Chapter 1227

Chapter 1227

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

The Six Fangs that devoured the Battle God’s Five Generals also enveloped the Heavenly Army. The abnormal status applied to the Heavenly Army was random, with some, like Ferrod, losing their sight. But unlike Ferrod, they did not lose their eyes. They just believed that to be the case because they were plunged directly into the darkness.

Of course, Minhyuk was also left flustered by the sudden turn of events. Nonetheless, he was the son of Ilhwa Group’s Chairman Kang Minhoo. He had learned a lot from his father. Not only that, he had also learned a lot from the Fallen Wretched Emperor Brod.

Even if they were in a situation where all the troops were at risk of being wiped out, the commander had to remain standing tall to lead and command his troops.

The first thing he had to do was calm down the Five Generals. After all, their screams startled and left the Heavenly Army troops in fear. The Five Generals were supposed to lead them, and their incapacitation made the forces despair.

[The morale of your troops might drop considerably.]

The terrified troops could not bring themselves to advance. So, Minhyuk had to work hard to make them believe in him.

“I promise you, I will send you back to the loving arms of your family waiting for you. We will make history by subjugating all the monsters in the Abyss with just 50,000 troops.”

Swoosh.

Minhyuk stabbed his sword into the ground.

“Open your eyes and look at me. You have not lost them. The only thing that you have lost is your will to fight.”

Minhyuk had several powers that made his allies have greater faith and trust in him whenever he said something to them. On top of that, he possessed an incredibly high amount of the CHA stat, an amount that no other player could rival. This stat helped him garner more of their faith and trust.

The ragged breathing of the terrified soldiers began to calm down and regain stability. Then, they slowly opened their eyes. What greeted them was the sight of Minhyuk standing proudly and firmly with determination in his eyes while the Five Generals stood behind him.

Feelings of shame washed over the troops. Although they were among the best of the Heavenly Army, they had made a fool of themselves before this man. At the same time, they felt amazed.

‘If we were in his shoes...’

Could they have done something like this? No, they knew they could not. This fact strengthened their faith and trust in Minhyuk.

[All of the troops have resisted the abnormal status.]

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

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

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

“Lord Ferrod!”

“L-Lady Lied!”

After returning to their senses, the Heavenly Army troops immediately rushed to the Five Generals. The priests immediately treated the injuries like the site where Lied’s arm was severed.

Even though their injuries had been dealt with, the God of Archery Lied could no longer shoot her bow. Even the other generals could no longer wield their weapons. The one suffering from the most serious injury was General Venigon.

General Venigon was suffering from burning pain that almost devoured his entire being. Although he had found some mental stability with Minhyuk’s help, it was still very difficult to endure physical pain. That was why he continued to groan and twitch. The worst part was that the priests’ healing had no effect at all.

Minhyuk took out one of Mandala’s potions. Unlike players, the NPCs could feel genuine pain. That was why Mandala created this Pain Reducing Potion. Of course, it was a very difficult potion to make.

Pop.

Minhyuk opened the potion and poured its contents straight into General Venigon’s throat.

[The pain ravaging your entire being has turned dull.]

The pain still ravaged his entire body, but the potion helped Venigon regain stability. Cold sweat dripping down his body, Venison looked up with a small smile.

“Isn’t that quite a precious item?”

Venigon was a knowledgeable man. He knew herbs and other ingredients that could reduce pain were rare and hard to come by. And a potion that could lessen the pain that a god like himself was suffering by half could be considered extremely valuable.

“It’s just a potion,” Minhyuk replied.

Hearing that, Venigon felt very moved. As a strange feeling welled up inside him, it was like a lump had formed in his throat.

He had been entertaining the thought of dying just a few moments prior. However, Minhyuk had saved him.

When he saw how nonchalant Minhyuk was acting after using such a valuable potion to save him, his thoughts about Minhyuk changed. He thought that Minhyuk was a very special person. Nevertheless, the situation that they were in was so bad that he did not have the time to delve deeper into his thoughts.

“The monsters of the Abyss have grown 10% stronger.”

“And there’s also Clad, someone on par with the Battle God. Of course, according to the information that we have, he has received severe injuries during his battle with the Battle God and has been severely weakened.”

Although he had stomped down on their fear, the situation seemed bleak. Minhyuk checked the items in his inventory.

‘The artifacts that I have now... Bichor’s bombs... and potions.’

He released his cooking trailer as he walked around and pondered over various matters.

Beeeeeeep!

Blazing flames erupted from the vents of the vast trailer.

“If that’s the case, let’s make the greatest army.”

***

The barrier surrounding the Abyss was originally blue. By the time the Battle God arrived near it, it had already turned red.

Seeing the unusual situation, he immediately sought out some of the gods who could detect the current situation inside the Abyss without entering. Then he dispatched some of the scouting party to grasp the entirety of the problem.

“How many monsters are inside?”

“There’s more than a million,” the God of Tactics reported.

“...” The Battle God was rendered speechless.

