The Art of the Divine Shakedown

Satique was rendered utterly speechless by Yohas's sheer shamelessness. Regardless, Tae-hyun spoke to Satique.

"Now, then. Let's believe in Archisus."

"N-No... I... the god I worship is..."

"Right, right. Everyone's like that at first."

Tae-hyun naturally forced Satique to his knees. Yohas quickly grabbed Satique's shoulders.

"Come on! Believe in Archisus!"

"N-No...! Argh!"

"Lord Sadiq...! Wait. Your Majesty, how do you possess Sadiq's Authority?"

"Well, the Sadiq Order pretty much went extinct, so I've been taking care of the survivors. I acquired Sadiq's Authority during that process."

It was actually Tae-hyun who had destroyed the Sadiq Order! But technically, he wasn't lying. Satique, completely oblivious, fell for it.

"Then... even if I believe in Archisus, it's not that big of a betrayal, right?"

"Exactly."

"No, it's definitely a betrayal."

Yohas, standing beside them, brought Satique back to reality. It was absolutely a betrayal!

"......"

"Well, everyone commits a little betrayal now and then in life. I completely understand."

Tae-hyun offered Satique some warm encouragement.

"Now, Satique. It's great timing, really. Yohas has been struggling to manage the capital all by himself. What are your specs?"

"...Pardon?"

The atmosphere suddenly shifted into a job interview. Unable to adapt to the sudden change, Satique panicked.

"Uh, well, first of all, I have a Highest-grade Archery skill..."

"Oh, really? Nice. And?"

"And a Highest-grade Fire Magic skill..."

"We're short on mages, so that's excellent. You're highly qualified to apply to our order."

"Mm-hmm. Indeed, Your Majesty."

As Tae-hyun and Yohas fell into perfect harmony, bouncing words off each other, Satique looked utterly soul-crushed. Is this what the continent is like? The continent is terrifying!

Tae-hyun asked with an expectant face.

"Sadiq is the God of Fire. Your blacksmithing skills must be equally outstanding, right?"

"Uh... actually, my specialty is tailoring."

A specialist in handling cloth and leather garments!

Tae-hyun's face went stiff.

"Wait, why on earth would a follower of Sadiq learn tailoring instead of blacksmithing, which is perfect for fire? Do you think your major is some kind of joke?"

Coming from a guy who had entered the Department of Korean Language and Literature only to debut as a professional Pan-On gamer, this was a bit rich.

"Your Majesty. Your tone..."

"Ah, sorry. I got a bit too immersed... Anyway, tailoring, you say? Well... maybe this is for the best. We already have Yohas for blacksmithing."

"Y-Your Majesty! Weren't you bringing him in to help me because I have too much work?"

"What can I do? The guy's a tailoring specialist."

Tae-hyun shrugged.

Cloth and leather gear were in high demand anyway. They were essential equipment for classes that didn't wear heavy armor, like mages and rogues!

"Alright, let's wrap things up here and show Satique where he'll be working."

Tae-hyun wrapped up the business at lightning speed. Satique would end up working in the capital without even realizing how he'd been scammed!

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"Hmm? What ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is it?"

"No, I mean...! I came to the continent to stop the demons!"

"Ah, right. I forgot."

Only then did Tae-hyun recall Satique's original purpose.

"Were you actually serious about that?"

"...Of course I was! What do you take me for?!"

"Well... you're an angel of Sadiq. Sadiq is an evil god. I just assumed it was an excuse."

"Lord Sadiq might have a bit of a temper and a habit of burning down the continent, but he is still a magnificent deity!"

"......"

Although the two of them shot him cold, deadpan stares, Satique stubbornly pressed on.

"Even if Sadiq's influence on the continent is small, Sadiq is still a great god! Do not look down on Sadiq ever again—"

Satique's desire to stop the demons was genuine. Though their actions might look similar on the surface, there was a massive difference between an angel of an evil god and a demon.

-Don't corrupt the people I'm planning to corrupt first!

They absolutely could not stand seeing demons corrupting humans before they could! It was a matter of professional ethics. Demons who lacked such professional courtesy were the ultimate targets of wrath for the angels of evil gods.

"Whatever. So you came to stop the demons, right?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm. But... if you're from the Sadiq Order, shouldn't you focus on cleaning up your own backyard first?"

"......"

"......"

The atmosphere suddenly turned icy. It was a devastating blow right to Satique's solar plexus!

"Your Majesty, that was a bit harsh..."

"I mean, if your order is ruined, shouldn't you rebuild it first? Instead of wasting time fighting demons..."

"The churches of the continent must be built by the races of the continent! Fighting the demons is a much higher priority!"

"Fine, fine. If that's what you think..."

Angels really are useless in so many ways, Tae-hyun thought. They wouldn't even help manage the church, only showing up to hunt demons... If the actual members of the Sadiq Order knew about this, they would probably weep at the injustice.

"Then are we going to stop the demons?"

"Huh? No. I'll handle the demons, so you just stay here and work."

"......"

The one who truly benefited from Satique's presence was Yu Ji-soo. Since Satique's primary focus was archery, she was able to learn most of his skills. Only after squeezing Satique for every single skill and piece of knowledge he had did the party begin preparing to move.

The problem was...

Tae-hyun himself had absolutely zero motivation!

"Do we really have to stop the demons? Man, it'd feel a bit empty without them."

They were an essential part of the continent! If there were no demons, what joy would there be in life?

