A Chilling Dread
Lee Da-bi smiled warmly. Rather than her obnoxious guild members splitting the prize money among themselves, she was far happier with Tae-hyun taking it all for himself. She had asserted her authority as guild leader, punished the disobedient members who tried to keep it all for themselves, and even handed Tae-hyun a nice cash prize as a bonus...
"Da-bi. Da-bi."
"Yes?"
"Let's split the prize money fifty-fifty."
"..."
Hearing this from the sidelines, the guild members realized something profound. So that's how you survive in the professional world!
Although he had brought the entire fleet of Red Sea pirates with him, honestly, it still felt insufficient to face Gardu. Tae-hyun vividly remembered Gardu's overwhelming strength when he had breached their defenses and boldly marched onto Skull Island. Furthermore, the curse preventing him from stepping onto land was meaningless now. Gardu was willing to endure the weakening penalty just for the chance to kill Tae-hyun.
'I have to mobilize everything I can... Damn it. I'll have to use Count Anong's order of knights.'
Count Anong's order of knights. It was one of the trump cards remaining in Tae-hyun's territory, with only a single use left. A noble's order of knights consisted of NPCs whose strength far surpassed the current level of players, and they couldn't be hired through normal means. He had expected to save them for a siege war against other players, but...
'It can't be helped. Now is not the time to be picky about my methods.'
Honestly, even if they clashed head-on, it was questionable whether Count Anong's knights could defeat Gardu. Gardu's level seemed significantly higher than theirs.
'Even if the Count's knights are around level 300, Gardu is well past that... And I guess these guys will be useless, right?'
Tae-hyun glanced at the rankers. Thanks to the hefty advance payment he had received from Executive Director Kim, he hadn't suffered a massive financial loss, but he still wasn't in the best of moods. Still, it was worth asking.
"By any chance..."
"No way."
"I-I also have to..."
"I should get going. I have some urgent business. Sorry!"
Evangeline, Roy, and Crawford reacted instantly. They then looked at the remaining two. Surely, they would react the same way, right?
"I would like to fight alongside you."
"Smith?!"
"Well... if it's Mr. Smith, it's certainly possible..."
The other rankers were startled, but they quickly accepted it after hearing Roy's words. Among rankers, it was rare to find someone as good-natured and kind as Smith.
However, Smith shook his head and spoke.
"I am not doing this to help Tae-hyun. In the first place, he is not someone who needs my help."
"Actually, I need it a lot..."
"Haha. Your humility is always amusing."
"I'm telling you, I really ne—"
"In any case, my reasons are different."
Smith cut him off, taking Tae-hyun's words as a joke. Tae-hyun pouted slightly.
"I was thinking that we might actually be able to take down Gardu."
"..."
"...!!!"
"Wait, you're seriously planning to hunt him?"
Crawford looked at Tae-hyun in shock. As a ranker himself, he had immediately sized Gardu up after their brief clash. His conclusion was that hunting him right now was impossible. He had assumed Tae-hyun wouldn't even dream of it, but apparently, he was wrong. He was actually going to try?
Tae-hyun shrugged.
"I'm going to try."
"..."
A quiet ripple of shock spread among the rankers at Tae-hyun's words. They exchanged glances. The atmosphere had completely shifted.
"Let me think about it for a second."
Evangeline, who had spent the most time with Tae-hyun, was the first to raise her hand. In her mind, Tae-hyun was not someone who did things recklessly. He was the definition of meticulous! A man so cold and calculating that not a single drop of blood would spill if you pricked him with a needle!
"The way you're looking at me is a bit strange."
"I'm just thinking! And stop saying weird things! People are going to misunderstand!"
Crawford and Roy were already looking at them with expressions that clearly asked, 'What's going on between those two?'
"...Fine! I'm in!"
"I'll join too."
"Me too..."
Once one person agreed, the rest was easy. The other rankers all raised their hands. Then, Tae-hyun spoke.
"Hmm. Now I need to think about it for a second."
"..."
"..."
Except for Smith, the rankers' faces distorted.
"Hey..."
"What? Look at Smith, and then look at yourselves. How could I not hesitate? Smith offered to help out of pure goodwill..."
"That wasn't exactly my intention..."
"Quiet, you."
"Ah, yes."
"But you guys only decided to join after hearing the explanation and weighing your options. Your calculating behavior makes me anxious."
"..."
'What a petty bastard...'
'He definitely needs our help to hunt Gardu...'
The rankers grumbled inwardly. They were overflowing with pride in their characters. They were certain they would be of great help in a raid against Gardu. Yet, Tae-hyun was acting like this despite knowing that.
'He's the type of guy who never lets go once he grabs you by the weakness!'
"Hmm... Hmmmm..."
"Ah! Cut it out and just tell us what you need!"
"My, my. Do you take me for someone as calculating as yourselves? I don't want anything. I just need you to do exactly as I say during the raid. If we slip up even a little, my territory is going to be blown to smithereens."
"Got it."
"Understood."
"..."
Only Alcott remained silent. Honestly, Alcott just wanted to slip away and return to the peaceful Auston Kingdom. A place where there was no Tae-hyun and no Carbanog quests!
Pat—
"?!"
"Alcott, you're doing this too, right?"
"Huh? Uh... I, I have some urgent business..."
"Come on. Aren't we close friends?"
