Chapter 39: The Battlefield's Ruler

Minhyuk grinned when he saw the comments saying that it was fake. He said, "I made that."

When he heard that, Changwook did not believe him at all. He even replied in a perfunctory manner, "Yep, yep. I'm sure it's you. No one can stop our King of Lies, Minhyuk."

"Hyung, it's true."

"Ah, sure. Our Minhyuk, who’s at Level 15, will also be able to slap the number one ranker in the face.”

"Hmph," Minhyuk harrumphed as he sipped his water.

Changwook continued to scroll down the site as he said, "If it's really you, I will open doors for you, call you hyung, and even ask about your wellbeing."

As Changwook continued to scroll down, he saw another post. He exclaimed in excitement, "Hey, this person posted a picture?" He scrolled down the comments, "Wow, everyone is saying it’s fake but he’s posting the other player’s picture and insisting that it’s not fake. What bull…"

That was when Changwook saw the picture of a man serving the food.

"..."

"..."

"H…Hyung, have you eaten yet?" Changwook called out meekly.

It was truly a quick change of attitude!

"Not yet, you rascal."

"...Yes. Please go ahead."

"Right."

"B… but?Hyung…"

"???"

"Is this for real?"

Minhyuk nodded in answer. Changwook was left speechless when he admitted it. He thought,?'An extremely amazing buff ability that even caught Kim Seokhyun's attention…'

Suddenly, “Ahem,” Minhyuk coughed loudly while on his way to his room, “Hey, male servant.”

Oh Changwook quickly ran and opened the door for him. Minhyuk looked at him and said, “Thank you for going through the trouble.” Then, he patted Changwook’s shoulders and went inside his room to connect to?Athenae.

***

Logging into?Athenae,?Minhyuk took advantage of the time when all of the troops were still asleep to start cooking. The weather had already turned cold to the point that white mist would come out of his mouth every time he took a breath. His planned dish might be a bit heavy for breakfast, but Minhyuk wanted to give it a try since the weather was cold.

'Should I make this for the soldiers to eat?'

What Minhyuk wanted to eat right now was different from the soldiers’ breakfast menu. He made this purely because he wanted to eat it.

Bubble, bubble, bubble—

The earthen pot was filled with boiling, bright red soup, coupled with thick slabs of meat and plenty of greens. It was none other than ox bone hangover soup. This was a cheap dish around 7,000-8,000 won and was something that office workers and groups of friends often gather to eat. In fact, when asked?‘What do you want to eat for lunch?’?the?most likely was ox bone hangover soup. After all, this dish could let you enjoy meat at a low price and even allow you to savor the spicy soup with rice.

‘Wasn’t this simply the best?’

"Hehe..." Minhyuk chuckled, dipping his spoon into the finished ox bone hangover soup. He quickly sprinkled a lot of sesame seeds on top of the meat of the bones and ladled out some soup in a bowl, which he sprinkled with perilla powder too. The perilla powder could make the soup taste more soft and mellow.

"Well then, shall we try it now?" Minhyuk said loudly as he clamped a piece of meat and transferred it onto his plate.

"Hot, hot, hot," Minhyuk said, blowing on his fingers. The part that he grabbed was fresh out of the soup inside the earthen pot so it was still hot. Then, he dipped the bones in the seasonings that he prepared before pulling the bones away from each other.

"Wow."

Steam rose from the bones as the appetizing meat appeared between them. Minhyuk quickly grabbed a piece of the meat and placed it in his mouth.

Chew, chew—

The meat inside the bones was stewed perfectly, its texture tender and soft. Usually, meat in lousy restaurants would be tough and dry, but this was different.

“This… this is equivalent to ox bone hangover soup from a good restaurant!” Minhyuk exclaimed with gusto, smiling brightly as he scooped up some bright red soup. He blew on the soup happily before taking a sip to taste it.

"Kgghk!"

The soup was just the right amount of spicy that could make one feel warm. Finally, it was time for Minhyuk to get serious. He brought out a small bowl of soy sauce with wasabi sticking to the side. Pinching as much wasabi as he wanted, he began to stir it. An enticing glow appeared ?once the soy sauce and the wasabi met. Minhyuk quickly picked another piece of meaty bone and dipped it in the soy sauce and wasabi mix before bringing it to his mouth.

