Chapter 1280

Chapter 1280

Duke Vakkaman choked in disbelief and almost stormed the chefs in anger. Why would all chefs who had reached a new level choose to move to the Beyond the Heavens Empire?

He snarled, “Do you think you can move to the Beyond the Heavens Empire as you please?”

This was not some kind of kids’ joke.

At that moment, Minhyuk said, “All the talks and discussions with Prime Minister Aevis have been finished. According to their discussions, anyone who completes the training can migrate to the other empire without conditions.”

“...!”

Duke Vakkaman’s face turned red. For a brief moment, he thought of pulling his sword and cutting down the chefs who abandoned the Great Luvien Empire for the Beyond the Heavens Empire. Just then, he saw the look in the eyes of the chefs. They were no longer lifeless. Instead, they were filled with life and vitality.

‘What is an empire?’

A bitter smile hung around Duke Vakkaman’s face.

The empire had to ensure that their people weren’t hungry and that their soldiers, who were lacking, were being nurtured and led correctly. After receiving the food that they had made them, he realized something. The chefs were also fighting on the battlefield together with them. Unfortunately, the Luvien Empire neglected its chefs, forcing them to the sidelines and choosing never to look back at them.

Duke Vakkaman stared at the chefs, his hand still stretching toward the hilt of his sword. One look and the chefs could tell that Duke Vakkaman’s anger had risen like fire, leaving them all in a panic.

‘If someone took tens of thousands of chefs in the Beyond the Heavens Empire, I would also react the same way.’

Duke Vakkaman spoke, “You must become better and more outstanding in exchange for abandoning the empire. Create a buzz, make news, and spread rumors that you have made outstanding dishes. And make sure that they all spread in the Luvien Empire.”

He said those words not because these people saved his son but because he realized what a true empire should be.

[Duke Vakkaman’s favor has increased significantly.]

Minhyuk was included in that realization.

“Go. All of you go. I will stop the other nobles from speaking any further about this.”

With a bitter smile on his face, Duke Vakkaman left.

***

Duke Laghman taught the soldiers of the Beyond the Heavens Empire archery and helped them increase their proficiency in the art. After undergoing his tutelage, most of the soldiers, who could not even hit their target at the closest range, could now hit the ten-point mark wherever they were.

Duke Laghman had achieved a 50% growth rate. This was quite a shocking achievement, especially since he had just been with the soldiers for two weeks. That was not the only thing that he achieved. The soldiers put their faith and trust in the strong, outstanding Duke Laghman, and followed him. Because of that, they formed a strong bond.

At this moment, Duke Laghman asked the soldiers, “Do any of you want to come with me to the Luvien Empire?”

He also knew the contents of the contract that the two prime ministers had signed at the negotiation table, so he worked hard. Besides, if he could take these soldiers away and train them even further, he was confident that they would become strong pillars who would stand in the spotlight of the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

“Forgive us, Duke Laghman.”

“We cannot leave this empire.”

“The two weeks we spent with you, Duke Laghman, are very valuable to us. However, our only wish is to be able to protect the Beyond the Heavens Empire.”

“...”

The speechless Duke Laghman found it quite hard to believe. After all, the Beyond the Heavens Empire was much smaller than the Luvien Empire, even though they could be on par. Nevertheless, not one of the soldiers he trained accepted his offer and followed him to the Luvien Empire.

‘What the hell? What kind of empire did you create?’

Duke Laghman thought, a bitter smile on his face as he recalled the type of person their emperor was.

***

[Duke Laghman’s favor has increased significantly.]

Minhyuk, who had returned to the Beyond the Heavens Empire with the money given by the Luvien Empire and the new migrants, was greeted with this notification.

“Huh?” Minhyuk was confused when he saw Duke Vakkaman and Duke Laghman’s favor increase so suddenly.

Although he did not know the exact reason, it was still good for him.

“Haze, arrange for a home for the 20,000 migrants.”

They had received more than a hundred million platinum in compensation. It was a considerable amount of money that could pay for the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s maintenance for an entire year.

“What’s the current situation?”

“Fortunately, the peace treaty between the Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Luvien Empire is being implemented.”

The peace treaty could have caused huge unrest and hostility. However, it seemed that both sides were starting to accept that the peace treaties were implemented one after another.

“Then, can I go now?”

“Of course. The war is already over.”

There was one crucial thing that Minhyuk had to deal with and accomplish.

What was the thing that represented the Eight Pillars? It was none other than the Pillar Disaster. Minhyuk knew a few of the Pillar Disasters.

The first one was Helenia’s Spark of White Flames.

Minhyuk still could not forget how lethal the skill was. He had watched the Spark of White Flames bloom and strike the allied forces, burning a third of the 750 million troops in just two seconds.

