Chapter 448: For Elpis

Demon World.

[How dare that puny human!!!]

Puhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—

The infuriated Verus was venting out his anger and was releasing his wrath on the entire Demon World, bringing it into shambles. Every single demon, even the 72 Devils lined up in front of him, did not dare to take a single breath.

Great Demon Verus was known as the greatest and most terrifying demon among the three great demons. This was because he had the authority to lead the 72 Devils. The 72 Devils were all absolute beings that could easily overpower the dragons on earth. But even these absolute beings were unable to raise their heads in the face of Great Demon Verus’ wrath. And the reason why he was angry was…

[Diablo, you… how dare you…!]

…because of Diablo. Diablo used to be nothing more than a vessel, a bowl for the great demons’ demonic energy. However, he did not grow crazy despite the huge amount of demonic energy, and even honed his swordsmanship as he declared that he would hunt the demons. To Verus, this was just some sort of ‘amusement’. He sneered as he watched him grow terrifyingly fast. He, a human being, had grown strong enough to fight against the demons easily. And the more he grew, the greater and stronger the trials Verus gave to him, the more Diablo grew angrier at the said demon. In the end, Diablo was thrown into a frenzied state.

Back then, Verus thought,

‘A frenzied Diablo will be much easier for me to get.’

Verus coveted Diablo. He wanted to keep him in the palms of his hands. But one day, an unknown man suddenly released him from his frenzied state, with nothing but simple and measly human food at that! But was that all? Diablo even knelt before that man and made an eternal vow, something that Diablo did not do towards Verus.

[How dare you!!!!]

Puhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—

Terrifying black flames bursted out all over the place, showing the Great Demon Verus’ wrath.

[I’ll go there by myself!!!]

At that, Baal, one of the 72 Devils, expressed his concerns.

[But right now, we don’t have the power to make the Great Demons descend, right?]

The demons and the great demons were separated from the earth and the heavens. This was because they found their existence unpleasant. But the main reason why they could not freely move to the other worlds was because of the gods that were controlling them. But there was still a method available for them to descend.

[I will descend using the Letter of Disaster.]

[…!]

[…!]

[…!]

Everyone present was horrified by his declaration. The Letter of Disaster was a special parchment that could allow a greater being to temporarily descend. However, there was one big problem.

[But if you use the Letter of Disaster to descend to the middle world and end up incurring physical damage to your body, you might get sealed.]

That was right. Sealed. The Great Demon Verus would be sealed. Of course, even if he was sealed, it would not be for a long time.

But Verus just laughed mockingly at their words.

[Do you think they can seal me?]

His words made the demons present remember that the enemies that the Great Demon Verus would face were nothing but puny humans.

So, with that said, Great Demon Verus would proceed with his plans to use the Letter of Disaster to descend. However, as a form of restriction, Verus’ power would be halved. Even so, the might of that was still enough to split the continent easily in two. And right now, he was about to personally descend to the earth to take Diablo away.

***

Puhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—

Ghost Spear Ben once again leapt to the skies. A bright light shone upon the battlefield once more, as another 3,000 enemy troops died without uttering a scream. Ghost Spear Ben, who usually combed his Terrius-like hair, descended upon thousands of enemies, his eyes and hair white. Tens of thousands of soldiers and knights rushed at Ben, who looked as they swung their swords and spears at him.

Stab—

The tip of Ben’s spear broke the knights’ armor and continued to move forward and break their bones and stab their hearts.

“Im… impossible…!”

Ghost Spear Ben’s basic attack had increased by 250%. Even his stats had increased by 25%, which put him at a level above all of the Pinnacle Strong Men present.

[What in the world? I can’t understand what’s happening.]

[Ghost Spear Ben did not die. He even used his skill with the worst penalty, twice in a row! Even though he almost died earlier, a lot of things changed after he ate that meal. It seems like he got stronger through his stomach, huh?]

