Chapter 1421: Side Story 30
Chapter 1421 - Side Story 30
The unexpected and unprecedented heavy blizzard and thick blanket of snow that covered the entire Eivelis Empire was not an isolated case. The heavy snow fell upon the whole of the Western Continent, and the Eivelis Empire was just the one that had received the brunt of the natural disaster.
The Kaidan Empire suffered the same fate, albeit the snow that fell upon them was significantly less heavy than the Eivelis Empire. The only reason the people were able to learn of the Kaidan Empire’s situation was because BJ Reporter was present at the scene.
“Several days of heavy snow had blocked all paths leading to Eivelis Empire. The deep snow has left the entire procession of carriages aiming to send supplies to the Eivelis Empire in isolation.”
[It’s snowing heavily…]
[Reporter, you should go out and help push the carriages, too.]
[If things continue at this rate, then even the merchants and the soldiers will freeze to their deaths.]
Kaidan Empire’s merchants and soldiers all looked at the scene in despair as they watched the snow continue to fall and blanket everything in white.
“We can’t push forward. If we do that, the carriage will slip and slide.”
Unfortunately, they were already on top of a hill, which meant that they had to pass by this place no matter what. “If we give up and choose to go back, then…”
One of the merchants looked back, the sparkle in his eyes growing dim. The Eivelis Empire was just beyond this hill. They only needed to go a short way, and they would arrive. Alas, there was no way to go down this hill. Even worse, they also could not go back. This was because the snow had already created an enormous pile behind them. The heavy snow that kept falling from the sky had also made it impossible for them to send carrier pigeons out.
“Haa… Haa…”
The lips of the merchants and the soldiers had started to turn blue from the heavy snowstorm and the bone-chilling cold. They had already used up all of their energy, yet they still came short.
[There are around 3,000 soldiers and 500 merchants, right?]
[Ha… When will this snowfall end? I’m so sick of it already.]
[It’s just a game, but… God-thenae still included natural disasters…]
“Hwiiiiiiiik!”
At that moment, a being fell from the sky. Everyone looked at the being with wide-open eyes.
“Who’s that?”
“What’s that? A muscular monster?”
The being that landed from the sky was none other than the Pigrat.
“Hwiiiiiiiiik!”
“This cry? It sounds like the cry of the Guardian Deity Pigrat!”
The Pigrat was a gigantic pig walking on two legs with a body covered in thick and fatty flesh. Or that was what they remembered. But what was this? This being with fantastic and bulging biceps, deltoids, and even quad muscles?!
BJ Reporter stared at the scene in both confusion and shock. He stammered, “E… Everyone, the empire’s guardian deity, the Pigrat, has appeared. But…”
[No. lolololol. What the hell is that… lolololol.]
[My god.]
[Who let the Pigrat wear Onder Armour?]
The Pigrat was proudly wearing an Onder Armour jersey, the symbol of gym rats who could do five hundred sets or more of the big three. As for the one who made them wear it? It was Beanie. He had bought them at Athenae Market at a special discount. He only spent around 5,600 won on it.
The Pigrat stood proudly. It seemed like everyone was surprised by the change in their appearance, no? The Pigrat just shrugged his shoulders. Then, he turned to the merchants and said, “Hwiiik! How many sets of the big three can you do?”
One of the players who was standing among the merchants looked embarrassed as he replied, “Around two hundred sets…”
“Hwiiiiik!” The Pigrat acted all cool. Then, he said nicely, “I can do two thousand.”
The player’s eyes grew wide. When the Pigrat saw this, he could not help but feel a rush of pride that washed over him. It seemed like Beanie’s words were true! After all, he only said the number of sets of the big three that he could do, and the man in front of him was left shocked! He even looked like he had lost his mind!
‘Doesn’t this look like he has gotten a huge debuff?’
Unfortunately, the reality was…
‘What the hell? What’s this? Is he a muscle pig?’
The man was truly dumbfounded.
‘Huh? He’s really a muscle pig!’
The Pigrat was pretty much the real-life version of the muscle pig that the player had only ever heard of before.
Meanwhile, the Pigrat, who had appeared so suddenly, brought out a rope and connected all of the carriages in the entire procession. Then, he wrapped the tail-end of the rope around his body and began to climb down the hill, dragging the whole procession of carriages along with him.
The muscles on the thighs of the Pigrat, who had hit eight hundred sets of squats, twitched and expanded with every step that he took. The wheels of the carriages that once seemed to be immovable were now turning with his steps.
With the Pigrat’s help, the entire procession of carriages was able to move down the hill and reach the Eivelis Empire, whose dire situation had already been dealt with by the Phoenix.
“Thank you, Lord Pigrat.”
“Thanks to you, my life is saved!”
“This is our empire’s guardian deity!”
With that, the Pigrat returned to Utopia.
Just like that, the guardian deities appeared all over the continent and played a considerable role in providing help during this natural disaster.
