A Demonic Delivery

"Now is not the time to be talking so casually!"

"Don't worry, don't worry. I'm keeping an eye on the distance," Tae-hyun said, checking the growing horde of demons behind them. "If worst comes to worst, we can just throw Cain to them. We still have plenty of breathing room, so don't worry."

"You're not planning on doing what I think you're planning, are you? Please tell me you're not!"

"It's probably exactly what you're thinking."

Mob training!

Instead of killing monsters immediately, you draw their aggro and keep them trailing behind you. And then, if you drag them to someone you don't like...!

The target would suddenly have to deal with a massive army of monsters.

However, in truth, very few players in Pan-On actually utilized mob training. It came with too many complications.

First and foremost, the biggest drawback was that the person doing the herding could easily die. If the horde was large enough to wipe out your target, a single misstep or getting caught would mean absolute ruin for yourself as well!

But Tae-hyun had his newly crafted mount. He fully understood the specifications of his motorcycle, which boasted incredible speed and immense endurance. In other words, it was the ultimate vehicle for mob training!

'Looking at the demons spawned across this plain, this is totally doable!'

The second issue was that the right conditions for mob herding rarely presented themselves. To pull it off, you needed a wide-open field, and the monsters had to be relatively slow but highly dense... There were too many prerequisites.

The final problem was that even if you went through all the trouble of herding them, the payoff was often underwhelming. If you gathered a massive horde of powerful monsters and dragged them toward your target, they would usually notice long before you arrived! In most cases, they would simply run away.

On the other hand, if you brought weak monsters, the target ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠might just end up farming them for easy experience...

If your goal was simply to grief or disrupt someone, it was far more effective for a party of confident PvP players to just launch a direct assault.

There was a reason unpopular methods remained unpopular!

Yet, Tae-hyun had favored this exact tactic since the days of Pan-On 1. When facing entire organizations as a solo player, such underhanded methods were absolutely essential.

Sneaking into a dungeon a rival guild had entered, altering the terrain to block their escape routes, and then dropping a horde of monsters on their heads!

Dragging a train of mobs right into the backline of a guild desperately trying to clear a boss raid!

Luring monsters into the middle of a clash between rival guilds and dumping them there!

Tae-hyun had spent his past doing every single thing other players absolutely detested. There was a very good reason why players from Pan-On 1 would practically break out in hives at the mere mention of his name.

'Ah, the memories.'

Whenever Tae-hyun spotted a demon on the plains, he made sure to hit it at least once. If they were out of range, he drove closer to draw their aggro. Fortunately, the demons practically went into hysterics and lunged at him the moment he so much as glanced their way.

"Archisus! Archisus!! Archisus!!!"

They wailed the name as if crying out against their mortal enemy!

"Did... did that demon warrior just scream 'Archisus'?"

"Must be your imagination."

Before they knew it, the demons pursuing them had swelled into a literal army. At that moment, a quest window popped up for everyone in the vicinity.

The Su Ning Guild, which was hot on their heels, was utterly bewildered by the sight.

"What on earth are those bastards doing? Why are they intentionally pulling more demons?"

"Aren't they doing that to stop ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠us from chasing them?"

"Unless he's completely insane, who in their right mind would do such a thing?!"

Creating a demonic army to chase them just to stop them from chasing him? Even a lunatic wouldn't resort to that.

Su Ning began to grow anxious.

His original plan was to ambush Kim Tae-hyun and the Woodstock Guild while they were on the run, inflicting massive casualties. He hadn't even expected to actually capture Tae-hyun.

'It would be impossible to catch him here anyway. He'd just slip away.'

In any case, Su Ning held Tae-hyun in high regard. No matter how obnoxious and detestable the man was, his skills were the real deal!

But attacking the Woodstock Guild Leader and his members for siding with Kim Tae-hyun? That alone would be more than enough. If the other guilds in the alliance saw this, none of them would dare to team up with Kim Tae-hyun in the future.

And yet...

Tae-hyun had started acting bizarrely. Su Ning couldn't help but be thrown into utter confusion.

'Just what is he up to?'

"Are you blocking the paths the Woodstock Guild Leader can take?"

"Yes! No matter how fast they move, we can cut them off first!"

They had already identified all the fortresses and villages the Woodstock Guild Leader might flee to. However, as time passed, there was no sign of them heading toward any of those locations.

Su Ning swallowed hard. The stranger their behavior, the more suspicious it felt.

They are definitely trying to distract us before making a sudden breakthrough!

Believing this, Su Ning waited.

"The target has changed direction!"

"Finally! They must have reached their limit! Where are they going?"

"The direction they're heading... uh... it's Kadalta Castle!"

"Kadalta Castle?"

At first, Su Ning didn't register the name. It sounded incredibly familiar.

Of course it did. It was the very territory occupied by the Su Ning Guild!

Though it had a tumultuous history—including the time they had temporarily lost the castle to Tae-hyun's party after foolishly opening the gates—it was now a thriving, fully stabilized territory.

"W-What? Kadalta Castle? Why are they going there?"

"Uh... well..."

Everyone present realized the truth. Yet, no one dared to speak it aloud. They simply couldn't accept the reality of it!

"Those motherf—!!!" Su Ning shrieked.

"Stop, Kim Tae-hyun! Stop right now!!!"

An amplified voice, boosted by magic, echoed from behind.

Tae-hyun reached his hand out. "Hey."

"Huh?"

"Hand over a voice amplification scroll. I know you have one."

