Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 760: The War of Destruction

ATV Broadcasting Station’s PD Kim Daeguk was shocked by the speed at which their viewership ratings were rising.

‘The Destruction Monarch continues to evade the system’s restrictions.’

Daeguk did not know how or why. All he could do was watch everything unfold.

The first time it happened was when he threw away the Potion of Restriction. As for the second time, it was the number of troops deployed in each area. It far exceeded the number of troops reported to the players through the notifications. Then, the Ten Knights of Destruction appeared without any notice.

All of this led to only one conclusion. The Destruction Monarch was not moving under the control of the system. Somehow, this fact attracted an increasing number of players and viewers.

“PD Kim, we have reached 20% in viewership ratings!”

“It seems like the others that have heard about it are already starting to tune in.”

It was likely the truth. The Land of Destruction was an event that most people in the world were already paying attention to. However, for most, their livelihood was far more important than tuning in and watching an event. There would definitely be some that would just opt to watch everything on during the reruns.

However, now that they were in a situation where Joy Co. Ltd., the players, and the rest of the world could not predict what would happen next. Unable to resist their curiosity, many began to watch on their smartphones, their company computers, or whatever screen they could get a hold of.

PD Kim Daeguk focused on the screen in front of him, as the fierce battle between the Knight of Destruction with a black staff and Knight Commander Don broke out.

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

Evil God Obren, who was acting as a Knight of Destruction, waved his staff and released countless powerful magical attacks that engulfed and swept away Knight Commander Don, the Swords of the Gods and the rankers.

“This is crazy…” One of the rankers muttered.

All of the people present here were leading figures in the world. However, with every swing of the Knight of Destruction’s staff, they would disappear without a trace.

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

The Battle God’s Warriors tried to respond by sending arrows and magical attacks of their own. However, the shield that materialized in front of the Knight of Destruction easily defended against all of the attacks.

Then, Golden Mage Ali, who was also among the people, said, “He’s not a mage…”

“What?”

Golden Mage Ali was a world-renowned mage. From his perspective and experience, the opponent was definitely not a mage. For one, the magic that the opponent used did not even have any casting time or cooldown. There was also the fact that the forms of magic that he used were not the kind of magic that Ali knew.

Not long after, the Knight of Destruction slammed his staff on the ground.

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack—

Lava began to spurt out of the cracks that suddenly appeared in the ground beneath their feet, which devoured 10,000 of the Battle God’s Warriors, just like that.

“…”

The power of the Knight of Destruction was strong enough to make anyone groan and click their tongues.

However, the contenders were rankers and world-famous NPCs. Knight Commander Don, with his keen eye, noticed that their opponent was slightly weak when it came to close combat.

Don immediately commanded the Swords of the Gods and the high rankers to narrow the distance between them and the Knight of Destruction. At the same time, he moved and constantly tried to push back the Knight of Destruction.

Slash—

Finally, Don was able to land a slash on the body of the Knight of Destruction. The Swords of the Gods immediately followed and also delivered blows to their opponent’s body.

[As expected of the Great Luvien Empire’s Knight Commander Don. He’s able to push back the Knight of Destruction at great speed.]

[If they can push him back a bit more then, they would be able to kill the Knight of Destruction.]

At that moment, the situation worsened for them.

[Another Knight of Destruction has appeared!]

A petite Knight of Destruction riding on a gigantic toad appeared. This was the God of Snakes Elizabeth. The moment the gigantic toad opened its mouth, a black stream of energy shot out and engulfed everyone present.

[All of your stats have decreased by 21%!]

[You will not be able to use any skill or magic for three minutes!]

Don and the rankers were appalled by the huge debuff that had fallen upon them. However, that was not the end yet.

[Monarch’s Touch.]

[All of the stats of the Knight of Destruction will increase by 37%!]

[The level of all of the skills of the Knight of Destruction will increase by +4!]

[The Knight of Destruction’s HP and MP will recover by 100%!]

What was the ‘Monarch’s Touch?’ It was, of course, the cooking buff that Minhyuk had. After becoming the Destruction Monarch, the skill was adjusted, allowing him to bestow outstanding buffs to his men without actually cooking.

At the same time, the Knights of Destruction, who were already 40% stronger than usual, felt a huge burst of power within their bodies. Then, thousands of thick lightning bolts fell non-stop on the ground the moment the Knight of Destruction raised his black staff to the sky.

Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle—

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

In less than fifteen minutes, the situation had changed entirely.

[There are only 20,000 Battle God’s Warriors that survived and had made a retreat.]

