Wait, What??
Huh?? Tae-hyun was genuinely shocked. Master? What master?
"U-Excuse me! Tae-hyun! Look up!" Lee Da-bi pointed upward.
Winged demons were flying toward them, dodging attacks from the Su Ning Guild members stationed on the castle walls.
"Master!"
"We knew you would return!"
"...As if I would ever abandon you!" replied the very man who had completely forgotten about their existence until this exact moment. What shamelessness!
Yet, Tae-hyun didn't lose his composure for even a second.
"Alright! Let's move!"
Speed was of the essence right now! He could figure out the details later. The only thing that mattered was that the gates were wide open!
"Let's go! Let's go! Move, move, move!"
The guild members following closely behind cheered in delight at the sight of the open gates.
Su Ning let out a desperate, final shriek at the sight.
"Kim Tae-hyun! Stop right there!"
"Would you stop if you were in my shoes?!"
"If you go in there, it won't just be our guild that suffers! Other players will get hurt too!"
A desperate Su Ning scrambled for any argument. He had to change Tae-hyun's mind and stop him from entering at all costs!
"Oh, really?"
"Yes! Think about the other players inside the city! If the demons get in, the crafters and casual players will be slaughtered! I know you like blacksmiths... Just stop! Stop, I say!"
No matter what he said, Tae-hyun didn't slow down. It was easy to misunderstand him because of his heroic streaming persona, but in reality, Tae-hyun was a man who couldn't care less if other players died in-game, as long as it didn't affect him!
Rumble, rumble, rumble—
"They're coming inside?!"
"Which bastard opened the gates?!"
"They say a demon opened it!"
"What kind of nonsense is—?!"
The Su Ning Guild members inside cried out in panic, but the gates were already wide open.
"Wow, these crazy bastards. They installed three layers of gates?"
Tae-hyun scoffed in disbelief as he dashed through the successive open gates. To think they had gone to such lengths.
Honestly, there was no need for such extreme security in the Auston Kingdom. A single sturdy gate, combined with ranged attacks from atop the walls, was usually more than enough to hold off any siege.
If an enemy was powerful enough to breach one gate, three gates wouldn't make much of a difference anyway. This defense bordered on sheer obsession!
If the gates hadn't been opened for them and they had to break them down one by one with hammers, it would have taken far too long, even if it were possible. With a horde of demons hot on their heels, it would have been an incredibly dangerous situation.
Lee Da-bi, running alongside him, chimed in.
"Well, considering what happened to them last time, it's not that surprising, is it?"
After all, no human could easily forget having their castle snatched away right from under their nose.
Hearing this, Tae-hyun reflected on his assumptions. He had underestimated Su Ning. After suffering such a humiliating defeat, it was only natural for them to take such extreme precautions!
"Well, the important thing is that everything worked out in our favor. Right?"
"Exactly!"
Cain, listening to their casual banter, stared at them with an utterly dumbfounded expression. Because right behind them...
A complete disaster was unfolding.
Crash! Boom!
"Aaargh! What is that?!"
"Demons have breached the city!"
The Su Ning Guild members weren't the only ones inside Kadalta Castle. There were plenty of ordinary players who had come to the area to hunt or complete quests.
These players had been happily eating popcorn while watching the approaching demon army from a safe distance, only to lose their minds when the gates suddenly swung open.
"What the hell are you doing?! Why did you open the gates?!"
"Has the Su Ning Guild gone completely insane?!"
The Su Ning Guild members didn't even have the mental capacity to respond to the players' outrage. The demons flooding through the southern gate had already begun their rampage.
They smashed the shops near the gate, demolished the fountains that granted recovery effects, shattered the statues that provided buffs... The demons were systematically destroying absolutely everything of value in their path!
"Block them! We have to stop them!"
Screaming in panic, the Su Ning Guild members scrambled down from the walls. They could see Tae-hyun waving cheerfully as he made his escape in the distance, but they couldn't even dream of chasing him right now.
The absolute priority was to somehow suppress the demons and salvage the situation! Otherwise, Kadalta Castle would be reduced to absolute ruin.
"Group One! Group One, over here! Block the street between the blacksmith and the potion shop!"
"Any players who can help, come lend a hand! You all got the quest notification too, didn't you?!"
