You, Join My Crew!

Once he gained momentum, Tae-hyun began gathering them at a breakneck pace. It was practically at the level of shouting, "You! Join my crew!" the moment he laid eyes on anyone.

"???" What are they anticipating?

His reputation was so absurdly high that even when he stole... *cough*, borrowed soldiers, the response he got was basically, "Oh, really? We'll be expecting great things!"

When an unexpected quest popped up, Tae-hyun fell into a slight dilemma.

I was originally planning to just use them as meat shields...

Since they were NPCs belonging to other factions, Tae-hyun had no obligation to look after them. If he wiped them all out, he might get a bit of flak, but Tae-hyun wasn't the type of person to care about that. He could easily shrug off a little criticism!

However, if there were rewards on the line, that changed everything.

I guess I should take care of these soldiers.

But how should he make them grow?

The demons descending upon the continent were divided into two paths.

"Bwahaha! Lowly humans. I shall wipe you out with my overwhelming might!"

These were the demons who relied on their raw strength, stepping onto the front lines to run wild openly.

"Hehehe... Foolish humans. I shall plunge you into chaos with my wicked schemes."

These were the insidious demons who avoided direct confrontation, instead slipping into the shadows to deceive and corrupt people.

Usually, the latter was far more dangerous than the former.

In the case of the former, it was mostly low-grade demons who didn't know their place running amok.

But for the latter, if players failed to notice them, things could escalate to an apocalyptic scale.

It was only because Tae-hyun made a literal profession out of hunting, beating, and tormenting demons that it looked easy. If one considered the named demons he had defeated, it wouldn't have been surprising if the entire continent had been laid to waste. He wasn't treated as a hero for nothing!

At any rate, once the World Tree sprouted and made traveling to the continent much easier, the demons descended in high spirits. Of course, they carefully avoided the Archisus Temple near the World Tree!

"What is there to fear from mere mortal trash? I'm heading straight down!"

"Mwahaha! I shall make the humans submit! There is a perfect spot nearby!"

The demons who relied on their strength and sought direct battle headed toward the Auston Kingdom. Originally, they would have been subjugated immediately, but because the Auston Kingdom's internal situation was such an absolute mess, they were able to run rampant.

"Are we not going to the Atali Kingdom?"

"..."

"The Atali Kingdom is closer, though..."

"What? I can't hear you!"

"I said, the Atali Kingdom is closer!"

"Can't hear you! Can't hear you at all! We're busy, so we're off! Speak up next time!"

The bellicose demons pretended not to hear and scurried off toward the Auston Kingdom.

The remaining demons were the cunning ones. They pondered how to infiltrate.

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heard a noble of the Erance Kingdom named Anelbanen has a gambling habit..."

"And doesn't the Erance Kingdom's border guard captain absolutely adore jewels?"

"What about the Salz Kingdom?"

"That place is a smelly, rural backwater. There's nothing to squeeze out of them."

"True, true. The Erance Kingdom is much better."

Even demons had high standards. Places with plenty of people to corrupt and rich spoils to plunder were naturally popular. In that regard, the Salz Kingdom, home to ignorant brutes like the Tyrum Hunters, was ruled out. The Auston Kingdom was also excluded; it was too chaotic, and the bellicose demons had already claimed it. That left the Erance Kingdom or the Espa Kingdom, but Espa was too far away...

The vast Erance Kingdom, teeming with wealth to plunder and gullible fools to deceive, was the obvious answer!

"Isn't the Atali Kingdom closer?"

"So, like I was saying, that Anelbanen guy..."

"The Atali Kingdom... Hey, why have you guys been completely ignoring me?"

One of the demons complained. The other demons, who had been ignoring him, sighed and began to scold him.

"What a total newbie... Have you never descended to the Middle Realm before? Didn't you even do your research before coming? Archisus is in the Atali Kingdom, you absolute moron!"

"Is this your first day being a demon?"