Chomp—

The wasabi was slightly pungent and stinging, but its sweet aftertaste worked in perfect harmony with the tender and spicy meat. Minhyuk smiled happily at the combination of flavors. He sucked every part of the bone down to the very last crack, savoring the tender and juicy flavor of the meat. He firmly believed that ox bone hangover soup tasted better if one ripped the bones and sucked the meat. After sucking the bones dry, he threw them in a large bowl and…

Slurp— slurp—

…licked his fingers clean before wiping them with wet wipes. Then, Minhyuk scooped a big spoonful of rice and placed it in his mouth. That was how he devoured the soup.

"Kghhk. Ah… a bottle of soju would be really nice right now,” Minhyuk sighed in disappointment. Then, he scooped out the greens and poured it on his rice before bringing another spoonful to his mouth.

Chew, chew—

The rice soaked from the ox bone hangover soup had softened, making them easy to chew. He made sure to leave a piece of meat from the ox bone hangover soup just for this. Minhyuk quickly tore the meat off of the bones and dropped it in the soup. Then, he scooped some rice and added it to the soup before pressing it down and mixing them together. Then, Minhyuk grabbed a spoonful and took a huge, savory bite.

The rice and the spicy soup met in his mouth, creating a perfect harmony. Minhyuk also tried the pickled onions, a side dish usually served with ox bone hangover soup in restaurants. The pickled onion had a sweet and sour taste, providing his mouth with a refreshing and contrasting flavor. Finally, he took a bite of the radish kimchi.

Crunch, crunch—

The crunch of the radish kimchi with every bite sounded pleasant to the ears.

"Ah. Ox bone hangover soup is really delicious," Minhyuk said in awe as he ate everything without leaving a single drop inside the bowl. He grinned after seeing his empty bowl.

"Clear."

[You have eaten Ox Bone Hangover Soup.]

[Your attack power and defensive power will increase by 7% for 8 hours.]

Minhyuk was still experimenting with his skills. Even though he loved eating, it did not mean that he would not be interested in his skills. Right now, he wanted to see how much his buff would increase with the food that he made and ate. He wanted to know his limits. Besides, he also found it fun to cook. There was also the incident with Belo and the rest yesterday.

'It's better to be strong than to be weak,'?Minhyuk thought. This was so he could eat more delicious food later! After all, there were a lot of people out there that were way ahead of him.

After finishing his meal, Minhyuk started to prepare the soldiers’ meals while patting his satiated tummy.

***

Minhyuk and the rest of the chefs had been preparing food for quite a while.

"It's quite noisy outside."

The subjugation troops had finally arrived at the Bordy Plains and were now fighting a fierce battle against the goblins the moment they arrived. The tide of the battle continued to waver between both sides.

"We have to move quickly. We're going to serve the meals soon."

"Yes," Minhyuk answered, speeding up his movements. But at that moment…

[Ingredient Tracking]

[Successfully searched for the ingredients.]

[The Orc Chieftain's Essence has the characteristics to revive the sense of taste.]

[Can be cooked with Food God's Cooking Skill Lv1.]

[Suggested Menu: Sweet and Sour Pork.]

"...?!"

Minhyuk was so surprised that his movements stopped for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"N, nothing."

The ingredient was just within a kilometer from him! As long as he used Orc Chieftain's Essence, he would be able to make a dish that would be able to revive the sense of taste.

***

The subjugations troops were busy dealing with the fierce onslaught of the goblins.

Stab!

The soldier, Venetto, pierced one of the goblins’ heads with his spear before looking at the surroundings.

"Phew...!" He roughly exhaled a breath of relief after seeing the other soldiers already starting to wrap up and finish their battles. Vald was also riding on horseback, checking out the overall situation.

"It's all done, I'm hungry!"

"I'm also dying of hunger! Are we eating Minhyuk’s food today?!"

"Minhyuk is going to leave soon. I don't think that I will be able to eat my missus' cooking anymore."

The soldiers were all looking forward to their breakfast wondering what surprise they would receive today. However, just as they wondered about their breakfast…

Rumble!

The ground suddenly began to shake.

"Hmm?"

The troops all looked at each other in confusion.

"What?"

"It sounds like the trampling of feet..."

The players were also all looking around in confusion. Vald, the captain of the subjugation troops, hurriedly pulled out his telescope to check the situation. Then, he saw the source of the commotion in the distance.

