CH 731

In Athenae, NPCs usually became the actual owners of the land, while players lived as ‘foreigners’. Because of that, even the officials and operators of Joy Co. Ltd. had a hard time predicting what would happen next. Of course, it was not all of the time, but there were cases where their predictions would go wrong.

The Sorrowful Grave of the Dead. This was a place where legends, who had once made their names known all over the world and had died an unjust death, were laid to rest. A man dressed in what seemed to be torn and ragged royal robes arrived at this place.

“Haa… Haaa…”

The man was none other than Prince Aegon, the First Prince of the Faller Kingdom. Faller Kingdom was one of the few nations that did not give in to the Great Luvien Empire. As a kingdom that had its share of powerful people, the Faller Kingdom did not want to become another’s puppet.

King Aephiro rejected the Great Luvien Empire, and the results of his actions were terrible. In just two weeks, more than half of his kingdom had been razed to the ground while many of his people died. King Aephiro was slain and most of the royal family was hunted down and exterminated.

In hopes of chasing down a legend that had been passed down in the royal family, Prince Aegon came running to the Sorrowful Grave of the Dead. For days on end, he had taken many twists and turns, avoiding the eyes of the Imperial Army before finally arriving here.

‘An army that even the gods fear will awaken for the sake of the Faller Kingdom.’ Prince Aegon continued to ponder about the legend that had been passed down in the family.

In Joy Co. Ltd. conference room, all of the board members including President Kang Taehoon were looking at the screen.

“Did I predict wrongly again…” President Kang Taehoon muttered bitterly while the other board members looked at Prince Aegon on the screen nervously.

The one that was sleeping in that place was a unique entity.

“One of the Six Monster Gods, God of Birth Gaerna.”

Everyone groaned when they heard the words of one of the board members.

The strongest and the greatest among the Six Monster Gods was ‘Obren’. In fact, he was the only one among the Six Monster Gods that was a part of the Eight Pillars.

However, just because he was the strongest did not mean that he was the most difficult to deal with. Those were two very different things. If everyone present was asked to choose which of the Six Monster Gods was the most difficult one to deal with, then they would all choose Gaerna. That was how tricky Gaerna was.

“Gaerna is also the being that could cause a lot of problems in Athenae.”

Gaerna was completely different from the Corrupted God and the God of Snakes Elizabeth.

“Gaerna is originally set to unseal herself in a year or so. Upon awakening, the episode ‘Gaerna’s Army’ will start.”

The episode, ‘Gaerna’s Army’ closely resembled an event. It would turn into a quest that would be given to all of the players at every corner of the world, and allow them to accumulate contributions. Three days after Gaerna’s awakening, the players would then have to vote for the ‘Alliance’s King’.

‘The king of the Allied Forces will receive a dramatic increase in all of their stats and skills.’

At the same time, the Alliance’s King must be able to unite all of the players.

However, it seemed that Gaerna was going to be awakened less than a year before her intended time. It did not matter how dramatic the increase in skills and stats would be, whoever would become the Alliance’s King would be facing a tough fight.

“What will happen if they can’t stop her?” One of the board members asked.

Meanwhile, on the monitor, Prince Aegon cried out in anguish.

[The One that ruled the greatest army! I am Faller Kingdom’s First Prince Aegon! This is the time to make good of the promise that you left us in the past! Awaken for me!]

Everything that he thought was wrong. The legend that had been passed down in the Faller Kingdom’s royal family was false. Gaerna would not help them. She was a creature that would use her power to bring the world to the pits of despair if she awakened.

[Shwaaaaaaaaaack—!]

A black wisp of energy shot up and swirled around Prince Aegon until it completely covered his body.

[Crack, crack, crack, crack—]

[Crunch— Crunch— Crunch— Crunch—]

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread.com".

Prince Aegon’s blood spurted all over the place, his flesh tearing apart as his bones broke in loud cracks, one after another. In the place where Prince Aegon once stood appeared Gaerna. She had the face of a dragonfly with a single horn protruding on her forehead, the wings of a butterfly and the legs of a mantis. Gaerna’s eyes narrowed into crescents as she looked around.

[I’m hungry.]

Kang Taehoon could only remain silent, unable to answer the board member’s question as he continued to stare at the monitor. It was Team Leader Park Minggyu who answered on his behalf, “Perhaps more than half of the territories in Athenae would disappear.”

***

[A sealed monster has awakened to the world.]

[The God of Birth Gaerna has descended!]

[The ones that successfully kill God of Birth Gaerna will receive great rewards.]

