Developing the Fief with Stolen Goods
You have looted the Magic Reagent Shop.
Your Infamy has increased.
You have looted Gordu's Blacksmith.
Your Infamy has increased.
Tae-hyun and the demons sprinted down the main avenue, storming into every building that looked even remotely valuable and stripping it bare. With every shop they exited, their bags grew heavier and more bloated!
"M-Master Tae-hyun. Surely this is a bit..."
"What? Rufo, do you want to join in on the fun? Sure. I'll spare you a few lackeys. Go sweep everything from that corner over to that one."
"...That is not what I meant! Isn't this going way too far?!"
"Why are you acting so surprised now of all times?"
Everyone nodded in agreement with Tae-hyun's words. Truthfully, if they had wanted to stop him, they should have done so a long time ago.
"Fighting other adventurers or launching a surprise raid to take down Edaor was fine. In fact, the Kingdom of Espa would probably praise us for that since we eliminated a demon. But openly pillaging a city like this is..."
"It's fine, it's fine."
"...?" Rufo stared at Tae-hyun's confident grin, wondering if there was some profound, hidden strategy behind this madness.
"We're far away anyway. Do you really think they'll march an entire army across the continent just to get their stolen goods back? To reach us, they'd have to march all the way through the Erangs Kingdom first."
"..."
"As expected of Master Tae-hyun! Your wisdom is higher than the heavens and deeper than the abyss! Once again, I am utterly awestruck!"
Ed-an suddenly materialized out of nowhere, spraying spit as he sang Tae-hyun's praises. His face was practically glowing with joy. Slung over his back was a massive mountain of stuffed sacks! In a chaotic situation like this, few could loot as efficiently as Ed-an, the legendary Great Thief.
"No, but what do you actually gain from doing this?! Even if they don't send an army after us, isn't this incredibly risky?" Rufo pressed, staring at Tae-hyun. The other incidents could be excused as unavoidable circumstances, but was there really a logical reason to openly ransack Bardo City?
"Well, originally, there was a guy here I really dislike, so I was planning to reduce the city to ashes."
"..." Rufo was speechless. Who on earth tries to obliterate an entire city just because they dislike someone?
"But once Edaor died, destroying the city seemed out of reach. The demon army fractured and scattered instead of staying united. At that rate, they would have been wiped out before they could even breach the inner walls."
"If it was out of reach, you could have just retreated! Defeating Edaor is already a legendary achievement! The Kingdom of Espa would have rewarded you handsomely!"
"Come on, what a waste that would be. I went through all the trouble of securing these subordinates and setting up the perfect stage. So, I pivoted."
"...?"
"I gave up on destroying the city and decided to just plunder all its prime assets instead. I'll use them to develop my territory."
"!!!!!" Rufo's jaw dropped. Who in their right mind funds their own territory's development by pillaging someone else's? To make matters worse, the person saying this wasn't some wicked demon, but the literal Incarnation of a God.
"Master Tae-hyun, please, have some dignity! You are the Incarnation of a God!"
"Oh, stop being such a killjoy, Rufo. You're acting like a total novice. When a righteous person like me does it, pillaging becomes 'righteous plundering.'"
"..."
"Before, my territory just looked like a massive money pit, so I left it abandoned. But things are different now. It would be a crying shame to let an opportunity like this slip through my fingers."
Standing nearby, Cain shook his head in dismay. In the past, the Red Zone Guild had also seized a fortress and wildly attempted to develop their own territory with grand ambitions. Naturally, even that tiny fortress had devoured astronomical amounts of gold, forcing the Red Zone Guild to run themselves ragged trying to scrape together the funds. In the process, the players they extorted gold from became their bitter enemies. Everyone fantasized about owning a territory, but managing one was never easy. It required a colossal fortune before it could even begin to function properly. There was a reason only giant guilds dared to target them.
"But with the gold and items looted from here, the backing of the McCraney Merchant Group, and my title as a Count... this territory is ripe for development."
Patter, patter. While they were talking, Ed-an slipped away and returned, having cleaned out yet another building.
"Hearing your words, Master Tae-hyun, has truly opened this humble Ed-an's eyes!"
