Borrowing a Path

"No, really, I'm serious."

"You rascal. Even my company's marketing team wouldn't dare make a claim like that. There's a limit to false advertising!"

Despite his grumbling, Chairman Yoo's heart was already half-convinced. A specially crafted fishing rod! He couldn't help but wonder just how effective it would be.

"So, what are you actually borrowing them for?"

"Ah. I need to transport some Elves and players."

"Hmm... That doesn't sound too difficult."

Since the players of the underwater kingdom were basically all fishermen, they had thousands of boats of all sizes when combined.

"Fine. I'll issue a quest to help you out!"

"Thank you!"

"But where exactly are these ships sailing from and to?"

"Huh? Why another new quest? Aren't we supposed to fight more here?"

"We went through all the trouble of building a fortress, so why...?"

The Elven players were utterly confused. They had assumed they would use this fortress as a base to expand their territory, but now they were suddenly being told to move elsewhere?

"There must be a reason. He's an Elven Duke, after all..."

"I suppose so."

Tae-hyun was the anomaly for meeting nobles and royalty as if they were next-door neighbors; normally, noble NPCs were mysterious and rarely seen. Gellendel was no exception! If the players had known what kind of Elf Gellendel actually was, half of them wouldn't have joined.

Whoosh—

"A-are those all ships?"

A massive fleet of ships was filling the horizon, heading not just toward the Espa Kingdom but also toward the ports of the Dungland Kingdom.

"Recruiting party members for the quest! Let's go on an adventure together!"

"This is a quest personally sponsored by the Elven Duke Gellendel himself! You'll get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rewards and earn contribution points! Isn't that exciting?!"

The players who had already accepted the quest began gathering more people to form parties. In addition to the expeditionary force heading to the Espa Kingdom, an even greater number of players began to swarm in.

Gellendel nodded, a deeply moved expression on his face.

"I shall... yield the first Orc skull to you."

"..."

"Was that too generous? But I felt this was the least I could do for you..."

"Ah, yes. Thank you."

Having wrapped up his business, Tae-hyun had boarded Gellendel's flagship along with his companions. Parting with the Orc tribes had been a grueling ordeal.

"Look. The Elves are fleeing in terror of our brilliant schemes. Whew, looks like my job here is pretty much done. I shall take my leave now."

"Chweeeek! Do not leave, adventurer! There is no talent quite like you!"

"Chwek! Become my right hand!"

Offers had poured in from all kinds of Orcs, including the Wild Iron Tribe. Tae-hyun had barely managed to shake them off and escape.

"Chwek! We shall never forget you, human adventurer!"

"Chweeeek! If anything happens in the future, we will come find you!"

Tae-hyun felt a chill at that last part, but he did his best to ignore it.

Gorsuk asked with a haggard face, "By the way... are we not going to build our temple?"

"Haha. Let's take care of this business first."

"No... what on earth..."

Gorsuk was feeling incredibly conflicted. It was weird enough that Tae-hyun, an outsider, had practically become a chieftain among his people, but now they were boarding an Elven ship.

"Oh, right. Wear this."

"?!"

Tae-hyun threw a robe over Gorsuk to cover him up. It wouldn't do for Gellendel to spot him.

"Why must I wear this?"

"If you walk around without it, the Elves will kill you."

"B-but... I left my tribe..."

"Do you think the Elves care about that?"

"...Probably not."

Gorsuk gave up and pulled the robe tightly over himself. Tae-hyun looked out at the sea with a satisfied smile. A massive fleet was following the flagship. All of this military force was heading straight for the Guild Alliance's territory!

Just thinking about it makes me feel so accomplished...

Among the trailing vessels, a few were exceptionally large and luxurious, flying player guild flags. They were undoubtedly major guilds from the Dungland Kingdom.

I hope they fight well.

"Where is this ship heading?"

"Who knows. There are rumors it's Frozeland."

The players of the Dungland Kingdom were mostly from the European server. While Chinese players gathered in the Auston Kingdom and Korean players flocked to the Atali Kingdom thanks to Tae-hyun...

The Erangs Kingdom and the Espa Kingdom were relatively balanced. The Salz Kingdom was also balanced, though its player population was incredibly small.

Perhaps because of this, the Dungland Kingdom players generally didn't care about continental territory wars.

"Fight among yourselves over lordships all you want! We'll just do our own thing!"

While being a lord granted immense authority, it wasn't strictly necessary to succeed in Pan-On. Simply leveling up, growing skills, and obtaining great gear was more than enough. In fact, there were plenty of high-ranking players who weren't lords.

If they had been playing in the Auston Kingdom, they would have been affected by the Guild Alliance's policies, but in Dungland, they didn't have to care about any of that.

Thus, the guilds and rankers of Dungland had spent their time focusing solely on leveling up and completing quests.

"Frozeland? I went there once, and the mechanics were way too annoying."

"It's literally nothing but snow and ice."

It was the very place Galakpad had visited to find the Authority of Archisus—a freezing land located far north of the Dungland Kingdom.

"Uh... isn't that a port of the Salz Kingdom?"

"Are we going to the Salz Kingdom? There's nowhere to even disembark, and a place like Salz is a bit... Oh, we're passing it."

"...Isn't that the Auston Kingdom over there?"

Seeing a port in the distance, the players tilted their heads in confusion. It was only then that Gellendel issued his command.

