Leveling Up through Eating

Chapter 1168

There were still six surviving members of the Exploration Team. Aside from the four who had already gathered, the other two were none other than Alex and Alexander. Alex initially went with Minhyuk, but due to some unavoidable circumstances, he later had to join Alexander.

[The restrictions on your movement will be lifted in three minutes.]

This rang in the ears of the almost 120 guardians who went to kill Emperor Cardin, Duke Lahgman, Minhyuk, and Brod.

As the notification mentioned, the guardians could only move after three minutes. Once the restrictions on their movements were lifted, the remaining 500 guardians headed to where the sound of weapons clashing constantly was heard.

***

There was one person who was known as the strongest among all of the NPCs in existence. That person was none other than Beyond the Heavens Empire’s Sword, Brod.

Everyone knew he was the Fallen Wretched Emperor and how powerful he was. Some of them had crossed swords with Brod.

Nonetheless, that was a long time ago. With the temporary truce between the Beyond the Heavens Empire and the Luvien Empire, the players’ focus naturally drifted to increasing their levels. Because of that, their levels have improved significantly compared to the past.

And compared to the NPCs, they had the advantage of artifacts. After all, they had now equipped many God-rank artifacts on their bodies.

‘Brod…’

The guardians’ hearts were all filled with burning determination. Many strong men among the guardians belonged to the Beyond the Heavens Empire. They were also very curious about Brod.

‘I know he has always protected us, but… is he really that strong?’

Soon, they were met with a sight that left them all in awe.

Despite the overwhelming and mind-numbing pain that devoured his entire body, Brod was still able to bring all three people to safety and block the only path that could lead to them all by himself.

The response of the viewers, who also watched the scene, was hot.

[Right now, the Beyond the Heavens Empire’s Sword Brod is fighting against almost a hundred players while protecting three people.]

[My blood is definitely boiling in excitement! This is a fight between Brod, who protects three people, and 100 players in the Athenae’s top 1,000 rankings.]

[These days, the players’ levels have all increased significantly. Of course, the NPCs have also grown as much as players. But that may not be the case for Brod.]

[Indeed. Sir Brod is, after all, in charge of the Beyond the Heavens’ livestock. He has been busy raising livestock, such as pigs, cows, chickens, and sheep. He’s not working diligently like everybody else.]

If it were in the past, the one who would come out victorious between Brod and the players would definitely be obvious. Now, things were different.

Coincidentally, among the rankers dressed up as guardians were Richard, who was gulping dryly with sweat slowly dripping down his forehead, Khan, Locke, Genie, Ares, Calauhel, Root, Miao, Valentino, and many more. Many incredibly prominent rankers from the top 1,000 rankings were present here.

Master Archer Miao once again pulled the strings of her bow, which had released an arrow that had dug through the cliff.

Baaaaaang–!

The arrow contained the power that targeted an enemy’s vital point with 20,000% damage and turned into artillery aimed at Brod’s heart. That was not all. Long-range attacks constantly bombarded the man. Nevertheless, Brod could offset some of the damages by splitting most of the attacks that came his way. This has reduced most of the damage that he received.

Immediately, the close-combat high-rankers closed in and launched their attacks.

Bang–!

Khan’s Giant’s Slap, which had transformed into a different form, aimed for Brod’s head. Unfortunately, it was useless. Brod had cut down the attack easily.

Bang, bang, bang–!

In an instant, a shocking sight unfolded in front of everyone’s eyes. Attacks that could inflict colossal damage constantly rained down on Brod, who did not even budge.

Not long after, hundreds of red wolves began to fly out of Brod’s sword.

Slash, slash, slash–!

The close combat rankers that surrounded Brod screeched and screamed as blood spurted all over their bodies. Fortunately, they were only seriously injured. If this was before they would have already been dead with just one swing of Brod’s sword. Yet now? They were still alive.

However, the choice was straightforward for those whose HP had fallen below 20%: unleash the most potent power they could use.

Bang, bang, bang–!

A powerful force wrapped around the fists of the fighters and the blades of the swordsmen as they moved to cut and punch Brod. Of course, Brod did not stay still. He did to them as they did to him.

