An Offer You Can't Refuse
"I-I've already had more than enough fun, so I'm perfectly satisfied."
This was the absolute truth. He had had quite enough "fun"! Just let him log out!
Rather than looking forward to whatever "fun" Tae-hyun was promising, he was starting to feel genuinely terrified. At this rate, would they ever be allowed to leave?
But one of them, who clearly hadn't learned his lesson yet, asked in an intrigued voice,
"What is it?"
"Hey!"
"Why would you ask that?!"
"N-No, I'm just curious! It's not like an opportunity like this comes around every day."
The one who still hadn't come to his senses! The other two glared at him fiercely.
"This time, I am offering you the incredible opportunity to fight a Ranker."
"A Ran..."
"...ker??"
The three of them exchanged bewildered glances. Were they even remotely at a level to fight a Ranker?
"That's impossible, isn't it? How could we..."
"Rankers are nothing special. You beat them up, and then you log out. Besides, if you manage to take down a Ranker, wouldn't you be able to brag about it for weeks?"
In that instant, a vision of the future flashed before the trio's eyes.
—So anyway, I landed this perfect hit, right? And the Ranker just collapsed. I'm telling you, Rankers are nothing special.
—Wow! You're amazing, Boss!
—Ahem. Well, I suppose I am a bit impressive.
A legendary tale to brag about to friends, family, and subordinates alike! When would they ever get another chance like this?
"I'll do it!"
"I want to do it!"
Completely forgetting how they had just been held hostage by Tae-hyun, unable to log out, the three players burned with newfound enthusiasm! Tae-hyun nodded in deep satisfaction.
What a bunch of Cains!
Crash!
Dodging the incoming siege weapons and blocking the arrows with their skills, McPhil and the high-level players immediately closed in on the fortress walls.
With a resounding boom, they smashed through the half-finished walls and leaped over.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
"Bwahahaha! Not on my watch!" McPhil laughed boisterously, deflecting the attacks.
Every time he did this, he felt glad he had chosen the Barbarian Warrior class. The sheer raw power allowed him to completely ignore minor ranged attacks and push forward relentlessly!
"...!"
In that instant, arrows came flying, aiming precisely for the gaps between his eyes and his armor. They were several times faster and sharper than anything he had faced so far.
—Shout Shield!
McPhil roared, unleashing a skill to block the arrows. He instinctively knew that taking those hits directly would be dangerous.
The arrows had been shot by Yu Ji-soo and the Tyrum Hunters! Ji-soo clicked her tongue. It was supposed to be her moment to shine, but McPhil had blocked it.
"How dare you shoot at me! I'll kill you!"
"That's my line! Just stand there and take it!"
"Yeah, what she said!"
The Tyrum Hunters chimed in, backing Ji-soo up. They were absolute masters at provoking others with primitive insults!
"What a savage brute! I can smell the stench of raw hide from all the way over here!"
"It seems there isn't a decent bathhouse where you come from!"
"I bet your village is surrounded by nothing but rabbits!"
...?
Ji-soo tilted her head in confusion. The insults the Tyrum Hunters were hurling sounded strangely familiar.
But they were highly effective against McPhil.
"You damn archers!"
At that moment, Cain appeared and lunged at McPhil.
Clang! Clang!
After exchanging a few blows with Cain, McPhil realized something. His opponent was by no means a weak, low-level player.
"Who are you?! There's no way a player of your caliber is a nobody."
"..."
"I asked who you are!"
"Ah, shut up!"
Cain swung his weapon in irritation. The situation was already difficult enough, but Tae-hyun had given him an incredibly annoying order.
—Keep your identity hidden if possible.
Ugh, easy for him to say. It basically meant he had to hold his ground using only generic, ordinary skills.
Clang, clang, clang—
The clash between tank-type classes was heavy and solid rather than flashy. Yet, it wasn't boring to watch. For some, this kind of battle was actually far more thrilling!
McPhil, getting into the spirit of the fight, swung his weapon repeatedly. "Let's see how long you can last!"
But the duel McPhil wanted did not happen. Tae-hyun had started sending in his recruits one by one.
