Chapter 1337

Chapter 1337

Even though Ruba’s declaration about Minhyuk being the Battle God still echoed in their heads, the observers could not believe it. They wanted to murmur,

‘Impossible.’

However, when they saw how Minhyuk gave orders to his army through the grand general, they finally realized it was the truth.

Whether in the past, the present, or the future, the path to becoming the Battle God was the path that only the greatest and most outstanding god could walk on.

‘The Battle God holds and protects the lifeline of the Land of the Gods.’

He was the one who led and commanded all of the troops in the Land of the Gods. That was why only the greatest gods could walk this path and sit on that throne.

“You said that he’s the Food God...”

The observers stared at Minhyuk in a fascinated daze. Ruba smirked at them as he began to brag about his grandfather.

“That’s right. He’s the Food God, but he reached that position. All of you should know the existence of the Continental Gods, right?”

They knew. Most of the gods were the so-called pure-blooded gods. They were born as gods to a father and mother who were both gods. The only exception to this was the Continental Gods. Only those who could go beyond the legendary class in their continents could climb above the walls and become Continental Gods. However, the gods of the Land of the Gods looked down on the Continental Gods. They mocked them as hybrids, laughed at them, and belittled them.

“My grandfather started as a Continental God and became the Battle God. Can you imagine how much hard work and effort he put in and how many hardships and trials he faced before reaching this position?”

They could not even dare to imagine.

Meanwhile, Minhyuk finished giving all his orders to his troops and informed the Absolute Gods of the direction in which he wanted the Land of the Gods to walk in the future. After doing all of that, he returned.

[Your favor with Gaius has reached MAX level.]

[Your favor with Koron has reached MAX level.]

[Your favor with Kendra has reached MAX level.]

The former evaluators who observed Minhyuk’s schedule stared at him with bright and shining eyes.

***

Minhyuk’s silly figure when he shouted,

‘Chicken?!’

and ran away in a flash disappeared in the minds of all of the former evaluators. They had observed a day in Minhyuk’s life and realized he was carrying a lot on his shoulders.

Minhyuk’s daily schedule was downright brutal. As the emperor, the Battle God, and the Pillar of the Gourmands, his everyday life was busy and filled with bumps and problems.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Once they returned to the empire, they all went to the hunting grounds to drink together. They needed to organize their thoughts. They had lounged near the Death King’s Tomb, a hunting ground near the Beyond the Heavens Empire where players at Level 500~600 enjoyed hunting.

“A-aaaaaaack! The Death King has appeared!!!”

“He summoned 50,000 Death Troops!”

A commotion broke out in the Death King’s Tomb. Usually, four people would form a party and hunt together in these hunting grounds. It was a relatively safe and easy dungeon since the Death King would only appear once every two years. Alas, the Death King had appeared.

The players began to flee from the Death Troops. Unlike them, the former evaluators just raised their swords to fight. They even looked like they found it very annoying.

Swoosh, swoosh!

“He’s such an amazing man... It’s not because of his duties and responsibilities, but because he worked his way up from the bottom.

With every swing of their swords, a Death Trooper would fall.

“Haaaaaaa... Did you see me tearing up from that yawn? I’m this tired already, and we only observed for a day. I wonder how His Majesty Minhyuk could manage that schedule?”

Fwoosh!

They continued to slaughter the monsters while yawning nonstop.

“Hey. Look over there...”

“What the... They’re yawning while swinging their swords, so why are the monsters getting swept away?”

“What the hell? Look at that guy. He hit the monster with his bare fist...?”

The Death King’s Tomb was a high-level hunting ground. Somehow, a party of over a hundred people easily swept away the monsters in their path. The more shocking part? They looked exhausted and distracted, talking to each other while wiping the monsters out.

In fact, the former evaluators were just going through the motions. After all, they all needed time to organize their thoughts.

At that moment, one said, “I think we should also treat His Majesty Minhyuk as our grandfather. Is there anyone who does not agree to this?”

“Nope.”

“There’s none.”

After organizing their thoughts and concluding their conversations, the former evaluators returned.

“...?”

The players all watched them go back in stunned silence. It only took fifteen minutes for them to wipe out the 50,000 Death Troops, which was in between conversations, too. As for the Death King? They just took turns hitting it, and... it died.

“Who the hell are they...?”

“Omg...”

***

Meanwhile, Haze was scolding Minhyuk.