Surprisingly enough, the guardians were pushed back in this fierce battle. The guardians were left embarrassed when they realized that Brod had not even taken a step away from his position after receiving all those injuries.

In the end, the strong men of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, who were left in awe, and the high rankers, who were trembling in fear, all took a step back.

“Hoo…”

Brod, who did not even gasp or pant, looked like he would collapse at any moment.

“Brod!” Minhyuk shouted, his voice ringing from behind Brod. However, this just made Brod chuckle.

‘I hope Your Majesty will be able to experience this new continent as much as he wants. I hope he can see more and more beautiful places. So, you must survive for as long as possible, Your Majesty.’

Minhyuk knew that Brod was capable enough to hold out for five minutes. Nevertheless, he still cared for him. That was why Emperor Cardin and Duke Laghman blocked his path and stopped him from running out.

[Crazy… Can he even be considered a human…?]

[Whether it is in the past or the present, nothing has changed. Brod’s heart, which only wishes to protect Minhyuk, remains unchanged.]

[But this is the end.]

One of the commentators believed that this was the end. Three minutes had passed, meaning all the remaining guardians would flock to this place simultaneously.

And just like the commentator expected, the 500 guardians had appeared from all over the forest. Brod calculated the time he could endure fighting against them while staring at them.

‘There’s still around 1 minute and 20 seconds before His Majesty’s mana restriction is lifted.’

Then, he looked back at Laghman and said, “How many seconds do you have before your restrictions are lifted?”

“There’s still 28 seconds left.”

“I see… I didn’t want to do this, but there’s no helping it now.”

“...?” Laghman looked at Brod in confusion. What did he mean by he did not want to do it? What was he talking about?

Brod was sure he could not hold out for 28 more seconds. But he knew of a way to.

He recalled the events of the past.

On that day, Brod had smiled widely as he looked at all the livestock he was raising. Then, he said, “Everything is thanks to you guys.”

He wanted to say these words to Minhyuk. On that day, Minhyuk had excitedly told him, “Brod! I won a battle against Transcendental Bender! Of course, I lost more than a thousand times to him. I wonder if there will come a day when I can win against you, Brod?”

“...Of course, a day like that will come.” Brod smiled bitterly.

Another day, Locke visited Brod, who was watching over the livestock. He said, “Hoo. There will come a day when I can become as strong as you, Sir Brod, right? I’ll make sure to become as outstanding as you one day!”

“If it’s you, Sir Locke, it will be possible.”

Another day, Ascar said, “When I get stronger, I would like to spar with you, Sir Brod.”

“I’ll be waiting for your challenge.”

Brod looked at them with a small smile. He concealed his new achievement quietly and glanced at the night sky above him.

Why did he become a livestock farmer? Did he, who was once hailed as the Fallen Wretched Emperor, truly spend all those years raising cows, pigs, chickens, and sheep?

Brod has never told anyone about what he has done in his spare time. He believed that sometimes it would be better for them not to know.

Brod woke up from his reverie. When he returned to his senses, all five hundred guardians had already started charging at him. In their eyes, Brod’s figure was likely the same.

‘They must be very determined. After all, they must think of me as someone they have to defeat someday.’

Of course, the same was true for the emperor that Brod served. His Majesty Minhyuk’s ultimate goal was most likely to defeat him. And Brod? He did not want to hinder that goal. So, he hid what he had achieved to let His Majesty chase after him happily.

They had been chasing after “Brod,” but he had been hiding it for their sake.

The 500 warriors unleashed their most powerful forces on him at the same time. With the summoner’s summons joining the fray, more than 100,000 enemies were now charging at Brod.

At that moment, the commentators said.

[Brod has been having a hard time dealing with hundreds of rankers, compared to the past, because his skills remain unchanged.]

[You’re talking about the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship, no? That swordsmanship is definitely the best. But we have never seen any growth in Brod beyond that.]

[On the other hand, the players have continuously grown. Their skills have not only reached new levels but have also gained new skills.]

[Perhaps it's inevitable. After all, his current job is a mere livestock farmer.]