"Expedition! We shall conquer that port and turn it into our fortress for this campaign!"

"Uh... is it okay to touch that?"

"Isn't that a city belonging to the Guild Alliance?"

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

Players who knew the situation in the Auston Kingdom were flustered. They didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble with the Guild Alliance.

Tae-hyun stepped in quickly.

"Whoa! Awesome! An expedition to the Auston Kingdom! We can finally knock those Guild Alliance bastards down a peg!"

Cain, who was on another ship, caught on and bellowed at the top of his lungs.

"Those Guild Alliance jerks are always bragging about being the best, so let's see if they actually are! I was sick of them boasting that they'd conquer Dungland next once they finished taking over Auston!"

Other players who had received pre-orders from Tae-hyun began chiming in, subtly bruising the players' pride.

Now, backing out would make it look like they were scared of the Guild Alliance. While casual players might not care, the large guilds and rankers couldn't afford to look cowardly.

"Mr. Jennings! Why aren't you charging?! Let's charge together!"

They dragged the rankers in, employing a classic "drag everyone down with me" strategy. Meanwhile, Gellendel commanded once more.

"Bring the ships alongside!"

An unexpected Elven raid on a port city.

Yuan, the lord of the port city Bectel, was horrified by this sudden surprise attack.

Has the Elven Duke lost his mind?!

He had seen posts on the forums about the Elven Duke leading a grand fleet on an expedition and thought, Oh, a major quest, but he never expected that grand fleet to come here.

"Request reinforcements and call the players to defend..."

"T-the numbers... there's too big of a difference..."

The sea of ships was overwhelming. Most of Auston's forces were currently deployed toward the Uruk region, Erangs Kingdom, or Atali Kingdom. No one stationed heavy troops in a safe port city like this.

"Send a protest to the Elven ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Duke! Ask him what on earth he thinks he's doing!"

Yuan sent an NPC envoy. The opponent was an Elven Duke, not a rampaging horde of Orcs. Surely they could resolve a misunderstanding through dialogue or negotiation!

But the reply was simple.

"We have come to borrow a path to strike down the Orcs. Step aside quietly, and no one will get hurt."

"...That's it?"

"Y-yes, that's all."

"Have these knife-eared bastards completely lost their minds?!"

Who attacks a city just to "borrow a path"?!

"If you do not withdraw immediately, this means war in the name of the Auston Kingdom!"

"We do not accept protests from rebels who do not represent the legitimate Auston royal family. You are not the Auston Kingdom."

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

"What did you just say, you sons of b—?!"

The more they talked, the more absurd the Elves sounded.

Was the Elven Duke always this unhinged?

If words didn't work, they had to fight... but Yuan had no intention of doing so.

"Let's get out of here!"

Fighting now would only result in a death penalty. They had to flee.

Rumble—

The players in Bectel began fleeing before the ships even docked. Thanks to that, Gellendel easily captured the city.

"It was just as easy as you said."

"Kehehe. Isn't it all thanks to your greatness, Duke?"

Tae-hyun flattered the Duke with a wicked grin.

"Shall we head out immediately to smash some Orc skulls, then?"

"W-wait a moment. The defenses around here are far too weak. Shouldn't we fortify this place first? The Orcs will be swarming here in droves very soon."

"Hmm. Is that so? I really want to go smash Orc skulls right now, though."

Gellendel looked like he could barely contain his impatience. Tae-hyun said firmly,

"Trust me. The Orcs will come running immediately. They are incredibly vicious creatures."

"Very well. I shall trust your word this once."

Tae-hyun's goal was to keep Gellendel and the Elven expedition tied down here for a very, very long time.

There's no way the Guild Alliance will just sit back and watch. They'll come to fight, one way or another.

Of course, the Elves wouldn't push further inland. They only came here using the Orcs of the Uruk region as bait. But the Guild Alliance didn't know that. They'd worry about the Elves advancing further, and above all, losing a city without a fight would severely damage their reputation.

To keep Gellendel anchored here, Tae-hyun needed to show him that a massive horde of Orcs was indeed attacking.

I'll have to lure the Orcs over.

"Well, well! Look who it is! If it isn't my dear son, who pulled an eat-and-run on Karag while we were working our butts off in the Auston Kingdom!"

Kim Tae-san greeted Tae-hyun with a voice dripping with resentment.

Tae-hyun replied, dumbfounded,

"Father. You didn't say a single word about this when we had dinner at home last week. Why the sudden outburst?"

"You punk! Your mother was watching us back then!"

Kim Tae-san shouted righteously. Tae-hyun was amazed by his father's survival instincts. How could someone be so shamelessly defensive yet so petty!

"I couldn't help but pull that eat-and-run on Karag."

"What? You couldn't help it?! Since when did 'couldn't help it' become an excuse for that?!"

While Kim Tae-san was throwing a fit, the Orc Ahjussis approached.

"Hey, Tae-hyun. We're trying to make some more abnormal dishes..."

"Tae-hyun. Those magical beasts you left behind last time. What should we feed them to keep them healthy?"

"Tae-hyun. Those undead guys you gave us. We kept beating them up, and they're finally starting to listen. What do we need to do to make them grow?"

The middle-aged players completely ignored Tae-san to get what they wanted from Tae-hyun!

"Will you all just shut up?!"

"The guild leader is mad. Shh, quiet!"