A Highly Persuasive Argument!
The guild members looked at the executive with expectant eyes. Surely, after hearing such words, he wouldn't still pocket fifty percent of the loot, right?
"Urgh. I suppose that's true."
"Phew."
In the Guild Alliance, calling someone "a guy like Kim Tae-hyun" was the ultimate insult. The moment you uttered those words, it was practically declaring, "I will fight you to the death!"
"But I have made up my mind," Su Ning declared.
"?"
The executive felt a sudden wave of anxiety. What is this man up to now?
"Until we defeat Kim Tae-hyun... I will become evil itself! I will do whatever it takes, no matter how dirty!"
"..."
"..."
That was all well and good, but saying that so proudly in front of the very people he was extorting a fifty percent cut from...
"Endure it! Bear with it! For the infinite glory and development of our guild!"
True to his nature, Su Ning loved the idea of "developing" by taking from others. Of course, just because they shared the same nationality didn't mean anyone would actually nod and say, "Ah, yes. Of course! For the infinite glory and development of the guild!"
Besides, the Guild Alliance had quite a few international players!
Wow. Is this guy seriously, proudly insane?
The Power Warrior Guild spy, who had tagged along for the raid, was utterly amazed. Usually, when someone took a fifty percent cut, they'd at least try to coax or placate the members, wouldn't they? How could he extort them so brazenly?
The spy didn't realize that for the leaders of giant guilds, this level of shamelessness was basic protocol. Once people reached a certain position, their necks naturally stiffened, and they became drunk on authority.
The spy reported their location. Currently, the Guild Alliance wasn't traveling in one massive group. Instead, the rankers had split up to lead individual raiding parties.
Their primary target was the border region between the Atali Kingdom and the Auston Kingdom—specifically, the northern part of Atali.
Of course, they didn't dare go near the northeastern region where the Valley was located. They strictly stuck to the easy-to-target northwest!
The spies were reporting these coordinates in real-time, mostly to ensure the Power Warrior Guild wouldn't accidentally get caught in the crossfire.
The situation was similar elsewhere. Even the fifty percent tax was the same!
The Power Warrior Guild members were suddenly overcome with a wave of deep gratitude. Seeing the brutal tax rates of Su Ning and the Guild Alliance made the Power Warrior Guild look like saints.
Their Guild Master didn't extort her members for guild funds; she earned it herself through sponsorships and advertisements! Even as the Power Warrior Guild grew massive and powerful, Lee Da-bi remained completely unchanged, never losing her original mindset.
"But why aren't we seeing any demons? Ever since the World Tree opened, their numbers should have spiked."
"Do those demon bastards discriminate against people or something?" the Guild Alliance members muttered.
They had seen plenty of demons in the Auston Kingdom, so why were there none here?
"Maybe it's because the Archisus Church has spread here?"
"Hey. Is the Archisus Church the only religion in the world? Other religions exist too, you know. The Auston Kingdom has churches as well."
At that absurd remark, the guild members scolded the speaker.
"N-No, I mean... in the Atali Kingdom, the King is literally the Pope..."
"Does that even make sense?"
"Yeah. You might as well say the demons are too scared of Kim Tae-hyun to come here. That makes more sense."
Twitch.
As Su Ning prepared for their next attack, Tae-hyun's name caught his ear.
"Hmph! There is absolutely no need to fear that bastard Kim Tae-hyun! Mark my words. He won't show his face while we're raiding! Think about it. That guy has only ever backstabbed us. He bites us where we're weak and runs away. Has he ever faced our rankers head-on? Not once! He's a total coward!"
Su Ning's speech was meant to inspire courage, but it had the exact opposite effect. Tae-hyun's achievements were simply too legendary.
He did, plenty of times...
Did he already forget getting utterly crushed by Tae-hyun's dad on the plains?
Does he think Kim Tae-hyun has to fight all dozens of the Guild Alliance rankers by himself to not be a coward?
Tae-hyun wasn't just a hit-and-run player. If necessary, he was more than capable of slicing through a ranker or two without breaking a sweat. If he had only run away from fights, he would never have gained such overwhelming popularity.