"Get away from us, you filthy thief!" Rufo snapped, his temper flaring. Ed-an was only pouring fuel on the fire.
"Good job, Ed-an. I hear you, so go loot some more."
"Pardon? But the person who has stolen the most here is actually—"
"You're a Great Thief. You should be held to a higher standard. If I check the haul later and find it lacking..."
"...I'm on my way!" Ed-an bolted instantly. Watching Tae-hyun command him, one would easily mistake him for a bandit chief enforcing a strict looting quota!
"This is wrong... This is so wrong...!"
"Haha. Look, Rufo, this is a pretty nice sword. Want it?"
"I don't want it!" Their shopping spree—no, their pillaging of Bardo City—proceeded without a single hitch. Compared to the trials they had faced so far, this was so easy it could barely be considered a quest.
"Stop them! Where did these bastards come from?!" Occasionally, Bardo City guards would block their path. However, since the majority of the city's forces had been deployed to the outskirts to hold off the demon army, the remaining guards were incredibly weak.
"Who am I, you ask? I am Kim Tae-san of the Choigang Jizon Moossang Guild! Face me!"
"Aaargh! How dare you commit such atrocities in Bardo City! Do you not fear the consequences?!" Knocking the soldiers aside, Tae-hyun pressed forward relentlessly, making sure to loudly frame Kim Tae-san at every opportunity.
"Hey, they say Bardo City is being looted right now! We have to get there fast!"
"Running there will take too long! Send anyone with teleportation or movement skills ahead to block them!"
"No. Stop!"
"...?" When their guild leader ordered them to halt, the guild members who were scrambling to mobilize paused in confusion. Every second counted. They needed to send their fastest players to intercept the threat immediately. Yet, they were being told to wait.
"Do you think our opponent is some pushover? He has Kim Tae-hyun and a horde of demons on his side. If we trickle in one by one, we'll just get picked off!"
"Ah, of course...!"
"But Guild Leader! If we're too slow, Kim Tae-hyun might just slip away!"
"Fufu. Slip away where?"
"...!"
"Kim Tae-hyun thinks he's being clever, but his own schemes are going to backfire on him this time. He bypassed the players waiting outside and ran straight into the city. He won't find it so easy to leave. Even if he tries to fly away, we won't lose sight of him again."
The guild leader spoke with absolute confidence. Tae-hyun had recently shot to fame, and while he had amassed a massive fan base, he had also drawn the jealousy and wariness of countless other players.
"We're going to teach him a lesson he'll never forget. I'm going to humiliate him live on stream!" The guild leader had a very good reason to be so confident. Once Tae-hyun entered Bardo City, no matter how much chaos he caused, there was no way out. The only potential escape route was the harbor, but there wasn't a single ship docked there.
You dug your own grave, Kim Tae-hyun! The Espa Kingdom's navy had requisitioned every single vessel in the harbor—a special event triggered by Edaor's rampage. As they sprinted toward Bardo City, one of the guild members couldn't help but wonder:
But would Kim Tae-hyun really fly all the way here without any sort of backup plan...? Of course, he kept that thought to himself. Knowing their guild leader's petty personality, speaking highly of Kim Tae-hyun would only invite a furious scolding.
"There are no ships!!" Lee Da-bi looked as if her entire world had just collapsed. When she followed Tae-hyun, she had naturally assumed they would steal a ship from the harbor to make their escape. But the docks were completely deserted! It was no wonder she looked so utterly devastated.
Yet, Tae-hyun merely gave a calm, nonchalant command. "Hey. Hurry up and loot this area too."
"This is hardly the time for that!"
"Don't worry." Right as Tae-hyun spoke, five ships began to emerge on the distant horizon. Rufo let out a heavy, exhausted sigh.
"I really don't know if we should be doing this..."
"It's fine. Did you make sure the disguise was perfect?"
"Do you see that flag over there?"
"A pirate flag? Hey, I only brought that up as an example. Did you seriously disguise us as actual pirates?"
"Pirates are much better! If we used any other disguise and got caught with what we're carrying inside, what would we have done?!"
"Wait, that pirate flag looks awfully familiar... Hold on. Isn't that..." Tae-hyun recognized the emblem flying from the ships sent by the McCraney Merchant Group. It was the flag of the Caterand Pirates!