“Your Majesty! That’s more than a hundred houses! Do you know how much of our taxpayers’ money has been spent on those?!”

“No. How should I say this... They’re just too pitiful. Besides, all of them are powerful. Won’t we be able to recover the money quickly with their help?”

The more than one hundred houses that he had tasked Ruba with distributing to the former evaluators had become a source of concern for Haze.

“How will we be able to recover it? Did they promise to give money to you, Your Majesty?”

She continued, “If they can give everything that they have hunted to you, Your Majesty, then their worth this year alone will be worth a hundred times more than those houses. They are complete outsiders. Besides, they would also think that their houses were provided by the empire and not by you, Your Majesty.”

Haze sighed, letting her words sink in, “A person’s heart is fickle. Instead of just providing them houses so freely, you should have at least written a contract.”

“Hngggh...”

Haze definitely had a point.

“The value of more than a hundred housing units is no less than 500 platinum.”

Although it was a small amount for Minhyuk, for the general public, it was already astronomical.

“I just...”

“How many times have I told you, Your Majesty? If you continue doing things like this, all your property will be lost.”

Minhyuk completely understood everything that Haze told him. If he continued to give just like this, then wouldn’t he be able to end up as a beggar?

“Anyway, Your Majesty has already committed to it, so there’s nothing else we can do but try our best to recover the costs...”

At that moment, someone knocked on the door.

“Enter.”

“Grandpa, it’s me.”

It was none other than Ruba.

“What’s the matter?”

“The people you accepted have something to say to you, Your Majesty.”

‘Something to say?’

They had just finished observing his schedule. They had only separated for two hours at most. When Minhyuk agreed to let them in, more than a hundred people entered the room and bowed immediately.

“Your Majesty, Minhyuk. No! Grandfather! Please accept us as your grandchildren!”

“...?”

Minhyuk looked at them in confusion. Why were they so suddenly and so randomly asking to be his grandchildren?

“We’ve come to pay respect to our grandfather! Grandfather, we will risk our lives and remain filial to you!”

After that, Minhyuk heard the entire story from Ruba. It was not that difficult to accept. However, it was still embarrassing that the simple joke of the grandfather and grandson relationship between him and Ruba had ballooned to the point that he now had more than a hundred grandchildren.

‘It’s not that big of a deal either.’

Minhyuk nodded in agreement.

“Alright. We can do that.”

[You have formed a grandfather-grandchild bond with 108 people.]

They all looked happy when Minhyuk accepted their request.

“Grandfather! You don’t have to worry from now on!”

They began to brag one after another.

“From today on, we will support you forever, grandfather!”

“As your grandchild, it’s only natural that we protect you, our grandfather!”

“Ah, grandpa. Here. This is what we got earlier.”

[Your grandchildren have given you 975 platinum as pocket money.]

[Your grandchildren have gifted you the Death King’s Sword.]

[Your grandchildren have gifted you the Death King’s Armor Set.]

They all laughed when they saw the shock appear on Minhyuk’s face.

“Grandpa! Just think of this as giving you a pair of thermal underwear!”

“We will work hard to support you, grandfather! We will bring you everything that we get as filial piety!”

[Your grandchildren have made an oath.]

[They will give you all of the platinums and the various items they get to support and nurture you!]

Meanwhile, Haze was left stunned. She thought,

‘...You can exploit others this way?’

She realized that Minhyuk had truly gone above and beyond her, the God of Devotion and a master con artist.

***

Zeus looked uncomfortable when he heard the stories that came from the West. According to those stories, Minhyuk and the Beyond the Heavens Empire had killed Kronos.

Kronos was a god whom even Zeus did not dare to touch recklessly. That was why he only locked them up in Tartarus. Yet Minhyuk killed Kronos. Of course, this should be a cause for celebration for the gods of Olympus. After all, their long-standing problem was solved without them needing to lift a finger. Nonetheless, this resulted in Minhyuk’s status becoming greater in the Gaia Continent.

Zeus stared at the woman kneeling on one knee and holding a helmet to her side before him. This woman was none other than Athena.

Just like Ares, Athenae was also a goddess related to war. However, the nature of the two gods was very different. Ares was the God of War, related to destruction, murder, and chaos, while Athenae was the Goddess of War, related to wisdom, tactics, and training. Unlike Ares, Athena had the trust and respect of all of the gods.