The reason Tae-hyun was so beloved was that at crucial moments, he never avoided a fight; he met it head-on. Even when the odds were overwhelmingly against him, he always snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.
"Kim Tae-hyun can't come out! I dare him to try! Come on out, Kim Tae-hyun! You cowardly bastard!"
"G-Guild Master, please, that's a bit much..." the executive pleaded, terrified.
They had several rankers with them, but Kim Tae-hyun was genuinely terrifying! Just looking into his eyes felt like they would explode!
"He's right. Let's just quietly loot and leave."
"What if Kim Tae-hyun actually shows up...?"
"Is Kim Tae-hyun a snake? You think he'll just appear because you call his name?"
The rankers grumbled, but the general consensus was: Let's not provoke Kim Tae-hyun and just quietly rob the place.
Even now, they were secretly terrified that Tae-hyun might actually appear!
However, their weakness only fueled Su Ning's anger.
"This is why you guys are...! Gonzalez! What do you think?"
Gonzalez was a Guild Alliance ranker close to Su Ning. He was the one who had suffered the painful loss of their fortress after losing a 1v1 duel to Smith. Of course, that defeat was entirely due to an item crafted with a self-destruct option...
But the Guild Alliance rankers still hadn't figured that out. They mistakenly believed it was one of Smith's skills. They couldn't fathom that such a diabolical item existed, let alone that someone would actually use it like that!
"Well, as for me..."
"Why are you asking Gonzalez? He's the guy who lost to Smith."
"Who said that?! Which one of you bastards was it?!" Gonzalez roared in fury.
The guild members quickly averted their eyes, whistling innocently. The resentment over the fifty percent tax cut ran deep—deep enough for them to talk trash right in front of a ranker!
Gonzalez trembled with rage, but the other rankers held him back.
"Hey, hey. Don't get so worked up over something like that."
"Yeah, anyone can lose to Smith, *pfft*. I mean, I didn't lose, but still."
The rankers pretended to hold him back while subtly taking jabs at him. Since they were all rivals, Gonzalez's defeat was a source of great amusement. They had always resented him for getting special treatment just because he was close to Su Ning anyway.
As the noise grew louder, Su Ning shouted again.
"Silence! I do not fear Kim Tae-hyun—"
Clip-clop, clip-clop—
"Aaaah! It's Kim Tae-hyun! It's Kim Tae-hyun! Everyone, prepare for battle!"
At the sound of approaching hooves, Su Ning instantly dropped into a low stance and screamed at the top of his lungs.
"..."
"..."
Of course, there was no way Tae-hyun, who was currently far away in the Asbian Empire, would suddenly appear here. It was just a passing carriage.
"..."
Su Ning remained frozen in his low stance, unable to get back up. The sheer embarrassment was palpable.
The executive cleared his throat and tried to salvage the situation.
"...And that is exactly how you prepare! Even if Kim Tae-hyun shows up, as long as we are as thoroughly prepared as our Guild Master, we have nothing to fear!"
What a load of crap.
He looks like he'd be the first to run.
"Anyway, let's rob that carriage!"
"Yeah! Let's rob it!"
"Waaaaah!"
With the prospect of looting, all complaints vanished. Even with a fifty percent tax, there would still be plenty left over!
The Guild Alliance players rushed toward the carriage in high spirits. What was inside? Hopefully, something expensive!
"Kyaaaah!"
"Hiiiiieee!"
The merchant player driving the carriage shrieked in terror upon seeing the Guild Alliance players.
"Leave the carriage and get lost!"
"Aaaah!"
The merchant quickly abandoned the carriage and fled.
The Guild Alliance players eagerly opened the carriage door.
Click—
Carriage door explosion trap has been activated.
Detonating.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Every single guild member in the vicinity was instantly logged out.
The carriage must have been packed to the brim with explosives, as the blast was so powerful they didn't even have time to react.
"Good?"
"Good."
From a distance, the mechanical engineering blacksmiths watched the spectacle unfold. Leading them was their chief, Gabriel!
He possessed a talent so wicked that even a demon blacksmith had once acknowledged him, saying, "You are truly about 0.2 Archisus levels of demonic."
Daniel. You still don't understand that the true power of mechanical engineering lies in bombs!
