A Shepherd of Demons
"Isn't it foolish to cook dinner at someone else's house?" Cain asked Choi Sang-yun, looking thoroughly bewildered.
Choi Sang-yun replied with a sour expression, "And feeding a guy with perfectly working limbs isn't?"
"Of course that's foolish. But why bring that up?"
"...Go look in a mirror."
"...Hey!"
Ignoring Cain's sudden flare of temper, Choi Sang-yun egged him on. "Good idea. Leave the useless ones behind and go cook for her."
Don't call us useless... Cain thought, weeping internally.
"He is right. We'll feed ourselves," another teammate agreed.
"Yeah. I'll cook too—"
"Not you. You're banned from making anything more complex than instant ramen."
"......"
With the solid support of his teammates, Tae-hyun nodded. He was determined to face Lee Se-yeon again someday and win.
But if Lee Se-yeon refuses to accept, isn't that the end of it?
Separate from Tae-hyun's personal humiliation, the broadcast was a massive hit. It featured several players who were entertaining even if they did nothing but breathe, so it would have been stranger if it hadn't drawn attention.
Someone had spoken the truth, but most fans scoffed at the idea.
"This concludes the report."
"Hmm. Excellent."
Su Ning nodded. The past few months had been quite satisfying for the Guild Alliance.
Of course, they had been battered relentlessly by Smith's White Knight and lost territory, but other things went well.
First of all, the All-Star Super Player event hosted by the Guild Alliance was a massive success. Not only were the investors pleased, but even the gaming teams that had previously ignored them asked if they could participate next season.
The opening of the southern region of the Auston Kingdom was also a major factor.
Once we recover our strength, we'll go to war with that bastard Smith again.
The Auston Kingdom was currently the most fiercely contested area in Pan-On.
It had been divided, plagued by a pestilence in the south, and some crazy guy had brought bandits and pirates to make a mess... But paradoxically, the Guild Alliance doing well despite this proved the potential of the Auston Kingdom.
If it was this good despite all the chaos, how great would it be once it was properly unified and running?
The investors had experts write reports:
If we properly unify and run the Auston Kingdom, other players won't be able to keep up.
Prioritize unifying the Auston Kingdom above all else.
But the guilds in the alliance were all formidable and hard to manage with the Alliance's current methods. Investors gave advice (which felt like interference):
Stop fighting Kim Tae-hyun and ally with him. There's no benefit in increasing enemies in your rear.
If possible, can't you just recruit him into the guild?
Anyway, Su Ning. Since you received investment, do a proper job. Stop ruining things.
Speaking of which, I saw the siege video from last time. Why did you charge there?
Su Ning found it dirty and cheap, but money was the scariest thing in the world. He couldn't go against the tastes of those who invested massive sums.
"...I will do my best."
Su Ning asked: "Are there any issues in the south?"
"They say various things are coming out of the temple ruins right now, but we have several outstanding rankers there, so it will be resolved well."
"It must be. Reliable indeed."
"Ugh... Uuuugh..."
"Quiet. You're distracting."
Tae-hyun spoke coldly from behind, making the Guild Alliance members sniffle. They really didn't want to go in.
"Look at how collapsed this place is! This path is completely impassable!"
"Grab shovels and pickaxes and dig. Make a path."
The Power Warrior Guild members nodded in agreement with Tae-hyun.
"He said dig a path!"
"Whose presence do you think you're ignoring?!"
"......"
The Guild Alliance members, who had spent their entire Pan-On lives bossing others around, found this experience of being bossed around extremely foreign. They were furious but had to endure. Their allies were far, and Tae-hyun's sword was near.
This is definitely a bad path for fighting.
Entering the Karbanog Temple Ruins, Tae-hyun understood why they hated it. The dungeon terrain was terrible. It was dark, and even light didn't travel far due to a dungeon effect. The corridors were narrow, with side paths appearing after a short walk, and ceilings opening up.
It was the perfect place for waiting enemies to swarm out, hit, and run.
Carbanog. Is there any good way here?
Carbanog states that since his priests built this place without really consulting him, he doesn't know much about it either...
......
Carbanog argues that a god doesn't necessarily know everything their followers do!
True enough.
"Kieeeeeek!"
"They're here. Prepare for battle! Aki-sus's Divine Territory!"
Aki-sus's Divine Territory
Tae-hyun used the skill immediately. When dealing with unknown enemies, one shouldn't hold back. What was the point of using skills after half the party died?
