Chapter 567: Battle of the Thrones (Middle)

Atlas, the City in the Skies, was a territory written in legends and passed down to others. It was a famous architecture that represented Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, a city that flew in the skies! Anyone would feel the desire to own such a place once in their lives.

However, everyone was very suspicious. Why did Atlas, a territory under Beyond the Heavens Kingdom, appear in this place? That was right. The Battle of Thrones was not a competition where they had to battle using their own territories. It was one where they were required to create and build a castle solely for the Battle of Thrones and wage war against each other.

So, how was the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom able to use their own territory?

The secret to this was none other than creating the ‘best castle’. Joy Co. Ltd. had declared that they would give a special privilege to the ones that could create the best castle. Up until this point, nothing had been revealed about which country had created the best castle and won the special privilege.

It turned out to be Korea.

[Everything is clear now. The reason why Beyond the Heavens Kingdom is able to use Atlas Territory is because they have created the best castle out of all the 28 participating countries.]

[The weapons attached to Atlas must be one of the rewards that they have received.]

[What amazing firepower. It’s like we’re looking at the modern machine gun and K9 Thunder.]

[The undead and monster corps that showed great momentum earlier only have 50,000 left in their troops.]

Meanwhile, Lion King, who received verbal abuse from Death, was now witness to how the Death Knights wearing red armor attacked and laid the enemy Death Knights to waste, the moment they landed on the ground.

Craaaaaack—

Slash, slash, slash, slash—

Surprisingly, the Death Knights in red armor were dealing with the other Death Knights easily, as if they were fighting against toddlers. Just one of the Death Knights wearing red armor was enough to deal with dozens of ordinary Death Knights. In fact, they were not being pushed back at all.

‘Is this the Death King mentioned in the legends?’

The Lion King had ignored the people that they were fighting against just a few moments ago. But now, he realized that he should not have done that. The space around the Lion King then tore apart, as dozens of lions appeared prowling behind him, while he took a step forward.

The lions that appeared were enormous, around fifteen meters in height alone. And standing right next to the Lion King was the 25-meter-tall God of Beasts, that was releasing an enormous momentum. The God of Beasts also looked like a lion. The only difference was that he was wearing a full plate of golden armor.

“Roaaaaaaaaar!”

The ground and the skies surrounding the Beyond the Heavens shook from the violent roar of the God of Beasts. Then, the effects of this roar struck everyone inside the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom.

[You have heard the Fearless Beast’s Roar.]

[Your physical and magical defenses have decreased by 20%.]

[Your AGI has decreased by 15%.]

“…!”

It was a huge debuff! Everyone that the God of Beasts perceived as the enemy suffered from this debuff. There was no limit to the number, as long as they heard the Fearless Beast’s Roar, they would receive the debuff.

‘They had cast a debuff on 50,000 people in one go…?’

Then, dozens of lions charged forward.

Thump, thump, thump, thump—

The lions’ speed was completely different from that of the bone mamboths and the turtle dragons.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—

Hundreds of arrows flew towards the lions but none of them pierced through. They just snapped and cracked without even being able to leave a scratch on the lions’ bodies. One of the lions leapt up, its leaping power so high that it was able to reach the top of the walls in one go.

“…!”

The startled Genie took a few steps back from the sudden change in events as the lion opened its giant maw and bit one of the Korean rankers, and the unfortunate ranker collapsed into a heap.

Crunch—

“Keuhaaaaaaaack!”

One single bite from the lion and the ranker was forced to log out. Then, another lion leapt onto the walls.

“Keuhaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Stop them!”

“Attack!”

The lion jumped in the middle of the troops and went on a rampage, biting one ranker after another and forcing them to log out. But it was very hard to stop them. The spearmen rankers were only able to graze the lion’s hide lightly despite stabbing strongly with their spears. In fact, their bodies were still completely intact even though they received the baptism of magic bombs and magical attacks.

