United We Stand, Divided We Brawl

The Guild Alliance was currently the epitome of a thriving household. They had conquered a kingdom, held a coronation ceremony, and even secured their first lord in the Erangs Kingdom! Perhaps that was why the Guild Alliance rankers had gathered like that. Tae-hyun's expression grew serious.

"We can't just leave this place like this. I need to hold them off once before we go."

After all the effort it took to build this city of outlaws, he couldn't just abandon it. The dreams, hopes, and survival of countless outlaw players—bandits, pirates, and the like—hung in the balance here. For their sake, he could not retreat!

"I think you just said something incredibly bizarre." Lee Da-bi remarked.

"Did I?"

"Aigoo, McPhil! To see someone as healthy as you groaning like this... it breaks my heart. So just rest now."

"Lord McPhil! I've always respected you, and it pains me to see you in this state. But don't worry. I am here now. So please, take a break."

"McPhil. I won't speak hypocritically like those guys. Just step aside and rest."

"..."

McPhil, who had been lying down inside the makeshift fortress, bolted upright. The Guild Alliance rankers were walking adrenaline. Just looking at them made his blood pressure spike and filled him with explosive energy!

"You bastards ignored me when I called for backup, and now that you finally show up late, the first thing you say is for me to back off?!"

"No, no, we're not telling you to back off~ We're just saying you should rest. You look exhausted. Oh my, look at those dark circles under your eyes."

"Indeed. You should just rest."

"Do you think I don't know what you're plotting?! I heard everything that happened!"

McPhil roared. To think they were acting like this just to monopolize the jackpot equipment for themselves. They say only the shameless, arrogant, self-righteous, and selfish can become rankers, but these guys were truly trash of a whole new caliber.

"I have absolutely no intention of yielding."

"But aren't you currently groaning from the penalty?"

"The penalty ends tomorrow!"

Thanks to a rare skill, he had managed to save his life, but he was currently ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠suffering under a penalty that drastically reduced all his stats. Seeing him in this state, the rankers glanced at each other and exchanged whispers.

"What kind of look is that, you bastards?!"

"W-what do you mean? How did we look at you?"

"Indeed, Lord McPhil. Please stop framing people like that."

"I hear they've been arguing nonstop inside."

"Hmm. They must be perfectly in sync. I really shouldn't let my guard down."

"You never let your guard down anyway..."

The meeting was so loud it could be heard from the outside. To Tae-hyun, this was proof of their unity. He anticipated a tough battle ahead—a fight against the combined might of united rankers. Tae-hyun had always strived to fight battles he was guaranteed to win. Dividing the enemy, trapping them, drawing them into advantageous terrain... that was how he dominated. But one couldn't always fight on favorable terms. Sometimes, one had to plunge into an unpredictable battle and simply do their best!

Well, I can always save my own skin and run away if things go south... so I might as well give it my all.

If the Guild Alliance rankers had heard his thoughts, they would have been horrified. They had no idea Tae-hyun was even here! Had they known they would have to face him, they would have reconsidered their greed for the equipment several times over.

"How do you plan to face them?"

"First, I'll persuade Gellendel to get the Elven army ready..."

The Elven Knights led by Gellendel were currently one of the greatest military forces in Bektel City. Each of them was a powerful NPC exceeding Level 300! Such high-level NPCs were the pillars that supported each kingdom, keeping players from acting up within their borders. Yet, right now, these Elven Knights were combing through the mountain ranges near Bektel City, following Gellendel.

All because of Gellendel's orders! Thanks to this, the Elven Knights were even handing out daily quests to the players. Of course, the Orcs—who would only appear after crossing treacherous mountain ranges—were never going to show up just because someone searched the nearby hills. The players who participated in the quest tasted nothing but bitter disappointment and eventually gave up.

While players could give up, NPCs could not. Even now, the Elven Knights were climbing the mountains in small groups, searching for Orcs.

"We need to bring them back first. Don't worry about that. Gellendel is easy to persuade."

He was a madman, but as long as you knew the exact nature of his madness, he was easy to handle. If they kept failing to find Orcs, Tae-hyun's lie would eventually be exposed, but at least that wouldn't happen right now. Tae-hyun's affinity and contribution points with him were incredibly high.

"And I also want to gather all the nearby players."

"Won't that be difficult?"

"It sounds almost impossible..."

Lee Da-bi and Yu Ji-soo expressed their reluctance simultaneously. The players in this area... were mostly fully engrossed in banditry! And the culprit behind that was none other than Tae-hyun.

"Well, to be honest, I didn't expect things to turn out like this either. I thought the Guild Alliance would be too busy with other matters to care about a remote port like this, as long as we didn't push any further."

Tae-hyun's prediction was almost entirely correct. It was just that the one who disrupted that prediction was Tae-hyun himself!

"So I thought it would be fine if the players scattered and did their own thing..."

It was incredibly easy for people to fall from grace. The innocent players of the Dungland Kingdom, who barely had any Infamy stats when they first set foot here, had now become red-eyed plunderers driven by pure greed. In the past, they would have gathered instantly at the call of 'Expedition, assemble!' but now, they were highly likely to respond with, 'What? Plundering is way more important than that!'

