An Ominous Prophecy Remembered

Whenever things were like this, that ominous prophecy always came to mind. Back then, he had just dismissed it as a false prediction and moved on, but looking at it now...

‘I’m pretty sure the area near the painting of the dead dragon resurrecting was an absolute mess.’

"The scoundrels of the Henen Cult are coming."

"Hmph. Why bother with those lowlifes who aren't even in our league..."

"Stop it. Didn't we all agree to join forces?"

With the monster wave and the Idergo Cult's rampage, the crisis of the continent had forced the orthodox churches of the good gods to band together.

...Except for the Archisus Church, of course!

Regardless, the orthodox churches agreed that they had to unite. They had even summoned the Henen Cult, whom they had treated like dirt until now.

"To think we'd come all the way to this distant desert for this..."

"But didn't they promise to let us open our temples?"

The reason the paladins of each church had dragged themselves to this fortress was none other than Lee Se-yeon. She had offered them everything from contribution points to various other rewards to somehow drag them here! Thanks to her, the prominent holy knight orders of the churches were all gathering at the fortress.

"There are still many undead in this area."

"Of course there are. This is where that bastard Nevuchadnezzar fell."

"Considering the power this fortress displayed back then..."

"Hmph. Even so, it's just the Archisus Church."

"Can we really ignore the Archisus Church anymore? If you exclude them from the continent..."

"They've done their part, so we have to give them credit for that..."

"No matter what, the Archisus Church is still...!"

The church NPCs bickered among themselves. It was a clash of opinions: "The Archisus Church is a group we shouldn't associate with" versus "Looking at their influence, they're already one of the major denominations!"

"We must make sure those Henen Cult thieves don't steal anything... Gasp."

"?"

"W-Why is the Pope of the Archisus Church over there?"

"?!?"

At the bishop's words, the other church NPCs craned their necks.

Tae-hyun was walking merrily alongside the Henen Cult's delegation.

What a truly terrifying combination!

The church NPCs trembled with fear. Now that these factions, who were practically bordering on evil cults, had met and joined forces, there was no telling what kind of disaster would unfold.

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

"This makes no sense!"

"The Maple Bears should have made it to the first division...!"

Cain and Choi Sang-yun lamented as they read the articles. To think the Toronto Maple Bears failed to promote to the first division! Their hearts ached as if it were their own personal tragedy.

"Cain. You didn't do this anonymous interview, did you?"

"N-N-No, I didn't."

"Hmm. Right. Are you doing well in Pan-On?"

"Of course I am! Obviously! Absolutely!"

‘Seeing how overly defensive he is, he seems a bit suspicious...’

Contrary to Tae-hyun's suspicions, Cain was actually doing very well. The new coach, Sabet, was constantly breathing down his neck and pushing him. Cain was the type of player who excelled when someone was actively driving him!

Tae-hyun recalled what Sabet had said. It was definitely true. With the season drawing to a close, the next step was the Pan-On World Cup!

It hadn't been decided how the players would be selected or who would take the head coach position, but one thing was certain.

...No matter the method, and no matter who the coach was, Tae-hyun would absolutely be selected!

Unless they were completely insane, there was no way they wouldn't include Tae-hyun in the team. He had practically devoured the league single-handedly...

‘Hmm. I should definitely prepare myself in advance.’

Fortunately, he felt much more at ease about this than the league. After all, he wouldn't have to handle the coaching, training, and analysis all by himself! In truth, the league had been abnormally grueling. Normally, players only had to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠focus on the game.

‘By the way, will Cain get selected?’

Cain was a decent tank, but on a global scale, his standing was a bit ambiguous. His tactics were too heavily specialized for Team KL. Since there were several other tank players who were evaluated as much more solid and stable than Cain, they couldn't afford to be complacent.

‘He won't cry if he doesn't get picked, right...?’

"Midas Guild! What are you doing? Send more guild members!"

"We sent as many as we could! What about you guys? What do you expect us to do with this handful of people?!"

The Guild Alliance and the Midas Guild exchanged sharp, biting words. When Smith began running wild like a madman, the two guilds, who had once been sworn enemies, had no choice but to join hands. However, joining hands didn't mean they suddenly became close friends.

If Tae-hyun had seen this, he would have lamented, ‘How is it that you guys never change?’

While Smith didn't employ all sorts of bizarre, eccentric schemes like Tae-hyun did, he charged forward with unwavering, stubborn determination. He didn't hold back any reserve forces; he mobilized his entire guild and charged in a straight line!

There was nothing more terrifying than a highly skilled player using a straightforward, orthodox approach. The Royal Guard under Smith, pushing forward with unstoppable momentum, was the definition of terror itself.

