Impregnable Fortress of the Valley

"That's absolutely true. Mm-hmm. There's no way she just came back after getting beaten like that. She definitely has an ulterior motive," Cain chimed in from the side.

Evangeline was utterly dumbfounded. Anyone else could say that, but not Cain!

"Are you serious right now...? Are you really in any position to say that?"

"Why not me?"

"Do you have any idea what the Canadian players were saying after the tournament? They were asking if Cain had some kind of weakness held over him by Kim Tae-hyun!"

"?!"

"As far as I'm concerned, you're practically suffering from Stockholm syndrome!"

"Sto... Stock-what? What's that?"

Cain asked, but everyone else who knew what it meant looked away.

Evangeline spoke up again. The important thing right now wasn't Cain, but the quest.

"And of course, I didn't just come here to help out of the goodness of my heart. I came to clear my own quest. The quest to stop the Salavian Church."

Hearing this, Tae-hyun whispered to the rest of the party. Of course, he did it loud enough for her to hear!

"Do you think she's telling the truth?"

"Isn't it probably true?"

"Hmph. I don't think so."

-Looks like a trick. We giants are smart. Vampires are a race of liars.

"I can hear you!"

Only after showing them her quest window—which normally wasn't something you had to share even in a party—was Evangeline finally able to clear herself of the spy suspicions.

I don't get treated like this anywhere else...!

Whether it was skill or looks, she had it all. Besides, now that her misfortune penalty was resolved, she no longer had to wander around solo.

But Tae-hyun's party couldn't care less about any of that!

"Alright. Now, explain everything you know about the Salavian Church in detail. Put the main point first. And don't forget to include a three-line summary at the end."

"Yeah, yeah!"

Shring— Evangeline reached for her weapon instead of answering. This is so insulting, I'd rather just fight!

"Wait. Who is that?"

"Ah. That's Ji-su, a younger guy I know."

"Ah, nice to meet you."

Evangeline greeted her warmly, but Yu Ji-soo stared back with eyes full of wariness.

"D-Did I do something wrong?"

"Hmm. You're reacting just like Cain. Have you lived a life full of guilty consciences?"

"Look who's talking...!"

"Maybe she's just scared because you're a vampire. Anyway, just explain."

"I don't know that much either..."

The information Evangeline shared about the Salavian Church was as follows: they belonged to an evil god faction, were several times stronger than normal vampires due to absorbing wicked power, and Dominic was merely one of the puppets of that vampire church...

"And they hate the Archisus Church."

"..."

This time, it was Tae-hyun's turn to shut his mouth!

"Why??"

"I don't know either. I guess they've suffered a lot because of you guys."

"Well... whatever. Dominic already hates me, so what difference does it make if his church hates me even more?"

Adding one more enemy to the list at this point wasn't going to change Tae-hyun's mind.

"So is that it? Nothing else? You didn't come alone, did you?"

Tae-hyun spoke as shamelessly as a debt collector!

"...I brought the vampire warriors and mages under my command."

"Haha! Evangeline, I always believed in you."

"You are truly..."

As they traveled to his territory, Tae-hyun pondered what would be needed to face the Salavian Church. Even if he were to mobilize other nobles' forces or use "Fight Fire with Fire" tactics later, he fundamentally needed preparation to fight alongside the massive crowd currently in his territory.

Hmm. I finally managed to get that Black Iron, but I haven't even been able to use it yet...

Tae-hyun began to organize his plans one by one. First, he could distribute various items of the Archisus Church to the countless players in his territory. From holy water to blessings bestowed by paladins and priests. This seemed like a solid baseline preparation against vampires.

Where would I even use the daggers? He couldn't just hand them out to ordinary players. Since Tae-hyun had to craft them all himself, the quantity was nowhere near enough. Furthermore, what if enemies targeting Tae-hyun bought these daggers in bulk and turned them against him? If he was going to distribute them, it had to be to people he could trust! That way, he could retrieve them later!

I should give the Black Iron to the giants first. He had deliberated, but in the current ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠situation, giving it to the giants was the right move. Black Iron was so notoriously difficult to work with that crafting high-quality weapons was nearly impossible; the easiest things to make were simple clubs. Crafting clubs for giants out of Black Iron... other blacksmiths would weep tears of blood if they heard of it, but...

It'll be highly effective in the giants' hands, and most importantly, I can just take them back later, melt them down, and re-forge them. With crude clubs, there would be minimal loss even if he melted them down to craft other weapons later. Tae-hyun fully intended to handle lumps of Black Iron at least a few more times to raise his Blacksmithing Skill.

Clang! Clang!

"Here. These are your weapons."

"-Oooooh! What is this!"

"Ah, yes. This is what we call a 'metal weapon.'"

"-Amazing! Human! You are so amazing!"

"-Huh? But this feels very familiar."

Since he had literally taken the sacred ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rocks from their sanctuary, it made sense that the giants found it familiar. But Tae-hyun played completely innocent.

"That's because it was crafted so exceptionally well!"

"-Is that so!"

"-Human is amazing. Strong and highly skilled! We want to keep following human!"

"Ah, no, let's not go that far..."

As Tae-hyun's party arrived at the outskirts of his territory, countless players poured out to welcome them with roaring cheers.