Gabriel felt a deep pity for Daniel. If only Daniel had used his talent to make bombs instead of crafting useless mechanical engineering items, how wonderful would that have been?
"Lord Tae-hyun is currently busy clearing a quest and cannot be here! But we cannot allow these pests to run rampant in his territory!"
"Waaaaah!"
"Waaaaahhhhh!!"
It wasn't just the mechanical engineering blacksmiths who had gathered. Players from the Valley, the Capital, the Archisus Church, the Power Warrior Guild, and even the players who had looted alongside Tae-hyun in the Auston Kingdom had joined...
Wait, that last group seemed a bit out of place.
"...Why are you guys here?"
"Tsk, tsk. How foolish."
The veteran looters shook their fingers at the player who asked, treating him like an idiot.
"The Guild Alliance has come to loot Kim Tae-hyun's territory. What do you think is going to happen?"
"...Won't they do a good job of looting...?"
"No, you idiot. The Guild Alliance is going to get absolutely obliterated by Kim Tae-hyun!"
"..."
"And that's when we sweep in behind them and clean up! Muhahaha!"
The experienced, battle-hardened looters knew how to read the flow of the game. Instead of siding with the Guild Alliance to loot Tae-hyun's territory only to get beaten to a pulp by Tae-hyun later, it was far better to wait on Tae-hyun's side and rob the Guild Alliance blind when they got crushed!
The Guild Alliance members were numerous, high-level, and decked out in top-tier gear. On top of that, they were flagged as looters, meaning their item drop rates would be astronomical.
If they were going to rob someone, they might as well target the ones who had the most to lose and were guaranteed to get wrecked!
It was a truly cunning and meticulous plan. The looters were no fools.
Regardless of their motives, countless players had gathered from all over to defend the territory.
To Su Ning, this was incredibly unfair!
Why didn't you guys gather like this when the Auston Kingdom was getting looted?! You unfair bastards!!
And to Tae-hyun, it was equally unfair!
No! The noble lords' territories need to get looted! You don't need to protect them, so stop!
But the gathered players had no way of knowing this. With unyielding determination, they resolved to fight for Tae-hyun!
"No... *sigh*. Fine."
Tae-hyun let out a bitter sigh.
News had reached him that players were gathering like clouds to fight off the Guild Alliance raiding parties. It was a good thing. A very good thing, but...!
If they do that, the noble NPCs won't come begging me for help...!
His mind was a tangled mess.
Tae-hyun shook his head and looked forward. For now, he had to focus on the dungeon.
The Heart of Sand Dungeon was slowly becoming truly dangerous.
The deeper we go, the more inedible the monsters become!
Starting with golems, the dungeon was filled with monsters that were impossible to eat. No matter how incredibly skilled Tae-hyun was, he was powerless in the face of extreme hunger.
Your thirst is worsening rapidly.
Your hunger is worsening rapidly.
Carbanog advises you to eat Heuk-heuk.
"?!?!?"
Carbanog corrects itself, advising you to drink Heuk-heuk's blood instead.
"Ah. Well, if it's just that..."
— Master?!
"I'm kidding. Don't worry."
Tae-hyun didn't give up. Although his cooking skills were still too low to turn a golem into a meal, he was confident he could find something else.
Tae-hyun began swinging his hammer, smashing everything in sight—the sand, the sandstone, and the limestone walls of the dungeon.
"Ah! It's iron ore!"
"That's not what we need right now!"
"Whoa! Gold! It's a gold vein! And there's emerald right next to it!"
"I told you, that's not what we need!"
"..."
Cain was utterly dumbfounded. Is this guy a miner? How does iron and gold burst out every single time he swings that hammer?
Any actual miner players would have wept tears of blood at this sight.
But Tae-hyun ignored the valuable treasures scattering around him and kept moving, desperately searching for anything edible.
Trickle, trickle—
"Huh? Is that the sound of water?"
Crash!
It was indeed a liquid.
They had discovered flowing lava.
"Oh, come on!" Cain groaned, slapping his forehead.
This dungeon really had absolutely nothing edible!
But Tae-hyun let out a cheer.
"Perfect!"
"???"
What do you mean, perfect?!