A Rather Aggressive Escort

Honestly, the Paladins of Archisus weren't actually that weak. Objectively speaking, they were far more reliable than mediocre mercenary NPCs. In the first place, it was rare for anyone holding the class of Paladin to be weak. However, there was a very good reason why players avoided the Paladins of Archisus like the plague.

"Hand over your donation!"

"...Shouldn't we run and get out of here first?!"

"Human beings naturally change their minds once their bellies are full. If we don't take it now, what are we supposed to do if you play dead later? Of course, you might play dead, but we can't squeeze blood from a stone, can we?"

"...Here it is."

The players gave up trying to persuade them and handed over the money. The Paladins of Archisus were absolutely unyielding when it came to these matters. They were incredibly thorough regarding money! If you requested their help, you had to offer a set donation amount scaled to your level.

"Are those the servants of the Hungry Chaos?"

"No! Look, the bastards from the Idergo Cult are there too!"

The Paladins of Archisus gasped in surprise as they watched the two evil factions locked in fierce combat. The players frantically cried out, "You don't need to fight them! Just escort us until we reach the village!"

"Do you know what the best method of escorting is, adventurer?"

"I... I don't know? Is it casting holy buffs on us and forming a tight defensive perimeter to protect us?"

"The correct answer is defeating the enemy! Once the enemy is dead, you are completely safe!"

"What kind of nonsense is...?! You guys weren't originally like this!"

In the time they hadn't seen them, the Paladins of Archisus had become exceptionally aggressive. The players were dumbfounded, but the Paladins of Archisus refused to back down.

"Prepare to charge!"

"Prepare to charge! Let us drive those filthy bastards from this holy land!"

"No! Seriously! What are you planning to do with just this many people?!"

"Then call for reinforcements!"

The players wanted to cry. If they had just run into any other order of knights, they would have safely arrived at the village by now. How on earth did they end up crossing paths with these lunatics...!

"More and more servants of the Hungry Chaos are appearing across the continent."

"Is a massive quest about to trigger?"

"It wouldn't be surprising if it did."

Kim Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon were conversing after wrapping up a quest on Sky Island.

"The energy of the Hungry Chaos will only grow stronger. Adventurers! You must become stronger still, so that you may stand against whatever foes come your way!"

"..."

Lee Se-yeon cast a deeply complicated look in his direction. The imperial prince locked in a cage behind them was weighing heavily on her mind. Tae-hyun looked puzzled by her lukewarm reaction.

"What's wrong?"

"...You're not seriously asking because you don't know, are you?"

"???"

Of course, Tae-hyun was asking in complete earnest. Even demons were dragged around locked in cages; there was no law saying an imperial prince couldn't be locked in a cage and dragged around too.

"From what I've heard, I'm not the only one thinking this. Several guilds are already making similar preparations."

"That's right. Word is that all the large guilds with territories are saying they need to start preparing immediately."

"Whoa. Is Power Warrior doing it too?"

"No..."

Lee Da-bi looked slightly dejected. Other major guilds could demand, 'Hand over taxes to combat the continental crisis!' but Power Warrior was not that kind of guild.

Power Warrior was the kind of place where members would scream, 'Aigoo, Guild Master! Even if I died and you searched my pockets, you wouldn't find a single copper! Just rip my belly open instead!'

Seeing Lee Da-bi look so down, Lee Se-yeon quickly offered some comfort.

"Since Power Warrior doesn't have a territory, you don't have to worry about things like this at all!"

"Exactly, Da-bi. Power Warrior actually has the advantage here. You can monopolize the materials everyone else needs, band together, and drive up the unit price for menial labor quests."

Lee Se-yeon stared at Tae-hyun in disbelief as he casually spouted such sinister schemes with a bright smile. That really doesn't sound like the kind of heartwarming advice he should be giving right now...

"Anyway, it's a bit absurd that all the other major guilds are having these discussions without me..."

Lee Se-yeon looked at Tae-hyun with a pitying gaze. The other major guild leaders and rankers kept in touch to some extent, asking each other, "What are you up to lately?" but they deliberately excluded Tae-hyun.

More than two-thirds of the major guild leaders had been victimized by Tae-hyun back in Pan-On 1!

"You want to invite Kim Tae-hyun and ask what he's doing? If Kim Tae-hyun comes to our dungeon and wreaks havoc, are you going to take responsibility?!"

"If you invite Kim Tae-hyun, I'm leaving."

No matter how much Tae-hyun's public image had improved to an unimaginable degree among the general public, the rankers and guild leaders who had personally suffered at his hands could not easily forget. It was horrible being with you, and let's never meet again!

Of course, Tae-hyun didn't lose any sleep over this. Whether they played among themselves or not was none of his business...

"I need to make preparations too. It'll be too late if I wait until a massive quest or event actually triggers."

"How do you plan to go about it?"

"I'll start by reinforcing the core regions. Aren't you doing the same?"

Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon were in a slightly different situation compared to the other major guilds. Most large guilds with territories had occupied a village or a fortress to develop, or had built one from scratch. The exceptionally lucky ones had managed to acquire larger cities or castles.

Governing just one such city or castle was already an incredibly demanding task. It required the investment of all the guild's resources and manpower.

But Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon were in a position where they ruled entire nations. This was not something that could be managed by individual effort alone.

In the case of the Guild Alliance, they simply pushed through with sheer numbers. They had started as a coalition of multiple large guilds, and true to their nature as Chinese guilds, their member count was astronomical. On top of that, they were pouring in cash received from external investors...

