Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1241

The people did not know that Minhyuk’s Double Skill had evolved into Triple Skill and had just been triggered. When they saw him annihilating the werewolf, they cheered and thought, ‘As expected of the Battle God!’

Meanwhile, Minhyuk was shocked to see the Mutant Werewolf getting knocked down and killed with one skill. After all, the rankers had struggled against its high HP and defensive power.

[He is… the Battle God…]

[Can you see this, everyone? This player is South Korea’s pride and joy. This is the power of Minhyuk!]

Richard realized, ‘He’s in a different class.’

Miao also learned something. She thought, ‘He alone is much stronger than a dozen of us combined.’

Kentaro beamed with pride, thinking, ‘It’s great to be friends with someone like you.’

‘Supreme Overlord’s Technique.’

A massive pillar of blazing flame shot out from Minhyuk’s sword.

[Triple Skill.]

“...?”

Minhyuk could not help but pause for a moment when the power, which was supposed to only have a one percent chance of getting triggered, was activated twice in a row. The flames grew more prominent and hotter than usual, and instantly devoured and swept away the more than a hundred thousand werewolves of the Allied Races.

He watched them disappear into ashes before turning to look behind him. The scene that greeted him was the sight of Richard, Miao, and Kentaro blinking blankly at him while their jaws dropped open.

Minhyuk sighed deeply. ‘I don’t even know anymore.’

***

Meanwhile, at the Special Players Management Team office.

Team Leader Park and Lee Minhwa watched through the monitor as Minhyuk used the Supreme Overlord’s Technique to wipe out the werewolves.

“How much time is left?”

“There are fourteen hours left.”

They were talking about the time left before the restriction that had been placed upon Minhyuk and his vassals would be lifted.

Lee Minhwa could only smile bitterly while Team Leader Park shook his head.

Lee Minhwa commented, “Player Minhyuk must be feeling flustered and confused. Although he was 30% weaker, the people around him had been flattering and pushing him forward.”

“Well, that’s right. Even though Minhyuk is in a 30% weakened state, he is still very strong. His strength is beyond the standards that ordinary players could imagine. That’s why it’s even more confusing and embarrassing,” Team Leader Park said as he felt his heart pound as he looked at the monitor.

When Lee Minhwa saw the flustered and excited smile on his face, she could not help but voice out her confusion. “What’s the matter?”

Team Leader Park’s voice unknowingly shook as he said, “Right now, everyone is cheering saying, ‘As expected of the Battle God!’ and ‘Battle God Minhyuk is strong!’ as they watch Minhyuk.”

The people no longer denied or ignored Minhyuk and his qualifications. With the accidental consecutive triggering of Triple Skill, they looked up to him even more.

“After fourteen hours…” Team Leader Park glanced at the clock. “I wonder what expression will the people make once they discover that this wasn’t the entirety of Minhyuk’s power?”

***

King of Races Reikan’s actions completely swayed from everyone’s prediction. The people believed the Allied Races would split up and attack all the kingdoms simultaneously. Reikan had gathered all of the troops of the Allied Races in front of the Masserrati Kingdom.

Amidst the fierce battle, Reikan stood and listened to the report given by Werewolf Deputy Commander Ganial, who had survived after much struggle and suffering.

“As expected of the Battle God. He killed the Mutant Werewolf with a single swing of his sword and slaughtered 140,000 troops with just a single skill.”

He was an incredible and outstanding figure, just like the god Reikan had heard from the myths. Even so, Reikan remained expressionless and undisturbed as he watched the kingdom troops struggle to defend their kingdom somehow while the forces of the Allied Races broke through their walls.

In truth, Reikan knew the Allied Forces had no chance of winning, even if they toppled over the foreigner-established kingdoms. Even if he destroyed dozens of the most chaotic kingdoms, there would always be empires with power that could rival dozens of kingdoms combined.

The empires were all aware of this fact. The problem was that none of them expressed their doubts and suspicions about the matter. Even though they were suspicious about Reikan’s motives, none of them sent any of their troops.