The second one was Beradon’s Growth Cultivator. Although Beradon could not be considered a Pillar since he had chosen to forfeit the position, even if he had all of the qualifications to become one, the skill was still considered a Pillar Disaster.

The higher a player’s level became, the more they sought after special quests. Of course, just because they were looking for it and hoping to get it did not mean they would receive those quests. However, the Growth Cultivator could promote growth by providing quests that suited them the most. That was the kind of power the Growth Cultivator was.

‘Now that I think about it, I finally realize that the Growth Cultivator is also ridiculously overpowered...’

Just because it was not as potent or lethal as the Spark of White Flames did not mean it was not outstanding.

Then, there was Obren’s Pillar Disaster. Of course, he had not witnessed Obren’s Eight Pillar Disaster in person, though he knew its name.

‘Descent of the Evil God.’

Based on the story he had heard, once the Descent of Evil God was triggered, all enemies would be inflicted with the abnormal status of Extreme Fear. On top of that, there was no way to resist it.

According to the same story, his appearance alone will bring terror upon all and leave them unable to move. And the number of people affected? It did not matter. Whether they were a few or hundreds of millions, they would all be inflicted with that terrifying and mind-numbing fear. Minhyuk had heard that some died from the fear alone.

Now, Minhyuk was going to obtain his own Pillar Disaster. Of course, he already had his own Disaster, Calamity. It was even hailed as the Ninth Pillar Disaster. However, according to the skill’s description, he could only obtain a power equivalent to the Eight Pillar Disaster if he could find and complete the power.

‘Basically, it’s not yet a complete power.’

Furthermore, it was like a child compared to the Spark of White Flames.

‘I wonder what kind of Pillar Disaster I will get? It should be related to eating, right?’

The answer to that question was with Jack-of-All-Trades Rocado.

“Alright. I’m going, Haze,” Minhyuk said as he headed to the Land of the Leaders.

***

There were three kinds of skills in Athenae. The first was the self-created skills. The second were the skills created by the God of Skills and distributed by either the gods or spread worldwide. As for the third kind, it was none other than the skills developed by Philip the Creator, who created the Eight Pillar Disaster for a select few.

Minhyuk assumed he would have to do a showdown with Jack-of-All-Trades Rocado to get his own Eight Pillar Disaster. Alas, that was not the case at all.

The name Eight Pillars symbolized the eight pillars that supported the world. Whenever a vacancy appeared in the seats of the Eight Pillars, new Pillars would be chosen to fill in. Whenever a new Pillar appeared, the one who would make the Eight Pillar Disaster for them was Philip the Creator.

Philip was not one of the Eight Pillars but had comparable strength. He was basically the same as The Teacher Beradon. He, who had existed alongside Athenae since the origin of this world, would only create the Eight Pillar Disaster after considering the characteristics, nature, and other things related to the chosen member of the Eight Pillars.

However, although countless Pillars had appeared so far, not all of them could receive the Eight Pillar Disaster from Philip. Only a select few, basically the most outstanding ones, could obtain the Eight Pillar Disaster he created.

Strangely, Philip no longer knew how the world worked or developed. He no longer looked down into the world, nor did he find someone to hang out with. He lived on his own in his world.

Athenae had told Philip that he could live like this. All he needed to do was make the Eight Pillar Disasters, utilizing his most outstanding power. So, he did. Of course, he still followed stringent criteria while developing these skills.

When someone rose to the throne of the Eight Pillars, Philip would get brief information about the new member, his achievements, and his best skills. With that information, Philip would plan and create the power most suited to them.

As an example, this was the brief information that Philip received when Obren became a Pillar:

[The first Evil God in human history who has killed tens of millions of people.]

Back then, Philip based everything on this tiny bit of information. He used this to create a foundation for the Descent of the Evil God, a power that represented the Evil God Obren.

When the word Evil God came to mind, the first thing that one would think of was fear. The advent of such a being would also sometimes mean destruction. That was what Philip thought of. So, he created an Eight Pillar Disaster that could cast a ridiculously overpowered debuff, suffocating anyone to death just by encountering Obren.

As for Helenia...

[The great mage who wishes to eradicate mankind.]

Philip laid the foundation for the Spark of White Flames, a power representing the great mage’s desire to slaughter anyone and everyone in her way.

Simply put, the information about the Eight Pillars was short and bold. These were the pieces of information handed to Philip so far.

For Kronad...

[The one who became the God of the Popes.]

For Fabro...

[The one who can rule over and command all of the weapons in the world.]

For Rocado...

[The one who conquered the world with his dexterity.]

