Pitting Tyrants Against Each Other
"Wait. If we resurrect him, where exactly will it be?" Lee Se-yeon asked, suddenly curious. The location of the resurrection was extremely crucial. First of all, the area would be contaminated by Nevuchadnezzar's poison and demonic energy, and a massive army of high-tier undead would be summoned, making the surroundings incredibly dangerous. No matter where they summoned him, the local NPCs would absolutely oppose it!
Wait. Could it be the Uruk region?
The Uruk region, where Kim Tae-san and his Orcs were currently swelling their numbers at an explosive rate. It was no joke; they might actually be able to mobilize a massive army of a hundred thousand Orcs. If it was there, the land was vast, damage would be minimal, and it would be easy to get help.
"The Asbian Empire."
"..."
Lee Se-yeon was dumbfounded. It was an entirely unexpected, out-of-the-box location!
"Hey! Do you have any idea how much I've..."
It was Lee Se-yeon who had resurrected the Asbian Empire, and she was the one currently building her foundation there. While other giant guilds were brawling and competing in the Central Continent, she had carved out a new path. And now he was going to ruin it?!
"No, listen to me, Se-yeon."
"I don't want to hear it!"
Carbanog is astonished, noting that your Speech skill has no effect.
Carbanog, she's another adventurer, so it won't work on her... She's a real person!
Tae-hyun began to persuade her in earnest. This was definitely beneficial for Lee Se-yeon as well.
"Think about it, Se-yeon. The moment we summon him anywhere on the Central Continent, we become mortal enemies with whatever kingdom rules that land."
"I know that, obviously."
If they warned them beforehand, they would absolutely oppose it, and the moment they went ahead with it, a massive bounty would be placed on their heads!
"If we're on bad terms with the Central Continent kingdoms, doing quests becomes a massive pain. It's much better to do it on another continent."
"And it won't be a pain in Asbian? Huh?"
"It's not as tightly controlled as the Central Continent kingdoms. The desert is incredibly vast, and there are plenty of tribes that don't even listen to the Emperor. Plus, all the nobles there are undead anyway, so even if undead contamination spreads, it won't really affect them. And above all..."
"?"
"Wouldn't it be great if Uipoatl and Nevuchadnezzar clashed?"
"!!"
So that's it! Lee Se-yeon realized what Tae-hyun was aiming for. He wanted to pit the two of them against each other and have them destroy one another! The more she thought about it, the more impressed she was. To come up with such an idea in this situation... He really was something else.
"If Uipoatl is gone, who benefits the most in the Asbian Empire? Wouldn't it be you?"
Currently, Lee Se-yeon held an extremely high position in the Asbian Empire. If Uipoatl disappeared...?
"You make a good point, but..."
Lee Se-yeon trailed off. The theory was indeed flawless, but for this to actually work...
"What if we fail?"
"Haha. Why would we fail when the two of us are working together?"
"Which means you don't have a backup plan if we do fail!"
To be precise, there was a backup plan. Running away! The Asbian Empire was far, far away, so if they quickly fled back to the Central Continent, they wouldn't be pursued for a while. Of course, they would eventually be hunted down, but...
Yet, Tae-hyun remained completely shameless and confident.
"Do you have a better plan, then?"
"Ugh."
Stung where it hurt, Lee Se-yeon hesitated. Indeed, hunting down and wiping out every single Necromancer organization capable of resurrecting Nevuchadnezzar was not a viable strategy. It was realistically impossible, and if they missed even one, the Lich would be resurrected under unpredictable circumstances!
"Trying to prevent it beforehand has its limits."
Carbanog urges you to think carefully, pointing out that this is exactly how heroes of old have always stopped such threats.
Carbanog tried his best to persuade Tae-hyun. No matter how one looked at it, hunting down the Necromancers beforehand was the standard, orthodox method! Hadn't all the heroes who left their names in the continent's history stopped threats that way, even if it was difficult and prone to failure?
However, Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon were people who could become incredibly extreme when they wanted to be. They didn't do petty, half-hearted methods! If they were going to stop it, they would do it thoroughly!
"Fine. Let's do it!"
"I knew you'd agree!"
Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon shook hands. The plan was set!
"Lee Se-yeon has teamed up with Kim Tae-hyun!"
