Faster Than the Person Next to You

When encountering a wild beast, you didn't necessarily have to run faster than the beast itself to survive. You just had to be faster than the person next to you! The guild member who had tripped his friend and fled knew this rule all too well.

"Sweep them away!"

However, Tae-hyun didn't care about a single fallen guild member.

Archisus's Blessing, Aki-sus's Divine Territory... Archisus's Charge!

He unleashed every single divine authority skill related to Archisus!

An ambush was meant to deliver shock and awe. Even the most composed opponent had to be shaken so violently that they couldn't regain their senses. To achieve that, it was best to explosively dump skills in the opening act, even if it meant a bit of waste.

Tae-hyun showered his companions with every buff he could get his hands on while maximizing his own damage output. Then, he searched for an unfortunate scapegoat.

Ordinary guild members were useless.

A ranker! He needed a ranker's blood!

Archisus's Curse!

Unluckily for them, an unnamed ranker standing at the very front was caught in it. After slinging Archisus's Curse, Tae-hyun used his charge to slam directly into him.

Crash!

"Why is Kim Tae-hyun here—*cough*!"

The ranker was so utterly bewildered that he could only scream, even as Tae-hyun's party and the noble warriors descended upon them. It was an unbelievable mistake. And that mistake was paid for instantly with his life.

"You guys... did this for me! I'm touched!"

"N-No!"

Tae-hyun's eyes gleamed. Most of the guild members were glowing bright red from PK and looting. This meant they were in a state where they would drop massive amounts of items and gold upon death!

And if you factored in Tae-hyun's absurd Luck?

"Die, you walking treasure chests!"

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

Archysis's Third Attack! Critical Explosion!

He charged in with every buff active, stunned the target, sealed their counter-skills with Archisus's Curse, and then unleashed a devastating burst of damage using Archisus Swordmanship and his divine authority skills!

Even if the target was a lower-tier ranker, they were still a ranker. Yet, they were instantly shredded without being able to react to this terrifying burst combo!

Pure shock and awe!

Even for Tae-hyun, grabbing a ranker he had just locked eyes with and logging them out in under ten seconds was absurd. Consternation spread like wildfire among the watching rankers and guild members.

Of course, Tae-hyun was currently running on a razor's edge, gambling by dumping every single divine authority skill he possessed...

But none of the Guild Alliance members could think that far ahead in the heat of the moment.

In this chaotic situation, who would possibly think, 'Look at Kim Tae-hyun running wild like that! He's overextending in the opening phase! We just need to hold out!'?

Besides, Tae-hyun wasn't the only one running amok.

His companions, bolstered by various buffs, and the noble warriors of the Asbian Empire were also tearing through the enemy lines.

The noble warriors of the Asbian Empire were truly showing why the Emperor had assigned them to Tae-hyun. Their sheer power as they pushed back the Guild Alliance rankers was immense! Even though Tae-hyun had showered them with buffs, they seemed even more formidable than the elite royal knights of most kingdoms.

The Guild Alliance rankers were visibly flustered, their coordination falling apart.

Tae-hyun was a known monster, but who on earth were these NPCs who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere?

"Hand over His Majesty's treasure!"

"You thieves!"

The Asbian noble warriors roared fiercely, swinging their weapons.

Of course, the Guild Alliance members, who had guilty consciences about many things, had no idea what they were talking about.

"Hmph! We're not giving back the treasure!"

"Try and take it by force if you can!"

The guild members' defiant retorts only fueled the noble warriors' fury!

"How dare you...! Not only did you lay hands on the crown, but you dare to be this shameless...!"

"Crown? What crown?"

"Did we get something like that?"

"Silence!"

Single Strike of the Desert!

Arrow of the Sun!

The noble warriors were highly skilled not only with swords but also with ranged weapons like bows. For the uncoordinated rankers, this was an absolute nightmare.

And on top of that...

"I'm back."

"Aaaaargh!"

Whenever they fought for a bit, Tae-hyun would suddenly appear right in front of them after clearing out another ranker! To the rankers, it was nothing short of a horror movie. Every time they blinked, another one of their comrades was snatched away and vanished.

