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Chapter 316: The Territory’s True Owner
Everyone knew Mei Wei. She was the number one player in Athenae’s Official Global Rankings. She also had the Valkyrie class, a class known to be the best with regards to buff abilities. Mei Wei’s combat abilities were also known to be top-notch. However, when compared to her buff ability, her combat ability could only be called shabby at best. Anyone who saw Mei Wei would look at her in awe. Even those who received a slight touch from her would shed tears of joy, asking her to be their friend. However, when she asked Minhyuk to be her friend, Minhyuk just looked at her incredulously.
“Ah. I see,” Minhyuk replied before hurriedly turning towards Conir.
‘Did…did I just get rejected…’
Mei Wei was left in embarrassment for a moment. However, Minhyuk did not pay her any mind and just hurriedly explained the situation to Conir. Mei Wei began to think about her actions.
‘Let’s see…’
When she thought about it, Mei Wei realized that she would also look at the person strangely if they just came up to her for the first time and told her, ‘Let’s be friends?’. That was when she realized that perhaps her first greeting was not that smooth. After all, Mei Wei had been alone for a long time now. She had not talked to anyone in so long, except for her personal doctor and NPCs. While she was thinking about her actions, Mei Wei overheard Minhyuk’s conversation with Conir.
‘Maestro of Destruction?’
Minhyuk was talking quickly since he did not have much time. However, he only talked about it with a bitter smile on his face.
“No, Conir. You should do your best making ramen here today.”
Although it was a very urgent situation, Minhyuk did not want to bring Conir along. He did not want to know what it would feel like should Conir die inside the trial.
‘Then, who should I bring along?’
He wondered if he should bring Priest Louis? Or perhaps Mother of Life Eden? Maybe Dwarf Lant? However, his best shot was Priest Louis. It was because he knew that Eden and Lant’s power would be useless in the situation right now. Then, suddenly…
“I’ll go with you.”
“...?”
Minhyuk looked at her strangely once again.
‘No, come to think of it, I don’t recognize her because I’m in a hurry, why did she come here with Conir? And why is she here in Atlas territory?’
Just then, Conir said, “Conir!!! Conir hopes Mei Wei Noona and Minhyuk Hyung will get along well!!!”
“Huh?” Minhyuk said, looking between Conir and Mei Wei alternately.
“You should be closer from now on!!! Conir heard that kids grow through fights, but don't fight!!!” Conir said, bringing Minhyuk into confusion. But then, he suddenly paused.
‘Mei Wei? The Global Rankings number one, Mei Wei?’
Minhyuk turned to look at the woman in front of him more carefully. Looking at her, he could see that she was definitely Mei Wei. Minhyuk had studied and learnt a lot of things about Athenae in his quest to find more delicious food. During the process, he came to know who was ranked number one in the Global Rankings. No, it would be even more strange if he was an Athenae player and he did not know who she was.
‘Why does she want to help me? No, why does she want to be friends with me?’
However, he did not have any more time to ask her. So, even though Minhyuk was conflicted, he still made his decision.
***
“Keuaaaaaack!”
“Aaaaack!”
“Ugh!”
Screams rang loudly in the ramparts. The soldiers could not endure the relentless attacks of the Dark Knights and the ‘Maestro of Destruction’. However, the brave and valiant Atlas soldiers still continued to rush out of the gates. Cornell, the Commander-in-chief turned to look back at Crusoe as he asked, “What bullshit are you saying? You’re telling me to follow the orders of a foreigner?”
“Yes, that’s right,” Crusoe said.This was a war that Crusoe had already experienced once before in his life. However, for the soldiers here, it was like they were fighting this war for the first time. And right now, Crusoe was telling them to hand over the position of Commander to the foreigner named Minhyuk that suddenly appeared in front of them.
“That’s bullshit. I will never hand over command to a foreigner.”
It did not matter what kind of territory this was. This would remain as the Food God’s territory. That was absolute. However, after the death of the Food God, the Continent’s Emperor dared to target this place and make it his own. And it did not end there. Even a foreigner that did not know of the existence of the Food God’s territory dared to take command of this place? Crusoe shut his mouth.
‘It wouldn't make any difference even if Minhyuk took command…’
Crusoe knew how this war would end. That was also the reason why the soldiers that participated in the trial with him and Minhyuk, including Park, were all flustered with shock. After getting over the shock, they were then left in frustration.