With the Erangs Kingdom and even Smith and White Knight running wild beyond expectations, the Guild Alliance went into full defensive mode. Any other guild would have crumbled. But not the Guild Alliance.

The mental fortitude of the Guild Alliance members, who had survived Tae-hyun's relentless torment, was far sturdier than anyone could have imagined. Even if a few fortresses or villages were blown up and destroyed, they wouldn't flinch!

Rather than being scattered across the vast kingdom and picked off one by one, the Guild Alliance members decided to give up what they had to and focus on defending their key cities and castles. It was a decision to cut off their own flesh to survive, and it wasn't an easy choice for just anyone to make. In fact, the Midas Guild was currently failing to do exactly that.

The Midas Guild was determined to teach the insolent Smith a lesson. They summoned all sorts of NPCs and requested support from the Guild Alliance. However, the support from the Guild Alliance, which had already committed to a defensive turtle strategy, was half-hearted at best. Of course, even if they had decided to fight, they wouldn't have provided much support anyway. Why would they do any favors for them?

Siege ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠warfare consumed an astronomical amount of items. Arrows, potions, scrolls, bombs, and so on. While other items were produced in massive quantities, making them easy to procure, decent bombs were hard to come by. And the players who actually made decent bombs were usually a bit unhinged!

The players around the fortress were high-level players, all of whom had surpassed level 200. Because so many undead spawned here, anyone below that level couldn't even dream of coming near.

"Everyone looks so depressed."

"I think it's because they haven't been able to eat or drink properly."

Lee Da-bi's guess was spot on. Even the players at the ports of the Asbian Empire had been starving, so there was no need to mention a fortress in the middle of the desert.

The players here were divided into two main groups. One group consisted of players trying to level up by hunting undead monsters indiscriminately.

‘They've optimized their gear for fighting undead.’

They roamed around with several priests or paladins, carrying silver or blessed weapons! It was obvious at a glance that they were targeting the undead.

And the other group...

They packed massive backpacks and studied maps. These were the ones planning to venture deep into the distant desert to find anything useful. They were literally risking their lives!

"What brings the Pope of the Archisus Church to this place?"

"!"

Tae-hyun was startled. NPCs from various churches bearing familiar emblems had appeared. The Phytos Church, the Demer Church, the Tyran Church, the Ahjulak Church... Even bishop-level NPCs had arrived, making it a sizable gathering. A church bishop was bound to be at least level 500 or 600. And a priest class exceeding level 500 or 600 was truly formidable.

"I have come for the peace of the continent."

"As expected..."

"How noble."

The Henen Cult and the Demer Church nodded with satisfied expressions at Tae-hyun's words. However, the NPCs of the other churches wore displeased, skeptical expressions.

‘Really?’

‘Would the Archisus Church really have such intentions?’

The people gathered here had come under various promises, along with massive contribution points. Even if they fought together now, they would become rivals once it was over. If one church thrived, the others would naturally be pushed aside!

‘What is this? For this many churches to gather... what's going on?’

Tae-hyun was also starting to realize which way the wind was blowing. For so many churches to gather, the scale of the quest had to be insane. It wasn't like Nevuchadnezzar was resurrecting again...

Tae-hyun looked around and grabbed a priest NPC who looked easy to handle. Then, he activated his Speech skill.

"What did the Phytos Church get promised to come here?"

"W-We were promised that if we successfully defend against the enemies coming here, they would support our church..."

"!"

At first, he wondered what that meant, but then he remembered that the Emperor of the Asbian Empire was currently Lee Se-yeon. Lee Se-yeon had made that promise?

‘Wow. Come to think of it, Lee Se-yeon can actually pull off things like that.’

He was a bit envious. Since Tae-hyun was the actual owner of the Archisus Church, doing something like that was impossible for him. It would be like carving out his own flesh. But Lee Se-yeon could easily make proposals like, "Help us, and we'll support your church's activities!"

Just in case, he asked other churches, and received similar answers. It seemed they had all come after receiving promises.

"Hmm."

"Your Holiness. We know you have suffered greatly to protect the peace of the continent, but this time is different from before. What I mean is, Your Holiness cannot take the lead here."

"Indeed. Please wait your turn."

While he was pondering, they openly began to keep him in check. If Tae-hyun stepped in and swept up all the contribution points, the other churches would be left staring blankly like dogs chasing chickens. Furthermore, Tae-hyun's track record was already far too illustrious. A professional continent-saver! With such a player present, the churches couldn't help but feel anxious...

Tae-hyun wore a benevolent smile. What should one do when the opponents are this anxious?

"Phytos Church. From what I've heard, the Tyran Church guys were offered much better terms. Aren't they getting special treatment?"

The correct answer was, of course, instigating discord. Why bother clearing up misunderstandings? If they fought among themselves, they wouldn't have the luxury to keep Tae-hyun in check!