"Why on earth did you hoist that flag?"
"It's a flag we confiscated during our last subjugation campaign. Where else would a merchant group find a pirate flag? We just grabbed whatever we had on short notice."
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter. We'll lower the flag once we're clear of the Espa Kingdom's waters anyway." Tae-hyun nodded dismissively. The Caterand Pirates had been completely annihilated. Who was going to complain about them using their old flag?
"Let's go!" Thud. As soon as the ships docked, Tae-hyun gestured grandly. The demons swarmed aboard, carrying their massive piles of loot. Lee Da-bi stepped forward to board as well, but—
"Ah-ah-ah."
"...?"
"Nothing in this world is free. You have to pay your fare."
"...But we're friends..."
"Don't you know that good fences make good neighbors, and clean accounts make the best of friends?" Lee Da-bi gave up. She knew Tae-hyun wasn't the type to be swayed by a few sweet words.
"How much do I owe you?"
"It's not a flat rate."
"...?"
"Half."
"...Half of what?"
"Half of everything you looted here."
"...!!!!!" Only then did Lee Da-bi realize Tae-hyun's true intentions. No wonder he had brought her along without demanding anything upfront and graciously let her loose in the city...!
"I know you have a Merchant class. You must have looted far more than me or the demons combined."
Most Merchant classes possessed passive skills that granted massive bonuses to inventory space and weight capacity—sizes that other classes couldn't even dream of competing with! There was a common saying that a high-level Merchant player could carry enough cargo to sustain an entire city. It sounded like a joke, but it was the absolute truth.
"T-Thirty percent!"
"Half."
"Forty percent!"
"Do you want to swim back?"
"..." Lee Da-bi blinked back tears as she reluctantly pulled out her inventory bag. Her dreams of striking it rich were being slashed in half.
Still, fifty percent of a massive haul is better than nothing...! Tae-hyun quickly boarded the ship and signaled the crew to set sail. There was no reason to linger here any longer.
"Set a direct course for the open sea and head straight to the Atali Kingdom! It's time to develop our territory!"
"Hooray!" Roaaar!
"Wait, Master Tae-hyun. Are you seriously planning to bring these demons with us?" Rufo whispered urgently into Tae-hyun's ear.
"What? Rufo, are you suggesting we just abandon them here? I didn't realize you were so cold-hearted. How could you even say that? Just look at them." Tae-hyun gestured toward the deck. Sitting there, staring back at them with wide, innocent, sparkling eyes, were the winged demons! Although their forces had fractured after Edaor's death, and Roy had lured a significant portion away as a distraction, the remaining dozens of winged demons were still a formidable force that couldn't be ignored.
Plus, they can be promoted. Using specific items and skills, he could upgrade the demons' grades and help them grow. Tae-hyun's gaze drifted over to Yong-yong.
Why is this divine beast's growth so painfully slow...? Granted, Tae-hyun hadn't been feeding him much experience lately, but he couldn't help but reminisce about the dragon's wild rampage back on Katerand Island. Yong-yong was still incredibly powerful, but...
"Rufo, if you keep acting like this, the merchant group employees are going to start looking at you weirdly. Just the other day, they were whispering about how you insulted that Caterand pirate's mother..."
"That was because you phrased it in a way that totally misled everyone!" Rufo bellowed, his face flushing red.
"Besides, I only brought it up because I'm worried! Having demons in your territory is incredibly dangerous! What if other people see them?!"
"Oh, is that all? Don't worry. There are plenty of places to hide them inside the Valley. We just have to not get caught." From the looting to the demons, Tae-hyun's solution to everything was simply "not getting caught." Rufo couldn't help but feel a deep, gnawing sense of anxiety.
"I'm sure you have it under control, but..."
"Hmm. Maybe we can just put some kind of disguise over them. I wonder if there's something suitable?" A disguise that would blend perfectly into the territory without raising any suspicion.
"Yes. Gargoyles should do the trick."
Flinch! Sitting on the deck, Longtail 1 and the other winged demons shuddered in unison. The look Tae-hyun was giving them felt deeply, profoundly ominous.