The Art of Caution
Of course, if he said that out loud, the prince would probably burst into tears, so he kept it to himself. But something is definitely off, Tae-hyun thought, sinking into contemplation.
In the first place, Scalo Castle and the remaining cities of the Atali Kingdom were mostly quite formidable. If they weren't, Tae-hyun would have marched over and beaten them to a pulp long ago! Of course, the players had grown significantly stronger as well, but it was still bizarre that the castle gates had been breached so easily.
Is it a trap? It was entirely possible they were being lured inside for an ambush. After all, Tae-hyun himself thoroughly enjoyed screwing people over in exactly that manner.
“Wait. Halt the advance.”
“Why?! We have the momentum right now!”
Nam Jung-hoon protested, unable to understand Tae-hyun's reasoning. When a force of this scale was on the move, ordering a halt was no simple matter. Once the momentum stopped, getting everyone moving again took a considerable amount of time. If they didn't push through while they had the upper hand, the siege would drag on several times longer.
Is Kim Tae-hyun trying to steal the first entry for himself...? Nam Jung-hoon suspected. Knowing Tae-hyun, it was a highly plausible scheme.
“Think about it carefully. Back then... in that mine, what happened when you guys excitedly broke through the entrance traps and rushed inside?”
“...We triggered another trap and got wiped out.”
“Exactly. That is what I am worried about.”
“...”
His logic was sound, but did he really have to use that of all examples? Still, Nam Jung-hoon had no choice but to concede. The analogy was painfully accurate.
“Halt! Halt!”
“What?!”
The players in the heat of battle were bewildered, but they stopped.
“Ah, we could take the whole place if we push in right now!”
“The defenders are all running away! It's nothing, we can steamroll them!”
“Please report this to the leadership!”
The party leaders shouted in protest, but the guild officers shook their heads.
“Hold your positions!”
A similar scene was unfolding not just in the Black Claw Guild, but in the Nine Tails Guild as well.
“Halt!!”
“Isn't Kim Tae-hyun just doing this to go in first?”
“Why are you slandering Tae-hyun like that?”
“S-Slander?! You punks have clearly never been on the receiving end of his schemes...!”
Several veteran guild members clutched the backs of their necks in sheer frustration, but regardless, the raid force ground to a halt right at the castle gates.
“You cowardly adventurers! Have you lost your nerve?!”
“Come on in!” the soldiers taunted, but the players didn't budge. Hearing them shout like that only made the whole situation feel even more suspicious.
“What the? Is there really a trap?”
“I don't know what's going on, but...”
“I'll send in the undead,” Lee Se-yeon said simply.
This was the ultimate advantage of a Necromancer. Regardless of whether there were traps or not, she could simply flood the area with an endless tide of undead to trigger them all.
The two guild masters nodded at Se-yeon's words. If she was willing to do that, they had absolutely no complaints.
“With bombs strapped to them?”
“...Why would I do that now? Are you insane?”
“Just in case...”
“Do you have any idea how much the rebellion rate of the undead spikes every time we do that? It's too risky.”
The two guild masters watched the exchange between Tae-hyun and Se-yeon with expressions of utter bewilderment. What on earth are they even talking about?
Ultimately, Tae-hyun and Se-yeon reached a reasonable compromise. They would send the undead in, but without strapping bombs to them!
“Advance!”
Death Knights radiating thick, dark energy prepared to charge under the influence of Se-yeon's buffs. The guild members watched in awe as the undead army rapidly multiplied, occupying the streets around the gate in an instant. As expected of a top-tier Necromancer, she's on a completely different level!
Clank, clank—
“Uh... what are you doing?”
Meanwhile, Tae-hyun was busy planting bomb traps all over the castle gates and walls. Even if they were pushed back and forced to retreat, detonating these would blow the entire gatehouse and walls to smithereens. It was a testament to his ruthless mindset—even if he failed, he wouldn't go down without taking the map with him!
