Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1438 - Side Story 47

Ok-Chun said, ‘When you gather two or more of the Sacred Beasts who protect the land, the sea, and the mountains, you will be able to obtain a weapon of great power.’

‘The power that the weapon can exert depends on the weapon user’s disposition. If the weapon user is evil, they will be granted the power to unleash strong and ferocious beasts. If the weapon user is good, then they will be granted the power to make the land more prosperous.’

The black energy that seeped out of Cho-Rong and Leviathan gathered together in one place and created an eerie black glow.

[Two of the Three Sacred Beasts are under the rule and control of the Power of Evil. The Bow of Advent is being created.]

[If you fail to stop the creation process in two hours, the Mountain Monarch and the Sea God will die and become the Bow of Advent.]

“Grrrrrrrr…”

Cho-Rong’s cries that echoed like a scream died down as the pain disappeared, and she slowly fell into an eternal slumber. Cho-Rong’s eyes, which still contained clarity, made eye contact with Minhyuk before they closed completely. Minhyuk saw the tears and the fear in her eyes. Leviathan was in a similar state. She was also slowly dying. Her eyes, which were filled with tears, seemed to be begging for another shot at life.

“It’s over.” The moment Tae-Hoo spoke, they sagged as if they were completely drained of energy.

But the situation had already grown different. Minhyuk was the only one who could still fight here. But the problem was that there were still around four hundred Immortals. The worst part was that Tae-Hoo was still there, and Minhyuk was not sure if he could even win against the man if he fought him in a head-on match.

‘I can’t even call the others for help.’

Tae-Hoo had made a clever move and sealed off all of the entrance and exit points that connected the Grania Continent to the outside world. He sealed the entire continent with a barrier that could not be pierced or tampered with.

Minhyuk was completely disheartened.

At that moment, Tae-Hoo grabbed the bow and shot an arrow into the sky.

Fwoosh!

The arrow shot forward and disappeared over the clouds.

Rumble!

[The Three Sacred Beasts’ Predators and Beasts will appear right away.]

Tae-Hoo seemed very pleased to share such a sight with a foreigner. He said, “From what I heard, the beasts and predators that descend after gathering two of the Three Sacred Beasts are not that strong. At best, they are at the level of soldiers. But what one should be afraid of is their numbers. “

“Humans always end up harming nature and killing animals to fill their stomachs. But now? It’s different. Beasts and predators as many as a third of the entire population of the Grania Continent will soon appear. Do you know how many there are? Their numbers will definitely be at least around a hundred million.”

“A hundred million beasts and predators will descend and devour everything in their paths. But do you know what’s interesting?”

Tae-Hoo smiled softly.

“If the Land God were here and were also devoured by this bow, then I would have been able to summon a number that could rival the entire population of the Grania Continent. But that’s not all. The beasts and predators that would be summoned would also become much stronger. At the very least, they would be on par with imperial knights.”

“Every human being in these lands will be devoured. And I? I will become the king of those who devoured them and used them as nourishment to become stronger. Foreigner.”

Tae-Hoo smiled kindly at Minhyuk.

“Will you pass it on to your continent? Tell them that the God of the New Continent will soon go there.”

Minhyuk kept his mouth shut, his figure seeming to be shrouded with dark clouds of helplessness.

Tae-Hoo asked, “Have you ever ruled over someone?”

Minhyuk nodded unknowingly in answer.

“Great. Then you know the joy of leading and reigning over those who are more powerful than you. That joy is indescribable. You are strong. You’re definitely a ruler with unrivaled power and influence. Perhaps you can even become the ruler of an empire.”

Minhyuk still kept his mouth shut.

“Even if you are an emperor,” Tae-Hoo showed fake sadness on his face. “You’re the only one in this place, no?”

Emperor. Those letters were clearly engraved on his bones. It was true. Minhyuk was the emperor. But he had gone far beyond that. For a moment, Minhyuk wondered what he was doing. This was just a man who was dreaming of becoming the God of the New Continent or something.

Minhyuk tightened his grip on his sword. There was still time left. Who was he? Was he the type of person who would just sit back and watch, just because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to make it? Yes. He knew that he would eventually lose, that he wouldn’t be able to stop them.

But, so what?

Minhyuk laughed. “It’s not yet over, you f*cking bastard.”

He was the type of person who would try for as long as he could. Minhyuk’s fighting spirit and battle intent burned brighter as he held on tightly to his sword.