"But wouldn't it be bad if there are too many of them?"

"Exactly. If the demons multiply, even our Atali Kingdom will be in danger."

Clang, clang, clang—

Despite it being a meeting, the sound of hammering echoed continuously. That was because Tae-hyun was crafting right in front of the forge!

"...Can't we just hold this meeting later?" Cain asked, his head spinning from the noise.

"No. We have to save time."

What a complete lunatic...

"You just cursed at me in your head, didn't you?"

"Gasp!"

"Seeing how startled you are, you definitely did. Anyway, keep talking."

Tae-hyun was currently putting the finishing touches on upgrading the gear for the Archisus Artillery. The Archisus tribe warriors and Dwarves, who rode atop giant scorpions equipped with cannons! They were already terrifying, but with heavy armor added to their arsenal, they became downright monstrous. A force capable of easily wiping out two or three NPC mercenary groups!

Clang!

Tae-hyun finished his hammering and spoke.

"Besides, I think the Atali Kingdom will be fine."

"Ah. I suppose so. Since the demons run away the moment they see you, they probably won't bother coming down to Atali Kingdom as much."

Cain nodded in agreement. But Tae-hyun stared at him as if he were talking nonsense.

"What kind of rubbish is that?"

"Huh? Didn't the demons under the World Tree run away when they saw you?"

"That was just because they were low-grade demons. Do you really think all demons would do that? If they did, they shouldn't even call themselves demons."

Tae-hyun was pragmatic.

"Then why do you say we'll be fine?"

"Ah. The Capital and the Valley are perfectly fortified. The only ones getting raided are the bastards who don't listen to me."

"......"

"......"

Currently, excluding the Capital and the Valley, there weren't many lords in the Atali Kingdom who obeyed Tae-hyun's commands. Most of them were nobles who ignored the new king's decrees! Why should he bother protecting their territories? Let them fend for themselves! They need to get thrashed by some demons to snap back to reality!

However, Tae-hyun was unaware of one crucial detail: this time, Cain was actually right! Honestly, it made no sense for demons to fear a single human just because he had hunted them once or twice. What kind of race were demons? They were a corrupt race born in the Demon Realm, knowing no fear and seeking only to destroy the world! For such a race to cower just because they got beaten up a few times was utterly absurd!

Yet, that exact absurdity was happening right now. He had thrashed the demons on the continent, captured them for labor, used them as meat shields... The list of his atrocities against them was too long to count! Normally, demons wouldn't feel fear, but Tae-hyun had tormented them far too much. And this was the result! The vast majority of the demons descending from the World Tree were actively avoiding Tae-hyun, heading straight for other kingdoms instead!

Now is the perfect time.

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

Oblivious to this fact, Tae-hyun quickly formulated a plan. Now that the Guild Alliance had fractured and he could catch his breath! This was the perfect moment to clean up the internal affairs of the Atali Kingdom. Although Tae-hyun had ascended to the throne, there weren't many noble NPCs who truly sided with him. He couldn't touch them while fighting the Guild Alliance, but now he could.

The World Tree has sprouted near the Auston Kingdom. The demons coming from there will naturally hit the northern territories of the Atali Kingdom first. Once they start suffering damage from the demons, those lords will have no choice but to beg for my help.

People only bowed down when they were desperate. On top of that, Tae-hyun possessed the Highest-grade Speech skill! The moment those lords cried ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out, "Your Majesty, our lands are swarming with demons, and you are the only hero who knows how to hunt them! Please save us!" they would have to prepare to be stripped of everything they owned.

A flawless plan! Tae-hyun nodded to himself.

"Let's leave the demons alone for a bit. We can hunt them and find a way to block them once they spread a little more."

"Huh? Really?"

"Yeah. We have much more urgent matters to attend to right now. First, let's head to the Erangs Kingdom."

Conveniently, he was just receiving messages from Choi Sang-yoon and Evangeline. Complaining that they absolutely couldn't handle the subjugation of the Salavian Order on their own!

"......"

Tae-hyun and his party stared at the artillery unit with awkward expressions. An unexpected side effect! Their appearance was so monstrously savage that it was terrifying the local populace. In the Asbian Empire, which was vast and mostly desert, traveling with such a crew was perfectly fine. But the Erangs Kingdom was a completely different story. It was the most secure and prosperous major nation in Pan-On! Because of this, guards approached them every five minutes.

"Gasp! My deepest apologies!"

The captains of the guard, who had marched over to issue warnings, would catch one glimpse of his absurdly high stats and royal title before scrambling backward in a panic. After it happened twice, it became annoying. By the fourth time, Tae-hyun began to wonder if there was a way to put these guards to good use.

Hmm. Should I drag them along to subjugate the Salavian Order?

An absolutely wild idea! Of course, it was technically impossible. There no way anyone could easily borrow guard soldiers who were assigned to patrol towns and cities. If such a thing were possible, why would players spend massive fortunes hiring mercenaries?

But Tae-hyun was a different breed.

Hmm. Actually, I think I can pull this off.

For starters, he was on his way to subjugate the evil Salavian Order within the Erangs Kingdom, his Reputation was sky-high, and he was a literal king... If he threatened and coaxed them just right, couldn't he borrow them?

"Hey, you there! In a place like this... Gasp! My apolo—"

"If you're sorry, you should pay the price!"

Oh. It actually works.

If other players had witnessed this, they would have lost their minds, screaming, "How on earth did he do that?!"