Phase Two
"Block them! Deal with them!"
As the Woodstock Guild Leader screamed, his guild members scrambled to pull weapons out of their wagons. They grabbed holy water and various blessing-related consumables, looking thoroughly experienced in fighting demons.
"Why are you guys so calm?" Tae-hyun asked.
"Do you think today is the first day demons appeared here? It's been quite a while!" a Woodstock guild member replied, his voice laced with irritation at Tae-hyun's relaxed demeanor. His own heart was pounding out of his chest, yet this guy was acting like he was on a casual stroll!
"Hmm. This isn't my fault, right?" Tae-hyun muttered.
"It definitely seems like your fault, Tae-hyun," Lee Da-bi said.
Both she and Cain, remembering their time in the Demon Realm, stared at Tae-hyun with deeply suspicious eyes.
No matter how you look at it, this quest triggered because you mentioned the Auston Kingdom!
But Tae-hyun refused to back down.
"No, demons can appear anytime, anywhere. They pop up all over the continent without warning. That's why sudden quests exist. Don't you remember Abalab City? The Governor there was a demon too. It's really not my fault."
"Usually, those demons end with a simple sudden quest. But the demons around the Auston Kingdom don't stop there. Dimensional portals to the Demon Realm open periodically. And most importantly..." Lee Da-bi pointed ahead. "Those demons are running straight toward you, Tae-hyun."
Tae-hyun turned his head. A pack of dog-like demons—Hellhounds—were charging toward him, their eyes blazing with fury. The Woodstock guild members hadn't noticed yet, but if this fight dragged on, they would definitely find it strange. Why were the demons ignoring everyone else and only targeting Kim Tae-hyun?
"It's not because of me. It's probably because of Archisus. We could find out for sure if we throw Cain out there."
"What kind of bullshit is that?!" Cain shouted in shock from his own motorcycle. If he got thrown out there, he would become the sole target of a concentrated assault. The pursuing Orcs and the demons would happily team up to tear him apart.
"Calm down. Tae-hyun was just joking... Wait, you weren't joking, were you?" Lee Da-bi asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Well, I was half-serious, but since he reacted like that, it's hard to answer. Anyway, the situation doesn't look too bad yet, does it?"
While the Woodstock guild members unleashed suppressive fire on the demons, the Orc Ahjussis chasing them from behind began to slow down. They had also spotted the demon outbreak.
"Slow down! Demons ahead!"
"Ugh, this Auston Kingdom really is a cursed land! Even the property my hyung-nim scammed me into buying back in the day wasn't this trashy!"
"Why are you bringing that up again? Did I want it to turn out that way? I paid you back, didn't I?!"
"Even if you paid me back, the emotional scars remain!"
"Both of you shut up, you idiots!" Kim Tae-san roared, his voice dripping with irritation. He had brought them along for a raid, only for them to bicker over ancient history.
Having roamed the Auston Kingdom, they knew the danger of demons all too well. Each one was several times stronger than a standard field monster. Moreover, you could never let your guard down just because you only saw one or two. The moment a battle began, other demons would instantly swarm in from the surrounding area. Unlike normal monsters, these demons poured out of dimensional portals connected directly to the Demon Realm.
Even though demons had been appearing in the Auston Kingdom for quite some time, players were still dying to them daily. That alone proved how powerful and dangerous they were.
"See? They're slowing down too," Tae-hyun pointed out.
"But I don't think we can relax just yet," Lee Da-bi warned.
"...?"
Tae-hyun followed her gaze. The Orc Ahjussis were behind them, and the demons had appeared on the left hill. What else could there be?
On the right hill stood a man with a very familiar face.
"...Who was that again?" Tae-hyun muttered.
"Su Ning! Su Ning, you punk! You screwed him over so hard and you already forgot his name?!" Cain yelled, utterly dumbfounded.
"Ah. Right. Su Ning."
