The Demise of Count Bolone

Normally, when a crowd of players gathered like this, they would all have their own hidden agendas. But the players gathered here were pure. Mob mentality! It was as if they were possessed, united in a single mind as they roared:

"Off with the head of the oppressor, the tyrant, the evil Count!"

"Look at that incompetent, wicked Count! The territory's economy is in ruins because of him! I heard he raised taxes to the heavens!"

"Count Bolone poisoned the wells!"

"I heard the reason my loot box yesterday was a total bust is also because of Count Bolone!"

The atmosphere grew hotter by the second! It wasn't just heating up; it was practically ready to burst into flames. Granted, while Count Bolone was notoriously ill-tempered, arrogant, and thoroughly unpleasant, he hadn't actually done any of the things the players were accusing him of.

"How... how dare these lowborn wretches...!"

Naturally, Count Bolone was fit to burst with rage. Listening to the shouts from atop the castle walls, one would think he was the ultimate villain of the age—a legendary evildoer worthy of succeeding the Sadiq Church!

Thud! Thud!

Flags rose along the castle walls. The banners of the Archisus Church! They had been hoisted by the players who had joined the cult on the spot.

An astronomical participation rate of over ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠two-thirds of all players in the territory! The response was so explosive that even those who didn't believe in the Archisus Church joined in (albeit secretly, behind Galakpad's back).

Count Bolone fumed with rage once more upon seeing the banners.

"Those wretched flags! Ever since that vulgar cult appeared, the kingdom has been in utter shambles! It's all because of that rootless, vulgar cult!"

"M-My Lord. No matter the circumstances, insulting a god is..."

"Urgh..."

The other knights tried to hold the Count back. No matter how angry they were, insulting a deity was terrifying. In Pan-On, those who went around insulting gods were either players who were utterly fearless with nothing left to lose, demons, or people associated with Archisus!

"What on earth is King Kim Tae-hyun doing?! If he's the Pope, he should be keeping those lunatics in check!"

"His Majesty the King likely never anticipated those vulgar zealots would run amok like this."

"Indeed. How could anyone stop them when they are rampaging like madmen?"

Unlike the Count, the knights showed a highly favorable attitude toward Tae-hyun. It was all thanks to his absurd reputation and achievements! Having wiped out the pirates of the Atali Kingdom, the Sadiq Church, the Salavian Church, and even demons, there was no way the knights wouldn't revere him.

High Infamy? Pfft, that must be nothing but malicious rumors spread by his enemies!

"...Even so, shouldn't he come here and take responsibility!"

"You speak the absolute truth, My Lord!"

As the Count huffed and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠puffed, the knights humored him. After all, the one standing right in front of them was the Count, not Tae-hyun.

Little did they know. Who could have guessed that the King himself was currently hiding right behind those castle gates, setting up traps!

"They'll probably come through here, right? I should wipe them out in one go with a trap."

"But if you detonate it here, won't the castle wall collapse?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Ah. Right. It's not like this is your first or second time blowing things up, so surely you've calculated everything—"

"I'm trying to bring it down, though?"

"..."

"..."

"Why are you looking at me like that? It's not like we haven't done this before."

"W-Well, that's true, but..."

While most people had never demolished a castle wall with their own hands, this was far from the first time for Tae-hyun's group.

"Ah! Lord Tae-hyun! Let us help you!"

"We can't possibly miss an opportunity like this!"

Catching wind of the situation, the mechanical engineering blacksmiths rolled up their sleeves and rushed over. An opportunity to blow up a castle gate alongside Tae-hyun! To craft an explosive trap with the master of detonations was a dream come true.

Rumble!

"Stop coming, you lunatics!" Tae-hyun yelled in horror.

Even the mechanical engineering blacksmiths who had been up on the castle walls were shouting, "Lord Tae-hyun! Oh, we are coming right now!" as they leaped down. What utterly useless passion!

"Alright, listen up. The plan is simple. The Count will send his knights to breach the gate head-on and reclaim his castle immediately."

Count Bolone was a proud and arrogant noble. To him, this entire situation was an absolute disgrace! There was no way such a noble would resort to cowardly detours or petty tricks while fighting players. He would charge straight through the front, beat the players to a pulp, kick them out, and reclaim his castle.

And he doesn't have enough men to pull off any tricks anyway.

Even with borrowed knights and hired mercenaries, his numbers were still small. A mere drop in the bucket compared to the Arkhisus Crusaders swarming the territory! With such a massive disparity in numbers, splitting his forces for a surprise attack was out of the question.

Count Bolone moved exactly as Tae-hyun had predicted.

"My proud knights! Behold that horde of wicked thieves!"

The knights lined up atop the hill before the castle gates. Though they numbered fewer than a hundred, the sight of them sitting calmly atop their steeds made the players tense up.

A fact they had forgotten until just now due to their mob mentality and madness: every single noble knight NPC was a powerhouse comparable to a boss monster!

Gulp.

"Hey... is this going to be okay? I don't think my attacks will even pierce their armor."

"I doubt we'll even leave a scratch..."

A knight charging on horseback, heavily armed in full plate armor and bolstered by various blessing buffs, was a walking fortress. A mobile fortress that obliterated everything in its path with devastating skills!

"Fear not! For we have Archisus on our side!"

Galakpad paced along the castle walls, instilling courage in the players. He had absolutely no logical basis for his words, but the players were completely captivated by his confident aura!

"Of course!"

"Let's not be intimidated by mere knights!"

"But how are we actually supposed to take them down?"

The answer came from below shortly after.

"Traps are fully set!"

"Everyone, head down and standby! Once those knights fall into Lord Tae-hyun's trap, we all charge at once!"

