The Art of the Detonation

"Whoa. That's gotta hurt," Cain muttered.

It was rare to see someone take a direct hit from a magic cannon so cleanly. They were incredibly powerful, but their accuracy was notoriously terrible. Usually, players only took splash damage from near ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠misses, but this guy had been struck dead-on.

"..."

"..."

The other party members, who had luckily managed to dodge, froze in shock. Seeing this, Cain roared,

"Run, you idiots! What are you doing?!"

"Ah, right—"

BOOM! BOOM! CRASH!

Magic shells rained down alongside his words. The players began to flee, screaming in terror. Tae-hyun shook his head, clicking his tongue.

As if the previous chaos had never happened, Gardu's fleet successfully docked along the shoreline and began their landing.

"Go, my minions!" Gardu bellowed.

However, the rankers did not let their guard down. Even with the curse active, Gardu was still a boss monster far beyond their ability to handle easily.

"Charge! Charge!"

"Run and plunge your blades into their necks! Pierce their bellies!"

The cursed pirate warriors began to transform, their bodies sprouting writhing tentacles as they rushed across the beach.

"Open fire."

"Open fire!"

The archer units welcomed them. Because the distance was still quite far, the players didn't expect much. Their plan was simply to loose as many arrows as possible and hope some landed!

"Save your skills! We need them when they get closer. For now, basic attacks are more than enough!"

"I know! Alright... loose!"

Thwip-thwip-thwip-thwip!

In an instant, a rain of arrows poured down in front of the fortress. And then...

"Huh?"

"What???"

"Wait, what?!"

Bewildered exclamations slipped from the archers' mouths.

"Am I... actually this good?"

"You just got lucky. I'm the one with actual skill."

"Cut the crap..."

"Wait, I hit them too?"

"Idiots. It's obviously thanks to the Archisus priests."

"Ah...!"

An archer who had experience hunting after receiving blessings from the Archisus priests stepped in to clarify.

"Stop chatting and keep shooting! They're still coming!"

"Why are those things getting back up?!"

The pirate warriors, who had charged without any defense, collapsed under the barrage of arrows. However, as soon as Gardu drew his cutlass and swung it, they rose back to their feet and resumed their charge.

"Is this really a good strategy?"

"I don't know if it's good, but it's the best we've got right now," Tae-hyun replied indifferently, looking down from the ramparts as he answered Evangeline's question.

"Gardu keeps resurrecting them, but we can't just go straight for him. If we did, we'd end up like Alcott. So what else can we do? We have to keep beating down his minions."

"But he just keeps resurrecting them?"

"At least it drains his MP. We have to wear him down like this, otherwise there's no hope. And knowing Gardu's personality, if his minions keep getting blocked, he'll step up himself. That's when you and the other rankers will fight him."

"Phew. Leave it to me."

"By the way, you don't have the misfortune penalty, right? If you get hit with a bad luck penalty while we're fighting together, that's a bit..."

"...What are you talking about?! You're the one who gave me the artifact to get rid of it!"

Evangeline flared up at his attitude, which treated her like some kind of party hazard. The sorrow of all those years spent playing solo welled up inside her!

"Just asking to be sure. Haha. It's not that I don't trust you."

"Then why are you taking a step back?"

About thirty minutes passed.

Gardu frowned. He had expected his forces ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to breach a fortress with such meager defenses in an instant and scale the walls, but they hadn't even been able to reach the base of the ramparts.

The archers, whom he had dismissed as a ragtag bunch, were performing far better than expected. Even when his troops tried to block with shields or deflect with swords, the arrows somehow kept finding their vital spots.

"You guys step up," Gardu commanded, summoning his elite warriors.

These were warriors of a much higher caliber than the regular pirate fodder currently filling the shoreline.

"Follow me!"

"I will block the arrows. Get behind me!"

Clang! Clang!

The players grew flustered as their sharp arrows were deflected.

"Should we use skills?"

"Our skill range won't reach at this distance..."

Thud, thud!

Meanwhile, the pirate warriors steadily closed the distance. Once they were close enough, the pirates launched their own ranged attacks.

"Mages, cast your spells! Those with bows, rain arrows upon the fortress!"

"Argh!"

"Get down!"

Thud! Thud!

As arrows rained heavily upon the ramparts, the archer players ducked in panic.

"Break the walls! Climb up!"

As the pirate warriors began to cling to the fortress walls, Tae-hyun gave his next order.

"Give the command to the Power Warrior Guild."

"Yes, sir."

Whirrrr, whirrrr—

"...?"

"...??"

The pirate warriors flinched at the strange sound echoing from behind the fortress walls. What was that noise?

But the pirates weren't the only ones surprised. The players were shocked as well.

"Whoa! I thought they were mobs!"

"Wh-why are there so many golems?"

Golems usually appeared as monsters. Sometimes summoner mages summoned them as familiars, but these were different—they were engineered golems that players could ride as mounts.

It was only natural for the players to be utterly shocked!

Vroooom— Boom!

The golems suddenly appeared atop the fortress walls. As they began to fire energy beams, the pirate mages who were casting spells were blasted away.

"Bwahaha! This is amazing! This is seriously incredible!"

The Power Warrior Guild members shouted, flushed with excitement. This was a thrill they, as low-level players, had never experienced before—the joy of defeating powerful opponents in battle!