"What?!"
Since every single community board was buzzing with talk of Kim Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon, there was no way the Midas Guild wouldn't know.
"The difference in their reputation is just too massive..."
"This is cheating!"
Their sheer star power was enough to make even top rankers complain! The rankers of the Midas Guild were famous enough that almost everyone in their respective countries knew their names. But compared to Tae-hyun or Lee Se-yeon, the gap was simply too wide. It wasn't that the Midas rankers lacked fame; it was just that those two were absolute monsters!
"Calm down. What's done is done. We will proceed with our quest as planned."
The rankers stopped complaining and began to organize themselves. They weren't fools. Complaining wouldn't change anything. It was better to move quickly.
"Divide the mages we've gathered and start moving! Gather every single piece of information regarding Nevuchadnezzar's resurrection! Buy up all Nevuchadnezzar-related items from the auction house as well. There must be a faction trying to resurrect him. We'll find them first and stop them!"
The Midas Guild was thinking in a perfectly logical and normal manner. Nevuchadnezzar is being resurrected? Then there must be a powerful evil faction trying to bring him back, right? If we just stop that evil faction, he won't be resurrected!
Their logic wasn't wrong. It was just that Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon were far too unhinged!
"We need to secure every single bit of support we can get. Especially from the religious orders."
Fighting a Lich without Paladins and Priests was suicide. They absolutely had to bring as many as possible. The problem was...
"You go and persuade them."
"I'm a Necromancer, remember? You should go!"
What is he talking about when he's the one with a religious class? Lee Se-yeon stared at Tae-hyun in sheer disbelief. No matter how she looked at it, Tae-hyun would have a much better relationship with the churches than her.
"Urgh... My relationship with them isn't that great either..."
There weren't many religious orders that Tae-hyun was on good terms with. At best, he was somewhat friendly with the Demer Church. In truth, the Demer Church was friendly with everyone. They were the kindest order in Pandemonium Online! Only a church of that caliber could get along with the Archisus Cult.
"Hmm. It'll be better to borrow the King's name."
It would be much better to use the King of Erance's name rather than his own! Normally, since a continental crisis was looming, the churches would cooperate, but Tae-hyun lacked the confidence. That was how bad his reputation with them was!
"His Majesty is still..."
"I will speak to him in person, so get out of my way!"
Once again, there were guards blocking his path. Tae-hyun simply shoved them aside. Last time wasn't urgent, but this time, it was!
"Wait, you can't just enter..."
"Whoa, whoa. Are you pointing a spear at royalty right now?"
"..."
Speech (Passive) has been triggered.
Threaten (Active) has been triggered.
"Ugh!"
The guard didn't dare raise his spear. This is so cheap and dirty, seriously...!
"Whew. I almost had to scream that a royal palace guard was pointing a spear at royalty. Be careful in the future."
"Yes..."
Your Infamy among the Erance Royal Palace guards is rising...
Tae-hyun easily breached the main gate and walked inside. As he strode down the ornately decorated corridor, a familiar face descended the stairs. It was the Chief Chamberlain who served the King.
"You've finally arrived! Why are you so late, Your Majesty?"
"?"
Tae-hyun was puzzled.
"Did you call for me?"
"Yes. His Majesty summoned you and sent a servant, but..."
"??"
Didn't the guards block me, saying the King was in poor condition?
Carbanog sniffs the air, saying he smells a conspiracy.
"Someone was blocking me."
"What? Who would dare block His Majesty's command..."
Before he could even finish his sentence, a well-dressed prince appeared from the opposite side.
"What is this? Who dares cause a ruckus in the palace..."
"..."
"..."
A complete 180-degree turn! The moment the prince saw Tae-hyun's face, he froze, spun around, and bolted.
Tae-hyun asked, utterly dumbfounded.
"Who is that guy?"
"He is... He is His Royal Highness the Prince!"
"Which prince?"
"The 4th Prince..."
Title: You possess 'Royalty Slayer'.
You receive an additional damage bonus when attacking the 4th Prince of Erance Kingdom.
I'm not going to attack him.
The system message was unnecessarily helpful! Thanks to his past deeds in the Auston Kingdom, Tae-hyun even possessed that title. On top of that, his Reputation, Infamy, and Terror stats were stacked to astronomical heights. It was perfectly understandable why the 4th Prince had fled in terror the moment their eyes met.