“Oh…” Tae-Hoo admired Minhyuk.

He liked this foreigner’s spirit and will to never give up, despite being presented with a situation where he would lose.

Minhyuk charged toward the hundreds of Immortals who stood in front of Tae-Hoo.

‘I want to save Cho-Rong and Leviathan.’

He might have just been staying briefly in the Grania Continent, but he wanted to take a shot at least and save this continent. After all, there could be something that could help cure Philos here.

BANG!

Minhyuk clashed with his enemies roughly. He dug into their ranks wildly, forcing the Immortals to falter and be pushed back. He brought out all of the power that he could muster and cut and cut and cut anything and everything in his path.

The beads of blood that floated in the air helped restore some of his HP while he drew out all of the skills in his arsenal, including the ones attached to his artifacts. Alas, it was still not enough. He was getting exhausted way too fast. Nevertheless, he still kept on cutting down his enemies.

Minhyuk did not even know how much time had passed. All he knew was that Cho-Rong and Leviathan were still passed out and unconscious.

Thud!

Tae-Hoo, who had been watching him struggle, raised his sword and stabbed Minhyuk in the chest.

[Your HP has fallen below 10%.]

[You’re mentally exhausted.]

[Your consciousness is getting hazy.]

Minhyuk’s vision dimmed, the world spinning around him. As he fell in that state, he heard a notification.

[The Three Sacred Beasts’ Predators and Beasts have started to descend.]

The sky turned black. It seemed like the sky had been filled with crows.

Minhyuk, who had grown unconscious for twenty seconds, finally came back to his senses. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Tae-Hoo standing around twenty meters away from him with a faint smile on his face.

“Grrrrrrrrrrr!”

“Graaaaaaaa!”

“Groaaaaaar!”

Before he knew it, Tae-Hoo had turned away from him and was already looking at the nearby kingdom. Standing behind him were nearly a hundred million beasts and predators roaring toward the horizon.

The predators–lions, tigers, leopards, eagles–all had black skin and fur. There were also gigantic beasts over eight meters tall scattered all over the place. Some of them were even walking on two feet and carrying weapons like spears and swords.

Standing right next to Tae-Hoo were the three hundred and forty surviving Immortals. They all had their weapons pointed at Minhyuk as they celebrated the historical moment unfolding before them.

“It’s fantastic.” Tae-Hoo breathed in the sweet scent of the air around them. “While you were unconscious, I was curious about something.”

Minhyuk tightened his grip on his sword. When Tae-Hoo saw that his battle intent and fighting spirit were still burning brightly, he realized that this man was just really this type of human.

“When I asked you if you ruled over someone, you nodded yes.” The smiling Tae-Hoo asked, “So, which army is greater? Yours or mine? Do you have more troops than mine?”

Tae-Hoo’s eyes were dyed with madness as a sense of superiority washed over him. He felt as if he was better than anybody else in the world. This man named Minhyuk was a very powerful foreigner. However, even such a foreigner, a being who was obsessed with being superior to others, was nothing but a kicked puppy in front of him.

“Hmm? Answer me! Which army is superior?! Your army or mine?! Huh? Fuhahahahahaha! No, there’s absolutely no way that any army will be superior to mine.”

Tae-Hoo began to praise himself when he saw Minhyuk remain silent.

“There can never be an army better than my own. Why? Because I’m better than you! Because my army is the most powerful of all! Even if you are an excellent emperor, you are no match for me! The God of the New Continent!”

“You talk too much.”

Minhyuk looked at the mad Tae-Hoo in contempt and disgust. Tae-Hoo stopped laughing. He nodded understandingly at Minhyuk.

“You should know that you have already exhausted all of your power and energy the moment you lost consciousness.”

Thud!

Tae-Hoo swung his sword. It was just a mere swing, yet it easily cut Minhyuk down.

Unbeknownst to him, at this moment…

[Philos: Oppa… we…]

[Philos is currently in the vicinity of Grania Continent.]

[Her entrance is not smooth.]

Minhyuk smiled wryly.

Tae-Hoo swung his sword again at Minhyuk’s chest as if he wanted to trample him and drag him into the mud.

Shwaaaa!

“Tell this to your empire and your continent.”

Tae-Hoo raised his sword, his blade now aiming for Minhyuk’s neck. Nevertheless, Minhyuk puffed up his chest. Even until his last moments, he never cowered or backed down. He just glared at Tae-Hoo and vowed to himself.