"T… this...!" Vald shouted, eyes widening in shock. One of the foreigners was running at high speed and kiting around thirty orcs towards them. That was not the end of it. There was even a Level 50 Orc Chieftain present among the orcs.

"Gasp…!"

Vald frowned at the sight. He could even see large numbers of goblins running towards them to escape from the sudden thumps of feet. However, Vald was an NPC. They had no room for retreat. All they could do was charge forward.

"Everyone pull out your swords, we must defend the Bordy Plains!"

The soldiers stood up once again.

“Orcs!!! There are a bunch of orcs coming this way!”

"T… they're huge!"

The average level of the soldiers in the subjugation troops was only around Level 25. In fact, the main purpose of the subjugation troops quest was to attract players, since this was just a novice subjugation quest. However, right now, plenty of orcs were getting closer to them.

'At least half of us will die here.'

Vald knew that, but he was an NPC that would continue to fight, even if half of his troops had to die. After all, they had something to protect. With his orders, the soldiers began to advance.

"Chiiiiiik!"

"Chwiiik, chwiik, humans… Over there…!"

The orcs were getting closer and closer.

"Oh my lord..."

"Oh, my word."

"Ah, f*ck are we not going to log out?!"

“If we log out from this novice subjugation troops quest, then won’t we be considered as f*cking cowards?!”

The players were shocked at the sudden turn of events. Just then, Venetto saw someone dash forward and stand in front of them.

"Rookie! Boy! you shouldn't be here. Go back!"

"Delicious sweet and sour pork. Pouring instead of dipping," That was the reply from Minhyuk. He sounded as though he was in a trance while staring at the orcs.

Sweet and sour pork was considered to be one of the?TOP?dishes of Chinese cuisine. It was a pleasure to order a set of black bean noodles with sweet and sour pork for just 18,000 won. This was the go-to food when someone just got up and had nothing to do during the weekends.

Furthermore, Minhyuk really wanted to eat sweet and sour pork to the point that his mouth was already drooling without control. In fact, he considered reviving Len’s sense of taste a free service, much like those free fried dumplings served on the side!

"I want to eat!" ?He roared out.

[Bardy Swordsmanship]

[+12 to all 5 basic stats?for 6 minutes.]

"What can a weak military chef like you do!" Some of the soldiers exclaimed.

The orcs were already in the vicinity. The fastest orc in the lead was already swinging its rusty?ax towards?Minhyuk.

"Chwiiiiiiiiiiik!"

Everyone’s attention was focused on Minhyuk and the orc. Even the soldiers forgot that foreigners would be able to come back to life again. That was just how tense the situation was.

Venetto looked at Minhyuk and screamed desperately, "I… I'm supposed to introduce you to my daughter...! Nooo! You'll die!"

Just then, Minhyuk threw a punch.

Punch!

"Kuuaaack!"

The orc rolled back from the force.

"Mr. Chwik! Tell your boss to come out!" Minhyuk bellowed as he clenched his fists tightly. Then, another orc tried to run past Minhyuk to attack Venetto.

Slash!

Crackl!

Minhyuk’s sword swiftly slashed down as flames suddenly appeared and covered the orc’s body.

"Chwiiiik, chwiiiiik, h, hot!"

[Salamander's Blaze]

[The attack will inflict continuous damage to the enemy.]

Minhyuk finished off the orc that was being devoured by flames. Seeing this, the soldiers started to move and fight against the orcs.

"Chwiiiiiik!"

"Chwiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!"

Among the clashing soldiers and orcs, Minhyuk moved alone with the intention to hunt the Orc Chieftain.

Swoosh!

[Vital Strike]

[Additional 17% attack power for each successful strike.]

Stab!

[Three Consecutive Quick Assault]

[Your attacks will deal damage thrice.]

Minhyuk cut through the battlefield swiftly and smoothly, his moves sharp and clean.

Stab!

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Baaaang!

Fwoooooom!

The soldiers saw Minhyuk fighting fiercely and moving through the battlefield as though he was born to fight, and were all in awe. Although Minhyuk’s power was unexpected, his bravery was firmly witnessed by the soldiers. They felt their blood start to boil, as their hearts thumped wildly. Roaring as one, they advanced forward.