A Dirty Tactic
"Is that the Shadow Elf Watch Post?"
"I suppose the tanks will draw their attention first, and then the damage dealers will flank them from behind to surround them?"
"No. We're digging our way in. The latrines are the easiest point of entry, so dig toward the latrines."
"..."
"..."
The rankers' expressions soured. What kind of filthy tactic is that?
"Boo! Do we really have to do it that way?"
"We were just about to turn our streams back on, too!"
Now that the manual labor was over and the real hunting was about to begin, the rankers were filled with anticipation. This was their chance to ride Kim Tae-hyun's coattails to fame! Forgotten because they hadn't streamed in a while? That didn't matter at all.
The moment those three keywords—Kim Tae-hyun, Demon Realm, and Expedition—entered a stream title, it would easily break into the top twenty, no, the top ten global stream rankings! Everyone was eagerly anticipating this rosy future...
...but the battle awaiting them was nothing like what they had imagined! They had absolutely no desire to live-stream themselves crawling out of a Shadow Elf latrine. Sure, it would draw an astronomical number of viewers, but they would have to sacrifice their dignity and various other things in exchange!
"Hmm. In that case, do you want to try what I did with Cain?"
"Oh. There's another way...?"
"Sounds great! There's no way I, Johansson, can't do what Cain did!"
Johansson, burning with a competitive spirit against Cain, shouted confidently. Hearing this, Suana shrieked in horror.
"You idiot... shut up!"
"Why? You think I can't do it?"
"He's trying to make you self-destruct!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
The atmosphere instantly turned ice-cold! One of the rankers, failing to read the room, asked in disbelief.
"That's a joke, right? You mean something else, right?"
"No, that's exactly what I meant."
"...I want to infiltrate the latrines!"
"My hobby has always been digging holes!"
The players who had their fingers hovering over the 'Start Stream' button quickly pulled them back. There was absolutely no way they could broadcast this!
"What's the reason? Why aren't the rankers streaming?"
"Is Kim Tae-hyun controlling them so quest info doesn't leak?"
"That only works within a guild. How could he tell external rankers who aren't even in his guild not to stream?"
"Maybe he threatened them because he's Kim Tae-hyun? Like, 'If I catch you streaming, I'll spawn-camp you until you quit the game'..."
"...That actually sounds plausible."
A hundred percent convincing hypothesis! Since the rankers who followed Tae-hyun only streamed their arrival in the Demon Realm and then went dark, the public's curiosity multiplied. Why on earth weren't they streaming?
"Kim Tae-hyun... what a terrifying guy! To control rankers like that, of all people."
"Well, he is Kim Tae-hyun for a reason."
You have taken your first steps into the Demon Realm.
Your Reputation increases significantly!
You have leveled up.
The latecomers, who had rushed in after seeing Tae-hyun's party lead the vanguard and thinking, If Kim Tae-hyun is going, there must be something good!, arrived in the Demon Realm one after another via the World Tree. The rewards were so massive that they leveled up just by arriving! It was truly the Demon Realm, the land of devils.
"Check the surrounding terrain immediately, compare it with the map we secured, and move to Kim Tae-hyun's location."
The map is too old and contains too many errors to be of any use. You fail to obtain the additional bonus.
You have been deceived by a merchant. Your Reputation decreases.
"..."
Information about the Demon Realm was rare even on the continent. Naturally, the chances of a map being accurate were extremely low, and most of the parties realized they had been scammed the moment they arrived.
"Son of a...!"
"Those swindling bastards!"
They gnashed their teeth, but they couldn't just turn back now. The parties began comparing whatever information they had on Tae-hyun's group to find their way. But they soon realized that they had vastly underestimated the Demon Realm!
It was only because it was Tae-hyun that he could stir up the Demon Realm and return safely; it was still too early for ordinary players to copy him. To put it bluntly, it was only because he was an Avatar of Archisus that he returned; any other class would have...
—Ha! I smell something delicious. The scent of filthy human souls!
The Roaring Demon, Kanenin, smells your souls and charges!
"A demon! Prepare for battle!"
As expected of parties from major guilds, they showed impressive strength despite being caught off guard. They immediately drew weapons imbued with holy buffs, formed a defensive line, and began focusing their fire on the demon!
The Roaring Demon, Kanenin's hellish mana neutralizes all attacks!
The Roaring Demon, Kanenin uses a skill!
All holy power is temporarily extinguished!
A broken domain skill that blocked everything, when they could barely deal damage without holy power in the first place! The players trembled before the majesty of the demon, which charged like a tank, shattered their formation, applied debuffs, and hunted them down one by one.
The explorer players who had previously ventured into the Demon Realm had always sneaked around with extreme caution, possessing methods to hide from demons. Because of this, the major guilds had failed to accurately gauge the demons' true power. Their power here was on an entirely different level compared to when they were summoned to the continent!
The parties unfortunate enough to encounter superior demons were wiped out in an instant. A consecutive wipeout of high-level parties, a rare sight even in Pan-On! Considering that high-level parties usually challenged such areas with at least some escape plan, this was a truly exceptional disaster. Players watching the streams of these latecomers were horrified.
Fortunately, the parties in the Demon Realm were quick to share information. Seeing other groups get pulverized by demons, the remaining parties panicked and changed direction.
"Hide! Hide!"
"Send a whisper to the rankers in Kim Tae-hyun's party! We have to find a way to reach them somehow! We're all going to die at this rate!"
After Tae-hyun's group ransacked three Shadow Elf fortresses and annihilated every patrol they came across, the Shadow Elves began to react differently. They began to fight back with far greater aggression. Not only did they launch raids on the outpost Tae-hyun's group occupied, but the size of their patrols also increased drastically.