‘Sob, sob, sob… I came back here again… to the place where my mother died…’
Park tried to hold back his tears. Then, a thought flashed in his head. He thought that perhaps his mother was still alive right now. Perhaps he might still be able to see her face one last time, or maybe even talk with her again. Park quickly rushed out of the castle. He saw their troops blocking their enemies, while the enemies were pushing forward to try and capture the castle!
“Keuaaaaaack!”
“Aaaaack!”
Fwoosh!
Bang!
The mages’ explosion magic, that had a similar effect to nuclear bombs, dropped one after the other. However, Park still ran forward amidst the ensuing pandemonium. Crusoe felt his heart break at the sight. That was when Commander-in-chief Cornell realized, ‘We will… face defeat.’ However, even if he knew the outcome of the battle, he still pulled his sword out and shouted loudly.
“To victory!!!”
“Uwoooooooh!”
The troops ran out while screaming loudly. However…
[Death’s Messenger. The Grim Reaper has appeared.]
Shwaaa!
A black vortex appeared in the middle of the battlefield, opening up to let a gigantic being over six meters tall out. The being was wearing a ragged black robe while sitting on top of a gigantic black horse, with a huge black scythe in its hand. Crusoe had already experienced fighting against it before. This bastard was a Level 645 being that was literally an envoy from hell. Hell was a place that existed above the Demon World. However, no one had ever been to that place. And this guy’s power and strength was beyond anyone’s imagination.
Shwaaa―
A crescent blade light flew out of its gigantic scythe, slaughtering the soldiers blocking its path. And when it stretched its right hand…
Stab!
“Ha…Hans… What are you…”
…the mind of its target would fall under its control.
[More than 23% of your troops have died.]
[More than 25% of your troops have died.]
[The soldiers’ morale is dropping.]
[The soldiers are starting to tremble in fear.]
[All of their skills have fallen by 5%.]
They began to kill each other.
“Priests!!! Do we not have any priests?!!!” Commander-in-chief Cornell urgently shouted but Crusoe just shook his head.
‘Ordinary priests don’t have the ability to release them from this…’
It was a fact that they would be completely defeated, while only being able to inflict a 20% damage to their enemies. Then, the enemies began to push through the gates.
“Archers!!!”
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Their archers tried to hold out by shooting their enemies with their arrows, but their enemy archers were faster and stronger.
Stab! Stab! Stab!
“Aaaaack!”
“Ugh!”
The archers died and fell down the ramparts one after the other. Then, Crusoe’s eyes began to shake.
‘N, No…’
A gruesome and horrible scene appeared in front of Crusoe. Centurion Park stood in front of an old lady after running desperately through the chaos. However, the problem was that his sword was unsheathed. He was now under the control of the enemy.
“So…son…”
Park’s mother trembled as she looked at her son. Seeing this, Park was left in despair.
‘N, no… No… Stop… No…!’
This goddamn curse!!! Park’s mind went blank. However, he still continued to pray and wish.
‘Someone, anybody, please! Please save me and my mother! Goddamnit!!!’
Then, at that moment…
“Wings of Light.”
…gigantic wings, reminiscent of an angel’s wings, appeared in the sky. When the wings flapped, thousands of feathers made of light scattered and got absorbed inside the soldiers’ bodies.
Swish, swish, swish, swish―
[You have been released from the abnormal state: Mind Control.]
Thanks to those feathers of light, Park was able to control his body again. That was not the end.
“Goddess’ Shield.”
A gigantic and radiant shield of light appeared in the sky. The shield scattered into lights that fluttered down into the soldiers’ bodies.
[Your defensive power has increased by 35%.]
Then…
“Goddess’ Sword.”
“Goddess’ Like the Wind.”
[Your attack power has increased by 24%.]
[Your moving speed has increased by 20%. Your attacking speed has increased by 10%.]
A gigantic image of a sword and boots appeared in the sky, disappearing not long after. The troops immediately felt their bodies turning lighter as their vitality and energy increased. Cornell and Crusoe immediately headed over to the castle’s ramparts. There, they saw a woman with long black hair fluttering in the wind, wearing silver armor while standing beside a man wearing bone armor and a helmet. They were watching the situation of the entire battlefield. Notifications rang loudly in the ears of these two people.
