The Art of the Bluff

"This is impossible! Even if it's Count Kim Tae-hyun...!"

The Sadiq Holy Knight Commander simply could not bring himself to believe it. No matter how wicked, cunning, and underhanded Kim Tae-hyun was—and indeed, every vile modifier in existence seemed to fit the man—this was utterly absurd.

They were far away from the kingdoms of the Central Continent, deep within a hidden sanctuary that no one should have been able to find. Even when Kim Tae-hyun had suddenly breached the area, the ritual was already nearly complete! The man hadn't even done anything to disrupt it.

And yet, he was claiming he had known all along? That he had actively allowed it to happen?

"There is no way you could have known about this..."

"Oh, I knew everything!"

"!"

In truth, Tae-hyun hadn't had the slightest clue, but he smoothly played along with the atmosphere. Thanks to his shameless bluff, the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander fell into utter despair.

"Am I truly destined never to defeat that bastard?! Oh! Lord Sadiq! Why have you allowed such a demon to exist?!"

"Hey, the real demons belong to an entirely different race. Isn't that a bit harsh? We're practically in the same industry, so where's the professional courtesy?" Tae-hyun grumbled.

The Demon race literally existed in this game, so who was this guy calling a demon?

"Lord Sadiq! Please, slay this bastard immediately! Look, even your adorable demonic beast is here with us!"

—A demonic beast... Yes... Indeed, he does seem to be my follower...

Tae-hyun looked at the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander and waved his hand mockingly. See ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ya!

"Never... I will absolutely never forgive you. Lord Sadiq! Behold!"

Slash!

With a desperate cry, the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander drew his sword and severed his own arm.

Whoosh!

It was the ultimate sacrifice of flesh to the God of Fire. True to the volatile nature of Sadiq's magic, the severed arm instantly dissolved into ash, and a torrent of violent, raging flames enveloped the Commander's entire body.

The Orc chefs watched the spectacle with keen interest, practically tearing open bags of popcorn to enjoy the show.

"Wow, look at him! Since he couldn't win the verbal debate, he's trying to make up for it with a physical performance! Impressive!"

"Not bad at all, not bad!"

It was a fierce, back-and-forth battle of wits and theatrics! The entire conflict now hinged on who could more effectively sway the Avatar of Sadiq. Their very lives depended on it.

—Hmm... Hmmm...

This was a dangerous turn of events. To maintain his hold over the deity, did he need to offer an even more dramatic sacrifice than a severed arm?

Tae-hyun slowly turned his head and locked eyes with Heuk-heuk.

—M-Master. Surely you aren't thinking of offering me as a sacrifice...

"O-Of course not. I would never think of such a thing."

—You definitely just stuttered...

Tae-hyun quickly looked away. No matter how dire the situation, he couldn't sacrifice Heuk-heuk. That would be an incredibly poor trade in terms of cost-performance!

'Right. I still have my Speech skill!'

Back in Pan-On 1, Tae-hyun had taken immense pride in his Blacksmithing skill, which he had poured his entire gaming life into. In Pan-On 2, however, his pride lay in his Speech skill, which had received the exact same level of obsessive dedication. He refused to lose to some desperate fanatic trying to win a debate through self-mutilation!

—I have decided!

"Oh! Lord Sadiq! Have you finally opened your eyes?!" the Commander cried out.

"Lord Sadiq! Do not be deceived by that imposter's cheap tricks!" Tae-hyun countered.

—I shall burn you both...!

"..."

"..."

Both the Commander and Tae-hyun fell dead silent. What kind of twisted Solomon's judgment was this?

"W-Wait, Lord Sadiq?"

"Lord Sadiq! You must see reason!"

—If I burn you both... the liar who dared to deceive me will surely be destroyed as well...

"Would you go so far as to burn even me, your most loyal servant?!" the Commander ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pleaded.

—If you are truly my loyal servant... you should accept this end with absolute joy!

An evil god was, indeed, an evil god. Of course, looking at the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander's utterly crumpled expression, he didn't seem particularly joyful about the prospect of being incinerated.

"Lord Sadiq... please, reconsider..."

—You... are acting highly suspicious...

The Commander, in his desperate attempt to salvage the situation, had only succeeded in digging his own grave.

'Oho.'

Tae-hyun was more than happy to watch his opponent bury himself.

—I offer to personally incinerate you... and yet you do not rejoice?

"N-No... that is not what I meant..."