‘I will come back. And I will kill you.’

Just then, a very familiar voice rang out.

“Your army is incomparable to his army.”

BANG!

An unknown spear shot out and struck the sword out of Tae-Hoo’s hand. Before Minhyuk could even turn to look in the direction where the voice was coming from…

Hihihihihihihihing!

The loud and majestic cry of a horse echoed throughout the Grania Continent.

Clack, clack, clack!

A horse with a golden mane flew through the space and stopped right in front of Minhyuk. And riding atop it was none other than Philos.

“He’s not someone who you can describe as just an emperor.”

A man landed right next to Minhyuk. The old man with his long black hair fluttering behind him stood by his side just like always.

Tae-Hoo frowned as he watched fire bloom in the places where the unknown horse bathed with golden light passed by. The flames created a path that extended forward.

And on that fiery path, a towering man walked out while saying, “He is someone that even I, the Battle God, look up to and respect.”

He stood by Minhyuk’s side just like he always did.

With every cry of the horse bathed with golden light, a new path of flames would open and extend forward. In just a blink, dozens of such paths opened.

“How dare a mere God of the New Continent be superior to our emperor?”

Prime Minister Haze slowly walked out on the largest path. Marching right behind her was a large and imposing army waving flags that carried the symbol of a knife and a fork crossed together.

“Is it you? Are you the bastard who dared to touch our dear Minhyuk?”

On another huge path, a woman with blazing red hair walked out. Behind her were Mercenary King Venteio, the Dragon King, Gremory, Elphis, Gorfido, and many more.

Then, a man fell from another crack in space and rolled around the floor before getting up in an unseemly manner.

“Who is it? Which bastard dared to touch my friend?”

“Locke! Slow down for a bit!”

There, Genie, Khan, Ares, Alexander, Valentino, Ali, Death, and the other executives of the Beyond the Heavens Empire stepped out.

“Is it you?”

On a smaller path, a man with a sword slung over his shoulder walked out. Ever since that day, they had always called him Transcendental Bender. Right behind him was Transcendental Nekk.

“Grandpa, are you alright?”

On another path, Ruba and the other evaluators appeared. They were the ones who had once despised and loathed Minhyuk but eventually grew to love and respect him more than anybody else.

Was that the end? No. It wasn’t even close.

HIHIHIHIHIHIHING!

All of the paths closed when these people stepped out of them. But with the cry of the Land God…

Crackle!

Blazing walls of flames erupted. As if on cue, countless people began to emerge from within these flames. Alexander stepped forward and took the vanguard to lead the “ordinary players” who had just come here to enjoy the game.

“I heard that there’s something fun going on here?”

“Let’s go and clear this quest in one go!!!”

Was this the end now?

“Oiiiiiiiink!!!”

At that moment, the flames soared to the sky. Then, a little pig with his thick and bulging belly, a crown on his head, and a black kitchen knife in his hand, descended to the ground. And right behind him were…

“Kihyeeeeeeeck!”

“Moooooooo!”

“Kihiiiiiiiiiiik!”

All of the guardian deities of Utopia descended.

Tae-Hoo’s pupils shook at the sight that was unfolding in front of him. Each being who appeared carried significant momentum and aura that made him unknowingly take a step back.

“G… grrrrrrr!”

“Kiiiiiiiing!”

“Hngh! Hngh!”

The beasts and predators whined and backed off as they appeared one after another.

Minhyuk looked to his left. There, he saw Ben smiling at him. It was not just him. All of the people behind him were also staring at him with smiles on their faces. When he looked to his right, he was greeted with a smiling Brod who was looking back at him with the same fond gaze that he always had reserved for him. Philos, who climbed down from the back of the Land God, settled right next to him while holding her Kiddie Divine Spear.

Minhyuk smiled. The presence of everyone here drew a genuine and sincere smile on his face.

“You asked earlier, right? Which army is stronger? Which army is greater? Is it yours or mine? You said that I could only be nothing but an emperor. I’m sorry to say this, but… you’ve got it wrong. Yes, I’m an emperor. But I’m a bit different from other emperors.”

Tae-Hoo did not know Minhyuk’s name yet. Why? Because Tae-Hoo felt that he was not worth knowing. So, he had not felt the need to ask for Minhyuk’s name.

“Make sure you remember this. My name is Minhyuk.” Minhyuk held his sword tighter. “And I am the Master of the Western Continents.”