[The ramparts’ durability has decreased to 132,136.]
[The ramparts’ durability has decreased to 113,478.]
Then, the woman stretched her hand out.
“Wrathful Goddess.”
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
A power that was as enormous and as powerful as the Maestro of Destruction’s attack appeared. Then, light appeared under the feet of their enemies as a huge explosion swallowed them up, effectively protecting the ramparts.
Dash―
Dash―
The woman and the man wearing bone armor dashed down.
Neigh!
The two of them jumped on the two horses made of light that suddenly appeared before dashing straight towards the Dark Knights in front of them.
“Rampant Sword.”
The man’s sword shot out hundreds of sword lights as the woman next to him stretched her hand out.
[Goddess’ Reinforcement]
[Instantly reinforces the skill being triggered.]
The hundreds of sword lights turned into thousands as the blades lengthened and became more powerful.
Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!
The sword lights attacked the enemies that blocked their path.
“Keuaaaaaack!”
“Aaaaack!”
Screams rang loudly in the area as the man grabbed the reins of his horse and dashed forward once again. Most of the enemies that received the attacks of the Rampant Sword did not die. Then, three small books floated behind the woman.
[Judge’s Antique Book]
[The Judge’s Antique Book assists the Valkyrie. Lightning strikes with 300% additional attack power strikes the enemies in the surrounding.]
Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!
The severely injured that could not be knocked down earlier, eventually died under the onslaught of lightning strikes that came from the three books behind the woman.
[More than 4% of the enemy troops have died.]
Then, the man and woman appeared in front of the Grim Reaper. Commander-in-chief Cornell’s hands were covered with sweat as he issued an order, “Men!!! Stop the enemies from approaching those two people!!!”
The soldiers pierced through the enemies’ battle line and opened a path, much like Moses parting the Red Sea. Thanks to the mysterious woman’s strong abilities, their force and skills increased, making them more powerful! However, the man and woman were both struggling just ten minutes into the fight against the Grim Reaper. The woman was urgently shouting, while the man’s sword moved quickly. Then, a light appeared from the woman’s hand which extended towards the man’s sword. After receiving the light, the man dashed up.
Dash―
With a swing of his sword, the man slashed the Grim Reaper’s neck.
Slash!
As the man fell from his jump, he quickly stepped on the horse that the Grim Reaper was riding on and attacked its lower half.
“Roaaaar!”
The Grim Reaper stopped moving for a moment as a shriek burst out of its mouth. The man took advantage of the gap as he attacked the Grim Reaper’s body strongly. Just then, wind began to surround the man’s sword.
Shwaaaaaaa―
A powerful light covered the man’s sword as he stabbed it in the Grim Reaper’s heart.
Stab!
Shwaaaaaaaa―
The wind that blew around the sword swept away and tore down the enemies that tried to get close to the man.
“Roar!” The Grim Reaper roared loudly as it began to turn into ash and disappear. The man could be seen heaving through the gap in the attack.
Then, the man shouted, “I, Commander Minhyuk, have hunted the Grim Reaper!!!”
He raised his hand high up in the sky before clenching it into a fist and shouted again, “Men!!! Forward!!!”
“Uwoooooo!” The troops shouted loudly in answer.
At that moment…
“...the Food God’s Kitchen Knife?” Cornell mumbled to himself after he caught sight of the kitchen knife with a baby pig who was fighting with the man. Cornell’s eyes began to shake wildly. That was when the man’s armor caught his eyes.
‘That armor…’
That was the Armor of Immortality, the Food God’s armor. When he saw the armor, he recalled the words that the Food God had told him.
‘I’m going to pass this on to my descendant later. So, don’t try to look for it for no reason.’
Cornell let out a shaky breath. He couldn’t stop himself from shuddering as he said, “The Food God… has returned…”
“What?”
“The Food God has returned!!! Follow the Commander’s orders!!! Those who don’t, I will make sure to slit your throats myself!!!”
“The Food God?”
“The Food God?”
“Did he say the Food God?”
That was when the soldiers noticed the existence of the Food God’s Kitchen Knife.
Then, they shouted loudly.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!”
“The Food God is with us!!!!”
“He came back to protect our territory!!!”
The flow of the battlefield started to change as the true owner and king of the land had returned.