Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
Ignoring the sharp, murderous intent prickling at their backs, Tae-hyun and Cain ran swiftly toward the exit.
"Su-hyeok! How's the situation up there?!"
"..."
"Why isn't he answering again?!"
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. There was only one reason for silence right now: the situation outside was so chaotic that he couldn't even spare a moment to reply to a whisper! But they had no choice. Outside had to be safer than the depths of this dungeon. They couldn't afford to face both Smith and Lee Se-yeon at the same time.
Crash!
You have exited the dungeon. Reputation has increased.
Experience points gained.
"Chwik?"
"Chwik, more of them have come out."
"..."
Cain almost dropped his weapon but managed to grip it tightly. Emerging from the dungeon exit, they were greeted by... a massive, sprawling army of Orcs!
It wasn't that they had never encountered Orc armies before, but these Orcs were far more numerous and threatening than any they had seen.
"N-no way, is this..."
Cain trembled as he realized something from the Orcs' appearance. Surely, surely not?
"The Great Chieftain..."
"Chwiiiik! That guy! It's him!"
"Chwik! That face! It's the one named Cain!"
Great Chieftain Karag's Orc warriors have spotted you!
They will never retreat until you are dead.
"In the name of the Orcs! Chwik! We must kill him!"
"Aaaaargh! Seriously, what is wrong with today?!"
First, he had to fight Lee Se-yeon, and the moment he stepped outside, he had to face an entire army of Orc warriors led by the Great Chieftain! Cain held back his tears and quickly chugged a potion.
Gulp, gulp!
"Senior! Over here!"
Jeong Su-hyeok shouted loudly, raising his staff. Jeong Su-hyeok, the Power Warrior guild members, and the Orc shamans were blended seamlessly into the Great Chieftain's army without a hint of awkwardness.
"...What on earth are you guys doing over there?"
While Tae-hyun's party was crawling through the dog-hole in the underground dungeon, the Orc army led by the Great Chieftain had marched forward majestically. Of course, there were sacrifices along the way. Like the Suning Guild...
"We won! Finally!"
"Reinforcements are coming too!"
"Kim Tae-hyun! Do you hear me?! Reinforcements are on their way! You're finished, you bastard!"
Having barely defeated the Orc vanguard riding wolves, Su Ning jumped up and down, shouting. However, no answer came. Because everyone had already gone down into the dungeon!
—Should we fight?
—The Master told us to stay still, so it's probably best to do nothing.
The winged demons merely stood quietly in the inner castle, acting like mere decorations.
Receiving no reply, Su Ning grew even more furious.
"Fine! Let's see how long you can hold out down there! Everyone! Welcome! Let's crush Kim Tae-hyun together!"
"Uwoooo!"
The Guild Alliance excitedly kicked open the castle gates and entered. But doing so wouldn't make the already vanished Tae-hyun and his party magically reappear.
"???"
"Where did they go...?"
"Search! They might be hiding!"
However, the Guild Alliance had forgotten what they should have prioritized. The important thing right now wasn't Tae-hyun, but the Orc army charging toward them!
Before they could even search, the Orc army led by the Great Chieftain surged forward like a tidal wave in the distance.
"!!!"
Without exaggeration, there were so many Orcs that they looked like a vast ocean. The players watching the Orcs swarm from atop the castle walls were struck with terror. While other cities and castles only had to deal with split-off detachments of the Orc army, the force arriving now was the main army itself! There was absolutely no way they could win with their current numbers.
"Sh-shouldn't we run?"
Players from other guilds immediately suggested fleeing. Unlike the Suning Guild, they had absolutely no loyalty to sacrifice their lives here. Su Ning was dumbfounded, but he knew all too well that asking them to fight together in this situation would fall on deaf ears.
"...Fine! We're retreating!"
In the end, Kadalta Castle, which had been the source of so much talk and trouble, was abandoned to the Orcs without anyone claiming it. The Suning Guild and the other allied guilds fled, shedding tears of blood (though only Su Ning was actually crying).
But the Orc army did not stop.
—I do not see that bastard Cain, the one who killed my son. Shamans! Are you casting your spells properly?
—Chwik, his location is shifting.
—There is nothing in this area!
—Chwiik, perhaps he is underground...?
—Then move! We will wait above until he comes out!
The Orcs half-destroyed Kadalta Castle and immediately began moving in a massive swarm to pursue Cain.
—He is no longer moving.
—Chwik, there is a place here that looks like a dungeon exit. It does not open from this side.
—Good. We wait!
Since Cain had stopped moving, the Orcs also took up positions. And the ones who popped out from the very center of that encirclement were... Jeong Su-hyeok and the others, who had exited the dungeon first!
"..."
"...Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?"
Those words slipped from the mouth of one of the Power Warrior guild members. That was how surreal the situation felt. With the dungeon exit at the center, the Orc army completely surrounded them, staring intently at them.
Seeing this, Jeong Su-hyeok gripped his staff tightly. What was needed right now? Speed!
"Long live the Great Chieftain! I am Jeong Su-hyeok, participating in this battle as Bama-eo's representative to lead the Orc shamans! Hearing that the Great Chieftain had come here, I rushed to this location as well!"
"..."
Even a schoolhouse dog can recite poetry after three years! Jeong Su-hyeok was displaying a level of quick-wittedness he never could have shown in the past.
"Ch-chwik?"
"Chwik, since the Great Shaman is doing it, it must be right. Loyalty! Loyalty!"
Fortunately, Jeong Su-hyeok's gamble paid off. Since he was already leading a group of Orcs, the Great Chieftain let it slide.
—Who are those people?
"They are prisoners I captured!"
—Why did you suddenly appear from here?
"Upon hearing that the Great Chieftain had found his enemy, I wanted to move as quickly as possible, so I sought out a shortcut! I figured we could travel faster by passing through this dungeon!"
