Chapter 734: God of Birth Gaerna

The entire world held their breaths as they watched the battle in Faelbert Fortress unfold. The Allied Army used dragon rubies, various fire magics, and explosives. However, with the appearance of the strong parasitic soldiers that stayed at the rear of Gaerna’s army, their flames and explosions began to lose their effects on the enemies.

Baaaaaang—

The parasitic soldier, with his entire body scorched all over after receiving the brunt of the bomb’s explosion, continued to push through. He clinged on the walls and began to climb up slowly.

The archers tried to shoot the heads of the parasitic soldiers that clung to the walls, but they would either block the arrows or duck from the trajectory. The worst was when the arrows that they shot could not even penetrate their skulls.

“Haaack, aack!” Gaerna coughed loudly. This time, tens of thousands of wasps flew out of her mouth.

The wasps grew larger and larger as they flew forward, eventually becoming as large, perhaps even larger, than the wyverns in the sky. They would even shoot venomous stingers from time to time.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Keuaaaaaaaaaaack!”

“Ughhhhhhh…”

Gaerna did not let the opportunity go. Seeing that her enemies were dying one after another, she immediately vomited thousands of larvae. The larvae quickly gnawed at their brains, creating a fresh wave of parasitic soldiers.

“This, this…”

Calauhel started to ponder after hearing the notification that rang for everyone all over the world.

[The newly born Gaerna had even eaten her nanny.]

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

Goosebumps rose on the skin of all of the people listening to the notifications. This message was something that Joy Co. Ltd. had prepared before.

[Athenae, seeing Gaerna’s viciousness and ferocity, locked her up and placed her under surveillance.]

Despite the message ringing in their ears, the NPCs continued to fight desperately.

Staaaaaab—

Recca, a soldier that had his chest pierced by one of the wasps’ stingers, was a young man that dreamt of becoming a knight one day.

[You have been attacked by a wasp.]

[Your HP is rapidly declining.]

[Your head is spinning, you cannot come back to your senses.]

These would probably be the notifications that Recca would have heard if he were a player. Just like that, his head started to spin and his entire body was flushed with heat, making his breath turn ragged.

Spurt—

The soldier named Recca pulled out the stinger that was stuck in his chest and slowly opened his eyes to take one last look in the world that he lived in. Then, he poured the contents of the bottle of oil on his body. He then lit a match with trembling hands and steeled his heart.

Crackle—

The hero lit himself on fire and hugged one of the parasitic soldiers as the fire began to devour his body. It was not just Recca, plenty of soldiers poured oil on their bodies and lit themselves on fire when they knew that their situation was hopeless, their bodies illuminating the battlefield and creating a devastating scene of defeat, which was heartbreakingly beautiful at the same time.

“…”

Twitch—

Calauhel felt his heart throb at the scene. He was the one that had said that they were nothing but mere artificial intelligence. But the expressions on their faces and the look in their eyes as they died were telling him a different story.

‘Please win.’

‘Please kill Gaerna.’

‘You are our king.’

Why did Calauhel start playing Athenae? It was a way for the head of the Rothschilde Family to ease his boredom. Having that feeling of obtaining everything and losing nothing had made him turn to Athena, hoping to find something new and interesting.

The NPCs in this world did not know who Calauhel was. They did not revere him because he was a noble person from the Rothschilde Family. When he first logged inside the game, the beginner’s instructor had told him this,

‘Don’t lose spirit!’

From that point on, he started to play Athenae. His journey was fun and fulfilling and he even founded a kingdom in this place.

“Long live His Majesty Calauheeeeeeeeel!!!”

Crackleeeeee—

“Rothschilde Kingdom forever!!!”

Crackleeeeeee—

But now, his people were turning into beautiful flames one after another.

[On the day that Gaerna was locked up in her room, she ate everyone around her and promptly disappeared.]

Calauhel’s eyes turned bloodshot. The number of their allied troops were constantly decreasing while the number of their enemies continued to increase.

.

[One day, she suddenly appeared with 200,000 troops.]

Calauhel began to run.

“Uwoooooooooooh!”

Armed with all kinds of artifacts, skills and items that were far greater than anybody else, he charged at the parasitic soldiers that were attempting to devour his own soldiers, killing them one after another.

[But her army grew and became 400,000.]

Slaaaaaaash—

“Get back to your senses! Don’t die!!! I will fight by your side!!!”

Calauhel’s cries brought strength to his soldiers.

[Then, it became 700,000.]

Calauhel helped up one of the soldiers that had stumbled on his feet. “Stand up, quick!!!”

[The army continued to grow and became a million.]

“Your Majesty.”

The soldier looked at the bottle of oil with fear in his eyes. Calauhel shook his head. This was the order that he had given himself, die by their own hands or become a parasitic soldier.

The soldier began to pour the contents of the bottle of oil on his head but Calauhel grabbed his hand. “Stop! Don’t light yourself up in flames!!!”

Only now did he realize how cruel and heartless that order was.

“Aren’t you supposed to come back? To your home? To your family…?”

Staaaaaaab—

The wasp’s stinger and venom pierced through the chest of the young soldier that Calauhel was supporting.