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

"We've been waiting for you!"

"My Lord, please build another arena!"

Tae-hyun's brow twitched.

One of the cheering shouts had rubbed him the wrong way. You want me to do something that only benefits you guys again?

"When are we setting off?! I want to fight some vampires!"

"I even changed my entire gear setup to fight vampires!"

The players, itching for action, stared intently at Tae-hyun's mouth. If he ordered an attack right this second, they looked ready to charge out in a massive wave!

But Tae-hyun merely scanned his surroundings with a solemn gaze and spoke.

"Welcome, everyone. Thank you so much for coming all this way to help with my quest."

Another roar of cheers erupted at Tae-hyun's polite demeanor. Such humility from one of the absolute top rankers was always a refreshing sight.

Of course, those who knew Tae-hyun well understood exactly what this attitude meant. It was the attitude of a farmer giving his livestock one last hearty meal before slaughter!

"However, the first thing you all must do is..."

"...?"

"Defend!"

"??!"

"According to my investigation, those vampire bastards are going to attack this place. There's no need for us to go out of our way to hunt them down. If we solidify our defenses here and launch a counterattack, we can defeat them much more easily!"

"!"

"Some of you here might have fought against the great pirate Gardu last time."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd.

Several players in the crowd began to nod. These were the ones who had been in the territory and participated when Gardu's pirate fleet invaded. To them, that had been one of the most thrilling quests in all of Pan-On! Even without high levels or flashy gear, they had been able to participate in a high-difficulty quest and actually make a difference.

"We are going to defend just like we did back then. Simple, right?"

"YES!!!!"

Though the players who wanted to fight immediately grumbled, the vast majority were swept up in the atmosphere and cheered in agreement.

"Alright! Then, everyone, let's start construction for our defense!"

Finishing his speech, Tae-hyun smirked wickedly. Upon seeing this massive crowd, what Tae-hyun had envisioned was... none other than construction work.

A grand, flashy battle leading a massive army? Tae-hyun didn't believe in such things. How could proper command be established when a bunch of strangers who had never met before were thrown together? At best, they could manage basic orders like 'attack' or 'retreat'. Rather than taking this unorganized mob to clash head-on with the Salavian Church, which had seized the kingdom's capital, putting them to work on construction was infinitely more efficient.

"Pelmas, Galakpad. Let's use this opportunity to finish all the construction projects we wanted to do but couldn't because we lacked the funds and labor!"

"...!"

The eyes of the two executives sparkled.

*Clang! Clang! Thud! Thud!*

Extending all the way outside the Valley, countless players swung hammers and dug the earth with shovels. Since the rear of the territory was naturally blocked by a massive valley and mountains, the plan was to completely enclose the front of the territory with high stone walls. And they didn't stop there. Additional small outposts were being erected in front of the walls.

"I will take charge of building this outpost! Everyone, follow me!"

"We need more materials to build this section... I think we can gather them from the forest over there."

The architect players in Tae-hyun's territory rolled up their sleeves in sheer excitement. A massive construction quest like this was the perfect opportunity to level up their skills! Normally, players would expect rewards for such quests, but they weren't thinking about rewards at all. They had volunteered purely out of their affection for this territory! They would build the perfect fortifications to defend this territory from the vampires, or any other future attacks!

Among the newly arrived players, some wondered, Why on earth are we doing this? But they couldn't bring themselves to ask amidst the overwhelming enthusiasm of the others.

An atmosphere where anyone raising a doubt was treated like an oddball!

Evangeline watched in awe as the territory rapidly transformed into an impregnable fortress through this colossal labor force. Had there ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ever been a case in Pan-On where players were mobilized on such a massive scale? Usually, even less than a tenth of this number was considered a huge crowd.

"By the way, how did you get the information that the Salavian Church is coming here?"

"Huh? Ah, that? I don't know. I just figured they'd show up if we waited, so I said it."

"……!"

"I figured if Dominic hates me and his church hates me, they'll probably come on their own if we just wait."

"Y-You lied to them?"

"It's not a lie. I'm telling you, they'll come if we keep waiting."

"What if they don't come?!"

"They'll come eventually. And even if they don't, it doesn't really matter."

Tae-hyun looked around with a satisfied expression. Back in Pan-On 1, he had to do everything on his own, but in Pan-On 2, people practically begged to help him even when he did absolutely nothing. Thanks to that, he could just coast along like this!

"My Lord. Preparations to craft holy water are complete."

"Ah. I'll go help."

Tae-hyun didn't just sit idle either. He made sure to participate in everything to raise even a single skill level.

"Tae-hyun-nim. The blacksmiths over there are making silver-plated arrows to deal with the vampires."

"Ah! I'm coming too!"

"Tae-hyun-nim. The mechanical engineering blacksmiths over there are making bombs..."

"Mmm. I'll pass on that one. Tell them to make them far away from here."

In any case, Tae-hyun's proactive, hands-on attitude deeply moved the players gathered in the territory. How many rankers were there who would lead by example so humbly? Usually, once players reached ranker status, they would put on airs and dump menial chore quests onto guild members or others. But Tae-hyun tried to get his hands dirty and participate in crafting everything.

Whoosh! Thanks to him, the passion of the crafting-class players was set ablaze.