The Art of the Human Shield

Thud! With a heavy crash, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Galgral marched into the fortress. He was a boss monster radiating an overwhelming aura of pure power! Intimidated by his sheer presence, Lee Da-bi muttered, "Do we really have to kill him? Weren't we getting along so well?"

In truth, ever since they had joined Galgral's army, they hadn't had any real friction with the demon himself. If anything, their only conflicts had been with the players in the surrounding area!

"Sure. Try getting along with him after he sweeps through this entire region and marches right into my territory."

"He might not come."

"Be realistic. It's only a matter of time before that bastard figures out who I am. Honestly, what puzzles me most about guys like Su Ning is why they never use the simplest methods. Normally, wouldn't you drive a wedge between your enemies and make them fight each other?"

"Maybe because not everyone in the world is a master of manipulation like you, Tae-hyun...?"

"Hmm. I suppose that's true." Tae-hyun nodded. Lee Da-bi stared at him with an incredulous expression. Cain chimed in. "Just blow it up already." "Okay."

Rumble, crash! With a deafening roar, an entire wall of the fortress collapsed. Both the demons and the newly arrived players gasped in shock at the sudden explosion.

...And so on. Among the flood of system messages, there was no notification saying they had defeated Galgral. Tae-hyun wasn't disappointed. He had never expected to take down Galgral with bombs alone anyway. You couldn't just get a free ride in life!

"Go! Go! Attack!" Tae-hyun barked orders to the surrounding players and demons. Once Galgral regained his senses and started issuing commands, the demons would undoubtedly side with him, but for now, this chaotic command would work. However, unlike the demons, the players hesitated.

"Wait, wasn't that Galgral just now?"

"I think it was Galgral! I definitely saw him!" The newly joined players were thrown into utter confusion. They had joined the guild to become demons and reap the sweet benefits, so why on earth were they suddenly attacking Galgral?

"Did you guys listen to me with your rear ends when I said we were doing a Galgral raid?"

"W-we thought that was just a rumor! Why would you join Galgral's faction if you were planning to raid him?!"

"To catch a boss monster, sometimes you have to go under the boss monster."

"That is literally the first time anyone has ever done that!" To ordinary players, Tae-hyun's logic sounded completely absurd. The players began to protest vehemently.

"We don't want to fight Galgral!"

"Yeah! I only came because they said we could get the demon race..." Once one person started protesting, it spread like wildfire. As all the newcomers joined in the uproar, the Woodstock Guild Leader turned to Tae-hyun with a panicked expression.

"Hey, what do we do?"

"Just watch." Tae-hyun stepped in front of them and spoke.

"Since I already threw the first punch, Galgral is going to attack all of you too. So either fight together to take him down, or get slaughtered by him. It's up to you. Oh, and just so you know, if you run, I'll kill you myself."

"..."

"..." The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold! The Woodstock Guild Leader whispered to Tae-hyun, "Did you really have to do it this way?"

"What's wrong with this way? Look at their faces. They all look completely convinced."

"These guys just joined my guild! How am I supposed to handle the fallout later?"

"That's your problem. It's because you're so soft that those old geezers took your territory in the first place."

"T-that wasn't my fault! Those damn Orcs were just brutally... Wait! Now that I think about it, your father was the one who did that!" Tae-hyun ignored the Woodstock Guild Leader's protests and walked away. The smoke from the explosion was beginning to clear. Even without looking, he could tell Galgral was growling over there.

Lee Da-bi whispered to Tae-hyun, "Wasn't that explosion a bit weak?"

"What? That?!" The nearby players gasped in horror. He had just triggered an explosion that blew up a fortress wall, and she thought it was weak?

But Tae-hyun nodded. "It does look a bit weak. But that wasn't the end of it."

Boom! Crash! Another round of explosions erupted. It was a chain trap designed to trigger sequentially as Galgral charged forward after surviving the initial blast! It was a masterpiece of a trap, crafted by scraping together every single bomb Tae-hyun had in his possession.

"..." Instead of a title for defeating the boss, a completely different title had popped up. Lee Da-bi stared at him. The notification that Galgral was extremely enraged ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠had appeared for everyone present. "Please tell me this was part of your plan too."

Tae-hyun shook his head. "We can still kill him. ...Probably."

"What was that last part?"

"Alright, go!" Once the smoke cleared and Galgral began to rampage, roaring in the center of the fortress, the players officially began the raid. Though they had been dragged into this mess by Tae-hyun's underhanded drag-down-to-hell tactics, they were still high-level players who knew the basics of a boss raid.

"To your positions! To your positions! Tanks, use your skills!"

"The fact that he transformed means his HP is already low! Just a little more!" The players shouted to encourage one another. Overhearing them, Cain muttered from the side, "If he's still standing after the beating Kim Tae-hyun just gave him, there's no way in hell you guys can handle this..."

"Shut up, Cain."

"I'm just telling them the reality here!"

"They're high-level players too. What if our human shie—I mean, our dear friends run away?"

"Did you just say human shields?! You definitely said human shields!"

"You misheard. Now get out there and draw aggro! Galgral is going wild!"

"U-use that Archisus skill! The one that lets me evade everything!"

