Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 693: The God of Death and the Hell Corps

Flashes of light would occasionally appear amidst the dark sea of Hell Corps. With every slash of their blades and cast of their skills, the appointed knights of Evangel would burn hundreds of their enemies and turn them into ashes.

Evangel did not just grant them a simple buff effect. The appointed knights of Evangel also heard these notifications in their ears:

[The warm sacred power of the Temple Evangel flows in you.]

[All of your stats have increased by 11%!]

[The sacred and holy power melts away the fear settling in your bones and instills in you a great sense of bravery.]

[Your Holy Power has increased. When facing evil beings, all of your attack and defense will increase by 15%.]

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

The soldiers of Beyond the Heavens shivered. Their king, Minhyuk, went on a Pope’s Journey and defeated countless evil beings for them. Even the executives of Beyond the Heavens that were appointed as Evangel’s Knights were driving out the evil and wicked beings away.

Meanwhile, the executives all felt like they were flying, with how powerful they were.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

Carr brandished his sword once and he was able to cut down five Hell Corps soldiers in one go.

‘This is a completely ridiculous power.’

Any player would feel delight at the fact that they could kill an existence that they could not even think of hunting before. However, what they were experiencing was not just at that level.

All of their skills and stats had received a tremendous increase. On top of that, they had also received an increase in attack and defense when fighting against evil beings. It was more apt to say that the enemies would melt and disappear into nothingness with a single swing from Carr’s sword.

‘Right. At this rate, we might really be able to pull through this situation…!’

Carr even entertained the thought of wiping out the large army that was targeting them.

[God of Snakes’ Elizabeth’s First Child.]

[Marquess Leona has awakened to the world.]

“…?”

Minhyuk had fought against Elizabeth’s child, Marquess Leona, with the Masserati Guild in the Stars’ Path in the past. But now, she made another appearance.

[Snakes’ Fetters have been triggered!]

[All of your skills will be temporarily unavailable.]

[All of your parchments and potions will be temporarily unavailable.]

“…?”

Carr looked completely confused. He then turned to look at Elizabeth. Elizabeth was one of the Six Monster Gods. She had lost all of her memories and abandoned her past, becoming a strong ally and friend of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

For a moment, Carr wondered if she could nullify the condition that they were in. Just when the thought flashed in his head, Marquess Leona made eye contact with the soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

“Die.”

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack—

Thousands of Beyond the Heavens’ soldiers turned into stone.

‘What the hell is Elizabeth doing?’

Carr caught himself thinking, shocked by the thought in his head. Elizabeth was also currently fighting in the vanguard. She had also received many buff effects like them and had been demonstrating her power to free her allies and soldiers from the abnormal conditions that they were being subjected to.

Then…

[A sealed monster has awakened to the world!]

[Warning!]

[Danger!]

[Warning!]

[Danger!]

[God of Snakes’ Elizabeth has made her appearance!]

[The one that will be able to hunt God of Snakes Elizabeth will be able to get rewards.]

Elizabeth, who was existing with them right now, and the Elizabeth that they have killed in the past could be said to be two different beings. God of Snakes Elizabeth had been summoned two kilometers away from Carr.

[God of Snakes’ Curse.]

Green poison exploded from within Elizabeth’s body and enveloped the Beyond the Heavens’ troops. The soldiers began to melt and disappear the moment the poison touched their bodies.

“…”

In just an instant, more than 10,000 soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom had perished. Carr could not help but gulp dryly. Unfortunately, their dilemma was not yet over.

[The Corrupted God has made her appearance!]

[The one that will be able to hunt the Corrupted God will be able to get rewards.]

[The Corrupted God is a being that not even the Great Demon could treat recklessly!]

[Warning!]

[Danger!]

[Warning!]

[Danger!]

[Warning!]

[Danger…!]

[A great existence that encompasses the entire world is descending!]

Twitch, twitch—

Everyone from the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom felt fear run down their spines. Their legs were shaking so bad that it made it hard for them to stand properly.

The Corrupted God was laughing with that piranha-like set of teeth of hers glinting sharply, a stark contrast to her beautiful appearance.

“Heehee?”

Thousands of books rise in the sky above them. On the book were the names of countless soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. Then, she struck the books with the axe in her hand.

Slash—

Red blood exploded from the books as the hearts of the Beyond the Heavens’ soldiers caved in and exploded.

“…Ah?”

Carr was just reveling in the feeling of immense strength earlier, but now, his thoughts turned in another direction.

‘What the hell is this…?’

Carr was the official number one player in Korea. He had also been appointed as Evangel’s Knight and had received a tremendous boost in his power. However, the enemies that appeared in front of him were far too strong.

Crack, crack, crack—

Thousands of Beyond the Heavens soldiers began to turn into stones once again.

“Please die.”

