Smith's sheer popularity, the fanatical devotion of his Royal Guard, and his cold threats kept everyone in line. Even though their guild leader had been brutally beaten down, the regular guild members followed Smith's orders without a single complaint. While no such crazy incidents had occurred since then...

"Hey, who was the idiot who said Smith was a pushover we could just use as a puppet leader?"

"H-he is nice, though. He always speaks so politely."

"Does that look like a nice guy to you?! Those are the eyes of a cold-blooded killer! I'm terrified because I don't know when he's going to snap! At this rate, we're going to get completely swallowed up by the very guild we worked so hard to build!"

"He wasn't like this before. What on earth made him change like this?"

"He acts exactly like Kim Tae-hy—"

"...?!"

"Sadik's Fla—"

"You've come to rescue me!"

"Huh?"

Tae-hyun paused just as he was about to unleash the fire. Is this a trap? Is it an Idergo Cult NPC disguised as a hostage? Maybe I should just burn them first and ask questions later? ...All of these thoughts flashed through his mind in a mere 0.1 seconds!

Ah, right. I was temporarily possessed by Sadiq's influence.

Exactly. Sadiq does have a way of making people a bit too violent.