The Commander glared at Tae-hyun with a venomous look. It was the look of a drowning man determined to drag anyone nearby down with him. Tae-hyun, possessing a sharp mind for such underhanded tactics, instantly read the intent behind that gaze.

'That bastard is going to try and drag me down with him!'

If the Commander realized he was truly doomed, there was a very high probability he would scream, 'I don't care if I die, just kill that wretched Kim Tae-hyun along with me!'

'Honestly, I'd do the exact same thing in his shoes.'

Tae-hyun knew he had to intervene before that happened.

"Lord Sadiq! Rather than wasting your divine flames on burning both of us, please allow us to settle this dispute ourselves! Wouldn't the victor of our duel be the one who truly holds the right to believe in you?"

"!"

The Commander's face instantly brightened. Even though the proposal had come from Tae-hyun, it was an incredibly tempting alternative to being immediately turned into charcoal by Sadiq's avatar.

"Indeed! It would be an absolute waste of your grand and glorious time to deal with lowly creatures like us!" the Commander chimed in.

—Hmm... that is a fair point... I do have a grand mission to attend to, after all...

"?"

Tae-hyun suddenly felt a chill run down his spine. A mission?

"What mission might that be?"

—To burn down every kingdom... and reduce every rival church to ash... Only my sacred flames shall remain upon this earth...

The Commander quickly pointed a finger at Tae-hyun and shouted, "The Atali Kingdom! That bastard's fief is located right within the Atali Kingdom!"

The Commander had certainly improved. Pushed to the brink of death, his Speech skill was apparently skyrocketing. Tae-hyun's heart skipped a beat, but fortunately, the Avatar of Sadiq was as arrogant and stubborn as ever.

—Do not... presume to command me... Do you wish to die first?

"I-I beg your forgiveness!"

—I have already chosen my destination. I shall march upon... the Erangs Kingdom.

"Why... the Erangs Kingdom, of all places...?"

—Because those filthy, arrogant churches... are gathered there in the greatest numbers...

The Erangs Kingdom! Currently the most prosperous and powerful nation on the Central Continent. Naturally, it was home to countless grand temples and powerful religious factions, all flaunting their divine influence.

In contrast, the Archisus Church had very little presence in Erangs. Their main strongholds were in the Auston Kingdom and the Atali Kingdom.

'Wait, hold on.'

To the northeast lay the Salz Kingdom; to the east was the Auston Kingdom, where Su Ning was currently active; and to the southeast was his own Atali Kingdom.

'I have to redirect him to the Auston Kingdom!'

If he played his cards right, he could drop this massive disaster right onto the heads of the Guild Alliance, who had practically seized control of the Auston Kingdom.

However, he couldn't make the same mistake as the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander. You couldn't give direct orders to a prideful deity. There was a specific way to handle these entities. Simply having a high Speech skill wasn't enough; one had to plant the seed of an idea so subtly that the deity believed they had come up with it themselves.

"Ah, yes. I did hear a rumor that the Auston Kingdom is absolutely crawling with wicked church bastards who ruthlessly persecuted the Sadiq Church in the past. They truly are the worst of the worst, but alas, it is not my place to say..."

Tae-hyun muttered the words under his breath, pretending to talk to himself. Of course, he made sure to speak loudly enough for his voice to carry clearly to the Avatar of Sadiq.

—What was that...? Who are these wretched fools you speak of?

"They are the Archisus bastards!"

"You... you shameless, unprincipled...!"

The Commander's jaw dropped. The man was the literal Pope of the Archisus Church, and yet he was throwing his own deity under the bus without a single shred of hesitation! The sheer absurdity of it made the Commander's vision go dark.

While Speech skills generally lacked direct offensive power compared to magic, they possessed unique, devastating utility like this.

—Excellent... I shall burn both the Erangs Kingdom and the Auston Kingdom to the ground. Arrogant church bastards. They shall all taste the absolute fury of my flames!!

BOOM!

A colossal pillar of fire erupted from Sadiq's body, tearing straight through the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ceiling of the Giant Sanctuary and soaring high into the heavens. It was as if the deity had transformed entirely into a column of pure, destructive energy.

"Huh?"

"Wait, what?!"

The party watched in sheer bewilderment as the pillar of fire shot higher and higher into the sky before completely vanishing from sight.

Whoosh—

The Avatar of Sadiq was gone, leaving behind nothing but a few scattered embers clinging to the stone walls.