"Seriously, we need to start making demons take qualification exams these days. How can someone be this stupid?"

A storm of nagging erupted in less than a second! The demon was instantly bombarded with insults just for speaking up. Jukenen, a passionate young demon, flared up in anger.

"You bunch of cowards!"

It was a fierce provocation, but the other demons didn't even bat an eye.

"Whatever."

"That's not cowardice, it's wisdom."

"Do you even know what that Archisus bastard does to demons? I heard you can't even die in peace if you go there."

Rumors about Tae-hyun had already spread far and wide among the demons. He didn't just kill them; he dragged them back to his territory to use as slave labor, or locked them up in cages! The demons were utterly horrified by these wild rumors (which were actually about half-true). They had heard of demons enslaving humans, but a human enslaving demons? The world was truly coming to an end!

"Danger is everywhere! Do you think the Erance Kingdom isn't dangerous? It's the largest kingdom on the continent, guarded by all kinds of holy knight orders..."

"Oh, please, that place is a walk in the park."

"Compared to that Archisus bastard, they're playing in a sandbox."

"..."

Jukenen fell into deep confusion. The demons gathered here weren't Demon Dukes ruling over entire layers of the Demon Realm, but they were still highly experienced, cunning demons. Yet here they were, trembling in fear!

"There was this demon named Freid I used to keep in touch with. Ever since he got involved with Archisus, he's gone completely radio silent. He was definitely dragged off as a slave."

"Didn't Demon Duke Mosrak get tricked by Archisus too? Seriously, how on earth did he deceive that cunning Duke?"

"Even my grandfather was once scammed by Archisus. Honestly, I think that guy should be designated an honorary demon."

"Shut up! You cowards! I'll go by myself. Don't you dare regret it when the name of Jukenen echoes across the Atali Kingdom!"

Jukenen roared and stormed off. The remaining ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠demons watched his departing figure, whispering among themselves.

"Is he gone? He actually went."

"Keke... I knew he would go, which is why I didn't say a word."

Demons had absolutely no qualms about killing each other. Yet, the only reason they let the arrogant Jukenen go was simple: if they left him alone, he would actually go to the Atali Kingdom! It would be far more satisfying to watch him get wrecked there than to beat him up themselves and send him back to the Demon Realm.

"Giggle. What an idiot."

"He needs to experience the spicy taste of Archisus to snap out of it."

"Hey, by the way, is it true that Archisus put a Demon Duke's son in a cage and drags him around like a slave?"

"No way... Surely even Archisus wouldn't go that far..."

"You're here! ...Wait, what are you doing?"

Choi Sang-yun and Evangeline ran out excitedly to greet Tae-hyun's group, only to halt in their tracks. Why were there so many of them?

"Setting aside those weirdos over there..."

The Archisus Artillery were incredibly bizarre-looking NPCs, but that was understandable. It was Tae-hyun, after all, so of course he'd be dragging weirdos around! But behind them stood soldiers clad in the armor and weaponry of the Erance Kingdom.

"Aren't those Erance Kingdom soldiers? How did you borrow them?"

"They asked me to train them."

"??"

"????"

Neither Choi Sang-yun nor Evangeline could wrap their heads around it. Why on earth would anyone entrust their soldiers to him?

"Huff... Wheeze... Your—Your Majesty. Please, just a moment of rest..."

"I'm not your Majesty, though?"

"Gah! Please...!"

The soldiers looked like they were on the verge of passing out. To make them grow, Tae-hyun had run them ragged with the most rigorous regimen possible. Carrying cannons while marching, hammering while running—he had developed all sorts of creative chores! It was a two-birds-with-one-stone method that crafted items while simultaneously training them.

"Why... Why am I doing this too?"

And squeezed right in the middle of them was Cain.

"I thought it suited you."

"..."

"Alright! That's enough training. Let's move on to real combat!"

"Whoa! Awesome! Real combat!"

