The Guild Alliance Had Other Ideas

"The guild members we sent were wiped out? What did Alcott say?"

"He said he doesn't need any more help."

"Ugh, what an annoying prick. He couldn't even protect the backup we sent him, and yet his pride is through the roof..."

"Should we leave him be?"

"No. Between Sadiq's demonic beasts and everything else, the situation isn't easy enough for Alcott to wander around alone. Gather some more guild members and send them over."

The guild executive was annoyed, but he held it in and decided to help Alcott. It was all for the sake of the guild! Seeing this, the surrounding guild members rubbed their noses and chimed in.

"As expected, no one cares about the guild as much as you do, Team Leader."

"Hmph. Did I do something out of character again?"

"Why the hell do they keep sending backup?!"

Alcott practically jumped in frustration. Hearing this, Tae-hyun and Cain looked at him with disgust.

"You didn't secretly request backup behind our backs, did you?"

"I swear I rejected them! Normally, if you reject them like that, they get pissed off and stop sending people. Did those bastards eat something weird?"

Tae-hyun massaged his temples, looking like he had a headache.

"This is getting annoying. If their guild members keep coming, we can't just keep killing them off. It'll look too suspicious."

"Then do we have to hang out with them? I don't have the confidence for that."

Cain gestured up and down at his current outfit. During this expedition to the Auston Kingdom, Cain had been constantly switching roles between Cain, a bandit, and a Chinese player. He was practically having an identity crisis! Honestly, if he had to keep this up any longer, he was bound to slip up.

"We have no choice. We need to pull out. Let's leave right—"

Pitter-patter!

"Master Alcott! We have arrived!"

"Ugh, those Guild Alliance bastards are ridiculously fast."

Tae-hyun grumbled. How on earth did they get here so quickly?

-What do we do?

-What do you mean? There are plenty of demonic beasts around here. Let's just fight for a bit, fake our deaths when the timing is right, and slip away.

"Master Alcott! Congratulations! You actually found the secret sanctuary!"

"The guild will be thrilled with this result!"

"By the way, who are these two?"

"They are the two who have been working with me..."

"Ah! The two legendary figures!"

"Is this gentleman the King of Shoveling, Master Mao Zedong?"

"..."

Cain made up his mind. He had to create a distraction and get the hell out of here as fast as possible!

"Everyone, stay alert."

"Don't worry. We've cleared dungeons like this plenty of times."

The guild members replied with brimming confidence.

"When clearing a dungeon like this, caution is key. In a place crawling with enemies, the safest method is to slowly clear them out zone by zone and secure our ground."

"Hmm. I see."

Tae-hyun stealthily slid a bomb under a massive boulder and lit the fuse. Then, acting completely oblivious, he walked forward.

Kaboom!

"?!?!"

"The boulder exploded?!"

"As expected of Sadiq's dungeon, even the rocks explode! Everyone, watch out!"

Tae-hyun shouted shamelessly. The sound of the explosion echoed perfectly, reaching the ears of the nearby demonic beasts.

-Kweeeek?

-Kweeeeeek!

With a thundering rumble, a horde of demonic beasts began to swarm toward them. The plan to quietly pick them off one by one was ruined from the very start.

Alcott stared at Tae-hyun in utter horror. Tae-hyun was the only person capable of pulling a stunt like this in this situation.

-Hey! You said you were going to help me!

-At this point, us leaving is the best way to help you. We'll fight for a bit, pretend to log out, and disappear, so good luck on your own.

-!

It was true that Alcott was better off without Tae-hyun around. He had been on pins and needles, constantly worrying about when they would be exposed.

*But still! This is too much! Couldn't they have just made up a decent excuse and slipped away?!*

"You two! Come this way!"

"We'll buy you some time! Everyone, fall back!"

Tae-hyun, alongside Cain, charged heroically into the middle of the demonic beasts. To anyone watching, it was a spectacularly reckless charge.

"Master Deng Xiaoping!!"

"We won't forget this! If you ever want to join our guild...!"

Tae-hyun ignored the shouting from behind and sliced his way through the demonic beasts. Beside him, Cain screamed as he took a few hits.

"Hey, hey! If we don't break through fast, I'm actually going to die! Are they still watching?"

"One, two, three... Okay, they're out of sight. Let's bolt!"

Once the others were far enough away, the two began shoving and beating back the demonic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠beasts as they made their escape.

"Wait. The entrance is that way, how are we getting out?"

"I'll find an exit using my Divine Foresight skill. This way. Follow me."

"Phew, thank goodness... Wait, it's blocked?"

"Here."

Tae-hyun handed him a pickaxe.

"You dig."

"..."

Cain grumbled incessantly as he gripped the pickaxe and swung it.

"Seriously, dude. How am I supposed to dig through all of this by myself? Wouldn't it be better to just find another exit—"

Crumble!

"..."

"You're a natural. A natural, I tell you. Come on, let's change our clothes and head out."

The two quickly changed into their bandit outfits. Since Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping were now "dead," they could no longer show those faces.

Scuttle!

But as they scrambled up and out of the exit, a sight they never could have imagined unfolded before their eyes.

"..."

"..."

An awkward silence fell over the area. Standing right in front of them was a subjugation force from the Guild Alliance, numbering in the dozens.

"Wait... aren't those those bandit bastards?"

"Yeah, looks like them."

*Damn it. Alcott's discovery must have looked so promising that everyone rushed over as backup!*

Tae-hyun realized what was happening. They might have come to help Alcott deal with Sadiq's avatar, but it was far more likely they had swarmed here to get a piece of the pie now that Alcott had actually located it.

And this wasn't just one or two parties from the Guild Alliance.

"Bandits appeared?!"

"What? Where! Do they look like Neure and Neupe?!"

