Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 681: Divine Will

Chapter 681: Divine Will

The Sacred Papal Sword was a sword that existed even before Pope Kronad came to this world, and was something that had been mentioned in myths and legends.

According to the records, the Sacred Papal Sword could only be used by a chosen pope. The pope should also have a high amount of holy power, of which Pope Kronad had around 20,000. One should also be able to withstand the strong energy that would burst out and flow from the Sacred Papal Sword. Even after meeting all of those requirements, they would only be able to wield the sword for half an hour at most.

That was on top of the countless and heavy sacrifices that they would have to make, just to summon the Sacred Papal Sword.

‘It’s a sword that can only be created by sacrificing and consuming the holy power of plenty of beings with high holy power…’

Of course, Minhyuk knew that this was for the progress of the story. These people had sinned and they had to bear the price of that sin. That was not all; those that helped create the Sacred Papal Sword and the one that used the sword would suffer for all eternity in hell.

‘Are you telling me that you have to pay such a high price in order to wield such strong power?’

Minhyuk hated and despised these rotten and corrupt popes and paladins. But right now, the fury, hatred, and contempt that he had for them would not change anything. Rather than telling them, ‘I’m glad you’re repenting.’ after seeing that they wanted to pay for their crimes, he decided to focus on Obren and find a way to awaken him.

‘Obren…’

Minhyuk could now understand why Obren acted so coldly toward him when they first met. Obren was just someone that had loved to read books. He was known as one of the Six Monster Gods but he only wanted to experience the sky, the sea, and the land happily. He was merely someone born with the potential and power to become an ‘Evil God’. Minhyuk wanted to meet that very same Obren once again.

“What do I have to do?” Minhyuk asked, his voice as cold as frost.

“From what I know, you’re a chef, one who can infuse tremendous power in his dishes. It seems like you are someone that has inherited the powers of the Food God of the past.”

Minhyuk nodded. He had watched everything properly. There was a chance that the Food God of the distant past was the one that made the dish that made Obren go berserk.

“Can you cook for us?”

Of course, Minhyuk’s answer to that question was ‘OK’. After all, they needed to kill the berserk Obren of the past for him to be able to meet the guy that was sleeping in the seasoning jar once again.

However, the problem was it seemed like they wanted Minhyuk to use his own ingredients to cook for them.

“I can cook for you. However, you need to pay the price.”

“…”

Kronad nodded at Minhyuk’s words. Not long after, one of the popes approached Minhyuk and handed him a heavy bag along with several artifacts.

[You have acquired 68,512 platinum.]

[You have acquired Pope Kronad’s Faded Papal Robes.]

[You have acquired Pope Kronad’s Faded Bell.]

[You have acquired Pope Kronad’s Faded Necklace.]

The three artifacts that were given to him were all a part of a set.

‘If you wear all three of these together, you will get an instant boost in power, right?’

Each of the artifacts were legendary, but if one wore them all together, then they could rival a god-rank artifact in terms of power. However, there was a restriction.

[Pope Kronad’s Faded Set can only be used twice! The artifacts will disappear after all of the uses have been consumed!]

That was right. Pope Kronad could not just easily hand over his own artifacts. He was someone that wanted to erase his existence from history. Even if the set artifacts could only be used twice, it could still be considered to be a huge reward. Especially since the value of the ingredients that Minhyuk would use, no matter how good they were, would not even be worth 60,000 platinum.

Some of the popes were looking at Minhyuk with both suspicion and anger. For them, Kronad was their leader. It did not matter if they and Kronad would go down in history as sinners and murderers, their reverence and belief in Kronad still made them feel reluctant to see Minhyuk treat their leader like that.

‘How dare he speak informally toward Lord Kronad…?’

‘And what’s with that look? Is he looking at us in contempt?’

‘He’s nothing but a chef at best…’

Of course, they had been in awe when they saw Minhyuk display his strong will and break down the Evil God’s Cursed Stones. However, he was nothing but a mere chef to them.

At that moment, Minhyuk looked at one of the paladins. The paladin was none other than the Brahma Religion’s Strongest Paladin, Elon. Elon was someone that had gone beyond Level 653 and was far more stronger than any of the other paladins in this place.

“Your expression is showing irritation,” Minhyuk said as he looked at the other popes, paladins and saints, with a dry and fed up expression of his own.

He had the same purpose as these people and that was to awaken the sealed Obren. That was why he was putting up with them for now. So, he said, “I have no intention of feeling sorry for you, nor do I intend to hold your hands and give you my heart. Especially for you lot, who hide behind the name of a friend so you can use them for your own greed.”