“Hephaestus did that?”

At that time, Athena was busy developing her own army. Now, she learned that Hephaestus had forced not only the gods of Olympus but also the other gods to kneel and surrender to him. Rumors about this incident circulated among the people of the Gaia Continent.

“This time, I want you to be the diplomat representing our continent and go to the West to command their troops.”

Diplomat. This was the trick that Zeus came up with.

Zeus’ purpose this time was to send one god to represent the Gaia Continent and the Western Continents and supplement the shortcomings of their troops. In other words, the diplomat would act as the commander to fill in the gaps in the troops of each continent.

“On our side, I intend to ask them to make up for the shortcomings of Ares’ Elite Troops.”

“...?”

Ares’ Elite Troops or Ares’ Swords were people that Ares raised to become killing weapons from birth to now. Their levels were beyond Level 700, and it was said that they had been trained in the harshest of environments. Furthermore, the soldiers of these troops were just like Ares. There were quite a lot of them who had the same nature and attitude as Ares. They even acted rudely toward the gods, but because they were the core of the army led by the gods of Olympus, the gods could not deal with them as they pleased.

“They’re people who have crossed the line of life and death countless times. Also, they are extremely loyal to Ares and would not want to be commanded by someone else. Perhaps the one who will come to lead and train them is Minhyuk.”

A dark smile appeared on Zeus’ face.

“There’s no way he will be able to command them properly. Do you think that’s even possible? This time, I intend to fully exploit the system that foreigners use. And I think it will be nice to include something along the lines of ‘anyone who wants to go with the commander can choose to stay by their side.’”

“It’s fine for them to go with their chosen commander?” Athena asked, her voice laced with confusion.

“The Western Continents will send the best of the best. They will ask you to command and train the troops of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. This is why I’m asking you to go.”

Athena could easily become the entire army’s idol. She was not referred to as the Goddess of War and gained the trust, care, and respect of the gods of Olympus more than Ares for no reason at all.

“The people who have been trained and nurtured by you, the Goddess of War and Wisdom, and enchanted by your Goddess of War’s Charm will choose to remain by your side.”

The Goddess of War’s Charm was triggered whenever she led an army. She would gain their respect whenever the army and its commander accomplished something. Whenever they receive instructions and guidance from her, their desire to stay by her side would bubble up from deep within their hearts.

Of course, it was not a power that had a 100% guarantee. Their favor toward her would not necessarily be at MAX right away when they met her. Nor would it put aside their love and respect for their current commander so easily because she led them and gained their trust. Regardless, the more active she was, the more these feelings would change.

“Use this opportunity to bring the elite troops of the Beyond the Heavens Empire to our Gaia Continent.”

The finest and greatest army of the Western Continents transferring to the Gaia Continent would not only strengthen their military forces, but it would also be a symbol and proof that the Gaia Continent was better. After all, why would they choose to go to the Gaia Continent after such an exchange?

“That’s a very dangerous idea.”

Athena believed that Zeus’ idea was like a double-edged sword. They might be able to get the elite troops of the Western Continents, but that also meant that they risked losing the elite troops raised by Ares to them.

“If Ares’ troops decide to go to the Western Continents, then it would be dangerous for us, though that seems highly unlikely.”

Ares’ Elite Troops would not follow others just because they were better than them. They had lived as Ares’ dogs and would never betray him. Besides, Ares had raised them himself, which was the source of his pride.

‘Teach someone else.’

This part was favorable to Athena. Most of her skills were related to teaching, guiding, training, and instructing others. This would be a great opportunity to develop her skills.

Meanwhile, Zeus stated that he would fully use the foreigners’ system. In other words, he would use the quests to create a structure where both sides would constantly compete. Of course, Athena would have the upper hand.

“And if ever Ares’ troops start to think of moving to the Beyond the Heavens Empire, then I can just lead the situation and bring them to the path of destruction.”

Zeus chuckled lightly.

“If Minhyuk ever wins the hearts of Ares’ troops, then they will die. As for you? The only thing you need to do is bring over the Western Continents’ elite troops.”

Openly and boldly abandoning their allies the moment the enemy showed signs of taking advantage was cruel and vicious.

“This way, we can let those from the Western Continents who believe him and rely on him so eagerly to see what he truly is.”

Zeus planned to leave Minhyuk and his army in disgrace.

“I’ll make the offer about the diplomatic exchange right away.”