A Warm Welcome
Regardless, the attack was proceeding with spectacular success. The sheer destructive power left the entire party marveling in satisfaction.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
If they kept hammering away, the desperate party on the receiving end would eventually have to crawl out. It was the ultimate, foolproof strategy: the "come-and-get-me" tactic! Tae-hyun and his companions gleefully rained down their assault.
After about an hour, the fortress walls and barricades guarding the cave entrance had been completely reduced to rubble.
“Should we head in?”
“No. Let's keep pouring it on. You can aim further inside, right?”
“Of course!”
[The Archisus Artillery's Marksmanship skill has increased!]
[The Archisus Artillery's level has...]
[...]
They were growing stronger with every shot they fired! Tae-hyun, making the absolute most of his time as always, set up camp right then and there and began popping corn—no, preparing food. Efficiency was his specialty!
“Argh! What on earth is this repulsive stench?!”
The moment Tae-hyun began whipping up his abnormal cooking, the demon trapped in the cage beside him began to writhe in agony. The smell was absolutely nose-piercing! To make matters worse, Tae-hyun also possessed the Divine Cooking skill, which made the experience infinitely more agonizing for the demonic creature.
Cain was in no better state.
“Haha. You like it, don't you, Cain? Look at him, practically trembling with anticipation.”
“...”
That was because Cain knew exactly whose mouth that abnormal dish was going to end up in! What made it even more absurd was the burning jealousy radiating from the onlookers.
“To think a mere fellow slave gets to receive a dish prepared by the Apostle himself...” they grumbled.
“What an arrogant bastard...”
The glares from the Akisus Tribe Warriors serving in the Archisus Artillery were downright stinging.
“Alright! It's done. Bottoms up!”
“Guhhh! Cough, hack!”
“Chug it, you slave!”
“Don't you dare take a break between sips, you arrogant punk!”
Having successfully laid Cain low, Tae-hyun turned his gaze to the rest of the group.
“I'll make some for you guys too.”
“Huh?”
“Uh, I'm actually fine... Why don't you give Cain some more?”
“Hey!”
Cain felt a surge of betrayal at Jeong Su-hyeok's words. This bastard knew all along!
However, Choi Sang-yun was deep in serious thought.
“Hmm... It's true that food is the best way to boost stats. The effects are guaranteed, right?”
As long as the skill level was high enough, there were few methods as easy as cooking to raise stats. You could grow stronger simply by eating a variety of dishes! It might taste horrendous, but that was a small price to pay.
“Of course. Why do you think I traveled all the way from the Asbian Empire to the Auston Kingdom?”
Wasn't it to find your Authorities? Yong-yong chimed in.
“Ah. Right. There was that too.”
...
Come to think of it, when is he ever going to go look for the Authority in the Asbian Empire? Yong-yong thought, but wisely kept it to himself.
“It was to gather a wide variety of ingredients.”
Are you a chef or something? Choi Sang-yun thought to himself. It really seemed like his friend had forgotten what his actual class was.
“Anyway, thanks to that, I've gathered so many ingredients that I can tailor a dish to fit any class.”
His inventory was packed with an absurdly diverse array of ingredients. His bag was probably the only one in all of Pan-On to contain dragon meat! The only problem was that almost none of it could be considered "normal."
Ordinary chefs usually carried pork, beef, and basic vegetables like onions, potatoes, and carrots. Even if they didn't follow a strict recipe, carrying standard ingredients was the baseline! They were versatile staples that worked well in any dish.
Yet, Tae-hyun carried almost none of those. What he did carry, however, was usually...
The meat and organs of various monsters! The blood and bones of demons! At this point, it was impossible to tell whether these were ingredients for black magic or culinary arts!
“Alright, Su-hyeok. Sit down right here. Since you're a mage, I'll whip up something great for your MP and magic attack power. Let's see...”
Tae-hyun began tossing in every single ingredient known to be good for mages, turning the concoction into a bizarre brew! Normally, demon and monster meats were highly toxic or contaminated, requiring meticulous preparation to be edible. But for Tae-hyun, who possessed the Abnormal Cooking skill, the rules were entirely different.
