Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1226

Haze, who had received Minhyuk’s words through Genie, pondered the situation.

“Prove our worth to the Battle God’s Five Generals and the Heavenly Army troops…”

It wasn’t a bad thing. It could even be an opportunity. From what Haze knew, the Battle God’s Five Generals were incredible people with powers beyond the ordinary gods. Although not as strong as the Battle God, they were still symbols of strength and power in the Land of the Gods.

On the other hand, Minhyuk, Brod, and the rest of his vassals were not active in the Land of the Gods. The next-generation Battle God and his vassals should lead the Land of the Gods, but they have not proven anything yet.

“Please tell His Majesty that two people are enough to prove our worth and power. Also, please meet with Miss Elizabeth and tell her to make it so the hunt will be done as quickly as possible even if she feels a bit too much. As for Sir Brod, I will go and meet him.”

Haze did not take the matter lightly.

“Sir Brod.

She went to Brod and encouraged him to do his best.

“How dare they show doubt toward His Majesty?!”

Brod loved Minhyuk terribly. It was evident with how agitated he was right now.

Then, Haze added, “From what I heard, the Battle God’s Five Generals are treating His Majesty Minhyuk like a rookie greenhorn?”

They were mere exaggerations. Nonetheless, those words left Brod with bloodshot eyes. Even his lips started to twitch in anger.

“They’re treating His Majesty as what?”

Haze, who saw Brod’s palms grab the hilt of his sword tightly after scamming him with the truth of the situation, handed a legendary-grade sandwich to him. Brod immediately devoured the sandwich and waited for the summons, his will and determination burning intensely.

***

The Battle God’s Five Generals were also curious about the man named Brod. After all, he was hailed as the Absolute Gods’ Sword. This meant that he was once standing in the position of the right-hand man of the Battle God, the greatest god. ꭆÄ₦ȯВËṠ

The Battle God’s Five Generals had been appointed after the fiasco when Brod’s knight orders were poisoned, and he disappeared from everyone’s sight. Brod was someone who the Battle God cherished so much.

Although the Battle God’s Five Generals held command over the Land of the Gods, they would have an inevitable sense of inferiority complex toward this person named Brod. Regardless, the many gods who had lived in this place for a long time had already believed that the Battle God’s Five Generals surpassed the Brod of the past.

As for Elizabeth, one of the Six Monster Gods, they thought this.

‘We know.’

‘She’s someone that even the gods feared.’

‘She has already grown far too weak. After all, she has been in darkness for a long time. Not only that, she also became a vassal, which further weakened her.’

‘Can we break through the plains with just these two people?’

If they were on Earth, the outcome would be uncertain. But in this place, the results were a given.

Elizabeth listened and followed Haze’s instructions well. She vowed to do it even if it meant that she would overdraft her powers.

Rumble–!

Elizabeth, who grew to love and care deeply for Minhyuk, drew all her strength for the sake of this man and turned the sky red as she controlled all of the monsters in the vicinity. The average level of the monsters in the plains was around Level 700~800. They possessed levels that were beyond imagination.

When the Five Generals and the Heavenly Army troops saw the more than 10,000 monsters gather before her, they could not help but turn pale with fright.

“She gathered that number all at once?”

“No way…”

“Heok?!”

The surprise did not end there. Elizabeth invoked the power of the system to control the monsters, then released the power of gravity and crushed them to the ground.

At that moment, a man resembling a wolf stood before the suppressed monsters. This man was none other than the Absolute Gods’ Sword Brod. The Battle God’s Five Generals looked at him with great discomfort.

‘Why does he look like he’s angry?’

‘Huh?’

Brod seemed to be in a very bad mood. After being scammed(?) by Haze, Brod vowed to slaughter all the monsters before him.

‘I will make it so His Majesty’s shoulders can be stretched freely in the heavens!’

“Wolf’s Death.”

Wolves shot out from his sword and ran like crazy. They tore and ripped apart all of the monsters being suppressed by gravity. Brod then leaped to the sky and unleashed a barrage of the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship chapters upon them.

“Berserk Wolf.”

A red haze surrounded Brod’s body, making him 1.5x faster than usual. Monsters died one after another under Brod’s sword, while he kept moving like a mad beast let loose.

The pupils of everyone present shook and trembled at the bloody scene of non-stop slaughter in front of them. It only took thirteen minutes.

[You have dealt with all of the monsters. You have completely conquered the Plains of Granid.]

[The total time you took is 13 minutes.]

[The path leading to the Abyss has opened.]

Everyone present was rendered speechless. As for the Battle God’s Five Generals? They thought that they had seen an illusion.

‘I thought his growth would stagnate because he has been living on earth.’

They thought they had already surpassed Brod, and he was a product of the past. Alas, Brod, who wanted to protect the Beyond the Heavens Empire, had become an unimaginable monster. Of course, the power of Minhyuk’s dish also played a part here.

“Your Majesty, we have completely subjugated all of the monsters.”

The two knelt and showed courtesy toward Minhyuk.

