Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 458: The Birth of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom

The Korean reporters present in the audience hall of Barras Kingdom’s Rouvre Castle all shuddered in excitement.

‘A king has been born…!’

‘That person is a citizen of South Korea!’

‘This will be the springboard for Korea’s progress!’

Minhyuk’s declaration, which was broadcasted with the highest viewership rating in their stations’ history, caused a huge stir in the world. And Reporter Go Eun-ah, who was standing on the other side of the reporters, thought, ‘What will he name his kingdom?’

Go Eun-ah had been writing articles and interviewing Minhyuk and his guild members, from their time as Legend Guild up until now, when they got reborn as Let’s Eat Sect. As such, she came to learn that ‘Personal Flavor’, ‘Round Belly Religion’ and ‘Supreme Chicken’ were in the list of the potential names for their guild.

In other words, she knew that Minhyuk had the worst naming sense. And it seemed like some of the members of Let’s Eat Sect were not that different from him.

Golden Mage Ali thought, ‘I still think that Friend Kingdom is the best candidate for our guild name.’?As someone that chanted ‘Frieeeend!’ most of the time, he believed that there was no other name like the one that he thought of.

Then, there was Black Dragon. He thought, ‘Minhyuk and Friends. That sounds like a great name. Well, either way, I’m looking forward to how great my son’s naming sense is,’?as he smiled in anticipation, while recalling the name Black Dragon and the Boys, a name that his party had in the past.

As for Genie, she thought ‘Minhyuk, please. I beg you. Anything but Let’s Eat Well Kingdom…!’. She once had a conversation with Minhyuk about the name that they would give the kingdom. Back then, Minhyuk strongly advocated for one name and one name alone, and that was Let’s Eat Well Kingdom.

Of course, it was understandable that Minhyuk would push for this. After all, for him, eating was everything. However, the outsiders that did not know of this would definitely find it strange. They would definitely ridicule them if the name of the first kingdom was ‘Round Belly Kingdom!’ or ‘Have a Meal Kingdom!’.

The members of Let’s Eat Sect, the hundreds of journalists, and even the entire world watched Minhyuk closely.

And Minhyuk? He turned to look at the sky above them. However, his vision was being blocked by the castle’s ceiling. Yes, that was right. He could only see the ceiling now. However, Minhyuk wanted to go beyond that ceiling someday and reach a higher place, with his friends and guild members. That was when he muttered, “Beyond the Heavens.”

Minhyuk gazed at the people in the audience. His clear, intelligent eyes that shined with dignity and majesty shook the hearts of many, and even caused some envy in the hearts of the men in the crowd.

“My kingdom will be called… ‘Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

A nation beyond the skies. This meant that they would become a kingdom that would make everyone kneel at their feet.

“A kingdom beyond the skies…”

“It’s a really cool name,” Genie said, smiling softly as immense relief washed over her body.

‘I still think Friend Kingdom is a better name, but that’s also a good name,’ Golden Mage Ali thought. It seemed like he thought that Friend Kingdom was infinitely better, but since the name that Minhyuk declared was also cool, he nodded his head, convinced.

Then, at that moment…

Shwaaaaaaaa—

…a huge pillar of light fell down from the sky as a set of notifications rang for everyone in Rouvre.

[The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s establishment ceremony has begun.]

[Please join us in celebrating the birth of a new king.]

A golden aura, the effect that could only be seen during the birth of a king, surged and swirled around Minhyuk’s body. As he stood up, he said, “The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will continue to advance and develop, even after the global servers have consolidated. We will do our best to rise above and beyond everyone’s expectations.”

Then, the notifications rang for all of the people present in the hall.

[Please show courtesy and maintain etiquette.]

[Showing courtesy in front of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s King upon the kingdom’s establishment would be of great help to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s diplomatic discussions in the future.]

Immediately after, King Argon, who Gorn had entrusted the throne with, stepped forward and showed courtesy as he said, “I give my congratulations to the king of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.”

He was not the only one. The Dragon King also showed courtesy as he declared, “I give my congratulations to the king of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!”

Ghost Spear Ben also showed courtesy as he said, “I give my congratulations to the king of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.”

Aruvel, Corr, and Conir also showed courtesy, as the commentators started to explain.

[The greetings of Argon, the new king of the elves, and the Dragon King, the ruler of the Dragon Palace, seem to be the only congratulations that we will see.]

[With this, the kingdom might come off as just a ‘small kingdom’ that could not pose a threat to other kingdoms.]

[As far as I know, there were more people than this when a small kingdom was born in the American Server’s continent. I think the number of troops alone exceeded 50,000.]

