Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 703: The Ten Plagues

The Swords of the Gods were chosen from among the humans and there had been only two candidates for the Battle God’s Sword. Of those two, Nerva Sephiroth was the one that was considered to be infinitely lacking.

Compared to Nerva, the other candidate was virtuous. That was not all, his abilities and charisma to command his men was far superior than Nerva's, or any other else’s for that matter. However, the one that eventually rose to the position of the Battle God’s Sword was Nerva Sephiroth.

Nerva Sephiroth has betrayed his friend, his rival, and succeeded in getting what he wanted. He could not help but recall the voice that he heard on the day that he inherited the power of the Battle God.

[As the Battle God’s Sword, you must not be shaken by any kind of turbulence.]

[The Battle God’s Sword shall be the master of the entire continent. Everyone will kneel down in front of him, even the descendants of the other gods.]

[The Battle God’s Sword must trample on everyone, even the successors of the Absolute Gods.]

[The Battle God’s Sword is the supreme existence.]

Nerva could not forget the joy and delight that he had felt back then. He was very happy that it was him that inherited the Battle God’s power, and not that outstanding and virtuous person.

But today, the Luvien Empire had suffered shame and disgrace.

“…”

Sitting on his throne, Nerva Sephiroth turned to look out to the sky. He saw clearly how two stars had fallen to the ground. The stars were the symbol of Elainey and Rend. Two of the Swords of the Gods had met their deaths.

At the same time, the catastrophe that was falling and wreaking havoc in the Luvien Empire disappeared completely. The livestocks, which they thought were already dead, and the infectious disease, which they believed to be spreading around, disappeared in a moment. It was like everything that had happened was a lie. There were no casualties. However, it had completely tarnished Nerva’s pride.

Nerva Sephiroth rose from his throne and opened the huge doors of the audience hall. There he saw thousands of the Luvien Imperial Army’s troops lined up outside.

The Luvien Imperial Army never stopped growing stronger. They would all grow every time they cinched a victory. Of course, the Battle God would always give Nerva rewards with every win too. That was right.

‘Everything will be done smoothly. All of the empires and kingdoms will kneel down before me.’

This was because they were continuously getting stronger. Suddenly, the words of the other candidate for the Battle God’s Sword, the same man that was considered for the God’s Sword position, flashed in Nerva’s head.

—Nerva. One day someone will bring upon you severe punishments. I will never forget your evil deeds. It will always be recorded in history.

The voice of the friend and comrade that Nerva chose to betray for power made his chest throb with pain.

‘Do you think someone will dare to punish me? Preposterous,’ Nerva thought, looking straight ahead at the 40,000 troops lined up with the twelve Swords of the Gods at the vanguard.

They might just be 40,000 soldiers, but they were the finest and greatest of the Luvien Empire. All of these men were knights, even the one with the lowest level was at Level 500. They had also learned and grown under the Swords of the Gods’ careful nurturing. Just 10,000 of them were strong enough to easily make a kingdom fall.

Wearing black helmets, black armor and riding on black horses, the army had a total of 150,000 knights in their ranks, and was called ‘Nerva’s Black Knights’, the army that represented the Luvien Empire.

Nerva had quickly called back the Swords of the Gods and the Black Knights that he had dispatched to invade the other kingdoms and empires. But what was more surprising was the fact that some of the players had heard this notification:

[Empire Quest: Nerva’s Black Knights.]

Rank: SSS

Requirements: Level 500 or higher.

Rewards: Empire’s peerage, will depend on contributions.

Description: Nerva intends to punish the arrogant and impudent Beyond the Heavens’ King Minhyuk. Along with the troops that he sends, take over Esser Fortress and occupy the Masserati Kingdom as fast as possible. Anyone that can behead the Masserati Kingdom’s King Richard and the Beyond the Heavens’ King Minhyuk will be given the title of a ‘Count’.

Of course, it was a quest that only players that had joined the Luvien Imperial Army could receive. However, the most important take-away here was that 15% of the world’s leading high-rankers had already migrated to the Luvien Empire. They had deemed that the Luvien Empire was safe. It was safe from the dangers of war and they could safely grow their strength here.

In the Luvien Empire, possessing a title, even that of a baronet, would be treated courteously and could receive huge sponsorships from the empire. Nerva Sephiroth would also give them the foothold to grow even further with his power.

