Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 1239

[The Amsver Kingdom has been destroyed.]

[The Vongui Kingdom has been destroyed.]

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[The Agate Kingdom has been destroyed.]

Minhyuk’s expression grew solemn. It all happened just a day after the world message rang, announcing King of Races Reikan’s declaration of wiping out the kingdoms led by the players. It was practically a show of force by the King of Races, Reikan, and the races that joined him.

According to the reports, King of Races Reikan had more than 2.3 million troops. While not quite significant, and one could even say that it was possible to finish this war on the humans’ terms, the reality was harsh.

‘Mankind is the weakest out of all the races in Athenae.’

Mankind's dominance of the world was based on its ability to procreate and reproduce, not on its being the strongest race on earth. This fact cannot be denied.

The enemy numbered less than three million, but wielded power exceeding ten million ordinary human troops. On top of that, Minhyuk could not gauge Reikan’s true strength. He was still quite uncertain how much power and influence Reikan could exert on the battlefield.

According to the news and expert opinions, the only way for the players and rankers to end this war was for the Luvien Empire to step forward and finish it. Unfortunately, the empire completely ignored the players' plight.

Duke Vakkaman, the man who survived the Cuties’ Swordsmanship Competition with the help of Rundalk, was now standing before Minhyuk.

Minhyuk reflected and pondered over the words that Duke Vakkaman conveyed. Then, he said, “So, what you’re saying is... since the Luvien Empire will not move its army, then, the Beyond the Heavens Empire should do the same?”

“That’s right,” Duke Vakkaman answered.

Minhyuk kept silent for a long time.

Duke Vakkaman continued, “King of Races Reikan has gathered his forces and created an alliance among races. Soon, the foreigners will also create an alliance of their own in response. However, please remember that the Reikan’s current target is only the foreigners.”

Everyone knew this fact well.

“I’m sure you know why the kingdoms established by foreigners have always been chaotic. None of their kingdoms has anything special to trade. Even the weapons that they distribute to their army are crude. They are very different from us, the guardians who protect this land. This is the reason why Reikan wants to strike them down.”

Simply put, Reikan wanted to prove his strength by destroying the kingdoms established by foreigners first. Of course, this was only natural. If Reikan dared to attack the land ruled by the NPC kings instead of the kingdoms established by the players, he would have to face the Luvien Empire’s response. After all, most of those lands were under the command of the Luvien Empire. Touching them meant going against the Luvien Empire.

Nonetheless, what Duke Vakkaman was really after was something else.

“The Luvien Empire plans to move once the battle between the allied races and the foreigners’ allied forces is nearing its end. The Luvien Empire hopes the Beyond the Heavens Empire will cooperate with us to make a pincer attack.” Duke Vakkaman smirked.

“So, what you want to say is that we should share and split the huge mountain that is the foreigners’ kingdoms between each other.”

“It is exactly as you said. As expected, you’re very quick on the uptake.”

Minhyuk understood the underlying meaning of Duke Vakkaman’s words. The fact that he said that he was “very quick on the uptake” meant that he was still relatively slow compared to the Luvien Empire.

Duke Vakkaman said, “I believe the Beyond Heavens Empire needs a piece of those kingdoms, no?”

Just yesterday, Minhyuk sent the Mythical Bird to three of the largest and most significant kingdoms established by players. He also sent the bird to quite a few rankers. This action alone meant that the Beyond the Heavens Empire was extending an olive branch and would support them with both material and emotional sides.

“Huge boulders are tough to lift, but that’s not the case for small stone fragments.”

It would be a lie if Minhyuk said that he was not tempted. After all, a straightforward and comfortable path had already been laid before him. It would be easy for them if the two empires truly cooperated and worked together to bring down the exhausted alliances. Of course, there was the flip side as well.

‘It’s not only me; the Luvien Empire will absorb some of them. Furthermore, even if they belong to the Beyond the Heavens Empire, they will continue to seek more opportunities.’

If they did not voluntarily join and were forced to be a part of the empire, then there would be too many problems. It would be tough for Minhyuk to handle.

‘It seems like the Luvien Empire had been using this method to accumulate their power and influence, huh?’

It was undoubtedly a brilliant move. However, Minhyuk did not like how under the table it was. Of course, he still had a lot of questions.

“Even if Reikan’s forces defeat the kingdoms established by the foreigners, their allied troops will be left exhausted. They must know that they would not be able to defeat the Luvien Empire and the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Why would they push ahead with such a reckless plan?”

Duke Vakkaman’s pupils trembled. They had been predicting how things would play out to some extent, yet Minhyuk got it right away.

“This only means we have found a way to respond and deal with them.”