"Hey! I told you to stop shouting my name!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Count Bolone's tactic was a simple, orthodox approach: have the knights charge head-on, smash the gates, and sweep away the players. It was highly predictable, but the true strength of an orthodox strategy lay in the fact that it was incredibly difficult to stop even when you knew it was coming.

If players couldn't block the knights, how could they stop that charge? Thus, Tae-hyun approached the problem from a different angle. If players couldn't block the knights, they could just block them with something else!

The moment the knights passed through the gates, he would blow up the entire surrounding area. And he wouldn't stop there; he would rain down all kinds of curses and spells indiscriminately. Even if the knights managed to survive, they would at least be immobilized. At that point, the massive crowd of players would swarm them, dragging them into a chaotic brawl.

The mercenaries won't be able to do much, and once we capture the knights, we can demand a ransom... Count Bolone will have no choice but to tuck his tail between his legs.

Once the knights he relied on so heavily were captured, Count Bolone would meekly bow his head before Tae-hyun. A flawless plan!

While Tae-hyun nodded with a satisfied expression, an unexpected turn of events was unfolding on the hill before the gates.

"Follow me!"

"My Lord! It could be dangerous!"

"Hmph! Do you truly think the attacks of such lowborn scum ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠could ever touch me? Follow me! Charge! Death to the thieves!"

"Wait... what...??"

Tae-hyun and his companions were dumbfounded. Why on earth was Count Bolone charging at the very front?

"Hey! I thought you said the Count would stay in the back! What do we do?!" Cain called out to Tae-hyun in a panic.

They had no intention of killing Count Bolone. The plan was to keep him alive and negotiate. If a ruling noble NPC died, things would get incredibly messy. No matter how accidental it was, the other nobles wouldn't just shrug and say, "Ah well, it was an unavoidable accident."

Rumors might spread that the King was luring nobles into traps and murdering them to seize their lands!

Tae-hyun wanted to control the lords who ignored his orders and acted as they pleased; he had no desire to deal with an outright rebellion. But in a situation like this, even Tae-hyun was powerless.

No, seriously, why is that idiot Count charging at the very front? Tae-hyun was utterly flabbergasted. If you're a noble, act like one and command from the rear!

"Stop him!"

"How am I supposed to stop him?! Count Bolone! There is a trap at the gate! Don't come! Go back!"

But Count Bolone didn't listen to a single word. Those vulgar wretches are trying to trick me again!

"Behold! They resort to tricks out of sheer terror! I, the rightful master of this earldom, shall breach the gates myself! Hah!"

Crash!

With a single swing of Count Bolone's sword, the thick castle gates shattered. It happened so quickly, it was almost as if someone had pre-damaged them from the inside! But completely oblivious to this, Count Bolone's spirits soared even higher!

"Now, follow me!"

"My Lord! It is dangerous! Let us—"

"Hmph! This armor and necklace, passed down through generations of my family, protect me! The pathetic attacks of these insignificant pests could never—"

Count Bolone shattered the gates and spurred his horse inside.

Click.

"?"

The sound of something triggering!

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

At the sound of the massive explosion, Tae-hyun and his companions squeezed their eyes shut. They were doomed!

"No, wait. Everyone, calm down! Count Bolone has a decent base level, and he was incredibly confident. He must have powerful equipment. So, he might just survive this explosion."

"Oh..."

"That's true...!"

The group found themselves swayed by Tae-hyun's words. However, that was only because they had temporarily forgotten about Tae-hyun's skills.

"......"

Tae-hyun and Carbanog fell into a heavy silence. Even so, Tae-hyun refused to give up hope and stammered:

"No, but seriously, if he has really good gear, he can survive—"

"......"

There was no denying it anymore. Tae-hyun let out a deep, heavy sigh. Just when he thought he could wrap things up neatly without triggering a civil war!

"It can't be helped."

"?"

"...Let's pass the buck!"

"?!?!!"

To whom?!

"Whew. Everything was going so well until that stupid Count had to ruin it..."

Tae-hyun grumbled. Even thinking back on it, the Siege of Bolone was a massive disappointment. If only the Count had stayed in the back, they could have captured the knights alive and taken over the territory effortlessly. But because the Count had charged like a madman, Tae-hyun now had to worry about the aftermath.

And Cain is off happily sightseeing in the middle of all this...

Since they would be returning to Korea soon, Cain was desperately running around to see the sights. Just yesterday, he had returned with souvenirs practically dripping from all six of his arms and legs! His fashion sense was so atrocious that Tae-hyun didn't even want to admit they were in the same party.

"What did you want to see me about, Tae-hyun?"

Vincent, the esports agent, opened the door and walked in with a puzzled expression. There was rarely any reason for Tae-hyun to call him.

Does he have a favor to ask?

In a way, since Tae-hyun hadn't even signed a contract with him yet, Vincent had no obligation to grant any favors. Yet, Vincent had rushed over. Why? Because... Kim Tae-hyun was no ordinary player!

The rules that applied to the world's top players were entirely different from those for average pros. While normal players paid agents for their services, agents would gladly pay out of their own pockets just to secure a world-class player as a client. A global reputation carried that much value.

"By the way, did you receive the clothes?"

"The clothes? Yeah. How did you know about that?"

"Haha. I was the one who introduced that designer to your mother."

"?? ...Well, I did get a message saying they're almost finished..."

Tae-hyun was bewildered. How on earth had Vincent introduced a designer to his mother?

"But returning to the main point, what did you call me for? Is there something I can do for you?"

"Ah. I called you because I want to sign a contract with you, Vincent."

"...Pardon?"

Vincent blinked. Was he dreaming?