Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1169

[You have witnessed the most outstanding swordsmanship that a human can wield!]

This was the notification that everyone present heard the moment Brod revealed his new swordsmanship technique to the world.

[The beings that became the foundation of the swordsmanship he created lived and died inside the fence created by humans.]

[His desire for the livestock to stand strong and firm gave birth to the idea of this swordsmanship.]

Brod hoped that they would fight to live even once. But then he realized something.

[No one could go against the law of nature.]

[That was how he created a swordsmanship that represented them.]

[The pigs might be unable to look up at the sky, but they could trample on the ground the hardest.]

[The horses might not be able to reach places where they wanted to go, but they could run the fastest.]

[The sheep…]

[The cows…]

[The swordsmanship was created based on the weakest beings.]

[But this swordsmanship possessed a power far beyond any swordsmanship created by humans in history.]

More than 500 guardians were hit by Brod’s Wild Horse. There were some high-rankers among them, too. Of course, each had at least one defensive skill that could protect them.

“Immortal’s Body.”

“Unbreakable Shield.”

“Arrow of Defense.”

Even though they used their best defensive skills, they realized why this swordsmanship was considered the greatest.

[Wild Horse.]

[Everyone recognized as an enemy within a one-kilometer radius of the skill user will be gathered together all at once.]

Players usually refer to this type of skill as a ‘pull skill.’ And there were quite a few people who possessed skills of this type. They would usually use this skill by bringing their enemies together all at once and unleashing their pinnacle skills upon them to sweep them away all at once. However, these skills usually only had a radius of fifty meters.

And Brod? He gathered everyone within his one-kilometer radius who was recognized as his enemy in front of him. What would happen if more than 100,000 Athenae players were within that one-kilometer radius?

They were about to find out.

“Emperor’s Pinnacle Skill. Final Chapter.”

Everyone standing in front of Brod held their breath.

“Animal Farm.”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

The cute name relieved the guardians for a moment. But they were in a situation where they should never have felt relieved, even for a fraction of a second.

At that moment, a vast and overwhelming force that resembled a gamecock raising its feet to kick them away appeared. The most shocking part? Its power was beyond imagination.

Shwaaaaaa–!

Blood spurted out from the chests of the densely gathered guardians. The mages who failed to use their defensive skills died on the spot, while those who successfully used their defensive skills were left stunned, with only 50% of their HP left.

Then, the survivors saw a huge shadow looming over them. There was one animal that they thought of when they saw this overwhelming force falling upon them. This animal was none other than a pig. Indeed, a gigantic pig was falling from the sky.

Bang–!

The ground sank from the heavy force. Many were struck by the sudden attack, vomiting blood. Some of them had their bones shattered, while those wearing thick armor groaned from the high damage.

But they were Athenae’s high rankers. Regardless of the situation that they were in, they were still trying to prepare a counterattack.

Then, something very shocking happened. The surviving guardians, who were seriously injured, felt like they were riding on something. They flew all over the place, some rolling on the ground, some stuck in a tree, and some stuck by the walls of the cliff.

The horse sent all of the surviving guardians flying away.

[You cannot activate any skill for five seconds.]

“...!”

“...!”

When gathering enemies in one place, the other party dealt considerable damage to the assembled crowd. However, it also had a disadvantage. Since the enemies were gathered together in one place, they could also launch their pinnacle skills simultaneously.

But Brod’s Animal Farm ignored all of that.

“...”

Duke Laghman, who was watching everything from behind, was rendered speechless. It occurred to him that if the ones in front of them were not the guardians but the Luvien Empire’s Sword of the Gods and their hundreds of thousands of elite troops, they might have already lost more than half of their troops with just that one attack.

The more shocking part was that Brod was still within their five-meter radius. So, while he was not receiving any damage, he was still suffering from constant pain.

Around 270 guardians died in that attack. Shockingly enough, most survivors were only alive because they could use their defensive skills on time.

“Urk…”

Blood dripped down Brod’s chin. Of course, it was not as if he was unscathed. During the process, he had allowed countless attacks from the guardians to land on his own body.

