The Walking Warehouse and the Desperate Counterattack

"Why did you drop the treasure for no reason?"

"I-I'm sorry."

Ed-an quickly picked up the treasure and wiped it clean. Taking good care of loot was the absolute basic of being a thief!

"I actually used to be a member of that group."

"Oh, really? Then your relationship with them shouldn't be too bad, right?"

Tae-hyun's interest was piqued. If things went well, couldn't he put these thieves to work for free? People called them thieves, but skilled rogues were indispensable talents in Pandemonium Online. Versatile assets that could be used anytime, anywhere!

However, instead of answering, Ed-an broke into a cold sweat and avoided his gaze.

"...What's with you?"

"Y-Yes?"

"You guys are on bad terms, aren't you?"

"Fufu... Well, even among thieves, relations can go from good to bad in a—urk! I'm sorry! We are on terrible terms!"

"Why? Did you steal their money before leaving? Wait, don't tell me you actually did?!"

"..."

Ed-an hung his head low. Tae-hyun was dumbfounded. Seriously? This thief stole from his own comrades? Was that why he was called a 'Great Thief'?!

"No, Your Majesty!"

Sensing Tae-hyun's contemptuous gaze, Ed-an hurriedly began to make excuses.

"Sure. But could you step back a bit? Specifically, keep your distance from my treasure."

Karung!

Even Towang glared at Ed-an with wary eyes.

"No, Your Majesty! That's not it! Please, just listen to me!"

"I am listening, you punk. Just talk from over there."

"Sob..."

Tears welling in his eyes, Ed-an began his explanation.

"The Guides of the Night was a guild of highly skilled thieves, but we didn't get along very well."

"Well, that's thieves for you."

There was a similar saying in Pandemonium Online. Guilds specializing in healers or tanks lasted a long time. In contrast, damage-dealer guilds never lasted! Players who chose the rogue class were inherently selfish and unyielding.

"One day, an argument broke out. They told me that if I was such an amazing thief, I should prove it by stealing something truly incredible."

"...So, don't tell me..."

"I robbed them of everything they had and ran..."

"..."

"..."

Tae-hyun and Towang stared at Ed-an with deeply complicated expressions.

"What happened after that?"

"I don't know. I ran without ever looking back."

"Good job. Very well done."

If he had been caught, it wouldn't have been just his arms that got cut off—his head would have flown.

"Well, since you haven't run into them since, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Fufu. I believe so too."

Once all the missing treasures were returned, the kingdom's stats soared, and massive rewards ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠flooded in. Considering the astronomical amount of experience Tae-hyun needed to level up, this was an incredibly generous reward!

"Wait, did you seriously rob them?"

"How on earth did you pull that off?"

Cain and Choi Sang-yun asked, completely bewildered.

Although Tae-hyun had set off first with the Archisus Artillery and the knights, they had honestly been half-doubtful of his success. They had been refreshing the community boards, expecting to see posts like 'Erance Kingdom Bank Blown Up!'...

But no such posts appeared. At most, there were typical threads like 'Some crazy bastard is throwing gold around the bank!'

As Tae-hyun explained what had happened, Lee Da-bi's eyes sparkled as she stared at Towang-i.

That thing is a walking warehouse!

What was the most important item for a merchant? The answer was, without a doubt, a bag. A merchant player's capability was determined by how much their bag could hold.

But according to the explanation, Towang-i was practically a cheat-tier bag. It could swallow an immense volume of goods while completely ignoring weight limits. It was the legendary bag that every merchant dreamed of!

Karung!

Sensing her terrifying gaze, Towang-i shrank back and hid behind Tae-hyun. Da-bi's eyes were genuinely frightening.

"W-Why are you acting like that?"

"What did he even do to you? He's not scary at all."

Karung! Karung!

Tae-hyun grabbed Towang-i and tried to hand him over to Lee Da-bi, but Towang-i flailed wildly. I hate her!

"No, you need to get close."

Karrrrrung!

Towang-i thrashed, but with the strength of a Level 1, there was nothing he could do. He was easily caught and stuffed into Lee Da-bi's arms.

Karung...

Terrified, Towang-i could only widen his round eyes.

Well, it's not like he's going to fight on the front lines anyway. Since he has absolute status resistance, it's not a bad idea for Da-bi to carry him around.

The other rabbits were assigned to the Archisus Artillery, but Tae-hyun figured having Towang-i accompany Da-bi was a solid plan. After all, she had the lowest combat power in the group! Plus, his massive warehouse capability was too good to pass up...

"Here. Put this in, and this too... Oh, put this in as well, please."

Karuk!

Towang-i squirmed, but Da-bi ruthlessly stuffed her miscellaneous items into his mouth.

Once things were somewhat organized, Cain approached and asked, "Where are we heading next?"

"We're going to the Asbian Empire to finish up the Authority quest."

He planned to meet the Emperor and the dragon to claim some free rewards, and also retrieve the Authority of Archisus.

Haha. It's my class skill, how could I possibly forget? Of course I remembered.

"Alright! Let's depart for the Asbian Empire..."

"Your Majesty! Disaster!"

Pelmas kicked the door open and burst inside.

"...?"

"A mysterious group of bandits has appeared near the kingdom's border! The lords have requested immediate assistance!"

"Hmm. I see."

"Could the knights you brought back be for this...?"