‘Even the Battle God’s Five Generals are incapacitated.’

There was also the fact that only 50,0000 Heavenly Army troops were beside Minhyuk. The worst part was that they had to subdue all of these monsters. Unfortunately, the bad news did not end there.

“Clad, who is targeting the Battle God, is also inside the Abyss. He has made it so the land in the Abyss is no longer under our control,” the God of Tactics said. He was ruthless and objective with his analysis.

He continued, “Once he annihilates all of our troops inside, Clad will close off the Abyss and nurture the monsters inside further. The chances of them being a threat to the Land of the Gods will increase. We have to destroy the Abyss right now.”

“God of Tactics—!”

Although nothing had happened, the God of Tactics’ rationality and ruthlessness suggested they destroy the Abyss immediately to prevent future disasters. This infuriated the Battle God. However, he tried to calm his anger. After all, the God of Tactics thought more rationally and objectively than anybody else present.

The Battle God said, “But God of Tactics, Minhyuk possesses outstanding skills and excellent cooking buffs. He could find a way to succeed.”

“Battle God, that is a conclusion that I have made after considering everything. If we don’t destroy it now, then the innocent civilians living in the Land of the Gods might be killed in the near future.”

Clad was not a threat to the Land of the Gods. Still, it was also true that they would suffer from a great deal of damage if the time came for them to subdue him and the monsters under his command.

The God of Tactics added, “I have used the Tactician’s Authority and checked a thousand methods and outcomes.”

The Battle God could see that the God of Tactics was determined about this method.

“Out of those thousands of methods and outcomes, none resulted in a successful subjugation?”

“That’s right. According to my authority, there’s only a 0.01% chance of success.”

The God of Tactics chuckled bitterly.

It was a horrendous number.

“A 0.01% chance of success. With these odds, no method can bring us to success. I believe none of us can even think of one.”

The Battle God knew it, too. Fifty thousand Heavenly Army troops? Minhyuk’s outstanding buffed dishes? Excellent commands? Even after considering all that and exhausting his thoughts, he could not find any breakthrough.

At most, they could kill 300,000 of the monsters. What about the remaining 700,000? Of course, they could also kill 700,000 more. By then, the Heavenly Army troops would already be exhausted. The problem was they still had to deal with Clad.

“Battle God, you must think about the future of the next Battle God.” The God of Tactics wore a bitter expression. “Lord Minhyuk will attempt to subdue and conquer the Abyss by leading 50,000 Heavenly Army troops and the Five Generals.”

“However, they will fail, and the power of immortality will revive him. He will then be forced to walk on the path where his qualifications as the Battle God will be stripped off of him.”

“If we destroy the Abyss, the fault will lie with us, not him. Everyone will understand and consider it a sacrifice for the greater good.”

The Battle God stared silently at the red barrier for a long time. As the god who commanded the Land of the Gods, he also knew how to make cold and rational decisions.

The God of Tactics remarked, “You have changed. If it were in the past, you, the Battle God, would be the first to push ahead with this decision.”

The God of Tactics did not like or dislike the changes shown by the Battle God.

The Battle God smiled. “Do you know why I chose Minhyuk as the next Battle God?”

“We don’t have much time. Before the barrier surrounding the Abyss is completely sealed off, we have to—”

“It’s because he does not give up. Even if he only has a 0.01% chance of success, he will not give up.”

The Battle God had an unwavering trust and belief in Minhyuk

“Let’s wait for twelve hours. If they are wiped out in those twelve hours, Minhyuk does not deserve to be the Battle God even if I have chosen him.” The Battle God stared at the barrier with a self-deprecating smile. “And if he makes it through with that 0.01% chance of success, then no one here will doubt that he has the makings of an Absolute Monarch.”

***

The Heavenly Army troops looked at each other with inexplicable smiles as they ate the dishes cooked in the trailer. Some patted the shoulders of their comrades sitting opposite them, while others stroked their necklaces and prayed.

Not long after, a notification that left them shocked rang in their ears. However, the surprise was short-lived. An inexplicable expression appeared on their faces once more. Their expression was like that of someone who knew that they would never be able to come back. But the Heavenly Army troops, who had grown very strong, vowed to cut down all the monsters around them before leaving for the afterlife.

As they made their vows, Minhyuk appeared in front of them and distributed artifacts to every one of them. The artifacts that the Heavenly Army had equipped were all outstanding artifacts. However, the artifacts that Minhyuk distributed to them were even more impressive. They were artifacts carrying tremendous power Hephaestus had made for the 100,000 elite Beyond the Heavens Empire troops.

Minhyuk’s cooking increased the Heavenly Army troops’ power by 20%, while the artifacts bolstered their power by another 10%.

“You haven’t given up (포기), have you?”

The Heavenly Army troops chuckled bitterly at Minhyuk’s words.

“

Poki

(포기)[1] is a word you use when making kimchi.”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Everyone sported the same expression. They all looked like they heard a joke that was not even funny.

“This is bad. Speaking of

poki,

now I’m craving some

bossam

.”