This was mainly because he could not yet freely use this force, which would put a significant strain on his current body. On top of that, he was suffering from the stabbing and burning pain for several minutes straight. No matter how high his mental powers were, it would still be tough for him to continue enduring such torture.

Brod slowly fell. But before he could crash, someone came to support him. It was none other than Minhyuk.

Brod has accurately calculated how long it would take for the restriction on Minhyuk’s mana to be lifted. As for Minhyuk? He already had a full grasp of the current situation.

The truth was, it was only because of Minhyuk’s greed that Brod kept on being involved in these battles. He knew it all too well. And although those who died in this continent would be revived in the Asgan Continent again, as Brod’s master, he did not wish to let the man taste the pain of dying.

Right now, they suffered tremendous damage. Of course, the same was true for Emperor Cardin and Duke Laghman.

The two had already suffered enormous damage before he and Brod came here. After all, they were different from Minhyuk, a player with the skills to restore his own HP. Worse still, the guardians had blocked their natural healing and regenerative powers.

Nevertheless, Duke Laghman chose to step forward and stand close to Minhyuk. He said, “The Luvien Empire can’t be left out in the journey to the new continent.”

Although Duke Laghman said those words, he meant that he would help Brod while doing his best to protect Emperor Cardin.

Of course, Duke Laghman’s condition was already bad. His left arm had already been broken and rendered useless. But even in that condition, his powers would still greatly help them.

Minhyuk said, “It seems like we have many friends here, huh?”

Minhyuk had already realized the true identity of the guardians. It was primarily because of Brod’s words but also because their skills were quite familiar.

The guardians were restricted from announcing their identities first. However, if their opponent had already found out, there was no point in hiding it, so they removed the rabbit masks covering their faces.

And just as expected, the guardians who survived Brod’s attacks were prominent figures in the top 1,000 rankings.

“Minhyuk.”

Khan and Ares stepped forward. They suffered from severe injuries, but it did not diminish how outstanding they were.

“We have become the disciples of Martial Emperor Rubas. We have been punching and kicking thousands of times every single day.”

They weren’t bragging. They told him how hard they had been working to catch up with Minhyuk. And it was not just them.

“I had tea with the God of Death recently,” Death said.

Drinking tea with the God of Death was an indirect declaration that the God of Death already recognized him as his descendant and successor.

“We have all been doing our best and giving it our all.”

They did it all for one thing. And that was to chase Minhyuk, who had already left their reach. And this was not only limited to Minhyuk’s friends. All of the prominent rankers present had been doing their best to chase after him. Of course, they all knew winning in a 1v1 fight was impossible. But they could not help but entertain the idea that they might win against Minhyuk in this situation.

“I see.” Minhyuk smiled faintly in response to his friends when he realized they had been working as hard as he was.

Minhyuk knew more than anybody else how seeing someone standing at a higher place would feel. It would be devastating and leave them feeling lost.

“You f*ckers! What are you doing here? Selling pity?!”

“...”

“...”

“Why do you fight with such fierce determination against a ranker who’s just like us?!”

Someone stepped in front of the guardians and threw the rabbit mask on his face on the ground. This act made the expressions of all of the guardians present grow ugly.

One of the players murmured, “Human Hunter Harley.”

Human Hunter Harley was one of the most controversial and famous figures in Athenae these days. He was hailed as the greatest genius player of the century. This was because he had entered the top 1,000 rankings within the year that he first started playing Athenae.

The truth was that Harley was a famous professional gamer in online games in the past. Back then, he was known as “Slaughterer Harley.” Of course, he also gained the same notoriety in Athenae.

The reason why he was called the Human Hunter was because he had been hunting rankers. Surprisingly enough, he held an unbeaten record in PVP matches. But that was not the only reason why he had become famous. He had been under fire for his scathing remarks and unadulterated mockery that he subjected the rankers to whom he had defeated.

On the other hand, many players also supported and cheered for Harley. He had been knocking down the rankers they could not reach, leaving them frustrated.

