Is Fighting in Front of Castles Trendy These Days?

"Is fighting in front of other people's castles the trendy thing to do these days?"

"I doubt anyone but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you would follow a trend like that, Tae-hyun..."

Aside from Tae-hyun, who had gone all the way to the Auston Kingdom just to pick a fight, few people fought in front of someone else's castle. Why would anyone fight in front of another person's castle when there were so many other places? If the lord of the castle got angry, magic and boulders would rain down from above.

"They aren't just fighting in front of the castle... they're attacking it!"

Looking closely, the players were not only fighting among themselves but also attacking the castle walls at the same time. It was a highly chaotic situation.

"Looks like a fight broke out in the middle of a siege."

"They're attacking Scalo Castle?"

Tae-hyun was puzzled.

One of the easiest ways to become a lord was to attack and capture a city or castle occupied by an NPC lord. So why hadn't anyone tried such an easy method before?

...Because attacking a castle occupied by an NPC lord was no easy feat.

Usually, noble NPCs were either incredibly strong themselves or commanded knights and mages who were ridiculously powerful. On top of that, a lord-level NPC commanded an astronomical number of soldiers. At that point, ordinary players couldn't even dream of attacking them. Even the Guild Alliance hadn't taken over the Auston Kingdom through a head-on clash; they had launched a surprise attack.

"Maybe it's because the overall level of players has gone up lately, but I've been seeing this a lot more."

"Really?"

Tae-hyun might be floundering in the level 200 range, but the fastest rankers had long since broken through the barrier of level 300. As time passed, Pangaea Online players were growing. Along with that, more skills were unlocked, and equipment was getting better... Thanks to this, more people were challenging quests they wouldn't have dared to attempt before. This siege was one of them.

"If you can just capture a castle or a city, it's way better than building up a village or a fortress from scratch, right?"

"That's true, but managing it must be a nightmare..."

"Most people don't think that far ahead before making a decision."

In fact, if you asked large guilds, "Why do you need a territory?" they wouldn't give a systematic answer like, "If we have a territory, we'll get tax ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠revenue, exclusive quests, and various benefits for our guild members..." Instead, the real reason was closer to: "Why do we need a reason to capture a territory? We just do it!" Territories were simply a guild's ultimate dream.

"So, did those two guilds join forces?"

"They probably joined forces and then had a falling out. After all, only one person can sit on the lord's throne..."

It was hilarious that they started fighting among themselves while attacking a castle, but this was a common occurrence. Often, the guy right in front of you was far more annoying than the quest itself.

Wait. No matter which guild captures that castle, wouldn't it benefit me?

Tae-hyun suddenly realized. The current lord of Scalo Castle paid very little taxes to Tae-hyun and barely listened to his orders... Wouldn't it be much better if players took over? Of course, players could ignore Tae-hyun's orders too. But players understood how the world worked much better than NPCs. Knowing that Tae-hyun could wipe them out if he wanted to, they wouldn't dare refuse to cooperate.

"I should go break up that fight."

"Huh?"

"Are you planning to get help from those guys?"

Ryu Tae-su asked, puzzled. He didn't think they needed the help of those guild members to hunt in this area. It wasn't like a super strong monster had appeared, so why...?

-Foolish boy!

The prince trapped in the back scolded Ryu Tae-su.

-Do you not understand the profound wisdom of that adventurer?! With the Hungry Chaos lurking nearby, adventurers must not fight amongst themselves!

"Oh..."

Ryu Tae-su was swayed by those words again. Indeed, if it was Player Kim Tae-hyun...

"Brother. You do realize that makes absolutely no sense, right?"

"Is it? It sounds pretty plausible to me."

The guilds were large, historic guilds that had been around since Pan-On 1. Even when the Guild Alliance was running wild in the Auston Kingdom, or when the Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild was establishing a new territory in Uruk, they didn't get involved. They had judged that with the current level of players, rashly stepping forward would bring no good.

Of course, that prediction turned out to be completely wrong. Starting with the Guild Alliance, many others had succeeded in obtaining territories. The large guilds were now moving in a hurry to secure territories, even if they were late to the game. Thanks to quietly leveling up and building their strength, they didn't lack power.

-It's better to capture one like this than to build it up from scratch.

-Exactly. Who has the time to grow a village or a fortress?

These large guilds thought this was actually a great opportunity. While others were building up territories from the bottom, they could just capture a massive castle and get it instantly. Of course, they had to capture it first, but hearing about recent success stories made it seem quite plausible.

-Did you see the Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild and those Angler bastards team up to capture a castle? Sieges are totally doable now.

-Even if you don't look that far, look at Treum. Multiple guilds are running it together. It's totally possible!

...The ones who joined forces based on that logic were Black Claw and Nine Tails. At first, things went quite well. As the rankers and high-level players of both guilds rushed in, battering the walls and unleashing all kinds of skills, the walls of Scalo Castle began to crumble faster than expected.

-Defenders, fire your arrows!

-Reinforce the walls!

-You wretched adventurers! How dare you attack this castle!

The defense captain roared in anger, but the guild members ignored him. They had already prepared themselves for this much. What was more important was something else.

"Our Black Claw Guild will enter first!"

"What? We agreed that we would enter first!"

"Looking at it now, the Nine Tails Guild has taken too many casualties. It's too dangerous for you to enter through the gate first. We're just doing it in your stead."

