Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 952

The Ardo Empire, the empire raised and developed by Hound Amacar, was the nation that was only second to the Luvien Empire. Ardo’s Emperor Consteinus, who became a fierce and tyrannical emperor who dreamt only of making his empire rise back up again, was slapped back to his senses when Duke Amacar decided to move to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

Emperor Consteinus also stopped taking away things from the empires and kingdoms he made alliances with solely for his benefit. He even provided his allies with as much help as possible. And now, the Ardo Empire had returned to the peaceful and magnificent empire it once was.

‘Let’s live and prosper together. And let’s all unite and fight against the Luvien Empire.’

Consteinus’ change had a far more beneficial effect than they had expected. The kingdoms and empires did not spare anything and supported the Ardo Empire.

People were fascinating creatures. When a kind and good-hearted person exploded in anger once, they would say, “Hey. This bastard’s personality is twisted.” On the other hand, if someone with a lousy personality suddenly did something good, they would say, “Hey, this guy is fine~.”

Because of this change, each of the kingdoms and empires that had allied themselves with the Ardo Empire felt like this was not an alliance based on materialistic needs alone but an alliance where they had to care, stay, and help each other for a long time. Of course, Consteinus did not just stay idle. He had been doing his best to meet the expectations of the people around him.

But Consteinus, the emperor of a strong empire and a powerhouse, groaned. ‘It seems like the era of chaos has arrived.’

He looked at Helenia’s Fragments and the countless dungeons charging toward the empire's walls. The worst part? Around four dungeons suddenly appeared in the vicinity of his empire. Of course, they had already moved to attack and quickly deal with these dungeons.

The entire world was left in chaos with the appearance of Helenia’s Dungeons. Even the allies of the Ardo Empire had been sending requests for support non-stop. The problem was that the Ardo Empire was also having a hard time and could not send more troops to help them. So, they all decided to stop as many monsters as possible and lure the fragments and the rest of the monsters that they could not deal with to the walls of the Ardo Empire.

The greatest reason empires and kingdoms fell apart was that the fragments were just too strong. The number of strong individuals who belonged to their nations was significantly less than that of the Ardo Empire, an empire teeming with great talents.

However, the empires and kingdoms had at least one high-tiered mage among their ranks. These mages risked their lives to mass teleport the fragments near the Ardo Empire’s walls. If it were just this, then it would be fine. The problem was the number of fragments that appeared in front of the walls of the Ardo Empire. It was enough to make Consteinus groan.

“Ten fragments have already been sent in... And even nations with no high-tiered mages cannot send the fragments here.”

How many dungeons have already appeared all over the world?

‘If we can’t stop this, then perhaps more than 20% of mankind will die.’

Consteinus was already taking the situation very seriously. However, the more fragments there were, the more the Ardo Empire would have difficulty dealing with them. They could fall behind. The problem was they weren’t given enough room to breathe. A more shocking report was immediately relayed to him.

“Your Majesty, three dungeons have been created within the empire. The timers set for the three dungeons are twenty minutes, one hour, and four hours, respectively.”

Consteinus had already judged that they could no longer handle the situation. He knew stopping the fragments charging toward the wall was already too much for them. And they were telling him that three more dungeons had been created inside their empire? But what happened in the Ardo Empire was not the most crucial part here.

“Then, does that mean that more Helenia’s Dungeons are being created?”

“That’s right.”

If three more dungeons appeared in their empire, more would be created worldwide. Consteinus’ vision already started to turn dark after hearing those words. Then, at that moment, he saw more mages coming over with several fragments behind them through the mass teleport.

Exhausted after teleporting through a very long distance, one of the kingdom mages begged, “Your Majesty, please gain victory...”

Boom–

One of the fragments that were sent via mass teleport killed the pleading mage by blowing his head up. Everyone was trying their hardest to stop the fragments to survive and live. But Consteinus knew that they had to stop now.

“Go and send carrier pigeons to our allies! Tell them to stop sending more fragments to our side! Quick!”

Right now, the Ardo Empire was starting to get overwhelmed. No, they were already having a very, very hard time. The fragments stretched out in front of them were all above Level 625. And even more than 700,000 monsters were coming at them from all directions. With the increasing number of fragments coming their way, the Ardo Empire’s troops began to get pushed back faster than before.