[Tch. I can only click my tongue at the power of the Knights of Destruction.]

[If things continue at this rate, I don’t think the Battle God’s Warriors will be able to complete their mission and kill the Destruction Monarch.]

***

Nerva was furious after realizing that he was grabbed by the collar. He was the emperor of the Great Luvien Empire and the Battle God’s Sword! He was already furious that the Battle God had chosen someone else instead of him and something like this even happened.

Voices rang constantly in the ears of Battle God’s Sword Nerva.

“Your Majesty! The troops led by Sir Don have been defeated! They were forced to retreat! They only have 20,000 surviving members!”

“Your Majesty! According to the reports, Sword Emperor Ellie and the troops with her have been annihilated by the Knight of Destruction!”

“Your Majesty!!!”

“Your Majestyyyyy!!!”

‘Who the hell is this bastard?! And who the hell are the Knights of Destruction?’

As Nerva watched the bastard in front of him smirk beneath his helmet, he realized, ‘This bastard knows me.’

Nerva was very sure of this fact. He also noticed that the Destruction Monarch did not have any intention of sparing him at all. From what he could see, the Destruction Monarch did not have any intention to fulfill the orders of the Battle God.

In other words, the bastard in front of Nerva planned to become a tyrant and kill everyone here. An act that was in line with the original Destruction Monarch’s behavior.

Since the bastard was already right in front of him, he would not let this chance slip by. Nerva immediately used the power that the Battle God bestowed upon him.

[Nerva, the commander of the Battle God’s Warriors, summoned all of the troops!]

The space behind them was torn apart. Those that survived the battle against the Knights of Destruction appeared in a scattered mess, along with the people that Nerva had not yet ordered to march out. Even the world’s top rankers and the executives of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom appeared together with some of the Swords of the Gods.

“…”

Minhyuk’s face turned ugly as he continued to hold Nerva by the collar. He did not know that Nerva had the power to summon an entire army.

Then, at that moment, a bright light burst out from Nerva’s body.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang—

[An enormous amount of divinity has exploded!]

[Nerva’s divinity far surpasses the divinity of ordinary gods!]

[He’s one of the current era’s transcendental beings!]

[He is someone that has gone beyond the limits of a human!]

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaa—

Even though Nerva did not pull his sword, Minhyuk’s body received countless strikes that forced him to fly back.

“Ugh…”

As he saw his HP drop at a rapid rate, Minhyuk understood that he could never beat Nerva if he was his normal self and not the Destruction Monarch.

The people behind Nerva immediately prepared to attack Minhyuk. Among them were Spear God Ben, God of Snakes Elizabeth, Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s Vice Guild Master Genie, Locke, Khan, Alexander, Xu Jiaqi, and many others. The most threatening being among them was none other than ‘Brod.’

However, they had to know that Minhyuk was not just the ‘Food God’ right now, but also the ‘Destruction Monarch.’ The two-meter-tall Destruction Monarch released an ear-deafening roar.

“Roaaaaaaaaaaaaar—!”

The loud roar pierced through the ears of Nerva and the rest of the Battle God’s Warriors.

[Roar of Despair.]

[All of your stats will decrease by 23%.]

[All of your skills’ level will decrease by -2.]

[Your physical and magical defenses will decrease by 40%.]

[Your physical and magical attack will decrease by 20%.]

[Your resistance to abnormal statuses will decrease by 50%.]

Everyone present froze in their tracks. There were around 700,000 Battle God’s Warriors gathered here. And all of them had fallen into a state of debuff.

Then, the two-meter tall Destruction Monarch flew to the skies and used his special skill, the ‘Tyrant’s Swordsmanship.’ It was an excellent swordsmanship that easily surpassed the swordsmanship that Brod used, which Minhyuk believed to be the best swordsmanship out there.

“Tyrant’s Swordsmanship. Final Chapter.”

The black cape hanging on the Destruction Monarch’s body fluttered behind him as he looked coldly at Nerva and the rankers beneath him.

“Exploding Sword.”

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

The moment his sword hit the ground, thousands of swords rained down and exploded, slaughtering tens of thousands of the Battle God’s Warriors.

Suddenly, the person that Minhyuk had classified to be the most frightening enemy, appeared in front of him just when he was about to get away from them.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

“…!”

“Final chapter. Wolf’s Death.”

Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom—!

Hundreds of red sword lights shot out from Brod’s sword and pierced through Minhyuk’s body. Despite the Destruction Monarch’s monstrously high HP, Minhyuk still grew cautious, especially since his HP continuously dropped at a rapid pace.