"This is getting way too intense."
"Persistent elven bastards."
The difficulty was enough to make even the rankers shake their heads in exhaustion. The moment they engaged a single patrol, the elves would blow their whistles, summoning multiple nearby patrols to swarm them. The battles were so fierce that even Tae-hyun's party had a few close calls.
"This won't do. Let's just focus on defense for a while."
At this rate, it'll be difficult to even secure the territory.
There was no point if Tae-hyun was the only one left standing while the rest of his party was wiped out. Avoiding such battles was the smart choice. Even if they couldn't conquer the wasteland, so be it. Tae-hyun was far from the type to ruin himself out of greed. When it was time to fold, he could walk away without a second thought.
"We'll defend and monitor the situation... If reinforcements arrive, we'll regroup. If they take too long, we should even consider a full retreat."
Normally, the rankers would have protested, shouting, Who do you think we are? We're rankers! But now, they remained quiet. They had just survived a frantic, bloody battle after being surrounded by six patrols. It was a desperate struggle where half the rankers would have been wiped out if Lee Da-bi hadn't cast various buffs at the last second and Tae-hyun hadn't unleashed his Authority!
Whoosh—
"!"
"Ambush!"
Just by the sound, they could tell it was an arrow cutting through the air. Tae-hyun grabbed Lee Da-bi and Jeong Su-hyeok, pulling them down. In an attack like this, those two were in the most danger.
Cain stood beside the 4th Prince, raising multiple shields to form an iron wall of defense. Having six arms wasn't just for show. Choi Sang-yun readied his sword to deflect the arrow. And Yu Ji-soo tripped Suana next to her, using her as a human shield.
Excellent! Tae-hyun admired the tactic. You've really grown, Yu Ji-soo!
"Hey! You!"
"Huh? What is it?"
"You tripped me!"
"What are you talking about? Didn't you just trip over your own feet while trying to dodge?"
"Grrr...!"
"Wait, why isn't there a follow-up attack?"
While the rankers were panicking, Tae-hyun realized what was happening.
"It's not an attack. It's a message."
A letter was tied to the end of the arrow. It was undoubtedly from the Shadow Elves.
"Elvish? I have the Elvish language skill!"
"It doesn't look like Elvish. It looks like the demonic script. Anyone know how to read this?"
Elvish was one thing, but no one knew how to read demonic script. Demons were rare enough to encounter even once in Pan-On, so where would anyone have learned their language?
Carbanog raises a paw high in the air!
Right, of course. But Tae-hyun had Carbanog. A wise rabbit deity who could easily translate demonic script or any other language!
What does it say?
Carbanog translates: "Intruder. I acknowledge your strength. If you wish to speak, come alone to Thunder Hill!"
Is that all?
Carbanog states that there is nothing else written.
Hmm. Highly suspicious.
Carbanog advises against going.
But I can't just ignore it.
"Master..."
"The situation is too grim to just ignore this. If there's even a chance to gain something, I have to go. If we can negotiate, it'll be a massive jackpot."
In Pan-On, there was no such thing as an entity you couldn't negotiate with! No matter how difficult, the probability was never zero. Tae-hyun, with his unparalleled Speech skill, was living proof of this!
And honestly, if I'm alone, escaping will be a breeze.
Well-founded confidence! No matter what kind of trap the Shadow Elves had set, Tae-hyun was confident he could slip away.
Carbanog worries, asking what if the Shadow Elves have summoned demons.
...That is a bit scary, but the Shadow Elves hunt demons too, so that's highly unlikely.
Tae-hyun was certain. Usually, races that stubborn and inflexible refused to compromise. Why would a race that hunted demons on sight ever summon them?
"Am I right or am I right?"
—Aigoo, of course you are, Master!
—The Avatar's words are absolute truth!
—Hmph. You think I would deign to answer you?
But the Shadow Elves were indeed not the type to compromise with demons! The demons in his service chimed in one after another, agreeing with Tae-hyun. And they thought to themselves:
Heh... Avatar of Archisus. Go ahead and wipe out the Shadow Elves.
There are countless demons in the Demon Realm who hold a grudge against Archisus! Once the Avatar wipes out the Shadow Elves, and the other demons gather upon hearing the rumors to finish him off... this wasteland will fall right into our hands!
The demons desperately wished for both the Shadow Elves and Tae-hyun to destroy each other! There was no way their shallow schemes could escape Tae-hyun's notice.
"Dwarfs. Give them a good squeeze."
—Aaargh!
—Waaah!
The screams of the demons echoed!
"Even if it's Kim Tae-hyun, isn't this a bit too reckless?"
"This seems like a mistake on his part."
The rankers watched with anxiety. Seeing this, Cain shoved past them, bumping their shoulders.
Ignorant fools!
For some reason, it irritated him whenever others badmouthed Tae-hyun. What did these guys know when they hadn't even experienced his wrath firsthand!
The rankers were taken aback, but surprisingly, they kept their tempers in check. It was because they didn't know Cain's true identity.
"Who on earth is that guy?"
"The 4th Prince barely brought any NPCs with him, yet he has that guy as his bodyguard. He must be an incredible NPC."
The mysterious bodyguard accompanying the 4th Prince! Whispers were circulating among the rankers: "Is he a hidden card kept by the 4th Prince?" or "Could he be one of the Erangs Kingdom's sword masters?"
It was a ridiculous assumption, but Cain's appearance certainly lent itself to such wild theories. A black knight with his face concealed! And on top of that, six arms! What kind of NPC could he possibly be?! The fewer answers they had, the wilder their imaginations ran.