Human Wave Tactics
Human wave tactics!
The Guild Alliance's strategy was none other than overwhelming numbers. Once their recruitment began to snowball, the vast majority of Chinese players joined the Guild Alliance. Consequently, an absolutely staggering number of guild members began to swarm them. It was enough to make even the "one-against-a-hundred" ahjussis of the guild feel threatened! For some time now, they had completely abandoned open-field battles, focusing solely on defensive siege warfare from within the safety of their castle walls.
"Ugh..."
Kim Tae-san scanned the map of the Auston Kingdom. He had never expected the Guild Alliance to do this well. He had thought they were just a gathering of easy marks who constantly got thrashed and scammed by Tae-hyun, but once they started expanding their forces, their strength grew without limit. They weren't just overpowering the other guilds in the Auston Kingdom; they were starting to overwhelm the Auston Kingdom itself. There was no clear way out.
Should I... just leave now?
Lately, Kim Tae-san had been wrestling with a single dilemma. It was none other than a grand escape! He had secured several territories in the Auston Kingdom and invested an astronomical amount of money into them. For an ordinary person, abandoning all that would be completely unthinkable. However, Kim Tae-san was highly pragmatic when it came to these kinds of calculations.
If we keep going like this, we'll eventually get pushed out by the Guild Alliance and lose everything anyway! If we're destined to lose it all, wouldn't it be better to retreat now with what we currently have? At the very least, we can take our NPCs and various installed items with us!
"...I'm thinking of moving. What do you think?"
Pfft!
Tae-hyun spat out a mouthful of the soup he was eating. Wait, moving all of a sudden?
"Moving? Is there something wrong with the house?"
"No. I'm talking about Pan-On."
"...You should have specified that it was about Pan-On first, Dad."
"Hey, you punk! Of course it's about Pan-On! Why on earth would I move houses in real life?!"
"Ah, how was I supposed to know that?!"
The father and son were bickering over the most trivial thing! As the other customers in the soup restaurant began to stare, the two quickly composed themselves.
"But why move?"
"The Guild Alliance bastards have grown too big. It's getting out of hand. There are just too many of them."
"Wow... I guess you really can't beat father time..."
"..."
Kim Tae-san glared at Tae-hyun. This little punk...
"And here I thought you were a legendary Monarch back in Lineage..."
"Keep your voice down, you punk. And is back then the same as now? The times have changed."
"Oh, come on, that's just an excuse. There were Chinese players back then too."
"Those were gold farmers running bot farms! These guys are completely different!"
There was a world of difference between people who only cared about real-money trading with no interest in the game's political landscape, and those who actively participated in the game's power struggles. Kim Tae-san quickly changed the subject.
"Hmph. You shouldn't be talking like this is someone else's problem. If they grow any larger, you'll be the first one with a massive headache."
"I made peace with them, though."
"Don't talk nonsense. As if they'd ever make peace with you. And do you think only the people in the Guild Alliance are targeting you? Even those outside the alliance hate your guts."
"...?"
When Tae-hyun stared back with a look that clearly said, What are you talking about?, Kim Tae-san was taken aback.
"You really don't know?"
"Know what? That you lost to the Guild Alliance, Dad?"
"Hey, I haven't lost yet! And I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the professional gaming teams."
As he spoke, Kim Tae-san pulled up his phone, opened a web browser, and showed him several news articles.
Unmistakable hostility! Most of the Chinese professional gaming teams were announcing that they were targeting Tae-hyun, aiming for him, or declaring that they could absolutely never lose to him. While some among them had indeed suffered at Tae-hyun's hands in the past, statistically speaking, the majority of them had never even crossed paths with him.
Yet, the reason they openly dropped his name like this was... a sort of trend! Because Tae-hyun had performed so spectacularly in the first tournament—and because of what he had done to the Chinese teams—he had practically been cast as the ultimate villain in China.
Naturally, from the perspective of professional teams that desperately needed media attention, they resorted to slogans like, "We will defeat Kim Tae-hyun!" or "We have a strategy to counter Kim Tae-hyun!"
If one team announced, "We are keeping a close eye on Kim Tae-hyun," another team would counter with, "We are practicing specific counter-strategies against Kim Tae-hyun." Then, not wanting to be outdone, yet another team would declare, "We will be the ones to bring Kim Tae-hyun down!"
Why are they even competing over something like this? From Tae-hyun's perspective, it was utterly absurd!
"How does it feel? Huh?"
"The name [...] is kind of cute."
"...Not that!"
"I mean... it's not like it's anything new for the people I've thrashed to hate me... And it makes sense for the Chinese players to dislike me. I do wonder why the guys I've never even touched are acting like that, but I guess they're just standing up for their friends who did get beaten..."
"It's not just the Chinese players targeting you." Kim Tae-san pulled up another article. He had intentionally shown the Chinese articles first. Take that—a delayed-trigger attack!
"Aren't they taking a shot at you guys?"
"Oh, come on. There's no way business professionals would act so petty just because I turned down their scouting offer... Actually, now that I think about it, they totally would."
"...Why did you look at my face and suddenly find that convincing?"
"You must be imagining things." Tae-hyun continued reading the article.
"Wow. That's incredibly blatant."
"Aren't you mad?"
"They didn't look down on me; they looked down on the other guys. So I'm not really mad."
"..."
Kim Tae-san stared at Tae-hyun, utterly dumbfounded. To be fair, the Boston Tigers captain's point was quite reasonable. Gaming wasn't a solo endeavor. On top of that, Tae-hyun was trying to participate in the tournament by creating his own professional team from scratch. While other teams operated with the support of professional coaches and directors, Tae-hyun's team...
