A Colossal Troll Move
"What on earth is that guy thinking?" Yang Sung-gyu tilted his head in confusion.
Lee Da-bi, standing beside him, asked, "Why is he doing that?"
"I have no idea. He's always been impossible to read... But wait. Is there actually any benefit to leading Edaor's army?"
With Yang Sung-gyu's intellect, he couldn't fathom a single good reason to drag Edaor's forces along. Now that Abalab City had been completely laid to waste, the Espa Kingdom would surely issue a subjugation quest for Edaor. Other cities would mobilize their armies, and players across the entire Espa Kingdom would receive quests to hunt him down.
Borrowing Edaor's subordinates had been an unavoidable necessity to deal with the rival guilds, but now that those guilds were completely smashed, there was no reason to escalate the situation further. Escalating things would only invite unnecessary danger.
Regardless of his concerns, Edaor nodded in agreement. "Very well! Which city should we march upon next?"
"I believe Bardo City would be ideal," Tae-hyun replied. "It is situated near the sea, meaning a vast amount of gold flows through its ports, and its population is dense. It will be more than sufficient to station your demonic forces!"
"?!?!"
Yang Sung-gyu nearly jumped out of his skin.
Bardo City...
That was the very city where Kim Tae-san and the Choigang Jizon Moossang Guild had recently cleared quests and were meticulously building their base of operations! They were currently expanding their influence by currying favor with various local NPCs.
The strategy of almost every major guild was identical: gather players, designate a specific city, and steadily grow their influence there by clearing quests.
But what if that city was suddenly reduced to ashes?
All their hard work and progress would instantly vanish like smoke.
Yang Sung-gyu stared at Tae-hyun with wide, disbelieving eyes.
Did he do this on purpose?
"Tae-hyun. Why Bardo City?"
"Bardo City seems quite fitting, don't you think?"
"..."
"Oh, by the way, where did you say Father was?"
Yang Sung-gyu flinched. Was Tae-hyun testing him, or did he genuinely not know?
"He's clearing a quest over in Garta City."
"Then heading to Bardo City should be perfectly fine."
"...!"
In that instant, Yang Sung-gyu realized he had been thoroughly played. Even though he had claimed Tae-san was in Garta City, Tae-hyun hadn't changed his destination.
In other words, Tae-hyun knew with absolute certainty that Kim Tae-san was in Bardo City!
How did this kid get that information?
As Sung-gyu racked his brain, someone caught his eye. A vaguely familiar face.
"Y-you?!"
Standing right behind Tae-hyun was Roy—the arrogant punk who had once picked a fight with Kim Tae-san only to be beaten to a pulp.
"Why is that guy standing there?"
"Oh, him? He said he's a big fan of mine. He's actually the one who recommended Bardo City."
"Hey! That guy is a notorious, habitual PKer!"
"Well, you, Father, and I are all habitual PKers... and people can change, right? Just look at Cain here."
He wasn't wrong. Yang Sung-gyu clenched his fists. He was being completely danced around. Tae-hyun had gathered all the information he needed before making his move.
Directing a literal demon army toward Bardo City just to thoroughly sabotage Kim Tae-san... What a colossal, server-wide troll move.
"You little brat... you knew all along!"
"Of course, Uncle. You should probably give Father a heads-up right about now."
Tae-hyun had been absolutely certain from the start that Yang Sung-gyu was on Kim Tae-san's side. No matter how much Sung-gyu pretended to be a neutral party, Tae-hyun was never fooled. From beginning to end, the man was his father's loyal companion.
I should have actively sabotaged his rise within Edaor's ranks from the very start!
Regretting his initial inaction, Yang Sung-gyu quickly turned and walked away.
[Yang Sung-gyu]: Hyung-nim. Tae-hyun is heading to Bardo City!
[Kim Tae-san]: What? What the hell does that mean? And what were you doing while this happened?
[Yang Sung-gyu]:(Explains the situation rapidly...)
[Orc Uncle 1]: No, but seriously... sending a demon army here just to mess with Hyung-nim? Who does something that insane?
