Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 569: Battle of the Thrones (Middle)

Minhyuk stared blankly at the water that condensed at the tip of his thumb. This was his long-awaited reunion with Ben and he was delighted that the old man finally returned to his side.

‘My guild members are holding up well.’

During his reunion with Ben, Minhyuk was also able to take a glimpse at the current situation in the Battle of Thrones.

‘They’re not going to win without me, right?’

In fact, the guild members were doing so well that it even caused Minhyuk to be nervous. But then, Minhyuk recalled the additional announcement that Athenae had made a day before the servers had integrated. Based on the announcement, a defense-type event was prepared and would be implemented in the middle of the Battle of Thrones. Although Minhyuk was not clear on what kind of defense-type event it was, he knew that it would have a huge influence on the overall flow of the Battle of Thrones.

After he reunited with Ben, Minhyuk was finally preparing to enter the Abyss in earnest. He had not entered the Abyss at all since he had to deal with countless traps and hunt plenty of monsters that blocked his path from the true entrance.

‘I did not expect that it would take me this long just to enter the Abyss.’

Arlene had told him that he would be able to travel freely between the Abyss and the outside world as long as he cleared the first trial. Minhyuk stood in front of the black hole and stared at the space in front of him. When he logged back inside the game, Arlene had given him the ‘Abyss Stone’.

Craaaack—

Minhyuk tightened his grip on the stone in his hand, the stone turning into dust. The dust escaped from the gaps in his fist and flew toward the black hole. Not long after, a black light appeared and swallowed Minhyuk.

[You have entered the Abyss.]

[The Abyss contains thirteen trials.]

[Every time you break the Abyss’ trial, you will receive an amazing reward.]

[The power of thirteen gods resides in the Abyss.]

[The first trial will now commence.]

Minhyuk was greeted with a shocking view the moment he opened his eyes. Right in front of him was a line of tombs, thirteen huge tombs with various items emitting a bright light hovering above them. There was a book, a hoe, a frying pan, a sword, a bow, an axe, a hammer, and many more. These items were emitting a bright light and illuminating the surrounding area. That was when Minhyuk saw the words engraved on the tombstone, which were also shining a faint light.

God of Farming Arma.

God of Archery Follua.

God of Blacksmiths Hepas.

God of Magic Archipelo.

God of Animals Ideo.

God of Alchemy Karma.

God of Shield Aurod.

God of Life Arjya.

God of Time Card.

God of Immortality Roikan.

God of Creation Gerken.

Each tomb was marked like this to show which god was laid to rest underneath. When he reached the final tomb, Minhyuk could not help but look at it in doubt. Because the object floating above it was a fork. And the name written on the tomb of the final god was…

Food God Allen.

“…!”

Minhyuk took a step back in shock. In fact, he already knew that the Food God was dead. However, he did not know the reason why he died. At the same time, he understood the meaning of the tombs and the items floating above them.

“Tomb of the Gods…” Minhyuk mumbled as he found one more thing that these tombs had in common.

He realized that most of the gods entombed in this place were those that had bequeathed their powers. For example, the God of Blacksmith Hepas had given his power to Hyemin’sDaddy, the God of Magic Archipelo had given his power to Golden Mage Al, and the God of Archery Follua had given his powers to Vietnam’s Miáo.

There was also one more thing that he found in common among these gods.

“They’re all Continental Gods?”

That was right. The tombs here were the tombs of the ‘Continental Gods’, the gods that were active in the continent. However, it was still unknown why their tombs were gathered here, in this place.

Then, the notifications rang in Minhyuk’s ears.

[Food God Allen failed to go past this stage.]

[Food God Allen challenged this ‘trial’. However he failed and ended up dying here.]

[Descendant of the great Allen, honor him by accomplishing what he failed to accomplish.]

[The first trial has been decided.]

The world in front of Minhyuk immediately changed. What unfolded in front of his eyes were hundreds of thousands of people with their stomachs caving in from hunger. They were all skin and bones, and looked like they were about to keel over. The weaker ones, especially the children, had already started to collapse and die.

“…”

Minhyuk was left speechless. The scene that unfolded in front of him was hell on earth. One of the most painful ways a person could die was to die of starvation. From what Minhyuk had heard, the pain of someone starving as they slowly lost the energy in their bodies while still remaining conscious was indescribable. Knowing that they were already in the process of dying as their stomachs continued to cramp was completely terrible.

[You can borrow the power of three gods.]

[The first trial requires you to free all 500,000 people here from hunger.]

[You only have one chance.]