Swoosh—

Calauhel’s face turned ugly as he watched the soldier fall down. He quickly took out a fan and waved it towards the wasps in the sky, the wind generated by his fan shredding them to pieces. However, it was already too late.

[Her army became two million.]

Despair stained Calauhel’s expression as he watched the people around him turn into parasitic soldiers.

[Then, it became three million.]

The constant ringing of the message in his ears brought him further and deeper into despair.

Thwack—

Feeling something on his neck, he quickly slapped it with his palm. Then, he saw green blood dripping down his palms.

[You have been infected by the parasitic mosquito.]

[If you can’t detoxify the infection with an excellent antidote, you will become a parasitic soldier in an hour.]

[Your HP is rapidly declining.]

[Heat has started to flow through your veins.]

Calauhel’s vision began to spin.

[Gaerna’s army pressured and pushed back the Gods and the Divine Army. The Gods, before they could truly die, chose to kill themselves.]

[This part of history was soaked in blood and continued on for a long time.]

[According to a record left behind by one of the gods, Gaerna’s army had exceeded 4.4 million.]

Then, Gaerna began to move, the arm beneath her wings swinging fiercely.

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

Mantis' arms popped out from the ground and slaughtered thousands of soldiers.

“I’m hungryyyyyyyyy!!!” Gaerna cried, soaring to the skies and flying straight towards Faelbert Fortress.

“We have… to stop her,” Calauhel mumbled, his face flushed red from the heat of his body.

But then, tens of thousands of tentacles sprouted all over Gaerna’s body. The tentacles shot forward and pierced through the heads of both players and soldiers. The soldiers immediately turned into their enemies, their swords pointed at the people that were once their allies.

[God once said, ‘Gaerna is despair.’]

The allied forces had to face the onslaught of those who had once been their comrades.

“A, aaaaaaaaaaaaack!”

“

Click, click, click, click, click!

”

“Save meeeeeeee!!!”

“Your Majesty Calauhel, please get to safety!!!”

[A disaster.]

The soldiers around Calauhel surrounded him and created layers trying to protect him somehow.

“Calauheeeeeeeeeeel!!!” Xu Jiaqi’s urgent voice rang in his ears but Calauhel was being swallowed by his panic.

[A devil.]

Calauhel felt like everything around him was happening in slow-motion. The constant ring of the messages in his ears pressed him deeper into the quagmire of panic, his breathing turning more ragged by the second.

‘Damn it.

’

The mosquito’s bite made him more unstable as time went by. He felt fear. He realized that the Rothschilde Kingdom would fall and he would lose many people.

Once again, tens of thousands of tentacles sprouted from Gaerna’s body and mouth, with dozens of them flying towards Calauhel.

[A predator.]

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—

At that moment, accurate and concise swordsmanship cleaved the tentacles that were aiming for Calauhel’s head. At the same time, a palm shot forward and slapped Calauhel’s cheek.

Thwaaaaaaack—!

“Get back to your senses, Calauhel!”

His vision returned to him and he finally saw his surroundings once again, the slap awakening him.

The one that slapped Calauhel was none other than Alexander. Around him stood plenty of players that once participated as kings of their country in the Battle of the Thrones. Even the 20,000 elite rankers and NPCs that they sent to the rear had appeared together with them.

Alexander dragged Calauhel up and said, “Change of plans.”

There was a somber and grim look in Alexander’s eyes as he continued, “We take down as many of them as we can before we die!!!”

Fwooooooooosh—

The single arrow shot by Master Archer Miao turned into thousands of arrows and accurately struck the heads of the enemies.

“Sword of Disaster.”

Alexander leapt to the skies and struck Gaerna with his sword.

Slaaaaaaaaaash—

“Kihyeeeeeeeeeck!!!”

Alex, the global number one mage, sent an explosion that hit the screaming Gaerna.

Baaaaaaaaaang—

Seeing Gaerna fly back, the 20,000-strong elite troops began to push back and drive away the enemies that clung to the walls of Faelbert Fortress. These outstanding members of their troops poured out all of their power to drive the enemies away.

“Meteor.”

Rumbleeeeeeeee—

Alex summoned a meteor that slammed into the ground and massacred nearly ten thousand enemies. Alexander flew above them and reaped their heads one after another. Master Archer Miao shot three arrows per second, accurately piercing through the heads of the enemies.

[Amazing.]

[Only five minutes have passed since the 20,000 elite troops joined the battle but almost 60,000 enemies have already disappeared without leaving a single trace.]

[This battle clearly shows the potential of the world’s top rankers and NPCs.]

[It seems like they are giving it their all before they die.]

[…I’m cheering them on. As the strongest and supreme existences in Athenae, it seems like they plan to reduce Gaerna’s army as much as possible.]

The rankers turned the tables in an instant. The alliance, which was on the defensive since earlier, had started to push back.

“At the very least, we’ll take half of you to hell with us,” Alexander declared.

His words sounded as if it was something that they could truly achieve. However, the messages were not yet over.

[To hunt the predator, the gods had to face 4.4 million strong troops with just 500,000 of their finest men.]

[They finally saw the light of victory.]