The Su Ning Guild members pleaded with the bystanders. If the players inside the castle joined the fight, it would be a massive help. However, the players looked entirely unenthusiastic.
"Well... I mean, the quest did pop up, but..."
"Why should we do that?"
"Yeah. It's not like those are our buildings."
"If they get destroyed, you guys are the only ones losing money. We'll just stay up on the walls and shoot some arrows."
None of them wanted to clash head-on with such a massive horde of demons!
"W-What?!"
"Don't pretend you didn't hear us. We said we don't want to fight them head-on. Why should we put ourselves out for this?"
"Are you going to pay us gold?"
"You guys squeeze us dry with heavy taxes all the time anyway. Deal with it yourselves."
The players eagerly seized the opportunity to vent all their pent-up grievances!
"Y-You ungrateful bastards! Is this really the time for that?!"
Crash! Boom!
A demon hurled a fireball, shattering yet another statue in the central plaza.
"Argh! Run!"
"They say there are no demons at the northern gate yet. Let's head that way!"
"Right behind you!"
The players began to flee in droves. Although the demons were running amok, the castle grounds were vast, and there were plenty of places to escape. Players who were confident in their combat abilities and those who weren't ran away hand-in-hand.
Watching from afar, Su Ning felt like crying. In the distance, flames were erupting from Kadalta Castle as thick black smoke billowed into the sky. The sound of demons casting spells and buildings collapsing served as a tragic background track.
The property damage was easily going to exceed hundreds of millions of won in real-world value. The only difference from reality was that there was absolutely no insurance to cover this!
"Grrrgh... Arghhh...!"
"Guild Leader!"
As Su Ning groaned in agony like a wounded beast, his guild members rushed to his side.
"Go... Go clean this up right now! If we don't get this under control, we're finished!"
"Yes, sir!"
Su Ning and his guild members belatedly charged into Kadalta Castle. But no matter how fast they ran, it already seemed far too late to salvage the situation.
Tae-hyun sprinted down the main street of Kadalta Castle before suddenly making a sharp turn. The Woodstock Guild Leader stared at him, his face suddenly lighting up with a look of profound realization.
"Y-You...!"
"...?"
"Was the sudden appearance of demons here in the Auston Kingdom because of you?!"
"...!"
The Woodstock Guild Leader's suspicion was entirely logical. The gates had suddenly swung open, and a winged demon had flown down to address Tae-hyun as "Master." No matter how one looked at it, it was impossible not to suspect a connection to the demons plaguing the Auston Kingdom!
Of course, the two groups of demons had absolutely nothing to do with each other, but...
How did he find out?!
Unaware of what was actually going through the Woodstock Guild Leader's head, Tae-hyun panicked. Because in reality, it actually was his fault!
Only a select few knew about the scam he had pulled on the Demon Duke Adad in the Demon Realm. To think the Woodstock Guild Leader had pieced it together.
What the? I didn't think I could keep it a secret forever, but to be found out already? How did he figure it out?
If this got out, every single player in the Auston Kingdom might turn against him. He already had plenty of enemies from Pan-On 1 crawling around; he had no desire to add more to the list.
While Tae-hyun hesitated, Lee Da-bi stepped in to answer.
"What on earth are you talking about? These are the demons we brought over from the Espa Kingdom."
"Ah, so that was it."
The Woodstock Guild Leader nodded in understanding. He was well aware of the Demon Duke Edaor quest in the Espa Kingdom, where Su Ning had been utterly humiliated. These were undoubtedly the leftover demons from that incident.
"Kim Tae-hyun!!!"
A voice darker and deeper than any demon's echoed from behind. Naturally, it was Su Ning.
"You... You bastard... Don't tell me... you hid those demons inside the castle... just for today?!"
Su Ning had demanded to know from his guild members why the perfectly functional gates had suddenly opened. The reports he received were...
> "Suddenly, the statues near the inner castle came to life and flew away!"
> "They flew straight to the gate controls and forced the gates open! We never imagined anyone would target the controls from the inside, so we were completely caught off guard...!"
Having focused all their attention on defending from atop the walls, the Su Ning Guild had been completely blindsided.
