A Friend in High Places
If you do not obey Edaor's commands, penalties may apply.
Exercise caution when rebelling.
A message window popped up for the players who had been forcibly dragged into Edaor's army. Everyone's face turned pale. In short, they had taken one drink and ended up bound to a fraudulent contract. What was worse, there was no way to escape right now.
"Long live Edaor! Long live Edaor!"
"Bwahahaha! Keep shouting, human!"
Edaor finds you commendable.
Lee Da-bi raised both hands high, singing Edaor's praises, leaving the other players looking utterly dumbfounded. What on earth is she doing? they wondered. But Tae-hyun was impressed. She was the quickest on her feet among everyone gathered here. If there was no way out, the right move was to make the absolute best of the situation! Just because they had been drafted into a demon's army didn't mean they should stand around panicking.
Come to think of it, maybe I should have just drunk the alcohol?
Tae-hyun felt a twinge of envy. A quest for joining a demon's army? It was bound to be a quest to satisfyingly destroy a city and attack other players. Beating up people he disliked while getting rewards from a demon—it was the perfect quest for Tae-hyun!
—Master. What are you thinking?
—I was wondering if I could join too.
—What nonsense! How can an Apostle join a demon's army!
—Hey, we live in a global era now. Even if it's a demon, I can join if the terms are right. Wait. I think there might be a way.
—Master! Master!
Edaor stomped his foot and roared, "The emotions overflowing in this arena! They are a delicacy to me! My slaves, bring me the lives of the living! Bring me their suffering!"
Harvest of the Living
Edaor has commanded you to bring him the lives of the living. Harvest the lives of living beings. The more you bring, the more pleased Edaor will be.
🎁 Reward: ?
I'm so jealous...
While Tae-hyun was wallowing in envy, Lee Da-bi was the first to act.
"Lord Edaor! If you grant me some subordinates, I will bring you the lives of the living right away!"
"Bwahaha! Excellent! Count Kim Tae-hyun, what say you?"
Only then did Tae-hyun realize for sure: Edaor thought he had drunk the alcohol too!
As Edaor addressed Tae-hyun, everyone's eyes locked onto him. Most of the players in the arena had already fled. The only ones remaining were those who had participated in the finals and, by a stroke of terrible luck, drank the alcohol and got drafted into Edaor's army. And every single one of those finalists had been thoroughly tormented by Tae-hyun. Glares dripping with resentment poured over him!
I wish I could kill that bastard first.
If I kill him, what will Edaor do? Edaor seems to like him, so...
The others still didn't know that Tae-hyun and Cain hadn't actually drunk the alcohol.
Tae-hyun scanned his surroundings. There was Edaor, who looked absurdly powerful, and the demon subordinates pouring out of the newly opened gate to the Demon Realm in the center of the arena. And then there were the other players, glaring daggers at him. What was needed right now?
"Lord Edaor, I offer you my absolute, undying loyalty!"
"Bwahaha! Splendid, Count Kim Tae-hyun! Out of all these pathetic humans, you are by far the best!"
You have deceived Edaor and joined his army.
Your Reputation has increased.
⚠️ WARNING: Edaor is a demon who highly values absolute loyalty. If he discovers you did not drink the alcohol, he will be furious.
Your affinity with Edaor has increased.
Tae-hyun was networking even with demons! Beside him, Cain stared at Tae-hyun, utterly flabbergasted. They were in a situation where they needed to run away immediately, so what on earth was he doing?
—*Hey, aren't we running? We didn't even drink the alcohol.*
—*If we run now, I might survive, but you'll definitely die. Can't you see all those guys glaring at you?*
Tae-hyun possessed insane evasion capabilities, but Cain did not. The moment they tried to flee, a concentrated barrage of attacks would rain down on them! Furthermore, there was Lee Da-bi. She was the one who had caught Tae-hyun off guard with that bizarre skill during the finals. If Tae-hyun got unlucky, even he could get taken out in an instant.
Ah, I see!
Only then did Cain realize what Tae-hyun was aiming for. Right now, the safest option was to pretend to be Edaor's subordinate! After all, Edaor liked Tae-hyun to an absurd degree.
Lee Da-bi, meanwhile, was eyeing Tae-hyun like a rival. Since Tae-hyun was already receiving Edaor's favor, he was her biggest competitor!
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Things won't go the way they did in the arena, you know."
"Haha, what are you talking about? What did I even do? We're friends, aren't we? Friends."
"Friends, my foot! Friends don't stab each other in the back!"
"You would've attacked me too if you'd made it to the very end."
"..."
Lee Da-bi shut her mouth. That was undeniably true.
"Besides, it would be in your best interest to stay on my good side."
"...?"
"Do you really think you can play nice with them?"
Tae-hyun pointed a finger behind them. There stood Su Ning, Paladin is King, and the guild leaders of Crying Hammer, all glaring at them with eyes blazing with fury! Since Lee Da-bi had caused absolute chaos alongside Tae-hyun in the arena finals, she wasn't innocent in their eyes either.
"So, do you want to act alone? I feel like your back is going to get very, very itchy from all those stares."
"...No! We're friends! Let's work together!"
"I knew it. I knew you'd see reason. Friends!"
"Ahaha. Friends! We're friends!"
Listening to the conversation between Lee Da-bi and Tae-hyun from the side, Cain shook his head.
I want to get out of here...
"Tae-hyun."
"Ah, Uncle."
"...Don't you have anything to say to me?" Yang Sung-gyu asked, staring intently at Tae-hyun.
"Next time, I think you should move a bit faster?"
"You cheeky brat... Forget it. So, what are you going to do now?"