"Was that guy the one who blocked my path?"
"Ahem, cough. Well... there must have been a misunderstanding..."
"So it was him."
The moment the words left his mouth, Tae-hyun dashed forward. You little bastard! Because of you, I only got a knight order, treasures, and reputation! Of course, even that was an incredible reward!
Carbanog suggests earning another title today.
"Hieeeek!"
The 4th Prince was a pathetic NPC whose level didn't even reach 100. Tae-hyun immediately grabbed him by the hair.
"L-Let go of me! Do you know where you are?!"
"Chief Chamberlain. Look away. If you don't, I'll show you exactly what Archisus is capable of right here in this palace."
"Hic."
The Chief Chamberlain was a noble who had weathered all kinds of storms, but Tae-hyun's threats were on a completely different level. This was a threat from a man who had slaughtered countless boss monsters to reach this very spot! The guards were far away, and Tae-hyun was right there.
"You bastard. You dared to interfere with my 17.28 million gold?"
"W-What are you talking about?"
It was a bizarrely specific amount! Tae-hyun had already calculated a hypothetical estimate in his head.
Speech skill is active...
Terror stat is active...
Infamy stat is active...
The 4th Prince is completely terrified!
"Okay! I'm sorry! It's my fault! It's just that His Majesty only dotes on you..."
"If you were jealous, you should have cured the poison yourself! You didn't do jack, so why are you blocking my rewards?!"
Tae-hyun kicked the 4th Prince in the shin.
Additional damage dealt due to title!
"Urgh."
The 4th Prince collapsed and rolled on the floor in pain. Seeing this, Tae-hyun was startled. Wait, did he die?!
Fortunately, he wasn't dead. It seemed his high-quality equipment had absorbed most of the damage.
Whew. I almost actually triggered the Royalty Slayer title.
Since his opponent's level was so low, he had to be careful. No matter how shameless he was, killing a prince would bring consequences he couldn't easily handle.
If I kill the prince, should I kill the Chief Chamberlain and everyone else here to destroy the evidence?
Carbanog tells you to get a grip.
Fortunately, the prince was fine. Tae-hyun grabbed him by the collar and demanded,
"What are you going to do about my gold?"
"I-I'll pay you back instead..."
"You? You look like you have some money, but do you have that much?"
"I-I'll do my best... and my other brothers ordered it too..."
"Ordered what?"
"To block you..."
"..."
Tae-hyun stared at the Chief Chamberlain. The deeply embarrassed Chief Chamberlain avoided his gaze. He was ashamed that such a plot had occurred right under his nose in the palace, and even more ashamed to show such disgraceful behavior to an outsider.
"Whew. Fine. It's not like you're entirely to blame."
"Right? I didn't do anything wr—"
Thwack!
"You idiot. If I say that out of politeness, you're supposed to apologize out of politeness. Where are your manners?"
"Ugh... How was I supposed to know..."
"Follow me. Aside from your gold, I have plenty of uses for you."
Tae-hyun changed his plan. He would use the 4th Prince to extort support from others. Even a pathetic guy like this would have a useful face and title!
"Uh... Your Majesty. His Majesty the King wishes to see you..."
"A continental crisis looms, so I shall meet him later."
Tae-hyun quickly backed out. He had just cornered and beaten the 4th Prince in a palace hallway; nothing good would come of meeting the King right now. It was too risky! The other princes might have already framed him.
I didn't expect the princes to pull something like this...
From the princes' perspective, it made sense that they would be jealous of Tae-hyun.
Tsk. I should have anticipated this.
Carbanog asks how a mere human could have predicted that.
No. If you work hard, you can.
...
It was a relief he had secured most of his rewards beforehand. For now, he had to avoid meeting the King while secretly dealing with the princes. First, he would use the 4th Prince right in front of him to squeeze out some support!
"Your Majesty! Just a moment...!"
"I cannot! Every second counts!"
Tae-hyun ignored the Chief Chamberlain's calls and dashed away, dragging the 4th Prince along. The Chief Chamberlain watched him go, deeply moved.
As expected of the continent's hero!
To cast aside such a grand audience and rush off to stop a continental crisis!