‘Huh? What’s wrong with you two?’

Minhyuk was completely unaware of the scam that Haze had done. All he wanted was for them to work as hard as possible and prove their worth and strength to these people.

“Are you hurt? Did you have injuries?”

The eyes of the Battle God’s Five Generals and the Heavenly Army troops grew bigger. Was there such an emperor? He was showing care toward the strong men under his rule? At that moment, the doubts that they held toward Minhyuk, who only merely held a position that ruled over an empire, disappeared.

[Heavenly Army’s Angona’s favor has increased.]

[Heavenly Army’s Bergani favor has increased.]

[Heavenly Army…]

The notification rang non-stop.

Just when Brod and Elizabeth, whose summoning time was about to end, were about to return, Brod spoke in a firm tone, “Five Generals, please take care of our emperor.”

His powerful, booming voice almost made the Battle God’s Five Generals briefly flinch. Then, they disappeared with a flash of light.

After that, Minhyuk spoke as if nothing happened. He said, “Let’s go.”

Someone said among the Heavenly Army troops, “Are those people going to lead and command us in the future?”

“Ho…”

A continuous wave of exclamations rang among the troops.

***

The Abyss was a place located in the Land of the Gods. In a way, it could be considered a prison for the monsters. Why? Because it was home to the monsters that the gods could not control or the God-rank monsters that the gods had captured and subdued. Fortunately, most God-rank monsters in this place were only lower in level. But they still erected a barrier because their numbers had grown unusually large.

Inside this Abyss lived a man named Clad. He was once a Battle God Candidate and competed against the current generation's Battle God. Because of his greed, he made a small mistake and purged the gods. As a result, he lost all of his qualifications and inevitably gave the throne to the current Battle God.

Regardless, Clad did not give up. He gathered the gods under his command and immediately attacked the Battle God. The problem was that the Battle God was mighty even though he was newly crowned. He was not an opponent that Clad could win against.

Sporting severe injuries, Clad fled to the Abyss. A hundred years have passed since then. As he lived in the Abyss in hiding, Clad worked hard to transform and change his ability to rule over the army, to raise the powers of his men, and the ability to reinforce them and use them to raise monsters.

Perhaps the entire world believed that he had already died after running away with severe injuries. In fact, Clad did not die. He was biding his time in the Abyss and waiting for this very moment, the day when Angara was about to be fed. On this day, the Battle God would take his subordinates to this place.

‘He’ll definitely come with a few of his elite troops too.’

The elite troops born and raised in the Land of the Gods were excellent individuals. Even so, Clad believed he could take them on. After all, he has been preparing for this day for a long time. No matter how strong the army was, they would be reduced to headless flies once their commanders had died.

‘I’ll use the Six Fangs to rip you apart!’

Clad possessed incredible power. He could blind his enemies, make their arms limp, or even prevent them from moving. This power pushed Clad to become one of the Battle God’s Candidates.

However, he had changed this power. And he did it just so he could kill the Battle God. His new ability could take away the commanders' eyes, arms, legs, and movements, not just the troops beneath them. Nonetheless, this would only take effect in the Abyss. The effects would disappear once they left this place as if they had been washed clean of something.

Of course, Clad would make sure that they would never be able to escape the Abyss, no?

‘The monsters of the Abyss have already reached hundreds of thousands in number.’

The mission of the Battle God and his men was to feed Angara and go back. But before they could reach Angara, they had to go deep into the Abyss and subdue all the monsters along the way. They also had to do the same thing to escape this wretched place.

‘As for the ones who will lose their commanders? Fufufu!’

Clad laughed maniacally as he imagined the desperate look that would flash on the face of the Battle God.

Not long after, the Plains of Granid was cleared and the path to the Abyss was opened. Clad, who looked old and shabby but still wearing good armor and a cape, stood and waited for them.

When they entered the Abyss, he activated the power he had prepared.

[Six Fangs.]

[This power will take away the six commanders' eyes, arms, and legs. Someone will even feel and suffer from burning pain non-stop.]

[The soldiers they are leading will also experience and suffer from one of the several abnormal statuses inflicted upon them.]

[The abnormal status’ effects can be resisted through sheer will.]

Clad was delighted.

‘The Five Generals, the army and the Battle— …?!’

Clad was left dumbfounded. This was because the one standing in the place where the Battle God should be was someone completely unfamiliar to him. Even so, the Six Fangs had already reached them and started tearing them apart.

“Keuhaaaack?!”

One of the Five Generals, God of Archery Lied, felt her arm get devoured and ripped apart by one of the Six Fangs. She could only shriek at the feeling of losing her arm. Then, Ferrod lost his eyes. As his vision grew dark, an overwhelming fear began to envelop him.

One by one, the Five Generals, who surrounded the Battle God to protect him, were left terrified. Of course, this was also because of one of Clad’s special characteristics, Object of Terror. Anyone affected by his power would be devoured by indescribable fear and left paralyzed.

Just like that, the Five Generals were incapacitated.

