In the Next Village, Too...

It was the same here. Although these guild members were quite experienced, they had never encountered anything like this before.

"Did a Necromancer or a Lich attack?"

"It's highly likely a demon appeared... or it's some kind of quest."

For all the NPCs to suddenly vanish from a perfectly fine village. Either a Lich had shown up and swept the villagers away, or there was the scent of another massive quest in the air.

The guild members hesitated. They had come to loot, but should they do a quest instead?

The situation and the location didn't quite match, but Pan-On players were fundamentally starved for quests. Even if they were on their way to a duel with a mortal enemy, they would stop and ponder if they stumbled upon a quest!

And the rarer the quest, the more irresistible it was.

"Since there was no information about this, do you think we're the first to discover it?"

"I don't think I've ever heard of a quest like this on the forums. Are we really the first?!"

The guild members whispered among themselves, thrilled by this unexpected windfall. To think they would stumble upon such luck in their lives!

"Everyone, calm down. We're here to loot and secure gold right now. We don't have time for a time-consuming quest!"

Su Ning spoke sternly, but he couldn't hide the twitch at the corner of his mouth. Honestly, he was looking forward to the quest too!

He had been worried when they first arrived, but now he felt like luck was on their side.

'Still, I must focus on gold.'

Su Ning tried his best not to forget their purpose. They had to secure funds for the guild!

"We'll think about the quest once we find more clues. For now, move out!"

"Yes, sir!"

It wasn't because of a Lich that Marchetti County had ended up like this.

It wasn't because of Tae-hyun either.

Nor was it because of the mechanical engineering blacksmiths.

Then who was it?

"I am the lord of this fief, so obey my command!"

It was none other than Count Marchetti himself.

Unlike Count Bolone or Count Bonazo, Count Marchetti had time to prepare. He had taken precautions for any potential crisis.

Otherwise, he might suffer the humiliation of having to bow his head to the King!

He had hired mercenaries and mobilized his knights to guard the borders.

And one more thing.

"Everyone in the villages, pack up your belongings and move inside the castle walls!"

"Oh, heavens, Count! My fields and my cows are all out there!"

"If we leave now, this year's harvest will be ruined!"

"Why should I care about that?! I won't let those bandits steal my wealth. Everyone, get inside the walls!"

A tyrannical act of forcibly moving every single NPC outside the castle walls to the inside!

Even if Tae-hyun had heard of this, he would have been dumbfounded, thinking, 'What kind of crazy lunatic does something like that?!'

Ruining a year's harvest meant the fief's agriculture stat would plummet, security stats would drop, and public discontent ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠would soar...

It was the equivalent of burning down the entire house just to catch a few bedbugs because he didn't want to lose a single penny to the bandits!

"I've heard the saying that one must burn down the cottage to catch the bedbugs. I quite like that phrase. I, Count Marchetti, command all residents to move inside the castle walls!"

As a result, what welcomed the Guild Alliance was a completely empty village.

The knights and mercenaries had swept through, leaving absolutely nothing behind.

Well, there was one thing left.

"...Why is Kim Tae-hyun's statue here?"

"...I was wondering the same thing."

"Should we take this statue of the King too?"

"Do you think the Count wants to look at that wretched King's face?! Leave it behind!"

Because the Count despised it, Tae-hyun's statue was left behind!

The Guild Alliance took it anyway. It felt like it wouldn't even cover the labor costs, but...!

"Take it. Take it."

"We haven't seen a single soul passing by... Is something really wrong?"

Still unable to grasp the situation, the Guild Alliance parties contacted each other in confusion. No players, no merchants in sight!

Of course, this was also because of Count Marchetti.

"Any merchant caught wandering around will be executed! Executed!!"

The demon Jukenen looked half-dead.

He had completely taken control of Bolone County.

In the underground waterways, demon worshippers had been waiting with magic circles drawn, while the nobles and wealthy of the fief, charmed by Jukenen's words, practically handed over their hearts and livers.

Jukenen was confident that even if the Holy Knights came, they wouldn't be able to untangle such a tightly woven web.

His master, Edaor, had once disguised himself as a governor, but Jukenen believed his own disguise was a cut above.

And yet...

Suddenly, a crazy mob had swarmed in, setting fires everywhere and casting demon-detection magic.

Nobles who normally would have been safe due to their high status were exposed one after another!

When the nobles tried to use their authority, shouting, "How dare you! Back off!", the mob simply dragged them out, yelling, "It's a demon! Burn them!"

Terrified, Jukenen had no choice but to flee into the underground passages. He didn't even have the mind to fight back. It was too sudden.

"Bolone... What happened to Bolone County?! What about the survivors?!"

"They... they were all captured..."

The demon worshippers and warlocks who followed Jukenen hung their heads low.

"Bonazo County! Yes! Bonazo County is still there!"

Jukenen had spread his demonic influence to Bonazo County as well. Even if Bolone County was lost, Bonazo County should be...!

"There too..."

"Those crazy bastards raided it..."

Indeed. There was no way the angry players who raided Bolone County would spare Bonazo County.

Count Bonazo had also been driven out, much like Count Bolone!

The only difference was that Count Bonazo was far more cowardly.

As the angry players occupied the front of his castle, Count Bonazo quickly initiated negotiations.

"I have not colluded with demons! You may do as you please!"

The crowd murmured.

"Is that true?"

"Should we just burn him first? If he doesn't burn, he's a demon."