[The Food God had challenged this trial, failed and died here. If you fail here, you will be forced to log out.]

Immediately afterwards, a book opened in front of Minhyuk. The book contained information about the Food God.

[The Food God was overcome with guilt and remorse toward those that he could not save. So, he created a new secret that would be passed down and born to the world.]

[The new secret that he created at the cost of his life was said to be at the level of an ‘Absolute God’s Secret’. However, the truth of the matter was yet to be revealed since he had already left the world.]

[Upon completion of the trial, you will be able to acquire the Food God’s Absolute God’s Secret: ‘Everyone’s Happiness’.]

“…!”

Just like Minhyuk, the previous Food God was able to create an Absolute God’s Secret. And that was the reward that Minhyuk would obtain once he cleared the trial.

***

The entire world was astonished after witnessing Spear God Ben annihilate the summoner and necromancer army that the allied countries had sent! Meanwhile, the desire of the allied countries to keep the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom in check became stronger. However, even if they wanted to do that so badly, they could not send any more troops right away. This was all because of the defense event that Joy Co. Ltd. had announced before, which was about to begin.

The Battle of Thrones was held in the Stars’ Path. A huge video suddenly appeared in the middle of the path. It was in that place that the Gods’ Empire was created and established. In other words, Nerva Sephiroth, the emperor of the Luvien Empire, was there.

Nerva Sephiroth gazed at the world outside the walls of the Luvien Empire and said, “The kings from all over the world are fighting for power? And in the Stars’ Path to boot?”

“That’s right, Your Majesty.”

Nerva Sephiroth, with his long silver hair cascading on his back, looked so ethereal that the only word that was perfect to describe him was ‘beautiful’. He smirked, finding the situation funny, and said, “Stars that have lost their light will eventually fall on the Stars’ Path. By then, they will feel great frustration at their lack of support.”

At Nerva Sephiroth’s words, the video ended and scattered. At the same time, notifications rang for everyone that participated in the Battle of Thrones.

[Defense Against the God’s Swords have started!]

[A God’s Sword of the past will appear in front of each of the participating 28 countries!]

[The God’s Sword will descend in thirty minutes.]

[The God’s Sword will descend in order!]

According to the trailer released before, the viewers have confirmed that the God’s Swords were the ones that have inherited the power of the gods, or were gods themselves. In other words, the God’s Swords, beings that boasted enormous powers, would appear to attack each kingdom.

Meanwhile, in the Japanese Server, Kentaro had finally finished his important quest and joined the Battle of Thrones just less than a few hours ago. Japan’s castle was very solid and sturdy and was able to maintain its current ranking.

Following a huge splash of sparks, a man carrying a sword made of lightning appeared and walked toward Japan’s castle. The man looked like Zeus of Roman mythology.

[Lightning Sword.]

[He is the 28th God’s Sword out of all the 28 Swords!]

[His lightning is known to split the ground and make the world shake!]

The moment he swung his sword, a huge lightning bolt fell down and struck the castle.

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

Then, dozens of lightning bolts rained down, like a huge thunderstorm had arrived, destroying the castle walls and devouring hundreds of troops stationed inside.

“…!”

“…!”

[…!]

[,,,!]

The aftermath of one single strike was so great that Kentaro could only jump up from his throne in shock, “Crazy…!” The notifications had informed him that the man in front of them was ranked the lowest out of all the 28 God’s Swords. Kentaro hurriedly gave out his orders, “Stop him!!!”

America was chosen as the next country for this defense event. Among them stood Alexander, a person that was hailed as the best of the best in the world, and was one of the Summit Five. However, he was speechless when he saw the being in front of them.

“This… this is the power of the man under Nerva Sephiroth’s command…?”

Thousands of gigantic magical attacks and missiles rained down on America’s castle.

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

The castle trembled and shook greatly. Nerva Sephiroth was the central figure of Athenae’s second era, the era that was about to arrive. There was a high chance that the rankers would have to fight against him in the near future. Simply put, this was like a preview.

As the castle shook greatly, Alexander drew his sword and leapt on the walls, the other American rankers following right behind him. Then, the notifications rang.

[Magic Sword.]

[He is the 15th God’s Sword out of all the 28 Swords!]

[His magic is known to burn even the dragons.]

In Vietnam.

[Archery Sword.]

[She is the 9th… out of all the 28 Swords!]

[Her arrows are known to scare even the God of Archery.]

God of Archery Miáo pulled her bow and shot an arrow at the woman walking from afar. But at that moment…

Fwoooosh—

An arrow flew and stabbed straight through God of Archery Miáo’s shoulders.