Of course, chaos began to spread toward the army. Like Ferrod, some had lost sight, while others experienced something else. Nevertheless, all were overcome with fear. These were mere illusions lasting only five minutes, but they left almost 50,000 troops in fear.

Clad giggled at the scene in front of him.

[One of the commanders is resisting against the Six Fangs.]

[Resisting…]

[Resisting…]

[You cannot force him to give in and back down!]

Clad was shocked. Was there someone who could resist this power that even the Absolute Gods could never escape from? He quickly looked around in search of this person. That was when he caught sight of the man who was standing in the place where the Battle God should be.

Although he was surprised, there was still a faint smile on Clad’s face. Anyway, there was nothing he could do. After all, all his troops had gone crazy, and even his other commanders were trembling in fear.

[The power of the barrier is in effect. You cannot stay near the barrier for a very long time.]

Clad had been living in the Abyss for a very long time. At some point, he had already been considered one of the Abyss's monsters. He looked at the army, which was destructing on its own and promptly disappeared.

***

[You have entered the Abyss stained with corruption.]

[The Six Fangs are trying to take away your eyes.]

[All monsters living in the Abyss will experience a 10% increase in their abilities.]

[The only way to recover your eyes is to subdue all the monsters in the Abyss!]

Ferrod had lived for almost an eternity, so the feeling of darkness that enveloped him after his eyes were taken away was unfamiliar. No matter how hard he tried to touch his eyes in this never-ending darkness, he could only feel the empty sockets left behind.

Ferrod felt like he had been thrown into a bottomless, dark pit. At the same time, fear and terror engulfed him. Even if he struggled so hard to try and get out of this place, he could not. It was pretty strange. Was he truly such a coward?

Unaware of the effects of the Object of Fear, Ferrod began to cry. His legs grew soft, and he collapsed on the ground. Everything felt numb, and he even felt like all the noise around him had disappeared.

‘Maybe the monsters of the Abyss have already surrounded us right now? Am I going to die now? No. That cannot be.’

Despite the fear enveloping him, Ferrod grabbed his sword and tried to stand up.

‘I cannot die like this. I will swing my sword around and kill any being who tries to attack me.’

“A-aaaaaaaaaah!” Ferrod screamed, the final string of his reasoning snapping in half.

Then, at that moment…

Tap–

“Calm down, Ferrod.”

A large and warm hand landed on Ferrod’s shoulder. For a moment, Ferrod felt like he was being fished out of the depths of the dark pit he had been thrown into. But it was just a momentary feeling. Fear once again enveloped him.

“Battle God. The enemies are 10% stronger than they used to be. We have to kill all of the monsters of the Abyss before we pass by.”

The trembling Ferrod was helped and supported by the warm and gentle hands.

“We’re all going to die! Before I lost my eyes, I saw that the God of Archery had lost his arms. With her arms cut off, Lied could no longer pull her bow strings. Rhad also lost his leg. Even the 50,000-strong Heavenly Army troops have lost their eyes! All of us are in fear. We… our enemies…”

“I’m not affected.”

“...”

Ferrod’s mouth dropped open.

“Trust me, Ferrod. I will lead you and the 50,000 troops to safety.”

The trembling Ferrod gradually settled down.

“Nothing will change. I will still lead the 50,000 strong troops to subdue the Abyss.”

“...”

“We will be able to get out of this place safely. And we will be remembered as the subjugation troop who came out victorious despite the grave threats and risks to their lives.”

Minhyuk’s hold on his shoulder was firm. Only after he had settled down the trembling and afraid Ferrod did he turn to look at the army troops who had also lost their eyes.

“Put your trust, your faith, and your belief in me. And I will repay that trust and lead you to victory in this Abyss. You’ll just be unable to see the world briefly.”

At this moment, Ferrod realized that Minhyuk had already calmed and pacified the other generals before approaching him.

“None of your generals are even screaming.”

Although Ferrod could not see, he could imagine the scene. He could imagine how the young man stood before the frightened Five Generals and the 50,000 troops alone to lead and calm them down. He could even imagine how the 50,000 troops overcame their fear and stood up, their will and determination blazing strongly in their hearts.

The screams finally disappeared. At the same time, their shaking bodies also slowly disappeared.

At that moment, God of Archery Lied, one of the Five Generals who had lost her arm, said, “Shall I describe to you what I’m seeing right now?”

Ferrod nodded, his heart thumping wildly.

“The 50,000 soldiers who had shown doubts and did not believe in him because this was his first time commanding them are now looking at him with their eyes wide open.”

“He stood firm and tall, his will and determination completely unshakeable as he led the people in this hellish place. He even looks at them and makes eye contact with every soldier.”

“Ferrod.”

Thump, thump, thump–

“I… no, we… might just be standing here with him to witness and write the greatest path that the Battle God will take in our entire history.” Lied’s voice trembled. “I’m so ashamed of myself for doubting him. Yet at the same time, I feel so honored to be able to live in this era and walk this path with him.”

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