"I'll use it if things get dangerous, so just charge in."

"If him going absolutely berserk right now isn't dangerous, then what is?!"

"How dare you lowly races lay a trap for me! Come out! In my master's name, I will tear you to shreds and cast you into the eternal flames of the Demon Realm—"

"Hey! Right now! He's casting an AoE!"

"Just hang in there. It's a waste to use it now. Once he finishes this, it'll definitely leave him wide open."

"Hey, hey!"

Tae-hyun was carefully timing his Archisus skills. Right now, Galgral was distributing his wrath equally among all the players in the fortress, but the moment Tae-hyun used an Archisus skill, the boss's aggro would lock entirely onto him! Unaware of this, Cain was jumping up and down, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Use! The! Skill! Already! Are you planning to take it to your grave?!"

"Actually, yes. Oh, using Sadiq's Authority restores my MP."

The sky above the fortress darkened, and a massive rain of fire began to pour down. Giant, dense droplets of flame blanketed the entire area!

Normally, this kind of attack was a damage-over-time spell where each individual hit dealt minor damage. However, the skill Galgral unleashed was so potent that a single hit forced players to immediately chug potions or cast healing spells just to survive! The players inside the fortress screamed as they struggled to endure the onslaught.

Of course, Tae-hyun, who possessed Sadiq's Authority, simply smiled and began recovering. He had an incredibly high affinity with fire-based skills! In fact, Tae-hyun had an strangely perfect compatibility with almost everything related to demons. This was highly bizarre, considering his class was a holy-affiliated one!

I really do have an odd affinity with demons. Tae-hyun looked down. He saw Galgral standing completely still after casting his massive AoE. It was a good sign. Boss monsters often suffered a brief period of exhaustion or weakened defense after unleashing such devastating spells. Galgral was clearly no exception.

"Alright, Cain. Let's go now!"

"Now? Ugh, fine!" Cain was terrified of Galgral, but he prepared himself anyway. Tae-hyun was never wrong about these kinds of tactical openings!

Thud—crunch!

"Aaargh! Lord Galgral!"

"Spare us, please!"

"..." With a sweep of Galgral's massive hand, the nearby demons were forcibly dragged toward him. The demons within his reach were instantly reduced to ash, and vitality began to surge back into Galgral's body. Dumbfounded, Cain shouted, "What kind of cheap trick is that?!"

"I know, right? How could he use his own subordinates like that!" Cain was about to nod in agreement when his jaw dropped. Tae-hyun was currently clearing away some rubble from the fortress wall and pulling out a bound demon. "...What are you doing?"

"I kidnapped a few high-level demons and locked them up beforehand to prepare for the fight against Galgral. Hey, hold him tight. I need to cast a skill. Living Bomb!" Thanks to Cain's assistance, Tae-hyun was able to cast the skill with ease.

"Didn't you just criticize Galgral for eating his own subordinates?"

"These guys aren't my subordinates. Alright, off you go!"

"G-grrr... Great Tae-hyun. I do not wish to defy Lord Galgral..."

"If you don't go right now, I'll chop off your head and burn you to ashes with Sadiq's Flame!"

"H-eek!"

Tae-hyun's threat worked perfectly. The demon, now turned into a Living Bomb, screamed as it flew straight toward Galgral. And then... Boom! Galgral, who had been in the middle of trying to consume his subordinates, took massive damage from the explosion and roared in agony. Seizing the opportunity, Tae-hyun activated his Speech skill once more.

"Trying to eat your own subordinates has brought divine punishment upon you! Hear me, everyone! If you leave Galgral be, he will consume every single one of you!"

"He's right! Everyone, run!"

"No! Don't run, fight! Before Galgral kills you all!"

"Uh, isn't running away ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠better? There's no way we can defeat Lord Galgral..."

Slash! Whoosh!

"Anyone else want to run? Step forward!"

"..." Cain stared at Tae-hyun with an indescribable expression. The guy who eats his subordinates versus the guy who uses them as living bombs! "...I don't think you're in any position to criticize Galgral..."

"Shut up, Cain! Get over here and help me! I need to turn the next one into a bomb!"

"There's more?!" As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Tae-hyun pulled out more demons he had previously subdued and stashed all over the fortress walls, Cain's face grew increasingly pale with horror.

"Hurry up, Cain!"

"You knew about this?!"

"Who do you think subdued them all and put them here?" Lee Da-bi shrugged proudly. Seeing that, Cain gave up on trying to comprehend the situation.

"Uh, Galgral is looking right at us."

"It's just your imagination."

"No, it's not! He's running straight toward us!" After being hit by several bombs (made of his own demons), Galgral finally seemed to realize what was happening. He immediately charged toward Tae-hyun's position.

Zzzzt!

"Haha! Gotcha, you ugly, filthy bastard! This is a fishing line made from a Black Dragon's whisker!"

Chairman Yoo swung his fishing rod with pure excitement. Seeing this, Executive Director Kim cried out in sheer panic, "Chairman! Being in such a chaotic and dangerous place is highly inappropriate!"

"Is that so? I never knew you were such a coward."

"N-no, it's not that I'm scared, it's..."