To Be Honest, I Didn't Really Want to See Those Statues

To be honest, he didn't really want to see those statues.

He hadn't even asked them to make them, but the Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths had crafted and scattered statues of him all over the place! It was lucky they did it with good intentions; otherwise, he would have sued them immediately.

‘Why on earth are these bastards putting my face all over the world...!’

What was even more terrifying was that it had become a massive trend among the Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths.

It was already a public nuisance that they were sneakily building statues in other territories' plazas and running away, but now the Mechanical Engineering Blacksmiths were challenging themselves to place them inside various dungeons and on top of high mountains! Since building one boosted their Mechanical Engineering skill by leaps and bounds, there wasn't a single blacksmith who would pass up the opportunity.

Thanks to this, Tae-hyun was the only one dying of embarrassment.

Stop making them, you crazy bastards!

When Tae-hyun let the matter slide, Choi Sang-yun asked again, looking bewildered.

"What? Statues are pretty expensive in their own right."

"Just let it go, let it go. Tell them to just take it as a souvenir."

"He's acting out of character."

"Is he about to die or something?"

At Cain's words, Choi Sang-yun smacked the back of Cain's head.

"If he dies, we all go down with him, okay? If you want to die, die by yourself."

"Ah, right. That's... but isn't that a bit too harsh?!"

‘These royal quests are actually worth doing.’

Of course, he ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hadn't leveled up solely from this quest; he had already raised his experience bar quite a bit beforehand by slicing through rankers and completing other quests. Still, this was something to be incredibly grateful for!

‘Now I'm level 151... If I can just hit 200, I'll have no more wishes.’

‘Shut it.’

Having completely driven away the Guild Alliance, Tae-hyun found himself facing a different dilemma.

‘What do I do now?’

Normally, he would have to go search for his next authority for his class quest. However, with the Guild Alliance looming like this, he couldn't bring himself to leave the kingdom.

The difficulty of the Archisus class quests was steadily ramping up, and above all...

‘There are way too many bizarre ones!’

There were plenty of dungeons where, once trapped, it was incredibly difficult to get back out! If he got stuck in one of those, he wouldn't be able to respond quickly in an emergency.

‘Hmm. Then should I just finish up the royal quests?’

From the looks of it, the quests he received as king were quite lucrative.

"Your Majesty. Now that you have tricked those fools and sent them packing, do you intend to march up to the Auston Kingdom and reclaim your crown?"

"Hmm? No. How could I possibly march up there in peace while those bastards are still lingering in my kingdom?"

The noble warriors of the Asbian Empire looked disappointed at Tae-hyun's words. They had wanted him to boldly strike upward, even if his kingdom burned a little in the process!

‘Patience. These guys are high-level enough to be used as excellent bombs later.’

Each and every one of the noble warriors was high-level, making them perfect material to be used as human bombs.

"Alright. I hear demons have appeared in the territories of the two counts. Let's go deal with them first."

Demons who hid in the shadows of a territory, striking and then vanishing, were originally like stubborn mold—extremely difficult to catch. To subjugate such demons, a multi-stage chain quest was absolutely essential!

It usually involved attacking the places the demons frequented, purifying the area using the power of the church, and finally cornering and defeating the demon boss.

"Doesn't that take way too much time?"

"I feel like starting that will just be a hassle if we can't finish it quickly."

Knowing this all too well, the party members spoke up with worried expressions.

"That's why I'm going to borrow the players' strength."

Countless players were currently gathered, waiting only for Tae-hyun's command! Tae-hyun intended to push through with sheer numbers.

If they scoured every nook and cranny of the towns, not even demons would be able to hold out!

"Uh, will players really step up to subjugate local demons when it's not even a fight against the Guild Alliance?"

"I have a plan for that."

"?"

"Those Guild Alliance bastards unleashed demons in our territory!"

"Heavens! How could anyone be so evil?!"

"Come to think of it, the World Tree where the demons come from is in the Auston Kingdom, right?!"

"Using demons to attack other territories... they truly are wicked!"

Of course, Tae-hyun had done the exact same thing before, but people always remembered others by their established reputation.

As the Power Warrior Guild members spread the rumors far and wide, Tae-hyun stepped forward and shouted:

"Everyone, let's hunt down the demons! It doesn't matter if your level is low! Scour every suspicious place you can find, and if you spot anything, tell other players so they can help!"

"Yaaaaay!"

There was a saying that the flap of a butterfly's wings could cause a typhoon on the other side of the world. With just a single word from Tae-hyun, the players gathered there erupted in collective frenzy.

The massive horde of players who had marched up to the border swarmed back down. Their destination: the territories of the two counts!

The players flooded into villages, fortresses, cities, and castles without restraint—to the point where the counts were utterly bewildered!

"That house in the alley looks suspicious!"

"That's my house, you damn adventurers!"

Even the captain of the guard's house wasn't safe.

"Ah! That mansion over there looks gloomy and suspicious, doesn't it?"

"That's the Baron's mansion, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you crazy bastards!"

The players, completely blinded by the quest, were terrifying.

