Chapter 452: For Elpis

The supreme ruler of the seas, the Dragon King, the king of the elves, Gorn, and Crown Prince Argon, a once in a thousand year genius, all nodded at once as they made eye contact.

“Retreat. Run as far as you can from this place!!!”

“Everyone, run away!!!”

“Yes. We understand!”

“Retreaaaaaat!!!”

“Retreat as far as you can!!!”

The elves and the seafolk retreated quickly. They knew that the great demon and the three demons that he summoned were far beyond what they could handle. But as they retreated, they suddenly realized something.

“D… Dragon King?” Kiari, who was hurriedly ordering the seafolks to retreat, turned back with shaking pupils.

The Dragon King just smiled kindly at her and said, “Hurry and go, Kiari.”

“N… no. Let’s go together, Dragon King!!! We have to go together! If you stay here then…” Kiari could not bear to finish her words.

The Dragon King just smiled at her and said, “I’ve already died once.”

That was right. He had already died once. The Dragon King looked at the member of Let’s Eat Sect running towards Verus. That man that loved food had saved him from the grasps of Great Mage Arfield. Because of that, their Dragon Palace became stronger and produced more talents. It was the Dragon Palace that he made for him. So, this time, it was time for him to fight for his sake.

“Hurry and go. Kiari, this is an order.”

“Ah… aaaaaaaaaah… aaaaaaaah…!”

Kiari felt frustrated. Jevis, with her teary eyes, hugged Kiari and dragged her back to retreat.

“You have to survive. You must survive and live to protect the Dragon Palace!” The Dragon King said with a watery smile on his face as he looked away from them.

Elf King Gorn, the elves’ absolute ruler that had sat on his ‘throne’ for hundreds of years, approached Prince Argon. Elvenheim might still be reeling from the Demon World’s attack on them, but the fact that he was an excellent and outstanding ruler would never change. He placed the crown, which was made from the branches and flowers of the World Tree, on Argon’s head.

“My… my king…”

“Argon. From now on, you will be the king of Elvenheim.”

“N… no! You have to go with me!”

“You are qualified enough. This is my last order as your king.”

Then, Gorn turned to look at the elven warriors that were still standing in front of him, unable to take a step away nor retreat, “Protect and lead Argon to Elveheim! You must all survive!!!”

“…I heed your orders!”

“I heed your orders!!!”

Argon ran with the elven warriors with tears in his eyes. The Dragon King, with his huge trident and Elf King Gorn, with his bow, stood side by side.

“Why didn’t you go?”

𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“I’m already old. The Dragon Palace needs a new king. Gorn, why didn’t you leave?”

“So, we’re thinking about the same thing.”

For hundreds of years, the two of them hated each other. But now, they were standing together with smiles on their faces.

[Where do you think you’re going? I won’t let a single one of you go!!!]

Then, Great Demon Verus slammed his palms on the ground. The explosion broke the ground and traveled towards Gorn and the Dragon King, intending to drag the retreating elves and seafolk as well. Seeing the approaching explosions, the Dragon King slammed his trident on the ground.

Fwooooooooooooosh—

A huge tidal wave appeared and tried to stop the incoming explosion. Elf King Gorn also moved and pulled his bow.

Shwaaaaaaaaaak—

Flaaaaaaaash—

The moment his arrow hit the ground, a huge shield appeared.

Baaaaaang—

Finally, the explosion and the tidal wave collided.

“Ugh!” The Dragon King, who was controlling the tidal wave groaned as his body got pushed back. It seemed like it was hard to contain the explosion even though he gave it his all. Elf King Gorn’s shield stopped the shockwave from the collision of the tidal wave and the explosion.

Craaaaaack—

“Ugh!”

“Keheok!”

But in the end, the shield could not hold out for long. It shattered into pieces and allowed the explosion to hit them.

“Keuhaaaaaaaack!”

“Urk!!!”

The Elf King and the Dragon King could not escape and received tremendous damage. But even though the pain from the explosion seared through their bodies, all they did was look back to watch the elves and the Dragon Palace’s seafolks safe escape. The two of them smiled bitterly at each other, before running straight towards Great Demon Verus.

***

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

A huge explosion swept the members of Let’s Eat Sect the moment Flauros swung his spear. The explosion caused by his spear was stronger than any skill ever casted.

[He just swung his spear but the power that it packed is ridiculously explosive!]

