Infiltrating the Chaos Fortress

Lee Da-bi tried to assess the situation rationally. First, let's try sending a whisper!

Ah. Because he had joined the Hungry Chaos's faction, even whispers wouldn't go through!

Meanwhile, Lee Se-yeon's guild members had finished preparing to move. The Power Warrior explorers asked in a panic,

"Guild Master, what should we do?"

"Wait, is Kim Tae-hyun even the kind of person who can be kidnapped?"

"Didn't Kim Tae-hyun do the kidnapping...?"

One of the Power Warrior explorers put forward a highly convincing hypothesis. What if Tae-hyun was the one who did the kidnapping? Everyone nodded at those words. It made perfect sense!

"What... is this a joke to you people right now?"

"How can they be so cold-blooded? I thought Power Warrior was the guild closest to Kim Tae-hyun!"

Accusations rained down from Lee Se-yeon's guild members! The Power Warrior explorers waved their hands in flustered denial.

"Ah, no, it's not like that..."

"But seriously, was he really kidnapped? He's not the type to let that happen."

"Quiet down and get ready to track them! We can't lose them!"

"Yes, ma'am..."

The Power Warrior explorers shut their mouths and prepared to track. The law was far, but the fist was near. Any single member of Lee Se-yeon's guild possessed enough skill to wipe out the entire Power Warrior exploration team. If they were told to do it, they had to do it!

"But with Kim Tae-hyun gone, will we be okay on food and water?"

"I'll take care of that, so none of you need to worry."

Lee Da-bi said, shaking Towang-i. It would have been convenient if Tae-hyun could whip something up on the spot, but even without him, Towang-i's stomach held an astronomical amount of items.

"Oh, look. There's some edible grass here. Let's put this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in too."

"This berry is a bit poisonous, but if you bear with it, it's somewhat edible."

"If you chew on this tree bark for a long time, it becomes soft enough to eat..."

"Da-bi. Do we really need to pack stuff like that anymore?"

"Tae-hyun, what are you talking about? Things like this will definitely come in handy someday."

"Hmm. True, we could use it as food for Cain. Poisonous stuff is great for raising resistance, and those things are useful for abnormal cooking."

...And so, a mountain of ingredients had accumulated for various reasons! Of course, since the guild members had only ever eaten properly prepared meals, they had no idea what kind of atrocious ingredients lurked inside Towang-i.

"But what do we do about the undead here?"

"The one who was supposed to command them, Kim Tae-hyun, has vanished..."

The undead army that had been following Tae-hyun's orders! Once Tae-hyun disappeared, the undead began to look around, slowly growing insolent.

Lee Se-yeon's guild members reacted coldly to this.

"Prepare to attack."

"Where do these bastards our Guild Master summoned think they're acting up..."

"Just because they were commanded by Kim Tae-hyun, they think they're on his level."

It was Tae-hyun who was terrifying, not the undead under his command! Unaware of this, the undead warriors continued to act smug.

"Hmph! Now that that terrifying bastard is gone, we shall return to the desert and rule freely once more... uaaagh..."

With Tae-hyun gone, the undead lost their reason once more and reverted to their original state.

"Advanced Undead Domination! Noose of the Dead!"

A mage among Lee Se-yeon's guild members stepped forward and quickly brought them under control. They whispered to each other in surprise.

"Wait, so Kim Tae-hyun really did buff them?"

"I thought our Guild Master was just pretending she didn't do it..."

To be honest, the guild members had been half-doubtful. The sight of undead possessing reason was simply too bizarre. They had wondered if Lee Se-yeon had cast some special skill on them. Though she pretended otherwise on the surface, Lee Se-yeon had wanted to recruit Tae-hyun ever since Pan-On 1, and when it came to him, she was quite...

"Clingy..."

"What, you punk? What did you just say?"

"Ah, no! I just couldn't think of the right word!"

"You bastard... I'm telling the Guild Master!"

"No! No! It's a misunderstanding! I just meant, uh... she has a lot of lingering attachments? She's persistent? Overbearing?"

With every word, his snitch stack piled up! The guild members scolded the colleague who had spoken. How dare he insult the Guild Master! Of course, when it came to Kim Tae-hyun, she did become a bit dense and her judgment faltered, but how could he say it so bluntly!

"But if Lord Nekanet-sal cursed the phylactery, isn't the job basically done? Why are we leaving that dragon alone?"

"That is true. But there is a major problem."

"At the end of that desert lies Pantheon's Fortress."

The black mages spoke with voices laced with hatred. Ominous as ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this hellish desert was, it wasn't something they couldn't break through by borrowing the power of the Hungry Chaos. However, the fortress at the edge of the desert was the problem. A wicked fortress radiating the power of all kinds of gods! Because the fortress repelled their unholy intrusion, they didn't dare approach it.

"I swear on the name of the Hungry Chaos, I will slaughter every single bastard who built that fortress!"

"Ugh. I agree! Even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠during the era of the Ancient Empire, such a disgusting fortress was rare!"

"...I don't know what kind of bastard built it, but they truly deserve to be cursed!"

Tae-hyun quickly chimed in. To think the black mages couldn't advance because of the Archisus Fortress!

"But shouldn't we conquer that fortress?" Tae-hyun pried subtly. Since the enemy wouldn't just sit still, he needed to find out their plans in advance.