When the rankers tried to link up and stay close ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to guard against Tae-hyun's charge-burst combo, Tae-hyun immediately changed his tactics.

Slave's Chain!

*Clatter-clank!*

He disrupted their formations using his companions' skills...

"Look at you all getting along so well. Here, a present."

"!!"

*Boom-boom-boom!*

The moment they bunched up even slightly, a barrage of bombs would fly their way! Even without the Archisus Artillery, Tae-hyun was a walking bomb. With various modifiers, starting with Sadik's Flame, even a single bomb thrown by him packed an absurd amount of destructive power!

The power of his Highest-grade Mechanical Engineering skill was no joke.

"Don't move, Kim Tae-hyun! If you take one step, we'll set this cart on fire!"

"??"

Tae-hyun stared at them, looking utterly baffled.

The Guild Alliance members were clinging tightly to the cart, trying to threaten him.

It's not even my stuff, though?

Of course, since Tae-hyun planned to pocket it once he reclaimed it, losing it would sting a little...

But did they seriously think they could threaten him with that?

"Hey. Didn't you say you were going to negotiate?"

"Ah. Right. I did."

At Cain's words, Tae-hyun realized his mistake.

Originally, he had planned to scare them a bit and then negotiate from a position of strength...

But he had gotten so excited in the heat of the moment that he had gone completely wild!

The Guild Alliance party led by Su Ning was already half-destroyed. Only the rankers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were barely holding on, while the lower-tier guild members had been sliced and diced to pieces.

Hmm. Did I beat them up too much?

At this rate, wouldn't they be too spiteful to negotiate and just fight to the bitter end?

Although their regular forces were shattered, a significant number of rankers were still holding out. Aside from the few Tae-hyun had personally shredded, almost all of them were still standing. They weren't called rankers for nothing!

The reason Tae-hyun wanted to negotiate with the Guild Alliance wasn't because he feared them, nor was he worried they would burn all the treasures.

I can't let these highly useful scapegoats just rob Count Bolone and Count Bonazo and leave...

Indeed. He wanted to use this opportunity to subjugate the remaining nobles!

In that regard, the Guild Alliance's raid was a golden opportunity. The moment the raiders ran amok in their territories, the nobles would have no choice but to fall to their knees and beg, 'Please, save us!'

"Urgh! How terrifying!"

Tae-hyun immediately feigned terror.

"..."

"..."

His companions stared at him, utterly speechless.

How could someone who was so brilliant at every other kind of acting be so incredibly terrible at acting scared?

Oops. Was that too pathetic?

However, the guild members were absolutely thrilled. Their rational judgment had been completely paralyzed by their sheer terror of Tae-hyun!

"Kim Tae-hyun is scared!"

"See! I told you this would work!"

"Kim Tae-hyun! Back off! Or we'll burn it all!"

"No! Let's negotiate!"

"Bwahaha! Kim Tae-hyun! The great Kim Tae-hyun is begging!"

"Wait, does he really look scared? It feels a bit off..."

"What nonsense are you spouting! If Kim Tae-hyun wasn't scared, why would he even mention negotiation!"

In the midst of the commotion, Su Ning, who had finally regained his composure, stepped forward.

Seeing him, Tae-hyun gasped in surprise.

"Oh? Su Ning? You were here? I didn't see you earlier, so I thought you had run away by yourself."

"..."

Su Ning pretended not to hear.

Instead, the guild members began to whisper among themselves.

"Was he seriously hiding in the back while we were fighting?"

"Wow... that's low. We were literally getting slaughtered out here."

"Ahem! Kim Tae-hyun. You want to negotiate?"

"Yeah. I'll be merciful and only kill you once, so hand over everything you have and get the hell out—"

"????"

"???????"

"Ah. Sorry. Force of habit."

What do you mean, force of habit?!

For a second, he had confused this with his days in Pan-On 1!

"My offer is generous. Leave all the carts behind, and I will spare your lives."

It was an incredibly bold demand!

Of course, not all the Guild Alliance members were complete idiots.

"Wait, how is that generous...?"

"Hold on, hold on. Now that I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠think about it, isn't it actually kind of generous?"