"McPhil! Face me!"
"What the... where did this nobody come from...?"
McPhil was dumbfounded. The guy didn't even look like a Ranker, so what gave him the confidence to charge in like this?
Meanwhile, Cain stealthily backed away. McPhil didn't even notice.
"I'll split you in half with one blow!"
BOOOOOOM!
"Gaaah!"
McPhil shrieked. A massive explosion had suddenly erupted, centered right on his opponent. At first, McPhil thought he had been hit by magic. Where is the mage?!
"McPhil, I'm next!"
"?!"
Having been caught off guard once, his mind was in a whirl. McPhil instinctively tried to block. But it was completely pointless. What was the use of blocking when the opponent simply ran up and detonated themselves right in front of him!
Boom! Bam! Crash!
"Aaargh...!"
"McPhil is mine!"
The third one charged!
Did we get him? No, wait, the bastard is still alive?
Tae-hyun was genuinely impressed. To survive three direct bomb blasts—even for a Ranker, that was incredible.
He must have some special skill.
Just as Tae-hyun had his resurrection skills, it was only natural that others had their own survival tricks.
Looking closely, McPhil was barely standing, his body completely battered and tattered. The fact that he couldn't even move suggested he was suffering from a severe skill penalty.
"H-Help me!"
At McPhil's desperate scream, his guildmates rushed over in a panic. If not for his passive survival skill, he would have died instantly. Thanks to that skill, he had barely managed to cling to life.
Tae-hyun cleared his throat. It was time to showcase the magnificent synergy of his Highest-grade Eloquence and Highest-grade Tactical Skill.
"Testing, one, two, three! Look over there, McPhil is running away! Get him! Taking him down will hit the jackpot!"
His voice cut clearly through the vast, sprawling battlefield, reaching everyone's ears! On top of that, his Highest-grade Tactical Skill applied a massive buff to all defending players.
Movement speed has been significantly increased!
Realizing what was happening, the players who had been hiding in the back quickly surged forward.
"Get him!!"
"Catch that guy!"
McPhil barely managed to escape outside the fortress, thanks to his guildmates desperately putting up a defense to cover his retreat.
"Elder McPhil! How did this happen?!"
"Shut up... It's going to take some time for the skill penalty to wear off. Just hold the line."
"The enemy Elves are coming out!"
"...!"
As McPhil's offensive crumbled, Elf knights mounted on white steeds emerged from within the fortress.
Just as McPhil and the other players were taken aback, Tae-hyun was equally flabbergasted.
"Wait, Your Grace?!"
"What is it?"
"Why did you come out? The enemies were already collapsing on their own during their assault..."
"Did they not just attack and flee? That means it is finally time to hunt Orcs! Come! Let us go smash some Orc skulls!"
"..."
A madman was a madman precisely because they occasionally defied even Tae-hyun's calculations.
Tae-hyun was torn. If Gellendel charged up the mountain to attack the Orcs now, McPhil and his guildmates would strike them from behind...
Can they hold out?
But Tae-hyun didn't even need to worry. The moment the Elf knights appeared, the Guild Alliance launched a counter-charge.
"?!"
"If those knights build up momentum for a charge, their buffs will wipe us out! Close the distance and stop their charge!"
The Guild Alliance Expedition was desperate to drag them into a chaotic melee! Their plan was to avoid the siege weapons and block the knights' charge. By fighting right up against the fortress walls, they could avoid those threats.
Of course, from Gellendel's perspective, this was utterly absurd.
"You absolute insects! Out of my way! I must go harvest Orc skulls!"
"Orc skulls? Wait. Which of our guild members is an Orc?"
"Wian is an Orc."
"He wants to chase him down and take his skull even though he already fled? Why on earth does that Elf Duke hold such a massive grudge against us?!"
The Guild Alliance was doing an excellent job of misunderstanding the situation all on their own!
Gellendel swung his weapon wildly, blowing away any guild members in his path. Given his incredibly high level, the players could do nothing but retreat in sheer panic.
The players were actually the lucky ones. The Kingdom soldiers they had brought along were in a far worse state.
