A New Kind of Begging!
Honestly, at this point, it wasn’t begging anymore. It was closer to extortion.
“What are you writing down?”
“A list of people to threaten... no, a list of favors to ask.”
Kim Tae-hyun blurted out “threaten” and hurriedly corrected himself.
The Power Warrior guild members who had followed their guild master here were looking at Tae-hyun with deeply moved eyes.
An image of Tae-hyun completely different from what people saw on broadcasts?
That didn’t matter at all.
If anything, it was even better.
If the Tae-hyun crafted by the broadcasts was the image of a beloved hero, then the Tae-hyun they saw here in person was the image of a role model worth imitating.
The first place they arrived at was Aralta Castle.
On the road lay a shattered sign that read [Aralta Castle].
“Who owns Aralta Castle right now?”
“Uh... it’s not listed on the site. Is it some guild that doesn’t stream or use the internet? Why’s there nothing on them?”
“Maybe they’re keeping things secret. Doesn’t matter. We’ll see for ourselves.”
Confident and swaggering, Tae-hyun strode ahead with those bizarre Orc warriors and even demons trailing behind him.
It was enough force that he could’ve rammed into almost anyone and still been fine.
Of course, Tae-hyun had absolutely no intention of fighting.
As long as the other side was willing to listen to him properly...
Step. Step.
Even amid the chaos, Aralta Castle looked to be in pretty decent shape.
Maybe they had spotted the army Tae-hyun brought, because someone emerged from inside the castle gate.
Orcs dressed even more ridiculously than the Orc warriors Tae-hyun had brought.
And there was only one kind of Orc like that.
“Dad?!”
“?!”
Kim Tae-san saw Tae-hyun appear in the distance and dropped the axe he had been holding.
No, why the hell was that brat here?
“Is that your son?”
Gerald, who had been reinforcing the castle wall nearby, asked.
Kim Tae-san shook his head.
“No!”
“But just now...”
“Get back to fixing the wall! Your hands are idle.”
“Y-yes, sir.”
Gerald shut his mouth and went back to hammering at the wall.
He was here because he’d been paid quadruple.
He could tolerate a fair amount of abuse.
This area was dangerous, and there was plenty to repair and build...
But that only made an architect’s soul burn brighter!
On top of that, the other Orc guild members were rolling up their sleeves and trying to help too.
Kim Tae-san strode forward.
Beside him, Yang Sung-gyu took one look at Tae-hyun’s army and whispered,
“Hyung-nim. If you act rashly, this could get dangerous.”
“I know.”
The moment he saw Tae-hyun, Kim Tae-san’s blood had boiled, but he regained his composure fast.
Behind Tae-hyun stood demons and Orcs.
The demons probably came from that Espa Kingdom quest. But where the hell did he get those Orcs?
He had no idea what kind of trick Tae-hyun had pulled to get even Orc warriors under his command.
And on top of that, the player with the biggest grudge against Orcs was Tae-hyun himself.
Those Orcs should’ve been jumping him on sight.
“I didn’t expect you to come all the way here.”
“Haha. Father. I didn’t know you were here either. Judging by the look of things... are you building a territory?”
“......”
“You’re not copying me, are you?”
Grit!
“N-no...!”
“Really? Because it sure looks like you are.”
“Shut up, you little punk! Just get to the point!”
His dignity and gravitas vanished in an instant.
Kim Tae-san snapped and shouted.
One of Tae-hyun’s greatest talents was getting under people’s skin.
“I heard there were a lot of guilds around here, so I thought I’d go around asking favors.”
“What... kind of favor?”
“You already know. Get some gold donations, and now that new cities and castles are getting developed, have them build a few Archisus temples too...”
Gold was nice, but Tae-hyun had discovered a new frontier.
That frontier was territory where he could plant the flag of the Archisus Church.
In other kingdoms, the territories were already occupied by other religious orders, and those orders were locked in fierce competition with one another.
In that situation, even if Tae-hyun said, “Let’s add a temple for the Archisus Church too!” there was no way they’d agree.
If anything, they’d retaliate or start obstructing him immediately.
But the Auston Kingdom was different.
Because the Orcs had smashed everything in sight and moved on, the churches and temples in its cities and castles were all in ruins, and the priests were gone too.
First come, first served.
“Tae-hyun.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Are you insane?”
“Dad, is that really something you should say to your own son?”
“You attacked and scammed my friends, you little bastard! And at least say something that makes sense if you want people to listen. Who the hell would agree to a favor like that?”
“Father. I seem to remember you once saying, ‘If you add a blade to a polite request, you can get even more out of it’...”
“When did I ever say that?! Stop twisting me into some lunatic, you brat!”
“You did though. Back when you played Lineage, I clearly remember it. Uncles. You all remember hearing that too, right?”
The Orc uncles flinched as the spark suddenly flew their way.
For a split second, fierce glances flew between them.
What do we do?
Nothing good comes from getting involved.
Right?
Thunk, thunk, thunk—
The Orcs pretended not to hear and started hammering away again.
Suddenly, they became far more focused on construction.
“So what, you’re saying you’ll take those Orc warriors and demons and use them to threaten people? Tae-hyun, you little punk. You always act like you’re the smartest one in the room, but I never thought you’d make a mistake like this.”
Kim Tae-san started talking with a smug grin.
Tae-hyun tilted his head in confusion.
What’s with him all of a sudden?