—Did you encounter anyone down there?
"O-of course not!"
You have successfully deceived Great Chieftain Karag.
Reputation has greatly increased.
Deceptive Chanting
Allows you to cast a different skill from the one you shout aloud.
A rather bizarre skill had unlocked, but Jeong Su-hyeok, who was incredibly tense from deceiving the Great Chieftain, didn't even look at it properly before dismissing it.
"Phew... I survived..."
"A-amazing. To think you actually tricked Karag!"
Even the Power Warrior guild members were amazed by his lie. At that moment, someone spoke to Jeong Su-hyeok.
"So, where is Tae-hyun?"
"?!?!"
Standing among the Orcs was Kim Tae-san. Dressed in magnificent Orc General armor and a helmet, he looked so natural that it seemed as if he had been leading the Orc army for over a decade!
"H-how?"
"They offered me a position to lead the Orc army, so I took it. Seeing that you came out first, Tae-hyun must be down there, right?"
"H-he's not there?"
"Right. So he is there."
Kim Tae-san immediately saw through Jeong Su-hyeok's lie.
'You little rascal. Just wait till you come out!'
Karag highly valued Kim Tae-san, so he had assigned a large number of Orc warriors to him. Thanks to that, Kim Tae-san held a significant portion of this massive army and was standing right here.
When Tae-hyun and Cain emerged, Jeong Su-hyeok finally called out to them.
"Senior! Over here!"
There was no point in lying anymore; he had to join up with Tae-hyun and help him somehow.
—Pouring Acid Rain! Resonance with the Avatar!
—Fading Mist! Eye of Confusion!
To confuse the surrounding Orcs as much as possible, he tried to cast wide-area spells. Fortunately, his new skill worked perfectly in this situation.
"Chwik! That guy! He's a traitor!"
"The Great Shaman has betrayed us! Chwik! Kill them!"
Realizing the situation, the Orc warriors began to move in unison.
—Running Earth!
—Baptism of Soaring Flames!
Jeong Su-hyeok and the Orc shamans began casting spells simultaneously. In a large-scale battle, nothing was more devastating than magic! The ground shook, and flames surged forward, pouring down upon the Orc warriors.
"Chwiiiik! It's hot!"
"Chwik! Attack that guy! He's the leader!"
Every time a spell detonated, seven or eight Orcs were sent flying, but more Orcs quickly filled the gaps. Quantity over quality!
—Do not let them escape from here under any circumstances!
As Great Chieftain Karag's voice boomed, the Orcs let out a collective war cry and began to charge.
Great Chieftain Karag uses Chieftain's Command!
The Orcs receive a buff. They will not retreat.
Countless Orcs swarmed forward. Seeing this, Tae-hyun thought:
'Should I just ditch Cain and run?'
Boom!
But before he could put that thought into action, the dungeon exit burst open, and Smith along with the Black Rock Sect guild members tumbled out.
"Mr. Kim Tae-hyun! Return the crown!"
"..."
In an instant, all the surrounding Orcs turned to look at them. Smith and the Black Rock Sect guild members blinked, looking around. What on earth was this situation?
—Dispose of those bastards as well!
"Chwiiiiiiik!"
At the Great Chieftain's command, the Orcs charged toward Smith and the Black Rock Sect.
Rumble, crash!
But they were instantly blown back.
—Summon Warhorse!
"Come forth, my beloved steed, Sleipnir!"
A powerful-looking warhorse materialized in midair and charged forward. Smith immediately mounted it, raised his lance, and charged at the Orcs. A Knight class could truly show its real power on an open plain!
—Wh-what a cool name!
"Your name is plenty cool too, isn't it?"
—That is true.
Seeing Yong-yong and Tae-hyun chatting casually in the midst of this chaos, Cain looked utterly exasperated.
"Mr. Kim Tae-hyun! The crown! Return it!"
Every time he spoke, Orcs swarmed him, forcing Smith to skewer them one after another with his lance. Even as he did so, he charged through the wave of Orcs toward Tae-hyun, looking like a killer straight out of a horror movie. It was hard to tell who was scarier—the Orcs or Smith!
"Tae-hyun! You didn't rip off Smith for his items too, did you?!" the Power Warrior guild members screamed as they fought off the Orcs.
"I didn't rip him off. I obtained it through fair and legitimate means."
"Then why is he acting like that?!"
"Who knows? Maybe he's just greedy."
In any case, thanks to the appearance of Smith and the Black Rock Sect, Tae-hyun's party was able to catch their breath. Since they were exceptionally strong, the Orc forces had to split to deal with them. And there was still one more person left.
—Plague of the Underworld! Gaze of Death! Summon Death Knight Army!
One side of the Orc vanguard collapsed completely, instantly transforming into Death Knights.
Rumble! Crash!
The sky above them darkened, and the ground turned pitch black. A land of the undead!
"Kim Tae-hyun! Hand over the crown!"
"Even Lee Se-yeon?!"
As Lee Se-yeon's clear voice rang out from among her undead army, Lee Da-bi closed her eyes. Maybe it would have been better if she had never associated with Kim Tae-hyun in the first place. Wouldn't it have been better to live a long, quiet life?
There were currently four factions on the plain.
The largest and most powerful was the Orc army led by the Great Chieftain. Then there was Tae-hyun's party, Smith and the Black Rock Sect, and finally, Lee Se-yeon leading her one-man army. A highly delicate and tense relationship!
The one to make the first move was Smith.
"Mr. Kim Tae-hyun, return the crown! That is our item!"
Smith began to charge forward with stubborn determination. He plowed through the Orcs, closing the distance to Tae-hyun. A terrifying momentum!
"What? It's too noisy, I can't hear you!"
"..."