Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 434: Start of War

“Hohoho. Yo! Such cuties! Sit!”

The beasts followed his command and sat obediently.

“My ownership of all of the beasts has been taken away…!”

“That’s completely ridiculous…”

Who on earth was that man? It was beyond Ruik’s comprehension. However, there was one thing that he was sure of. The man in front of them definitely had extraordinary power.

‘We have to eliminate him right away if he’s a part of Let’s Eat Sect.’

It was the only way to avoid any troubles in the future.

Shiiiing—

At that moment, Ruik decided to step forward. He was someone that everyone had said would be a Continental Swordmaster when he grew up. However, they were wrong. After receiving the Gods’ summons and serving them, he had grown far stronger than the land’s Continental Swordmaster.

Ruik swung his sword and sent out dozens of gigantic sword lights, like a rainstorm on a dark and cold night, towards the man.

Piiiiiiiiiing—

Piiiiiiiiiiiiiing—

Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing—

But then, something very surprising happened. The man threw several of the ‘livestock blankets’ covering the cows’ backs in the air. The very same livestock blankets that were made of straw that were used to cover the cows and pigs’ backs to protect them from clothes. And…

‘He, he knew that I was here?!’

The man being aware of Ruik’s existence and the fact that Ruik could not read any signs from him brought chills down his spine. This meant that the man in front of him was a step above him. However, even if that was the case, him throwing the ‘livestock blankets’ above their heads was incomprehensible. But then…

Ping, ping, ping, ping, ping, ping—

…the livestock blankets fluttering above them acted as shields and blocked all of Ruik’s attacks.

“…?!”

Ruik, despite being stronger than a Continental Swordmaster, felt his breath stagnate at the sight. His attack had been blocked by the livestock blanket.

‘The, the livestock blanket…?!’

However, the surprise did not end there.

“Grrrrrrrrr!”

“Graaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

The sound of a dog growling rang right behind Ruik. When he turned around, he saw a weird three-headed dog with epaulets saying ‘Woof-woof Unit’s Leader’. There were also hundreds of what seemed to be abandoned puppies with cows, pigs, chickens, ducks, some monsters, and mysterious people wearing ragged clothes while holding farming tools. These people were none other than the Hybrid Race.

“What the hell…?”

Ruik was flustered mainly because he had not felt their presence as they crept up behind him. There were even 7,000 of them in total, with around 2,000 human troops and 5,000 livestock. However, what Ruik could not understand was why these animals were here. And then…

“Graaaaaaaaa!”

“Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr!”

“Graaaaaaaaaaa!”

…the weird and mysterious three-headed dog, the leader of the Woof-woof Unit, rushed forward.

‘They’re not who they think they are, right?’

Hell’s Gatekeeper, Cerberus! This was the identity of the leader of the Woof-woof Unit. However, Ruik denied this. There was no way that Hell’s Gatekeeper would be the leader of the abandoned puppies!

While Ruik was lost in thought, one of the heads of the Woof-woof Unit’s Leader let out a breath of flame and attacked him.

“Get ready to attack!”

“Yes, sir!”

And the same was true for the players, they were as flustered as Ruik, despite already knowing the identity of this dog. They knew that they were Hell’s Gatekeeper Cerberus! They were Love, Hope, and Happiness that always paired with Locke! And this very same Cerberus was now the leader of all the abandoned puppies.

‘How in the world…?’

‘Is Player Minhyuk really out of his mind?’

‘I can’t believe that such a powerful monster, the Cerberus, is now the leader of all the abandoned puppies!’

When these thoughts flashed in their heads, the farmers, holding their farming tools, rushed forward.

‘It seems like their territory really has a shortage of troops.’?

‘They’re bringing in farmers to fight?!’

‘Are they using these farmers to get more time? Did someone in Atlas notice something? Or are they just farmers that are farming nearby?’

The truth was, the abandoned puppies, who were tasked to do scouting, had already noticed them with their sharp sense of smell and hearing and ran to inform the people about an enemy invasion. Atlas was already in full-battle mode the moment they arrived here. Even the members of Let’s Eat Sect were gathering as quickly as they could after learning about the identity of the intruders.