Su Ning had brought his guild members to join the chase. Seeing this, the Woodstock Guild Leader ground his teeth and screamed, "Su Ning! What do you think you're doing?!"
"I've only come to deal with a traitor!"
"Traitor? That's only to you! The other guild leaders didn't say a word!"
"They just didn't say it out loud! In their hearts, they all think of you as a traitor for sucking up to Kim Tae-hyun!"
At Su Ning's accusation, Tae-hyun casually scratched his ear. "Geez, the guy who didn't even help is talking way too much."
"Shut up, you bastard!" Su Ning shrieked, practically jumping in rage.
In truth, this attack brought no benefit to Su Ning. He might obtain some items by wiping out the Woodstock guild members, but he stood to lose far more. Yet, the sole reason he had mobilized his guild was his burning grudge against Tae-hyun.
"That guy is incredibly persistent," Lee Da-bi sighed.
"W-what do we do? What do we do?" the Woodstock Guild Leader stammered.
"Well, I actually came here thinking the others wouldn't get involved," Tae-hyun said calmly.
He fired his musket at an approaching Hellhound. Thanks to his skills, a burst of holy damage erupted upon impact.
Crack! Crackle!
Yong-yong expanded his size and began raining lightning down on the area. The Hellhounds whimpered and hesitated, backing away.
-Master, I have bought us some time!
-Well, I didn't ask you to, but good job.
-...
"You should have been friendlier with Su Ning," Tae-hyun remarked to the Woodstock Guild Leader.
"He came here because of you!!" the Woodstock Guild Leader screamed, clutching his chest at Tae-hyun's shameless attempt to shift the blame.
"Where were you planning to go after shaking them off anyway?" Tae-hyun asked.
"I was planning to head to a fortress captured by a friend."
The friend wouldn't come to help out of fear of taking losses, but they would certainly let the Woodstock Guild inside if they managed to shake off their pursuers. However, Tae-hyun gave him a highly skeptical look.
"Is that friend really a friend? You're not the only one who thinks you're friends, right?"
"N-no, we are!"
"Then why didn't he come to help? You'd better double-check. If we go all the way there and he shuts the gate, I won't die, but a lot of your guild members will."
"That's... wait. You brought your guild members too."
"I don't care if they die."
The Power Warrior Guild members, completely oblivious to what Tae-hyun was saying, just smiled happily. Seeing their innocent faces, the Woodstock Guild Leader shuddered. What a cold-blooded, heartless bastard...!
Tae-hyun, of course, was confident he could escape any encirclement, along with Cain and Lee Da-bi.
"I asked him earlier. He said he'd let us in if we came. Those brainless Orc bastards and Su Ning wouldn't be crazy enough to suddenly launch a fortress siege with those numbers!"
"Then should we give up on shaking them off and head straight to your friend's fortress? Which way is it?"
"...Over there."
The Woodstock Guild Leader pointed toward the area where Su Ning's guild members had positioned themselves. Tae-hyun couldn't help but admire the move. Su Ning had anticipated which guild would help the Woodstock Guild and blocked the path beforehand.
"Wow, Su Ning. You've really grown."
"Is this the time for compliments?!"
"Well, what can we do? We can't go that way." Tae-hyun scratched his cheek, falling into thought.
In truth, his main goal in coming to this fortress was to obtain the recipe for the Orichalcum Arrow. That goal was already accomplished. He had only helped the Woodstock Guild because he wanted the rewards from the 6th-floor dungeon, which he had also secured. He could easily ditch the wagon, grab Lee Da-bi and Cain, and fly away...
Oblivious to Tae-hyun's wicked thoughts, the Woodstock guild members stared at him with desperate, pleading eyes. Surely, Kim Tae-hyun would have a way to solve this!
As they hesitated, the number of demons gathering on the hill multiplied. Hellhounds were now joined by Wild Demon Warriors. Seeing their ominous, savage appearance, both the Ultimate Supreme Matchless Guild and Su Ning's guild frowned.
