One-Man Siege War (2)
The search results showed listings for the +9 rare sword I'd just scored—a steal. Even if I priced mine the lowest, its cash value was already over 5 million won. No wonder tomorrow's siege had me hyped already.
Before the real war kicks off tomorrow, time to stockpile some serious war chest!
I listed it for 100 gold less than the cheapest one out there, then headed out of the exchange.
Next up: creating my own guild to officially join tomorrow's siege.
"After grinding Tayen this long, who knew I'd end up making a guild here one day!"
Back in the day, I'd briefly joined a raid guild that specialized in field bosses. But their strict rules and patrol duties got suffocating fast—I bailed before two weeks were up. I regretted it later when they blew up big-time, but guild life had always felt like it wasn't for me anyway.
"What brings you here?"
"Uh... thinking of trying that 'guild creation' thing."
"Guild services are on the second floor with Clerk Jerita."
I stepped into the government office near the inner castle, dropped stealth, and the first-floor NPC politely directed me. Guilds registered at these offices—one per castle or major village. They also handled vacant house and land sales, merchant registrations for proper shops instead of street stalls, and all sorts of other in-game features.
Which made it even more irrelevant to my solo style.
I found the NPC clerk on the second floor and applied right away.
To create a guild, a registration fee of 1,000 gold is required. Proceed?
[Yes]
Enter the name for your new guild.
"Huh? Never even thought of a guild name."
But it wasn't worth agonizing over. If my PK plan worked, it'd be a one-and-done guild—useless for next month's siege. Throwaway name it was.
[CashGather]
Registration for guild 'CashGather' complete. Guild master: Magnum03.
The NPC droned on about guild rules and mark registration, but I ignored it and fired up the guild mark tool.
Taesung's mark: a blue rectangle with TS. I searched, copied it, and slapped a massive skull in the center.
Even just the skull makes it look badass. Anyway, that's done. Now, siege research till tomorrow.
Bernstein Castle's layout was burned into my brain from yesterday's chaos—no need for a risky recon. Prep in-game was finished.
Time to analyze sieges I'd never joined before. TV broadcasts weren't the real deal.
I logged out to scour the net and streams.
Sieges. Content that made countless players weep and cheer. Spawned strategies, betrayals, legends—still fueling chatter everywhere.
Even Tayen newbies knew sieges; they defined the game.
Only instant dungeons and sieges allowed limited video recording, so footage and guides abounded—from billion-view Nutube vids to strategy posts with tens of thousands of comments.
I binged it all for a full day-plus, zeroing in on max gains.
Bernstein it was. Not the newest castle, but prime hunting grounds meant fat monthly taxes. Taesung packed it with elites every time, drawing crowds. Perfect for me: familiar turf, plump targets.
"Today's siege gonna be lit, right?"
"They've never lost it no matter how hard we hit. Probably fake-out and bail elsewhere."
"Taxes here are insane—plus that exclusive dungeon gear's hot right now. No way they ditch."
The crowd buzzed. Ten minutes to siege, Bernstein's outer village swarmed with spectators heading inner.
I watched, mentally reviewing my plan.
Good call deep-diving. Missed that update...
Death in siege drops item drop rate by 80% compared to field deaths.
New patch—no sieges before. I'd barely watched broadcasts lately, too busy grinding.
Sieges always got "elites-only league" flak for low turnout despite hype. Illusion nudged more participation—and added castles—with this.
Can't be helped. No quicker cash than this. Guild's made, sieges monthly. Low drop? Kill more.
Not scrubs—Taesung elites. Even scraps would be high-end gear.
"Incheon Union showing up rare? Wait, Olympus too? Main event here as usual!"
"Like sniping Darius—alliances hitting hard?"
"Unite all you want; Taesung's Taesung."
Dozens of castles split crowds, but Bernstein crawled with big guilds. Hottest spot.
Trumpets blared!
8-star stealth let me spectate amid the throng. Cheers erupted.
"Wooo! Charge!!"
"We take it today! Olympus fighting!"
Hordes surged inner. I declared war on Taesung—hour-long siege incoming.
'CashGather' has declared war on 'Taesung' guild.
Ooh, way different from spectator view!
Siege entry turns all non-allies/allies hostile—legit targets. Heads glowed with markers.
Outer village still safe, but inner meant hyper-alert. One blind AoE could break stealth—titan summon panic.
I was a walking ultra-rare golden goblin. No forgetting.
"Dead again! This gonna be a level-steal fest?"
I waited as masses funneled inner. Revives rushed back in.
Instant re-engage post-rez? Operator buff wiping debuffs. Could swing things today.
Coronation crowds? XP and siege prep.
Twenty minutes later, crowds thinned—safe to move. Battle shifted to inner plaza; gates breached.
Stealth refreshed.
I crept across the moat bridge to inner.
Siege spawns 10m obelisks in plazas. Destroy or defend decides win. Survive hour: defend success. Shatter in 10min: siege over. Ownership to top cumulative damage guild—not last hit.
Everyone rushed plaza. I veered to the main keep's fourth floor—watched Darius die there days ago.
Few Taesung DPS aimed plaza-ward. Defense prioritized obelisk: thousand-plus walled it tight.
Damn, spectacular! Sieges live up to 'game's pinnacle.' Immersion off the charts!
Magic and arrows rained nonstop. Melee clashed wildly. Skill blasts, roars, death screams. Potion glows, heal auras everywhere. Realer than real war.
Kaboom!
From the window, rooftop barrage hit advancing foes—TOT barrage.
Spotted familiar spell. Trusted 8-star stealth, climbed up.
Bingo—mage battery!
Knights blocked door; beyond, hundred mages lined rails. Spotted her ID instantly: Hong Dang Mu.
The ranker mage who'd sniped me with air burst from here days back.
What'd she say last? 'Don't be obvious... whisper it'?
Still pissed me off. Knew I'd hear.
Bonus: better infil spot than planned roof.
Titans tanked crowds, but not endless barrage. My research nailed ranged DPS first.
Defenders formed tighter—mages/archers on high ground.
This roof: prime target. Central keep—steal show. Players and broadcasters.
"Olympus, ReturnedPoseidon!"
"Phoenix, DarkHorse!"
"LesMis, GangneungJammin!"
Pop! Pop! Hong Dang Mu called targets; dozens unleashed.
Scattered hits? Healable. Focused? Death sentence.
Targets fled range or died. No options.
Insane. Broadcasts didn't capture this military precision!
I slipped past knights, spectating openly.
Then—
Stealth pierced!