A Brotherhood of Iron and a Blasphemous Statue

However, the reaction of the players watching was absolutely explosive.

"Whoaaaa!"

"Cain! Cain! Cain! Cain!"

With countless demons pouring down and a Demon Duke on the offensive, Cain—transformed into a colossal giant—was utterly dominant. The atmosphere made it feel as though they had already won!

"Uh, wait?"

Cain was flustered by the roaring cheers. They actually like this hideous look?

"Cain! Cain! Cain!"

Swept up in the excitement, Cain began to wave his hands.

"Cain! Cain! Cain!"

Cain even stomped his feet to the rhythm of the chants.

"What on earth are you doing?"

"S-Sorry..."

"Well, at least Cain seems to be in working order, so our preparations are complete."

"Working order?! You call this working order?!"

"Everyone, advance!"

Tae-hyun ignored him and began pulling out his pre-prepared assets one by one.

Ruuuumble—

"Ready to fire!"

These were the siege engines he had secretly deployed in the buildings surrounding the central plaza!

Since he didn't have to worry about carrying them around, Tae-hyun had crafted them to be outrageously massive, and their sheer presence was awe-inspiring. To make matters worse for their enemies, even the giant spears loaded into them had been ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pre-blessed! He had literally emptied his pockets and spared no expense to prepare for this demonic threat.

And that wasn't all.

"Orders are in! Prep the bombs again!"

"Understood, sir!"

Gabriel and his mechanical engineering blacksmiths were stationed underground. Specifically, right beneath the central plaza!

The Guild Alliance wasn't the only one who had learned a lesson after dealing with Sadiq's demonic beasts back in the Auston Kingdom. Tae-hyun had also realized, Come to think of it, I pulled off some pretty lucrative stunts using this exact method back in Pan-On 1.

An ambush not just from the ground and the sky, but from the subterranean depths as well!

Loaded down with heavy packs of explosives, the mechanical engineering blacksmiths had crawled through the underground tunnels until they were directly beneath the central plaza.

"Heh... hehehe..."

"Hey, calm down. The best part hasn't even started yet."

The blacksmiths were already trembling with manic excitement. Gabriel nodded in deep satisfaction. In all of Pan-On, few groups shared a bond as unyielding as their brotherhood of iron.

However, there was one dissenter among them.

No! Mechanical engineering isn't just about making things blow up!

His name was Daniel.

Initially, he had been a player utterly captivated by the explosive charm of Gabriel's engineering. Over time, however, a nagging doubt had begun to grow in his mind. Is demolition really the only path for a mechanical engineer?

Ultimately, the answer he arrived at was a resounding "no."

There was so much more to engineering than bombs. Just look at Tae-hyun—he utilized engineering for golems, siege weapons, and a myriad of other applications.

Once this battle is over, I'm going to forge my own path!

He would declare his independence proudly to Gabriel. Daniel steeled his resolve.

"Aren't we going to start the attack?"

An impatient Cain finally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked. Why were they just standing around? Everything seemed ready.

"Ah. I was planning to wait until those guys died first, but they're surprisingly resilient."

"..."

The Guild Alliance's struggle was, quite literally, heroic. Trapped amidst hundreds of demons, they fought on with dogged tenacity. Even Mosrak couldn't help but admire their grit.

—Impressive. For mere humans!

"Kawahara is actually a much better ranker than I thought..."

Even Cain was impressed. Since Kawahara had arrived alongside Mike, Cain had assumed he was just another half-wit.

"Ugh... Kim Tae-hyun! Kim Tae-hyun!!! KIM TAE-HYUN!!!!!"

With his dying breath, Kawahara glared at Tae-hyun and screamed his name. At that exact moment...

Bang!

"?"

"?"

A gunshot echoed from the side. It had come from the musket held by Lee Da-bi.

"Wh-Why did this thing just fire on its own?"

She had merely been aiming, waiting for the battle to wrap up, when the weapon suddenly discharged.

It was an exquisitely timed, accidental last-hit!

With Kawahara's demise, the Guild Alliance members lost their buffs and began to collapse. Tae-hyun knew that this was the perfect moment.

Tae-hyun pulled out the Blasphemous Statue of Mosrak.

"Take a look at this, Mosrak!"

—...!!!

—My... my statue?! How dare you?! Where did you get that?!

"Dervene gave it to me!"

—Don't talk nonsense! Dervene! Dervene!

Mosrak shrieked in fury, calling out for Dervene, only to realize a moment too late that his subordinate was already dead.

—I will tear you limb from limb!

At that very instant, another massive explosion erupted directly beneath Mosrak and his demon army. The demons had never expected a secondary detonation to occur beneath a plaza that had already been completely blown to smithereens!

Kaaaa-booooom!

—Aaargh! Screeech!

—Holy power...?! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠What in the world is this?!

When bombs packed with divine blessings detonated directly beneath them, not even superior demons could withstand the blast. The devastating explosion swept the demons away like dust.

Enraged, Mosrak unleashed his skills.

—Come to me! Rally to me!

—Demon Duke's Shout! Source of Conspiracy!

But Tae-hyun's onslaught was only just beginning. Using the underground explosion as their signal, the players operating the siege engines began firing relentlessly.

Whoosh— Thud!

"Direct hit!"

"Contribution points! Look at those points roll in!"

