An Oath Under Duress

Only then did the envoy from Count Bolone's estate grasp the situation. Terrified, he shrieked, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Are you truly going to help that treacherous scoundrel first?!"

"Didn't you just say he wasn't a scoundrel a moment ago? Whatever. If you want my help first, you'd better start running right now. Your territory is closer, so if you hurry, you might not be too late."

"...!"

Without even wasting a second to reply, the envoy spun on his heel and bolted. He was in an absolute frenzy.

The King's authority was soaring! When Tae-hyun had first donned the crown, the nobles had sneered, Kim Tae-hyun? What kind of country bumpkin is that? But now, they were trembling with tension, bowing their heads in submission.

Phew. Thanks to the Guild Alliance, I'll be able to thoroughly clean up the kingdom's internal affairs. Tae-hyun let out a sigh of relief.

Unlike other nations, the Atali Kingdom had been a ticking time bomb. A fractured kingdom where the King and the local lords played their own separate games! They had only survived without a major catastrophe out of sheer luck; if fortune hadn't favored them, a rebellion could have easily shattered the kingdom into pieces.

As long as I keep the northern and central lords firmly under my thumb, the southern ones won't dare act up.

Tae-hyun pushed forward with his plans. The Guild Alliance bastards are scattered and playing around... Yeah, go ahead and keep playing.

Surprisingly, the two Counts arrived at almost the exact same time.

"Haha. It is good to see both Counts," Tae-hyun greeted them warmly. "I feel like it has been quite some time since I ascended the throne, yet you only rush here now to swear your oaths of fealty."

"Your Majesty! It is a misunderstanding!" Count Bonazo cried out. "I have always wished to come and swear my loyalty, but the circumstances of my territory were dire...!"

"Your Majesty, Count Bonazo's territory has fertile wheat fields and has always enjoyed bountiful harvests!" Count Bolone interjected, weeping. "However, my territory suffered another famine this year... *Sob!*"

"W-What are you doing, Count Bolone?!"

"I heard everything from my envoy, you snake! We shook hands, and yet you betray me?!"

"N-No... That was because our situation was dire... You know demons are appearing in our lands!"

"Do demons only appear in your territory?! They are appearing in mine as well!"

"Haha. Seeing you two squabble pleases me, but I have much to do, so save your fighting for later," Tae-hyun said, cutting them off.

"..."

"..."

"I assume you brought your overdue taxes?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Of course, Your Majesty!"

No noble was foolish enough to say, "I won't pay taxes, you tyrant!" in this situation. Now was the time to press their heads to the floor.

So this is what taxes feel like! Tae-hyun finally understood why the Guild Alliance was so obsessed with them. Just sitting still brought in hundreds of thousands of gold. Of course, these taxes didn't appear out of thin air; the two nobles had scraped the very bottom of their treasuries to pay years of back taxes...

"Do you two swear your loyalty to me?"

"...Yes!"

"Of course!"

"In sickness and in health, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to love and to cherish..."

"...?"

"Ah, wrong one. In sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth, do you swear your loyalty to the King?"

"Yes!"

"Whether you have your order of knights or not..."

"Y-Your Majesty. We will swear our loyalty, so please... there is no need for such unnecessary words..."

The Counts spoke anxiously, sensing Tae-hyun was intentionally dragging things out. They needed to leave immediately, but he was wasting time!

"Hmph. I thought you would respect my words."

"No! We respect them!"

"It's just that short speeches are the trend these days!"

"Fine. I understand. Let's move to the final part. For this loyalty, will you devote yourselves to the Archisus Church and swear in the name of Archisus?"

"Yes!"

"Uh...?"

Count Bonazo answered reflexively, while Count Bolone, being slightly smarter, hesitated. What did he just say?

Swearing loyalty to a king wasn't just a simple "loyalty, loyalty, loyalty." If they broke it, their honor as nobles would plummet, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and other nobles wouldn't treat them as peers. To be treated as a noble in other kingdoms on the continent, one had to keep oaths sworn on their honor.

However, strictly speaking, breaking such an oath didn't immediately put their lives in danger. But swearing in the name of a god? The moment they broke that oath, a divine curse would strike them!

"Hmph. It seems Count Bolone is less loyal than Count Bonazo. I suppose I should head to Count Bonazo's territory first."

"N-No! I swear! I swear!"

Damn that Count Bonazo! Originally, neither Count believed in the Archisus Church, so they didn't need to swear, but because Count Bonazo swore first, Count Bolone was dragged into it. So that was why the King was dragging his feet—to pull off such a petty trick!

"Great! Shall we go save Count Bonazo's territory?"

"Y-Your Majesty! Why Count Bonazo first?!"

"Because Count Bonazo's envoy ran first. In the future, if you feel wronged, throw your friend under the bus first."

"..."

Count Bolone glared murderously at Count Bonazo. Count Bonazo wanted to make an excuse, but how could he in this situation? It was impossible.

"...But why are we moving with only this many people?" Cain asked in bewilderment.