Consteinus choked on his breath when he saw this.

“Your Majesty! We must quickly attack the dungeons that have appeared inside the empire!”

“Your Majesty! The enemies’ attacks are too powerful!”

“Your Majesty!”

“Emperor Consteinus!”

“Your Majesty!”

Consteinus, confused by their chaotic shouts, was left unable to determine what orders to give his men.

At that moment, a soft and gentle voice, utterly different from the urgent and desperate calls from earlier, rang in Consteinus’ ears. “I have seen Your Majesty.”

Amacar, now a member of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, appeared before Consteinus. Standing right next to him was another member, Brod.

“I have received my emperor’s orders to help Your Majesty and lead the Ardo Imperial Army.”

Consteinus’ face finally turned bright. The situation on the battlefield would change for the better just by having Amacar lead the Ardo Empire’s troops. That was not all. Beyond the Heavens Empire, which maintained a friendly and close relationship with the Ardo Empire, would also come to help them.

“When will the Beyond the Heavens’ Imperial Army arrive?”

“No, they will not arrive.”

Consteinus looked at Amacar in confusion.

“It’s just the two of us.”

Consteinus grew even more confused. Their situation was dire. It was not certain they could win even if an empire aided them. Wasn’t the Beyond the Heavens Empire competing with the Luvien Empire? This was an opportunity for them to hunt plenty of fragments simultaneously. How could they send only two people to deal with this?

Of course, Consteinus had also heard how mighty Brod was. Even so, how much help could he give them just by himself? He could not help the slight disappointment that flashed on his face.

“Can I take all the spoils that the fragments will drop?” Brod asked. He was thinking of giving everything he would obtain from this to Minhyuk.

Consteinus waved and said, “If you can get it, it’s yours.”

Brod heard Consteinus’ agreement and the soldiers’ urgent report, saying, “Your Majesty. We have to hurry and send reinforcements to the empire...”

Brod instantly understood the situation. He said, “I will take down the dungeons inside the empire first.”

Helenia’s Dungeons were set to crumble and disappear if it was successfully attacked and cleared before the timer ended. This was what Brod was aiming for as he disappeared. Consteinus just sighed as he watched the man leave.

Meanwhile, Amacar joined the imperial army and began to push back the monsters in this tight race against time. Despite sending carrier pigeons to their allies, more fragments were still being sent through mass teleport.

‘This...’

The situation was quickly turning bleak. Now, seventeen fragments were charging toward them. They no longer had any solution, and this was even more so once the dungeons inside the empire exploded.

It did not take too long for Amacar, who was fighting fiercely just a few moments prior, to return to Consteinus’ side to look at the situation of the battlefield.

Consteinus laughed bitterly. “I’m a bit disappointed. The Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor seemed to have wanted to maintain a close relationship with us, but he only sent Sir Brod to our aid.”

Amacar remained silent, opting to listen silently to Consteinus’ ramblings.

“Of course, I know that the Beyond the Heavens Empire is also in a hurry since they need to deal with many dungeons. But you all should know that many fragments are now flocking toward the Ardo Empire.”

In the end, Consteinus just shook his head. He realized it was pathetic to ramble and share his grievances with his old subordinate, who had become someone else’s subordinate.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

But Amacar just smiled at him. “Your Majesty.”

Consteinus turned to look at Amacar.

“The Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor had told me to help in the Ardo Empire’s physical and spiritual matters.”

Amacar’s words distorted Consteinus’ calm expression. He was aware that Amacar’s help would bring him enormous relief. And he also could not ignore the impact that Sir Brod could bring. But even if the two of them came here, what good would it do for their situation? No matter how hard he looked at it, the situation would not change. They were just words. Nothing more, nothing less.

Then, at that moment, Brod came back to their side.

“???” Consteinus looked at the man in confusion. It had only been twenty minutes since the man said he would go down and take down the dungeons that appeared inside the empire.

‘Did he stop attacking the dungeons to rest for a while?’

“Your Majesty! All three of the dungeons have fallen!”

“We- we have no idea about what’s going on!”

“All of Helenia’s Dungeons suddenly started to crumble!”

“A huge man just went in. Then, the dungeons began to fall apart when he came out!”