The greatest advantage of Abnormal Cooking was that it could transform completely inedible materials into actual food. Even if the taste became utterly atrocious!
Jeong Su-hyeok's face began to turn pale. Skull-shaped bubbles were starting to rise from the giant cauldron.
“It's ready, my boy!”
[Your Cooking skill has increased.]
[Your Infamy has increased.]
[Rumors of your cruelty are spreading even more viciously among the demons.]
“Now, drink up.”
“...Yes, sir...”
Jeong Su-hyeok accepted the bowl with a look that suggested he was on the verge of tears. Beside him, Cain wore a deeply satisfied expression.
“Ji-su, I made this one for you. It's tailored for archers.”
“I-I will treasure this for the rest of my life!”
“No, you're supposed to eat it.”
Tae-hyun stared at her as if she had said something utterly baffling. Seeing this, Jeong Su-hyeok had a sudden realization and spoke up.
“S-Senior! This is far too precious for me to simply consume, so I would also like to treasure it—”
“Don't try to play tricks on me.”
“Yes, sir.”
He's learning all the wrong things from Cain.
Jeong Su-hyeok squeezed his eyes shut and began to chug.
Evangeline, watching this in utter disbelief, asked,
“We're literally in the middle of a battle right now...”
“Multitasking during a battle is the best way to level up your skills quickly. Here, I made yours too.”
“I-I'm fine...”
“Haha. You're only saying that because you haven't tasted it yet. Just give it a try.”
Evangeline glanced over at Yu Ji-soo. Ji-soo was currently downing a steaming bowl of what looked like a literal poison concoction in a single, continuous gulp. Wait, does it actually taste okay?
Gulp—
“Aaaargh!”
“Guaaaack!”
“Save meee!”
Wails of agony erupted from all directions! Lee Da-bi could only marvel at Yu Ji-soo's sheer grit. To think she actually chugged that in one go!
Even while Tae-hyun and his companions were busy choking down the abnormal cooking, the Archisus Artillery continued to relentlessly rain down fire.
“They're holding out longer than I expected. How are they surviving in there?”
The fortress walls and barricades had been completely obliterated, and shells were being fired directly into the cave, yet the members of the Salavian Order refused to show their faces.
“Since the Salavian Order is mostly made of vampires, they might be using some special abilities to endure it...”
“Hmm. In that case, we'll just have to exploit the weaknesses vampires hate most.”
Evangeline flinched at Tae-hyun's words. Even though he wasn't targeting her specifically, his words sounded ominously threatening to her vampire ears!
“What are you going to do?”
“Fire and silver should do the trick nicely.”
Fire, which bypassed a vampire's passive regeneration to burn them alive. And silver, which dealt massive bonus damage upon contact.
“Should we imbue the artillery shells with Sadiq's Flame and fire them?”
“Wouldn't the priests of the Salavian Order be able to block that much?”
“True. In that case, we'll just have to set the entire surrounding area on fire.”
No matter how they managed to extinguish the flames from individual shells, how could they possibly put out a fire that consumed the entire mountainside? They would have no choice but to crawl out.
Listening to the conversation between Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi, Evangeline felt her mind go blank. Setting an entire mountain on fire? Are they not even a little bit worried about their Infamy stat?
But Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi were practically glowing with excitement as they huddled together, plotting the perfect arson strategy.
“Looking at this, if we place runes here, here, here, and here before we start, the flames will converge toward this side and burn even hotter. It'll be impossible to extinguish, right?”
[Using Blacksmithing Skill...]
[Using Engineering skill...]
[You possess a profound understanding of fire. You receive an additional bonus to fire attacks!]
He knew exactly where to set the fire for maximum devastation!
“So, are we starting right away?”
“No. The fire is ready, but we still need to prepare the silver.”
“If it's silver... I can get some from my warehouse...”
Lee Da-bi spoke hesitantly. For Tae-hyun's sake, she was more than willing to part with her silver! If the members of the Power Warrior Guild had seen this, they would have gasped in horror.
“No way. We can't waste your precious resources like that. We'll just borrow some.”
“From whom?”
“From the nearest lord around here, of course.”