The poison from Leona and God of Snakes Elizabeth were easily killing their soldiers. The soldiers did not even have the time to scream as their bodies melted away, blood dripping down their orifices. There was also the Corrupted God cackling by herself while striking the books in her hand and using them to send lightning bolts and other attacks that devastated their forces.

“Ahihihihihihi! Die! Die! Die!”

“Keuhaaaaack!”

“Euaaaaaaack!”

“All of you, die.”

“Keheooooook!”

“Urrrrk…!”

“Die.”

“Keuhaaaaack!”

“Keheooooook!”

“…”

Everything in front of Carr was suddenly in slow motion. He, along with the other nine people that had grown stronger, tried to stop the onslaught of their attacks, but none of it worked.

“Ugh!” Spear God Ben groaned, a mouthful of blood dripping down his chin as he received a fatal injury from the Corrupted God.

“Keuaaaaaack!” Khan screamed, his arm bending at an unusual angle as the Corrupted God bent the arm of the doll named ‘Khan’ in her hands.

“…”

As for Golden Mage Ali, he had received restrictions from God of Snakes Elizabeth and could no longer use his magic.

Carr’s grip on his sword loosened.

“Minhyuk…” he unconsciously called out Minhyuk’s name as he looked at the outer walls of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

‘Will we be able to endure until you come back?’

He could not help but doubt if they could stop them here.

***

“Retreat!!!”

“Retreat!!! Retreat!!! Get back!!!”

“Retreat at your fastest speed!!!”

The soldiers of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom rushed back inside the confines of the now-collapsed outer walls. Their casualties were at least 300,000. The kingdom was filled with the anguished cries of the people.

Genie gave an order to Park, “Park. Use the underground passage to take our people and the soldiers out of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom right this instant.”

“…!”

Park’s pupils trembled fiercely as he looked at Genie and the executives of the kingdom that had gathered around her. There were only around 2,000 of them and they were mostly made out of players with Elpis, Gorfido, Connir, Aruvel and Spear God Ben in the mix.

Park could not bring himself to speak. The number of their people and soldiers alone had reached a million. Right now, she was telling them to abandon their kingdom.

“…I have received your orders.”

In the end, Park conceded, his lips bleeding from how hard he bit them as he bowed down. Then, he hurriedly rushed to give his orders to the people and the soldiers.

“Your Majestyyyy!!!”

“Your Majesty Minhyuk!!!”

“Absolutely not! How can you tell us to abandon Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?!”

The cries of the people echoed in their ears. However, Genie still tried to show a smile to them. Then, she turned to the people that stood by her and asked, “Do you have any regrets?”

“None.”

“There is none!!!”

There were plenty of powerful rankers among them. Many world rankers had knocked on the doors of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and joined their ranks, becoming the kingdom’s pillar. None of them regretted their choice.

There was also Ben, Elpis, Gorfido and the other NPCs. Genie was aware that none of them would listen to her.

“Elizabeth.”

“Yes.”

“Create a shield.”

“I understand, Unnie.”

Elizabeth was also one of the appointed knights of Evangel. She might be a lot weaker than her original appearance, however, the buff effect that Evangel bestowed upon her allowed her to place a thick barrier all over their territory.

[God of Snakes’ Shield.]

[A huge and invincible shield will be erected. This shield will not easily be broken by anyone.]

A bloody red barrier unfurled and enveloped the entire Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. The God of Snakes’ Shield was supposed to be impenetrable to any and all existence. However, the problem was that the enemies could easily ignore the ‘any and all existence’ part.

Genie might look calm on the outside but she was just pretending. Everyone could see how badly her body was shaking. The small girl held her hand after seeing her release a shaky breath.

“Unnie,” Elizabeth called out, flashing her a bitter and helpless smile.

Genie could only respond with a small smile of her own. They were players so they would still be able to come back to life. However, these people here would not.

‘Minhyuk. We’ll try our best to save them somehow.’

Genie had always thought of ways to protect the reckless and stubborn NPCs of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. With Haze’s help, she had been able to find out about one artifact.

The artifact was the ‘Forced Summoner’s Room’s Ring’. It was an artifact that could force any vassal or NPC to enter the summoning room the moment they were placed in danger. Genie wanted to give this ring to Minhyuk. Only then would these NPCs live.

“Hihihihi…” The Corrupted God giggled as she summoned thousands of books in the sky above them.

Rex’s summoned God of Snakes Elizabeth glared at the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, while Leona looked at them as if she wanted to destroy them right away.

In front of the gods that Rex had summoned, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom seemed to be nothing but a trifling existence, as all of them prepared to attack the barrier.

“…”

At that moment, Genie received a notification.

[Minhyuk: Genie. Retract the order to retreat right away.]

***

In a pub somewhere in Itaewon, Seoul.

There was a large TV set up inside the pub where plenty of people gathered to watch whenever interesting things happened in Athenae. All of the customers lamented as they watched the scene on the TV.

