Gourmet Gaming

At one point in time, mercenaries were viewed as tools for war and used as such. In exchange for cash, they would die for those that hired them, sometimes even becoming their meat shield.

All of the empires and kingdoms across the continents paid no heed to the mercenaries, until an incident happened. A member of the imperial army fought against one mercenary, which resulted in the death of the imperial army soldier.

Upon investigation, the imperial army soldier tried to take advantage of a woman and take her home. However, the mercenary that witnessed the scene tried to scare the soldier away, only for it to end up in a physical brawl that cost the life of the soldier.

However, the empires and kingdoms from all over the continent were of the same mind and declared this:

—We will use this as an opportunity to teach those rough and unruly mercenaries a lesson.

Afterward, an era of slaughter, the Mercenary Hunt, began.

Any mercenary that did not join the ‘Latona Mercenary Alliance’, created by several kingdoms and empires, was labeled as evil and killed. However, the Latona Mercenary Alliance was not favorable to the mercenaries. A deeper look at their system and one could see that the Alliance prioritized the imperial and kingdom armies, and even forced the mercenaries to become tools of war.

The world had turned into one where mercenaries were persecuted. It was quite ironic. All they wanted to do was earn money. Since most of them had a family to support, they went to the battlefield to kill and be killed. However, they were treated as if they were dirty.

‘I was born in such a world. However, I met a hero.’

Venteio clearly remembered how mercenaries were treated like dogs. Although he was nothing but the lowest of mercenaries, he still hoped to straighten and correct this world.

Venteio was considered the lowest of the mercenaries, with poor swordsmanship and poor physical conditions. However, he started to change after meeting that man.

Prior to the man’s appearance, there was a former Mercenary King, who had become the dog of the empires and the kingdoms and burned at least 5,000 mercenaries at the stake. The man dethroned the former King, and created the ‘Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship’, spreading it for all the mercenaries that did not use any system when practicing swordsmanship, archery, spearmanship and the likes.

‘He is a legend.’

At first, the mercenaries under that continent united and flocked to his side.

‘He is a myth.’

Over time, mercenaries from around the world started to gather around him.

‘News of their victory spread all over the world.’

News about how mercenaries, who had always suffered defeat, won against the empires and kingdoms that persecuted them spread and allowed the mercenaries to stand tall and proud. Those who had nowhere to go started to flock together until millions of them had gathered and bowed to him.

***

Standing at the center of the battlefield was Brod.

“Master…”

Brod smiled bitterly at Venteio when he made eye contact with him.

***

The first time Venteio met Brod, he was training alone in the training grounds after lights out and was blaming himself for being weak. While trying to catch his breath on the ground after collapsing, he heard a murmur in his ears.

—Simple, fast and accurate. You know where to attack the enemy but you don’t have enough strength in your body.

The man slowly appeared from the darkness, a smile on his face as he looked at the exhausted Venteio. From that night onward, Venteio continued to hone his swordsmanship and increase his physical strength under Brod’s watchful gaze.

—Why is such a great and outstanding man like you, Sir Brod, wasting your time watching over someone like me?

Brod looked up at the sky and smiled lightly after hearing the question.

—It’s a pleasure for me to spend time with the young man that will become the Mercenary King in the future.

—…!

—You’re the only one, you know?

—…Yes?

—The only one that trained every single night for two straight years.

That was the first time that someone recognized Venteio. After all, in everyone else’s eyes, he was just Wimpy Venteio, Foolish Venteio, or Porter Venteio. The other party was the Mercenary Emperor that had united all of the mercenaries in the world, the one that led their victory against the various kingdoms and empires, ended the ‘Mercenary Hunt’, and was hailed as a legend.

Venteio, however, could not fully comprehend the complexities of the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship despite learning under Brod’s tutelage. So, using his own understanding, he transformed the skill into something that he could call his own. After completing the first chapter, Venteio immediately headed to where Brod was, delighted to report his progress.

—Master!

However, no one was there when he had gone to Brod’s quarters. He was also not in the place where he usually gazed at the stars in the sky. Brod completely disappeared overnight. It was as if he was nothing but a mirage, an illusion that did not truly exist.

Then once again, the mercenaries’ era of slaughter began. A new mercenary king arose, and grew friendly with the kings and emperors, and banned everyone that used the ‘Mercenary Pinnacle Swordsmanship’. However, even if that was the case, there were still plenty of them that silently continued to train in the skill all throughout the continent.

Over the course of time, the memory of the man that they hailed as Mercenary Emperor grew blurry. As for Venteio? He followed his will and aimed to become the Mercenary King, uniting the mercenaries from the four continents once again. Soon, they would elect the Mercenary King, their continent’s supreme ruler. And Venteio would be the one to sit on that throne.