What would happen if all of the lions prowling beneath them jumped on the walls?

‘We’ll probably suffer and fall under the enemies’ hands.’

Everyone thought of the same thing.

Slash—

Elpis was only barely able to knock one of the lions down and he was already gasping loudly.

“They, they’re coming again!”

“Hiiiiik!”

The South Korean rankers were all struck dumb.

Meanwhile, the Lion King was having a conversation with the allied kings through a hologram, “Bring in the three top-rankers that I have told you to stay on standby immediately.”

[They’ll arrive there in a minute.]

[I understand.]

[Yes.]

[May the tides of war be in your favor.]

The allied troops were expecting the arrival of the top-leveled rankers any minute now. If things continued at this rate, then the collapse of the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom would just be right around the corner. In fact, the lions were even able to push away the undead corps that Death had summoned.

“Genie!!! Give your orders!!!”

“Noona?!!!”

But Genie’s expression was blank as she stared at the space in front of her.

“Genie?!!!!”

Despite the loud shouts around her, her expression remained blank as she continued to look at the window floating in front of her.

Earlier, when the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom pushed back the 150,000 undead troops and killed thousands of summoners and necromancers they were able to reach the top of the contributions list. This meant that they were able to receive rewards once again.

[You will be able to summon one of the NPCs under the command of the participating guilds in the Battle of Thrones. This reward ignores the 1,000 participating NPC restriction.]

Based on the notification, Genie would be able to summon one of the NPCs that failed to participate in the Battle of Thrones because of the restriction on the number of participants. But among the list of the names of NPCs that she could summon, there was a very, very familiar name.

[

Spear God Ben

]

“…How?”

Ben had died, he turned to ashes and disappeared in front of Minhyuk. But all of the NPCs listed here were marked as ‘living’. And another surprising thing was…

‘It’s not Ghost Spear Ben… but Spear God Ben?’

Genie felt her heart thump wildly. The voices and the sounds ringing around her turned into white noise. In this harrowing and bloody battlefield, a bright smile appeared on her face.

At that moment, the ‘Rankers Above Rankers’ that each country chose arrived. Each country sent three of their strongest rankers. Each one of them could face a thousand of Beyond the Heavens Kingdom’s troops. At the same time, the God of Beasts made a move. A deep trench was dug on the ground as the 25-meter-tall God of Beasts stomped on the ground before dashing forward on the 200 meter long bridge.

Dash, dash, dash, dash, dash—

The monsters and the undead all collapsed just by accidentally making contact with the God of Beasts’ body. Even the Korean rankers were all left flustered and stunned at the majestic and imposing momentum of the wall-like God of Beasts.

“We, we’re done for…!”

“Just one hit from his body and the walls of the castle will collapse!!!”

In fact, under the command of the Lion King, the God of Beasts truly had a history of destroying a territory in under two hours, all on his own. The God of Beasts destroyed everything and turned that territory into a sea of blood.

“Roaaaaaaaaaar!”

As the God of Beasts roared, Genie said, “Summon Spear God Ben.”

At that moment…

Shwaaaaaaaa—

A bolt of lightning fell down from the skies.

Rumble, rumble—

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—

At the place where the lightning struck, an old man stepped forward and faced the charging God of Beasts.

“I…” the old man mumbled silently, “have never learnt how to back down.”

***

Ghost Spear Ben was undergoing the trials set by the Absolute Gods. However, one of those trials had been changed because of the changing whims of the Absolute Gods. They even said nonsense here and there to justify their actions.

‘If you overcome this trial, you will gain more strength and power,’?

the gods said as they gave Ben a trial that they were sure he was not able to clear.

Humans were helpless under the gods’ tricks. In the end, Ghost Spear Ben’s trial was changed. He was now required to win against one of the gods. And the god that he was supposed to face was Spear God Aerdes, the god that he had met in the past.