[It’s like I’m seeing a dragon’s breath. No, it’s far scarier than that.]

The explosive power of the spear alone made everyone watching the scene believe that the members of Let’s Eat Sect would die. That was not all, Great Demon Verus was also enraged.

[I will rip apart all of the people that you care about!!!]

Every time Great Demon Verus’ fire sword and Elpis’ sword collided, a huge explosion would occur.

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

To be honest, Great Demon Verus only thought of the humans that were trying to oppose him as insignificant beings. It was only natural of him. After all, it did not matter how weak the demons had become, the fact that they were absolute beings that towered over these humans would not change. These puny humans would never be able to win against them.

Just as these thoughts flashed in his head…

Puhaaaaaaaaa—

Shwaaaaaaa—

…the members of Let’s Eat Sect jumped out of the cloud of dust that arose from the explosion one after the other.

[…?!]

Great Demon Verus was a bit shocked to see lesser injuries than he expected on the bodies of the members of Let’s Eat Sect. Flauros was a fire demon, the fire that he created had attack power that was comparable to Verus’ own.

‘

How come? How come these people did not incur that much damage?

’

“Uwooooooooh!”

Khan, the one leading the group, as well as the guild members and Named NPCs that were following right behind him, were all shrouded in some sort of extraordinary effect.

“Exploding Fire Fist!” Khan shouted as blazing flames appeared and covered his fists. Demon Flauros sneered at the sight as he threw his spear to counter the fists.

Crackle, crackle, crackle—

The moment Flauros’ spear collided with Khan’s fist…

Boom—

…the scene that Flauros expected did not happen. Khan’s fist did not get blown away, it did not even budge despite going against Flauros. In fact, the one that backed down from the encounter was Flauros, who retrieved his spear.

Dash—

Khan immediately dashed forward when he saw Flauros grabbing his spear. He sent his fist flying straight towards the demon’s face.

“Do you think your measly human fist can scratch my body?” Flauros sneered. He was a demon that exceeded the power of the strongest being on earth, a dragon. He did not think that he would receive any damage even if that fist slammed into him. But then…

Punch—

“Keheok?!” Flauros’ breath was caught in his throat, his head swinging fiercely to the side after getting hit by Khan’s bare fist. He was even left in a bit of a dizzy daze from the impact.

“Giant’s Battering!” Khan casted as dozens of his fists pounded all over Flauros’ body.

Flauros shrieked as he felt a searing pain, a sensation that he had never felt in his life, every time Khan’s fists smashed into his body, “Keuhaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!”

And finally, Khan’s final strike landed into Flauros and…

Puuuuuunch—

…made him fly back. Even though Great Demon Verus witnessed it with his own eyes, he still could not bring himself to believe it.

The worst part? There were two women waiting for Flauros to fall.

One of the two was a woman with long silver hair that reached her waist and katanas on both her hands. This woman was Ascar, the Goddess of the Battlefield. The other was wearing a shabby helmet pulled down to her nose, with a good quality sword in her hand. This woman was Minhyuk’s Extreme Hardcore Fan, the disguised Sword Emperor Ellie. Of course, Ellie had also eaten Minhyuk’s delicious meal.

Ascar swung her sword in the air as she casted, “Ghost’s Massacre” and sent hundreds of weapons that stabbed, cut, slashed at the falling Flauros.

“Keuhaaaaaaaaack!” Flauros shrieked loudly once again. Of course, Ellie did not let the opportunity pass by and…

[Overlord’s Swordsmanship Chapter 2. Lion’s Stretch.]

…struck Flauros with her sword.

“Keuhaaaaack?!” This time, Flauros shrieked in disbelief. The pain that he felt from this blow was on an entirely different level from the pain that he felt from the other woman’s attack earlier. This attack made him feel like his body was being torn apart whenever the woman swung her sword and struck his body. The most painful part was Ellie flying once again to strike at his vital points one after the other.

Stab—

“Keuaaack! Ack! Ughhhh! S… Stooooooop!”

The whole world watched as the demon begged Ellie to stop. Sweat pooled at the palm of the viewers’ hands as they continued to watch the scene. Someone even muttered unconsciously, “Let’s Eat Sect is crazy…”

However, the woman’s sword did not stop. She continued to strike Flauros’ vital points.

[Overlord’s Swordsmanship Chapter 12. Lion Stalking its Prey.]