Pelmas looked at him with eyes full of admiration. He had been wondering why Tae-hyun had brought back another order of knights, marveling to himself, 'His ability to steal other people's troops with nothing but his tongue is truly unmatched on the continent!'

So it had all been for this moment!

"Huh? No. They just followed me."

"Ah... I-I see."

"Anyway, let's go!"

"Which fief will you visit first?"

"To the Asbian Empire!"

"...??!!"

Pelmas doubted his own ears. Wait, didn't he just hear that the lords were currently being raided?!

"Listen up! Think of how much we've suffered at the hands of Kim Tae-hyun. Just grinding him to dust wouldn't be enough to satisfy our grudge!"

"Yeahhhhh!"

The method Su Ning proposed had finally satisfied the guild members after a long time. They had been cooped up in the Auston Kingdom, doing nothing but enduring, but now the time for a counterattack had finally come!

Although the Guild Alliance was in a state of decline after the West broke away and a massive number of members deserted, a long-lost vitality surged through them once ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠more.

Even though this action would raise their Infamy stats and trigger various penalties, countless volunteers stepped forward.

"But we're going up against Kim Tae-hyun. Will we really be okay?"

"Yeah, seriously..."

Naturally, such worries arose. To reassure them, Su Ning spoke up.

"Do not worry! Kim Tae-hyun is only one man. We will split into individual parties and pillage. No matter how strong Kim Tae-hyun is, he cannot stop all of us."

"Oh...!"

"That actually makes sense!"

"Uncharacteristic of Su Ning!"

"Who said that?!"

"..."

Everyone fell silent.

In truth, the strategy Su Ning was proposing was the exact same one Tae-hyun had spread among the bandits when he was plundering the Auston Kingdom. Avoid clashing directly with the opponent's rankers, and fight by thoroughly scattering!

Su Ning had learned this lesson directly from him.

"But isn't that the exact strategy Kim Tae-hyun used against us?"

"Yeah. Using the very tactic we suffered from... does our guild master have no pride... *muffled* Hey, who are you guys!"

A few troublemakers were dragged outside. The room fell silent once more.

Su Ning cleared his throat. Although it was slightly embarrassing, this strategy was undeniably effective. It would restore the guild's honor, bring in gold, and screw over Kim Tae-hyun all at once...

To motivate his guild members further, Su Ning opened his mouth.

"Even if Kim Tae-hyun does show up, do not worry! Our rankers will be there!"

"Oh, please..."

"As if our rankers could ever beat Kim Tae-hyun."

"Are they really going to fight him? I bet they won't."

"?!"

The backfire actually caused morale to drop! That was how deep the distrust toward the rankers ran. Selfish bastards who only care about themselves!

Su Ning quickly changed his tune.

"The rankers will buy time against Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Hmm... if it's just that much..."

"I guess they could manage that."

"..."

How was it that they only believed him when he lowered their expectations? Su Ning realized anew the fundamental problem of his guild. The gap between the rankers and the ordinary guild members was too wide! There was absolutely no trust left between them!

It doesn't matter. For this raid, they don't need to trust each other!

They didn't need trust! Their mutual greed would drive the operation forward!

Various penalty messages popped up, but Su Ning ignored them. He had already braced himself for this! Right now, the priority was uniting the guild and securing gold.

Although they had carefully selected members from within the guild, rumors of such a large-scale raid were bound to leak. Most players mocked them, but a few were tempted by the prospect of loot and joined in.

Thus, a massive raiding party was formed! They split into groups and crossed the border into the Atali Kingdom.

"Hey, Kim Tae-hyun."

"?"

"By any chance... you didn't order this, did you?"

"..."

Tae-hyun stared blankly at Cain. Feeling embarrassed, Cain avoided his gaze.

"N-No, I'm not doubting you, but..."

Tae-hyun was already famous for his expertise in instigating players to commit banditry. Mobilizing bandits to plunder nobles who stood against him? It was a move so classic of Tae-hyun that it practically had his signature on it!

Moreover, Tae-hyun was currently ignoring the system alerts and heading straight for the Asbian Empire.

"I didn't do it, okay?"

"I-I see!"

"I knew it!"

"That's right! I believed in you!"

Looking at their reactions, Tae-hyun realized something. These bastards completely believed I was behind this!

"From what I can see, it looks like the Guild Alliance issued the order."

"Ah...!"

"Well, if it's the Guild Alliance, they're definitely desperate enough to do it!"

"Exactly! Why didn't I think ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of that first?!"

"..."

Tae-hyun stared at his companions. These guys...

"But if it's the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Guild Alliance, isn't that dangerous?"

"Huh? Ah... let them plunder a bit. They need to make a living too."

Tae-hyun's relaxed attitude shocked Cain and Choi Sang-yun. They had expected him to immediately rush over, hang them upside down, and shake them until every last gold coin fell out!

"By the way, their situation must be really bad. To throw away all their pride and resort to a strategy like this."

Even Tae-hyun hadn't used his own name when doing such things, but Su Ning was openly leading banditry under his own name.

Doing that while holding the title of King must carry some pretty severe penalties.

"I heard their guild is shaking due to all the desertions. On top of that, their gold shortage is severe..."

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi actually knew the internal state of the Guild Alliance quite accurately.

After all, there were Power Warrior guild members who had joined the Alliance, and even Guild Alliance members who had originally come as spies but ended up turning into double agents for them!