"Sob... I've never wanted to fight so badly in my life!"

The soldiers cheered, raising their hands in absolute jubilation.

"But we're just guards?!"

"To think we have to come all the way here to fight. This is depressing."

"When are you going to send us home?"

These were the complaints the soldiers had uttered at first, but now, not a trace of that reluctance remained. Fighting was infinitely better than this hellish training!

"Hmm..."

Tae-hyun stared at the cave fortress nestled halfway up the distant mountainside. He could see exactly why Evangeline and Choi Sang-yun had thrown up their hands in defeat.

They really picked a perfect spot.

It was a natural fortress! The mountain was so steep it was practically a cliff. If one stubbornly crawled all the way up, they would be greeted by a heavily fortified wall. All the while, they would have to endure a relentless barrage of attacks from the Salavian Order on their way up.

The Salavian Order has a lot of vampires, so they probably have all kinds of crowd-control skills...

The Salavian Order was a corrupt vampire cult. Their defining trait was their sheer vitality. They were similar to the Demer Order, but in a much ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠filthier, corrupted form! Armed with tenacious life force and various vampire-exclusive skills, they would be incredibly difficult to break through.

Is the only entrance right there in the front? There doesn't seem to be any flanking route around the back.

Since they had dug a deep cavern halfway up a massive mountain and erected a fortress right in front of it, there were no other paths. It had to be a frontal assault! Normally, it would be a hopeless endeavor, but...

"Well, if we keep beating them up, a solution will present itself."

"...?"

Choi Sang-yun and Evangeline tilted their heads in confusion. How were they going to beat them up when they couldn't even get close?

"Archisus Artillery, advance!"

It was time to test the power of the Archisus Artillery, which had grown significantly stronger after the hunt for Hakkaras.

"Aaaargh!"

"Screeeech!"

Demonic screams echoed through the air. One was from the demon trapped inside the cage, and the other was the sound produced every time a cannon was fired.

With every single shot, the possessed demon was loaded into the shell and launched, screaming bloody murder all the way.

"..."

"..."

Choi Sang-yun and Evangeline stared at Tae-hyun's group with utterly dumbfounded expressions.

What on earth have you guys been doing while we weren't looking?

However, Tae-hyun's group, who had long since grown accustomed to this, paid no mind to their stares.

"Next shot! Fire, fire, hurry up!"

"Yes, sir!"

With Tae-hyun's Highest-grade Tactical Skill, the high Blacksmithing Skill and stats of the Archisus Artillery members, and their state-of-the-art equipment, the Archisus Artillery could dish out damage that easily overwhelmed most mage guilds. On top ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of that, their rate of fire was faster than mages, their range was longer, and their accuracy was superior.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A mad bombardment commenced. The dwarves of the Archisus Artillery fired the cannons in sheer ecstasy. Every time a shell detonated, the fortress walls and the surrounding cliffs cracked and shattered into pieces.

"Direct hit!"

"Bwahaha! Look at them run!"

"Ugh... Please... Please, a bit slower..."

The demon inside the cage wheezed, on the verge of passing out. The dwarves had drained far too much of its demonic energy.

"Drink some water, water."

"That's holy water, you bastards!"

"Ah, my bad. Here, have some blood instead."

The dwarves actually took decent care of the caged demon in their own way. The energy provided by the demon was incredibly useful, after all. Demonic energy granted all kinds of buffs, including increased rate of fire, boosted damage, and enhanced accuracy!

"Whose blood is that?"

"Mine..."

Cain replied with a sullen face. There was no better candidate for blood donation than Cain—the player with the highest Constitution stat!

"It tastes like a blend of all sorts of things. Delicious."

The demon wiped its mouth, seemingly satisfied with Cain's blood. A fascinating flavor with a bit of everything mixed in! It felt like eating at a buffet!

"Why is that thing looking at me like that?"

As the demon licked its lips while staring intently at Cain, Cain felt extremely uncomfortable.