When the strong become stronger, it would be different from ordinary people gaining more strength. Right now, Ben has become several times stronger than before. At that moment, another man covered with a bright golden aura stepped out. It was none other than Khan.

Daaaaash—

Khan, Korea’s strongest fighter ranker, also had skills with extreme penalties. This skill was none other than ‘Giant’s Explosion’. It was a skill that would burn through all of the player’s latent HP and MP to strengthen their body. Even if the skill user’s MP and HP were at 100%, it would make both stats fall below 5%. After all, it was a skill that has reached the pinnacle. Khan, who was bathed in a golden light, leapt into the skies and caught the attention of everyone present.

“Stop hiiiiiiiim!!!”

“What the hell?!”

“Aaaaaaaack! Sa… save me!!!”

Screams rang loudly among the enemy troops as the now golden haired and eyed Khan slammed his fists on the ground.

[Giant’s Explosion]

[Your fists will gain an additional 1,800% attack the moment it hits your enemies.]

When his first punch landed…

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

…it grew in size until it reached the size of a one-ton truck and slammed on the ground, making dozens of enemy soldiers explode in a rain of blood.

Baaaaaaaaaang—

With his second punch, the knights that were able to endure the first blow ended up being crushed to their deaths. And one after the other…

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

Gigantic fists appeared and swept all of the enemies within a thirty-meter radius. But that was not the end of it. Ascar’s silver hair, which she had always kept short, grew long enough to reach her waist, making her look more elegant and beautiful. She swung her sword once and…

“Ghostblade’s Massacre.”

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

…easily tore apart the flesh hiding underneath the armors of the hundreds of soldiers and knights that were near her.

Fall—

Fall—

Fall—

Fall—

She killed hundreds of enemies in one go. Everyone gaped at the long-haired Ascar in admiration.

There was also Crow. His eyes and hair, which had grown long from his usual cropped-cut style and was fluttering towards the sky, turned red as he threw his spear with all his might.

“Tornado Spear!”

Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle—

Tornado spears swirled into existence and engulfed the enemies in his vicinity. The tornadoes tore the enemy troops’ flesh and broke their bones, shocking everyone. Even the Pinnacle Strong Men were shocked by their sudden tremendous display of power.

‘What, what kind of…!’

The most flustered among the Pinnacle Strong Men was Loki. At that moment…

Baaaaaaaang—

…Loki flew back from the impact of the attack that aimed for the pit of his stomach, an attack that he blocked with the blade of his sword.

“What the hell?! What kind of power are you using to incur tremendous damage like this!”

The one that appeared in front of Loki was none other than Khan. Khan just chuckled when he heard Loki’s words, “I know, right? It’s like a skill, right? It hurts, right?!”

Although Khan looked no different from his calm and poised self, he was very excited.

“Then, take another hit.”

Flash—

Khan narrowed the distance between them so fast that even Loki could not follow his movements. If it was before, and Loki and Khan were to compete one on one, then the one that would win would definitely be Loki. After all, Loki was the second Pinnacle Strong Man. But when Khan’s swift punch landed on Loki…

Crack, crack, crack, crack—

…his ‘Mythril Sheet Armor’, the armor that has been with him for decades, broke into pieces. That was not all. The punch, packed with tremendous force, broke several of Loki’s ribs.

“Urk…!”

However, Loki thought of this as an opportunity and wondered what kind of power the bastard in front of him was using,

‘What kind of skill is it? I’m sure it’s some kind of body enhancing skill…’

Otherwise, it would be impossible to produce such power. It was definitely some sort of buff skill! Just when those thoughts flashed in his head, Khan’s kick aimed for his chin.

Thuuuuuud—

Loki’s face, which he defended with one arm, turned ugly.

Crack, crack, crack—

This was because his bones cracked from the force of the attack.

‘What the hell…?!’?

Loki thought as Khan continued to send attacks. And with each attack, Loki felt an unbearable pain wrap around his body.

