The Art of the Escape
"So! Do you actually have a plan? If you don't, even you are in deep trouble." Kim Tae-san spoke arrogantly.
And he wasn't wrong. The forces currently grinding their teeth and preparing a full-scale assault were truly massive. Tae-hyun might have destroyed their siege engines and suppressed them in the first clash, but that was just a fraction of their strength. A vast army still remained.
"Ah. Honestly, I was thinking of just running away by myself."
"..."
Kim Tae-san was so dumbfounded he shut his mouth. What a shameless bastard!
And he has the nerve to criticize me? Such an evil brat... his parents' faces... Ah, wait. I almost spat on my own face again.
Kim Tae-san calmed down. It was absurd, but what frustrated him most was looking at the community boards. Everyone was praising Tae-hyun. To outsiders, he looked like a righteous hero resisting the great evil of the Guild Alliance!
Of course, to those who knew the truth, this was hilarious. That bastard just had a terrible personality and picked a fight!
Feeling somewhat wronged, Tae-san tried to provoke Tae-hyun.
"Don't you care about the people who followed you here?"
"Well, it's their life, so they should take responsibility for themselves, right?"
Tae-hyun was absolutely unfazed by such provocations! And he didn't stop there.
"Actually, this worked out great. I was going to slip away alone if there was no other way, but I just thought of something."
"?"
"I can just get some help from my dad."
"Did you leave your help in my safekeeping or something?"
"Didn't you agree to cooperate?"
"Cooperating means fighting together! Saving a guy whose life is hanging by a thread is outside the scope of our agreement!"
"Ah, yes. I understand."
Tae-hyun accepted it so readily that Tae-san suddenly felt anxious. This isn't like him.
"What are you planning? I'm really not helping you, okay?"
"Ah, I'm just busy getting ready to shout to the Guild Alliance, 'The Guild Master of Choigang Jizon Mussang is right over here!' Let's talk later."
"...Haha. My son. What kind of help do you need?"
Tae-san blackmailed the Guild Alliance masters, Tae-hyun blackmailed Tae-san. The world truly went round and round.
"Attack! Attack!!"
With the signal from the Guild Alliance, all kinds of buffs commenced. Priests cast their various blessings, bards sang their songs, and instrumental buffs from drums and trumpets echoed. Because of the sheer number of players, the sheer volume of buffs was overwhelming.
However, the players inside the castle did not waver.
"We have Kim Tae-hyun!"
"That's right! Kim Tae-hyun is with us!"
"..."
Watching this, Lee Da-bi looked anxious.
If they find out later that he has absolutely no plan, won't there be a rebellion?
The NPCs might be fine, but the players might actually revolt. Unaware of Da-bi's worries, Tae-hyun moved calmly.
"Count Kim Tae-hyun. The enemy is approaching! Please give us your orders."
"Chese-do. I believe in you."
"??"
"The only reason we made it this far is thanks to your ability to take the initiative and lead the dark mages of the Magic Tower."
"N-no... it was nothing..."
The dark mage NPC, Chese-do, waved his hands in embarrassment at Tae-hyun's words. But Tae-hyun didn't stop. A storm of compliments, ready to be unleashed whenever necessary!
"Even though I am called the successor of the Magic Tower, I am still an immature mage with much to learn. I have learned so much from watching your magic. Honestly, I respect you!"
"C-Count!"
You possess the Advanced Rhetoric skill. You receive a bonus to your conversation.
The Fear value Chese-do held toward you has vanished.
Chese-do's affinity rises rapidly.
The morale of the Erangs Kingdom Magic Tower's dark mages increases.
Whoosh! Tae-hyun hugged the dark mages, creating a deeply touching scene. The dark mages, who usually seemed cold and heartless, were deeply moved by Tae-hyun's sudden, seemingly heartfelt words.
"..."
Lee Da-bi watched this in horror. While others didn't notice, she did. There was only one reason he was acting like this.
T-That man...! He's planning to run away!
"Wow. I didn't know Kim Tae-hyun had a side like that."
Unaware of Tae-hyun's dark intentions, Cain wiped his nose with a pleased expression.
"D-Don't you feel like something is off watching that?"
"Uh... Kim Tae-hyun is being strangely heartwarming? Well, since we came all this way together and we're in this situation, even a cold-blooded guy like Kim Tae-hyun must be getting sentimental."
Pat, pat.
Tae-hyun finished managing the dark mage NPCs with his rhetoric. Now, even without Tae-hyun, they would fight to the best of their abilities out of sheer faith.
"Cain."
"Yeah?"
"I believe in you..."
"Gasp!"
As Cain looked at Tae-hyun with deeply moved eyes, Lee Da-bi stared at Cain with pity. He was the perfect target to get scammed later!
Regardless, Tae-hyun began using his rhetoric on Cain as well.
Wow, I didn't know the Rhetoric skill would work on players too.
"...Do you understand, Cain?"
"Of course! Since you believe in me, I'll fight with everything I've got! Muhahaha!"
"Yes. Exactly. That's all I need. That way, we can prepare to enter the charity tournament later."
"Right on!!"
Instantly cheered up, Cain grinned and headed toward the castle walls with the dark mages.
Tae-hyun used the exact same method on the father-son duo Baha and Baher, as well as their friends.
As for Evangeline...
"What are you up to now?!"
Thank goodness. There's at least one sane person here.
Lee Da-bi felt relieved inside as she saw Evangeline pointing her weapon in disgust. Not everyone here was a fool!