Ghost Spear Ben fought with Spear God Aerdes for days on end. No, to be exact, Ben attacked Aerdes continuously for days but he was never able to nick, let alone graze, Aerdes’ body. But even so, Ben still continued to stand up.

“His Majesty is still waiting for me.”

“This crazy gramps…”

The great and arrogant Spear God Aerdes could not kill Ben. This was because Ben’s strong mentality and reason for fighting broke her heart.

Then, one day, the God of Cooking appeared. The God of Cooking declared that she would give Ghost Spear Ben a special privilege, since the Absolute Gods dared to change the contents of the trial on their whims. She brought a dish called braised spicy chicken. The God of Cooking also placed a crystal ball in front of Ben as she handed over the dish. Minhyuk’s figure as he cooked was displayed on the crystal ball.

“He risked his life to cook for you. What a wonderful combination you two are; both the king and his retainer are quite cool, huh?”

“Your Majesty…”

Old Man Ben’s tears fell down his cheeks as he stared at the crystal ball. He deeply missed Minhyuk. That was why he wanted to go back to his arms once again. Ben sat down in front of the braised spicy chicken that Minhyuk made for him at the risk of his own life.

“…A dish? So suddenly?” Spear God Aerdes cried in shock, shaking her head as she looked at Ghost Spear Ben, who smiled brightly in front of the dish.

‘The power of the God of Cooking’s dishes is very outstanding. But do you think a mere dish can give you the power to defeat me?’

Aerdes could not understand but Ghost Spear Ben knew what he had to do. All he needed to do at this very moment was to savor the dish that His Majesty made for him.

“I will eat well, Your Majesty.”

With the power of the God of Cooking, the dish did not cool down, even though a lot of time had already passed. Ghost Spear Ben looked at the cheese placed in the middle of the huge pan and the braised spicy chicken on both sides. The first thing that he did was to clamp a piece of the chicken and eat it as it was. The spicy flavor and the soft texture of the chicken immediately brought a smile on Ben’s face. This time, Ghost Spear Ben placed a piece of the braised spicy chicken on top of a lettuce, added some garlic and ssamjang, before placing everything in his mouth. Next, he tasted some udon. Ben really, really liked udon.

‘The seasoned udon is really delicious.’

Ben savored the spicy and salty flavor that wrapped around the noodles in his mouth. He would also dip some of the chicken in the cheese for the rich and creamy flavor. He ate everything in a rush, as if someone would take it away from him. Although they were apart, Ben completely felt Minhyuk’s heart and sincerity through the food.

Aerdes suddenly felt the air around Ben vibrate after he finished eating his meal.

‘What?’

Aerdes felt flustered. Ben had only eaten one dish but the air surrounding him started vibrating. At the same time, the notifications rang in Ben’s ears.

[You have eaten an Absolute God Grade Dish.]

[You have received the buff effects.]

[You have transcended the limits of a human!]

[You have transcended the limits of a human for a second time!]

[…human!]

[All of your stats will increase by 71% and all of your skill levels will increase by +4 for one whole week!!!]

An hour later, Spear God Aerdes was seen lying in a heap in front of Ghost Spear Ben.

***

The sparks that covered the old man, who appeared after the lightning struck, slowly disappeared.

Crackle, crackle, crackle—

The 25-meter-tall God of Beasts continued to charge at the old man. The Lion King, who watched everything happen, believed that the old man would be torn to pieces under the sharp teeth of the God of Beasts, disappearing without a trace.

Meanwhile, the old man raised his spear and…

“…?”

“…?”

“…?”

…the charging God of Beasts suddenly stopped. Everyone could not understand the situation. The old man just raised his spear and this happened? But then…

Step, step, step, step—

When the old man walked past the God of Beasts…

Swiiiiiish—

Starting with the head, the God of Beasts slowly split in two. The God of Beasts died with his body split in half.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Ghost Spear Ben had finally returned, as the Spear God.

1. A SKr 155mm self-propelled howitzer.