However, neither Tae-hyun nor Lee Se-yeon liked playing that way.

"I'm starting with the capital too."

Because of this, their management styles were bound to be similar: focusing development on the capital's direct territories. Though they were called rulers, apart from the territories they directly governed like the capital, all other regions were ruled by lord NPCs. And those lord NPCs usually didn't listen very well.

In fact, Tae-hyun had recently fought a civil war against the southern lords of the Atali Kingdom. Though, thanks to that, he had made a tidy profit by selling the conquered territories to other guilds...

Focus on governing and developing The Valley and the Capital, maintain the kingdom's stats at a bare minimum so they don't completely collapse, and gradually expand my territory.

This was how he had been ruling his kingdom. Although there were still several lord NPCs left in the kingdom, Tae-hyun didn't pay them much mind as long as they didn't openly defy him. Besides, after a few civil wars and given Tae-hyun's absurd Reputation stat, the lord NPCs didn't dare challenge him anyway.

"In my case, there are a lot of tribes in the desert. Those tribes tend to be very disobedient, so I have to intimidate them using Terror."

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

"Since you're a Necromancer, you must be at a disadvantage in that regard."

"Exactly! Being a Necromancer is so inconvenient at times like this."

Lee Se-yeon complained, a hint of grievance in her voice. She would never show such weakness in front of others, but she didn't mind doing so in front of Tae-hyun. Holy classes like Paladins or Popes—such as Smith or Kim Tae-hyun—could easily win the favor of NPCs and make their work simple, but Necromancers always suffered penalties in these areas.

"Still, it's going pretty well."

"Oh? How so?"

"Shall I show you?"

Lee Da-bi immediately pulled up a video and handed it to Tae-hyun.

It showed the capital of the Asbian Empire. After the Emperor disappeared, the capital where Lee Se-yeon and her guild members had settled had transformed into a city of the undead, radiating a dark, pitch-black aura of death. Since the majority of the original residents were already undead, there was no issue with changing it like this.

"It's great, right? A lot of Black Mages are heading there too."

"I-it's not that big of a deal."

Lee Se-yeon looked incredibly embarrassed by Lee Da-bi's praise, a faint blush dusting her usually cold face.

Wait... I'm actually jealous?

Tae-hyun felt a sudden pang of envy. He didn't care if other people succeeded, but whenever Lee Se-yeon did well, it strangely rubbed him the wrong way. The capital of the Asbian Empire seemed to have developed immensely in a short span of time. Ramparts constructed from the bones of colossal monsters, shadows of death draping over the walls, and dark Magic Towers erected throughout the city. This wasn't something Lee Se-yeon could have accomplished alone; her guild members must have pitched in.

Hmm...

Tae-hyun suddenly compared Cain to Lee Se-yeon's guild members. A wave of profound sadness washed over him, and he quickly cut off that line of thought. Yeah, let's not make comparisons like that.

"Everyone, please have some of this while you work."

Ryu Tae-su and Ryu Da-young entered the conference room carrying steaming cups of tea. With the main tournament matches just around the corner, they had decided to band together and move as a team again. Rather than holding intensive, isolated training sessions, playing together in a party like this during their regular gameplay made it much easier to build teamwork. Though, to be fair, they hadn't arrived at this decision through deep contemplation or strategic analysis...

...In this industry, results were everything. Thanks to the Korean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠national team overwhelmingly crushing the qualifiers, other national teams were now seriously considering party play. Of course, the players themselves absolutely loathed the idea.

...There was a very good reason why others hadn't done this before.

"Anyway, since the servants of the Hungry Chaos are steadily increasing, we won't run out of things to hunt. Let's focus on sweeping the fields. If any new dungeons pop up, we'll clear them."

Everyone nodded at Tae-hyun's words. Ryu Da-young let out a sigh of relief. Yes, this is what normal party play is supposed to be! Hunting in the fields, entering dungeons, clearing them... Whenever she followed Tae-hyun around, she could never let her guard down because she had absolutely no idea what kind of absurd situation would unfold.

The Scalo Mountain Range was located in the central region of the Atali Kingdom. It was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the mountain range where Scalo Castle was situated, and it was famous for spawning quite high-level monsters along its mountain paths.

"Let's quickly sweep the mountain range and clear any dungeons we find. What about the Power Warrior guild members?"

"I'm currently contacting everyone in this area," Lee Da-bi replied.

"Great. I'll leave it to you."

"Since there's a castle, can't we just call the noble NPC who rules it and ask for help?" Ryu Tae-su asked.

Tae-hyun shrugged at the question. "Honestly, with this lineup, we don't really need that kind of help... and it would eat into our EXP. Most of all, if you ask noble NPCs for help, it deducts your Contribution Points."

"Oh dear...! And here you are, the King!"

"Tell me about it."

"What if we summon them and then take them hostage?" Ryu Da-young suggested.

"...N-no. Let's save that for next time."

Tae-hyun was taken aback by the unexpected suggestion. Even he hadn't thought that far ahead.

The imperial prince tied up behind them offered some friendly advice.

"Luring out disobedient nobles and capturing them has always been an effective method, adventurer! After feeding them poison..."

Tae-hyun was tempted to hear more of the prince's advice, but before he could, a booming explosion echoed from the distance.

Boom!

"???"

"Looks like a fight broke out."

Tae-hyun's party turned their attention toward the loud noise coming from the distant castle. A significant number of guild members were clashing fiercely beneath the castle walls.

What's going on? That's not the kind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of place where a battle like that should be happening.