"Maintain formation! Anyone who steps out of line, I'll kill them myself. Power Warrior Guild members, stick close to Edager!"
"Yes!"
Tae-hyun immediately drew Edager's mana and began spamming magic.
Whoosh!
Sadik's Flame wave engulfs the corridor...
Edager's mana amplifies the magic...
"Yong-yong, Heuk-heuk, Bulbul-i, concentrate fire! Block the front!"
Tae-hyun's strategy was simple: block the front with overwhelming firepower, and he would personally handle those coming from the sides.
"Kieek!"
"Aaargh! They're coming from below!"
Before the screaming Guild Alliance member fell, Tae-hyun rushed in and swung his sword like lightning. Explosive damage with a flash of light!
Madness Explosion Sword Style
Arkisus's Second Attack
"Kim Tae-hyun!!!"
They cried out with tears in their eyes. They hadn't expected him to help so actively. When he put them in the vanguard, they thought, That bastard Kim Tae-hyun is going to sacrifice us like Cain, ugh, we're all dead. But he buffed them immediately, rushed to save them with burst damage when they were in danger... honestly, he was more helpful than most other rankers.
Trained Combat Demons have appeared!
...More of them? Tae-hyun was shocked. They felt much stronger than the ones they just fought.
The Combat Demon Captain howls!
The Karbanog Order seemed to have trained way more demons than expected. Unless they were planning an empire-wide rebellion, why on earth did they train so many...
Clang!
The magic circle engraved on the Combat Demon's body absorbs the impact!
Critical hit failed to trigger!
Damage is reduced!
Seriously, those Ancient Empire bastards! Tae-hyun was dumbfounded by the enemy's cheat-like skills. What did they do to every single demon?
When the enemy has cheat-like skills but low intelligence, the most effective method is...
Karbanog's Blunt Spear!
Tae-hyun pulled out the Spear of Karbanog and stabbed the Combat Demon. The demons had cheat-like skills from modifications, but they seemed to have almost no intelligence. They would be extremely flustered by this skill!
"Kieeeeeek..."
"Kieeeeeek!"
The Combat Demons see Karbanog's Blunt Spear and bow in worship!
"......"
They actually trained them for this too?!
Well, since they couldn't have the Combat Demons attacking Karbanog's own priests, they must have made sure of this part...
"W-What? Why are they suddenly doing that?"
"What did you do?"
Instead of answering, Tae-hyun spun the spear.
Rumble—
Oh.
If he spun the spear, did they go that way? Then...
Tae-hyun pointed toward the Guild Alliance.
"Aaaaah!"
The Combat Demons rushed toward them. This was fun!
At that moment, Edager spoke up from his cage.
"My demonic brethren sharing the same blood! Save me, Edager! In the name of the Summoning Duke, I shall bestow a grand reward upon you! I shall grant you territories in the Demon Realm and make you Lords!!!"
"Kieeeeek!"
"...!"
Tae-hyun reacted in surprise as the demons rushed wildly. To think the Combat Demons would actually listen to Edager!
"Aaargh! Kuaaaargh! Aaargh! Get these bastards off me!!"
"......"
However, the scene before them was different from what was expected. The Combat Demons hadn't listened to Edager to free him; they were beating him to a pulp. The demons were poking Edager inside his cage with their long weapons!
"...A bit more should be fine. To teach him a lesson."
You have arrived at the deep chambers of the Karbanog Order!
By possessing Karbanog's weapon of authority, you have acquired the Combat Demon Training Manual of the Karbanog Order!
You can now train Combat Demons within the Order.
Combat Demons are powerful mounts and summons of the Order, created by training demons from the Demon Realm.
Due to their demonic blood, Combat Demons may go berserk if management fails. Please use caution.
Reputation has increased!
It looks like Kim Tae-hyun got some piece of paper. What is it? A skill book?
Even if it's a Karbanog Order skill book, it's not really something to be envious of.
The Guild Alliance members watched Tae-hyun acquire the item without much thought. While they were amazed he found a way to make the demons back off, they weren't particularly curious about the reward.
Instead, they wanted to know how he made the demons back off! Right now, several parties were getting wiped out outside...
"Kim Tae-hyun. How did you shake off the demons earlier?"
"That? I was able to do it because I cleared a Karbanog Order quest before."
"...!"
They could do it if they cleared a Karbanog Order quest??
That sounded like something they could do too!
The Guild Alliance members quickly reported the information they discovered to their superiors.