The Accidental Demon Commander

"C-come on. Just because we became the Demon race doesn't mean we're guaranteed to get a penalty when we fight Galgral..."

"You're supposed to eliminate uncertain variables, not add more! Is your head just for decoration? It's been a while since I've seen someone who uses their brain worse than Cain."

A sudden barrage of scolding! The Woodstock Guild Leader had absolutely nothing to say in his defense. In his sheer joy of getting sweet revenge on the Suning Guild, he had eagerly accepted and used the reward skill.

"Demons use so many bizarre and eccentric skills... Don't come crying to me later when you get hit with a penalty."

Tae-hyun still vividly remembered what had happened in Abalab City. The players who had been forcibly dragged into a trap after drinking the alcohol offered by the demon disguised as the Governor! In Pan-On, that kind of scam was a common occurrence.

Observing the situation from afar, Lee Se-yeon sent him a whisper.

At first, she wondered, Is Kim Tae-hyun sending the demons to attack elsewhere to wear them down?

Since they were Galgral's forces, wearing them down would naturally weaken Galgral.

However, the demons fought surprisingly well and ended up capturing the fortress.

What is he thinking?

Tae-hyun's plan was completely unfathomable! Yet, Se-yeon trusted him. Even back in Pan-On 1, Tae-hyun had always found paths that others couldn't see. Capturing this fortress was undoubtedly part of his grand design.

Tae-hyun tilted his head. What did she mean by "that"?

Regardless of what Tae-hyun was actually thinking, Se-yeon continued.

Normally, he would have just said, "My Speech skill is just too overpowered, so this happened." But whenever he dealt with Lee Se-yeon, his useless pride always got the better of him.

What am I supposed to wrap up?

Tae-hyun was flustered, but the milk was already spilled.

"Was that Se-yeon?"

"Yeah."

"What did she say?"

"...She told me to wrap it up quickly."

"Wrap what up?"

"..."

Tae-hyun couldn't answer.

No, it's fine. This fortress was poorly defended, but if we move to another place, these demons will get blocked. Then Galgral will have to crawl out.

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun closed his eyes.

Wow! He leveled up! How exciting!

...Not!

Leveling up was certainly an unexpected reward. However, the current situation was the real problem.

He thought they would get blocked at the next fortress even if they broke through the first one. After all, players weren't fools.

But they broke through.

He thought they would surely get blocked at the next castle even if they broke through the second fortress. After all, players weren't fools!

But they broke through again!

And now.

...My synergy with these demons is too good!

The titles he had obtained and accumulated so far literally buffed the demons just by him being there!

To make matters worse, as rumors began to spread among the demons, they started flocking to him, clamoring for him to lead them.

And as if that wasn't enough, a quest popped up.

If he kept fighting this well, Adad would actually descend!

Dealing with Galgral alone was a massive headache, but if Galgral's master, Adad, came as well...

Just thinking about it made his head throb.

Should I just launch an immediate attack with the demons I can control right now?

The situation was similar to Abalab City, but there was a key difference.

Even if he defeated Galgral, the surrounding demons wouldn't become his subordinates. Why? Because of Adad!

Since these demons were sent by Adad, who was already furious with Tae-hyun, they would immediately turn on him the moment his true identity was revealed.

And I'm definitely not confident I can defeat Galgral without using Akisus-related skills...

His best option was to wear down the demons as much as possible before his identity was exposed, weaken Galgral, and then mobilize all available forces for a raid!

It seemed like the most viable method currently available.

In fact, his original plan was quite similar.

It was just that Tae-hyun had led the demons too well, resulting in this mess...

"By the way, who are those guys?"

Unfamiliar players were lingering around the fortress.

Upon seeing the Woodstock ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Guild members, they rushed over and began talking to them.

"Ah. They're people who came after seeing this."

"Huh?"

"Since you're roaming around with demons, Tae-hyun, quite a few people want to join the demon army."

"...Didn't I declare that I was going to kill Galgral? But they're joining the army because I'm in it?"

Normally, shouldn't they find it suspicious? Shouldn't they think, Wait, isn't this weird? It feels like Kim Tae-hyun is plotting something.

"People usually interpret things however they want. Besides, the demonization skill is so good, so maybe that's why?"

Thanks to the Woodstock Guild, information was spreading rapidly about how great the demonization skill was and how advantageous the Demon race could be.

Unless they were worried about holy attacks, it was a no-brainer not to do it!

"I really want to join!"