If anyone else had said it, they would have told them to cut the crap. But because it came from Tae-hyun, it somehow felt like an incredibly merciful offer. They felt a strange pressure, as if they would never get another chance if they passed this up!

"Should we take it?"

"But still, leaving all the carts behind is..."

"We've already pocketed quite a bit, haven't we?"

"But we have our pride to think about..."

As the guild members muttered among themselves, Tae-hyun wore a slightly awkward expression.

I thought they would reject it immediately...

His original plan was: Guild Alliance rejects the offer -> "Then let's renegotiate!" -> lead the conversation where he wanted.

But they were actually seriously debating whether to accept it or not?

Are these guys insane?

Just then, Su Ning stepped in.

"We refuse, Kim Tae-hyun!"

"No! Guild Master! Wait a minute!"

"You idiot! How can you just decide on your own!"

"W-What?! Do you want to die?!"

"We're about to get slaughtered by Kim Tae-hyun before you can even touch us! How can you say that? You're just going to hide in the back again if we fight anyway!"

The desperate guild members looked ready to grab Su Ning by the collar.

Seeing this, the rankers stepped in to push the regular guild members back.

"Get back! Stay where you are!"

"Anyone who moves will be disciplined!"

Meanwhile, Tae-hyun's party was watching the entire spectacle with great interest, munching on popcorn.

"They sure know how to put on a show."

"Right? Oh, by the way, are you recording this? Let's upload it to Power Warrior's stream later."

Having suppressed the commotion, Su Ning spoke up once more.

"We refuse!"

"Tsk! I guess I have no choice. I'll make another offer!" Tae-hyun said, acting as if his hands were tied.

"!!!"

Seeing Tae-hyun back down, the guild members' eyes widened.

Our Guild Master actually managed to push back against Kim Tae-hyun!

Unbelievable! Wonders truly never cease!

There was no way Su Ning would miss the shift in the atmosphere. He could almost hear it in his ears—the sound of his rock-bottom reputation soaring back up!

I need to push harder and show them what I've got!

Su Ning realized that nothing restored one's pride faster than showing up Kim Tae-hyun.

"We refuse, Kim Tae-hyun! We are strong! Our guild members are spread all over this area. You'd better run while you still can! They must be rushing here to reinforce us as we speak!"

"U-Uh, Guild Master..."

"If you're going to put it that way, where do you think all those players Kim Tae-hyun brought with him are right now?!"

The guild members were horrified to see their Guild Master starting to veer off into crazy territory just when things were going well. Time was on Tae-hyun's side. No matter how they looked at it, Tae-hyun held all the cards!

Let's just negotiate reasonably!

"Hmm. If you really have no intention of negotiating, I guess we'll just have to fight to the end..."

Tae-hyun shrugged, seeing that Su Ning had no intention of accepting. It was a pity, but a fight it was! He could always find another opportunity to subjugate the remaining nobles...

"No! We accept the negotiation!"

The negotiations were held separately.

Only Tae-hyun and Su Ning met—or more precisely, Tae-hyun, Su Ning, and Su Ning's personal ranker bodyguards.

The rankers glared at Tae-hyun with extreme vigilance, watching his every move as if terrified he might grab Su Ning and turn him into a human bomb.

Well, given my track record, I can't really blame them.

"My proposal is—"

"Don't come any closer!"

"Speak from right there! We can hear you perfectly fine!"

"Show us both of your hands! You're not holding a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bomb, are you?!"

"...Let me at least speak."

The rankers jumped in alarm at every single word Tae-hyun uttered.

Don't they ever get tired?

"Su Ning. I understand your situation. The Guild Alliance isn't doing so well, is it? You need to make gold, and you need to save face."

"...!"

How does this bastard know so much...!

Su Ning felt a bitter taste in his mouth. It was information anyone could find out if they dug deep enough, but he hadn't expected Tae-hyun to be so well-informed.

"But I also have my position as a king to consider."

"So what are you getting at?"

"Why don't we join hands and each take what we want?"

"...?!"

Su Ning's eyes widened.

It was a proposal he had absolutely never expected.