Looking at Tae-hyun's shameless face, Yang Sung-gyu gave up on arguing. The kid's skin was thicker than a steel plate; a little nagging wouldn't even leave a scratch.
"I have to do what Edaor says. There's a penalty if we don't, right?"
"Ugh... I had no idea that alcohol was that kind of item..."
"Tsk, tsk. You should have quit drinking when Auntie told you to. If you'd quit sooner, you wouldn't be in this mess."
"Are those two things even remotely the same?! Wait. Hold on a second."
Yang Sung-gyu suddenly realized something and panicked. He grabbed Tae-hyun's shoulder and whispered, "You brat, you didn't even drink the alcohol!"
"My, what a sharp memory you have."
Yang Sung-gyu remembered that Tae-hyun hadn't drunk the alcohol and had secretly slipped it into his bag. He had suspected something was off, and this was it!
"What are you planning by staying here?"
"It's more profitable to stay here than to run away blindly, so here I am."
"...!"
Yang Sung-gyu instantly understood what Tae-hyun meant. Indeed, Tae-hyun had absolutely no reason to run. Edaor liked him, and since he hadn't drunk the alcohol, he wouldn't suffer any penalties even if he disobeyed orders later. Furthermore, what was the best way to get a head start on the questline revolving around Edaor? It was to join Edaor's army.
Should I just expose this punk?
Yang Sung-gyu still remembered getting backstabbed by Tae-hyun in the arena. He wasn't actually mad about being backstabbed—after all, they had both been planning to do it to each other. What annoyed Yang Sung-gyu was the fact that Tae-hyun had beaten him to the punch!
I should have been the one to do it first.
"Uncle, it looks like you're thinking about going to Edaor and exposing me..."
"What? No, I'm not! What kind of person do you take me for, you brat?!"
"Haha, right? Of course. But I do hope you've given some thought to whose side Edaor would take if you actually did go tell him."
"..."
It wasn't an explicit threat, but it was a threat nonetheless. Edaor seemed so close to Tae-hyun that even if Yang Sung-gyu tried to expose him, it would likely backfire horribly on him.
How did that kid get so close to a demon like Edaor anyway? Is it because their personalities match so well?
In fact, that was exactly the reason.
"So, what's the plan?"
"Well... I'll play along with Edaor's orders for a bit, and then..."
He didn't need to finish the sentence.
"And then you'll stab him in the back, right?"
"Haha, I'm not saying I definitely will... But more importantly, while I can afford to do that, I'm not sure if you or the others will be fine."
There was no telling how the alcohol's penalty would manifest. Yang Sung-gyu let out a heavy groan. "I really didn't expect things to turn out like this..."
"For now, let's go kill some people."
Tae-hyun said it as casually as if he were saying, "Let's go grab some lunch."
"...Why do you look so happy about it?"
"Haha, I'm only doing this because I have to."
"Even so, isn't killing people too risky? If we slaughter all the NPCs, the aftermath will be hard to handle."
"This city isn't my base of operations, and I have no intention of killing NPCs."
"Then what?"
"We can just kill players."
"You crazy brat! That's even harder to handle!"
"Why do you think that? Do you know how many players are currently around this city?"
"Well, that's true, but... if we just kill them randomly..."
If you killed an NPC, that was the end of it. But players didn't just disappear when they died. They would inevitably come back for revenge.
"Well, we just have to kill the ones who deserve it."
"Are there players who deserve to be killed?"
"You'll see."
Tae-hyun approached Edaor and bowed his head. He began to speak at length, spinning some elaborate tale. Edaor burst into boisterous laughter! The other players watched with deep suspicion. What on earth was he saying to get that kind of reaction?
"Very well, Count Kim Tae-hyun! I shall grant you command of my demons! Go and harvest as many living souls as you can."
"Haha, Lord Edaor! You have my absolute loyalty!"
"?!"
Several of the demons who had emerged from the gate to the Demon Realm knelt before Tae-hyun.
You can now command a portion of Edaor's army.
You possess the Intermediate Tactics skill. You receive a bonus to command. The number of subordinates you can command has increased.
You can command: Low-grade Horned Demons, Low-grade Large Demons, Low-grade Winged Demons, and Low-grade Warlock Demons.
You can command Intermediate Demon Warriors, but doing so will reduce the total number of subordinates you can command.
Everyone's jaws dropped.
What the hell did that guy even do to get subordinates from Edaor already?!
Tae-hyun and Edaor's absurdly close relationship was an incomprehensible anomaly to the other players. But it was too early to be shocked. Tae-hyun walked confidently over to the other players. The guild leaders, who held nothing but ill will toward Tae-hyun, naturally glared at him. Their eyes screamed, Are you suicidal, coming over here? Tae-hyun, completely unbothered, opened his mouth.
"The great Lord Edaor has just commanded us to harvest the lives of pathetic living things."
"..."
"So what? Who asked you?"
The first to react was the leader of the Paladin is King guild! He snapped at Tae-hyun bluntly.
"You really don't use your brain, do you?"
"...?"
"Since the Paladin is King guild leader doesn't seem to like me, our first target is his guild! Demons! Prepare for battle!"
"?!?!?!!"
The guild leader's face went pale with shock at Tae-hyun's words.
"Hey, wa-wait a minute! That's not what I meant!"
"Paladins? The demons are going to absolutely love this. Isn't that right?"
—Yes, Lord Tae-hyun!
The demons replied politely. They were already perfectly in sync.
"No, that's not it! Just let me finish my sentence!"
"I'm listening," Tae-hyun said, adopting an arrogant posture.