Currently, even if the players were high-rankers, they could not easily get a title. But with this single announcement, it was possible to become a Count as a reward. In other words, this was the high-rankers’ greatest opportunity, especially for those that held a grudge against the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the Masserati Kingdom.

Just like that, an additional 20,000 high-rankers gathered in the Luvien Empire. There were players among them that were considered as the strongest in their respective countries and had even participated in the ‘Battle of the Thrones’ as kings before.

‘Did you think that I quibbled with you to create an excuse, Beyond the Heavens’ King?’

Nerva had seemingly argued and asked Minhyuk those questions back then. But the truth was, he could easily mobilize a huge force at any given moment. The only problem was that the Battle God had placed a restriction upon him and could not abuse that authority. This time, Nerva ignored that restriction and mobilized his army despite the penalties.

As for why Nerva did not go against the restriction and instead swallowed the other kingdoms and empires step by step, it was because of something else.

‘If you eat too much then you’ll get sick.’

If he brought all of the empires and kingdoms to his feet at one go, it would be hard for him to take control over them. That was why he was conquering them one by one.

‘It would be difficult for the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to gather their troops since they just experienced a war not too long ago.’

In addition, no other empire or kingdom could participate in this war and help them. The same was true for Ellie and Raldo, who loved that king so much. The moment they moved their troops, their nations would be placed on the path to destruction.

According to the spy that he had planted in the Masserati Kingdom, Ellie, Raldo and some of Minhyuk’s other friends were gathered there.

‘All of them will die because of you today.’

Once the Masserati Kingdom fell, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would soon follow.

.

‘You’re an immortal that will continue to live even if you get killed? Then, I’ll just kill you over and over again.’

Nerva soon gave his orders. “We will now bring upon severe punishment to the Masserati Kingdom for illegally occupying our territory.”

“Uwaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

He looked at his troops that roared with all their might and continued to give his orders. “Advance.”

***

In the underground prison located beneath the Luvien Empire’s imperial castle.

Minhyuk had finally realized why Nerva Sephiroth had told him to go to the underground prison himself to free his men.

[An unidentified power has suppressed you!]

[You will not be able to leave this place for 30 hours!]

[You cannot use any kind of movement scroll or magic like teleport or a return order!]

This was quite an unexpected situation. However, Gremory and the Attention Seekers were able to behead Elainey and Rend just like they had planned.

[Genie: Minhyuk, Nerva’s Black Knights and 20,000 high-rankers are marching toward Esser Fortress.]

“…Nerva has sent his finest men to Esser Fortress. Hmm,” Minhyuk mumbled.

This happened three hours ago. Nero, who was looking at his king, could not understand why the man in front of him did not do anything.

“That… Your Majesty…”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you worried?”

“Worried?”

Minhyuk did not look extremely anxious or nervous for someone that had heard something so urgent. In fact, he had eaten thirty-five chickens and twenty-one pizzas in the three hours since he received that message.

“I’m very worried, Nero.”

‘But… didn’t you just say ‘This pizza is so delicious!’ while eating happily?’

Nero had only heard rumors about His Majesty Minhyuk’s appetite. However, he could not help but be amazed after witnessing it in person. No matter how hard he looked at him, Nero could tell that Minhyuk was not truly that nervous.

“Your Majesty… Please excuse my rudeness. The recent war had left the people and the soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom devastated. It would be impossible for us to rally our troops. On top of that, the other kingdoms and empires would not dare to help us due to the threat of the Luvien Empire.”

Crunch, crunch, crunch—

Minhyuk munched on a chicken leg while nodding. “I know, right?”

“And there were even the words that Your Majesty had mentioned earlier. If Nerva’s Black Knights came, there would be no one in the entire world that could rival against them.”

“Isn’t that the truth? Hey, if you don’t like chicken, then how about dried meat?”

“…But will it really be alright?”

“Hmmm.” Minhyuk rubbed his chin in thought.

Nero and the soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom were looking at him nervously. Minhyuk just sat there, eating his chicken legs nonchalantly.

Then, at that moment, a pigeon flew inside the underground prison.

“…!”

Nero and the soldiers looked at the pigeon in shock.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk performed his very own magic trick, putting an entire chicken wing in his mouth, only for bones to come out.

“Have you ever seen anything like this?”

“…”

His people were at a loss for words when they heard their king ask them somberly about something so trivial. Then, Minhyuk proceeded to read the letter with a wry smile on his face.

