A Golden Opportunity to Plunder

Of course, given the sheer scale of the organization, it was inevitable that information would leak out of the guild. This was something every major guild dealt with. That was why truly critical information was kept strictly among the executives, wasn't it?

But the Guild Alliance was on a whole different level of incompetence.

Alcott, a lord and a high-ranking ranker, was already a spy... and Zhang Shan, an executive who had recently received an unprecedented promotion to oversee the surveillance of Tae-hyun's territory, was also a spy. It was rare for an organization to let spies climb to such high positions.

To be honest, even Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi found it a bit baffling.

'I didn't expect them to climb this high...'

Thanks to them, they could verify almost any piece of information they wanted. If it went through Alcott or Zhang Shan, there was nothing they couldn't uncover.

As a result, the intelligence they gathered on the Guild Alliance painted a picture of an organization teetering on the edge of a cliff. While the central region of the kingdom was barely holding together, everywhere else was a disaster. Public security, the economy, public sentiment, and development rates were all scraping rock bottom. This had triggered a vicious cycle, with rebel forces and NPC bandits constantly spawning.

In times like this, the guild members needed to band together to overcome the crisis, but the guilds in charge of the western lords had deserted en masse...

'I heard quite a few of their sponsors pulled out too, right?'

For a guild of that size, securing external corporate sponsorships was common. The promotional effect was far greater than that of a single ranker streaming on their own. Since the Guild Alliance was such a massive coalition, they had been raking in astronomical amounts of sponsorship money.

But that was only when things were going well. No matter how massive a guild was, no corporation wanted to keep pouring money into an entity that was constantly getting beaten, broken, and fractured. Why bother when there were plenty of other guilds to choose from?

'They could easily solve this by downsizing...'

Su Ning did have one clear solution: drastically scale back the construction projects currently underway in the capital and cut down on the NPC army they maintained. In other words, austerity. That would immediately relieve the pressure on their gold reserves and allow them to lower taxes, which would in turn improve the state of their territories.

It was the most logical and ideal path, but... Su Ning couldn't bring himself to choose it. Showing such weakness would mean the Guild Alliance would have to surrender its crown as the number one guild to someone else. That was unacceptable to his pride.

In the end, the choice Su Ning made was...

I'll just win it all back and pay it off!

'Well, "winning it back" sounds nice, but if it were that easy, why would anyone ever go bankrupt?' Tae-hyun thought as he finished his preparations to depart for the Empire.

'Su Ning. If you want to survive, you'd better take what you can and run before I get back. Though I know you won't!'

Tae-hyun knew the nature of greed all too well. Once someone started looting, they couldn't help but lose their minds. Just one more time, two more times, three more times! And then, down they go. One had to know how to control their desires.

"Whoaaaaaa!"

"The hero who slew the dragon! All hail King Kim Tae-hyun!"

"Haha. Come now, you embarrass me. There's really no need."

Upon arriving at the port of the Asbian Empire, Tae-hyun was met with an overwhelmingly enthusiastic welcome from the citizens.

"Your Majesty! Please accept this gift!"

"Your Majesty! Mine as well!"

The Asbian Empire was a nation that had once been brought to the brink of ruin by dragons. When Tae-hyun arrived carrying the title of a dragon slayer, the reaction was beyond anything he could have imagined.

A mountain of gold coins and various items piled up in front of Tae-hyun in an instant.

"?!"

The sheer volume of the offerings caught Tae-hyun's party completely off guard. This wasn't just a street market; it was an absolute deluge!

"...For now, pack it up!"

"Yes, sir!"

Tae-hyun and Lee Da-bi were the first to snap out of it. To leave free loot lying on the ground just because it was sudden would be a disgrace to any self-respecting Pan-On player!

Swish! Swish! Swish!

"Squeeee! Karreung!"

Towang-i flailed its limbs in protest. Lee Da-bi was ruthlessly stuffing every single item they received straight into Towang-i's bottomless stomach.

"Your Majesty! Please slay all the dragons!"

"Haha. Of course, of course. I shall sweep every last one of those lizards from the face of this earth! Oh, is this a solid gold statue?"

- ...

- ...

Yong-yong and Heuk-heuk watched with deeply unimpressed expressions from inside Tae-hyun's summoning space. Do you even remember that the two of us are right here?

Only after the massive queue of NPCs offering items finally dwindled were they able to slip away. It was an unexpected windfall!

"Wow. I didn't expect to rake it in like this. This might actually be worth more than whatever reward the Emperor is going to give us."

"Right?"

It felt like they had received far more from the city's NPCs than they ever would from the petty, ill-tempered Emperor of the Asbian Empire. Individually, the gifts were small, but combined, they amounted to an astronomical sum. Lee Da-bi was already tapping away on a calculator, running the numbers.

"With this much, we can easily construct three new buildings in our territory."

"...!"

But that was only the beginning.

"Guards! Take this King Kim Tae-hyun and...!"

The moment they entered, Emperor Uipoatl bellowed at the top of his lungs, causing Tae-hyun to flinch. What? Did he find out? Did he realize I lied about going to find ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his crown?

'Does he know I actually have it?'

Having committed so many misdeeds, Tae-hyun's first instinct was always to feel guilty.

"...shower him in gold!"

Uipoatl began showering him with rewards, starting with an elite Asbian Empire Noble Set. Tae-hyun, who hadn't expected the Emperor to be this generous, felt a rare pang of genuine emotion. He actually felt a little guilty for cursing the man out in his head.

Clink! Clatter!

Two attendants stepped forward and began dumping gold coins directly over Tae-hyun's head.

"Uh, you can just hand it to me..."

"Please hold still. We must cover you completely."