“Keuhaaaaack! Ugh, aaaaaaaack!”

“It hurts, right? Is it painful? Do you think it hurts a lot?!”

“This, this perverted bastard…!”

But Khan just continued to punch and kick him with a pleased smile on his face. That was when Loki thought,

‘How can he keep on doing this…?’

How come the amount of damage that he received was always that high? If it was just an ability to enhance his physical abilities, then it would not be able to last this long. Then, at that moment, a huge flame erupted in Khan’s fist.

Crackle—

And when this fist hit Loki…

Baaaaaaaaaaaang—

…a huge explosion engulfed his body and tore it to shreds, forcing his HP to plummet in an instant. Only then did Loki realize, “It was, it was just his bare fists…?!”

Loki, who was on the verge of death, saw the grin on Khan’s face as he received the final blow to his face. Khan smiled widely as he recalled the grilled eel that Minhyuk made for him.

(

Grilled Eel

)

Ingredient Grade

: A

Grade

: Legend

Requirements

: Only Khan can have the buff effects.

Shelf Life

: 25 days

Preservation Time

: 25 days

Special Abilities

:

? STR and AGI will increase by 31%.

? Your fist’s basic attack will increase by 350%.

? Giant’s related skills’ MP consumption will decrease by 40%, while the skill cooldown will decrease by 30%.

? Giant’s related skills’ attack will increase by 30%.

? You can use Giant’s Explosion once without incurring any penalties.

? Upon consumption, you will recover 100% of your HP, MP, and release all of your abnormal states.

? Upon consumption, the effect that’s best suited for your needs will be activated for an hour.

Description

: The chef that made this dish made it in the hopes that you will be happy when you eat it. Someone that has transcended the human realm has added their power to this dish.

Khan trembled when he saw this information. He thought,

‘This is crazy… My fist’s basic attack can be increased by 350%…?!’

In fact, even his AGI and STR would also increase by 30%. His fists were literally explosive in terms of power.

Baaaaaaaaang—

Every punch that he released killed one knight. Looking around, he realized that the other members of their guild were also in the same situation as him. They only used their basic attacks, but the kingdom troops were not able to deal with them at all.

“How, how can this be…?!” Duke Yverone shouted in disbelief. The king of the elves, the dragon king, and the unknown spearmen were all shocking enough. But now…

‘They’re only a little more than twenty people…’

…they were sweeping away the Barras Kingdom troops like it was nothing. One swing of their swords, and dozens of people would die. A punch from their fists would kill an elite knight. And when they release their magic, hundreds of their troops would die at the same time. What Yverone was feeling went beyond fear and disbelief. But the more shocking fact was…

‘This is unbelievable…’

They were a large army of more than 100,000 strong troops. But now, there were only at most 30,000 of them left. Valhalla was already about to collapse. It was already at arms reach but…!

‘We have to save them.’

He had to save the remaining 30,000 troops. Still, even though he thought it, he did not know what he should do to fight against these people who were pushing forward like bulldozers.

[Unbelievable.]

[There are only twenty people putting pressure on the battlefield.]

[With how they are now, I think they can compete with the Summit Five. Perhaps this video will be recorded as the best video of the year.]

Just when the commentators and the viewers were in awe and admiration…

Vwooooooooooooong—

“Retreat!!!”

“Re… retreat!!!”

…a shocking sound rang loudly on the battlefield.

The Barras Kingdom’s large army of over 150,000 troops, now with only 30,000 surviving soldiers, were forced to retreat. They abandoned their weapons and even abandoned their comrades to run away and survive.

“Don’t give chase to the fleeing soldiers,” Genie ordered. Then, all the cameras zoomed in on her face as she uttered the lines that would become the ‘best line’ in Athenae’s history, “I mean, why give chase to those annoying and cheeky f*ckers, right?”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

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Over 150,000 troops were only ‘cheeky f*ckers’ in the eyes of Let’s Eat Sect.