In the Eivelis Empire, the heavy snowfall had already started to lighten. It even showed signs of stopping. Ellie looked at the Phoenix, who had returned after melting all of the snow that covered the entire empire. Then, she said, “Thank you, Eivelis Empire’s Lord Guardian Deity.”
“Uwaaaaaaaah!”
“Long live the Phoenix!”
“Long liveeeee!!!”
The Phoenix smiled faintly as he listened to the cheers that echoed in his ears.
***
The guardian deities of Utopia all wore contemplative expressions after they returned.
[Lord Beanie must have seen Hegemon King Ellie bowing down and showing her gratitude to us.]
[Lord Beanie definitely saw the people cry out my name and cheer for me.]
[Now… we all know how wrong we were in the past. We shouldn’t have lived a lazy life back then.]
When Beanie saw them talking excitedly among themselves, he realized that the troublesome and annoying work that was pushed to him was finally over.
‘Oink, oink. Oink. (It was easy-peasy. Oink.)’
It was mainly because Beanie gave it his all. After all, he wanted to get out of this place as quickly as possible. He even went so far as to spend his fortune and buy protein supplements and Onder Armour to boost the confidence and self-esteem of the Pigrat and the Minotaurus!
With this, they no longer needed him. Now that all of the troublesome work was over, they wouldn’t see each other again. Beanie smiled. Then…
[To be honest, we already knew it.]
The Phoenix stared at Beanie with loving and affectionate eyes.
“Oink? (What?)”
Beanie looked at them in confusion. Did they notice that he wanted to take care of things here quickly and break away from them because he found them annoying?
[We know that Lord Beanie truly cares about us.]
“...?”
[You are the Supreme Divine Beast. You must have come running to Utopia the moment you heard that we were in danger.]
The truth was, he was sent here by Athenae.
[You must have felt sorry for us when you saw the state that we were in.]
[We understand everything now. The precious and priceless elixir called protein supplements and the symbolic Onder Armour that you purchased for us are proof of this.]
“Oink…?”
‘I just wanted to finish everything as soon as possible! The only reason I bought Onder Armour is that I was tempted by the special offer that only comes once every 365 days! But the clothes did not fit me when they arrived!’
The Phoenix bowed politely at Beanie. As if on cue, the other guardian deities of Utopia also bowed politely to him. They showed him great courtesy and respect.
[You did not want to leave us behind, right?]
‘No. I can’t even wait to go home!’
Regardless, Beanie, who had a softer and kinder heart than he thought, could not bring himself to say, ‘I want to go home!’ right to their faces.
[From this day forth, you will be our king. You will be the King of Utopia and we will follow you forever!]
[All hail the new King of Utopia!]
[King Beanie!]
[We vow to obey your commands forever!]
The average level of the guardian deities of Utopia after they had fully recovered and returned to their previous state was at Level 750. The recovered Phoenix’s level was at Level 800. This meant that Beanie was able to acquire a military force with overwhelming power.
Unfortunately, Beanie shuddered at the thought. He immediately tried to trick them.
“Oink, oink! (I also wish to stay by everyone’s side. Unfortunately, I am someone’s pet. And as a pet, I have a mission to protect my master. In the end, I cannot be your king.)” Beanie said, his expression showing sincerity with a flash of sadness and grief.
The Phoenix and the other guardian deities of Utopia looked at him with tears in their eyes.
“Oink. (Although it’s sad, we have to break up in the end, no? I’m sorry, but I cannot leave my master.)”
The Phoenix looked at Beanie through his tears. Despite the redness in his eyes, there was a bright smile on his face when he said…
[As expected of Lord Beanie. We all know that you will say that. So, we visited Lord Minhyuk and obtained his permission.]
‘Master…?’
[You can now go back and forth between the Beyond the Heavens Empire and Utopia! He said that Lord Beanie seemed to be down these days. He wondered if it was because you were lagging behind others. Still, he was happy to know that things were going well for you!]
What the Phoenix wanted to do was not just limited to serving Beanie.
[Alright. Let’s give Lord Beanie what we have prepared!]
The Phoenix’s Pill Elixir, the Minotaurus Strength Elixir, and the Pigrat’s Tail Elixir, one by one, they dedicated their elixir-rank items to Beanie.
[You are the Supreme Divine Beast.]
[You, the Supreme Divine Beast, have become the King of Utopia.]
[All of your stats have increased by 25%.]
[Your Predator’s Authority has leveled up by one.]
[You are the father of all of the guardian deities.]
[They will obey and follow all of your orders.]
Beanie unknowingly shed tears at the sudden turn of events.
‘Oink… (I don’t want power. What I want is to have a girlfriend! I want to date… Oink…)’
[Lord Beanie, are you crying because you’re pleased?]
‘NO!’
[Hahahahaha! Us too! We’re delighted that we will be able to serve you, Lord Beanie! From now on, we will be able to stay by Lord Beanie’s side every day!]