[Orc Uncle 2]: Honestly, the fact that he can persuade and control demons is even more mind-blowing. That kid's talent is really something else...
[Orc Uncle 3]: Is now the time to be praising Tae-hyun?! We need to figure out a plan!
[Orc Uncle 4]: Won't they get stopped before they even get here? The Espa Kingdom isn't a joke. Now that Abalab City is in ruins, they're bound to mobilize.
[Orc Uncle 1]: We still have to prepare for the possibility that they make it.
[Orc Uncle 2]: Aren't you guys getting a bit too ahead of yourselves?
[Orc Uncle 3]: Hey, Tae-hyun is the one leading them. You know how he is.
[Orc Uncle 4]: ...Yeah, we definitely need to prepare!
[Kim Tae-san]: Hey! I told you to stop praising that brat!
[Orc Uncle 1]: Come on, Hyung-nim. This isn't praise, it's objective situational analysis.
[Orc Uncle 2]: Exactly.
[Kim Tae-san]:(These bastards...)
[Orc Uncle 3]: For now, shouldn't we notify the Governor of Bardo City and rally the players to prepare a defense? Honestly, we could just pack up and run, but...
[Kim Tae-san]: Run? Who's running?! I'm not running anywhere!
[Orc Uncle 4]: Hyung-nim, this isn't the time to let your pride get in the way. Did you see the video of Abalab City? Tae-hyun was absolutely brutalizing people.
[Kim Tae-san]: That's because that little rascal used dirty, underhanded tricks!
[Orc Uncle 1]: And he can easily use those same dirty tricks on us. Plus, he has a literal demon army. We have to keep a tactical retreat in mind.
[Kim Tae-san]: Ugh...
[Kim Tae-san]: Fine! We'll run if we absolutely have to.
[Orc Uncle 2]: Yes, Hyung-nim. You made the right call.
[Orc Uncle 3]: That's exactly what Tae-hyun is aiming for—to provoke you and drag you out into the open.
[Orc Uncle 4]: It'll hurt to lose everything we've built in Bardo City if it gets destroyed, but it's still better than getting caught by Tae-hyun. Let's not play right into his hands.
"No one around, right?"
"Yes, none."
Yong-yong, are there any demons nearby?
There are none, Master. More importantly, why do you keep stuffing me back in— mmmph!
"Sorry, sorry."
Tae-hyun used Yong-yong as a makeshift demon detector before quickly shoving him back into his summon space. Since he was currently leading a horde of demons, parading a divine beast like Yong-yong around would only invite unwanted suspicion.
Now that he had confirmed the coast was clear...
It's finally time to open the chest!
Because he had no idea what might be inside, he hadn't dared to open it in front of the demons. He had deliberately created a brief window of privacy during their nighttime march.
Thump, thump!
Tae-hyun's heart hammered against his ribs. What would he get?
What could be inside?
Hmm. I thought this when I first saw it, but the description is incredibly ominous.
But there was no room for hesitation. He didn't have the luxury of time. Tae-hyun immediately opened the chest.
Flash!
With a brilliant burst of light, what emerged was...
You never know what's inside. Trust your luck.
"What the hell?"
Even Tae-hyun, who rarely swore, was momentarily dumbfounded. After all that, it was just another gacha box?
But that wasn't all. The Golden Treasure Chest wasn't the only thing inside.
Durability: 1/1
Attack Power: ?
Effect: High chance of triggering instant death. Destroyed upon use.
Prepare for the insidious poison of the wicked!
• You have obtained the Sacred Dagger of the Archisus Church. You obtain the Authority contained within.
• You have obtained the Authority: Aki-sus's Divine Territory.
• Your Holy stat increases.
Aki-sus's Divine Territory
Consumes a massive amount of power to declare a domain in the name of Archisus. Within the domain, the laws of Archisus apply.
* This skill is unaffected by magic skills.
* Current Skill Level: 1
"..."
The Golden Treasure Chest was a decoy. The real prizes were the items and the Authority that followed.
Aki-sus's Divine Territory... This looks like a priest skill.