[However…]

[With just a

bang—!

Everything collapsed.]

Bang—!

“…?”

Alexander and Calauhel turned to look at the direction of the sound, their faces filled with doubt and confusion. A loud explosion devoured the area right next to them. That area was the place where Mage Alex was. It seemed that Alex had been infected with the parasitic mosquito too.

Baaaaaang—

Boooooooom—

Baaaaaaaaaam—

Baaaaaaang—

At that moment, explosions appeared all over the place and began to devour their allies. They were popping. The heads of those that the parasitic mosquitoes infected began to pop and explode, devouring the area around them.

‘The close-combat class members of the army did not explode.’

Just like mentioned before, Gaerna’s army could not use skills or magic. In other words, Gaerna was controlling them and making them explode one after another. In just an instant, 10,000 of the rankers stationed on the walls of the fortress died.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiing—

A sharp ringing sound rang in Calauhel’s ears amidst the countless explosions that bloomed all over the place. Although he was trying his hardest to come back to his senses, his vision had turned white. Then, the notifications rang in his ears.

[The Alliance’s King has not been chosen yet.]

[Players, please choose the Alliance’s King.]

[The voting for the Alliance’s King will end in three minutes.]

“…”

Calauhel recalled the conversation that he had with Alexander.

‘I will become the Alliance’s King. I am very confident about that.’

This was what Calauhel declared. However, with his still ringing ears, Calauhel sent a whisper to someone.

“Your terms… win… or fail… I accept…!!!”

Alexander was left in despair as he watched Calauhel become like this. He also sent a whisper.

[

Alexander

: Are you really not going to come?]

𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

He did not receive any answer. To be honest, Alexander was a bit disappointed. After all, many of the top rankers were fighting here for the future of Athenae. Of course, joining this war was dependent on the individual’s choice. Whether the deal with Calauhel went through, it would be his choice whether he would come here or not. Still, Alexander could not help but feel animosity towards him for that.

[

Minhyuk

: We have finished preparing.]

“…?!”

Alexander’s eyes grew wide. Those words only meant one thing.

‘He had been preparing something?’

Then, Calauhel cried out, his voice stained with tears, “I am voting for Minhyuk as the Alliance’s King!!!”

[Rothschilde Kingdom’s King Calauhel votes for Minhyuk.]

All of the players, whose heads were about to burst, turned to look at him. Quickly, they followed suit before they faced their deaths.

“I vote for Minhyuk to be the king!!!”

“I am voting for Minhyuk as the king.”

“I vote for Minhyuk!”

“…Minhyuk!”

They voted for the Alliance’s king, their voices echoing all over the battlefield.

Alexander could only laugh helplessly as countless strong players were devoured by explosions and disappeared without a trace. Of the 600,000 strong troops, around 200,000 of them had died, while 150,000 turned into their enemies. Despite this situation, Alexander murmured, “I vote for Minhyuk as the Alliance’s King.”

Shiiiiiiiiing—

He knew that his end was near. In fifteen minutes, the infection would spread all over his body and turn him into a parasitic soldier that would slaughter plenty of his allies.

The number of surviving elite rankers and NPCs was only around 10,000. Each and every single one of them were sporting grim looks on their faces as they watched Gaerna shriek and stop them from moving.

Disaster Specialist Ricor from the Maseratti Kingdom was among their ranks. He looked coldly at Gaerna, who was trying to stop them from killing themselves, and mumbled coldly, “Eat shit.”

Flaaaaaaash—

Blink—

The moment Ricor triggered the ‘Disaster of Light’, a bright light appeared from the sky and attracted everyone’s attention as a loud ringing rang in their ears.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiing—

Riiiiiiiiiiiing—

The rankers, who were all preparing to log out and shut themselves away from this battlefield, stopped in their tracks the moment the notifications rang over the ringing in their ears.

[The selection for the Alliance’s King is over!]

[Minhyuk has been chosen to become the Alliance’s King!]

[The Alliance’s King stats and skills will receive special effects!]

[The Alliance’s King is not in Faelbert Fortress and is located someplace else!]

Then, another set of notifications rang in their ears.

Ring!

[The Alliance’s King has arrived at Faelbert Fortress!]

[The Alliance’s King’s appearance has a special effect on everyone present! All of your stats will increase by 7%!]

When the light disappeared, a man with a cape carrying the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together fluttering behind him stood on top of the walls of Faelbert Fortress.

Flash—!

Light flashed once again turning everything white before returning to their original state.

Flash—!

Everyone was looking at Minhyuk. Feeling their gazes, Minhyuk turned to look down at the Allied Army.

Flash—!

All of their gazes followed Minhyuk’s fingers as he raised his arm to the sky.

Flash—!

Finally, he snapped his thumb and index finger.

Snap—!

“Everyone’s Happiness.”

At the same time, ten thousand dishes appeared in the sky and slowly fell down until they floated in front of the top rankers and NPCs.

A message rang following the appearance of the dishes. This time, it was not Gaerna’s message but a message that Minhyuk sent.

[The ten thousand strong knights that fight to protect Athenae will cut down Gaerna’s one million strong army.]