‘Perhaps that’s the reason why he is the Battle God.’

Someone standing alone in front of the enemy when all the empires had ignored the situation was truly admirable.

Reikan slowly pulled something out of his pockets. This something was none other than the Seed of Propagation. This was an extraordinary power that only Reikan possessed. With every enemy killed, the seed would gain power and give birth to more allies through Reikan.

‘The arrogance of those empires has given me more power and strength.’

Since the empires had paid no heed to the situation, the number of Reikan’s yet-to-be-born troops had skyrocketed. After all, the Allied Races continuously invaded and destroyed several kingdoms even before Reikan had officially declared his intent to destroy the foreigner-established kingdoms.

There was only one reason Reikan did not face Minhyuk: the Seed of Propagation was still incomplete. If Reikan suddenly died, the seed would become unstable, and they would be unable to use it.

‘If your ability to reproduce and procreate is your weapon, then…’

Reikan squeezed a part of the Seed of Propagation. Then, something popped out. It soon sprouted and grew a long stem that began to wrap around Reikan.

‘...we’re going to reproduce too.’

Soon after, huge flowers blossomed from the stems. Tens of thousands of flowers resembling sunflowers bloomed all over Reikan.

The flowers suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield. They were beautiful enough to catch the attention of all the human troops fighting fiercely on the walls of their kingdom. Not long after, however, a strange sound echoed from the otherwise beautiful flowers.

“Uweeeeeck!”

“Uweeeeeck!”

With a sound akin to vomiting, hundreds of seeds shot out from each flower and scattered all over the ground. The scattered seeds began to twitch as sprouts instantly grew from them. The growth process was swift, with the sprouts turning into stems and eventually taking form. When the first seed finished taking up its proper form, a werewolf covered with sticky liquid emerged from within.

“...!”

“Wh-what the hell?!”

[King of Races Reikan has evolved into Emperor of Races Reikan.]

[Warning.]

[Warning.]

[All of the members of the Eight Pillars are paying attention to the power of reproduction and propagation expressed by Reikan. It is a power that can threaten even the Eight Pillars.]

[Pillar Candidate Reikan has grown one step closer to becoming a Pillar.]

One by one, members of different races began to emerge from the seeds’ final forms.

There was an orc...

“Chwiiiiik! Chwiiiiik!”

A werewolf...

“Awoooooooo!”

And a member of the dragon race.

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

Another one million troops were added to the surviving two million soldiers of the Allied Races.

[The power of Race Propagation has lowered the strength of the Allied Races by 10%.]

[Emperor of Races Reikan has grown 12% stronger.]

[All of the abilities of the king of each race will increase by 10%.]

[The first propagation has been completed.]

[After four hours, the next round of propagation will begin.]

[The propagation will continue every four hours until it has completed a hundred rounds.]

Everything that happened had a reason.

There was a reason why Reikan had chosen to destroy several small nations and decided to deal with the foreigner-established kingdoms.

‘It’s so I can propagate and reproduce more allies while the empires think we’re already exhausted.’

The Seed of Propagation needed the lives of humans to fill the seed with power and trigger the propagation process. As for the reason why he launched a surprise attack on the kingdoms’ allied forces…

‘It’s so I can check their power and their forces.’

Reikan realized that the Battle God was powerful. However, he could tell he could not stop them, even if he were strong. Of course, there was also one thing that he was pretty curious about.

‘Although he became the Battle God, I heard that the Battle God does not have any special power that gives buffs.’

Because of this, the Allied Forces would not receive any reinforcement. Of course, Reikan knew that the Battle God mostly relied on his cooking buffs for buffs. But he had completely blocked this path.

‘As for why I gathered all my troops to attack the Masserrati Kingdom instead of dividing them to deal with the other kingdoms…’

The Masserrati Kingdom had been constantly being kept in check by the Luvien Empire. They had secured enough troops and population to become an empire, but because of the Luvien Empire, their population and troops were instantly cut in half.

