The Art of Sowing Discord

Even amidst the massive explosion, Antonio managed to survive. His personal elite guards had surrounded him, deploying their defensive skills. Thanks to their combination of high-level knight skills and Sadiq Church magic, Antonio remained breathing. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't absolutely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠furious.

"Kill him! You must kill that bastard!"

The aftermath of the Holy Bomb was far more devastating than the initial blast. The flames unleashed by the bomb were currently sweeping through more than half of the massive headquarters. What was worse, they weren't fading; they kept burning relentlessly! Because of this, Cain and Lee Da-bi were still frantically running for their lives.

Tae-hyun realized what had happened. Since he possessed the authorities of both Sadiq and Archisus, the effects of both gods had manifested in the bomb he crafted.

Though he spoke with casual nonchalance, Tae-hyun was moving with extreme agility.

"Sword of the Hardening Cry!"

"Sword of the Hardening Cry!"

The knights' attacks rained down from all directions. It was a troublesome onslaught; even if he managed to evade a direct hit, the lingering curses would still seep in.

'It looks like their defensive skill hasn't worn off yet. Let's buy some time first.'

Considering it had blocked his attack, it was highly likely a powerful defensive skill with a long duration. Despite the relentless barrage of attacks, Tae-hyun focused entirely on dodging and parrying. Even as the curses stacked up one after another, he didn't make any reckless moves.

'It doesn't matter if my movement speed drops a bit anyway. I can still dodge.'

Tae-hyun trusted his own senses. If his movement speed decreased, he would simply read his opponents' movements a step ahead and evade! It was the kind of absurd logic that would make anyone else curse in disbelief if they heard it.

Flash!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

As he held his ground, the light surrounding the knights' bodies finally faded. Their barrier had vanished.

'Should I summon Yong-yong?'

Tae-hyun hesitated for a moment. Even though their numbers had dwindled significantly, the remaining knights were no pushovers. In fact, those who survived were the strongest among the order—each of them practically a semi-boss monster! However, the moment he summoned Yong-yong inside the Sadiq Church headquarters, his disguise would be blown. No matter how foolish the Sadiq Church was, they wouldn't be fooled after seeing a Gold Dragon! There was a reason Tae-hyun had kept Yong-yong hidden all this time.

Rumble, rumble—

"?"

In the distance, the flames blanketing the headquarters began to dissipate. Both Tae-hyun and the knights turned their attention toward the source. Who could it be?

Whoosh!

Parting the flames, Sadiq Holy Knights with grim expressions arrived on the scene.

"The Holy Knight Commander!"

"!!"

Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. 'Damn it. Should I retreat?'

It was a pity he couldn't finish off Antonio, but he had no choice. If he stubbornly lingered here out of greed, he might end up getting overwhelmed instead.

'I didn't think reinforcements would show up...!'

With the battle at the gate fortress being so fierce, he had assumed no help would come.

'And why is the Holy Knight Commander himself coming? Even if reinforcements came, shouldn't it just be a few regular holy knights?'

For the Holy Knight Commander to arrive in person meant facing two boss monsters and several semi-bosses. Against them, Tae-hyun was entirely on his own. For now, he had to pull back.

"It's him! Commander! Capture that bastard!"

Antonio practically jumped with joy. It made sense; the arrival of the Holy Knights in such a dire situation was a godsend. However, the Holy Knight Commander's response caught everyone completely off guard.

"...Why should I capture him?"

"?"

"???"

Both Antonio and Tae-hyun were dumbfounded. What did the Holy Knight Commander just say?

"Have you lost your mind, Commander? I said capture him! He attacked me! He's the one who caused this explosion!"

"And you expect me to believe that? Antonio, aren't you being a bit too pathetic?"

The Holy Knight Commander sneered, a mocking smile playing on his handsome face as he glared at Antonio.

"????"

While Antonio stood there, mouth agape in sheer disbelief, Tae-hyun immediately grasped how the situation was unfolding. He was currently disguised as a Sadiq Holy Knight! On top of that, Antonio's relationship with the Holy Knight Commander and the Archbishop had been strained lately. Witnessing Tae-hyun and Antonio clashing under these circumstances, the Commander's suspicion naturally fell on Antonio first.

"What nonsense are you spouting, you fool! Are you doubting me right now?!"

"I have no choice but to doubt you. Antonio, why didn't you show up at the gate fortress?"

"T-That is..."

He had absolutely no excuse.

"What are these carriages? And what is all this debris scattered around?"

"Well, that's... you see..."

The Holy Knight Commander was rapidly connecting the dots on his own, growing more convinced by the second. He spoke with absolute certainty.

"Here is what I think. While we were risking our lives in battle, you planned to betray us and flee. This debris is the proof. You tried to run away with our treasures, Antonio."

Up to this point, his deduction was spot on.

"But things didn't go according to your plan. My brave subordinate here must have stopped you!"

"?"

This was where the narrative took a bizarre turn. Tae-hyun stared at the Holy Knight Commander, but the Commander didn't even spare him a glance. His eyes were locked entirely ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on Antonio!

"No! He's the one who ambushed me! I'm telling you, he's the traitor!"

Antonio threw a tantrum, but his words fell on deaf ears. Tae-hyun was driving a wedge between them simply by existing! He watched their exchange with an amused, highly entertained expression. Even without him saying a single word, the argument was escalating beautifully all on its own!

"You expect me to believe my own subordinate caused this disaster?"

"It's the truth, you idiot!"

"Ha. Antonio, you truly are pathetic. Here is what actually happened. You must have prepared a way to unleash these flames as a contingency plan. When you were caught trying to escape, you set off the fire."