"It'll be annoying if too many of them gather."
"We shouldn't provoke them. If their numbers grow any further, a Monster Raid Quest will trigger."
The Woodstock Guild Leader was equally anxious. "H-hey! Let's just run! Those two are just watching us anyway! If we stay here and a raid quest triggers, what are we going to do?!"
"They're only watching because we're staying still. Do you think they'll just let us go if we move? More importantly, what's a Monster Raid Quest?"
The Monster Raid Quest was a sudden quest that had started appearing ever since demons began invading the Auston Kingdom. It was essentially a massive-scale event. When demons wandering the field began to gather, and players failed to hunt them down, their numbers would swell. Once a certain threshold was crossed, a system notification would pop up for all nearby players, warning them that the demons had formed an army and were marching to attack.
If players failed to clear the quest, the demon army would systematically raid nearby fortresses, villages, towns, and cities. Because of this, whenever such a quest triggered, nearby guilds and players would desperately band together to hunt them down. It was always in their best interest to resolve it as quickly as possible.
After listening to the lengthy explanation, Tae-hyun slapped his knee. "What a fantastic quest!"
"What? Did you even listen to me? If we stay here, the demons will..."
"Let's go!"
"???"
Tae-hyun revved his motorcycle. Instead of heading toward the open, empty path, he drove straight toward the swarming demons!
"Hey! There are demons over there!"
"I see them! Just use suppressive fire!"
The Woodstock guild members had no idea what Tae-hyun was planning, but they did as they were told. They unleashed attacks using their holy-attribute items. Hit by a barrage of sacred energy, the demons shrieked and scattered to dodge, opening a gap in their encirclement.
"Out of the way!" Cain swung his sword while riding his motorcycle. Though it was a stunt bordering on acrobatics, his strike landed with perfect precision. The demon screamed and collapsed.
"Amazing!"
"As expected of Cain-nim!"
"Cain! Cain! Cain!"
As the guild members cheered his name, a small, proud smile spread across Cain's face. It had been a very long time since he had received such pure praise.
"Cain, you idiot! Why are you killing the demons?!"
"Aren't... aren't we supposed to kill them?"
"I told you to just use suppressive fire, not kill them!"
"???"
While Tae-hyun led the charge through the demon encirclement, the other pursuers prepared to follow.
"Chase them! Chase them!! We must catch them! They have nowhere to go anyway! Just keep chasing and we'll trap them!" Su Ning screamed, the veins in his neck bulging as he set off. Even while giving chase, he made sure to block the path leading to the friendly fortress. It was a terrifying display of obsession.
However, Kim Tae-san hesitated.
"...Wait. Isn't something weird?"
"Yes?" Yang Sung-gyu asked.
"Why did Tae-hyun run that way? Wouldn't it have been better to run toward the empty space? Why is he getting hit by demons on purpose..."
"Maybe he's trying to drag us into fighting the demons too?"
"No. With that motorcycle's speed, it'd be faster to just break through. Tae-hyun wouldn't be ignorant of that..."
Kim Tae-san trusted his gut. His son was definitely plotting something!
"Mmm... Hmmm..." Kim Tae-san groaned in conflict. He felt uneasy, yet he didn't want to let his son go.
Seeing his hesitation, Yang Sung-gyu spoke up. "Hyung-nim, Su Ning's guys have already jumped in. Let's just stop here. It's better to stick to our original plan."
"But that rascal Tae-hyun..."
"You can always scold him later."
"True." Persuaded by Yang Sung-gyu's timely advice, Kim Tae-san raised his hand. "We're heading back!"
Since they had already swallowed up the Woodstock Guild's fortress, they had obtained what they wanted. Kim Tae-san and the Orc Ahjussis turned their wolves around.
"Huh? They're not chasing?" Tae-hyun tilted his head as he realized his father wasn't following.
"Well, that's actually for the best. If they got caught up in this too, they might have really triggered Phase Two."