"Indeed. That is why we have been searching for a way to conquer it."

"We have a few ideas in mind."

"I would love to hear them!" Tae-hyun said, preparing to take notes. Alright! What weakness are they planning to exploit?

"First, we plan to corrupt the adventurers in the vicinity. We can barely approach the fortress, but it will be different for those who are still vibrantly alive. If those living adventurers become servants of the Hungry Chaos, wouldn't they be able to destroy the fortress from within?"

"Oho. I see."

"Is there anything else?"

"Attacking the fortress with overwhelming power."

A simple but effective frontal assault! But to attack a fortress of that caliber... with what power? Tae-hyun asked, feigning curiosity.

"Is there such a power?"

"Of course. That is precisely what Lord Nekanet-sal is preparing. You will see for yourself soon enough."

"...?" Tae-hyun felt an inexplicable wave of anxiety. When the enemy was brimming with confidence, there was always a good reason for it! What is it? Did they summon something? Why are they being so creepy?

"And besides that?"

"Hmm. Lord Nekanet-sal told us to come up with more ideas, but nothing else comes to mind."

"Do you have any good ideas?"

The arrow had suddenly turned back on him! Tae-hyun didn't panic and answered calmly.

"Before we attack, we must make a grand, noisy announcement of our arrival."

"Why? Wouldn't a stealthy attack be more effective?"

"Not at all. According to my sources, the people in that fortress are all cowards. Furthermore, I heard that the newly crowned Emperor is violent and eccentric, feared by everyone around her. If we make our entrance while flaunting the overwhelming power of the Hungry Chaos, how do you think they will react?"

"Oooh...!"

"Indeed, that makes sense!"

The black mages marveled at Tae-hyun's ingenious strategy. As expected, the young fellow was cut from a different cloth!

"This is a tactic we never saw even during the Empire's era."

"This is what's trendy these days, gentlemen."

"True..."

"It is indeed time for us to adapt to the flow of the times."

"Exactly. If we send them a formal document stating exactly when and where we will attack beforehand, the enemy will be gripped by even greater terror. The cowards will flee, and those with any brains will surrender immediately."

"Hearing it put that way, it seems we were overthinking things."

The black mages took Tae-hyun's words deeply to heart. From now on, we must announce all our attacks in advance!

"What else is there?"

"In my youth, I used to make bombs quite often..."

"Engineering? You are remarkably versatile for a bard. Isn't that something only goblins do?"

"It's a miracle you aren't dead. Those who dabble in engineering usually die young."

The reputation of engineering was no different now than it was during the Ancient Empire! Dying in an explosion while making bombs was the eternal destiny of an engineering blacksmith.

"If you gentlemen would lend me your power, I could craft an even more powerful bomb. It will surely be of great help when we assault the fortress."

"That doesn't sound bad."

"No! Wait."

"!" Tae-hyun froze. Had these black mages caught on to something?

"Where is the guarantee that this fellow can make a bomb properly? If he messes up, we'll be the ones getting hurt!"

"Ah, right. Good point."

"...You don't have to worry about that."

"!" After walking through the desert for a long time, the black mages stopped and used magic to open a dimensional gate. It was a location that could never be found without the power of the Hungry Chaos!

I see. That's why they weren't discovered. It was only natural that Lee Se-yeon couldn't find any trace of them despite her diligent search. Unless one completely defected to the enemy faction, it was an impossible feat... If not for a player like Tae-hyun, who infiltrated other factions whenever he was bored, they would still be wandering aimlessly.

As expected of a fortress saturated with the power of the Hungry Chaos, debuffs plagued his stats and skills. The only thing I can rely on is my Luck stat. Tae-hyun's Luck stat wasn't something that could be easily shaved down by a few debuffs. It was a pity his Divine Authority skills were weakened, but they weren't completely unusable... Most importantly, I shouldn't fight here. Tae-hyun wasn't entering this place to fight with brute force. It would be more than enough to identify the enemy's true nature, discover ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠their weaknesses, and slip away.

...... Tae-hyun couldn't refute it.

Rumbleeee—

The stronghold was closer to a castle than a fortress. In the deep moat surrounding it, the wicked energy of chaos surged, and near the towering stone spires, undead beasts corrupted by the power of chaos soared through the air. The gates and ramparts were teeming with undead guards. And these undead were all... Death Knights!

Crazy. The baseline is a Death Knight? He had prepared himself to face Advanced Ghoul Warriors or even High-grade Ghoul Warriors, but for the lowest tier of guards to be Death Knights! Seeing monsters over level 400 and 500 treated as mere grunts made his breath catch. They would undoubtedly use highly troublesome skills...

"Aaaaaaaaargh!"

A blood-curdling scream echoed from afar. It was the sound of someone being tortured. Yet, it sounded strangely familiar. What is this? I've never heard that voice before, so why...?

"Whose voice is that?"

"Fufu. As expected of a black mage, you recognize it immediately."

"The future of black magic is bright indeed."

"No, seriously, who is it?"

"The Demon Duke, Gusirek! He is a giant among giants, personally captured by Lord Nekanet-sal!"

"......"

Tae-hyun was utterly speechless. Gusirek, the father of Gusion, whom Tae-hyun had captured and put to work in the Archisus Artillery!

...Why on earth are you here?!