A Promotion in the Enemy Camp
Your infamy among the Orc tribes has risen further.
Your infamy cannot rise any higher. Young Orcs will now wet themselves at the mere sight of your face.
"...?"
Tae-hyun, who was in the middle of beating Cain, paused at the message window. What did he even do to deserve this?
"Hey! My HP! My HP! I'm in the red!"
"Don't worry. I'll give you a potion."
"No, just stop hitting me!"
"So... how did you even get caught? Huh?"
Tae-hyun sighed and sat down in front of Cain. It hadn't been that long since they drew up the plan, and this guy had already derailed it. This useless piece of trash!
Sensing the cold glare in Tae-hyun's eyes, Cain hurriedly began to make excuses.
"N-No! I couldn't help it! You'll understand once you hear what happened."
"I highly doubt I'll understand, but go ahead. Speak."
"Well, you see..."
Cain explained the situation, spinning it as favorably to himself as possible. Of course, the elite assassins lying in wait were high-level, boss-grade NPCs, but listening to Cain, one would think he had been surrounded by an entire Orc army.
"...But where did the others go? Why are you the only one who got caught?" Tae-hyun immediately poked a hole in Cain's story.
"T-That's..."
"You bastard. The others hyped you up, so you got excited and charged ahead of everyone else, didn't you?"
"Gasp! How did you know?!"
"Ugh, you absolute idiot!"
"Hey! My HP! It's really dangerous! If you hit me again, it's going to trigger a critical hit!" Cain screamed desperately.
Tae-hyun stopped his raised fist.
"Sigh... You completely messed up the plan."
"Huh? What plan? Wasn't the plan just to persuade the other tribes to believe in Archisus?"
"That was part of it, but since the players were gathered anyway, I was planning to have them attack the Orc tribes here. If we leave them alone, who do you think they'll target?"
Cain blinked at those words.
"You and me?"
"Exactly, you moron. Since you said you gathered the players, I was going to have you lead them, but you went and got yourself captured instead?"
"W-Well, I was trying to do a good job in my own way..."
"Shut it."
"Okay..."
"Since you got captured, I assume the players who gathered have all scattered?"
"No. I heard Jang Ssu-an is leading them instead. Though he won't do as good a job as me..."
Ignoring Cain's last remark, Tae-hyun let out a sigh of relief. At least they didn't scatter!
"That's perfect. Jang Ssu-an might actually be better than you."
"Hey! That's not true!"
"I need to coax Jang Ssu-an into launching an attack."
"Do you think that guy will listen? Do you know how stiff and arrogant he is?!"
"Well, people can change. And even if he's stiff and arrogant, he should at least be able to gather people and lead them."
"Really?"
"...Well, Lee Da-bi and the others are there too..."
"Really??"
"Shut up, you idiot! This is all because you got caught in the first place!"
"Ack!"
To be honest, Tae-hyun wasn't entirely sure either, but he had no choice. Since things had turned out this way, he had to leave it to Jang Ssu-an!
"More importantly, the problem is you."
"...?"
"How do we get you out of here... If I just let you escape, do you think the Orcs will let it slide? They still hold a grudge over losing the Great Chieftain's son."
"But you were the one who did that!!"
"Haha. Let's overlook such trivial details. Anyway, I'm not sure what to do."
If Lee Se-yeon were here, she might have a way to turn Cain into an undead. But Tae-hyun had no such abilities.
Should I disguise him? No, that seems way too risky.
Tae-hyun himself could pull it off, but Cain, who had practically zero Speech skill, would never be able to pull off a disguise. Even if Monroso seemed like a pushover, he was still a highly capable pushover.
Thud, thud—
"...!"
"...!!!"
The sound of footsteps approached from outside. Tae-hyun immediately threw a punch at Cain.
Thwack!
"Argh! A-Another critical hit..."
"You bastard! Spill it! Where are those adventurers coming from?!"
"Please, stop! If you stop, I'll tell you everything!"
Monroso pulled back the tent flap and stepped inside. He looked at Cain and nodded with a pleased expression.
"You are doing well. But are you not using magic?"
"Haha. Before using magic, it's always better to beat them up a bit to make them more cooperative. Besides, using magic on a guy who isn't even worth it feels like a waste."
"That is true. I came to give you this."
"...?"
"D-Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not giving this to you because I like you or anything!"
"...."
Both Cain, who was getting beaten, and Tae-hyun, who was doing the beating, wore blank expressions for a moment. What was wrong with this middle-aged guy?
◈ Description: Blood refined from an ancient demon. Grants immense power at the cost of one's sanity.
"...!"
"If he keeps resisting, force him to drink this."
The item Monroso pulled out was refined from the Blood of the Sealed Ancient Demon. The Great Chieftain was a powerful Orc, so they had fed him the raw, unrefined blood, but for an adventurer of Cain's level, this refined demon blood would be more than enough!
"What happens if he drinks this?"
"First, his body will turn dark red as the demon's blood courses through him. He will become stronger, his wounds will vanish, and he will gain immense power."
"Are there any side effects?"
"He will lose his sanity."
"..."
"And he will only obey the master of that blood—the demon itself. However, since the master of this blood is not here, he will obey me, as I possess the largest amount of the demon's core. What do you think?"
"That is absolutely perfect! By the way, where did you obtain this Blood of the Sealed Ancient Demon?"
"Well... who was it again... He was a sealed and forgotten demon anyway, so I didn't pay much attention to his name. Let's see..."
Tae-hyun flinched. No way...
"I believe it was... Esla. Yes, it is his blood."
"...!!"
Esla. The sealed demon Tae-hyun had met in the dungeon he entered to resolve the plague curse spreading across the continent.
Esla had given Tae-hyun a quest to break his seal, and Tae-hyun had accepted it. The price? Three of the demons' primary weapons, and an alliance with Tae-hyun!