Regardless of their age, gender, characteristics, real power, and status, the information about them that was handed over to Philip was a simple, short description of who they were.

Thankfully, Philip was a true genius. Even though he only had this tiny bit of information, he could still create the best and most suited power for all of them. But for the first time, Philip had to admit that he genuinely had no idea how to create the skill.

For the first time in a long time, Athenae visited Philip. When Philip received the parchment she had given him, he could not help but frown at what was written on it.

“Someone like this can become a Pillar...?”

[...]

Athenae could not say anything.

“Alright. I’ll keep this in mind. Athenae, you and Chaos have asked me to become one of the Pillars since you said many vacant Pillar seats had been vacant for a long time. Even though I refused, did you have to go this far? Why did you make such a reckless judgment and choose someone like this to become a Pillar? And Athenae... is this all you have to say about him?”

Philip was in disbelief because this was the first time he had encountered such a description of a Pillar in his entire life.

[The one who eats the best and the most in the world.]

He could not help but be speechless at how ridiculous the description was. Nevertheless, Athenae’s answer remained the same.

[It’s an accurate description.]

“...”

Philip looked at her incredulously. He said, “No matter how many vacant seats there are, you cannot...”

No matter how he looked at it, it still came out wrong. In the end, Philip sighed and said, “Rocado will probably be the one to guide him to me. He should be in the Land of the Leaders now. I will go there and see for myself.”

The ridiculous situation left Philip fuming. He disappeared in a flash of light.

Athenae, the most benevolent and the greatest goddess in the world, looked at the place where he disappeared aggrievedly.

***

Land of the Leaders.

Philip chose the body of one of the Pillar Candidates and hid in it. From what Philip knew, the people living in the Land of the Leaders were all people who had conquered their fields during their eras and once hoped to become Pillars. They were beings who could kill humans with just their aura alone.

Right now, every one of them had a reddish glow on their faces as they chattered along.

“Did you say that Minhyuk is coming here?”

“Yes! Hoho. Minhyuk will be here soon.”

‘Beradon?’

Beradon had also met Philip in person before. However, he looked different from when he met Philip.

He had the same flush on his face as the other Land of the Leaders residents. It was as if they were waiting for a very honorable and loved guest.

“I can’t wait!”

“I wonder what he will make for us today?”

“Hoho. That brat Minhyuk... I wonder if he will make us something more delicious? After all, it’s like a celebration for him becoming a Pillar, no?”

At this moment, Philip realized that the Minhyuk they were talking about was the new Pillar for which he had to create an Eight Pillar Disaster.

A man appeared in a flash of light. The man was so handsome that one could say he was molded after the gods.

Minhyuk greeted cheerfully, “Hi, guys!” He was met with various welcoming cheers.

“You’re here.”

“Hoho! Welcome!”

“Long time, no see!”

The people of the Land of the Leaders gathered at the man, who raised his hand in a strange greeting as if they were baby birds waiting for their mother to feed them.

Although strange, Philip found it amazing.

‘I wonder what’s with that guy? Why do so many people gather around him...’

The people, who looked like clamoring baby birds, looked at Minhyuk with shining eyes as he said, “To celebrate my appointment as a Pillar, today I will...”

Someone interrupted him, unable to contain their excitement, “To celebrate?”

Minhyuk coughed, “Ahem, ahem!”

Everyone looked at him in interest.

“I will make

Kyorchon Chicken

!”

“WOAAAAAH!”

“Minhyuk is making chicken!”

“O-ooooooh...! Is that the fried chicken that you were talking about before?!”

‘So, he’s a chef. But that does not match his description?’

Philip thought as he looked at the Pillar Candidates jumping around in joy. He was still uncertain.

If he was a chef, the description should have said,

‘The best and greatest chef in the world.’

That would be more suitable. So, why was the description like that?

Not long after, Minhyuk finished making the

Kyorchon Chicken

. Then, he distributed them to the Pillar Candidates. After distributing everything, Minhyuk sat down.

‘Alright. Let’s see how much you can eat and how happily you eat. If you’re wrong, I will never let you go, Athenae.’

Philip thought that Athenae had been teasing him.

Then, Minhyuk began eating. He ate ten... then twenty...

“Hmm? Why do I feel like I feel full already?”

‘Is he really a person...?’

Philip thought that he had already finished eating. By the 100th piece...

“Ha. As expected. I’m getting full faster than normal.”

‘Is he an elephant...?’

By the 300th piece of chicken...

“OMG...? I can just digest it while eating!”

‘What the hell?’

By the 500th piece, the next day had already come.

‘Is he a triceratops...?’

At this moment, Philip finally realized that Athenae was not teasing him.

‘He’s really the one who eats the best and the most in the world...? My god...?’