The forces Tae-hyun had brought were massive—enough to flatten an entire territory. Yet, Tae-hyun was secretly moving with only ten thousand troops.

"Because if we bring everyone, we'll get caught. It would be no different from broadcasting our location."

Tae-hyun knew his every move was being broadcasted. For someone like him who valued surprise attacks, this was absolutely undesirable. He could have separated the players, but he didn't. He had a better way.

If you want to hide a tree, hide it in the forest.

Currently, the group surrounded by the Archisus Artillery, the knights, and the giant tribes was a decoy. Since Tae-hyun had left a clone of himself there, the rest of the crowd wouldn't suspect anything even if they couldn't see the faces of the others. Most people firmly believed Tae-hyun was waiting at the border!

It doesn't matter if we're at a disadvantage.

Even if he couldn't use his full strength like the artillery, the giant tribes, or the knights, it didn't matter. Since when did Tae-hyun ever fight with an advantage? What mattered was fighting where and when he wanted!

Moreover, spies were feeding him Su Ning's location in real-time.

"But why did it have to be them?"

"Because taking them out is the least noticeable, and since they aren't my troops, I can use them as disposable shields."

The Archisus Artillery was too famous now, and the giants would stand out too much if they disappeared. In contrast, the Asbian Noble Warriors weren't flashy like knights, and since they had only recently arrived, their absence wouldn't be noticed.

And most importantly... since they weren't his own troops, he didn't care if they died!

"Your Majesty, what did you say?" one of the Asbian warriors asked.

"I said I brought you because you are the most trustworthy."

"Hehehe..."

"As expected, you have a keen eye!"

Seeing Tae-hyun dominate the nobles upon his arrival, the loyalty of the Asbian Noble Warriors had risen significantly. He looked just like an Emperor!

"Is the bastard we're hunting right now the very same one who stole Your Majesty's sacred relic?"

"Huh?" Tae-hyun blinked, momentarily confused. Then it clicked. Ah, right, that was the story I made up.

Uipoatl was searching for his lost crown. Tae-hyun, who actually had it, had boldly broken the crown, thrown a piece to him, and claimed, Heavens! The Ostern royal family did this!

I completely forgot. He had pulled off so many scams in so many ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠places that he was starting to lose track!

"Indeed."

"Do you think he still has it on him?"

"No. He probably has it hidden in his palace."

"Tsk. What a cowardly bastard."

"We must capture him and conquer his palace!"

"Haha. If that is what you wish, I cannot stop you. Go ahead and ask His Imperial Majesty to send reinforcements."

Of course, Tae-hyun didn't expect much. The Asbian Empire was too far away. That was exactly why he was scamming them so openly. Even if he got caught, he just wouldn't go back there!

"Found them. They're over there."

"Whoa. Look at those wagons. Those crazy bastards. How much did they plunder?"

"Huh? What's that statue? Isn't... isn't that a statue of you?"

"...You've got the wrong person."

"No, I'm pretty sure that's your statue."

Cain kept pointing at the wagon, completely lacking tact. No matter how he looked at it, it was a Kim Tae-hyun statue.

Were there statues outside of the capital and the Valley?

The most famous Tae-hyun statue was the giant one in the Valley, standing majestically alongside the golems. However, besides that giant one, there were quite a few medium and small statues scattered around.

The misdeeds of the mechanical engineering blacksmiths!

The blacksmiths were casually dumping bombs in territories that weren't theirs! It was a level of wickedness that would have earned them a bounty on their heads if the noble lords found out. Well, they already had bounties, but still!

There are quite a few wagons. Tae-hyun quickly assessed the situation.

The Guild Alliance wasn't stupid; they would have moved the plundered items to their own lands after raiding the territory. Yet, there were still this many wagons left. Just how much had they stolen?!

Damn it! If I knew they were this rich, I would have worn a mask and raided the territory myself!

Oops. My true feelings slipped out.

What? Either way, it's the same thing!

Whether the nobles begged for help because of the Guild Alliance's raid, or because of Tae-hyun's raid, the result was pretty much the same.

"Your Majesty. Shall we wipe out those wicked, arrogant, filthy, wretched..."

Ten seconds later.

"...disgusting bandits right this instant?"

"Yes. Let me see what you've got. Charge!"

"Aim for the wagons! Target the wagons!"

"Kill the guild members and seize the wagons!"

"Nobody move! I'll cut down the first one who takes a step!"

"We are the Bandits of Justice!"

"?"

"...?!"

The Guild Alliance, which had been moving at ease, panicked at the sudden ambush. An ambush that had bypassed even the scouts of their rogue players!

"Wait, aren't we the bandits here?"

"What crazy bandit robs other bandits? Crush th— K-Kim Tae-hyun! It's Kim Tae-hyun!!!"

"Aaaaargh! Aaaaargh!"

The Guild Alliance member at the very front shrieked, grabbed his friend, and tripped him.

"?!"

And then he spun around and fled. The tripped guild member realized the truth.

That bastard! He read the guide!

Tripping him to get ahead! The resentment of being a step slower was far greater than the sting of his friend's betrayal.