[The Episode Quest: God of Birth Gaerna has been created.]

The world was turned upside down with the sudden appearance of one of the Six Monster Gods. In the Battlefield of the Gods, the players had witnessed the dignity and majesty of the ‘Corrupted God’, and were now fully aware of how dangerous the Six Monster Gods were.

Because of that, the entire continent was in a buzz.

[Breaking News. One of the Six Monster Gods, Gaerna, has appeared.]

[Breaking News. Will the nightmare that the Corrupted God had brought upon the Battlefield of the Gods be reproduced?]

[According to the experts, Food God Minhyuk was only able to kill the Corrupted God because he had the help of ‘Obren’…]

The world was plunged in fear. They have not yet gotten over the nightmare that the Corrupted God had brought upon them when she massacred the god-class players one after another.

But then, at that moment, two kingdoms had made a declaration with great confidence.

[Breaking News. Rothschilde Kingdom’s King Calauhel has declared that he will hunt one of the Six Monster Gods, Gaerna, in a press conference.]

[Breaking News. Qingdao Kingdom’s King Xu Jiaqi has declared a temporary alliance with the Rothschilde Kingdom.]

[Their goal? To hunt one of the Six Monster Gods.]

[Calauhel has hired the world’s strongest rankers and mercenaries. Among them, there are some players that have participated in the Battle of the Thrones and sat on their own thrones in the past.]

[The world has begun to gather around the alliance created by the Rothschilde Kingdom and Qingdao Kingdom.]

[Calauhel and Xu Jiaqi have expressed their confidence…]

The Rothschilde Kingdom and the Qingdao Kingdom had been established after the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom and the Maserrati Kingdom.

Calauhel had been using his tremendous financial power to attract people to his country, while Xu Jiaqi received the support of the Chinese people. In fact, these two kingdoms had been growing so fast in terms of population and had almost caught up with the Beyond the Heavens Kingdom. That was why both Calauhel and Xu Jiaqi were confident.

‘We will kill one of the Six Monster Gods, just like how the Beyond the Heavens’ King has killed one.’

‘There’s no way that we can fail in taking one down.’

There were around 500,000 cavalry men from the Allied Army created between the Rothschilde Kingdom and the Qingdao Kingdom stationed along the route that Gaerna was supposed to pass through.

Calauhel thought, ‘This is an opportunity for us to attract a lot of players.’

‘We might be able to crush Beyond the Heavens’ prestige and soar to the top.’

Calauhel drew his imposing sword and cried, “Victory will be ours! We will carve a new legend in Athenae!!!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The 500,000-strong army, composed of both NPCs and players, marched to where Gaerna was. Alas, half a day after they started marching, devastating news began to flood the screens of all of the people of the world.

[Breaking News. The Allied Army from the Rothschilde Kingdom and the Qingdao Kingdom has been annihilated.]

[Breaking News. Xu Jiaqi and Calauhel were only able to barely survive, retreating to create a defensive line...]

[Breaking News. A 500,000-strong army has fallen while facing the disaster brought about by Gaerna.]

The entire world was terrified after learning the fact that the allied forces were defeated almost effortlessly.

Battered, bruised and barely able to survive, Xu Jiaqi and Calauhel quickly rushed back and tried to form a defensive line. Gaerna was headed for the Rothschilde Kingdom.

***

Faelbert Fortress.

“This is impossible…”

Calauhel was currently brainstorming with Xu Jiaqi. The two of them had witnessed Gaerna’s power personally. Even though they had a huge army with them, it was all useless in front of Gaerna’s power.

Calauhel had spent a huge amount of money to complete Faelbert Fortress. It was said to be the greatest fortress created and built by a player. The two, Calauhel and Xu Jiaqi, listened to the constant reports and news inside this fortress.

“The 150,000 soldiers that fought in Pager Gorge have been wiped out…”

“The 100,000 soldiers sent to the Akhad River have also been wiped out.”

“According to reports, the 150,000 soldiers of the Ruacard Kingdom have been wiped out.”

“Reports have also stated that the 200,000 soldiers of the Piennot Empire have been wiped out.”

The empires and kingdoms from all over the world were also fighting to restrain Gaerna. However, the only news that came to them was of their defeat.

Fortunately, the global top rankers that Calauhel had hired with his money were all still in good condition. This was because he did not put them in the frontline just in case something unexpected happened.

“What’s the current number of our forces?”

“We have around 600,000 troops.”

“…”

The first Allied Army, with 500,000 soldiers, had been wiped out in just half a day. At that moment, Calauhel realized, ‘Perhaps the Rothschilde Kingdom will fall today?’