[We’re going to stick by your side! We’ll stick to you like gum!]
‘No. I don’t want that.’
[We, the guardian deities, are all immortal. We will stay by your side forever. So, please don’t cry anymore. Hahahaha!]
‘Forever? Fwoo…’
Beanie sighed deeply.
Then…
Crack, crack, crack!
A loud noise echoed in Utopia. Beanie turned to look in the direction from which the sound came. There, he saw the egg, which had grown huge, releasing various colors of aura. Athenae had told Beanie that he would be able to hatch the egg if he could change the guardian deities of Utopia and return them to their brilliant and majestic forms. It seemed like the egg was finally hatching.
A crack appeared on the surface of the egg, spreading like the thin webs of a spider.
[Only the Supreme Divine Beast can hatch the Utopia’s Egg.]
Even if by chance, the egg’s hatching time came, only Beanie could allow the existence inside the egg to come out and be born into the world. Beanie approached the egg. Then, he raised his hands and gently touched its cracked surface. At that moment, the hand of the unknown being inside broke through the shell.
“Oink…?” Beanie muttered in confusion as he stared at the hand that popped out of the egg.
The hand that popped out of the egg resembled Beanie’s hand. Although it was much redder than Beanie’s pale pink one, the resemblance was… truly uncanny.
Beanie grabbed the hand. Then, he slowly pulled the being out. With a gentle tug, the shell of the egg broke apart and revealed the figure of the being hiding inside.
“Oink!”
The voice that called out was different from Beanie’s heavy and deep oinks. It was higher-pitched and softer. Anyone who heard it would know that this voice belonged to a female.
[The Queen of Utopia has awakened to the world.]
Beanie’s breath seemed to have been taken away as he stared at the baby piggy that appeared from the ruins of the egg’s shells.
‘Oink! (I have never seen such a beautiful and charming baby piggy in my life! Oink!)’
It was only natural. After all, this was the first time that Beanie had seen a baby piggy who could walk with two feet just like him.
Beanie reached out cautiously. The Queen of Utopia gently and carefully held his outstretched hand.
“Oiiiiink…”
Though she was just born, the Queen of Utopia’s eyes held affection for the baby piggy in front of her.
***
Spear God Ben was on his way back after checking the status of the freshly produced cat poop coffee from the cat’s butts today. As he walked back home, Ben suddenly caught sight of a pair of baby piggies running hand in hand.
“Oink! (Hahahaha! Come, come~)”
“Oink, oink! (Please wait for me, my dear Beanie!)”
Ben stared in a daze at the baby piggies running after each other with their plump and bulging bellies. It took quite a long time before he could come back to his senses. And when he finally did, he muttered, “What did I just see?”
Ben rubbed his eyes, doubting his vision for a moment. Soon, a grin spread on his face.
“It seems like spring has come for Beanie, too, huh?”
Beanie looked genuinely happy.
***
Beanie came to meet Minhyuk. When Minhyuk saw Beanie, he was left completely flustered. This was because Beanie had suddenly brought over another baby piggy! He even entered proudly while holding hands with the female baby piggy.
“Oiiiiink. (Hello. Oink.)”
Surprisingly enough, the baby piggy had manners and was very polite. She was definitely different from Beanie.
Minhyuk quickly checked the baby piggy's details. And what he saw left him completely surprised.
‘The Queen of Utopia?’
He chuckled blankly after he dug deeper into the details of the baby piggy in front of him. After all, she was the candidate for the Supreme Divine Beast’s wife! It seemed like the two pigs were destined to meet and forge a relationship.
“Oink. Oink, oink. (Give my girlfriend a name. Oink!)”
Minhyuk, who received Beanie’s gaze that was heavy with anticipation and excitement, racked his brains. Finally, he gave a perfect and fitting name. He said, “Beansy.”
Beanie and Beansy. Two names went well with each other. The two pigs were very happy with their matching names!
***
After the heavy snow had stopped and the empire was stabilized and back on track, Ellie finally had some spare time. So, for the first time in a long while, she visited the Beyond the Heavens Empire.
“Beanie and Beansy? They look really good together.”
“Is that so?” Minhyuk asked, a wry smile on his face.
Regardless, Minhyuk had no objections. After all, Minhyuk allowed Beanie to do whatever he wanted. As long as Beanie was happy, then that was all that mattered to him. And the two pigs running hand in hand with their twisted tails wagging behind them looked very happy.
“There was a time when I loved someone so much. That was way before I met Len. That person was my first love.”
Ellie had loved Imperial Chef Len in the past. In the end, they failed to realize their love for each other.
“Your first love?” Minhyuk asked as he looked at her with a gaze that shone brightly and brimmed with curiosity. After all, Hegemon King Ellie has never spoken much about her past before.
Ellie stared out of the window, lost in her thoughts. After a brief moment, a small smile appeared on her face. Then, she said, “It all started when I was thirteen years old.”
Hegemon King Ellie began to tell the tale of her first love.