Tae-hyun said with a grin as he unfurled a map. Now, who has the most silver to spare?
Meanwhile, the interior of the Salavian Order's fortress was violently trembling.
[The Order's morale is plummeting.]
[The Order's walls have been destroyed. Defense is...]
[The Order's food warehouse is...]
[The Order's blood storage jars are...]
[...]
While those on the outside had no idea how much damage was being done within, to the vampires trapped inside, the bombardment was an absolute nightmare. Rather than the direct damage to their health, the destruction of the Order's livelihood was far more devastating! Every time a shell tore through, the fortress's vital facilities were obliterated one after another.
“Archbishop! Please let us go out! Let us march out and slaughter those bastards!”
“No! The time is not yet ripe. Now is the time to endure and bide our strength!”
The hot-headed young vampire warriors of the Order begged the Archbishop to let them sally forth, but the Archbishop firmly shook his head. With holy knights and various subjugation forces already on their way, launching a counteroffensive outside was nothing short of suicide!
This fortress was a natural stronghold, imbued with the power and history of the Salavian Order. No matter how powerful an army of knights came, they would never be able to scale these sheer cliffs and breach the interior!
...The only problem was that the enemy had absolutely no intention of coming inside, content to simply rain down long-range attacks.
If the range were reasonable, they could have attempted a counter-barrage, but whatever weapon the enemy was using had an absurdly long range. The attackers were firing from a sweet spot just out of their reach! It was a level of cunning that made them grind their teeth in frustration.
Yet, the more they did so, the more convinced the Archbishop became. We must absolutely not go out!
“Hold your ground, warriors of the Order!”
“Urgh...”
“I crave blood...”
“They will tire soon and attempt to storm the fortress. When they do, we shall rip their throats open and drink their blood!”
At the Archbishop's rallying cry, the warriors roared in unison—even as the interior of their fortress continued to be reduced to a chaotic mess!
And a long time passed.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“...”
“...”
The enemy did not enter. Only the shells kept whistling through the air. A vampire warrior who had been crouching in hiding was struck directly and sent flying.
“Archbishop... They aren't coming.”
“I told you, be patient and wait!”
“Are you sure these bastards aren't just doing this to torment us?”
What if they have no intention of storming the place after breaking the walls and barricades, and are literally just trolling us? A sudden doubt began to bloom among the vampires of the Salavian Order.
“S-Surely not... How could that be! Do you have any idea how expensive it is to fire magic shells like these...?”
The Archisus Artillery was actually melting down metals plundered from Hakkaras's lair to use as ammunition. Unaware that these were bombs created via the Engineering skill, the Archbishop had completely mistaken them for high-grade magic shells!
“By the way... is it just me, or is it getting a bit hot in here?”
“You too? I was thinking the same thing.”
“...??”
The Archbishop frowned in suspicion. He quickly summoned a bat and sent it outside to scout the surroundings.
...!!!!!
The Archbishop's face twisted in sheer horror.
“What is the matter, Archbishop?”
“F-Fire... The fire...!”
“Did they set a fire?”
“What fools. Even if they set a fire, they did it from way out there. How could it possibly reach us inside here?”
The warriors scoffed, but the Archbishop couldn't bring himself to laugh. The entire surrounding area had been turned into a sea of flames! Although the fire had not yet reached the depths of the cave, it was impossible to remain calm in the face of such a mad spectacle.
Boom!
[Sadiq's Flame detonates!]
!!
And thus, the second phase of the assault began. Having extorted silver bullion from the neighboring lords, Tae-hyun began imbuing the artillery shells with Sadiq's Flame before launching them. The mountain blazed furiously. Flaming shells soared through the air, accompanied by the shrieks of demons! It was a scene straight out of the apocalypse.
“...”
Evangeline stared at the burning mountain with a deeply conflicted expression. When she glanced over at her stream chat, the viewers were entirely filled with reactions like "?????" and "??????".
I feel the exact same way...
Evangeline was utterly bewildered, not knowing how to process the situation. Was Pan-On always this kind of game? It was, without a doubt, the most bizarrely innovative dungeon raid she had ever experienced!