Scorched Earth and Sea Monsters

The news that Kim Tae-san's guild was dismantling their territory quickly reached the ears of the Guild Alliance. It was a sight rarely seen in the history of Pan-On—players destroying their own territory with their own hands!

"What on earth are they thinking?"

"Are they running away and breaking everything before we can take it because they're losing to us?"

"No, but still... to actually destroy their entire territory and run?"

The executives of the Guild Alliance shook their heads in disbelief. Rationally speaking, of course, it made sense. If a territory was bound to fall eventually, it was better to dismantle everything and pull out now rather than pointlessly holding out, losing guild members, and having their facilities plundered. But humans were rarely capable of making such purely rational decisions. The amount of money Kim Tae-san and his guild had poured into that territory was easily worth billions of won in real-world currency... To just abandon all of that and run!

For the first time in a long while, Su Ning felt a chill of fear. It was a terror similar to what he felt when dealing with Tae-hyun. Damn it, both the father and the son are completely out of their minds...

"Lord Su Ning? What would you like to do?"

"Huh? Oh. Right."

Su Ning snapped out of it and cleared his throat. The other executives, who were now essentially his loyal henchmen, were waiting for his decision.

"Either way, this works out in our favor. If we had to wage a siege battle against them, our losses wouldn't have been light. Now we can redirect that strength elsewhere. Make sure to promote this heavily in our official guild videos. We need to make the others lose their nerve and surrender."

Kim Tae-san's guild, the most prominent anti-Guild Alliance force in the Auston Kingdom, had fled in fear! This fact alone would make other guilds hesitate. Should we keep fighting? No, even Kim Tae-san's guild ran away. Wouldn't it be better for us to just give up quickly and surrender? And once they began to hesitate, the Guild Alliance's job would become several times easier. Their goal was to unify the Auston Kingdom within a year!

"Lord Su Ning. There is more good news."

"Oh? What is it?"

"It seems the Lich Chese-do, who has been holed up in his castle, is preparing to move with his subordinates."

"...!"

The Lich Chese-do was currently one of the biggest thorns in the Guild Alliance's side! The Guild Alliance still hadn't forgotten the humiliation of Tae-hyun sweeping through their territory like a storm and leaving with his head held high. And he hadn't just left. He had dropped an incredibly powerful boss monster, the likes of which were rarely seen, right into the castle before departing. A few guild members had gathered a raid party to try and clear it, only to be wiped out cleanly! It only proved that the Guild Alliance would have to prepare themselves if they wanted to take down Chese-do. However, there were currently too many enemies to deal with in the Auston Kingdom, including guilds like Kim Tae-san's and even the Auston Royal Family. So they had left him alone...

"Where is he headed?"

To the west lay the Erangs Kingdom. To the north, the Salz Kingdom. To the south, the Atali Kingdom. To the east, Uruk... Personally, I'd love for him to go south. He hoped Chese-do would cross paths with Kim Tae-hyun's territory and lay waste to it! However, Chese-do did not move according to Su Ning's wishes.

"To the east..."

"East? The Uruk Region? Well, I suppose it's better that he's leaving."

"But on his way, he is destroying everything in his sight."

"..."

Chese-do had been holding out inside, summoning and strengthening his undead army. When that undead army marched across the fields, very few players could stand against them.

"What should we do?"

"What do you mean, 'what should we do'? As long as he doesn't try to enter a castle or a city, leave him be! The territory is what's important. We can tolerate other collateral damage."

"Yes, sir!"

After giving the order, Su Ning shouted once more. It was a phrase that had now become the Guild Alliance's official slogan!

"For the unification of the Auston Kingdom!"

"For the unification of the Auston Kingdom!"

"L-Lord Su Ning! We have an emergency!"

"What is it?! Has Chese-do started attacking our territory?"

If Chese-do was attacking their territory, Su Ning had no intention of sitting idly by. He was only terrifying when holed up inside his castle; once surrounded in the open field, a Lich had his limits. If that was the case, they would surround and annihilate him!

"N-no, it's not that... It's Kim Tae-san and those Orcs..."

"???"

Instead of explaining, the guild member turned on a video. Instantly, the faces of Su Ning and the executives turned pale with shock.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"Bwahahaha! Mwahahaha... Cough, cough!"

"Hey! Put your gas mask on!"

The mechanical engineering blacksmiths were all wearing gas masks as they planted bombs all over the area. It was hard, grueling work, but their faces were filled with deeply satisfied smiles. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Of course, behind them lay nothing but ruins.

"...Are they actually insane?"

"Hyung-nim. Is it really okay for Tae-hyun to hang out with guys like that? Shouldn't we stop him?"

"Well, strictly speaking, Tae-hyun is the origin of those guys... Apparently, their role model is Tae-hyun..."

"Shh. How do you think Hyung-nim will feel if you say that out loud?"

"..."

Kim Tae-san and the older guild members watched with complicated expressions as their fertile territory was transformed into a toxic wasteland.

"We're all done here."

"R-right."

Kim Tae-san nodded. To be honest, Gabriel's blissful expression was more than a little terrifying.

