Persuasion Through Force
"Don't worry," Kim Tae-hyun said. "Hakkaras won't even have time to pick on you."
Just as a farmer treats a cow with utmost care before sending it to the slaughterhouse, Tae-hyun treated Heuk-heuk with exceptional kindness. After all, they were going to have to fight a lot in the future! However, Heuk-heuk seemed to interpret his words in a completely different light.
—I knew it! I knew it! There is absolutely nothing strange about a divine beast serving their master... Even Mr. Hakkaras will understand once he sees this.
"Sure, sure," Tae-hyun replied half-heartedly.
As they flew through the air, Heuk-heuk suddenly grew curious and asked, "But Master, Mr. Hakkaras chased us away in such a rage. How do you plan to persuade him?"
"Hmm."
In the far distance, the massive silhouette of Hakkaras came into view. Sensing Heuk-heuk's energy, Hakkaras immediately turned his head and roared in a furious voice.
—I mercifully gave you a chance! Did you not deliver my warning to your master?!
Hakkaras is enraged!
The world trembles in fear!
You possess the Highest-grade Tactical Skill.
Your party has successfully resisted the fear effect!
• Reputation has increased!
• Fear has increased!
• Magic has increased!
"Excuse me..." Tae-hyun began.
—Silence!
Persuasion has failed!
▲ Speech skill has increased!
Hakkaras wouldn't even let him get a word in! A lively, healthy Black Dragon was indeed just as foul-tempered as expected. He had completely shut down Tae-hyun's Speech skill before it could even take effect.
"Carbanog is impressed. He notes that, like a true Black Dragon, Hakkaras seems to know exactly how to avoid being deceived by the Avatar of Archisus."
It's great that my Speech skill is leveling up, but I probably won't get another chance to persuade him, will I?
This was the same method Tae-hyun had used on Emperor Uipoatl of the Asbian Empire! Tae-hyun's Speech skill was at the highest-grade. While having a high skill level was great, it came with a major drawback: it was now incredibly difficult to level up through ordinary persuasion.
He had to find opponents of a certain caliber just to gain experience, which was a chore in itself. There was a reason other players in Pandemonium Online didn't bother leveling up their Speech skill. It was awkward to use and even more awkward to level up!
In that sense, Uipoatl had been a fantastic target. Because his level was so high and he was so stubborn, simply attempting to persuade him yielded massive amounts of Speech experience.
Hakkaras was a similar, perhaps even better, target... but unfortunately, this was not a situation where talking would work. If Tae-hyun uttered one more word, a Dragon Breath would fly straight at his face.
—Master? Master? How are you actually going to persuade him?! Heuk-heuk asked anxiously, his voice trembling.
Hakkaras was glaring at them with a murderous gaze, yet Tae-hyun was flying straight toward him without a care in the world. It looked as if he was practically begging to be killed.
"Like this."
Tae-hyun immediately drew his sword and activated his skill.
"Summon Esla's Army!"
There were many ways to persuade someone. Some used words, but others preferred to use the edge of a blade. And Tae-hyun's specialty was definitely the latter!
Infamy is rising at an astronomical rate!
Ah, damn it. Tae-hyun grimaced as he looked at the notification window.
He should have planted the seeds before coming here! His Infamy stat was rapidly skyrocketing past 40,000. Thank goodness his Reputation was over 60,000, or else he would have been in serious trouble.
• The gates of the Demon Realm have opened!
• Esla's Army has descended upon the continent!
• Esla's Army is now under your command!
• Summoned: Esla's Superior Demon Warrior...
• Summoned: Esla's Superior Demon Mage...
Your Highest-grade Tactical Skill is insufficient to command all forces!
A command penalty has been applied.
A flood of system messages popped up, essentially screaming, "You summoned a demon!" and warning him that this was a heinous act that would cause every kingdom to condemn him. But Tae-hyun ignored them all. Hakkaras was the bad guy here anyway!
—O human! I have come to fulfill the contract I forged with you!
Rumble! Flash!
The sky darkened instantly, and lightning charged with immense mana began to strike in all directions. The gates of the Demon Realm opened wide, and Esla's army poured out like a flood.
—Es... Es... Esla!!! Hakkaras screamed, his voice filled with shock.
—Hakkaras! It has been a long time!
—How dare a filthy demon like you show his face on this continent!
—Mwahaha! You call me filthy? I may be dirty, but I am nothing compared to you! How dare a coward who hid in a corner and trembled while I fought the gods speak so arrogantly!
—...Silence! The continent is the domain of dragons! This is not the Demon Realm!
—You dare? Hakkaras, I may not be as powerful here as I am in the Demon Realm, but I can easily take down the likes of you. My army! Arise and aid this human!
Even with the command penalty, Tae-hyun was thrilled. The penalty only proved just how powerful these summons actually were!
Hakkaras also seemed to realize the threat Esla's army posed. Instead of attacking immediately, he tried to reason with Esla.
—Esla! A demon joining hands with the Avatar of a God?!
—What is so strange about joining hands with the Avatar of Archisus? Archisus has always been like this—playing both sides, screwing over gods and demons alike!
As an ancient being who had existed since antiquity, Esla wasn't surprised at all.
—Foolish demon! Do you not remember what happened to those who allied with Archisus?!
—That is why I plan to do this once and be done with it.
Wise Esla! He intended to fulfill his end of the bargain and quickly return to the Demon Realm, avoiding Tae-hyun entirely. When dealing with Archisus, the worst option was to get completely scammed, the mediocre option was to get half-scammed, and the best option was to run away and never interact with him at all. As an experienced demon, Esla knew this well.
Seeing that Esla wouldn't budge, Hakkaras turned his attention back to Tae-hyun.