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

Right now, Ellie had received Minhyuk’s cooking buff. So what if they were facing demons? All of them, including the members of Let’s Eat Sect, were several times stronger than usual. In other words, Great Demon Verus and the demons had chosen the wrong day to descend.

[Overlord’s Swordsmanship Chapter 7. Lion’s Forelegs’ Strike.]

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Flauros got sent straight down into the ground, his body twitching helplessly. Great Demon Verus, although a direct witness to the scene, could not believe his own eyes. He thought,

‘Did the Gods come down as a group?!’

Verus’ pupils shook widely.

***

At the same time.

Although the war was at its climax and everyone was fighting for their lives, Minhyuk sat still and focused on the Bizarre Rice Cake Set in front of him. This Bizarre Rice Cake Set was something that he made when he was making the dishes for his guild members. Minhyuk planned to use his ‘Overlapping Delight’ skill after eating his Bizarre Rice Cake Set. The problem was that he only had one legendary grade dish right now.

(

Bizarre Rice Cake Set

)

Ingredient Grade

: A

Grade

: Legend

Requirements

: Only Minhyuk could have the buff effects.

Shelf Life

: 25 days

Preservation Time

: 25 days

Special Abilities

:

? STR and AGI will increase by 31%.

? Your sword's basic attack will increase by 300%.

? Ellie’s Swordsmanship’s MP consumption and skill cooldown will decrease by 30%.

? Ellie’s Swordsmanship’s attack will increase by 30%.

? You can use the Sword of Absolute Death two times in a row.

? 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 gave it his all to make it tasty.

The effects of this single dish alone was ridiculously amazing. Unfortunately, these effects were not enough.

‘To cut down the Great Demon Verus…’

Minhyuk needed greater power. The problem was that this was the only dish that Minhyuk had on his hands with such extraordinary effects. This meant that he had to make something right now. So, he pondered for a moment about what he wanted to cook before finally making a decision.

‘I’ll make some Spicy Braised Chicken. Hang in there and endure, guys.’

Minhyuk was fully aware that even if his guild members were doing well right now, their enemies had yet to show the full extent of their powers. So, he began to cook.

***

Baaaaaaaaaaaaang—

Elpis threw up a mouthful of black blood after getting hit by Verus’ sword, “Urk!”

Verus looked at the members of Let’s Eat Sect that drove the demons to a corner. Seeing them run freely among his men made him feel compelled to cut them down as quickly as he could. But just as he was about to take a step…

Step, step, step—

…the eerie sound of footsteps accompanied by a tremendous killing intent rang near Verus, making his ugly face turn even uglier. The encroaching killing intent felt like a lion was stalking its prey.

Great Demon Verus had seen a lot of absolute beings, but he had never felt such an absolute and terrifying energy before. When Verus turned towards the direction of the killing intent, he saw a man walking leisurely towards him.

“What are you looking at?” The man said. Strangely enough, it sounded like

‘What the f*ck are you looking at me for?’.

[…?]

Then, the man snapped, “I don’t like the way your eyes look. Make sure you look at others kindly next time.”

[…?]

Verus was left speechless.

‘Doesn’t this sound like those chuunibyou humans that curse others for making eye contact with them?! And my eyes are naturally fierce and vicious, how can I make them look at others kindly?!’

Verus felt his anger flare. Then, the man, Brod, turned to look at Elpis’ collapsed figure before casting his skill. Brod also had a skill with a tremendous penalty that could allow him to hunt one person. It was mainly because of the huge penalty that he was not able to use it before.

“Wolf’s Unquestionable Triumph.”

Then, at that moment…

Slaaaaaaaaash—

…Brod swung his sword once. It was just once. However, the red energy that flew out of his sword, carrying an additional 4,000% attack, completely ignored Verus’ defenses and stabbed through him.

[Keuhaaaaaaaaaack?!]

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

That was not all. Explosions burst out of Veru’s body immediately after the sword stabbed through him, causing even more damage to him.

However, even though his body exploded strangely, Verus’ regeneration was quick and swift. Still, Verus felt both shocked and enraged. What in the world was this human in front of him?! But when he saw Brod take a step forward, Verus unconsciously took a step back while hurriedly stuttering out…

[I, I was born with these eyes!!! I can’t make them look nicer!!!]

The viewers that watched the scene realized…

[That… Verus looks scared, right…?]

[Yeah, he looks scared… Ha… ha.]