That was when the face of one man flashed in his head.

‘This is the first time that I ever wanted to see that damn bastard.’

***

[Your vassal, Brod, has offered his life to you and vowed to live only for your sake.]

[You can both feel the deep bond that connects you two.]

Minhyuk was pleased to hear such notifications ring in his ears as he helped Brod stand up. At the same time, additional notifications rang in his ears.

[You have won the bet against the Battle God.]

[The Battle God will no longer be able to force or exert any sort of influence on Brod.]

He did it! Minhyuk went through a lot of complicated and difficult steps and finally succeeded in saving Brod!

Meanwhile, Brod looked around the countless corpses of the gods and the soldiers of the Divine Army. There was also God of Conflicts Belovan, who was on his knees and in despair.

“Collect the spoils of war.”

At Brod’s orders, his men, the very same men that he had not met for a very long time, rushed forward to retrieve all of the spoils of war. It did not even take them that long.

Then, Brod said, “Your Majesty, although these are lowly items, this servant of yours is offering them all to you.”

[You have gained 141,413 platinum.]

[You have obtained 751 Divine Army’s Sharp Swords.]

[You have obtained 786 Divine Army’s Shiny Armor.]

[…obtained Belfan’s Necklace.]

[…obtained Condoro’s Armor.]

Minhyuk looked satisfied as he listened to the notifications that continuously rang in his ears. Then, he looked at Brod, his ever upright and strong vassal.

‘Thank you. Thank you so much.’

Minhyuk was truly grateful to him. He was grateful that Brod had been protecting him from the dangers that he was completely unaware of. Of course, Brod was also looking at his king gratefully. His king had cooked for him and even went through several trials and hardships for his sake.

Then, at that moment, voices rang from the ground beneath them. The voice sounded different from the usual God’s Voice. It was a far more special story that was narrated by the Battle God himself.

[The greatest among the gods had turned a blind eye to the sufferings of his most noble and kind knight.]

Minhyuk and Brod both turned tense. After all, the deal stipulated that the Battle God was only restricted from interfering with Brod, but not with Minhyuk. Was he going to play dirty tricks just like that?

Then, a line appeared in the air above them, creating the picture of a man turning a blind eye to the sufferings of his own servant and vassal, then it slowly scattered in the wind.

[The abandoned knight met a new master and finally held his sword again to fight for him.]

Another picture was drawn in the air. This time, it was the figure of the knight standing tall in front of countless enemies that were approaching from a distance.

[The great god, the very same god that abandoned him, coveted the knight once again, longing for and wanting him to stay by his side.]

[But the abandoned knight only fought for his new master, fighting recklessly despite the risk of dying for the sake of his new king.]

The picture in the air started to move as if it was alive. It showed how the knight fought valiantly against hundreds of thousands of enemies, winning by the skin of his teeth each and every single time.

[The knight’s new master set aside everything and ran for his knight.]

This time, the picture showed the knight’s new master handing over the dish that he made to his knight.

[At that moment, the great god realized that the two of them had something that he did not have with the knight before.]

[He realized that no trial or hardship could stop the two of them together.]

The picture changed once again. Standing at the center of hundreds of thousands of corpses, the knight and his new master looked at each other. Then, the two smiled at each other and turned around to walk away.

[The knight met a new master.]

Then, the figure of a person silently watching the departing back of the master and the knight was drawn in the air. The newly drawn man had a bitter expression on his face as he watched the two leave. In the end, the man also turned around and walked in the opposite direction from the two of them.

Ring!

[May the two of you stay by each other’s side for a very long time.]

[The Battle God has given you his first blessing!]

[All of your stats have increased by 2%!]

Ring!

[May the two of you overcome countless trials and hardships together.]

[The Battle God has given you his second blessing!]

[You have gained 1 God’s SP!]

Ring!

[May the two of you experience joy and sadness together.]

[The Battle God has given you his third blessing!]

[Your HP and MP volume have increased by 10%!]

Ring!

[May the two of you become myths and legends together.]

[The Battle God has given you his fourth blessing!]

[You have acquired the Battle God’s Treasure Box!]

[You have acquired one God’s Summons Parchment!]

The picture once again moved to show the faces of the knight and the master. The two were looking at each other with bright and wide smiles on their faces.

Finally, the Battle God left one more sentence.

[I sincerely wish you all the best.]

The Battle God, who was walking in the opposite direction, had a bitter expression on his face. However, there was a small imperceptible curve at the corners of his lips.