Chapter 624: Defensive War (Part 2)

Athenae was the greatest God in existence, the one that ruled the world of Athenae, the master of all creations, and the God of Origin.

There were thousands of Gods that helped Athenae and these very same Gods were looking for their successors. Since then, more than 95% of their successors had been players with God classes.

However, there was one thing that everyone was fully aware of. The God class players were currently just half-God classes. In fact, some of the God classes could not even be qualified to inherit the Gods’ power.

If that was the case, what could they do in order to become a true God?

Kang Taehoon had said, “It’s simple. All one needs to do is to meet the Gods’ requirements and satisfy them. Only then will they reach the realms of a true God.”

At that time, one of the reporters had asked, “What would change once a player becomes a True God class?”

It was something that everyone was curious about. Everyone was looking forward to the answer. President Kang Taehoon had replied with a smile, “Of course, your skills and abilities will increase and you will also be able to build a temple.”

They could build a temple? Although it might just sound like it was symbolic, that was not the case at all. Most of the temples that had been built all over the world required entrance fees. Where would part of the entrance fee go? Of course, it would go straight to the God the temple was built for.

But was that all? Of course not. They could also take in priests, priests that served that God. Simply put, becoming a True God would bring about enormous benefits for that person. But the most important thing was…

“And as a God, they will be able to interact and live with the other Gods.”

“…!”

“…!”

The words that Kang Taehoon left them were very shocking and thrilling. The fact that players that became True Gods would be able to interact and live with the other Gods, meant that one could have a cup of tea or have a conversation with the very same Gods that were in charge of the Athenae world. That was a position that was literally above the position of a ‘king’. That was the True ‘God’ class.

[Plenty of Gods are showing their interest in you.]

[You have met the qualifications for becoming the first True God.]

[Something special might happen any time soon.]

Minhyuk had taken a step towards this God class.

‘Something special might happen anytime soon? I can’t wait.’

“Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

“Long live the Eivelis Empire!!!”

“Long live Her Majesty Ellie!!!”

“We wooooooooooon!!!”

Minhyuk smiled lightly, while the players that fought for Eivelis Empire and the Asgan Continent cheered loudly. In fact everything felt like a dream to these players.

‘We played a key role in changing an episode!’

‘I helped save Eivelis Empire, the place where I started in the game…’

‘It was an honor to fight with these people today. The image of Ellie and the Food God fighting in front of us is something that I will never forget.’

Just as they expected, those that participated in the war received the ‘charm’ of the battle, which were the rewards. The more enemies they cut down and the stronger they were, the greater their contributions. Which meant that they would have more rewards. With that, the notifications rang for all of the participating players.

[Since the Eivelis Empire has gained victory, the victory rewards would become better.]

.

[The Great and Strong warriors of Asgan Continent, they have dedicated themselves for the continent and have won a battle that everyone had believed was already a lost battle.]

[Those that participated in the war will earn an additional 50% EXP Acquisition Rate and 50% Item Drop Rate for two weeks.]

[Gold will be distributed based on your contributions.]

[The Eivelis Empire will distribute the spoils of wars and the rewards.]

“Wow… Crazy…!”

“The spoils of war are really amazing, you know?!”

“Are they going to give us legendary artifacts? They’re going to give us the legendary artifacts from the spoils of war?!”

High risk, high return. The more dangerous and risky the endeavor was, the better the rewards. Since the Eivelis Empire’s odds for obtaining victory was almost close to nil, the rewards that the players would receive would be astronomical.

It was also the reason why everyone was focused on Minhyuk. Minhyuk’s contribution was definitely the highest. After all, he was the one that played the key role in gathering the alliance and the players together.

On top of that, there were many members of Beyond the Heavens, as well as dragons, that participated in this war. The contributions made by the vassals would be credited to their king. Minhyuk’s men had accomplished countless things during this war. On top of all that, Minhyuk was also the one that presented the ‘Great Sovereign’s Sword’ to Ellie, the sword that led the direction of the new episode.

Just like that, another set of notifications rang.

[You have led the Eivelis Empire to victory.]

[Calculating your performance and contribution in this war.]

[You have participated in this war with your qualifications as a king and fought with your vassals.]

[Your and your vassals have made a lot of contributions.]

[You have gained 2,000 platinum.]

[You have acquired Lubanon’s Guardian’s Shield.]

[You have acquired Koroni’s Fierce Dual Katanas.]

[…Gendar’s…]

[You will be able to use Luvien Empire’s Emperor Nerva Sephiroth’s Treasure House once.]

‘Wow… there’s a lot.’

Minhyuk could not help but be amazed. There were at least three legendary artifacts among the items that he acquired. As for the 2,000 platinum, Minhyuk would use it to develop the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. But the most noteworthy reward was the access to Nerva Sephiroth’s treasure house.

Nerva Sephiroth was a God Class Battle God NPC. He was someone that inherited the powers of the Battle God, and could easily use it whenever he wanted. Since he was the emperor of a huge empire, his treasure house would definitely be filled with a lot of valuable items. On top of that, Minhyuk also obtained the chance to use the treasure house of Ruven, one of the Sword of the Gods, twice.

‘I hope they have a lot of delicious things there. Fufu…’

Minhyuk felt delighted deep inside. However, the war was not yet completely over.

Then, all eyes turned to Ellie as the commentators said…

[Many players are interested in what kind of episodes will appear since the Continental Emperor’s episode has changed.]

[The Continental Emperor Ellie’s episode will affect a lot of episodes from all around the world. That is why everyone is wondering how Joy Co. Ltd. will respond to these changes.]