[Since the Elf King and the Dragon King are from a different race and do not have much influence in regards to human diplomacy and relationships, we can safely say that there are significantly fewer attendees in this ceremony.]

[Congratulating and showing courtesy to the new king when a new kingdom is born is very important. Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will definitely be the main topic of all media outlets today. The other countries will definitely evaluate and scrutinize them especially in the case of the people that would congratulate their kingdom’s establishment. In fact, this establishment ceremony and celebration is really a bit too shabby.]

Some of the viewers that heard the commentators began to comment.

[That’s shabby? Even when the kings of two other races have bowed their heads in front of him?]

[It’s true that it’s a bit too shabby… yep, yep. In fact, other kingdoms would send their dukes or marquises and some troops to congratulate and celebrate a kingdom’s establishment.]

[But the establishment ceremony is being held right after they won the war, so it’s possible that they’re not coming because they do not know, right?]

[That’s not true at all. In fact, everyone knew that Let’s Eat Sect would establish their kingdom today, right? The other kingdoms should already have been informed about it the moment they heard that Let’s Eat Sect defeated the more than 100,000 troops that marched against them. They should have already sent their greetings since their communication network is very fast.]

[To be frank, it's really quite shabby when compared to the enthronement of an NPC king. Even though the number still looks amazing to us, he is now the king of ‘Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’. It’s a completely different concept from being a single player.]

The fact that their establishment and founding ceremony was shabby compared to others was a true and resounding fact. After all, they did not receive any greetings and congratulations from other kingdoms.

***

The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was suddenly born to the world. However, the existing kingdoms had already very much predicted that the establishment and founding ceremony would be held today after they heard about Let’s Eat Sect’s victory.

However, even if they knew, they did not send any greetings or congratulations. Simply put, they were signaling that they did not recognize Minhyuk as a king, and were showing him that they would make it hard for him to have diplomatic discussions with them. It was only natural. After all, they were the ones that intended to split Barras Kingdom for themselves after Let’s Eat Sect’s collapse.

But that did not mean that they did not send their envoy. Marquis Arna of Orodith Empire had received the orders of the kings of various kingdoms to watch the situation. He was sitting quietly in an inconspicuous corner of the hall.

‘The Elf King and the Dragon King congratulating him will not have much influence on us. After all, they live far from us and our world. There are also no troops or greetings sent by anybody else. This is so shabby. Heh!’?Marquis Arna snickered.

This relatively quiet founding ceremony established Beyond the Heavens Kingdom as one of the small kingdoms. In fact, they could already be considered as a smaller kingdom than Barras Kingdom, the weakest among all of the existing kingdoms.

Even if they absorbed the troops of the defeated Barras Kingdom, the war had shaved off plenty of their troops and would not do much for them in terms of military prowess and manpower. However, with this, the other kingdoms could conclude that Beyond the Heavens Kingdom did not have power.

In other words, any kingdom that staged an invasion at this point would be able to conquer them in a day. It did not matter if they had a few exceptional people with strong powers, they would not stand a chance against hundreds of thousands of troops.

To prevent such an invasion, the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom needed the ‘greetings and congratulations’ of other kingdoms in celebration of their founding. Visiting and attending the kingdom’s founding ceremony was like a warning to everyone watching. It was like they were telling them that they should not dare to touch this newly established kingdom. However, no other kingdom or nation had appeared to give their greetings and congratulations to this kingdom.

‘I have to tell this to the kings right away. Beyond the Heavens Kingdom will disappear from the maps in just a few days!’

Marquis Arna had determined that they could easily trample on this kingdom. Besides, they had to step on this kingdom before it could grow further. They were already prepared to tear down Barras Kingdom, it was only a matter of changing their targets to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. He snickered and ridiculed them in his heart as he tried to leave the castle. But then, he was forced to stop in his tracks.

‘Heoooook…?!’

This was because a woman suddenly walked in front of him. The woman was the epitome of beauty to the point that she could make the air taste sweet by just standing and breathing alone. And this beautiful woman knelt down on one knee and said, “Your Majesty, from the depths of my heart, I congratulate you on the founding of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. I hope you can come out of the castle for a moment and bless those that came to congratulate you with your words.”

Marquis Arna’s eyes widened in shock when he saw the woman appear in front of him. This woman was an absolute existence that denied any and all greetings of courtesy to any founding ceremonies! She was even a woman that was comparable to Eivelis Empire’s Empress Ellie in terms of influence and power!

Minhyuk smiled kindly and softly at her and said, “Saintess Loyna, I’m very grateful that you came to visit and greet us.”