"Hehe! Take this! Golem Punch! Golem Kick!"

Bam! Bam!

The Power Warrior Guild members punched the pirate warriors over the walls, maneuvering their mounts nimbly. For something they had only practiced on the fly, their control was superb!

Of course, the pirates weren't about to just stand there and take it.

"...Where did they get such pathetic toys... Destroy them!"

At Gardu's furious roar, the elite cursed warriors sprang into action.

Dash, dash, leap!

Scaling the vertical fortress walls with rapid movements, the elite warriors pounced.

"Argh! They climbed over!"

"I told you not to mess around!"

"Get them off me! Get them off!"

Although there were plenty of other players around, the invading warriors targeted only the golems.

"Aim for the legs!"

"Climb up and kill the pilot!"

The warriors focused their targets. While they swarmed a single golem, the other players and golems quickly retreated to reform their lines.

"Hey! Abandon it and get out! We need to shoot!"

"No... I can't!"

"...?"

"I can't abandon him!"

"...Are you an idiot?!"

"I can't abandon this golem! I'm staying with him!"

The guild member screamed, swinging the golem's arms wildly to shake off the pirate warriors.

"Guild Master! What do we do?!"

The Power Warrior Guild members called out to Lee Da-bi. When faced with a difficult decision, it was always best to ask the Guild Master!

"Shoot them all together."

"...?!"

The nearby players gasped in shock. However, the Power Warrior ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Guild members didn't bat an eye.

"Understood! Firing!"

They didn't hesitate for even a second!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

"Argh! You crazy bastards! Why are you shooting me too?!"

"I told you to get off and get out, you psycho!"

A concentrated barrage rained down on the swarmed golem. The guild member barely survived, but the golem was completely destroyed.

'The Power Warrior Guild... what a terrifying guild...!'

'Did you see how they didn't hesitate for a single second when she gave the order? Goosebumps.'

The surrounding players stared at the Power Warrior Guild members with bizarre expressions. The guild members, however, completely misread the meaning behind those looks.

"Why are they staring at us like that?"

"We looked pretty cool just now."

"I knew it!"

'I need to be careful around the Power Warrior Guild.'

'They sell stuff, right? I'm never buying from them. Scary.'

Meanwhile, the players stationed in the rear, who had a bit more breathing room, had other thoughts.

'Those golems... they're way stronger than expected.'

'I've never seen anything like that. Did Kim Tae-hyun make them? Well, he is a master of engineering...'

'If we can use those in territory wars, it would be incredible... Just how many of those is he hiding?'

Although the players on the ramparts were fighting well, they were slowly being pushed back. No matter how many pirate warriors they cut down, they just kept resurrecting. As the enemy steadily advanced, the defenders had no choice but to retreat.

Crash—

"The second wall has collapsed! Fall back!"

"Mwahaha... You run well. Keep running. Once all these walls crumble, you're a dead man, Count Kim Tae-hyun!"

Gardu sneered as he approached. He and his men walked across the empty shoreline, where no attacks were flying anymore. Watching them, Tae-hyun realized the time had come.

"Now. Detonate it."

BOOOOOOM!

A massive explosion rocked the shore.

To think a level-up window would appear even before Gardu was defeated.

'Well, since my Speech skill is at the highest rank, my EXP was already capped out.'

But now was not the time to celebrate a level-up. Tae-hyun barked his orders.

"All units, attack! Don't miss this chance! We take down Gardu no matter what!"

As the smoke and debris cleared, the minions who had been near Gardu were completely gone, obliterated by the blast. The only survivors were the warriors who had been fighting on the fortress walls, but they were quickly crushed.

Clop, clop, clop—

"Charge! Forward!"

Count Anong's knights charged forward.

"Let's go! Show them the power of the Red Sea Pirates!"

The Red Sea Pirates charged, completely burying the remaining enemies. The knights had a higher average level, and the Red Sea Pirates, though lower level, overwhelmed them with sheer numbers and support.

"Even Gardu won't be able to summon them back immediately after losing this many. We kill him before he can summon more!"

This was exactly what Tae-hyun had been aiming for: wipe out the minions in one go when Gardu landed, creating the perfect raid scenario. The high-level players, rankers, and knights had been held back for this exact moment.

Pour everything into the Gardu raid!

"Alright, let's go! We're moving in!"

The rankers nodded, feeling the gravity of the moment.

"Arise, my minions..." Gardu muttered.

Whoosh!

Tae-hyun lunged forward and thrust his spear. Gardu ground his teeth and dodged. He'd be a fool to fall for the same spear twice.

"Do you think your petty tricks will work on me?!" Gardu roared.

"Don't let him finish!"

"Stop him from using the skill!"

Fortunately, Tae-hyun wasn't alone. The rankers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who had rushed in with him threw themselves at Gardu, unleashing a barrage of attacks.

Evangeline and Smith swung their heavy weapons, while Alcott and Roy took advantage of the opening to unleash burst damage.

"Argh..."

Gardu flinched, his skill interrupted. Having finished a satisfying round of pummeling, Evangeline called out to Alcott. As an assassin, he should have a skill to check the opponent's HP.

"How much HP did we shave off, Alcott?!"

"...W-we shaved off 1%..."

"What?! Are you sure you didn't misread it?"

"Now it's back to 0%."

"..."