“…I got hit by an arrow?”

For Miáo, the God of Archery, this was something that was completely impossible.

The same thing happened all over the place where the Battle of Thrones was being held, throwing the entire world into confusion. They finally realized that these beings called the God’s Swords were extremely strong.

On the other hand, the viewers were very curious. They could see that the power and force of each of the God’s Swords varied greatly depending on their ranking. The highest God’s Sword that appeared was the God’s Sword that appeared in China, the fifth Sword.

[Immortality Sword.]

[He is the 5th God’s Sword out of all the 28 Swords!]

[Blessed with an immortal body, he is someone that does not die.]

The Sword that appeared in China was just as the notifications said. He simply could not die despite the thousands of magic attacks and arrows sent his way. The same was true even if they bombarded him all over with physical attacks.

China’s King, Xu Jiaqi could not understand the situation at all, ‘How come… why isn’t he doing anything…’

But not long after, she was able to realize the answer to her own question. The Immortality Sword strode forward and blasted through their castle walls, receiving all of the attacks that they had sent without retaliating with an attack of his own. But then, his body suddenly turned red and…

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

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh—

The Immortal Sword, who received all of their attacks, fired back the same attacks that he had received earlier. Only then did they realize that the Immortal Sword had the skill that could ‘absorb any abilities’. In a split second, more than 3,000 rankers died.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

That was when they realized that the God’s Sword from the first to the fifth rank all had tremendous powers.

The people from all over the world cheered and enjoyed this defense-type event. But for the participants of the Battle of Thrones, all they could do was bite their lips tightly. The countries where the weaker Swords appeared heaved a sigh of relief, while the countries where the Swords in the top ten rankings appeared pulled their hair in despair. Although this defense type event would only last for thirty minutes, their casualties would differ depending on the rank of the Sword that appeared in front of them.

Meanwhile, Genie was shaking in nervousness since the Sword that they would defend against had not yet appeared, ‘Shit, what do I do? Ah. Why are we in the finale?’

The remaining Swords were ranked 1st, 2nd, 14th, 17th, and 21st. Genie did not know which one would appear in front of them. The only thing that she knew was that Grandpa Ben, who only just returned, was the strongest among them.

“Grandpa Ben, by any chance, can you still continue to fight?”

“Hoho. Lady Genie, unfortunately… I don’t think I can fight for too long. My body has transcended the limits of the human body several times and I even ate His Majesty’s buffed dish in that state. Since I gained power that’s beyond what my body can contain, I already lack the strength to move. And with my vision starting to blur, I feel like I’m going to lose consciousness soon.”

“…”

Genie understood what Ben said. Although Spear God Ben had a ‘God’ in his title, he did not really become a ‘god’; he was only a ‘demigod’. However, he was able to wield a power comparable to gods because he consumed Minhyuk’s buffed dish. Just how ants could not fight against an elephant, Spear God Ben’s stamina was rapidly draining from his body.

‘We’re in trouble…’?Genie thought, her stomach churning from her nerves.

Then, it was France’s turn.

“Ow. France has the 21st ranked Sword.”

“No… then, we will likely face the lower numbered Swords…!”

The defense proceeded in order until only two countries remained. Only Greece and South Korea remained, while the 1st and the 17th ranked Swords were left.

‘Please, God, Father, Buddha…’

Genie and the Korean rankers had endured until this point. However, there was a high chance that they would collapse here. Then, they heard another notification.

[The God’s Sword has descended in Greece.]

[The Sun Sword, ranked 17th out of all the 28 God’s Swords, has descended upon Greece.]

“…”

“…”

“…”

The Korean rankers were all left speechless. Now, all that was left was the 1st ranked God’s Sword.

“We’re f*cked…” Genie freely cursed their damn luck in this damn game.

***

Meanwhile, President Kang Taehoon hurriedly rushed inside Joy Co. Ltd.’s Event Hosting Team, “Wh, why…?! Are you telling me that they’ll collapse during the defense and way before the Battle of Thrones truly begins?!”

“I’m sorry. But everything has been set by the system. We also did not expect that they would get the 1st ranked and the existence hailed as the Absolute God’s Sword… Everything in the defense was set at random.”

“…!”

President Kang Taehoon’s face turned ugly at those words. As for Team Leader Park Minggyu? He looked at the monitor and saw a man wearing black armor and a sword hanging on his waist along with a ‘wolf’. He had a cape that was fluttering beautifully behind him, and on it, the symbol of a ‘fork and knife’ crossed together.