After all, both alliances were unaware of the potential cooperation between the Luvien Empire and the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Because Minhyuk did not readily accept the Luvien Empire’s proposal, Duke Vakkaman had to open his mouth again.

“The Beyond the Heavens Empire is free to do what it wants. You can even send your troops to help. We completely understand your desire to protect them. After all, you are also a foreigner like them. But... will you be fine if you do that?”

Minhyuk suddenly found himself between a rock and a hard place. Duke Vakkaman’s words implied that they would immediately take advantage of the situation and send their forces to the Beyond the Heavens Empire if they dared to send their troops to help the alliance.

Although Minhyuk wanted to join and help them with this war, he was left in a situation where he could not do things as he pleased.

“We want to keep our peace treaty a bit longer.”

If the Beyond the Heavens Empire dispatched troops to help the foreigners, the Luvien Empire would take it as the dissolution of the peace treaty. After saying his piece, Duke Vakkaman stood up.

Just as he was about to turn around and leave, Minhyuk said, “Hmmm. I’m thinking about going on an excursion with three other people. I believe the Luvien Empire would not stop us, no?”

When he heard those words, a wry smile appeared on Duke Vakkaman’s face. He replied, “Well, excursions are all about enjoying the scenery, no? If you go out with more than that, then everything would be for the Luvien Empire to take. We will not share.”

This meant they would not be willing to share a piece of the cake: the destroyed kingdoms established by the players, with the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Duke Vakkaman, who was about to leave, suddenly thought of something. He said, “Ah! I don’t think you need to prepare some gimbap. You see, the Werewolf King has this ability called Howling. From what I heard, Howling can stop and restrict any power that depends on the moon's state and the direction they want. With effects like this, it’s safe to assume that Howling can terminate cooking buffs. Also, once the Werewolf King has applied the power of Howling, all werewolves can use it to restrict other powers.”

This resulted from the Luvien Empire’s quick and vast network of information.

Minhyuk planned to create a great and mighty army armed with his cooking buffs. After all, if a powerful army existed, it wouldn’t matter if only four of his men were present on the battlefield.

Finally, Duke Vakkaman left. The expression on Minhyuk and Haze’s faces grew somber.

Minhyuk slowly summarized their entire situation. “Only four people, including myself, can move from the Beyond the Heavens Empire. It’s impossible to use cooking buffs... And the worst part, all of my powers have temporarily decreased by around 30%...? Even my vassals had temporarily been weakened by 23%.”

It was truly unfortunate timing! The restrictions had been imposed at a time like this.

Haze, who had regained her calm, said, “We haven’t settled anything yet. So, it’s best not to disclose what we plan to the public first...”

[Richard: Minhyuk, I heard about it. The Luvien Empire came to find you and put pressure on you? But you still clearly expressed your intention to help us even if you can only send four people. As expected, you’re amazing.]

“...”

[Richard: It’s very reassuring. We believe four people, including the Beyond the Heavens Empire emperor, are enough. You have not participated in any public battles after the battle against Helenia nor shown the public how strong you have gotten. You must be leagues ahead of how you were in the past, right? Have you become twice as strong? Or maybe three times... no. Four times stronger...?]

“...”

[Richard: There are only four of you, which includes you and your vassals. You’re all powerful enough to be on par with a million troops each, right?]

“...It seems like Richard already knows?”

[Miao: You said you will send four people, including you, to help us?]

“Miao knows too...?”

[Kentaro: Minhyuk, your participation and the participation of three of your vassals is like giving us the support of four million troops!]

“Kentaro also knows...?”

Clang–!

“Hey, Minhyuk. I just heard about it. I heard that you and three of the vassals will go out and end the battle against the allied races. I even heard you said lines like, ‘I will end this war.’ or something?”

“Locke knows about it too...?”

Haze and Minhyuk remained silent.

Then, Ace entered. He shouted, “Minhyuk hyung! I heard you will participate in the Summit Battle [1] and even declared, ‘I will end this war!’! Do you want me to tie you up? Or do you want me to draw scars on your face?!”

“...”

“...”

Minhyuk looked at Haze with a soft smile on his face.

“Your Majesty...”

“Yeah...”

“If Sir Locke knows, then even Thelena knows about it too.”

“Who’s Thelena?”

“The puppy next door.”

“...”

Minhyuk’s hands were clenched to a fist as he thought about Duke Vakkaman, who had just left.

“This f*cking loose-mouthed bastard...”

“He’s trying to put pressure on us. They’re convinced that the Beyond the Heavens Empire will not be able to go there with just four people and end the war. They’re banking on that fact, thinking we will send more so that the Beyond the Heavens Empire cannot take a piece of that pie.”

