Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 852

Mana Required: 500 per second

Level: Master

Cooldown: Three Months

Effects:

•You cannot summon those that belong to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

•You can gather and rally everyone that you know, whether they are at the end of the world or in Hell, in front of you as long as they give you their explicit approval.

•Those who have been summoned can only fight for you for four minutes.

•Your CHA stat will permanently decrease every second upon summoning the Immortal Knights. The permanent decrease will depend on the number you summoned.

•Your EXP will permanently decrease every second upon summoning the Immortal Knights. The permanent decrease will depend on the number you summoned.

•The moment you gather the Knight Order, your HP will immediately drop to 20%.

•You can select the commander of the Immortal Knights that you will gather.

•The commander of the Immortal Knights will have a 1.2x increase in strength.

•The Immortal Knight Order boasts highly of their covertness. They would appear with a ragged look and would wear a horned helmet on their heads. The horned helmet will cover their face making it impossible for others to see through the identity of the knights.

The Battle God’s Immortal Knight Order was an active skill. Due to the restriction, the skill could not be considered as a broken one.

-You cannot summon those that belong to the Beyond the Heavens Empire.

To put it simply, one could only summon outsiders. However, it was nigh impossible for players to recruit powerhouses externally. It was also very difficult for them to gain their approval for a summoning. On top of that, there was even a severe penalty where one’s CHA and EXP would permanently decrease while the knights were summoned.

‘A single summon can result in a one level drop.’

With the decrease in CHA, summoning one Knight would most definitely decrease one’s CHA by around 400.

The use of this skill required careful consideration of the gains and losses. It would be very beneficial for Minhyuk to summon them if the Beyond the Heavens Empire was in danger. Their help would allow them to tide whatever danger they were facing. Even if Minhyuk’s level dropped by one and his CHA decreased by 400, as long as the situation became beneficial for them, he would still summon them. That was the case right now.

‘Haze... You...’

The chosen warriors of the kings and emperors would challenge those that Minhyuk summoned. The kings and emperors were already in the midst of choosing the talent that they would send forward. The numbers of their chosen had now increased to above a hundred.

If they could get a hundred thousand platinum for each of these one hundred men, then they would be able to gain around ten million platinum in total. That was a ridiculous amount of profit. It would be enough to fund the operations of the Beyond the Heavens Empire for half a year.

However, the kings and emperors were proud and confident. Minhyuk could only summon twenty soldiers, while they had chosen almost a hundred men on their side.

“Once you are called, please choose one of the summoned soldiers. Now, please line up.”

“Ugh! Why are you so slow?!”

“I might miss the opportunity to bring back our talents because of you!”

The kings and emperors blamed their subordinates for not being able to stand at the front. As for the one standing at the front of the line, it was none other than Emperor Elise. He was currently smiling in delight. The one that he had put forward was one of his empire’s pride.

The Aplath Empire might not be as strong as the Ardo Empire or the Luvien Empire. However, their empire was filled with exceptional talents, and there was another name that they went by: the Empire of Martial Masters. Despite the recruitment offer from the Beyond the Heavens Empire, there were still countless talents that remained in the Aplath Empire to protect Emperor Elise.

Among those that remained in the Aplath Empire was Sir Arcalso, the Prince of the Sword. Arcalso was a high-leveled NPC whose level had crossed Level 610, and was a genius born and raised in a prestigious and noble swordsmanship family. In fact, Arcalso’s family had provided countless warriors and masters to the Aplath Empire.

Emperor Elise smiled in delight as he looked at Arcalso’s dignified and majestic appearance. At the same time, he also did not forget to express his anger toward the Beyond the Heavens Empire for taking their talents away.

“Are they allowed to kill if they obtained victory?”

Emperor Elise was arrogant through and through. He, along with the kings and other emperors, had already tried to recruit the talents of the Beyond the Heavens Empire. They believed that without those talents, the Beyond the Heavens Empire had nothing.

‘Do they have hidden talents? That’s bullshit.’

If that was the case, then they would have already seen those talents during the war with the Luvien Empire. In his eyes, this was nothing but Haze’s all-in to bluff their way out of the situation. The proof of this was the flustered expression on Haze’s face.

“Is– is there a need to kill?”

She looked confused as if she had not expected the situation to reach this point. It was as if they were in a situation where they were trying to fend them off with lies but they ended up outright attacking them.

However, unbeknownst to him, this notification rang in Haze’s ears.

[Devoted Acting has been triggered!]

The Devoted Acting skill allowed one to act as if they were those that were worthy of the Best Actor Award, even though they were not originally good at acting. It was like giving Haze, whose acting was already on par with many A-listers, wings. She had only showed some sweat on her forehead and palms, but it made the kings and emperors believe that she was afraid.

“I will kill. Listen, Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor, you have taken away our talents and even used that woman named Haze to extort money from our kingdoms and empires. You have to pay for this sin!” Emperor Elise roared.

Hearing this, Haze immediately turned to Minhyuk. She was showing an expression as if she did not want him to agree to this.

“Your– Your Majesty, no matter how...”