Brod could not hear the commentators' words. Of course, the rankers could not listen to them, too, but they agreed. Since Brod only had the Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship, they would have been able to win against him this time.

It had been revealed that the true emperor to lead the Luvien Empire should have been Brod. Not only that, he was also considered the most outstanding candidate, who far surpassed Nerva in the past and the Cardin of today, to become the greatest emperor.

The truth was, Brod never wanted to use such a title. He believed​​ it was disrespectful to him, but thenhe told him.

–Brod. I want you to become the emperor of the Luvien Empire.

So, he chose to use it now.

“The Emperor’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

“...?”

“...?”

“...?”

The enemies charging at him stopped in their tracks. This was because the name that came out of his mouth was not the usual ‘Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.’

“Chapter 1. Morning’s Cry.”

The first thing that would wake someone up in the morning was the cry of a chicken at the break of dawn. Wolves could easily kill these chickens with just a single bite. However, there was one thing that a wolf could not do, and that was to ‘greet the morning and welcome the light.’ Once someone greeted the morning, they would be able to face a new world that was completely different from the night before.

The dark sky slowly receded as the loud cry greeted the morning that lit up the sky.

The light that shot out from the blade of Brod’s sword instantly massacred the more than 100,000 monsters that surrounded him.

Shwaaaaaa–

The bright and blinding light spread wildly, greeting the morning and welcoming the light into this world covered with darkness.

Of course, not all of the guardians were left in a daze. Close to a hundred close-combat class guardians came running forward and charged at him. More than a hundred of the guardians, who were seriously injured or were already on the brink of dying, used their pinnacle skills.

Brod knew what they wanted to do. So, he said, “You should all come at me.”

“...!”

“...!”

And those who chased after him, looked up at him, and wished to reach his level? They realized something. It seemed like the back they had been chasing was still a long distance away from them.

“Emperor’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship. Chapter 3.”

The pig was one of the most intelligent and docile animals. Unfortunately, it was destined to a fate where it could never look up at the sky above it for the rest of its life. The pig was an animal that carried a heavy weight that no other animal could. Humans ultimately raised them for their consumption. And Brod wanted to express this heavy weight and responsibility.

“The Weight of Death.”

THUD–!

All of the rankers stopped. It was as if they were frozen in place. Even their skills stopped.

At the same time, a heavy weight knocked down the 100 people that charged at Brod, creating cracks in the ground beneath them. The weight left them all incapacitated and unable to move.

Shwaaaa–!

The rankers were astonished when they realized they were locked in place.

“Urk…!” Brod spat out a mouthful of blood. It was proof that it was a power that was still quite difficult for him to activate at his current level. Nevertheless, Brod wanted to push through. He wanted to kill as many people as possible.

Horses were the only animals to run the fastest, even after carrying the heaviest weight on their backs. They were noble and gave humans rides until they eventually fell into eternal sleep in their arms. Such horses would then run toward the humans’ chosen destination until they reached it.

There was one thought that had crossed Brod’s mind. Shouldn’t the horses be rewarded for always carrying humans? Then, shouldn’t they let the horses reach the destination that they wished to go?

Although this power was not strong, it was stronger than any other force.

“Chapter 6.”

Brod looked back at the guardians. All of the 500 guardians flinched when they caught sight of his gaze.

“Wild Horse.”

Hihihihihihing–

The horses, who had spent their entire lives running to reach the destinations humans wanted to go to, were now going to send the humans to those destinations.

The entire world was left in shock. They watched as the trees, the sky, the land, the rocks, and all five hundred guardians hiding behind them were pulled out and gathered together in one place—the place in front of Brod.

Brod glared at them, who were left in a two-second stunned state.

Meanwhile, the commentators were forced to eat the words that they had just said.

‘He has remained stagnant.’

‘He is no longer growing. His swordsmanship will never go beyond that.’

Alas, they were all wrong.

Today, he became the master and the owner of the most incredible swordsmanship technique in history.

“Emperor’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship. Final Chapter.”

And right now, he would unleash the pinnacle skill of the most excellent swordsmanship technique.