And the ones that came out to stop them were Brod, the Let’s Eat Sect’s commander-in-chief, and Elpis, Let’s Eat Sect’s shield.

“Kkiing, kiiing, kiiing!”

“Kkiing, kkiing!”

Cerberus shrieked and whimpered after being hit by Ruik’s graceful swordsmanship. Then, Ruik looked around after striking back at them.

‘All we have to do is deal with that mysterious livestock farmer. The farmers and livestock are just here to drag the time.’

Then, he looked at the farmers and livestock that created a commotion among them. All he could think of was how strange the sight was. How could these animals fight with these men?! This fact was both strange and shocking. But then, something more ridiculous happened.

Bang, bang, bang!

Just when the Barras Kingdom troops were about to land an attack on the Hybrids, the chickens flew up and pecked their troops on the face.

“Cluck, cluck!”

“Ugh, aaaaaaack! What the hell!”

With the soldier’s vision blocked, one of the farmers used their sickle and cut off the soldier’s arm. And it did not end there! The bodies of the cows that were rushing forward suddenly flashed brightly! And when the cows collided with the shield of the soldiers that were standing in a defensive formation…

Baaaaaaaaaang—

The soldiers, together with their shields, flew back and slammed to the ground. Their heads turned dizzy and they were unable to come back to their senses, after being hit by a huge force akin to a bomb explosion. Then, the Hybrids and the horses also joined the fray.

Thump!

“Euaaaaaaack!”

Thuuuuuump—

The soldiers’ armors were blown to pieces with every kick from the horses’ hind legs. The longer they fought, the stronger the livestock grew.

[Oinky 3 has leveled up.]

[Cow 14 has leveled up.]

[Cluck-cluck 1004 has leveled up.]

The livestock continued to grow stronger as they hunted their enemies that were above their level.

‘What the hell…?! The level of this territory’s livestock is high enough to fight against the elites of the Barras Kingdom?!’

Even if Ruik was looking at reality, he really just could not bring himself to understand what was wrong with this territory. There were even ducks flying like hawks in the sky above them. These ducks suddenly opened their mouths and spat hundreds of mysterious beads. Then, at that moment…

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

“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!”

“Keheoooook!”

“Aaaaaaaaaaack!”

The hundreds of beads rained down on the troops and caused huge explosions, effectively incapacitating the soldiers.

‘They have bombs in their mouths?!’

However, that thinking was completely wrong. The ducks took off to the skies once again. And just like before, beads started to fall from their mouths again.

“Avoid those beads!!!”

“Those bombs will shave off 20% of your HP!”

“What the hell is that?!”

When Ruik looked at the bombs that were coming out of the ducks’ mouths, he realized…

‘They did not bring those.’

…that they made it. Which meant…

‘A… a skill?!’

Indeed, that was the correct answer. The beads that the ducks held in their mouth were created by their own skills. Then, the beads fell down on the ground and caused another set of explosions. After the explosion, the ducks descended on the ground and pecked the soldiers with their beaks. Although their beaks were not pointed, they were as strong as an eagle’s beak, to the point that they could dig into and rip the flesh of the soldiers. Some would even attack the soldiers’ eyes and dig them out.

“Hiiiiiiiik!”

“My eyes! My eyeeeeeeeees!”

Meanwhile, on the other side. One of the soldiers of Barras Kingdom stood face to face with a pomeranian that was trembling in fright. Although the pomeranian was shivering, its eyes remained wide and bright as it looked up at the soldier and tilted its head cutely.

“It’s dangerous here. Quick, go somewhere else…!”

The soldier just briefly interacted with the pomeranian but…

Stab—

…the Hybrid, who owned the pomeranian, took this moment to stab the soldier with his spear from behind.

“Keuaaaaaaaack!”

Grin—

A vicious smile curled at the corners of the pomeranian’s mouth. What the pomeranian executed was none other than the beauty trap tactic. Worrying about the puppies in the middle of the battlefield was incredibly ridiculous and impossible.

However, the puppies had the skill ‘Powerful Temptation’, a completely shocking skill that could force their opponent to pay attention to them and let them fall into a daze for a few seconds.

“Kghhk…”

Ruik helplessly supported his forehead with his palm.