‘This is a special letter. After all, how can something enter this place when Emperor Nerva is here?’?Nero thought, showing how quick-witted he was.

Then, another pigeon flew in. After reading all the letters, Minhyuk nodded quietly and said, “I am aware of your worries, Nero.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

“They have killed the people and the soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. That’s why I came here.”

Nero was aware of the disasters that fell on the Luvien Empire.

‘No way, did His Majesty do that? What an amazing person!’

Minhyuk grinned and said, “But Nero…”

“Yes, Your Majesty?”

“The resentment of our people and soldiers has not been resolved yet, don’t you think so too?”

“…What do you mean by that?”

‘Did he mean that their revenge is not yet over?’

“Our reinforcements have already arrived in our world.”

‘Our world…? What in the world does that mean?’

***

Swords of the Gods Elainey and Rend’s heads fell down. Without realizing it, the morale of the soldiers of Masserati Kingdom soared.

With the help of just the Red Flame Swordsman, Darksword, and Phoenix’s Incarnation, the Masserati Kingdom was able to compete against the Luvien Empire.

Ricor, who was taking a brief respite with Richard, turned to his king and asked, “Your Majesty, Black Dragon said that ten people will come. Why are there only three?”

“…I also don’t understand.”

The two could only look at them in confusion.

Not too far away from them, the first Absolute Demigod Class, Ascar, was looking at Gremory and the Attention Seekers bickering with each other with a dark look on her face.

“Ellie and Raldo had made a very cool and splendid appearance,” the Dragon King spoke with a serious expression on his face.

Gremory also nodded along. “I completely agree with you. If we make our appearance right now, then we will receive less attention… No, there’s no need for us to make our appearance right away.”

“Why don’t you go and help them now…”

“Do keep quiet. We are having a very serious discussion right now.”

“Asura brat, this is a very serious matter. Ha… How should I make an appearance and get the most attention? Should I ride a black carriage and shout ‘The Demon has descended!’?”

“No. Please, now…”

“Won’t you please stay quiet?”

“Shut up.”

“Shh!”

“…”

Ascar, who had unexpectedly become the God’s Voice Shuttle, felt her expression morph into a very ugly and dark one.

‘I will definitely take revenge.’

Ascar was Asura, the Goddess of the Battlefield and the very first Absolute Demigod. She did not come here to become their God’s Voice Shuttle. The ‘revenge’ that she mentioned would definitely terrify anyone, especially for those that had seen how merciless she was on the battlefield.

Finally, Gremory decided to go to war.

“Alright. I’ll ride my black carriage and make a splendid appearance. Asura brat, you have to make a good introduction. Understand? One that will make everyone remember my entrance, something that will go down in the annals of history.”

Ascar’s cold and frosty gaze was glued on the back of Gremory, who rode her black carriage and disappeared from her sight.

‘I will definitely not let this go.’

***

A black swirl of energy suddenly appeared between the Masserati Kingdom’s troops and the Luvien Imperial Army, who were in the middle of a tense confrontation.

Gremory, who was riding on her black carriage, appeared with a proud and cold look on her face.

“You pitiful souls. I am Team Darkness’ Evil Goddess,” Gremory declared, raising both of her arms gracefully as black energy wrapped around her. Not long after, God’s Voice rang in everyone’s ears.

[The Evil Goddess has appeared!]

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

Those that had heard the God’s Voice doubted their ears for a moment. Gremory, whether she was aware of it or not, gracefully declared, “Die.”

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

[The Evil Goddess used her skill. It was very effective.]

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

[Everyone, please act surprised.]

“…Wow, Waaaaaaaaaah…”

“Team, Team Darkness’ Evil Goddeeeeeeess~”

“That’s, that’s a very splendid appearance…”

“Uwaaaaaaaaah…”

“Very strong…”

The Imperial Army troops just shook their heads blankly.

God’s Voice was something that everyone could hear. However, the user could also designate it such that some could not hear it. In other words, Gremory was the only one that could not hear Ascar’s voice.

Gremory, who was still unaware of what was happening, was reveling in the ‘attention’ that everyone was giving her, her arms still raised up high as she took a deep breath.

“Fwaaaaaa.”

Ascar looked at her and thought, ‘Hehe. Revenge is a success.’

She was showing her unexpectedly cute side.