"N-No! Calm down! I will give you whatever you want! What is it?!"

"Eradicate the demons! Eradicate the demons!"

"Death to all demons!"

"Join the Archisus Crusaders!"

"The captain of the guard is suspicious! Kick him out! We'll take over!"

"Alright! Alright! I'll grant everything!"

Count Bonazo raised both hands to appease the players. Even his knights were flabbergasted.

"My Lord. There is no need to listen to such demands..."

"Shut up! Can't you see how many of them there are?! Fine. Now that I've granted everything, is it over?"

Of course not.

When Tae-hyun declared, "Let's all hunt demons!", most players rushed to the nearby Bolone County.

Then who had gone to Bonazo County?

The answer was...

"It's not over yet!"

"We want the position of Scribe! No, the Treasurer too!"

"And the tavern owner!"

It was the Power Warrior Guild!

While everyone else headed to Bolone County, the members of the Power Warrior Guild thought, 'If we go where others aren't going, won't we get more loot?' and headed to Bonazo County instead.

And there, they hit an unexpected jackpot.

A pushover... no, a kind count who granted their every wish!

The Power Warrior Guild members excitedly shouted out demands. Since official titles were handed out left and right just by asking, they eventually started demanding even trivial positions.

While Bolone County was on the verge of an explosive war between the Count's knights and the Archisus Crusaders, Bonazo County was peaceful.

Except for the fact that it was practically occupied by the Power Warrior Guild!

"Guild Master! We've almost completely taken over this place! The Count is listening to everything we say!"

"????"

Lee Da-bi was bewildered by her guild members' messages. What on earth happened over there?!

Bolone County was on the brink of war, and Bonazo County was completely occupied...

Jukenen, the necromancers, and the demon worshippers had no choice but to trudge along.

Unlike other demons, Jukenen was not confident in his combat abilities.

Moreover, the Atali Kingdom was the home of that Avatar of Archisus!

Honestly, he didn't want to fight him head-on. He preferred sending his subordinates to fight from the shadows.

"Do not worry. We will find a new city. With my power, I will corrupt it once more!"

"We believe in you, Lord Jukenen!"

"Ohhh!"

Having witnessed Jukenen's abilities, the necromancers and worshippers followed him without fleeing.

Jukenen's destination was Marchetti County!

He planned to go there and sow new seeds of evil.

"...?"

"There are adventurers over there..."

On their way, they encountered an adventurer party!

It was one of the Guild Alliance parties, and specifically, the core party led by Su Ning himself.

'This is bad!'

Su Ning's face turned pale as he realized the situation. He immediately understood how terrible their circumstances were.

'That crazy count! What does he think he's doing?'

To forcibly move all the village NPCs just to avoid losing some gold! He was speechless at the sheer scale of this tyranny.

At first, he wondered if Kim Tae-hyun had played some trick.

"Guild Master. Kim Tae-hyun..."

"Right. Do you think he ordered this?"

"Does that make any sense?! Is Kim Tae-hyun some kind of god?"

No matter if Kim Tae-hyun was the King, he couldn't just tell a count, "Hey, clear out your entire fief so the bandits have nothing to take."

"What are we going to do?"

"How about we enter the castle and stir things up from the inside?"

"It's too dangerous. The number of knights inside the castle is no joke."

Count Marchetti had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠learned his lesson from watching the other counts fall. He had gathered all his knights in one place and hired a massive number of mercenaries.

Because of the generous pay, even players were accepting quests to enter the castle!

With such a force guarding the fief like an iron fortress, attempting a surprise attack from the inside was out of the question.

The Guild Alliance had brought a select, small group this time, so they couldn't win by sheer numbers.

Even if all their parties gathered for a surprise attack, they might get wiped out if they were unlucky!

'Besides, even if I tell them to do it, I doubt these bastards will listen.'

Rankers were inherently selfish, and the remaining guild members were already highly dissatisfied, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so they might not follow Su Ning's orders.

As a guild leader who had to maintain his authority, Su Ning couldn't afford to act recklessly.

"Guild Master. Over there..."

"What is it? Ah...!"

Su Ning also spotted Jukenen.

"Let's rob them!"

"We have to loot!"

"Please, let them have a lot of loot!"

"Wait, they look kind of poor..."

One of the rankers quickly assessed Jukenen and the necromancers.

At a glance, their shabby attire didn't look very valuable. It was all thanks to the disguise Jukenen wore to avoid suspicion!

Jukenen's mind raced. Who were these adventurers?

'These must be the looters who appeared at the border!'

Jukenen clenched his fists. Luck was indeed on his side.

'I'll use these guys to infiltrate Marchetti County and sow chaos. In the meantime, I can rebuild my forces!'

"Spare us! I will show you how to enter Count Marchetti's castle, so please, just spare our lives!"

"...?!"

The guild members were shocked. What did this guy just say?

"What was that?! Speak up!"

What an unexpected stroke of luck!

The guild members tried their ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠best to remain calm.

"Count Bolone has arrived."

"Their numbers have grown significantly."

"Well, they wouldn't charge in with just the knights. They must have hired mercenaries and borrowed knights from other nobles."

The atmosphere around Count Bolone's forces was ominous. It was pure rage!

Then again, his anger was understandable.

To lose his territory in the blink of an eye...

"But no matter how I look at it, we seem to have the advantage."

Everyone nodded at Cain's words.

The players gathered around the castle were packed tightly! It was a truly staggering number.