‘What the hell is this?! They’re a mess!’

He was both bewildered and shocked by the strange and unfamiliar battlefield. However, not long after, he regained his calm. Ruik quickly looked at his surroundings.

‘The animals and farmers have developed shocking powers and abilities. However, we can minimize the damage on our side and advance forward if I intervene.’

After all, they were just playing a small sortie with them. These farmers and animals would be no match against them if they fought seriously since he was here. First, Ruik had to get rid of the livestock farmer in front of him as quickly as he could. When Ruik turned to look at the livestock farmer again, he saw him approaching Barras Kingdom’s elite summoners.

“Hohoho! If you don’t want to get beat up, take out your summons. You have to take out at least a hundred, otherwise I’ll beat you up.”

“Hiiiiiik!”

He was actually extorting the summoners. This was a common sight in a fight. However, he really hit the summoners that refused to do his bidding. No, to be exact, they had no choice but to call for their summons even if they did not want to. After all, after getting hit once, they were sent flying back. And once they summoned their monsters…

“Oh my. My babies~ Come, let’s go with daddy.”

“Keuaaack! Keuack! Keuack!”

“Grrrr? Grr, grr, grr!”

The monsters would be wary of him at first, but in the end, they would still approach him and remain by his side.

‘H… How the hell did he do that…?!’

Only then did Ruik learn of the man’s identity. From what he had witnessed, this man had inherited the power of the God of Livestock, Aevalin. He was sure since he had seen Aevalin a few times in the Land of the Gods. After all, he was free to visit the God’s Empire there. And he could clearly remember Aevalin because…

‘Aevalin is one of the few gods that hasn’t chosen any heir yet.’

…she was a God without an heir. Also, she had the power to attract any kind of livestock or monster.

‘Is that why I can’t detect any signs from him?’

That should not be the case at all. However, God of Livestock Aevalin was a part of the Higher Gods, an existence that was completely different from the god that Ruik served, the ‘God of Swordsmanship’ who was a part of the Lower Gods.

‘He’s someone from God’s Empire? No, he does not belong there.’

Ruik thought that was impossible. After all, the people from God’s Empire would never attack him. However, there was one thing that he was sure of.

‘It’s not because he’s strong. It’s because God Aevalin’s protection is hiding his signs and preventing me from reading them.’

Just because he was a God’s Sword that served a Higher God did not mean that he would be stronger than Ruik. Besides, it would not matter even if he was or he was not a Sword of God’s Empire. Ruik had already decided to kill him as fast as he could.

But then, at that moment, Brod picked up a sword that was lying on the ground and said, “The damage that you have brought upon my children is immeasurable. My heart aches for them.”

Brod, who saw the livestock fighting desperately, thought that he had no time to dilly-dally like this. The sword that he held in his hand was nothing more than an ordinary sword that was used by soldiers but the skill that he used was a pinnacle swordsmanship, and he was the man that was hailed as the continent’s mercenary king.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship, Final Chapter.”

A powerful red energy poured out and wrapped around Brod’s sword until they formed the image of hundreds of ferocious wolves. And with a swing of Brod’s sword, these hundreds of wolves dashed forward towards the enemy troops. And once the skill was fully cast…

“Wolf’s Destruction.”

Shwa, shwa, shwa, shwa, shwaa!

Blood spurted out everywhere the hundred wolves passed by. Defense and armor? High HP? The players’ defensive skills? Everything was useless in front of these wolves that could ignore 100% of their enemies defenses and even invoke Break Armor! The soldiers that were struck sustained grave injuries and fell.

Fall—

Fall—

Fall—

Fall—

Fall—

Then, Brod said, “Oh no… I should have left some guys so my children can level up…”

Then, he turned to look at Ruik.

“Hey, you…”

Ruik gulped in nervousness. He could feel his mouth turn dry from trepidation. He had never felt this in his life. But the man’s next words were very shocking.

“Summon your monsters or pets if you have one. Also make sure to make your summoners summon a thousand each.”

“…”

Ruik, someone that lived in the Land of the Gods, the Sword of the God’s Empire, a man that had a power far stronger than any Continental Swordmaster, was being extorted by the man in front of him with fists raised high up in the sky.