“…”

“…”

That was when they recalled that the man in front of them had told them that he was Obren’s friend. He even proved that he truly cared for Obren, by doing his best to break the Evil God’s Cursed Stone. He was completely different from them. For someone that saw Obren as a friend, how much hatred would he have for them?

“I am not helping you. I am just doing this to help Obren…” Minhyuk said as he threw a small toy-like trailer out. Not long after, the trailer grew large.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeep—

Rumbleeeeeeeeee—

Rumbleeeeeeeeee—

The eternal flames shot out from the two vents on the trailer’s roof. Then, Minhyuk glared at them. His aura was so dignified that even Elon, a Strongest Paladin, could not help but gulp dryly from his momentum. Then, Minhyuk said, “Go to hell.”

***

Several South Korean broadcasting stations, including ATV Broadcasting Station, were rushing to the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

ATV Broadcasting Station’s PD Kim Daeguk rubbed his chin as he recalled the message that he received from a man. The message went:

[There will be a scoop in the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. If this message spreads to other players or NPCs, there will be no scoop on that day. On top of that, all of the stations that have received this message will no longer be included in the next message transmission.]

PD Kim Daeguk, along with the other officials and employees of the broadcasting station, quickly rode on their horses and rushed toward the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. It did not take too long for them to enter the kingdom.

The Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was a very beautiful place. The players and NPCs were interacting freely. The kingdom’s finances were not lacking, which meant that there was not a single person that was hungry. Also, since their king was the Food God, the kingdom was filled with countless delicious delicacies.

What kind of scoop would they be able to get in this kingdom?

PD Kim Daeguk looked around. He saw several officials and employees rushing inside the kingdom.

‘What in the world will happen in this beautiful and peaceful Beyond the Heavens Kingdom? Is the Great Demon Verus going to descend again?’

They were aware that Food God Minhyuk was nowhere to be seen in Athenae these past few days. Rumors about how Kang Minhyuk’s eating addiction had flared up and worsened had been circulating recently, along with rumors about how he was taking classes necessary for successors.

Just what in the world was going to happen in such peace? But then, at that moment, something happened.

Vwoooooooooooooong—

“…?!”

“…?!”

“…!”

A powerful and strong tremor shook the ground and made the entire area shake. PD Kim’s eyes grew wide at the sudden changes in the area. That was when he saw a gigantic, thirty meter-long staff that fell down somewhere near the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

Thud—

Thuuuuud—

Thuuuuuud—

Thuuuud—

Staves fell from the sky and stabbed into the ground, forming a hexagon. Then, just like a spiderweb, a huge barrier slowly unfolded. The barrier was so huge that it engulfed not only the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, but also an area 20 kilometers around it too.

[The God of Death’s ‘Slaughterer’s Circle’ has unfolded.]

[One cannot easily enter the God of Death’s Slaughterer’s Circle.]

[The God of Death’s ‘Slaughterer’s Circle’ is created for slaughter. Only officials and executives of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom can enter Slaughterer’s Circle freely.]

“Th, that…!”

“PD Kim Daeguk. Please, please look over there!”

Immediately after that, something happened in the skies. Everyone at the outskirts of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom turned to look up. There, they saw an extremely huge door shrouded with blazing flames. The gates were being blocked by gigantic skeletons. They were doing their hardest to prevent whatever creatures lied behind those doors from coming out.

Thuuuud—

Thuuuuuuuud—

Thuuuuuuud—

Thuuuuuud—

The gates were being forced open by loud and powerful bangs. Everyone would flinch whenever something slammed on the gates.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

In the end, the gates burst open, revealing the hideous and terrifying creatures that were being detained inside. Some of them had bodies that were charred all over, while others had nothing but bones. There were even ones that had cuts all over their bodies. It was not just humans. There were also monsters and what seemed to be demonic beasts amidst their ranks. On top of being creepy, their numbers were far too large for anyone to estimate.

PD Kim gulped dryly as he watched these hideous beings line up in a formation. He thought, ‘It’s, it’s a sea of black.’

It was the perfect expression to describe the scene in front of them. Then, the notifications sounded.

[ The Episode: God of Death and the Hell Corps’ Invasion has begun!]

[You will be able to gain rewards if you stop the God of Death and the Hell Corps’ Invasion!]

“…”

At this moment, Daeguk realized that something was terribly wrong.

‘An episode is targeting a kingdom?’

That was impossible. It was obvious that someone had manipulated the episode and twisted its direction.

Then, the God of Death descended, accompanied by a set of notifications.

[The God of Death has descended to lead the Hell Corps.]

[Plenty more will be dragged to hell with his touch.]