What was the reason why Harley was able to rise so fast? It was all thanks to his class. He possessed the unusual “Hunting Hound,” a class that increased his stats and attack power upon successfully hunting an opponent of the same level or higher. Because he had won against many rankers, Harley had grown a lot stronger. He could not dare to imagine the growth that he would experience with this.

“How much will I grow once I kill the Supreme?”

“Hey, Harley…”

“What did you just say…!”

“Shut up! You f*cking cowards. You’re so scared because of a single player? You pipsqueaks! And you even dare to talk about a Pillar Raid?”

“...”

Everyone was rendered speechless. It was not because they were afraid.

‘Has he gone nuts…?’

Minhyuk had been sitting in the position of the Supreme for a very long time now. In a battle against the Supreme, it was only fitting for them to be cautious. But Harley was not only reckless; he was unstoppable.

Meanwhile, the commentators said.

[Human Hunter Harley has been criticized for making similar remarks in front of the rankers every single time.]

[But surprisingly enough, he won every battle after saying those words.]

[I don’t know. There might be a twist, and things might not end up as they did in those times.]

While everyone was criticizing him, Harley did it. He said, “Anyway, you’re nothing but over-vassaled. You just keep on hiding behind Brod.”

Minhyuk just listened to him babble on and on. It was not that he was afraid.

‘I don’t think he’s worth dealing with.’

“You should play with me first. ‘Kay?”

Harley had a skill where he would receive more buffs the more potent his opponent was. On top of that, he had excellent control and a variety of skills specialized in PVP. Perhaps he might just be the most challenging opponent that Minhyuk might face.

The guardians tried to stop Harley at first. But then, they decided just to let him be.

With an arrogant smile, Harley took out his dagger and approached Minhyuk. Harley was an assassin, and this class allowed him to cut off his opponent’s HP all at once.

“Hey, Supreme. Why aren’t you answering? Scared? Boo-hoo! I'll go first if you don’t come at me.”

Harley was very confident in himself. He believed that Minhyuk was not very strong, mainly because he had chosen to put Brod forward earlier. Of course, his continuous wins had also made his arrogance reach the sky.

“Maybe around four seconds?”

“What bullshit are you on about?” Harley frowned at the incomprehensible words the man in front of him said. Nevertheless, he continued swinging his dagger around as if just playing around. Then, with a playful smile, he quickly charged in front of Minhyuk.

[The Human Hunt has begun.]

[The level of your prey is very high.]

Harley was delighted. It was just as he expected! He could gain a higher buff since the level of his prey was high. But the notifications did not end there.

[The level of your prey is very high!]

The level of your prey is several realms higher than yours!]

“...?”

At this moment, Harley realized that something had gone wrong.

[Warning.]

[The Human Hunt System recommends that you give up the hunt and run away as quickly as possible.]

This was the first time he had participated in the tens of thousands of battles that the Human Hunt System had told him to run away. On the other hand, it also made his power rise dramatically.

Harley quickly aimed for Minhyuk’s neck.

“Absolute Monarch.”

Thud–!

Harley was forced to kneel in front of Minhyuk. But Harley was confident. He possessed a “Mere Game” skill that allowed him to ignore forced worship or submission. But the force that brought him down to his knees was so overwhelming that he could not resist it.

Then, Minhyuk approached him. He said, “Did I say four seconds?”

The first words Minhyuk spoke in front of Harley was “four seconds.” And it was only at this moment that he realized what it meant.

“I think two seconds are enough.”

“...!”

Minhyuk swung his sword at the kneeling Harley’s neck.

No matter how strong a ranker was, there was no way that they could escape death if their heads got cut off. That was not the case for Harley.

Harley had a skill called “One Kill Protection.” This skill instantly doubled the defensive power on his neck and protected it from any attack. As long as the attack was not above his level, he might be able to escape death by a breath.

Slash–!

[The attack has ignored the One Kill Protection.]

Harley’s head rolled on the ground. Just like what Minhyuk had said, it only took him two seconds.

Minhyuk looked at Harley, whose consciousness was slowly drifting away, and said, “Hey. Are you a m*therf*cking bastard?”