—Wipe those pests out immediately!

"All players, scatter and protect the siege engines!"

Tae-hyun's decision to distribute the governing rights of Mora City was paying off handsomely. Even players completely unaffiliated with Tae-hyun had rallied their guilds to help the moment they heard demons had invaded.

"Like we'd let you!"

"You wicked Guild Alliance bastards! How dare you unleash demons in my city?!"

Quickly assessing the situation, they moved to secure the siege engines first.

"No! My retirement fund! Do you know what I had to do to claim a stake in this city, you bastards?! Do you have any idea how much this building costs?!"

"Is the Guild Master crying?"

"Yeah, he's definitely crying."

"You Guild Alliance bastards! I'll kill you! I'll tear you all to pieces!"

But Tae-hyun was the one who actually blew up the central plaza...

The members of the Power Warrior Guild kept the thought to themselves. After all, channeling rage into combat power was a net positive.

As a fierce clash of steel and magic raged amidst continuous explosions in the central plaza, Tae-hyun calmly analyzed the battlefield.

Good thing I didn't waste the Orichalcum Arrow yet.

Every time a siege projectile flew toward Mosrak, it was deflected before it could even touch him. He was clearly utilizing some sort of defensive skill. At that moment, a system window flashed before his eyes.

He has the Necklace of Archisus?!

Even Tae-hyun was taken aback. What on earth had happened for a Demon Duke to end up wearing the Necklace of Archisus? And how was a demon even able to equip it? Normally, there should have been strict class and racial restrictions.

No, that's not what's important right now.

"Cain! Attack! I'll back you up!"

Cain nodded and charged forward with all his might.

With his newly enlarged physique, even a simple bull-rush became a devastating offensive tactic.

"Archisus's Blessing! Archisus's Divine Territory! Summon Wind of Fortune!"

Tae-hyun spammed his divine authorities without holding anything back. Mosrak was a summoning-type boss capable of endlessly calling forth reinforcements. They had to press their advantage and finish him off before their own resources ran dry.

"All forces, attack! Charge!"

At Tae-hyun's command, the players stationed around the central plaza charged bravely into the fray. Armed with various buffs and anti-demon gear, and further empowered by Archisus's divine skills, they feared absolutely nothing.

Kaaaa-booooom!

Despite being theoretically outmatched, they were actually pushing the demon army back! Meanwhile, Cain successfully closed the distance and reached Mosrak.

—How dare a filthy half-breed stand before me!

Whoosh—

—Wh-What kind of absurd power is this?!

Mosrak was utterly dumbfounded. Though he had ruled as a Demon Duke for eons, he had never encountered a being wielding such a chaotic, contradictory array of powers.

"Mwahaha! Die, Mosrak! Just die! Die!"

Cain swung his fists in a wild, relentless barrage. In his current colossal form, intricate martial arts were out of the question—brute force was his only option.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Being pummeled by such primitive strikes made Mosrak's face flush crimson with humiliation.

—You insect! I am a Demon Duke! How dare a lowly creature like you—

Bam! Bam! Bam!

The crater where Mosrak stood was rapidly being hammered into a deep abyss. Tae-hyun watched the spectacle, completely bewildered.

Wait... I might not even need the arrow.

His original plan had been to send Cain in as a distraction to draw Mosrak's aggro, clear out the surrounding minions, and then launch a coordinated pincer attack. Once the necklace was dealt with and an opening presented itself, he was going to finish the job with the Orichalcum Arrow... but...

Cain was far stronger than he had anticipated!

Just how strong did that guy get? Did his level scale past 500 or something?

Having forced Cain to chug every single demonic beast essence they had gathered, the resulting synergy had produced a monstrous power that even its creator, Tae-hyun, could not have foreseen.

—Mosrak's Curse of the Dead!

—Burning Lava of the Demon Realm!

—You absolute lunatic! This makes no sense whatsoever!!!

Because Cain had consumed an absurd amount of essences, every single one of Mosrak's attacks was effortlessly neutralized. The Demon Duke staggered back, completely demoralized.

"Hey! Kim Tae-hyun! What are you doing?! Aren't you going to help?!"

"I'm coming!"

Tae-hyun snapped out of his daze. He had actually spaced out like an amateur. Such was the sheer, overwhelming majesty of Cain's performance that even the veteran Tae-hyun had been momentarily transfixed.

Unleashing all his accumulated critical stacks in a single, devastating strike, Tae-hyun swung his Dae-man-bul-gang-geom!

—Th-This... cannot be...

For the first time, panic began to seep into Mosrak's mind. He had expected to easily slaughter Kim Tae-hyun and reduce the city to ashes, but the defenses were impenetrably solid. Worse, that grotesque chimera of a giant was an absolute nightmare. None of his attacks seemed to leave a scratch.

—My... my subordinates! Obey my command!

Mosrak desperately barked out an order, targeting the soldiers of the royal capital who were stationed in the distance.

Tae-hyun's face hardened. Although he had positioned them in the rear just in case, if they fell for Mosrak's command, it could trigger a chaotic rebellion from behind.

"Hmm..."

"Well, about that..."

"?!?!?"

"...This is exactly why I love demons!"

Tae-hyun grinned and prepared his Speech skill. His targets weren't just the demons in the rear, but also the ones currently being pummeled right in front of him.