His words were laced with laughter.

“I’m not telling you not to give up.”

‘We can do it.’

He wanted to say those words, but he could not make such an unrealistic request. After all, it would only make them seem more pathetic.

“I promise that I will never give up,” Minhyuk vowed.

A faint smile appeared on the faces of the Heavenly Army troops at that.

Not long after, Minhyuk and the Heavenly Army troops marched forward. Minhyuk made sure that they moved as slowly as possible. This was so they were prepared in case the monsters swarmed at them.

At the same time, he spoke with the Battle God’s Five Generals.

“So, you’re saying that you also don’t know what situation the Seventh Monster God Angara is in right now?”

“That’s right. Our original mission was to feed Angara with the dish made by the God of Cooking and return immediately. In fact, it’s not that difficult of a mission. Even in a situation where Angara is in a berserk state, the Battle God believed that we could suppress her if we teamed up with you, Lord Minhyuk.”

“She must be powerful since the Five Generals must team up with me to suppress her?”

“If it were Angara in the past, then it would have been very difficult to deal with her even if we and the Battle God were present. From what I have gathered, she has already grown weak because of the passage of time.”

Minhyuk nodded.

“In this situation, we don’t need to meet Angara anymore...”

Minhyuk said, “No, we have to meet him. I have every reason to meet her.”

The Five Generals all turned silent. They all knew why Minhyuk wanted to meet Angara. It was because he had to make an achievement that far surpassed Rocado’s own to become the Great Food God. That was why he had to meet her. Only then would he be able to get more significant rewards.

At the moment, that was the only reason they could think of for meeting Angara. Even so, they did not bother to stop him or say that he was blinded by greed.

“It wouldn’t be bad to complete one last mission, no?”

“You’re saying that again! Again!” Minhyuk shouted, scolding Ferrod for his words.

It was not just him. Even the Heavenly Army troops did not say much either. It did not matter to them either. After all, Angara’s cave was on the way. It wouldn’t stop them from subjugating the monsters.

Before they knew it, they had arrived near the cave where Angara was. The moment they stepped near the cave, an overwhelming pressure pressed down on them.

[Warning.]

[Warning.]

[Danger!]

[The Seventh Monster God Angara has descended!]

[The Seventh Monster God Angara has transformed after being forcefully fed with Clad’s special power.]

[Angara has grown much stronger than before.]

Minhyuk swallowed the groan that threatened to spill out of his mouth from the pressure that devoured them. Looking back, he saw that the Heavenly Army troops were forced to their knees, their faces turning deathly white. The Five Generals were also in a very embarrassing situation.

“Clad’s power has transformed him?”

“Lord Minhyuk, I think it’s best that we go back now. In this situation, we will become opponents no matter what.”

“I think you should challenge a different achievement made by Rocado!”

Everyone here knew that they would die. However, they did not want Angara to be the cause of their deaths..

Rumble!

At that moment, something huge fell from the sky. It was none other than Angara.

“W-wasn’t he supposed to be inside the cave...?!”

Angara was a woman with a human upper body and a spider lower body. Her killing intent engulfed and devoured the entire area.

[Angara has been continuously suffering from pain because of Clad’s power.]

[Angara will die in 24 hours.]

[Warning. The Berserk Angara will wipe out any living beings around her.]

[Angara will soon go berserk. Until then, she will not be able to move.]

[You have been trapped. You cannot escape Angara’s five-kilometer radius until she dies.]

“Damn it! Heavenly Army, prepare to attack!”

The Heavenly Army thought that they would only be able to survive if they dealt with Angara before she went berserk. That was their only window to survival. Why? Because once Angara went berserk, everyone here would be wiped out.

Of course, Minhyuk thought the same thing. Regardless, he stopped them from attacking Angara right away.

General Lied could not understand. She could not even tell whether Minhyuk was a wise or a stupid commander.

“Lord Minhyuk. If we don’t kill Angara now, we’ll all die.”

“We have to kill her right away!”

There was one thing that Minhyuk could not understand. Why was Angara crying?

[They said that I only needed to maintain the barrier. Why does it hurt so much? Why is that strange power hurting me? And I’m already hungry. They promised me that they would not let me go hungry!]

The Heavenly Army troops were terrified by the almost berserk Angara’s bloodshot eyes.

“Q-quick! W-we have to attack...!”

As for Minhyuk, he stood in front of Angara. He just could not understand why she was going berserk.

There was only one reason why Minhyuk stopped the Heavenly Army from attacking Angara. Perhaps this was the 0.01% chance of success that the God of Tactics had predicted with his authority?

When everyone raised their swords and pointed them at her, Minhyuk raised his hand and gently placed it on Angara’s arm.

“Angara.”

The only method that the God of Tactics had not thought of, even though he had predicted thousands of methods and outcomes, was one that nobody could even imagine.

“How about we destroy the Abyss together?”

1. 포기 - can mean give up. It is also a word used to count vegetables especially when making kimchi. ☜