Duke Vakkaman was extremely conniving.

At that moment, another whisper reached Minhyuk.

[Richard: We’re under attack. The Allied Races have already started the Foreigner Kingdoms’ Coalition. We will try our best to hold on.]

Minhyuk informed Haze about the whisper that Richard had sent to him.

“You have to go over there right away. Your Majesty, you must inform them by tomorrow at the latest that you and your vassals are weakened.”

They could no longer think of another solution, so they believed it essential to inform them of their current situation.

“Then, I will go there first. Send Ben, Brod, and Rundalk as quickly as possible.”

Minhyuk immediately warped to the battlefield to clear up their misunderstandings and inform them that an unconditional and unilateral win was impossible.

***

The orc race possessed extreme strength and high physical stamina. The dragon race possessed power beyond imagination. Their claws could easily tear and kill humans. Their large wings on their backs also allowed them to participate in aerial battles. The werewolves not only had fast feet but could also use various types of magic and even restrict their enemies with Howling.

Of all the races, only the humans did not have unique attributes. These inherent abilities made it so the other races stood above the humans. The only reason why they failed to dominate the lands was because of the significant difference in their abilities to procreate and reproduce. Perhaps this was the reason why they were targeted. After all, humans were truly weak.

Like the whisper that had been sent, the strategy planning place where the kings of the player kingdoms had gathered had been attacked.

Richard, who watched helplessly as their allied forces got pushed back, could only grit his teeth and shout, “Stop them! Just hang in there a bit more!”

Pulling her bow non-stop, Miao said, “Just a bit more! Hang in there a bit more, and you will no longer be afraid to face even ten million troops!”

Kentaro also cried out, “They have a lot of numbers, but they’re all punks!”

Everyone’s lips twitched and curled into a smile.

More than half a year had passed since the battle with Helenia. They had been witness to Minhyuk’s power back then. After that, they could only see a small portion of Minhyuk’s power when Gaia’s Continent opened. Now that he had become the Battle God, the people’s expectations for him had grown sky-high. They could not even bring themselves to imagine how strong he had become.

“The Battle God said that he will come to our aid.”

“Can you even believe it?! Minhyuk is confident that he can face five million troops alone!” Richard hurriedly shouted, hoping his words could boost the morale of the soldiers being pushed back.

At that moment, a bright light flashed. Reikan, who saw the light, quickly understood the situation and ordered his troops to withdraw. At the same time, loud cheers erupted as if his appearance guaranteed their victory.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

“The Battle God is here!”

“AAAAAAAAH!!! We won!”

“The Buff Protagonist’s here!!!”

When they heard the words Buff Protagonist, the commentators immediately shouted.

[So far, Minhyuk has consistently appeared in theatrical and heart-stopping situations. Just like today.]

[Every time he appears, he shows impressive power and abilities and leads people to victory, just like a protagonist.]

[He has declared that he will only bring three people to help the Foreigner Kingdoms’ Alliance. It shows how confident he is!]

Stories were often exaggerated and chopped. The story about how the Luvien Empire pressured Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens Empire had been entirely left out.

[Everyone, Minhyuk is now the Battle God.]

[Since he has ascended the highest and the greatest throne, he must have become stronger. The people can’t even imagine how strong he has become!]

[Ah. What a pity. I think this Race War will end faster than we imagined.]

The soldiers, who were losing hope, all turned to look at Minhyuk as if their victory was already guaranteed.

“...”

‘What the hell is the situation here?’

Minhyuk did not know about it, but there were rumors that he had become at least 1.5 times stronger when he became the Battle God.

“We won!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Henael!!! I can go home to you!”

“Mother! We won!”

When he saw their reactions, Minhyuk realized he could no longer delay. He immediately decided that this war’s victory would not be claimed so easily.

“This war...”

“Did you hear that?!”

“Just now, I heard Minhyuk say, ‘I came here to end this war.’!!!”

“W-wooooooaaaaaah!”

“This battle is over!!!”

“WAAAAAAAAH!!!”

‘NO! When did I say that?!’ Minhyuk was dumbfounded. ‘That’s not it! That’s not it at all!’

Hundreds of cameras zoomed in on Minhyuk’s face. Even the millions of troops were looking at him with rapt attention.

Minhyuk unknowingly muttered, “F*ck.”

“...Did you hear it?!”

“Minhyuk said, ‘You’re f*cked.’!!!”

“I AM VERY HAPPY!!!!!”

“Our Minhyuk will cut you down in three seconds!!!”

‘It’s not them... It’s me...’

Minhyuk wanted to go home right there and then.

1. Summit War in One Piece ☜