They popped up left and right!

Parties that had been hunting demonic beasts along the border, explorers searching for Sadiq—essentially, every player currently active in Sadiq-related content seemed to have swarmed to this single location.

-I think we're screwed...

Cain whispered to Tae-hyun. Breaking through this crowd wouldn't be a problem in terms of raw power, but doing so would surely expose their identities. The sheer number of players was too high for them to fight while keeping most of their signature skills sealed.

-What should we do?

-Hmm. Should we head back into the dungeon?

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Rustle—

While ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they were debating, the player parties began to form a wide circle, surrounding them.

"Look at them, they're frozen stiff!"

"Can you blame them? When have they ever seen this many players? It's a miracle they haven't pissed themselves."

"Hey! Surrender! How much did you steal? Hand it all over and we might let you live!"

"Grrrrrr!"

"Of course, even if you surrender, we won't actually forgive—wait. What was that growling?"

-Grrrrrr!

"Aaargh! Demonic beasts! Holy crap! When did they get here?!"

A demonic beast had suddenly appeared. And it wasn't just any beast—it was an Elite Advanced Demonic Beast.

"What are you getting scared for?! Everyone here is a demonic beast hunter!"

"Exactly! Get into formation!"

However, the notification window announcing the beast's arrival was only the beginning.

"..."

"..."

"W-What in the..."

Just as all the players in the vicinity had gathered, it seemed every demonic beast in the area had gathered as well.

Now that intruders had breached the sanctuary, the Avatar of Sadiq had clearly summoned every nearby demonic beast to defend it.

*Phew. Thanks to this, things just got a whole lot easier.*

Tae-hyun and Cain let out sighs of relief. With the demonic beasts running wild on their own, the two of them just needed to find the right moment to slip away.

*Is it about time to make a run for it? If we grab as much loot as we can carry from the temporary storage... with this many demonic beasts around, they won't be able to pursue us.*

-Roar!

A demonic beast charged and rolled over, sending players screaming and tumbling through the air.

"Now's our chance, let's go!"

"Got it!"

Tae-hyun dashed forward first, with Cain hot on his heels. Demonic beasts were emerging from the front, back, and sides, and a fierce battle was erupting everywhere.

Boom! Crash!

All kinds of skills flew through the air as the demonic beasts spewed torrents of flame.

"Where do you think you bastards are going?!"

"!"

One of the players lunged toward Cain. Demonic beasts were a threat, but the bounty on the two bandits' heads was too lucrative to ignore.

Cain's mind raced.

*I can probably afford to take a hit from that guy...*

-Grrrrrr!

In that split second, a Flame Hound leaped in and blocked the attack.

"Ugh!"

The player shrieked and recoiled. Even though he had initiated the attack, he was the one who had taken damage.

Cain tensed up as well. Unlike players, getting bitten by a demonic beast even once could be lethal. Especially with the added fire damage!

-Grrr!

"?"

-Whimper, whine, yip!

"...?????"

The Flame Hound stared at Cain, but instead of attacking, it rolled onto its back and began squirming playfully.

"What... is this... some kind of trap?"

"..."

Cain's brain short-circuited at the completely unexpected turn of events. But first, what should he do right now?

"...B-Bite him!"

-Roar!

The Flame Hound charged forward and sank its fangs into the player Cain had pointed at. The player screamed as he was forcefully logged out.

-Cain, what the hell was that?! How did you do that?

Tae-hyun asked, utterly dumbfounded. What he had just witnessed was unbelievable. Did Cain possess some sort of monster taming skill?

-The system message says... it's because I fed it?

-...

Tae-hyun was genuinely shocked. You really lived long enough to see the most bizarre things!

-Kweeeek!

-Grrrr!

Whenever other demonic beasts tried to pounce on Cain, the Flame Hound barked fiercely in their faces. Yielding to its warnings, the other beasts ignored Cain and targeted other players instead.

And the Flame Hound wasn't the only creature Cain had fed. A massive Flame Serpent also recognized Cain and began to hiss and wriggle affectionately.

"That guy! He's commanding Sadiq's demonic beasts!"

"No way! He's just a bandit!"

"Did he join Sadiq's church?! I thought it was ruined!"

The surrounding players gasped in horror as they watched Cain command the demonic beasts. They had assumed he was just an ordinary bandit, but now he was controlling demonic beasts! Who on earth was this guy?!

"Perfect timing, Cain! Clear a path!"

"Alright, boys! Let's go!"

Cain hopped onto the back of the puppy—no, the Flame Hound. He didn't know how this was happening, but one thing was for sure. This was incredibly fun!

*Just think of it like the dog I used to raise in the countryside when I was a kid!*

With that thought, Cain scratched the Flame Hound under its chin.

...

With the other demonic beasts running amok and Cain leading a vanguard of his own, no player could stand in their way. The two of them casually broke through the encirclement and made their escape.

"This worked out great. With these guys, we can carry all the items we gathered."

Thanks to their unexpected mounts, their job had become several times easier. Since they couldn't use Yong-yong or Heuk-heuk for this operation, these demonic beasts were perfect for hauling all the loot they had secured.

"Maybe I should name him... Baekgu."

"I don't think that's a good idea."

Though, coming from Tae-hyun—the mastermind behind names like Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk—that criticism carried very little weight.

"Hey, I can keep raising them, right?"

"Uh... about that..."

Tae-hyun looked hesitant.

"Why?!"

"Because if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠we keep them around, everyone will immediately realize who the bandits were."

"...!!"

"Sorry, but once we finish moving all the cargo, we have to leave them behind."

"N-No...! Baekgu...!"

Cain threw his arms around the Flame Hound. Then, he shrieked and pushed it away.

"Ah, hot!"