Voice amplification scrolls were cheap. Even if one wasn't in a major guild, any player who ran in parties often carried a few of them.

And once again, Tae-hyun was shaking down the Woodstock Guild to use their items.

'He really is a master at using other people's stuff as if it's his own!' Cain thought in sheer admiration. He had one himself, but Tae-hyun had still extorted it from someone else...

"What is it, Su Ning? I'm a bit busy driving right now."

"Stop this instant!"

"Do you really think I'd stop just because you told me to? Who do you think you are? What is this, some kind of ego trip?"

At Tae-hyun's words, the guild members riding in the cart burst into snickers.

Su Ning's face flushed bright red as he roared, "Do you even know where you're heading right now?!"

"Uh... my memory's a bit fuzzy... but I feel like I might have conquered it once before..."

Su Ning was now absolutely certain. This had been Tae-hyun's plan from the very beginning. He was going to gather a massive horde of monsters and dump them right onto the Su Ning Guild's territory!

"Stop, Kim Tae-hyun! Let's negotiate!"

"Negotiate?"

"Yes! Change your direction!"

"Do you even know what 'negotiate' means? A negotiation requires mutual benefit. This only benefits you!"

"If you turn around, I won't touch the others with you!" Su Ning said, gritting his teeth.

Even if Tae-hyun was confident in his own escape, he currently had the Woodstock Guild members and the Power Warrior Guild members with him. He couldn't possibly fight while protecting ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠all of them.

He has to accept this offer!

"Go ahead and touch them!"

"...What?"

"I said, go ahead! I don't really care about these guys anyway!"

"..."

Everyone in the cart, including Su Ning, stared at Tae-hyun in utter disbelief.

But Tae-hyun remained completely shameless.

"Why should I bother saving them when it doesn't even give me a single point of EXP? Try offering a real negotiation! We're almost there!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! I've already made a massive concession here! Do you really think anything will change once you reach Kadalta Castle?"

"I think a lot of things will change."

Tae-hyun's provocative reply pushed Su Ning to the absolute limit of his patience.

"It is completely different from back then!"

"You mean back when you opened the gates yourself and got the castle stolen?"

The members of the Su Ning Guild clutched their heads. There were countless players watching them right now, and they were being publicly humiliated in the most brutal fashion.

"Even if you bring that demon army, you'll just be blocked at the gates! This is my final warning. Turn around! You might survive, but everyone else with you will die!"

"I'll survive? Well, then I'm good!"

"Hey! Hey! HEY!!!"

Tae-hyun ignored him, revving the engine and accelerating.

In the distance, Kadalta Castle finally came into view.

Perhaps Su Ning had sent a frantic whisper, because the castle gates were slamming shut, and guild members atop the walls were hurriedly preparing for battle.

The players loitering around the castle watched the spectacle with bated breath. How would this unfold?

The Woodstock Guild Leader spoke in an anxious voice. "Hey, wouldn't it be better to accept Su Ning's offer while he's still making concessions?"

"And that's exactly why you're just the leader of the Woodstock Guild, you fool who's worse than Cain."

"..."

It was an insult of mysterious origins, but the sting of it was crystal clear.

"When your opponent is at a disadvantage, you have to stomp on them even harder. Haven't you ever heard of 'looting a burning house'?"

"No, but still... he has a point. Kadalta Castle is no pushover. If we get blocked there, we'll be the ones surrounded!"

Kadalta Castle was no longer the ruined wasteland of the past. Its fortifications had been completely reinforced! If they were held at the gates, they would be pincered by the pursuing demon horde. It would be an absolute catastrophe!

"We just have to break the gate."

"What? Break the gate with what? Oh, bombs?"

"Do you think you guys would survive if I blew it up with bombs?"

"..."

"Just watch."

As they drew closer, the Su Ning Guild members on the walls unleashed their assault.

Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!

A barrage of arrows and magic rained down.

Tae-hyun immediately countered.

"Aaaaargh! Aaaaah! Aa... wait, what?"

The screaming Woodstock Guild members realized that every single attack had miraculously missed them.

'Now!'

Tae-hyun leaped off the motorcycle. An acrobatic feat utilizing his Shadow Leap skill!

Jumping off a vehicle traveling at full speed required life-threatening courage, but Tae-hyun had absolute faith in himself.

In his hand, he held the Ancient Hammer. A siege weapon that had shattered countless objects in the past.

'Alright, let's go... wait, what?'

Tae-hyun froze.

The area around the castle gate was covered in a thick layer of slimes.

'What on earth is this...?!'

SLAM!

A message window popped up, making the thunderous impact feel incredibly embarrassing.

The players in the cart behind him didn't seem to realize what had happened yet.

"The gate shook!"

"One more hit and it'll shatter!"

"..."

Tae-hyun was dumbfounded.

To think they would prepare a gate like this!

It was a construction technique currently trending among architect players, using slimes to absorb physical impact and boost the gate's resistance to physical attacks. But there was no way Tae-hyun could have known that.

"Um, guys."

"...?"

"My bad."

Since things had turned out like this, he had no choice but to abandon the Woodstock Guild.

"?!?!?!?!?"

"W-What do you mean? You're joking, right?"

"No... I really did my best, but..."

Tae-hyun looked genuinely, deeply apologetic!

Whether it was planting bombs or using skills, there simply wasn't enough time. He had cut it too close with the demon horde.

At this rate, his only option was to uncouple the cart and take to the skies!

Clack!

At that exact moment, the castle gates creaked open.

"Master!"