‘This is Brod’s true power…’

Minhyuk realized what Brod was like in the eyes of the enemy. He tried to get away from Brod but the man stuck to him as if he was a ghost haunting him.

“Absolute Pinnacle Spear.”

A rain of spears fell down on Destruction Monarch Minhyuk’s body.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa—

Screams rang out of Minhyuk’s mouth. The soldiers of the Land of Destruction tried to charge in and save him but the rankers were holding them back properly.

‘This is crazy…’

Today, Minhyuk realized how much despair and frustration Brod and Spear God Ben could bring to their enemies on the battlefield. Minhyuk knew that he would not be able to fight back against Brod and Ben’s linked attacks. After all, his skills would not be able to keep up with them.

That was why he tried to hurriedly pull away from them. However, Nerva held on tightly to him.

Baaaaaaaaaang—

Nerva aimed his sword and slashed at Minhyuk’s back.

[Your HP has dropped below 40%!]

[Your HP has dropped below 30%!]

A sense of urgency crept up in Minhyuk the more he saw his HP fall rapidly. He could not help the sense of frustration and despair that encroached upon him when facing the combined power of Spear God Ben and Brod.

Minhyuk actually knew of a way to end this situation at the fastest speed. However, Nerva was here and he knew that he would immediately know. What was the method? It all stemmed from one of the notifications that Minhyuk heard when he became the Destruction Monarch.

[The Destruction Monarch can call for the Knights of Destruction to his side at any given moment!]

“Knight of Destruction.”

[Please choose the one that you want to summon among your Knights of Destruction!]

There were a total of ten Knights of Destruction. The Destruction Monarch could only give the highest title to only one of them, and one of them alone.

“Destruction General.”

That man was none other than Brod.

Baaaaaaaaaaaang—

The mighty and gigantic Destruction General fell down from the sky. The moment Brod, the Destruction General, appeared, he immediately received the correction effects of the Destruction Monarch. All of his stats increased by 40% and even all of his skill levels increased by +2. And that was not all. He also received the effects of Minhyuk’s cooking buff through the Monarch’s Touch.

[All of the Destruction General’s stats have increased by 22%!]

[All of the Destruction General’s skill level has increased by +3!]

[The Destruction General’s basic attack power and skill attack power has increased by 20%!]

[…transcended the limits of a human being…]

[…transcended the limits of a human being…]

[…transcended the limits of a human being…]

Amidst the constantly ringing notifications, the Destruction General cut down Brod, who was about to cut off Minhyuk’s head.

Shwaaaaaaaaaa—

He also hacked Spear God Ben, who charged in with his spear, with hundreds of sword strikes in just under five seconds.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

He might be the Destruction General now but he was still ‘Brod’ in reality. He then moved to cut down Nerva in one strike.

Spuuuuuurt—!

“Keuaaaaaaack!” Nerva grew even more furious. He screamed as he fell down, his feet immediately finding his balance as he chased after the man.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

[You have raised your divinity to the highest level.]

[All of the beings look at you in fear because of the high amount of divinity that you are emitting.]

Vwoooooooooooong—

Nerva just raised his divinity to the maximum. However, cracks had already appeared on the ground. Even the trees and the buildings suddenly caught flames and burned down to ashes.

Nerva’s gold hair fluttered behind him. He could no longer reign in his fury. He was furious at the unknown Destruction Monarch, as well as the arrogant and impudent man that dared to cut him down.

The viewers watching the scene were shocked.

[So, this is the power of Athenae’s greatest NPC…?]

[Crazy.]

[Wow…]

Everyone gulped dryly.

“How dare you lay a hand on my precious body!!!” Nerva roared in fury as his body continued to release his divinity.

The others were in shock and awe of Nerva’s overwhelming charisma. However, Minhyuk was different.

‘Brod was originally only slightly weaker, no, maybe he’s on par with Nerva. Brod, who’s already in a state like that, received the correction effects of the Destruction Monarch, as well as the buff effects from Monarch’s Touch.’

Minhyuk was not sure if Nerva already realized who was in front of him. However, what was obvious was the fact that he was enraged, to the point that veins had already started to pop in his neck.

Nerva continued to release his divinity as he warned them, “I will rip you to shreds and kill…!”

Thwaaaaack—

The Destruction General slapped Nerva’s cheeks strongly.

“…”

Nerva’s eyes grew wide when he felt his head turn to the side. In fact, even the people from all over the world that were tuned in had their eyes wide open from the shocking scene.