The morale of the Kingdom's soldiers is plummeting!
The 4th Centuria of the Kingdom's forces has broken and is fleeing the battlefield!
The longer the chaotic melee dragged on, the more their morale plummeted! Unlike players, once an NPC's morale dropped below a certain threshold, they would begin to desert.
And from high above, Kim Tae-san was watching the entire spectacle with immense amusement.
These were the very men who had gone around committing highway robbery across the Auston Kingdom using the methods Tae-hyun had taught them!
"Now is the time! Strike them from behind!"
"Waaaaaaah!"
Roaring at the top of their lungs, the Orcs began to charge down the mountain.
Leading the vanguard were Orc warriors mounted on wolves, followed closely by several Orcs riding Sadiq's demonic beasts.
The guild members didn't even have the mental capacity to ask, Why the hell are you guys riding those things? Because an even more shocking sight emerged from behind them.
Giants began hurling boulders the size of houses.
"Out of my way! Move, I said!"
Gellendel rampaged with bloodshot eyes. Of course, it wasn't as if the Guild Alliance could just step aside. With Orcs running wild right behind them, where on earth were they supposed to go!
After thoroughly thrashing the enemy's rear, the Orcs quickly began to withdraw when the time was right.
Having finally cleared a path through the guild members, Gellendel roared in fury.
"You cowardly Orcs! Turn back and face my blade!"
"He wants to fight. Should we take him on?"
"Let's hold back. He asked us not to fight just yet."
"Boss, you always say that, but you always listen to whatever Tae-hyun says..."
"Do you want to die?"
"It's nothing, boss."
With the Guild Alliance retreating, the Elf faction players managed to complete the first phase of the fortress.
Once, numerous clans in the Auston Kingdom had each claimed a fortress or village, engaging in fierce territory wars. In the end, the Guild Alliance had emerged as the ultimate victor through sheer overwhelming numbers...
But now, a brand-new competitor had risen.
"Do you think we can keep fighting them?"
"I think it might be possible if Gellendel provides support..."
"Well, if we get stuck, we can just head back, right?"
The circumstances this time were completely different from the past. The Elf faction players didn't belong to a single guild; most of them had only joined because of the quests Gellendel offered.
They had no reason to risk their lives defending this territory. If the quest rewards became too small or the tasks too difficult, they could simply pack up and leave!
Furthermore, Gellendel was eager to march straight into Uruk rather than dealing with the Guild Alliance.
He had to coordinate these players and somehow keep them fighting against the Guild Alliance! Tae-hyun desperately racked his brain to devise a plan.
Carbanog mutters that you are clearly not the Apostle of Luck, but rather the Apostle of Conspiracies and Schemes...
Ignoring Carbanog, Tae-hyun decided to first get the players moving.
"Everyone, how would you like to go do a bit of banditry nearby?"
"Huh?"
"Instead of just staying here, let's go out, play the role of bandits, and snag some sweet loot."
"Uh... wouldn't that raise our Infamy?"
This was the reaction of normal, sane players! Naturally, most players avoided raising their Infamy stat, as high Infamy made gameplay highly inconvenient in many ways.
"Oh, a little bit is perfectly fine. Raising it by that much won't cause any issues at all, I promise."
"But a bounty might be placed on us..."
"It's just an Auston Kingdom bounty anyway. It's not like you'll ever need to come back here, right?"
"..."
The voice of a devil, persisting until they were convinced! One by one, the players began to find the idea rather tempting.
"From what I've heard, the nearby village doesn't even have walls, so it's incredibly easy to slip inside. You can just go in, grab the loot, and come right back."
"And over here, I hear the Guild Alliance's supply carriages pass through. If two or three parties team up, you can easily plunder the whole caravan."
"By the way, who are you to know all this so well... Wait, he's gone?!"
Tae-hyun, vanishing the moment he finished speaking! He went around visiting high-level parties like that, sowing the seeds of banditry.
Go be a bandit! It's incredibly fun!
Tae-hyun was now dragging innocent, ordinary players into the life of banditry, expanding his teachings far beyond Kim Tae-san and the Orc Uncles.