There was a reason why their troops and populations suffered such a drastic decline in numbers. When the Masserrati Kingdom was established, they settled in an area where the Luvien Empire had easy access to them and could easily invade their kingdom. This meant the empire would easily destroy them if a war broke out.

So, to escape the grasp of the Luvien Empire, Richard decisively chose to cut half of his forces and move their base. The subsequent base where the Masserrati Kingdom chose to settle down was in the center of a vast and expansive mountain range.

Foreigners could easily use their money to teleport. This was the most active form of transportation in the foreigner-established kingdoms. But it was different for guardians like Reikan. They could use mass teleport, yes. However, the mage could only send them with mass teleport to the places they had visited.

No matter how strong the Luvien Empire was, it would still take them at least a day to cross the mountain ranges. What about the mages?

‘They will take at least two days.’

In terms of physical strength and stamina, the mages were lacking. It would be tough for them to cross through this mountain range in such a short amount of time.

By the end of those two days, the Allied Races’s troops would have already occupied the Masserrati Kingdom. And with the Seed of Propagation, their numbers would have already reached fifteen million by then. With that number of troops, the Masserrati Kingdom's high walls, and the base's strategic location, it would be challenging for them to eliminate the Allied Races.

This was why Reikan gathered all his troops and targeted the Masserrati Kingdom. Of course, the Luvien Empire was undeniably mighty. Nevertheless, Reikan had confidence in himself and his troops.

‘The rate at which we propagate is much faster than the rate at which we die.’

By the end of the one hundred rounds of propagation, the troops of the Allied Races would have already reached seventy million. Then, they could use the second Seed of Propagation and start propagating more by harvesting more human lives.

The path leading to the Masserrati Kingdom’s base was very narrow. Because of this strategic location, they put more effort into building their walls, defenses, and weapons for war. This was why they could hold on and endure even though the Allied Races had the clear upper hand. But the situation was different now.

“Chwiiiiiiik!”

“Awooooo!”

“Keuhaaaaaack!”

The number of dragonkin in their troops had increased significantly. The dragonkin could fight on land and in the sky, making it easier for them to attack. The troops of the Masserrati Kingdom had tried to use their Dragon Slayer Spears to try and restrain the dragons that had already started to occupy the skies but to no avail.

Meanwhile, the werewolves had assumed their wolf form and began to devour the humans defending the kingdom’s gates.

At that moment, lights began to flash one after another. These lights signaled the arrival of the Allied Forces troops, who had started to flock to the Masserrati Kingdom quickly.

However, the Allied Forces were pushed back and swept away by the Allied Races from the very beginning. They were not strong enough to prevent the advance of the Allied Races' troops, which had more than doubled in number.

Richard, Miao, and Kentaro, who had just appeared above the kingdom's walls, felt weak and fearful. Minhyuk was not here.

“Where’s the Battle God?!”

Reikan, who had torn apart one of the centurions with his bare hands, cackled. He had just witnessed Minhyuk’s overwhelming display of power. Nevertheless, he could not give anyone cooking buffs. Even if he was strong, he was just one person. What could he do?

Besides, Reikan also knew that Minhyuk could not bring his troops and could only lead a team of four because of the Luvien Empire. Even if they were strong or outstanding, they would be nothing but a drop in the ocean.

“Bring the Battle God here!”

Reikan knew that everything that happened on the battlefield would be transmitted and reported to Battle God Minhyuk. Perhaps only kings appeared in this place because he, as the Battle God, knew that protecting and defending the Masserrati Kingdom was very difficult. Maybe that man was already running to the Luvien Empire for an audience.

However, the truth was completely different.

***

–Richard, I’m sure your Absolute Stigma has become much more potent than in the past, right?

–Of course. I already have a variety of Stigmas in my arsenal. I have the Berserk’s Stigma, the Brave’s Stigma, and the King’s Stigma.