That was right. What would happen to Ellie, the Continental Emperor? Many were asking this question. Then, at that moment, a set of notifications rang for all players to hear.

[The system has begun to take control of the players.]

[The players will move and speak according to the AI’s direction.]

[A new episode is beginning.]

After hearing the notifications, Minhyuk’s body stopped. He tried to move but he could not even lift a single finger. And just like that, everyone began to move according to the situation that the AI had set up for the beginning of the new episode.

***

All of the viewers that were tuned in to the broadcast were all left in doubt after seeing that everything and everyone in the battlefield were being controlled by the system.

However, this was not necessarily something surprising. After all, there were quite a few RPG games that controlled players like this so that the players could move on to the next quest after finishing an important quest during the game.

Then, Joy Co. Ltd. quickly controlled the hundreds of cameras floating in the air, changing the scene on the screen that was focused on the center of the battlefield. Under the directive of Joy Co. Ltd., these cameras began to spread around and show the entire area.

At the location where the fierce battle had just finished, Ellie stood still while looking around the delighted soldiers of the Eivelis Imperial Army and the allied forces of Asgan Continent.

Amidst their cheers, Ellie took a step towards one of the dead soldiers. He was a boy that looked to be around fifteen, who had died without even being able to close his eyes. Ellie slowly knelt down and hugged the boy to her chest.

“Thank you. I will never forget you.”

The cheering crowd turned silent. The joy of victory seeped away as they looked at their comrades that died a horrible death. Ellie looked at the people that fought together with her and said, “Let us make a grave for all of the people that fought with us, with me today.”

“I have received your orders, Your Majesty.”

Ellie nodded slowly before moving away and standing at the highest point to look at everyone and say, “We might have won today but we have lost a lot. Some of us have lost our elder brothers, while some of us have lost our fathers and mothers.”

Sobs started to ring out across the battlefield. They might have been victorious but the families that had been left behind would hug their comrades’ bodies and weep.

“There will be more battles ahead of us. The Luvien Empire will try to squeeze us until the very end, until they make us kneel down.”

If they allowed the Luvien Empire to get past them and enter the Eivelis Empire, then a lot more lives would be lost. Perhaps they would truly face destruction by then.

“And we will have to live with sorrow for a very long time because of the damage that we suffered from this war.”

Everyone agreed with Ellie’s words.

“This empress is lacking. But even if I’m lacking, would you still believe in me and continue to fight alongside me?”

A moment of silence passed by at those words. This was a moment where they could not really say ‘We will!’ without any hesitation. The Luvien Empire was too strong and some of them would most definitely die and become cold corpses, just like that boy from before.

But then, at that moment, Minhyuk started to move, despite not being in control of his own body. He said, “Your Majesty Ellie.”

Minhyuk strode towards Ellie with a soft smile on his face and said, “You are not a lacking emperor. It was thanks to you that we were able to protect the Eivelis Empire, and even the entire Asgan Continent.”

Ellie did not say anything. Then, above her head, words started to appear once again.

[In this horrible battlefield, a place where the sadness of losing their comrades was greater than the joy of victory, Ellie was being devoured by her conflicting emotions.]

[She was aware that in the future the attacks coming from the Luvien Empire would grow stronger, which means that there would be even more deaths.]

[Ellie won, but she was still frustrated.]

Darkness clouded Ellie’s expression. A drop of tear seemed to have streaked down the cheeks of the strong and stoic Ellie.

“I…”

What choice should she make?

[Ellie blamed herself for being helpless. However, her story was just beginning…]

Booom! Boom! Boooom! Booom!

Then, at that moment, the loud sound of drums rang from the direction of the sea. The eyes of the Eivelis Imperial Army followed the direction of the drums. Did the Luvien Empire send another powerful army? Terror flashed across everyone’s faces. There were nearly a thousand ships approaching from the sea.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud—

In the Stars’ Path, the sound of the footsteps of what seemed to be millions of troops resounded and made everyone turn nervous. Not long after, the large army began to show itself to them. However, the army did not attack the Eivelis Empire and the Asgan Allied Forces.

At that moment, a man stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty Ellie! This humble one is Duke Rophy of Icasu Empire from Abbron Continent. I came here on behalf of His Majesty Emkoron of the Icasu Empire to offer our congratulations on the victory of the Eivelis Empire!”

Along with that declaration, the thousands of troops standing behind him began to salute.

“Your Majesty! I am Prince Code of Frod Continent’s Akkro Kingdom…”

“Sword Emperor! This humble…”

“Ellie! This…”

Even the millions of troops that descended from the ship also showed their courtesy.

Right now, more than tens of millions of troops and subjects personally sent by their own kings and emperors bowed their heads and showed their respect and courtesy towards Ellie. It was a remarkable event that would forever be marked in the history of the continent.

Once again, the words appeared above Ellie’s head.

[Even emperors and kings used to listen to Ellie’s stories and feats in shock and awe.]

[And now, all of the continents were made aware that Ellie was the only one that stood against the Luvien Empire.]

[Everyone was now made aware of the fact that it was only Ellie that could unite the entire continent’s troops and rally an army to fight and protect their own, something that has never happened before in history.]

Ellie looked at the people in front of her. The subjects sent by the emperors and kings from several continents shouted loudly in unison.

“Congratulations on your victory, Continental Emperor!!!”

“Congratulations on your victory, Continental Emperor!!!”

“Congratulations on your victory, Continental Emperor!!!”

Ellie stood in the middle of tens of millions of troops, as a flame started to burn brighter in her heart. She looked around them silently and just drew her sword and raised it high up in the skies. Then, another set of words appeared above her head.

[The Greatest Continental Emperor in History’s episode will now begin!]

A new story had begun.