That was right. This woman was none other than Athenae Religion’s Saintess Loyna. She was the most beautiful woman in the world, the proud saintess of Athenae Religion, and God’s regent.Minhyuk stood up and went outside the castle. What greeted him outside was more than 10,000 Athenae priests wearing their pristine white priest robes, with swords in their hands all ready to congratulate him! This was something that was completely unusual, in and of itself. And when Saintess Loyna appeared and lifted the holy sword in her hand…

Shiing!

Shiing!

Shiing!

Shiing!

Shiing!

…all of the priests lifted their swords high up in the sky as they shouted in unison…

“Congratulations on the founding of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”

“Congratulations on the founding of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”

The scene of more than 10,000 priests wearing pristine white robes and raising their swords, which sprinkled with a bright and white light as if they were fireworks, high up in the sky was magnificent and breath-taking.

‘This is crazy…?! More than 10,000 of those arrogant and prideful Athenae Religion priests actually came here?!’

Marquis Arna felt his breath get caught in his throat at the sight. But that was not the end.

A gloomy and dark man, Death, the King of the Dead, followed by thousands of undead passed through the capital of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and settled right next to the priests of Athenae Religion. The priests and the undead hated each other, but they could not express their dissatisfaction because they were celebrating the founding of Minhyuk’s Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. And Death, who led this thousands of undead, said, “Forgive me, I’m a bit late. Congratulations on the founding of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”

“Kieeeeeeeeee!!!”

“Kyahaaaaaa!!!”

“Kkiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!”

The thousands of undead kneeling in unison was a spectacular sight to behold, as Marquis Arna’s pupils shook..

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump—

The thundering of horses’ hooves rang loudly in the area, as an army, akin to a sea of black, appeared. A generous estimate of the army that arrived was around 200,000.

Who in the world could bring such a large troop? There were only two people capable of such a feat. And both of them were riding on horseback and leading their troops.

One of them was a beautiful woman with silver hair fluttering behind her. She was Ellie, and she was looking at Minhyuk with a wide smile on her face. The other was Emperor Asvon, the absolute and supreme ruler of Collodis Empire.

“I’m sorry I’m a bit late, Minhyuk. I had to finish up some work before I can come,” Ellie said. The work that she was talking about was referring to her work as ‘Extreme Hardcore Fan’.

Marquis Arna’s eyes trembled even more. Empress Ellie and Emperor Asvon usually only sent their servants during the other kingdoms’ founding ceremonies. But now, they personally arrived here, and even led their soldiers to congratulate Minhyuk.

For Ellie, Minhyuk was her younger brother, a younger brother that she cared about more than anybody else. As for Asvon, he treated Minhyuk as his benefactor, the benefactor that freed him from his curse of eternal baldness.

“Congratulations.”

“Congratulations.”

The moment these two people congratulated him, the 200,000 strong troops behind them all knelt down on one knee and shouted, “Congratulations on the founding of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!!!”. Their voices resounded in the capital of Barras Kingdom, which was now the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Marquis Arna felt that he was about to pee in his pants at this shocking scene. He even began to sprint forward to escape.

‘I have to tell everyone about this!’

As he was running, Marquis Arna suddenly stopped in his tracks when he saw a couple among the crowd. He was a member of the Orodith Empire and their empire served several gods. Among these gods, the one with the most believers was the god named ‘Sword God’. The reason why they serve the Sword God was because their kingdom, which was once ravaged by the Demon World, had been saved by the Sword God and his sword. He had only ever seen the Sword God in statues, but now he was right in front of him!

“I… I… I have seen the Sword God!!!” Marquis Arna shouted. He had no choice but to bow down and lay prostrate on the ground.

The Sword God only glanced at him for a moment before moving forward. All of the people’s eyes were turned towards them because of the small disturbance that they have caused. Then, the players present in the area all heard a notification.

[The Sword God has visited to give his congratulations in the founding of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom!]

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Everyone present was shocked. A god had visited to celebrate the founding of a kingdom? This was completely unprecedented in the history of Athenae. Meanwhile, Marquis Arna, who was lying prostrate on the ground, could not stand up at all.

“Hey mister. Are you alright?” One of the men around him sneaked up and shook him in worry. However, Marquis Arna did not get up from his seat.

“He, he fainted?!”

“Heok?!”

“Ah! He peed on himself?!”

“Isn’t this Marquis Arna?!”

Marquis Arna, who met with so many big shots in one day, fainted from shock. And from this day forward, the story about Marquis Arna peeing on himself spread far and wide.