"We clearly decided that we would go first, so what are you scheming now?"

"Scheming? We're just being considerate!"

"Considerate, my foot. Are you trying to monopolize the position of castle lord?"

"That's my line! Honestly, if you guys go in first, how can we trust you?!"

"Then you should have said something when we were setting the rules! You kept your mouth shut back then, and now you're acting this ugly?"

Although the two guilds had agreed to capture it together, Pangaea Online was originally a place rife with betrayal and conspiracies. If one guild rushed in first, claimed the territory, and blocked the other guild from entering, the left-behind guild would just become suckers. Knowing this, they bickered over who would enter first.

"This bastard shoved me!"

"He swung his weapon!"

"Stop fighting, you idiots! There are still enemies on the walls!"

-Muhaha! Foolish adventurers! Fighting amongst themselves!

Even as the NPCs mocked them from above, the guild members couldn't afford to care. Right now, the other players in front of them, who might pull anything, were far more dangerous!

"Stop fighting!"

-Murderous Strike, Hwairans Swordplay!

-Storm Vortex! Boiling Wall of Fire!

No matter how much they tried to stop it, once a fight broke out, it was hard to contain.

"Stop fighting!"

"Get out of the way! Stop talking nonsense!"

"I said, stop fighting!"

By now, the guild members were completely ignoring the voice. So, the voice decided to respond in a much hotter fashion.

"I told you to stop fighting, you bastards!"

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

"Aaargh!"

Tae-hyun began to rain down explosive burst damage on anyone fighting around him. It didn't kill them, but it was powerful enough to snap them back to reality. It was a force that shattered shields, pulverized armor, and inflicted stuns, instantly freezing the battlefield!

"I! Told! You! To! Stop! Fighting! Why! Aren't! You! Listening!"

"Argh! Aaack! Stop! I'm seriously going to die!"

When a person's HP dropped below 10%, cooperation they never knew they had suddenly blossomed, and they became good, attentive listeners. As Tae-hyun ruthlessly shaved away their health and poured out burst damage, the guild members temporarily halted their clash, completely bewildered.

"Wh-who are you, and why are you interfering?"

They thought a squad leader or an officer from their own guild had broken up the fight, but looking closely, he didn't even have a guild mark. They thought he might be from the rival guild, but that didn't seem to be the case either... Where did this guy come from?

"I was just passing by."

"......."

"......."

The guild members stared at Tae-hyun in utter disbelief. They knew there were plenty of crazy people in Pangaea Online, but they never expected someone to just pass by, see people fighting, jump in, and declare, "If you don't stop, I'll kill you!"

-Should we kill him?

-Don't. He's clearly no ordinary ranker.

You could tell after taking a few hits. Judging by his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠insane burst damage, he was definitely a top-tier ranker who could melt five or six of the guild members here in an instant.

"What is your name? We are the Black Claw Guild..."

"Black Claw? I've heard that somewhere before."

Tae-hyun tilted his head. The name sounded quite familiar.

"Ah. Did you guys play in Pan-On 1 too?"

"Of course we did."

The guild members spoke with a hint of pride. Guilds that had carried over from Pan-On 1 possessed a deep pride in their history and tradition. A bond of a completely different dimension compared to the newly formed guilds in Pan-On 2! In fact, the guild members here had known each other for a very long time. That tightly knit strength was the true power of their guild.

"By any chance, did you guys capture the Vigelan Mine back then? You know, that 11-floor underground dungeon."

"We did... capture it. But why bring that up all of a sudden?"

"Just felt like asking."

Seeing their opponent suddenly bring up Pan-On 1 out of nowhere, the Black Claw Guild fell into confusion. The same went for the neighboring Nine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tails Guild. Why on earth was he talking about Pan-On 1?

"Ah. My apologies. Wearing a mask has become a bit of a habit."

Tae-hyun took off his mask. At the sight of that familiar face, the guild members who had played since Pan-On 1 turned pale.

"Kim... Kim Tae-hyun...!!!"

"What's wrong?"

The guild members who had joined in Pan-On 2 were puzzled. Kim Tae-hyun wasn't some PKer who went around beating up random players; wasn't he known as a pretty decent, upstanding ranker?

"It's Kim Tae-hyun!!"

"Everyone, battle positions!!!"

"Protect the Guild Master!!!"

The veteran guild members from Pan-On 1 screamed and scrambled. They immediately began forming a defensive wall around their Guild Master! Seeing this, the Pan-On 2 recruits couldn't help but be even more bewildered.

"Wait, why are you guys reacting like this?"

"Get over here, quick! Unless you want to die standing next to Kim Tae-hyun! Do you want to watch him grab you and turn you into a human bomb?!"

"Oh, come on... Player Cain said in an interview that he volunteered for all of that because he wanted to."

"That's not the point, you stupid newbie!"

The Pan-On 1 veterans beat their chests in frustration. This was exactly why newbies were so frustrating!

"Kim Tae-hyun! What grievance do you have with us that you're attacking us here? No matter how amazing you are, do you really think you can take on all of us?!"

The Guild Master of Black Claw roared fiercely. His eyes burned with a steadfast determination not to lose this time.

"...I think the Korean National Team players are standing right behind him, Guild Master."

That determination vanished in exactly five seconds. The Guild Master's voice instantly turned into a desperate plea.

"...Kim Tae-hyun!! Go beat up the Guild Alliance or something! Why are you doing this to us?!"