"...Fine, I'll do it..."
From the coast where Tae-hyun had landed with the pirate ships, it would take half a day to reach the Valley of Despair and Sorrow. Of course, they would have to move extremely fast, but Gardu certainly possessed that kind of capability. Therefore, it was best to block him at the coast.
The closer the battle was to his territory, the higher the chance of damage to it, which would make Tae-hyun cry tears of blood. Especially if the arena, which was nearly complete, got destroyed...!
"He won't land somewhere else, right?"
"He's a guy who suffers a penalty from a curse just by stepping onto land. He won't go out of his way to make a massive detour. Besides, he's overflowing with pride in his own skills."
Tae-hyun scanned the coastline, pondering how to screw over his enemy. The very first thing he did was summon the blacksmiths of his territory.
"The reason I called you all here today is..."
"..."
The blacksmith players listened to Tae-hyun's words with solemn expressions.
"To have you install bombs..."
"WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"
"Whoa, what the?! What's going on?!"
The rankers were startled by the blacksmiths suddenly screaming like lunatics. They looked like people at a rock concert!
"Bombs! Bombs! Bombs! Bombs! Bombs!"
"Bombs! Bombs! Bombs! Bombs! Bombs!"
A fanatical chant for explosions!
"...Th-they're way crazier than I thought."
"I heard there were blacksmiths who went around blowing themselves up... I guess it was true."
Regardless of the rankers' reactions, the blacksmiths' eyes gleamed as they discussed what kind of bombs to install and what traps to set. Some of their ideas even made the rankers shudder.
"...So... we spread... the plague here..."
"...No... let's go with something simpler... but more destructive..."
"Did someone just say plague?"
"You must have misheard."
While the blacksmiths were busy laying out bombs all over the coastline, Tae-hyun moved on to the next task. It was deploying the golems he had brought back from the Uruk Region. Though, thanks to Tae-hyun's repairs, their names had been changed to things like Repaired Golems.
"Hmm... Da-bi. Do you think you could call the Power Warrior guild members and have them ride these golems?"
"Huh? I don't mind, but wouldn't it be better to have other people do it?"
A fundamental distrust of her own guild members! Da-bi basically had zero expectations for the capabilities of the Power Warrior guild members. That was her secret to maintaining the guild.
"Everyone else has to fight on their own. Besides, riding these golems doesn't really have much to do with skills. At most, it's affected by the Driving skill. Since no one has probably leveled up their Driving skill, it won't make a difference whether the Power Warrior members ride them or anyone else."
"If you say so, I'll do it. Should I have them start practicing now?"
"Please."
Meanwhile, Gabriel was running around like a madman, planting bombs in the ground. Saruon, the demon blacksmith, watched him with a pleased expression.
"Splendid fellows. To think humans could learn so well."
"Isn't it bad to lay out bombs so openly on the ground?"
"Kuhaha... You still have much to learn. This is Landmine Crafting. Just like my other skills, it is one of my secret techniques. Once placed like this, they will sleep beneath the earth until they are triggered to explode."
"...Teach me that too while we're at it."
"What? I wonder if someone of your caliber even needs this, but..."
You have learned the crafting recipes for Landmines and Explosives from the Demon Blacksmith, Saruon.
Your proficiency in Engineering has increased.
Although the materials were numerous and difficult to obtain, it was always better to learn as many of these recipes as possible. Tae-hyun happily imagined crafting a massive quantity of these bombs and planting them all over the Guild Alliance's territories. Grow big and strong, my little bombs!
Meanwhile, Saruon spoke to Tae-hyun.
"More importantly, there are so many adventurers in the territory right now that it's getting annoying. Can't you do something about it?"
"Just bear with it. It's better than having none."
Considering what he had to do to gather people in his territory in the first place, complaining about having too many people sounded like a luxury.
'They're probably still throwing that free food festival right now...'
Tae-hyun was here suffering to stop Gardu, while the players back in his territory were probably having the time of their lives. The thought made his stomach twist with jealousy.
"Even so, this is too much. If it were the usual amount, I wouldn't complain, but it's at a point where I can't even conduct my research properly..."
"Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure they quiet down later... Wait. The usual amount? Are you saying there are more than usual?"
Tae-hyun felt a sudden sense of dissonance.
"I'm telling you, there are. Several times more."
"...?"
A chilling dread crept up his spine! Tae-hyun was no fool. Anyone else would have rejoiced, thinking, 'Wow! The population of my territory has grown so much! Being kind really pays off! Sincerity always wins!' But Tae-hyun's first instinct was suspicion.
There was no way the population would suddenly surge for no reason. Every effect had a cause. If so, could it be...?
'Is it another event?!'
He was certain that another giveaway event, like the previous free food event, was currently being held in his territory!
'No, wait. That doesn't make sense.'
He had brought all the troublemakers out with him. Both Pelmas and Galakpad were currently wandering the seas with him. Who could possibly start such an event?
The NPCs of the McCraney Merchant Group would only handle basic management, and the priests of the order weren't as bold as Pelmas...
"Gabriel. Are there really that many people in the territory right now?"
"Huh? Yes. It's all thanks to what you left behind, Lord Tae-hyun."
"I... What did I leave behind?"
Tae-hyun stuttered without realizing it. He was absolutely terrified to ask.
"What else could it be but your statue?"
"...!"