The God of Death, who was wearing a black robe that covered his entire body, raised his staff and pointed it forward.

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

Powerful and large magical attacks rained down and fell on the ground.

“…What the hell?!”

“What the hell?! Why is there a sudden magical bombardment?!”

“Heok…?!”

Someone was able to spot the being that released the bombardment.

“Black Dragon Vormon?!”

Black Dragon Vormon had been killed by the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom during the war in the Continental Cloud in the past. He had been summoned by Crazy Tyrant Akhan back then.

“No way…”

What kind of place was Hell? It was the land of the dead. However, just because someone could drag everyone out of hell did not mean that the balance would be broken.

‘What if one can summon anyone from hell by accumulating contributions and meeting certain conditions?’

If that was the case, then the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was truly in trouble. There was a high chance that Great Demon Verus, the Corrupted God, or even Demigod Asura would appear here.

This was actually the case. Rex needed to kill the members and citizens of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom to increase his contributions and drag them to hell, before being able to summon more terrifying entities.

‘I have to increase my contributions.’

Baaaaaaaaang—

Another bombardment of magical attacks appeared, this time aimed directly at the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. The mages of the kingdom immediately stepped forward and created a shield to protect their land. However, some of the attacks were still able to pass through the shields, killing the soldiers and the people inside the walls.

Since the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom was caught off guard at the moment, Rex could take this opportunity to slaughter most of their people.

‘The achievements of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom are just mere exaggerations.’

Rex had watched the videos of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s battles several times. However, he believed that most of them were just mere exaggerations.

He was certain that the reason why these people were strong was because they used their powers at the risk of penalties. After all, there was no way that the Food God and those NPCs could be that strong. In other words, Rex rejected the possibility that they were truly powerful, because it was beyond his common sense.

Besides, Rex was confident in his forces. He had the Sword of the Gods with him, as well as several Death Knights. He was even leading around four million troops of the Hell Corps with 200,000 of them already charging toward the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom at the moment.

“Roar, grrrrr, grooooar!”

“Graaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

Hell was a new, unexplored land. The existences that lived in that land were extremely powerful. There were ‘Hell’s Hellhounds’ that crawled out from hell, their levels at least Level 450; ‘Hell’s Beowulf’, who were at least Level 460; and ‘Hell’s Soldiers’, who were at around Level 460~480, all charging forward. As for the knights, some of them even exceeded Level 500.

Rex smiled in satisfaction as he watched his Hell Corps charge forward.

“Uwaaaaaaah…”

“Ah, aaaaaaaaah…”

“Sh, shit.”

PD Kim saw the soldiers stationed on the walls looking at the scene in front of them in a daze. In fact, even Daeguk could not help but take a step back because of the crippling fear that weighed heavily on him. The citizens of the kingdom were already screaming from fear and terror.

Diiiiiiing—

Diiiiiiiiiiiing—

Diiiiiiiiiing—

At that moment, a mysterious bell rang loudly in the area. No one could tell where the sound came from. To be exact, the beautiful chimes were emitting from a very small being that stood among the soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

He was just the size of a fist and was wearing pristine white priestly robes while holding the bell, as he stood on top of the walls. This being was none other than Beanie, the Supreme Divine Beast!

“Oink, oink oink. Oiiiiiiiiiink! (How dare those ugly creatures try and charge toward Beyond the Heavens Kingdom?! Oink!)”

Ambron, who supported Beanie, stepped forward and said in a pure and gentle voice, “Look. Our god’s envoy, Supreme Divine Beast Beanie, will punish you!”

Immediately after that, Beanie’s special skill, the Predator’s Authority, was activated. The Predator’s Authority was a skill that could devour any power and allow Beanie to use it for himself. It could also allow him to deal as much damage as the one that had the power.

Thump—

Beanie jumped down and landed on the ground. Then…

“Oiiiiiiiiink!!! (All of you should just go and die, oiiiiiiink!!!)” Beanie cried out as his body started to enlarge.

That was right. The power that Beanie was displaying after activating the Predator’s Authority was none other than ‘Hanwoo’s Charge’. Just like that, Beanie’s body grew to fifty meters in the blink of an eye.

In his pristine white priestly robes, Beanie soon reached the size of the walls and charged toward the 200,000 advancing troops of the Hell Corps. Just as he was about to collide with the enemy forces, Ambron glanced at the people of the kingdom behind him and said, “Just like a miracle, the sea will open up and create a path for him with one step of his foot.”

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

Beanie jumped up, his feet trampling upon the 200,000-strong enemy troops.

“…”

Rex, who watched his 200,000 strong army disappear, was left entirely speechless.