Consteinus’ eyes grew wide, his gaze turning to look at Brod, standing at the edge of the walls.

“Emperor Consteinus, by the command of the Beyond the Heavens Emperor, I will be dealing with all of the fragments present,” Brod declared as he leaped out of the walls.

Brod was once someone who competed with Nerva for the position of emperor. But now? He was the sword of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. With one swing of his sword, he took the head of the fragment nearest to him.

Staaaaaaab–!

After hunting the fragment with just one strike, he stepped on one of the monsters and leaped to the skies again. Then, he used his Mercenaries Pinnacle Swordsmanship and hacked three of the fragments gathered together to death.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash–!

The fragments, whose level exceeded Level 600, were quickly torn apart under Brod’s blade. Of course, these fragments had already suffered considerable damage from the attacks of the Ardo Imperial Army.

Slash–!

Vwoooooong–

Clack–!

Stab–!

Consteinus’ jaw dropped, his gaze blank as he looked at the fragments that were either forced to collapse or got their heads cut off with just a single swing of the man’s sword.

Then, Amacar said, “Your Majesty, Sir Brod’s power alone is equivalent to that of a million troops. He can deal with a single empire on his own.”

***

The Ambro Allied Forces was an alliance created quickly and comprised six kingdoms and one empire. Why did they form an alliance? Because around thirty dungeons were made in one place. This was the most significant number of anomalous Helenia’s Dungeons created in a single area. The worst part? All of the dungeons had a timer set for five minutes.

To stop a tide of monsters flooding out of the dungeons, the alliance, with its almost two million troops, launched an all-out attack. It looked like Helenia’s Fragments suffered much damage from their attacks and were about to die. But the truth was they weren’t even close to dying.

There were around thirty dungeons in the area, but sometimes, there were two or three fragments inside a dungeon. The worst part was that the thirty dungeons here were considered to be among the worst ones. The total number of fragments present was no less than fifty.

At this moment, the Allied forces, who had been in a constant state of crisis, finally successfully hunted down one fragment. This meant that they could finish off the fragments one by one as long as they could deal a huge amount of damage to them. The problem was that the Allied forces would definitely have a hard time enduring the process.

The man, who had not moved while watching the situation, raised his mask. He recalled the words that his emperor told him earlier.

‘This is the only time we can legally steal dungeons and monsters.’

Assassins possessed a high basic damage and were more than 1.5 times faster than ordinary combat classes. And the masked man, Luo, could even be considered the God of Assassins. He used this opportunity exquisitely to his advantage. He moved in a flash and successfully “stole(?)” one of the fragments, who was about to take the neck of the allied forces’ commander.

Stab– Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab– Stab, stab, stab–

Wherever Luo passed by, Helenia’s Fragments, whose HP had been reduced to the minimum, died.

“Assassin’s Onslaught.”

Luo threw five daggers to the sky. When they fell, they instantly pierced through the necks of the fragments scattered all over the place. He quickly cut down and killed the fragments the allied forces had been trying to kill by gnawing on their HP for days.

After cutting down all of the fragments present, Luo turned to the allied forces’ commander and said, “I have cut down all of the fragments. With this, you can now deal with the monsters and subdue them. I will take all of the spoils from the fragments as promised.”

Then, Luo disappeared in a flash of light. The allied forces’ commander stared silently at where he disappeared, a strange feeling washing over him.

‘I’m thankful, but for some reason, I also feel like I shouldn’t be grateful...’

Why was that the case?

***

At the same time.

Minhyuk also used this opportunity to “legally steal” dungeons and monsters. He was going to the kingdoms that had requested support from the Beyond the Heavens Empire and was constantly hunting Helenia’s Fragments.

Of course, he had also been drinking the One-week EXP Triple Increase Potion. In just one day, Minhyuk was able to increase his Level 639 EXP value for level up from 22.9% to 98.9%. Minhyuk’s pace could be considered ridiculous since he needed to work hard for at least one month before he could even increase his level by 1.

When he cut down another fragment, there was a notification.

[You have leveled up.]

[You have achieved Level 640!]

[You can check the Food God’s Class Quest once you reach Level 650!]

A faint smile appeared on Minhyuk’s face.

‘Isn’t this way off from what I expected?’

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