Hmm. Now that I look at the specifics, it's starting to look specifically concerning. To be honest, even Tae-hyun was starting to feel a bit worried!
"But seriously, did you really have absolutely no idea these articles were coming out?"
"I don't go out of my way to search for news articles, so of course I didn't know."
"Hey, you punk. We live in the age of media play. Media play is everything."
"You mean the age of public relations... Or at least call it PR..."
Why use a cheap term like "media play" when there were perfectly good words like PR? Still, Tae-hyun knew the power of media manipulation all too well. Hadn't the Power Warrior Guild proven its effectiveness time and time again? Seeing Tae-hyun's lack of reaction to the articles, Kim Tae-san lost interest. Tsk, what a boring punk.
"Anyway, back to the topic. I'm planning to move. What do you think?"
"Out of the Auston Kingdom? How about you hold your ground as long as possible and fight a glorious battle to the bitter end?"
"...You just want me to go down in flames with the Guild Alliance, don't you?"
"Yes!"
"Why, you little—!"
"Ah, you already knew the answer, so why ask and get mad?!"
After another round of bickering, the two quickly settled down. The customers at the neighboring tables glanced at them and quietly slid their chairs further away.
"But seriously... if you're going to move, I don't think it's a bad idea."
"Right?!" Tae-hyun's agreement made Kim Tae-san genuinely pleased. When it came to strategic decisions like this, his son's judgment was highly reliable.
"A lot of people lose everything because of useless pride. When it's time to run, you have to run."
"Exactly. That's what I thought too. But the problem is where to run to."
"How about coming to my territory?" Tae-hyun asked with a sly grin. He knew full well that Kim Tae-san would reject the offer.
"Do I look crazy?! Why would I rely on you?!"
"And here I was, hoping to collect some taxes..."
"..."
"So, have you decided on a place?"
"Not yet..." Kim Tae-san mumbled. It wasn't just a simple relocation. He had to pack up all his NPCs and items to establish a brand-new territory. Finding such a location was bound to be incredibly difficult.
Suddenly, an idea struck Tae-hyun, and he spoke up.
"How about the Uruk Region?"
"...There's no kingdom there, you punk!"
"I'm recommending it precisely because there is no kingdom. If there were a kingdom, do you think you could just waltz in and set up shop, Dad? Besides, the terrain there is rugged, making it excellent for defense. There are plenty of hunting grounds nearby, which is great for leveling up, and there are tons of Orc tribes, making it the perfect environment for you and your ahjussi friends..."
Ever since the Orc Great Chieftain met his tragic end, the Orc tribes had scattered and were wandering aimlessly. Since Kim Tae-san had chosen the Orc race, he would be able to integrate them into his territory as residents relatively easily.
"Hmm..." Kim Tae-san groaned, lost in thought. He had never even considered the Uruk Region. To most players, a "territory" meant a castle, city, fortress, or village situated within an established kingdom. No one in their right mind would try to build a territory in a place like the Uruk Region, which lacked any kingdom and was pure, untamed wilderness. It was literally creating something out of nothing!
"...Isn't that too difficult?"
"Well, it'll be tough, but if you're fleeing the Auston Kingdom, that's really your only option. To the south is the Atali Kingdom, and to the west is the Erangs Kingdom. If you go there, the royal armies will march on you immediately. To the north is the sea, so you have to head east to Uruk. Besides, building and decorating a territory is ultimately solved with gold, and you pour cash into this game like water anyway..."
"...Did you really have to phrase it like that?"
Despite his grumbling, Kim Tae-san found himself drawn to Tae-hyun's suggestion. Uruk, huh? Having to build everything from scratch would be incredibly difficult, but the prospect of starting fresh in a place free from the interference of other players was highly appealing. Moreover, the Uruk Region was home to countless Orcs. Kim Tae-san closed his eyes and imagined himself leading a massive army of Orc warrior NPCs to clash with the Guild Alliance. Not bad at all!
"Alright! I'll head to Uruk and win over the Orcs."
"Ah, just don't go near the fortress where the Orcs originally lived. There's a total lunatic over there."
"..."
"And avoid the high mountains too. There are flying monsters, and the terrain is so treacherous that if you take a single bad hit, you'll fall to your death before you can even fight back."
"..."
"Also, if you see any underground tunnels, you definitely shouldn't enter them—"
"Why don't you just tell me not to go at all?!" Tae-hyun was listing all the downsides only after enthusiastically recommending the place.
"You're going to the Uruk Region?" Ju Hyeon-yeong, who had stepped out for a moment, overheard their conversation and showed interest.
"That's the plan, but this rascal of a son is trying to scam me..."
"You're making it sound weird. I only spoke the truth."
"If you're moving to the Uruk Region, are all the players in your territory and guild going with you? If so, would it be alright if I joined you? I've been quite interested in the cuisine of the Uruk Region lately..."
"...?!"
"Wait, why would you go to a harsh place like the Uruk Region to suffer? Weren't you working in the Erangs Kingdom?"
"Hey..."
"My growth has slowed down because I keep doing the same things over and over, and I'm getting a bit bored. Besides, the King hasn't been around much lately."
"Of course you're welcome! A skilled chef is always appreciated. The chefs in our guild would love to learn from you..."
While Kim Tae-san chattered away in excitement, Tae-hyun fell into deep thought.
Why does that crazy bastard Stau cook in my territory, while my dad gets Ju Hyeon-yeong in his...? He desperately wanted to sabotage this somehow!
"Dad. Should I send you an NPC chef who knows the Uruk Region inside out?"
"That sounds like a great id— No, never mind." Kim Tae-san, who had almost fallen for it, quickly snapped back to his senses. There was definitely a trap hidden in that offer!
"Tsk."
"Did you just click your tongue at me?"