The Art of the Preemptive Strike

"At least it's a relief there are so few enemies," Gu Sung-wook said from beside him, completely oblivious to the turmoil in Tae-hyun's heart.

Currently, most players with holy-related classes had their skills sealed. If the enemies had swarmed out in a massive horde instead of appearing one by one like before, the Expedition would have suffered devastating casualties.

"..."

But for Tae-hyun, this was nothing short of a tragedy! He desperately wanted to beat something up, slay it, and rake in that sweet experience...

"Let us proceed, Count Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Hmph! If he's not coming, just leave him behind. He was the last to arrive earlier too. It seems he has no real enthusiasm for this expedition."

"How can you say such a thing!"

"Did I say anything that wasn't true?!"

Watching the priests bicker among themselves, Tae-hyun thought to himself: I'll deal with you later.

That particular priest had already been thoroughly put in his place by Tae-hyun after opening his mouth once before, yet he seemed completely incapable of learning. But then, people like him were always Tae-hyun's VIP customers!

"When are they coming out?"

"Should we follow them inside?"

"No... that's way too dangerous."

Jack stared at the Holy Order's ships anchored on the horizon. The decks were crawling with paladins who looked menacing just to gaze upon. Even without the Expedition, it was a formidable force! It wasn't a force Jack could hope to defeat at his current level.

Where did Kim Tae-hyun and the others go? Did they go underwater?

He needed to find an opening to slit Tae-hyun's throat, but the companions traveling with him were too formidable, making it incredibly difficult.

In truth, the NPCs of the other Holy Orders despised Tae-hyun, so if Jack approached them carefully, he might have been able to orchestrate a backstab from a different angle...

But only someone of Tae-hyun's caliber could pull off that kind of scheme!

Rumbleeeee—

"...?"

Hearing a massive, roaring sound in the distance, Jack and his subordinates immediately whipped their heads around. What was that noise?

"S-Ships!"

"Ships from the opposite direction! There are more than ten of them!"

The pirate lackeys on Jack's ship possessed quite keen eyesight. Suddenly, emerging past their gaze like a bolt of lightning, a fleet of vessels materialized!

"Is it the Kingdom's Navy?!" Jack shrieked in terror.

If it was the Royal Navy, it would be the absolute worst-case scenario. Fortunately, the worst did not come to pass.

"They're pirates!"

"What kind of pirates?!"

"G-Gardu!"

"What?! Gardu?!"

Gardu, the great pirate who ruled the waters of the Espa Kingdom! As an aspiring pirate himself, Jack naturally knew of the powerful pirate ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠NPC, Gardu. The legendary pirate who roamed the seas under a curse. A man who utterly obliterated anything and everything that dared to displease him...

"It's too late to run!"

"Bring out everything we can offer! Gold! Scrape up every last coin!"

At least Jack was quick to assess the situation. Other players would have let greed get the better of them and tried to flee. But Jack knew. He knew it was already too late!

In that case, it was far better to surrender everything, grovel, and at least save their ship.

"Raise the white flag! Surrender!"

"Please, please...!"

"We're saved!"

He didn't know how much they would extort from him, but at least their lives were spared. Jack let out a massive sigh of relief.

*Clatter—*

Surrounded by hostile pirates, Jack and his men were dragged onto the deck of Gardu's flagship. The atmosphere was so chilling that a single wrong move would result in being impaled by a weapon!

"Who are you?"

"I-I am Jack. As a fellow pirate, I have always deeply admired your glorious reputation and name, Lord Gardu! Please, accept this humble gift I have prepared!"

Gardu smirked. Jack's Speech skill wasn't nearly high enough to deceive him. Gardu could see right through his intentions.

"Very well, I shall accept it!"

"Thank you!"

"I assume what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you want in return is your life?"

"Yes!"

"Then I shall spare you."

I lived! Jack breathed a sigh of relief.

"Now, get off!"

"Pardon?"

"I believe I said I would spare your life. I am telling you to get off my ship now."

"...!!"

Jack's face turned pale as the true meaning of Gardu's words sank in. This was highway robbery! He was telling them to abandon their own pirate ship and get lost.

"B-But that is..."

"It seems you do not value your life all that much."

You absolute bastard...

Jack swallowed his tears of blood and prepared to disembark. At that moment, Gardu asked,

"What were you doing here?"

"We were waiting to plunder."

"Plunder whom?"

"The ships of those Holy Orders..."

Gardu's eyes flashed.

"Do you want your ship back?"

"Huh? Yes! Yes, of course!"

"Good. Then do exactly as I say!"

*Gulp.*

Jack swallowed hard. Pandemonium Online was a place where crises always transformed into opportunities.

Aligning myself with Gardu is a massive opportunity!

If he pulled this off, he could become Gardu's subordinate and reap countless benefits. And then, one day, he would backstab him and usurp everything Gardu owned!

"I will do it! Command me, and I shall obey!"

"Approach the Holy Order's fleet. Spy on them! In particular, find a bastard named Count Kim Tae-hyun."

"????"

Jack was stunned. Why on earth was Gardu looking for Tae-hyun?

Jack didn't know, but when Tae-hyun had escaped the Espa Kingdom, he had masqueraded as Denelson. The scam he pulled when he met Gardu back then! Gardu had believed it without a shadow of a doubt, but after Tae-hyun never showed up, he flew into a rage and went to Katerand Island. There, he finally learned the truth!