"Should we blow up some more?"

"No. We have to set off for the Uruk Region immediately..."

"Just call us whenever you need something blown up! We'll go anywhere and detonate it for you!"

"Y-yeah... Sure."

While a fresh wave of fishermen swarmed the Arantis Kingdom and a toxic wasteland was born in the Auston Kingdom, Tae-hyun was sailing with his expedition. And along the way, he was thoroughly tormenting the Phytos Church.

"Seriously, Priest Hugo, can't you do a single thing right? Huh?"

Tae-hyun was nagging the Phytos Church once every three seconds!

Tae-hyun was squeezing out every last drop of their remaining affinity and converting it into Speech skill points! It was so brutal that even his companions nearby couldn't help but think, Isn't he taking this a bit too far? Eventually, one of the priests of the Phytos Church raised his hand and offered a timid protest.

"Count Kim Tae-hyun... It hasn't actually been verified yet whether your map is correct..."

"Are you doubting my judgment right now? Huh? Me, the leader of this expedition and the savior who brought peace to the Arantis Kingdom..."

"..."

"Oh. We're here."

Tae-hyun held up the real map and verified their location once more. They had sailed far to the south of the Arantis Kingdom to reach this spot!

"..."

"..."

The NPCs of the Phytos Church and the other denominations, along with Tae-hyun's companions, all stared blankly at him. Their eyes practically screamed, What do we do now? Tae-hyun was slightly flustered. Come to think of it, the map doesn't say how to get inside. The surface of the sea was peaceful and calm. There wasn't the slightest hint of an entrance. Fortunately, Tae-hyun possessed a cheat-like skill perfect for situations like this. Divine Foresight!

Flash!

Divine Foresight immediately highlighted the safest paths and the most dangerous spots.

"...?"

The safe spots radiated outward in all directions from the ship. But the dangerous spot was... right on top of the ship.

"Guys!"

??"

"Jump!"

Tae-hyun ordered without a second of hesitation. Choi Sang-yun, Lee Da-bi, and Jeong Su-hyeok immediately followed his command and dove into the sea.

"Huh? What?"

Cain, failing to understand what was happening, scrambled to jump after them. But his reaction was a beat too late.

*Crash!* The Kraken's body was as massive as several church vessels combined. The tentacles erupting from it pierced straight through the ship carrying the Phytos Church. The surprise attack split the center of the church's vessel clean in half.

Too late. Glad it's not my ship. Tae-hyun quickly ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠checked the ship's status. With a giant sea monster attacking, taking a hit like that meant it was a goner. Since repairing it now was impossible, sinking was guaranteed. Of course, the members of the Phytos Church were ready to curse up a storm.

"Aaaah!"

"Save me!"

With terrified screams, the Phytos Church NPCs plunged into the sea. Fortunately, the other denominations' vessels quickly turned their rudders to keep their distance.

"I'm glad I practiced my Word of Power skill. Fly, Float, Move, Accelerate!"

Tae-hyun quickly levitated his party into the air and ordered them to head toward the remaining ships.

—Phytos's Water Walking!

The Phytos Church NPCs quickly cast their water-walking spells and prepared for battle. There was no way they could fight a monster like that while swimming.

"Did you see that, Phytos Church?! I brought us to the exact right spot!"

"T-this is no time for bragging, Count! How on earth are we supposed to defeat that thing..."

"Phytos Church. Do you trust me?"

"No!"

"Right, trust me and... Wait, what?"

"We absolutely cannot trust you! We will fight this thing on our own!"

Under normal circumstances, Tae-hyun would have incited the other churches to trample the Phytos Church... but right now, they had a glaring Kraken to worry about!

"Priest Hugo. Are you prepared to take responsibility for the consequences?"

"No matter what happens, we just need to kill that monster! Everyone, gather up!"

Priest Hugo wasn't a high-ranking priest for nothing. He quickly cast buffs and began organizing a raid formation around himself. Shield-bearing paladins to the front, priests to the back.

—Divine Hammer ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Strike!

*Boom!*

*Screeeech!*

Hit by the attack, the Kraken thrashed and let out an enraged shriek.

Watching this, Tae-hyun thought to himself, I was going to use them as bait anyway, but they're doing a great job of it on their own. The Phytos Church was doing wonderfully without him even needing to give orders!

"Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!"

Suddenly, a voice called out from above.

"...?"

"Get me down!"

"...Why are you up there?"

Cain was dangling in the air, tightly bound by one of the Kraken's tentacles.

"Sang-yun. Go save him."

"On it."

*Dash!*

Choi Sang-yun quickly sprinted onto the exposed body of the Kraken.

—Light Footwork, Consecutive Movement, Bleeding Strike!

*Slash!*

"Huh???"

Choi Sang-yun cried out in panic. A debuff like this was fatal for a swordsman class.

"Tae-hyun, weapon buff... Wait, what are you doing?"

Tae-hyun was sprinting over to quickly snatch up the severed tip of the tentacle as it fell toward the sea! He was clearly planning to craft a Monster Essence out of it.

"This is a rare material, you know."

"Hey..."