Normally, when doing a quest alone, if a noble NPC barked, 'How dare a lowly peasant like you! Get lost!' they would have backed off, crying, 'Sob... so cruel!'

But now that they were moving in groups of dozens, even hundreds, there was no need for that.

"This is an order from His Majesty the King! You get out of the way!"

"W-What? You lowly peasants... are you insane... Argh!"

The players rushed forward, grabbed the Baron by the collar, lifted him up, and tossed him aside.

"Wooo! Let's go in! I bet there's a demon inside!"

"Whoa!!! We found it!"

"See? I told you it was suspicious!"

Surprisingly, these brute-force attempts actually worked. As the saying goes, there is no defense against overwhelming numbers; even the demons' most thoroughly hidden secret bases began to be completely ransacked.

Corrupted nobles, merchants, and military officers—all kinds of NPCs were exposed!

"It's a demon! Burn it to death!"

"This is a house where a demon lived! Burn it down!"

"N-No... calm down!"

Count Bolone, who had been busy fighting demons elsewhere, hurriedly returned with his knights. It felt as if a full-blown revolution had broken out in his territory.

Even though it was night, the streets were filled with torches! Countless players were roaming around, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"All of you, halt! Adventurers! What is the meaning of this?!"

Looking at the streets, several houses were already burning fiercely.

"We're looking for demons!"

"Yeah!"

"What kind of madness is this?! Who searches for demons like this?! I could order my soldiers to arrest and lock every single one of you up right now, but I will forgive you just this once, so stop this instant!"

Normally, if it were just one or two players, he would have thrown them straight into the dungeon. But with so many adventurers, he didn't dare try to lock them up. It was a number that would make even a grand noble NPC recoil in disgust!

The players reacted sharply.

"How dare you interfere with us hunting demons! This is an order from His Majesty the King!"

"Look at him defying the King's orders! He must be possessed by a demon!"

"That's right! Anyone who gets in the way of catching demons is possessed by a demon!"

"???!"

Count Bolone was utterly dumbfounded. He was currently doing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his absolute best to lead his knights and hunt down demons. He was fulfilling his duties and responsibilities as a noble! Yet these lowly peasants dared to insult him by claiming he was possessed by a demon!

"Who said that?! Show yourself this instant!"

"C-Count! I think we need to retreat!"

"W-What? That is my castle over there! Where do you expect me to retreat to?!"

Bolone County consisted of the Count's castle at the very center, a bustling city surrounding the castle, and villages scattered around the city. Naturally, the most important places were the Count's castle and the city! And right now, not to mention the nearby villages, even the city itself was completely occupied by players.

"Knights! We break through!"

"No... Count! Please reconsider!"

"If a fight breaks out in there, the collateral ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠damage could be catastrophic!"

The elite noble knights were powerful NPCs whose levels hovered around 300 to 400. However, their numbers were far too small. If a fight broke out inside the cramped city and the Count ended up getting dragged away...

Moreover, this was the Count's own land! If a battle erupted there, the destruction would be dozens of times worse than the mansions currently on fire.

"Then what do you expect me to do?!"

"Let us go to His Majesty the King and request aid!"

"What?!"

Count Bolone's face twisted in genuine disgust. He already harbored deep resentment and dissatisfaction from being forced to swear loyalty and join the Archisus Church. And now he had to go back to Tae-hyun, kneel, and beg for help?!

"Since it hasn't been long since His Majesty received your oath of loyalty, he won't be able to refuse a request for help!"

"That is correct. King Kim Tae-hyun is a hero who understands honor. Since he received your oath of loyalty, he will do everything in his power to assist you, Count!"

"...Ugh. Fine."

Count Bolone gritted his teeth and nodded. For now, he decided to do as his knights suggested.

"No, I don't want to."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. Right away... wait, what did you just say?"

"I said I don't want to."

"......"

"......"

"N-No, Your Majesty. Your oath of loyalty..."

Count Bolone was flabbergasted. There was such a thing as basic business ethics in this world. If a Count swore loyalty, shouldn't the King protect him when trouble arose?

"I did. I received it well. I also received your taxes, and I'm putting them to good use."

"Then why are you refusing to help?!"

"Because this isn't something that requires my help. I am a man who steps forward and works hard to help with just causes. What happened to those bastards from the Auston Kingdom who came to pillage? Didn't I drive them all out?"

"That... I am grateful for that. But these lowly things are blocking my path and..."

"That's because you got in their way while they were trying to subjugate demons. It's because you, Count, failed to recognize the adventurers' sincerity and treated them coldly. I always recognize sincerity and treat people with kindness. You should watch and learn."

"......"

Count Bolone ground his teeth.

"No... even if they are catching demons, turning the city upside down like that is..."

"It's an effective method. Yes, indeed. Have you ever heard of this saying, Count? 'To catch a bedbug, one must be willing to burn down the entire thatched cottage.'"

"...Is there such a saying? This is the first I've heard of it."

"It means sacrifice is always necessary."

Tae-hyun sat back leisurely and looked down at Count Bolone.

This was an entirely unexpected direction for the demon subjugation quest! He had never imagined the players would occupy the city and drive the Count out.

I guess when you have the numbers, even stuff like this is possible!