"Let me in too! I want to try the Demon race!"

"How do we get in? They won't accept us!"

The gathered players clamored at the Woodstock Guild members.

In this area, only Tae-hyun's party and the Woodstock Guild had joined the demon army!

However, they were too intimidated to approach Tae-hyun like that. Not many players had the audacity to act so shamelessly in front of a top-tier ranker.

Ultimately, the Woodstock Guild members were the easy targets!

"N-no... it's not like just anyone can join..."

"Then how did you guys get in?!"

"Do you think we owe you something? Why are you throwing a fit here?"

"Don't be so stingy, share the info! You guys only got in by clinging to Kim Tae-hyun anyway!"

"Then go talk to Kim Tae-hyun yourself!"

"Y-you petty bastards! No wonder you got wrecked by the Choigang Jizon Mussang Guild!"

"What? Say that again!"

As the commotion grew louder, the Woodstock Guild Leader turned to Tae-hyun with a troubled expression.

"Can't you go say something to them?"

"Me? What?"

"If you go tell them to get lost, they'll vanish in an instant."

The weight of Tae-hyun's words was vastly different from that of the Woodstock Guild, which had recently suffered a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠humiliating defeat.

Though embarrassing, they had to admit the reality.

"Why tell them to get lost? Just accept them."

"U-uh?"

"If they want to demonize, let them. What's so hard about accepting them into the army? You can recruit them under you."

"Are you serious? Just accept them?"

"Is there any reason not to?"

"Well, no..."

"Then accept them."

The Woodstock Guild Leader nodded, still feeling a bit uneasy.

"And tell those who want to join the army that they have to join your guild first."

"...!!!"

The Woodstock Guild Leader stared at Tae-hyun in absolute awe.

"There's a method like that...!"

"What do you mean 'a method like that'? It's obvious. Use this opportunity to recruit some guild members and recover from your losses."

"Of course! Thank you so much!"

The Woodstock Guild Leader ran off, thrilled.

Looking to his side, Tae-hyun saw Lee Da-bi pouting.

"What's wrong?"

"You should have told them to join the Power Warrior Guild!"

"I don't think they would have accepted that."

"..."

If a large guild was a major corporation, and the Woodstock Guild was somewhere between a recently humiliated major corp and a mid-sized business, then the Power Warrior Guild was...

Basically a multi-level marketing scheme.

If asked, "Do you want to join the Woodstock Guild to get into the demon army?" quite a few players would be tempted. But if asked, "Do you want to join the Power Warrior Guild?" they would likely respond, "Are you crazy? Why would I join a place like that?"

Lee Da-bi's shoulders slumped. Tae-hyun's words were undeniably true.

Even though he had no idea what the plan was, Tae-hyun spoke with utter composure.

Tae-hyun cut off the whisper and began his preparations.

He had forgotten the basics because he tried to get a free ride using others' strength. Doing things through others made it so tedious. It's always simplest to finish things with one's own power!

Hmm, but where to plant the bombs so they won't be noticed is a bit tricky.

Tae-hyun fell into thought.

Galgral was a stupid and simple-minded demon, but that didn't change the fact that he was an extremely high-level boss monster. A poorly placed bomb would be noticed instantly by a demon of that caliber.

With Advanced Blacksmithing and Advanced Engineering, it's highly unlikely to be detected, but I still need to be careful.

As he looked around for a suitable spot, his eyes suddenly landed on the demons.

They were high-level, wouldn't arouse suspicion even near Galgral, and their numbers needed to be reduced anyway...

Tae-hyun slapped his knee.

As expected, the answer was right in front of him.

Luring Galgral was easy.

All he had to do was grab a low-grade demon and send a letter saying, "I found where the Avatar of Archisus is!"

Before long, Galgral was seen charging across the plains.

Players on the plains fled in sheer terror.

"He's coming. Get ready."

The newly joined players of the Woodstock Guild were preparing for battle, utterly bewildered.

They had joined the demon army for power—to get back at the large guilds that bossed them around. But before they could even do anything, they had to fight Galgral.

In fact, they didn't even know who they were fighting yet.

"But who are we fighting?"

"Is another guild attacking us?"

"Ah, you'll find out soon."

"Y-yeah!"

The Woodstock Guild members said awkwardly.

Tae-hyun nodded.

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

Preparation was complete.

The traps were set, players were positioned, and high-ranking rankers like Lee Se-yeon and Kim Chul-soo were waiting outside.

We can definitely take him down!