Carbanog is deeply impressed by your sheer wickedness!
“You have to set traps during a retreat so they can't pursue you.”
“...”
The guild members marveled, albeit in a completely different sense. As expected of Kim Tae-hyun, he really is built different!
“Ugh... that crazy bastard...”
“Watching him do that makes my entire body shiver. Tell me I'm not the only one.”
The guild members who had been victimized by Tae-hyun in the past trembled violently as they watched him plaster the area with traps. Traumatic memories of their past suffering were flooding back in vivid detail.
[A spell is cast!]
[Magic power is amplified!]
[...]
[...]
Fwoosh!
The undead charging at the front suddenly melted away as hidden traps erupted beneath them. The guild members watching from behind gasped in shock.
“There weren't any traps like that before?!”
They had carefully infiltrated Scalo Castle to map out its layout before launching the raid. There had been absolutely no sign of such traps during their reconnaissance.
“Graaaagh!”
As the undead shrieked and dissolved, Lee Se-yeon furrowed her brow.
“The traps are stronger than I expected. There must be a high-level mage inside.”
“At least it's not bombs.”
“Almost no NPCs use bomb traps besides goblins, you know...?”
The two guild masters spoke urgently.
“Now that the traps have been revealed, shouldn't we charge again?”
“He's right. If we don't rush them now...”
“Tsk, tsk. Look at you impatient people. Do you really think blindly charging in solves everything?”
The two guild masters were utterly dumbfounded by Tae-hyun's remark. You of all people should not be saying that...!
Who else in this entire game is as utterly reckless as you?!
We would never pull the kind of crazy stunts you do! We're the ones who actually knock on stone bridges before crossing them!
Yet, contrary to the guild masters' silent screams, Tae-hyun was indeed a highly cautious player. Though he looked like a lunatic on the surface, a closer analysis of his gameplay revealed that he always prepared multiple contingencies and proceeded with extreme care. Once a trap was discovered, it was only logical to investigate further.
“Should we try to provoke them with ranged attacks?”
“That's not a bad idea. But I think I'll draw them out using my Speech skill.”
Tae-hyun stepped forward. Panicking, the two guild masters quickly called out to him.
“Wait, wait!”
“?”
“You're not going to provoke them with attacks, but with your Speech skill...?”
“Well, attacks have already failed to draw them out, haven't they?”
The players occupying the area near the gate had been attacking the fleeing defenders and surrounding structures to draw aggro. Despite this, the enemy soldiers refused to charge, stubbornly waiting for the players to approach them instead.
“W-Well, that might be true, but can you really provoke them with just a Speech skill?”
“Why not? You guys fell for it easily enough.”
Tae-hyun asked, looking genuinely puzzled. Thinking back to Pandemonium Online 1, players like Nam Jung-hoon had been incredibly easy to provoke.
“You insisted so fiercely that this spot belonged to you, yet you can't even take it back? Ah, my mistake. You must have been talking about your graves.”
“Why, that... that absolute bastard! I'm going to rip his mouth off!”
“...We're players, and those are NPCs!”
“NPCs are even easier. Just watch.”
With that, Tae-hyun dashed forward. The two guild masters watched his retreating back with deeply skeptical expressions. Will that really work?
“Aaaaargh!”
“I'll rip you apart, adventurer!!”
The enemy soldiers have fallen into a state of extreme rage!
The soldiers have initiated a frenzied assault!
“Hmm. The effect was a bit too good.”
“Well, we drew them out, so it's fine!”
The two guild masters were left utterly speechless by Tae-hyun and Se-yeon's casual banter. Just what on earth did he say to make those fleeing soldiers turn around and charge like madmen?
“You absolute fools! Can you not even manage your own subordinates?!”
“K-Kuh... My apologies!”
The defensive centurion knelt on the ground. Standing before him, a warrior of the Hungry Chaos clicked his tongue in deep displeasure.
“How many times did I tell you to lure those adventurers deep inside so they couldn't escape?! You couldn't even manage that simple task.”