Skills that deployed a wide-area domain—or "floor tiles," as players colloquially called them—were typically buff-oriented abilities used by priests. For Tae-hyun, who had primarily acquired physical or non-magical skills up to this point, this was highly unfamiliar territory.
But then again, the Avatar of Archisus was technically a holy-affiliated class. It wasn't entirely surprising that priest-like skills would appear.
But I don't really have a feel for how to use this yet.
Based on the description alone, the cooldown was massive, and the MP consumption was astronomical. However, the fact that "the laws of Archisus apply within the domain" was intriguing.
What kind of effects do priest domains usually have? Party healing, enemy damage, stat or skill buffs?
Those were the standard effects, but the specific traits of a domain varied depending on the deity a church worshiped. Churches of war gods granted buffs to attack power or attack speed, while churches of magic gods boosted magical attack power.
So, what kind of effects would Archisus's domain manifest?
Well, at least the fact that it's unaffected by magic skills is a massive plus...
Tae-hyun's magic skills were still stuck at the Beginner level. Compared to the high-level enemies he was facing, they were sorely lacking. But this domain would function perfectly regardless of his low magic stats.
Furthermore, it meant the enemy's magic skills wouldn't be able to interfere with it either.
When would be the best time to test this out?
He would have to use it at least once to truly understand its utility. But before he could ponder further, another system window popped up.
The Shadow of the Great Sword Duke
The Demon Duke Edaor is an evil being who wishes to destroy the continent and claim it for the demons. Archisus foresaw this and sent you, his Avatar.
The chest Edaor used as bait to gather adventurers will become the powerful sword that pierces him. Slay him in the name of the Avatar.
🎁 Reward: ?, ??, ???
"Hmm..."
Tae-hyun let out a deep groan.
It wasn't because of the quest itself. In truth, this wasn't entirely unexpected. Archisus's oracle had directed him to Abalab City, and a demon had emerged from it. A quick-witted person like Tae-hyun couldn't possibly have missed the connection.
Right. I figured a quest related to Edaor would pop up eventually.
The real issue was that Tae-hyun had absolutely no intention of killing Edaor.
Of course, Edaor was an incredibly tempting boss monster. Boss monsters were always highly coveted. Defeating one just once would shower a player in a mountain of rare rewards.
However, Tae-hyun was a pragmatist who always calculated the odds first. Edaor was immensely powerful, there were currently no other major forces nearby to help raid him, and if a fight broke out, Edaor's demonic subordinates would instantly swarm the battlefield.
No matter how he ran the numbers, a direct raid was a losing proposition.
Even if he were to hunt Edaor, he had figured it would be best to wait until the demon duke roamed the Espa Kingdom, drew massive aggro, and got completely surrounded by the kingdom's forces.
Instead of lingering by Edaor's side waiting for that distant opportunity, Tae-hyun had thought it would be wiser to just take what he could and slip away.
But now, the items from the chest were practically screaming at him to slay Edaor.
The church's antidote was clearly meant to counter Edaor's poison.
And the Sacred Dagger of the Archisus Church...
A single point of durability, but with a chance of instant death. Talk about extreme.
It was no exaggeration to say these items were specifically tailored for an assassination attempt on Edaor.
Now, the only thing left was Tae-hyun's decision.
Is it actually possible to kill him? And even if I can, when should I do it? Do I really have to wait until the kingdom's army mobilizes?
With such tailored items handed to him on a silver platter, Tae-hyun's resolve began to waver. An Edaor raid, which he hadn't even considered, was suddenly on the table. What would the odds and the potential outcomes look like?
I've already decided to send Edaor's army to where Father is, so if Edaor dies right now, that ruins the plan... Maybe I should bide my time and backstab him later? But then, cooperating with the kingdom's army will be a nightmare.
This was a completely different situation from his dealings with the Sadiq Order. Right now, Tae-hyun was officially acting as an ally to the demons. If the kingdom's army surrounded them and he suddenly shouted, "Hey, let's team up!", he'd be lucky if they didn't just slaughter him along with the demons.