"Well, I'll just have to appeal to their emotions."

"How?"

"Something like, 'If this place falls, you will no longer be able to enjoy your bandit life,' perhaps?"

"..."

"..."

It was an inspiring speech, yet somehow fundamentally wrong! At that moment, an Elven sentry screamed from outside.

"An attack! We're under attack!!"

"What? Already?"

Tae-hyun stood up in surprise. Even if the Guild Alliance rankers had arrived, he hadn't expected them to launch an assault so quickly. Gathering guild players, distributing necessary items for the attack, and coordinating their movements beforehand should have taken a considerable amount of time. A siege was not something to be rushed. Furthermore, the attacking ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠side required even more preparation. Was the Guild Alliance really that well-prepared?!

No, did these bastards bury gold in Bektel City or something? Why are they being so thorough?

Tae-hyun quickly ran outside and climbed up the watchtower. In the distance, he could see players rushing forward in a massive swarm. However, something was off.

Why are they split into so many different groups? And with such a time lag?

When attacking, forces usually moved in unison, striking all at once in an orderly fashion to overwhelm the defenders. Yet, the enemy was currently divided into small parties. Moreover, they weren't advancing simultaneously, but rather scrambling forward in a chaotic, disorganized race.

It looked as if they were fighting among themselves! Tae-hyun was utterly baffled by this bizarre sight.

What is this? A trap? A new strategy?

Had some new siege tactic been developed while he wasn't looking? For now, Tae-hyun decided to respond by the book, intending to see how the enemy would react.

"Bring the siege weapons forward!"

Though he had been busy with countless other antics, Tae-hyun had steadily built up his arsenal of siege weapons in the meantime. Siege ballistas and catapults were loaded with a heavy, mechanical clatter along the fortress walls. These were siege weapons crafted by Tae-hyun, who possessed the Avatar of Archisus class and an overwhelmingly high Luck stat. On top of that, skilled Elven archers and Tyrum Hunters were personally aiming them. Their accuracy was second to none!

Countless bonuses stacked on top of one another in an absurd display.

"Fire!"

Thwip-thwip-thwip! First, massive ballista spears were unleashed. These were the same spears Tae-hyun's team frequently used in dungeons, but since they didn't have to carry them around, these fortress versions were made much larger and heavier. Their tips were even coated in poison. Swoosh—

"Spears incoming!"

"It's not like this is our first siege! Just run fast! They won't hit us!"

The rankers were brimming with confidence. The parties they led had been working together for a long time. They had plenty of experience in sieges, so they weren't afraid of mere siege weapons. While siege weapons dealt devastating damage, their accuracy was notoriously terrible! They were meant to be fired into dense crowds to hit the slow and unlucky, or to demolish stationary structures. Out here in the open field, as long as they ran fast, such attacks would simply—Boom!

"Aaaargh!"

"?!"

The party leader, a ranker, gasped in shock ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠as the player riding right next to him screamed and was blasted backward.

"Hey, are you okay?!"

Logged out in a single hit! The sheer power of the strike sent a shiver down the ranker's spine, even though he wasn't the one hit.

"Keep moving! He was just unlucky!"

"R-right! It must have been a fluke!"

Swoosh—Squelch! As if mocking his words, a second victim fell. The accuracy was terrifying! It was as if they were being sniped with precision bows rather than siege weapons.

"..."

"..."

"McPhil, you son of a bitch! You never mentioned anything like this!"

The ranker cursed McPhil. McPhil had suggested they attack together under his command once he had fully recovered. Of course, there was no way the other rankers would ever agree to that.

Naturally, McPhil had withheld all information. To make matters worse, Tae-hyun had thoroughly raided the Elven Expedition's warehouse in the meantime, drastically increasing the number of siege weapons at his disposal.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

"Oh! They're turning back! Now is our chance! Charge!"

"Wait, didn't they just get impaled by ballista spears and die?"

"That's just because they're stupid and unlucky! There's no way we'll get hit too! Lightning never strikes the same place twice!"

Even as the first ranker party retreated, the other ranker parties refused to accept reality and kept charging forward! From Tae-hyun's perspective, this was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠total freebie.

"Oh, wait. Aren't those guys Orcs?"

Tae-hyun's eyes gleamed. The second ranker party charging in consisted mostly of Orcs. Gellendel would absolutely love it if they slaughtered these guys!

"Reload! Fire!"

"Aren't they just... incredibly stupid?"

Cain had finally arrived close to the truth. No matter how much he thought about it, that was the only logical explanation for today's attack. However, Tae-hyun remained stubborn.

"No. It could be a trap."

"That's a trap?"

"They're putting on a pathetic show to make us let our guard down, and then they'll infiltrate us in secret."

"...What a brilliant strategy!"

Cain gasped in admiration. It certainly made sense. Otherwise, how could rankers from the prestigious Guild Alliance put on such an ugly display?

"To prepare for any infiltration, I've had the surrounding area lit up as brightly as possible and alerted the Elven scouts and players. Oh, and make sure you don't go anywhere near the siege weapons."

"...?"

"Because I've set up traps around them. They're chained together, so if you're really unlucky, you'll die before you can even do anything."