Left behind in the silent sanctuary were Tae-hyun's bewildered party, and an even more dumbfounded Sadiq Holy Knight Commander.

"..."

"..."

The Commander had never imagined that the Avatar of Sadiq would actually take the suggestion so literally and immediately depart to incinerate the kingdoms—leaving him entirely behind!

Without a single word spoken, Tae-hyun's party slowly began to fan out, forming a perfect circle around the isolated Commander. Their thoughts were in perfect, harmonious alignment.

—This is our chance to take down a boss monster for free!

Why were boss monsters normally so difficult to defeat? It wasn't just because of their raw stats; it was because they were typically nestled deep within dangerous, trap-filled dungeons, surrounded by hordes of elite minions.

But a boss monster stripped of his dungeon, his sanctuary, and his army?

The difficulty level plummeted instantly. Furthermore, every single member of Tae-hyun's party was an elite ranker in their own right. Taking down a lone Sadiq Holy Knight Commander was well within their capabilities.

"W-Wait... hold on..."

"Attack!!"

Tae-hyun, grinning from ear to ear, barked the command. With that, the raid on the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander officially began.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

'Having a reliable ranged damage dealer really makes things so much easier,' Tae-hyun thought to himself, watching the Commander struggle to move as he constantly dodged arrows aimed precisely at his vital points.

Moreover, Yu Ji-soo's equipment looked exceptionally high-end. Even standing alongside the Orc chefs, who were notorious for spending fortunes on their gear, her equipment didn't pale in comparison; in fact, it looked significantly better.

That meant... pay-to-win!

'Does she get a massive allowance or something?' Tae-hyun wondered, tilting his head slightly even as he continued to pummel the Commander.

Bam! Bam! Crash!

"Ugh, these holy knight bastards are always such a pain..."

Every single time they landed a blow, a barrage of system alerts popped up, announcing that some class passive, gear effect, or active skill had triggered to mitigate the damage. Holy knights were notorious for their absurd defense and survivability, and the Commander was the absolute pinnacle of the class.

'Well, since there are no adds to worry about, we can just keep beating him down until he dies.'

Honestly, this was a far easier fight than the one against Gardu. Gardu hadn't possessed holy skills, but his monstrous health regeneration had allowed him to heal through almost any amount of sustained damage.

The Sadiq Holy Knight Commander didn't have that level of passive recovery. If they kept up the pressure, his defensive cooldowns would eventually run out, and his end would come.

'Hmm. I'd love to turn him into a rabbit before that, but he's not showing any openings.'

Even while taking a relentless beating, the Commander kept his eyes firmly locked on Tae-hyun and Cain, refusing to let his guard down around them for even a second.

"Aaaaagh! Kim Tae-hyun! I will drag you to hell with me!"

"You're the one who botched your own summoning ritual, so why are you taking it out on me?"

Deflecting another blow, the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander quickly scanned the battlefield. In a one-versus-many fight, his only hope was to target the weakest link and eliminate them first.

And that would be...

The annoying archer keeping her distance! Archers inherently possessed low defensive stats, making her the perfect target for a swift execution.

Fwoosh!

From the stump of the Commander's severed arm, a massive, serpentine dragon made of dark, malevolent fire manifested.

—Sadiq's Flame Dragon Summon!

"!"

Yu Ji-soo's eyes widened in alarm. With so many melee fighters surrounding the Commander, she hadn't expected him to completely ignore them and launch a direct, high-tier spell at her.

'I was careless! I shouldn't have let my guard down...! Can I survive this?'

As a flurry of panicked thoughts raced through her mind, Lee Da-bi suddenly dashed forward, throwing herself directly into the path of the oncoming dragon.

"Hyah!"

It was a seemingly reckless move, but Da-bi was acting with absolute confidence in the unique properties of her equipment.

However, the authority skill unleashed by the Sadiq Holy Knight Commander was incredibly potent. Even though she had avoided instant death, the lingering embers of the dark fire began to inflict a barrage of severe status conditions.

But Da-bi didn't back down. Her armor still had plenty of active skills left to burn.

—Arcane Protection of Archisus!

—Arcane Blessing of Archisus!

"Th-thank you so much," Yu Ji-soo stammered, her face pale as she thanked Da-bi.

"It was nothing," Da-bi replied smoothly.

"Still, I must find a way to repay you..."

"Gold would be perfect!"

"Ahaha, you're quite the joker... wait, you're not joking?"