Furthermore, the crazy... ahem, the demon blacksmith Saruon, who was currently teaching the mechanical engineering blacksmiths in Tae-hyun's territory, was Esla's former subordinate.
They say it's a small world, but to hear his name here?
Come to think of it, most demons were in the Demon Realm, and only a tiny fraction ever made it to the continent. There couldn't be that many sealed demons wandering around.
Esla, you're supposed to be some grand ancient demon, yet here you are getting your blood drained...
Tae-hyun grumbled inwardly. Of course, from Esla's perspective, this was incredibly unfair. He was sealed; what was he supposed to do about it!
Regardless, thanks to Monroso's loose lips, Tae-hyun's mind began to spin rapidly. First, he sent a message to his territory.
- Hey, tell Ed-an and Saruon to get their asses over to the Uruk Region right now!
The Great Thief Ed-an and the demon blacksmith Saruon. Both were absolutely necessary for Tae-hyun's current plan!
Upon receiving Tae-hyun's whisper, Gabriel jumped in surprise.
- Understood! We will head out immediately!
- And since Ed-an might try to run away, call Galakpad first and have him go with them!
- ...Huh? Isn't Ed-an your subordinate, Lord Tae-hyun?
- He is, but bring him along anyway!
The Archisus Cult—a place where not a single shred of trust existed!
"H-Hey. You're not going to make me drink this, right? Right?"
"Hmm... but if I don't feed you this, there's no other way to get you out of here, is there?"
"Hey!!"
"What should we do? Should I just keep you locked up here while I move?"
"Y-Yes! That's much better! I like it here! I can survive here just fine! I'll just stay here and practice my skills!" Cain pleaded desperately.
No matter how he thought about it, drinking that demon blood would undoubtedly lead to immense suffering! He had barely adapted to his bizarre class, Avatar of Archisus's Slave. If his class changed to something even weirder, he really wouldn't want to live anymore.
"Really? You're okay with staying here?"
"Of course!"
"Alright. I'll release your bound status, so if anything happens, act on your own. Just keep yourself alive. If you get caught, though..."
"I-If I get caught, what?"
"You already know. The Orcs will kill you. It's fine, though. You can just resurrect after taking the penalty. Of course, since this is nearby, the Orcs will probably hunt you down again."
"No way!"
"Anyway, I should go tell them I tortured some information out of you. Take care."
Tae-hyun left Cain behind and stepped outside. He needed to instigate Monroso by telling him, "The adventurers are coming from over there!"
However...
"Chwek! How can we trust that!"
"Chweeeek! There is no way an outsider successfully extracted information! Chwek!"
The direct subordinates of the Great Chieftain and the other chieftains reacted negatively. They had no choice but to listen to Monroso, but they had absolutely no desire to listen to Tae-hyun.
"What do you mean?! Look at how fucking good this guy is at torturing! That captured adventurer can't even stand straight right now!"
...That's a compliment, right? Tae-hyun felt a bit complicated but remained silent.
"Chwek. Monroso! If the adventurers do not come to the Red Rock Fortress, you must hand over command to us..."
"Chwek! We are under attack at the Red Rock Fortress! Send reinforcements immediately!"
"..."
Monroso looked at the Orcs with a triumphant expression. In truth, this was incredibly simple. Tae-hyun had simply messaged Jang Ssu-an: Hey, rile up the kids and attack the Red Rock Fortress.
It was a completely rigged game!
"See! You fools. How dare you ignore my words when I have been granted full authority by the Great Chieftain!"
"Chwek, we understand, Monroso. Stop bragging."
"Chweeeek! Not all of us acknowledge you! You would do well to remember that!"
The Orc chieftains grumbled as they backed away. Watching them, Tae-hyun whispered to Monroso.
"Why don't we... just force-feed all of them the blood?"
"...!!!"
Turning a minor incident into a massive disaster—that was Tae-hyun's specialty.
"N-No! If we do that, the aftermath will be too difficult to handle. Do you have any idea how much effort I've put into this?"
Monroso looked tempted for a split second, but he quickly shook his head. However, Tae-hyun's words continued to seep into Monroso's mind like a demon's whisper.
"Oh, come on. Life is all about taking big risks! At some point, you have to make a bold move. Look at those arrogant chieftains. They are completely ignoring you, Lord Monroso. Simply because you aren't an Orc!"
"T-That is true... But if I make all of them drink the blood... their subordinates might rebel..."
"No, they won't! Orcs don't have the brains to think that far ahead! Once you make them drink it, it's over! Game over!"
"Is... is that so?"
Now that Tae-hyun knew the demon blood belonged to Esla, he had nothing to fear. Drink more! Drink up!
"Anyway, Lord Monroso! I will head to the Red Rock Fortress right now to assist the Orcs!"
"Wait, is there any need for you to go personally? The Orcs will..."
"No! We must never underestimate those adventurers. I must go and provide support. Surely you cannot go yourself, Lord Monroso?"
"My boy...! I don't know why I only met you now!"
Warlock Monroso is deeply moved by your loyalty and appoints you as his Deputy.
You have acquired the title: Deputy of the Great Orc Tribe of the Uruk Region.
Presenting this title to Orcs will grant you official recognition of your high status.
Somehow, whenever Tae-hyun joined a villainous faction, his skills and status were always highly recognized. It was the same with the demon army, and the rebels of the Auston Kingdom...
"Thank you, Lord Monroso! I, too, regret that I only met you now! I should have sought you out instead of those trash at the Magic Tower!"
The two dark mages embraced each other warmly!
Tae-hyun pondered for a brief moment. Should I rob him right now? Nah, let's not. There's no need to take unnecessary risks. I'll have plenty of opportunities to rob him blind later anyway.