“Is this the end of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?”

“The Corrupted God, the God of Snakes, Leona. There’s still the remaining 1.5 million-strong Hell Corps. There’s no way that they will be able to stop this.”

“This is a balance breaker, no? There’s no way that someone will be able to stop that.”

The people voiced their bitterness as they downed their beers. Among them was a woman, who was leisurely ordering her own beer. Another woman, Han So-Won, who was sitting facing the first, could not take her eyes off of the television.

The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was both a role model and the object of everyone’s envy. It was a very sad thing to witness the destruction of such a wonderful kingdom.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp—

“Kyaaaa! The beer tastes very delicious today!” So-Won’s friend gulped down her cold and refreshing draft beer and shouted in admiration.

So-Won looked at her friend incredulously. “Aren’t you Player Minhyuk’s fan? This b*tch, the Beyond the Heavens will be destroyed today, yet you’re acting like that. Weren’t you the one that kept on praising him every single day?”

The woman, who drank her beer and chomped on a chicken leg, was none other than Lee Minhwa. She looked at her friend calmly and said, “Well? Do you know why I’m here? And why am I so calm despite all of this?”

Han So-Won’s confusion grew at the question.

‘She’s right, shouldn’t Joy Co. Ltd. be in a state of emergency right now? Then, why is Lee Minhwa here?’

“Let me tell you this.” Lee Minhwa lifted her beer pint and said, “My dear Team Leader has told me to get off work. I have been working overtime these past few days. So, my Team Leader told me that while I’m drinking beer and eating chicken to…”

Lee Minhwa looked around. She saw that everyone around her were sporting tense and nervous expressions on their faces as they waited for the imminent destruction of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Meanwhile, on the TV.

[The God of Snakes’ Elizabeth, the Corrupted God, the Marquess Leona, the First Spear God, the First Sword God, and even the First God of Magic!]

[All of them are preparing for a full-on attack toward the bloody red barrier!]

[The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will surely be erased from the map once they release their full-on attack!]

[As we speak, the full-on attacks of the several gods are now flying toward the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!]

Crack, crack, crack, crack—

Creak, creak, creak, creak—

The sound of chairs screeching and collapsing rang loudly inside the pub as the scene on the TV showed the enemies shooting a powerful force toward the red barrier that protected the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp—

Lee Minhwa, who gulped down her beer once again, looked at Han So-Won again and finally finished her words earlier. “…not miss out on the fun. He told me to make sure that I watch how the enemies, those absolute beings, get slaughtered once again. After all, it’s a sight that will not be easy to come by.”

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep—

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep—

Then, at that moment, the scene on the screen turned completely white as a loud and grating beep rang in the ears of everyone present.

“What, what the hell?!”

“What in the world is happening?!”

“What about the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom??? The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”

So-Won looked at Minhwa in confusion before turning back to the white screen of the TV. Then, the whiteness slowly bled out and disappeared.

“What the hell is that…”

As whiteness recede and the scene of the battlefield appeared in front of them again, they saw that the attacks from the God of Snakes’ Elizabeth, the Corrupted God, the Marquess Leona, the First Spear God, the First Sword God, and the First God of Magic were all gone.

In front of the dilapidated and collapsed walls of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, covered with the bloody-red barrier, stood three men.

The man standing in the middle was riding on the back of a gigantic cow. By his side was a very beautiful man with dark hair, a nonchalant look on his face as he glared at the enemies in front of them. This man was riding on top of a very hideous and ferocious looking horse.

Snap—

The moment the beautiful man snapped his fingers, five million books appeared in the sky above them, all of them aiming at the Corrupted God.

[The Corrupted God is mine. I’ll only kill around 600,000 enemies. Kronad, don’t you dare think of crossing this line over here.]

The beautiful man with black hair looked to the other side at a white-haired man. Although the white-haired man was already old, he was still very handsome and dignified. The old man wore a white papal robe and rode on the back of a pegasus. He raised the sword in his hands and pointed it to the other half of the Hell Corps, effectively creating a line that divided both sides.

[Then, I’ll kill around 700,000. Obren, you should be the one that should not think of crossing this line.]

The two men looked at the man riding on top of the cow.

[What about you?]

[And you?]

The man riding on top of the gigantic cow was wearing a white papal robe, a gold sword hanging on his waist. The man’s black and dark eyes were a stark contrast to his fair skin and white hair. Then, the man opened his mouth.

[Me? I’ll kill them all.]

The two other men nodded in agreement.

[That’s neat.]

[Not bad.]

The man riding on top of the cow glanced at the soldiers of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and showed them a kind and soft smile. However, his expression had turned a complete 180 the moment he looked at the enemies. He glared at them as he opened his mouth.

***

Before the man could say the words on the screen, Employee Lee Minhwa had already beaten him to the punch. “Wipe them out.”