Minhyuk listened to the effects of each stigma.

–The King’s Stigma can only be applied to one person.

Then, Minhyuk said this.

–Please use the King’s Stigma. As for the target…

Back then, Richard could not understand.

–Even if you apply the King’s Stigma, he’s just one person…

***

[The walls’ durability has dropped below 50%.]

If things continued at this rate, the Masserrati Kingdom would collapse in just five hours…

‘Or maybe it’s three hours…’

Richard smiled bitterly. He could see around ten thousand of the Mutant Werewolves, which they had just encountered a few moments prior, covered with sticky liquid emerging from the seeds scattered on the ground. This was no longer a simple propagation and reproduction.

The five-meter-tall gigantic Mutant Werewolves began to run. Their momentum as they ran forward, hitting anyone and everyone, regardless of whether they were their allies, was extremely overwhelming.

Thud, thud, thud.

The cavalry hurriedly raced forward to try and stop them, but they were quickly swept away by the Mutant Werewolves’ claws or ripped apart by their teeth.

“Hihihihihing!”

The horses and the troops of the Allied Forces that were trampled on by the gigantic werewolves were easily crushed. The rankers of each kingdom immediately prepared for battle the moment the Mutant Werewolves were twenty meters away from them.

Thump.

Just then, someone fell from the sky. The man, who looked two meters tall, stood before the walls. This man was none other than the NPC chosen by the players as the strongest. He stood there with his cape carrying the symbol of the fork and knife crossed together fluttering behind him while he held his sword firmly.

Richard immediately did as Minhyuk said.

[King’s Stigma.]

[The stigma that can only strengthen a single target has been bestowed.]

[All of the target’s stats have increased by 41%.]

[All of the target’s skill levels have increased by 2.]

[Target’s defensive power has increased by 24%.]

[The target’s attack power has increased by 34%.]

Reikan was not afraid of Brod, who appeared to have become stronger.

“You are an elephant.”

This was Reikan’s evaluation of Brod.

Brod retorted, “A single elephant is unafraid of lions, tigers, or hyenas.”

Although they appeared gentle, elephants ranked pretty high in the food web and could not be easily dealt with by top predators.

“But what if hundreds of lions charged and attacked this single elephant? What if thousands of bears lunged at it?! What if tens of thousands of hyenas ganged up on it?!”

Although there was only one elephant, they had enough numbers to swallow this animal high up in the food web. Richard also knew about this, so he could not understand why Minhyuk did this.

Brod stared at the charging Mutant Werewolves as an unknown shadow appeared and covered the ground he was standing on. When the shadow appeared, everyone could not help but look up at the sky in confusion.

At that moment, Brod said, “You seem to know a lot about elephants. Well, I also know something about elephants.”

Brod pulled out his sword. At the same time, the people looking up at the sky realized something.

“It’s Atlas! The City in the Skies!”

The Beyond the Heavens Empire’s greatest pride was now floating above them. Everyone could not help but be confused when they saw what seemed to be a Ruyi Jingu Bang stuck in the middle of Atlas.

“You say that an elephant is alone, but… elephants are herd animals.”

At that moment, he began to descend from Atlas. It started with one. Before long, it became one thousand and then ten thousand.

“Elephants are quite scary because a group of such gigantic creatures could trample on an attacking pride of lions all at once.”

They stood next to Brod.

Everyone looked at the sight in shock. The Beyond the Heavens Empire was forced to make a promise with the Luvien Empire. They could only send four people to participate in this war. So, did Minhyuk break this promise? No. Not at all. Why? Because the ones standing next to Brod were… tens of thousands of Brods.

Technically, he was still one person.

The tens of thousands of Brods raised their swords and pointed them at the charging Mutant Werewolves. “Let me show you…

Then, the tens of thousands of Brods spoke simultaneously, “Emperor’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship. Final Chapter.”

The tens of thousands of elephants began to move and charge forward to crush and trample on the lions.

“Animal Farm.”