But Su Ning still found it hard to believe. What kind of absolute lunatic would leave demon subordinates behind in a castle just to prepare for a moment like this? This transcended the level of a mere "master plan."
"Answer me, Kim Tae-hyun! Was this your plan all along?!"
"...Of course it was!"
Of course it wasn't. He had completely forgotten about them, and the winged demons had simply emerged on their own after hearing the commotion. But since his opponent was so eager to misunderstand, Tae-hyun decided to play along.
"This is insane! How could you possibly...!"
The Su Ning Guild members gasped in shock.
"He actually anticipated this and kept demons on standby?"
The Woodstock Guild members were equally stunned.
"...Didn't you just completely forget about them? Because I sure did," Cain muttered, giving Tae-hyun a deeply skeptical look.
Regardless of their reactions, Tae-hyun turned away. He had already achieved everything he wanted!
With the demons running wild, Kadalta Castle would be thoroughly trashed, and the Su Ning Guild would be far too busy dealing with the aftermath to even dream of giving chase.
All that was left was to make a leisurely escape through the northern gate...
"Y-You... What are you doing there?"
"Chairman?"
At the familiar voice, Tae-hyun turned his head.
Chairman Yoo was busy beating up demons alongside a middle-aged man Tae-hyun had never seen before.
Or, to be more precise, Chairman Yoo was swinging his fishing rod, cleanly slicing off the heads of demons one after another, while the man beside him shrieked in terror and cowered behind his back.
The look Chairman Yoo gave the man was a sight to behold. It was the exact look one would give a pathetic piece of dead weight!
"You... Don't tell me you're the one who brought these demons..."
"It wasn't me."
"If it wasn't you, then who else could it be?!"
"Since our opinions differ, let's settle this in court. Farewell!"
"Take me with you, you rascal!"
Chairman Yoo nimbly hopped onto the cart. He had been wondering how to handle this unexpected demon invasion, so this was a perfect opportunity.
"Chairman, your skills have improved quite a bit, haven't they?"
"Ahem, well, I have improved a touch."
At Tae-hyun's praise, Chairman Yoo beamed with joy, completely forgetting his age. To be perfectly honest, he was genuinely thrilled.
In the world of Pan-On, Tae-hyun was a legendary figure whose name alone commanded respect!
Even the employees of the Yuseong Group would lament, "How could we ever hope to keep up with Kim Tae-hyun?" That was the caliber of player he was.
So to hear such praise from Tae-hyun made him feel incredibly proud and satisfied. It felt as though all his hard work had finally paid off!
"But why did these demons come here in the first place?"
"Oh, just to torment someone I don't like. By the way, who is this gentleman?"
"It's a long story..."
The man who had climbed onto the cart stared intently at Tae-hyun, his eyes practically screaming, Who on earth are you?
"Remember when I asked you to drop me off last time?"
"Yes. You said you had to meet a friend. But did you actually have friends?"
"..."
Squeeze! Chairman Yoo gripped his fishing rod tightly. Surely he could land at least one verbal blow on Tae-hyun by now, right?
"I-I can have a friend or two..."
"The only friend I know who plays Pan-On with you is my father, so I thought you were meeting him. But since I didn't see him earlier, I wondered who you were meeting."
"Huh? Is Kim Tae-san here as well?"
"He's developing his territory nearby. I'm sure he'd love it if you paid him a visit."
Chairman Yoo had absolutely no idea that Tae-hyun had just sabotaged Kim Tae-san's operations and was currently fleeing the scene.
"Anyway, after we parted ways, I spent some time... well..."
Chairman Yoo hesitated. It felt rather embarrassing to admit that he had ordered his Secretary Chief to organize party play sessions with his company employees.
He could already picture the look on Tae-hyun's face: Do you really have to go that far just to level up?
"Don't tell me you summoned your company employees to play in a party with you? You're not one of those bosses who forces people to go hiking on weekends, are you? Because if you are, they're definitely cursing you behind your back."
"..."
"...Wait, was that actually true?"
When Chairman Yoo fell silent at his joke, Tae-hyun stared at him in utter horror. No wonder the old man's level had shot up so rapidly.
"N-No, it's not like that! They all said they wanted to play! I even paid them proper overtime bonuses..."
"The Yuseong Group is abusing its employees!"
"Hey, you rascal!"