“Did the guilds that came to this kingdom really look that easy to you, boy? Even if you threaten them like that, no one’s going to listen. You think the kind of people who came all the way here would be scared of that? And besides, you’d have to break through whatever defenses they already set up!”
“Father, I think you’re misunderstanding something. I didn’t bring these guys here to fight. They’re more like an escort.”
“......?”
“And the threat... whoops, I mean the favor I’m making isn’t, ‘If you don’t listen, these guys will attack you.’ They’re just going to stay planted in front of the gate.”
“......Why would you do that?”
“Because I already sent word to the Orc Great Chieftain that Kane is here. So if all goes well, he’ll come back leading an army.”
“!!!!!!”
Kim Tae-san looked like he’d just been smashed in the back of the head with a hammer.
“S-so right now...”
“Yep. If you grant my request, I’ll take these guys and leave for somewhere else.”
“You little—!”
“Hyung-nim! Hold back! You can’t fight him right now!”
“Restrain yourself!”
“Let go! Me and that little punk are settling this today!”
“Huff, huff... huff...”
After all sorts of murderous back-and-forth about killing and being killed, Kim Tae-san finally caught his breath.
Then he glared at Tae-hyun.
Crackle!
The two father-and-son pairs of eyes collided in midair.
“Fine. I’ll build that damned temple of yours. Happy now?”
“Yes, yes. Let’s make peace, then.”
“Who said anything about making peace?! You little piece of—”
“Hyung-nim! Calm down! Calm down!”
After wringing everything he could out of him, Tae-hyun offering a handshake of reconciliation was unbearably infuriating.
Who the hell raised that brat like this?!
Forgetting every bit of his own parenting, Kim Tae-san lamented inwardly.
An Archisus Church temple is being built in Aralta Castle.
Fame has increased.
Divinity has increased.
The influence of the Archisus Church has expanded. You may appoint additional Archisus Church Priests.
Archisus Church Priest — A worker responsible for the church’s major and minor affairs, handling various duties. Both players and NPCs may be appointed.
With that, the battle between father and son came to an end.
Of course, the feelings each of them harbored definitely hadn’t disappeared.
“Lord Tae-hyun, how many priests will you hire? This place is far from the Valley of Despair and Sorrow, so I think you’ll need to hire priests for it.”
Rufo offered advice from the side.
In the Valley of Despair and Sorrow, it didn’t matter. That was the headquarters of the church, Tae-hyun himself was there, and all the people tied to the Archisus Church were currently gathered there anyway.
But this place was a shattered city in a kingdom far away.
It couldn’t just be left unmanaged.
“How do I hire priests?”
For priest NPCs, you may appoint ordinary NPCs as priests by paying gold and granting permission as the highest authority of the church.
Priest NPCs require monthly upkeep costs.
The number of church NPCs you may command varies depending on the church’s influence.
Please note that there is a limit to how many you may have.
“Hmm... do I really need to hire priests?”
“What? I mean, then how are you planning to run this place?”
“Just let people come pray and take their buffs, like one of those unmanned self-service shops.”
“......”
Rufo’s mouth fell wide open and then stayed that way.
“N-no... even so, a temple...!”
“Rufo, listen carefully. This place isn’t exactly peaceful right now, is it? We’d have to pay gold to make priests, then pay monthly upkeep too. If this place gets attacked and a priest NPC dies, then what?”
“That danger exists for every church! But even so, there isn’t a single place that simply doesn’t hire priests!”
“I’m not saying I won’t hire priests. I’m saying I won’t hire them and station them in places like this. I’ll hire priests. Later. When we can afford it. In proper locations.”
Tae-hyun was coldly practical.
He did want to hire priests and expand the church’s influence, but rushing to appoint priests and scatter them everywhere would be stupid.
Especially for someone like Tae-hyun, who had so many enemies.
I’ve already got enough people holding grudges against me. For all I know, they’d go around targeting the priests on purpose.
NPCs as vulnerable as priests would have to wait.
Besides, there’s no realistic way to monopolize an entire city or castle for the Archisus Church anyway. Other religions won’t just sit there and take it, and we don’t have the resources to invest that heavily.
Tae-hyun’s strategy was quantity over quality.
His plan was to stick an Archisus temple into as many cities, castles, and fortresses as he possibly could.
That way, the church’s influence would spread at least somewhat.
Kane glanced back at Aralta Castle behind them and asked,
“You really made up with him?”
“What, is there such a thing as fake making up? We made up. For now.”
“......”
For now sounded strangely threatening.
Tae-hyun’s group left Aralta Castle and systematically made their way through the Auston Kingdom.
If there was a player-occupied location, they knocked first and made contact.
As if they’d rehearsed it in advance, the guilds occupying castles and cities all reacted in much the same way.
First anger. Then denial. Then, in the end, acceptance and surrender.
There were some slightly different responses too.
Of course, Tae-hyun extorted everyone equally.
Archisus Church temples have now been established in more than 50% of the territories within the Auston Kingdom.
Members of the Archisus Church receive an additional bonus when fighting in the Auston Kingdom.
The First Prince, currently waging civil war in the Auston Kingdom, has taken notice of you.
The Second Prince, currently waging civil war in the Auston Kingdom, has taken notice of you.
Huh?
Come to think of it, the Auston Kingdom wasn’t occupied only by Orc armies and players.
The original royal factions of the kingdom, the ones who had already been fighting a civil war, were still here too.