***

“Keuaaaaaaaack!”

“Uwaaaaaaaaack!”

“Keheoooooooook!”

The Swords of the Gods screamed and shrieked at the bloody red swords that rained down on them. The scene of beings at Level 700 or higher being swept away so easily was nothing short of spectacular.

“Your Majesty, we don’t have much time.”

Summoning Brod here was naturally just based on pure luck. In the end, he would have to go back to where he was. Minhyuk actually felt sorry for always calling him like this.

‘Where exactly are you going, Brod?’

However, Minhyuk was aware of how much Brod cared for him.

“Five minutes. We only have five minutes then I have to go back.”

Their time was tight. No matter how strong Brod was, there were still far too many Swords of the God left alive. Then, Luo suddenly appeared amidst the rain of bloody-red sword lights and moved to stab Brod through the heart.

Baaaaaang—

Brod easily blocked Luo’s sword, laughing as he said, “You bastards…” his eyes turned sharp as he looked at them. “It seems like I have no other choice but to punish you with my own hands.”

“Do you believe that’s possible, Fallen Wretched Emperor?”

Minhyuk, who watched the interaction between the two, could tell that there was a story that he was completely unaware of. Especially after hearing the Swords of the Gods calling Brod the Fallen Emperor.

Luo did not dare to relax. ‘The Absolute Gods’ Sword…’

The other half of the Two Suns in the Sky. It was something that he could not forget along with the orders that Emperor Nerva had given him back then.

—…Kill Brod’s Knight Order. All of them.

There were two Suns that competed for the sky. Each of them had a knight order that followed them. Blinded by greed, Nerva poisoned the meal of his rival and competitor, as well as everyone that followed him. Then, he took that opportunity to kill everyone, who had vomited blood from the poisoning.

Just like that, the colleagues that laughed and fought alongside Luo all died, by his hand no less. As for the man that he chose to serve? He became the emperor while the other Sun disappeared from existence.

But today, he came back. Brod’s sudden appearance here brought shock to a lot of people. The other Swords of the Gods might not know much about Brod, but that was not the case for Luo.

Bang, bang, bang, bang—

“You got injured back then and have lost a lot of your power,” Luo said, his attacks getting faster while the other Swords of the Gods jumped toward Brod. In fact, he could tell that Brod’s condition was not the same as before from the attack that he had received earlier.

‘It was a long time ago since he was the Absolute Gods’ Sword.’

Since Brod had lost some of his power, Luo firmly believed that his strength, together with the other Swords of the Gods, was enough to deal with him. Besides, they had Mercenary King Venteio with them so it would be easier.

“Lord Venteio! Quick, join us in attacking!!!”

“…”

Venteio, the man that gathered and united the mercenaries from across the four continents, had joined them under the condition that the great Luvien Empire would not carry out a ‘Mercenary Slaughter’.

However, all he could do right now was look at the back of the person that he admired and resented.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—

The assault continued on. The people in the area looked in admiration at Brod, who parried the attacks of five Swords of the Gods by himself.

Slaaaaaaash—

However, after cutting down one of the Swords of the Gods, a gap appeared in Brod’s movements. Luo, who moved like a ghost, used this opportunity to aim for his back.

Twitch—!

Venteio’s body reacted.

Staaaaaaab—!

“Your Majesty!!!”

However, the one that was stabbed by Luo’s sword was not Brod, but Minhyuk.

[Your HP has dropped below 20%!]

[You have received a fatal blow. Your body cannot move.]

“Kghhk…!” Minhyuk groaned, his body stumbling from the impact of the blow.

Venteio’s pupils shook at the sight that unfolded in front of him.

‘They’re supposed to be nothing more than a king and his vassal!’

Yet, the king willingly sacrificed his body for his vassal. Venteio looked at his master, the person that he longed for and always thought about, stopping the enemies in front of him.

“Lord Venteio!!! Have you forgotten your vow with the empire?!!!”

Luo thought that this was an opportunity. If they could not seize this opportunity, Brod would continue to become an obstacle for the Luvien Empire. They had to hurry up and finish dealing with him.

‘I did not expect that he would be this strong…’ Luo thought, completely dumbfounded. How come the man in front of them was not being pushed back despite fighting against several Swords of the Gods?

‘You’re doing this much even when you’re protecting your king?’

Then, what would happen if Brod was not protecting anyone? They would most likely be wiped out already. That was just how strong and powerful Brod was.

Swoooooosh—

Using Absorption Conversion, Minhyuk recovered his injuries by eating chocopie.

“Sword of Absolute Death.”

Stab—

Minhyuk stabbed his sword through the heart of one of the Swords of the Gods that tried to slash Brod’s neck.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

But it did not end there. Hundreds of sword lights appeared and fell down like rain, keeping the others at bay for a brief moment.