“What are you doing to my men?!”
“Calm yourself, Lord of the Castle. I was merely correcting their weakness.”
Though Tae-hyun's party couldn't see it, a conversation was taking place in the inner keep between the Lord of Scalo Castle and the warrior sent by the Hungry Chaos. Surprisingly, the forces of the Hungry Chaos had already established a stronghold within the castle.
Normally, they should have blocked the enemies at the walls and gates, but the warrior of the Hungry Chaos had no intention of doing so. If they did that, wouldn't those arrogant adventurers simply flee?
His plan was to lure them deep into the castle, cut off their retreat, slaughter them all, and offer them as sacrifices to the Hungry Chaos!
...But now, the soldiers had been swayed by a petty provocation, ignoring the traps to charge blindly. From the warrior's perspective, it was incredibly frustrating.
“Lord of the Castle, issue the order once more.”
“Very well. But bear in mind! I do not take orders from you.”
“Of course. But remember, you have already taken the hand of the Hungry Chaos. If you fail to perform your duties, you will be in just as much danger. Surely you know how wicked the King of the Atali Kingdom is?”
“Hmph. I know that much. I heard the minions of the Hungry Chaos were thoroughly routed by him.”
“How dare you...! That is nothing but a baseless rumor!”
“Whatever the case, it matters not. Just show me what you can do!”
The Lord of Scalo Castle was an ambitious noble. He harbored deep resentment toward Tae-hyun—an adventurer of unknown origin who had usurped the throne, banished numerous nobles, and seized their territories.
He wanted to oppose him openly, but Tae-hyun's power was too immense, and his reputation was colossal. Thus, the lord had joined hands with the Hungry Chaos. It was madness, but if it meant gaining power, there were few faster methods.
“Watch closely, Lord of the Castle. I shall capture every single one of those adventurers and offer them up.”
“Hmph. Let's see you try.”
“...Wait, Lord of the Castle. That man... He looks incredibly familiar.”
The warrior of the Hungry Chaos felt a sudden wave of unease. The adventurer radiating divine power at the front looked remarkably familiar.
“What does it matter where you saw him? Go and deal with him immediately! I can no longer tolerate those pests defiling my castle.”
“No... That man is the King himself!”
“Please let us retreat!”
“No! If the tanks fall back, the entire line collapses!”
While it was good that the enemy soldiers were charging in a rage, the battle was proving far more difficult than expected. In truth, the players had only managed to breach the gates and walls because the defenders had been holding back to lure them in. Now that the Scalo Castle garrison was fighting in earnest, the difficulty skyrocketed to a whole new level.
“Archisus's Blessing!”
Tae-hyun cast his wide-area buff as he moved forward. The tanks, whose HP bars were on the verge of shattering, finally caught their breath thanks to the divine support.
“Tae-hyun! Thank you so much!”
“K-Kuuugh... Th-Thank... y-you...”
It was incredibly easy to distinguish which guild members had started playing in Pan-On 2 versus those who had been around since Pan-On 1. Those who thanked him with pure gratitude belonged to the former, while those who thanked him with expressions of profound agony belonged to the latter!
“Tae-hyun! We need DPS here!”
“Understood!”
“No! Not magic! Why are you casting spells?!”
“Do you want me to throw bombs instead?”
“No...! Your sword! Use your sword! You're a swordsman!”
Meanwhile, a furious voice echoed from ahead.
“How did you find out, you minion of Akisus?!”
“?”
Tae-hyun turned his head. Atop the inner keep's wall, the warrior of the Hungry Chaos was glaring down at him.
“To think you would discover so quickly that the Lord of Scalo Castle has joined hands with the great Hungry Chaos... Did you plant spies within my walls?!”
Tae-hyun didn't quite understand what the creature was blathering about, but he could easily grasp the general vibe of the situation.
“...Of course I did!”
“Did you really plant spies?”
“Of course not.”