Clink! Clatter! Clink!

A mountain of gold piled up on top of Tae-hyun at an alarming rate. Watching this, Lee Da-bi's eyes sparkled with deep admiration. He was literally covering him in gold!

"Now, speak, King Kim Tae-hyun. You truly defeated Hakkaras?"

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty. It was only possible thanks to the strength you lent me..."

"Incredible. At first, I suspected you were merely a swindler trying to exploit my power..."

Flinch.

Tae-hyun's heart skipped a beat. Damn, how did this guy know?

"But your feat of slaying Hakkaras has proven your worth. I apologize for doubting you. I look forward to seeing you hunt down even more dragons in the future."

"I shall slay every last one of them!"

- ...

- ...

"So, how goes the search for my crown?"

"Ah. Now that I have delivered my report to Your Majesty, I plan to return immediately and resume the search."

To be precise, his plan was to obtain the Authority of Archisus, return home, and never set foot in the Empire again. The Crown of the Forgotten Dead that Uipoatl wanted him to find... was currently sitting in Tae-hyun's own inventory. Thanks to the elaborate lie Tae-hyun had spun, Uipoatl was under the absolute impression that the thieves from the Auston Kingdom had stolen it, but...

"Make haste and retrieve it!"

'What a high-maintenance bastard.'

Uipoatl was easily the most difficult NPC Tae-hyun had ever encountered. His affinity was excruciatingly hard to raise, yet it plummeted at the slightest provocation.

'Wait. Come to think of it, isn't Su Ning currently running amok in the Atali Kingdom?'

Realizing this, Tae-hyun quickly spoke up.

"However, Your Imperial Majesty, the King of Auston has currently dispatched his forces to raid and plunder our kingdom as we speak..."

"What? What nonsense is this? How could a king commit such a shameless act?"

Uipoatl was skeptical. No matter how lawless the world was, would the king of a nation personally send troops to plunder another country? Of course, Uipoatl had no idea that the man standing right in front of him was a world-class expert in that exact field.

"I swear it upon my honor!"

"Hmm. If King Kim Tae-hyun swears upon his honor..."

"If you do not believe me, you are welcome to verify it yourself!"

Tae-hyun was entirely confident. After all, he wasn't technically lying about the raid.

"Of course, King Kim Tae-hyun. I believe you."

...

The insight provided by his Highest-grade Eloquence Skill revealed the Emperor's true thoughts.

"However, if the King of Auston has indeed sent troops to plunder your lands, you will undoubtedly require assistance."

Since Tae-hyun kept making excuses instead of bringing back the crown, Uipoatl's suspicions were beginning to fester.

"I shall lend you my loyal soldiers. Take them with you!"

His plan was to attach a watchdog to ensure Tae-hyun was actually searching for the crown. Uipoatl was a cunning emperor.

But Uipoatl did not realize that his opponent was on an entirely different level. Furthermore, Tae-hyun was a man who had practically made a career out of borrowing other people's armies and running off with them!

"Thank you, Your Imperial Majesty!"

Tae-hyun bowed deeply. Uipoatl was practically handing over his own troops on a silver platter!

'Ah... how should I cook these guys?'

A master chef, upon obtaining top-tier ingredients, would always contemplate the best way to prepare them. Tae-hyun felt the exact same way. How should he cook up this Imperial Noble Vanguard?

He could eat them raw, blanch them, or boil them into a stew...

'Well, using them to crush the Guild Alliance is a given.'

He had originally planned to let the Guild Alliance slide if they just looted a bit and ran, but now that he had been handed this vanguard, he had no choice. The Guild Alliance was getting absolutely demolished. Only then would Tae-hyun have a plausible excuse to give Uipoatl.

'After I beat them down, I can just claim I recovered... another fragment of the crown. Whew. Su Ning, I'm sorry. I really wanted to let you off easy this time, but my hands are tied.'

Having received the vanguard, Tae-hyun did not return immediately. After all, his primary objective here was to obtain the Authority of Archisus!

Tae-hyun coaxed, flattered, and persuaded the commander of the vanguard.

'Five days... It's a bit tight, but it should be enough.'

As Uipoatl's personal troops, they were undoubtedly powerful, but he couldn't afford to drag them along on his current quest.

'If we run into Alexeos, it'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be an absolute disaster.'

He had to leave the vanguard behind for now. They were to be used strictly for crushing the Guild Alliance.

"By the way, Tae-hyun. Aren't you going to meet Alexeos?"

"Ah... about that."

Currently, Tae-hyun's party was heading deep into the desert, moving in the direction where the Authority of Archisus was rumored to be. Lee Da-bi had assumed they would meet Alexeos along the way.

"I'm sure Alexeos would give us a reward, but I doubt it would be as massive as what the Emperor gave us."

Alexeos disliked Hakkaras, but it was merely a mild distaste. He wasn't about to shower them with rewards the way Uipoatl did just because they killed him.

"And honestly, I'm terrified he'll take back the Authority and the Blessing."

"..."

"..."

Indeed. This was the real reason!

Currently, Tae-hyun was in possession of two incredibly broken buff skills: Alexeos's Authority and Alexeos's Blessing. He had only managed to secure these skills by desperately pleading, 'I need a little extra help to fight Hakkaras!'

If he reported that Hakkaras was dead, there was a very high chance Alexeos would say, 'Oh, really? That must have been tough. Now give me back my buffs!'

Although he had received a quest ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from Alexeos to fight Uipoatl, Tae-hyun hadn't actually achieved anything on that front yet...

'I need to avoid him at all costs.'

Tae-hyun fully intended to hold onto those buffs and stall for as long as possible until they were forcibly taken back. They were simply too good to willingly surrender.