"Don't come any closer! You're definitely plotting something!"
"Haha. Evangeline. What are you talking about? I don't have any hidden motives."
"You! Next to him! Tell me the truth!"
Evangeline glared at Lee Da-bi. Of course, in these matters, Da-bi was on Tae-hyun's side.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Urgh...!"
"No, really, I just came to cheer everyone on. I wanted us to huddle up and do a quick 'fighting!' before they break in. Fine, my feelings are hurt."
Tae-hyun spun around. Seeing that, Evangeline weakened slightly. Had she really misunderstood?
"N-No. I'm sorry. It's just that you..."
"Because of me? Fine."
"No... I mean... let's fight hard! Yeah!"
Evangeline anxiously tried to soothe Tae-hyun. And Lee Da-bi could clearly see it—the wicked smirk on Tae-hyun's face as he turned his back!
"Now tell me what you're thinking!"
"Whew. I guess I have no choice but to tell you."
Once they were alone, Tae-hyun spoke as if he had no other option.
"You see those Orcs over there?"
"Yes."
"That's my dad and his friends."
"Did they finally join the Guild Alliance just to fight you, Tae-hyun?!"
"No, not that. Somehow, they disguised themselves and infiltrated that guild. I talked to him, and he said he'd help us escape to their side."
"I really wonder how that 'somehow' happened, but that's not the important part right now, so I'll let it slide. Are you serious?"
"Yeah. Once the siege starts, it'll be chaotic, so it'll be easy. I'll release all my rabbits, and then I'll transform into a rabbit myself."
"What about me?"
"You want to come too?"
"If you try to run away alone, Tae-hyun, I'll—mmph, mmph!"
Tae-hyun quickly covered Lee Da-bi's mouth.
"Alright, alright. Let's go together."
"I knew you'd say that!"
"Unlike me, you won't stand out at all."
Everyone attacking would be keeping their eyes peeled for Tae-hyun, but no one would pay attention to Lee Da-bi, who looked like a mere merchant. They could slip away at the right moment.
Boom! Crash!
"They're coming!"
"Hear me, all undead! By my will, I command you...!"
The sound of the Magic Tower's dark mages preparing large-scale spells echoed. Hearing the noise, Tae-hyun moved quickly.
"Rabbit Control, Rabbit Frenzy, and transform into a normal rabbit!"
├─ Your Rabbit Domination skill level increases.
└─ The Rabbit Control skill changes to Rabbit Domination.
"Ah!"
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Da-bi's surprised expression, Tae-hyun, now transformed into a rabbit, asked in confusion.
"You're so cute!"
"...I know I'm cute, but let's talk about that later. First, let's head to the castle walls!"
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!*
"Tanks, to the front!"
Blocking the arrows shot by the undead with their shields, the warriors marched forward resolutely. A large-scale siege battle, a rare sight even in Pan-On! Countless eyes were watching this battle.
"Attack the walls! We have to break the walls to get over!"
"Spells preparing! 10 seconds left!"
*Clack, clack, clack!*
"Death! Death!"
At that moment, undead began pouring out from the top of the walls and from the gaps between them. From various humanoid undead to flying undead! Since they were highly elite undead, the players grew tense.
"Undead incoming! Priests, get Turn Undead ready!"
"Purifying Light!"
"Turn Undead!"
"Ashes to Ashes!"
Various holy spells exploded, but the undead army endured. The dark mages' buffs were just that powerful.
*Boom, boom, crash!* The undead clashed with the players! The players fought back, gritting their teeth.
At that moment, small, cute things burst out from among the undead.
"Rabbits!!"
"Wipe them out before they get here! Those things are terrifying if they cling to you!"
The players screamed in horror. The rabbit horde controlled by Tae-hyun was already notoriously infamous. They could never look down on them just because they were weak rabbit monsters.
If you get swarmed by the rabbit horde, you're done for!
They had low HP and low attack power, but they were small and agile. If they swarmed in a massive group, players had to use area-of-effect (AoE) skills. But if the rabbits clung to you, you were more likely to get killed by other players' friendly-fire AoE skills! They were incredibly annoying to deal with.
"Woooah!"
"Whoa, what's with those Orcs?"
"They're amazing! Did we have warriors like that in our guild?"
The guild members fighting fiercely against the undead looked at the Orc uncles in admiration. Every time they swung their heavy weapons, large undead warriors were sent flying.
In particular, the Orc warrior leading the charge was incredibly ferocious. It was as if he had been scammed and backstabbed by his own son!
"Follow me! Break through the wall!!"
"Yes, sir!!"
"A-Amazing...!"
"Let's follow them!"
Seeing Kim Tae-san and the uncles charging to break through the wall, the bribed Guild Master looked despairing.
You crazy bastards...! Why are you drawing so much attention to yourselves...!
Meanwhile, Kim Tae-san blew up the wall with a scroll and was the first to breach it.
"Hello?"
"Where's Tae-hyun?"
"Right here!"
"..."
Meeting Lee Da-bi, Kim Tae-san stared at the rabbit with a complicated expression.
What if I just attack him right now...
"Dad. We don't have time, so let's move quickly."
"Y-Yeah."
Even as a rabbit, he was as obnoxious as ever. Kim Tae-san muttered as he handed over some Orc equipment to Lee Da-bi.
"Do I need to return this?"
"No, there's no need..."
"Thank you!"
"...?"