Seeing this, Luo moved swiftly. This time, he aimed for Minhyuk. ‘He will definitely use his body to protect his king.’

Staaaaaaab—

Just like he expected, Brod used his abdomen to block the blow that was aiming for Minhyuk. Luo laughed at the sight of Brod stumbling back from the injury. Of course, the Swords of the Gods did not miss this opportunity, leaving behind cuts and stabs in Brod’s body. Even the country-level rankers moved to join the hunt for Brod.

Minhyuk felt his heart squeeze. ‘Damn it! I did not expect that I would become a burden like this!’

Just like Luo thought, they would truly not be Brod’s rival if Minhyuk was not here. However, that was when Minhyuk noticed something.

‘Why is his body covered with injuries? And he also looks exhausted.’

Brod looked exhausted from the moment he summoned him here. It seemed like he was fighting something before he got called here. Every nook and cranny of his armor had some sort of damage. There was even blood that had already turned dark, as more continued to flow out.

Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab—

“Ugh…!”

Various weapons pierced through Brod’s body.

‘No…’

Minhyuk sensed a great sense of danger. Brod was his vassal and his friend. He was someone that Minhyuk did not want to lose. One could say that Brod was also one of the people that made the current Beyond the Heavens Kingdom what it was today.

Brod looked back at Minhyuk and said, “…Your Majesty.”

Minhyuk was able to see something in those eyes as he watched the man jump up to the sky.

‘Don’t tell me…’

Minhyuk did not know where Brod had been or what he had been doing. He did not even know what kind of growth he had achieved so far.

‘I can restrain them once I use this power.’

Brod knew that he would also be hit by their attacks the moment he used this power to stop them. However, it was fine. As long as he could protect his king, then it was fine.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

Vwooooooooooooong—

A red energy burst out of Brod’s body as he continued to float in the sky, his head calculating the movement speed of Luo, the most agile among the enemies.

‘The moment I use this power, all of their bodies will be pierced through. However, their attacks will also pierce through me.’

Nevertheless, he still chose to use this power. It was the new chapter of the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship, something that he had not shown to anyone yet.

“The Wolf King’s Hunt.”

Roaaaaaaaaaaaar—

A roar resounded loudly in the area as a gigantic red wolf manifested from his sword. This wolf would bite down and tear apart the necks of the enemies that surrounded him. Unfortunately, he needed at least 0.1 seconds for the skill to be completed. However, all of Brod’s hopes were dashed when he saw Luo.

“…Luo.”

Luo used his ‘Quick Leap’ and increased his movement speed by four times. Brod’s face turned ugly. He could not bear to look at Minhyuk.

“Brooooooooood!!!”

At that moment, he knew that he would face death. However, his only regret was that he could not protect His Majesty and solve the problem that he needed to solve.

‘Your Majesty…’

Brod slowly closed his eyes. However, unbeknownst to him, someone else was already preparing their own skill.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

He became the empire’s dog to protect the other mercenaries. However, his master had told him this in the past…

—The good thing about being a mercenary is the fact that you can be free.

That was right. They were free because they were mercenaries. After learning from his master, he tried to understand it himself and ended up creating a new Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.

“Final Chapter. Howling Wolf.”

Awooooooooooooooooo—

While Brod’s wolf was red, Venteio’s wolf was black. The black wolf rushed at Luo and bit his neck.

Crack, crack, crack, crack—

The wolf continued past Luo, devouring two more Swords of the Gods along the way.

Brod slowly opened his eyes only to meet with Venteio’s ones.

“This idiot…”

It seemed like the bastard from back then had already grown up well. However, Brod also knew that Venteio had to live for the empire. The actions that he took would most definitely fan the flames of the empire’s ire. They would most likely get purged once again.

However, Venteio missed him as much as he resented him. So, he could not help but struggle to spit out the words that he wanted to say. “Thank you, my hero.”

“…”

Finally, Brod’s skills, the Wolf King’s Hunt, was successfully completed and activated.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash—

The wolf, which was much bigger, much stronger and had much sharper teeth than the black wolf, charged forward and collided with the Swords of the Gods. It was so powerful that it instantly tore apart the armor and weapons that they used.

At the same time, several weapons pierced through Brod’s body. Thankfully, Luo’s attack, which would have been fatal, had been avoided so his life was still secured.

After the five minutes was over, Brod, who was still bleeding all over, disappeared from sight. However, his eyes did not leave Venteio.

‘You will probably die because of me.’

That was what was conveyed in Brod’s look. However, Venteio just responded with a bright smile on his face and uttered the words that Brod once uttered to him, “The good thing about being a mercenary is the fact that you can be free.”

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