I will find him and crush him! No one deceived Gardu and got away with it.

"Why are my ears itching?"

Tae-hyun muttered as they ventured deeper into the dungeon. Hearing this, Lee Da-bi asked,

"Is someone talking trash about you?"

"Hmm, there are too many candidates to even guess."

"..."

"Anyway, what's up with this dungeon? Not a single monster in sight. What a piece of trash..."

"Isn't that a good thing? We just need to clear this place to get the rewards..."

"I want to fight. If nothing shows up soon, maybe I should just hunt those Holy Order bastards..."

"Absolutely not!"

Lee Da-bi shrieked in horror, stopping him. Tae-hyun stared at her, utterly dumbfounded.

"You didn't actually think I'd do that, did you?"

"..."

"Sometimes I really wonder what kind of person you think I am... Priest Haron, is this place always like this?"

"Yes, Count. According to the ancient texts, the previous expedition fought a desperate battle against the monster and sealed it deep within this abyss."

"They could've at least left a few monsters behind..."

Tae-hyun smacked his lips in deep disappointment. Haron smiled and said,

"You certainly have a great sense of humor, Count!"

"I'm not joking."

"In any case, it is a great relief that there are no other monsters. Since the sealed beast is incredibly powerful, its influence on the dungeon itself could have caused monsters to spawn. We must head inside as quickly as possible to reinforce the seal."

"How do we reinforce the seal?"

"The priests of each Holy Order will combine their strength and chant the incantation once more."

"Will the target just sit there and take it?"

"Well... because it is sealed?"

"Are you absolutely sure it's sealed?"

"Haha, a seal bound by the combined might of the Holy Orders would not unravel so easily..."

Leaving Haron to his delusions, Tae-hyun whispered to Lee Da-bi.

"Usually, in these kinds of scenarios, when you actually get there, the seal is either already broken or on the verge of shattering, right?"

"P-Please don't jinx us. Pan-On doesn't always follow clichés."

Ruuuumble—

Suddenly, a collapsing sound echoed from somewhere. Despite being deep underwater, the sound was incredibly distinct!

"What was that?!"

"Watch out! Guard the perimeter!"

The paladins drew their swords, their voices sharp with tension.

*Crack! Craaaack!*

Along with a spine-chilling sound, a colossal hand began to burst ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠through the underwater walls that held back the deep sea. It was like a scene straight out of a horror movie!

"Gather round! Prepare for battle!"

"Pour everything we have on it the moment it emerges!"

Not only the combatants of the Holy Orders but also the guild members moved frantically. This was the exact moment they had come for!

—Hehehe... Foolish followers of the gods have appeared... I have been waiting for you...

"What?! It can speak?!"

"Has the seal already been undone?!"

—This place... shall be your grave...

*Shatter! Crash!*

Another arm burst through the wall of water, revealing the hideously distorted face of the monster.

*Grind—*

The monster's limbs were plastered with sealing characters glowing with divine light, but even those characters were rapidly fading. It was on the absolute brink of breaking free.

—Behold! My power!

"Urgh!"

"Are you insane?!"

An unavoidable, forced wide-area crowd control skill! The players afflicted with the Fear status were horrified. To think they would be instantly plunged into a state of panic like this!

However, Tae-hyun stood perfectly fine. Thanks to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his titles, he was completely immune to fear-related skills.

*Clack—*

Tae-hyun drew his crossbow and spoke.

"Do you know what I hated most when I was a kid?"

"...?"

Lee Da-bi and Cain's vision had grown blurry and dark due to the Fear status. Yet, Tae-hyun's voice reached them clearly.

"W-What are you talking about?"

"When I watched cartoons as a kid, whether it was the hero or the villain... they always waited for each other to finish transforming. I could never understand that. Isn't it much cleaner and faster to just beat them up before they finish transforming?"

Aiming complete!

Tae-hyun stepped closer and aimed his crossbow. Perhaps not expecting Tae-hyun to do anything, the monster was busy focusing on breaking the seal.

"If you break free, a bunch of monsters will probably spawn, which is a bit tempting... but no matter how I look at it, that's too risky. Just die."

You have to kill them when you have the chance! Tae-hyun knew this all too well. If this bastard broke free, regained its full power, and went on a rampage, Tae-hyun would be dragged down with it.

—Hahaha... What can a pathetic wretch who is powerless before my might possibly do—GRAAAAAAAAH!

Without a moment's hesitation, Tae-hyun loaded his one and only Orichalcum Arrow and fired! This was precisely Tae-hyun's greatest strength. Even if it was a one-of-a-kind, priceless item, he used it without hesitation when the situation called for it!

Hesitating out of stinginess is a fool's game!

The rapidly flying Orichalcum Arrow struck the monster square in the forehead, unleashing an explosion of blinding, brilliant light.

Insane burst damage! The high damage triggered by his Luck stat, combined with the additional damage from the Orichalcum Arrow, made it nothing short of an Orichalcum spear to the face. A devastating strike that silenced the boss monster in a single blow!

Huh?

If so, his passive skills would return, and his experience points would...

"No, what kind of goddamn order is this?!"

Would it have killed them to swap the order of those notifications?! Tae-hyun cried out in sheer, unadulterated frustration.