—Avatar of Archisus! Even so, for an Avatar to ally with a demon...
Esla answered in Tae-hyun's stead.
—He is the Avatar of Archisus, after all.
—Th-that is true, but... still...!
BOOM!
—Urgh!
At that exact moment, a massive impact struck Hakkaras. While the dragon was distracted by Esla and his subordinates, Tae-hyun had used his stealth skill to close the distance and land a devastating blow.
It sounded simple, but the difficulty was astronomical. Tae-hyun had barely managed to navigate the incredibly narrow path shown by his skill.
You are straying from the path of Divine Foresight!
"Heuk-heuk! Can't you drive properly? We're straying from the path!"
—I'm doing my best, Master!
Heuk-heuk was desperate too. If they got caught sneaking up, Hakkaras certainly wouldn't let them off easily! Thanks to Heuk-heuk's effort, Tae-hyun was able to land a clean hit—a massive strike stacked with multiple procs of Lucky Strike.
• You have successfully struck the Dragon!
• Reputation has significantly increased!
• Swordsmanship skill has significantly increased!
• Stealth skill has increased!
Ah, I wanted to hit his weak point... Tae-hyun smacked his lips in disappointment despite the success.
Divine Foresight had indicated that the dragon's weak point was under his neck. However, he couldn't reach it. The fact that Divine Foresight didn't even show a path there meant Tae-hyun's current stealth level wasn't high enough to pull it off.
Tae-hyun's stealth was at the Advanced level, comparable to high-level Rogue players, yet he still couldn't reach it. It was a shame, but there was nothing he could do. Tae-hyun aimed for another, more manageable weak point to trigger his skills.
—You... you dare...! Hakkaras's eyes flashed with pure fury.
But Tae-hyun paid no attention and shouted back, "You should have listened when I wanted to talk!"
Tae-hyun hadn't completely ruled out persuasion. If there was an opening, he would have talked. But Hakkaras had rejected him immediately, leaving Tae-hyun with no choice but to "persuade" him physically. This was still a form of persuasion!
—How dare a mere human!
"Esla's Army! I command you! Do your best to launch an all-out attack on Hakkaras!"
• You possess the Highest-grade Tactical Skill. Command bonuses applied!
• Tactics has been activated! The demons' morale surges!
• Command bonuses have been successfully distributed to the army!
The demons pouring from the sky roared fiercely. Tae-hyun had no intention of micromanaging them. He was only human. Fighting Hakkaras while commanding an entire army was impossible. One mistake, and he'd be forced to log out. So his command was simple: beat him up!
Esla's army understood perfectly.
—Aid the hero who freed our master, the Avatar of Archisus!
—An Avatar of Archisus who is more evil than a demon... To think I'd see the legend in person!
—Young demons, watch and learn! That is the Avatar of Archisus, a being more wicked than any demon!
—Whoa! So that's the Avatar of Archisus!
Tae-hyun ignored the strange comments; what mattered was that they were listening. Esla's subordinates were loyal, powerful, and relentless. They charged at the Black Dragon without a shred of fear.
—Fine! Come at me!
Hakkaras also unleashed his full power. He unleashed his Dragon Breath while simultaneously casting spells in all directions. As a master of magic, the dragon's spells were terrifying. He freely manipulated Word Magic and Dark Magic.
The ground shatters, forests are swept away, mountains and hills crumble, and dark spears rain from the sky, shooting down demons. It looked like the end of the world. Yet, the demons charged without hesitation, ignoring the hundreds of their kin vanishing in single strikes.
—Bring him down!
—Chains of the Abyss!
—Drag him to the ground!
"Carbanog mutters that those skills look awfully familiar."
N-no way. This has nothing to do with Archisus. There are plenty of skills that use chains! Tae-hyun defended himself.
The demons' primary goal was to drag Hakkaras to the ground. A flying dragon boss was far too dangerous. To raid him, they had to ground him. They hurled chains infused with hellish mana. No matter how much Hakkaras struggled, they kept coming.
"They're actually fighting incredibly well," Tae-hyun muttered in admiration.
He had thought he'd have to risk his life, but Esla's army was doing most of the heavy lifting. These demons were on a completely different level.
"Kim Tae-hyun, what should we do?" Cain asked, his voice trembling with excitement. Participating in the first-ever dragon raid in Pandemonium Online had him pumped.
"Huh? You stay in the back."
"..."
Cain's face fell.
"I can dodge Hakkaras's attacks, and Su-hyeok and Ji-su can attack from a distance. But you..."
"Should I go get some popcorn then?"
"Hey!"
It was painfully true. For a melee tank like Cain, getting close to a dragon just to deal some damage was suicide. No matter how high his HP and defense were, one wrong hit from a dragon meant instant death.
"Just guard the artillery. Archisus Artillery, are you ready?!"
—Save me! Let me out! Brothers, set me free!
From the demon cage behind the artillery, the captured demon cried out. But Esla's demons completely ignored him.
—What's that thing?
—No idea. Looks like he got caught by humans.
—What? Caught by humans? If that were me, I'd kill myself.
—Right? Exactly. Haha.
Demons were cold-hearted. They didn't serve the same master, and they certainly wouldn't show mercy to a fool who got tricked and captured by humans.
"Hey, shut him up."
"Yes, sir! Hey, quiet down! Or I'll spray you with holy water!"
—Eek! Anything but that!
The captured demon instantly shut up. Tae-hyun looked at him, suddenly curious. He had originally thought it was just a stupid demon captured by dwarves, but for a stupid demon, he was holding out remarkably well. He was definitely not a low-grade or intermediate demon.
Who is this guy?
BOOM!
Tae-hyun snapped out of his thoughts.
The Black Dragon Hakkaras was crashing down.