"Why on earth would I set fire to our own base?! Get a grip!"

"It is exactly the kind of thing you would do! To prevent us from pursuing you!"

The Holy Knight Commander clearly had no intention of listening to Antonio any further. Instead, he turned his head toward Tae-hyun. He would ask his loyal subordinate directly—the one who had held the line against this traitor!

"Tell me, is there any falsehood in what I have said?"

"...Not a single word of it is incorrect, sir!"

"I knew it!"

Further conversation was pointless! The Holy Knight Commander barked orders to the men he brought with him.

"Seize that despicable traitor! I shall personally offer him to Lord Sadiq!"

Which, in other words, meant burning him alive! The subordinates accompanying the Holy Knight Commander looked entirely different from ordinary holy knights. They were high-tier holy knights, their entire bodies radiating Sadiq's Flame!

'Just what is happening over at the gate fortress for them to pull such elite forces away?'

Even Tae-hyun was bewildered. Antonio and his personal elite guards versus the Holy Knight Commander and his high-tier holy knights! It was a clash of titans!

At that moment, a realization struck Tae-hyun.

'Ah, so this is why Lee Da-bi was so eager to make popcorn and sell it...'

Now that he had successfully pitted them against each other, the thought came to him naturally.

"You keep barking to the very end, you fool! Fine! If you want to die so badly, I'll kill you!"

Antonio also seemed to have given up on trying to explain. He gnashed his teeth, glaring daggers at Tae-hyun. No matter how he looked at it, that bastard was definitely not a Sadiq Holy Knight. Why would a regular holy knight carry around bombs like that! Yet, that blind idiot of a Commander was taking Tae-hyun's side, making Antonio's blood boil with frustration.

Antonio stared at Tae-hyun with eyes burning with fury. Tae-hyun didn't look away. Instead, he smirked.

"!!!!"

Antonio clutched the back of his neck. To think the very bastard who caused this entire mess was smirking at him like that.

"How dare ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you...! I will make sure you die! I swear it on my honor!"

"Do not threaten my subordinate, Antonio!"

Sensing Antonio's murderous intent, the Holy Knight Commander stepped in front of Tae-hyun. A true leader of his time, shielding his hard-working subordinate!

"Sadiq's Nine Protections!"

"Flame Regeneration!"

"Blessing of the Hot Earth!"

He didn't stop there. The Holy Knight Commander began showering Tae-hyun with every buff he had. These were different from a priest's buffs. Naturally, holy knights were at a disadvantage compared to priests when it came to buffing others. However, the Holy Knight Commander completely bypassed that limitation with his sheer level.

It was a jaw-dropping sequence of buffs! There was a reason holy knights were jokingly referred to as cockroaches. For someone of the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander's caliber, the buffs he could bestow upon others were terrifyingly potent.

"Loyalty! Loyalty! Loyalty!"

"You have done well. Leave this place to me!"

"No, sir! I shall fight alongside you! How could I stand idly by in the presence of that wicked, filthy scoundrel who burned down our home! For Lord Sadiq!"

Of course, his true intention was to kill Antonio and seize his authority. But there was no way the Holy Knight Commander could know that. Tae-hyun's passionate declaration deeply moved him.

"Behold! This is the resolve of a Sadiq Holy Knight! No matter what enemies come, no matter what trials we face, the flame of Sadiq shall never be extinguished!"

"Yeahhh!"

Tae-hyun had spoken so eloquently that he had even boosted the morale of the enemy holy knights.

'Well, whatever.'

The only thing that mattered right now was taking down Antonio!

"...Attack!"

And with that, the battle commenced.

"Wow, this is a bit..."

Lee Se-yeon wore a flustered expression. She had noticed that the Sadiq Archbishop was aiming for a massive, decisive strike. However, this was far beyond her expectations. To incinerate the entire surrounding area like this...

"Everyone, fall back! Retreat!"

"Pull back for now! I'll heal you!"

The players in the rear shouted at the top of their lungs. However, even if they wanted to retreat, they couldn't do so immediately. The Sadiq Archbishop had cast a massive fire spell around the destroyed gate fortress. It was no ordinary fire magic. The flames, spreading as if they were alive, attacked everyone in the vicinity. It was an indiscriminate spell that targeted not only the players but also the tribal warriors and dark elf archers alike! Consequently, the players who had been eagerly charging forward began to flee in terror. Once caught in those flames, even high-level players had to prepare themselves for a forced logout.

"He's a boss monster, so that's to be expected. Let's wait it out and go back in, Sis."

Kim Hyeon-ah remained calm. No matter how powerful a magician the Sadiq Archbishop was, he wasn't invincible. A spell like that would eventually wear off, and they could attack again once it did. The fact that the gate fortress had been destroyed remained unchanged. Only the foolish players who had recklessly charged in and got logged out suffered a loss. Even now, the smarter players were quickly assessing the situation and adapting on their own.

"There's another one behind that!"

"Okay, got it! Firing!"

If they couldn't get close, they would rely on ranged attacks! Realizing that the morale of the players participating in the subjugation force hadn't wavered, Lee Se-yeon felt relieved.

"Huh? Isn't that a fire behind the fortress?"

"Oh, come on, Sis. You're probably just confusing it with the flames in front of us. Why would they set fire to their own headquarters?"

"Is that so? Wait, no, it's not! That's a real fire!"

Not just Lee Se-yeon, but other players also began to murmur in confusion. Ominous flames had begun to envelop the Sadiq Church headquarters stretching out behind the gate fortress.