Minhyuk and Haze were always in sync. They could tell what the other was thinking with just one glance. Minhyuk immediately adopted an ugly expression on his face. He looked like he was responding to their provocations as he said, “Then, that means that my soldiers can also kill the strong men that you have brought forward.”

“Ha– Hahahahahahahaha!!!” Emperor Elise guffawed. “Yes. Ah, yes of course.”

“Fufufufufufu!”

“Sure, you can do that!”

The other kings and emperors also burst into laughter.

Haze hurriedly cried out, “Your Majesty!!!”

She looked frantic as if she wanted to stop Minhyuk right away. Then, at that moment...

[Devoted Acting is currently in effect.]

[Your acting will become more powerful when working with another person.]

[Your emperor, Minhyuk, also possesses the power of Devoted Acting.]

Minhyuk was very capable of method acting, and he was making full use of it right now.

“Haze, they have ignored and trampled on the pride of our Beyond the Heavens Empire’s precious talents.” Minhyuk turned to look at the kings and emperors as he continued, “As the emperor of the Beyond the Heavens Empire, how can I just sit back and watch them ridicule my empire without even fighting back?!”

“B– But Your Majesty...”

“This emperor has no intention of changing my thoughts!”

“Forgive this servant of yours for suggesting this thing to the other kings and emperors...” Haze said, bowing as if she was truly a sinner.

Then, Minhyuk said, “I will accept your condition. However, my soldiers will also be allowed to kill your talents.”

“That’s only natural.”

“Well, we don’t know if they could truly kill one of them.”

“Except for those that we have tried to recruit, the Beyond the Heavens Empire has no other talents, no?”

Of course, Minhyuk did not forget to clamp down on those who mocked him and his empire.

“Just like before, I want you to sign a contract. I hope this time, you all won't go back on your words.”

“Of course.”

“The same should be true for you, Beyond the Heavens’ Emperor.”

Minhyuk received the approval of all of the kings and emperors. Just like they have discussed, they only had four minutes to win their talents back.

“Then, I will summon them now,” Minhyuk said as he activated his skill.

[You have triggered the Battle God’s Immortal Knight Order!]

[It will take some time to summon the knights of the Immortal Knight Order!]

[The knights of the Immortal Knight Order are now being summoned one by one!]

Just like that, the knights of the Immortal Knight Order appeared one after the other. All of them were wearing ragged and shabby uniforms–a ripped and shabby robe on top of old leather armor. Their ensemble was also completed with a horned helmet that only showed their eyes, nose, and mouth. The only thing that distinguished them from each other was their physique. Among them, there was one who was as huge as a mountain and another who was petite and slender.

“They have been training in the mountains,” Minhyuk said in embarrassment. He sounded as if he was making excuses for their unsightly outfit.

“We don’t have much time. Let’s get on with it.”

Elise sounded as if he did not care much for anything else. It was already disgraceful enough for their warriors to fight against these mere insignificant soldiers. However, the one he sent forward was still none other than Arcalso.

“You go on and choose for yourself.”

Arcalso was a very cautious person. He was someone who was not even willing to take on the risk for something if it had a 0.01% chance of failure. Unlike the kings and emperors, he was not misled by their unsightly appearance. Thankfully, he was in a situation where he was free to choose who he wanted to fight. So, he chose the one with the smallest body build.

“I’d like to fight with this person.”

The person that Arcalso pointed at took a step forward. The long hair that was hanging through the gaps of her helmet told them that she was a woman. However, Arcalso did not choose her just because she was a woman. After all, there were cases where women were extremely talented with the sword. Arcalso was aware that he had to take the first win and the reason why he chose her was because of the difference in their physique. There would definitely be a huge power difference between him and her.

Minhyuk, who looked at the person that Arcalso chose, thought, ‘Even if you carefully choose your opponent...’

Aplath Empire’s Arcalso was also someone that Minhyuk tried to recruit. This was because he knew that he was a figure that would definitely be able to shake the entire continent in the future with his sword alone.

However, the figure that was standing in front of Arcalso had a reputation that far exceeded his own.

‘Sword Emperor Ellie.’

She was once chosen to become the descendant of the Sword God. These days, Minhyuk had started to call her by the name.

‘Attention Seeker Emperor Ellie.’

There was just one tiny thing that Minhyuk was very worried about. That worry intensified when he saw the tiny smile on Ellie’s lips.

‘Look at that. Look. Ahh! That noona! She’s definitely thinking about how to get the most attention in front of all of the kings and emperors!’

Minhyuk had already accepted the fact that his Attention Seeker Emperor Ellie noona was a true and certified attention seeker. It was just as Minhyuk thought. Ellie could see that the kings and emperors from various continents were gathered here. Even though she could not reveal her identity, she still wanted to show off her majesty as the Continental Emperor.

‘Arcalso, huh?’

Ellie had heard that he was an up and coming swordsmanship genius. She was already thinking of showing this genius how wide the world truly was.

‘All of these kings and emperors will definitely be shocked because of me, no?’

The Attention Seeker Emperor was thinking about the attention that she would receive from all of these people.

Then, at that moment, Arcalso said, “Ah, this... I don’t know how I will start to attack you. You look like you will break if I tap you.”

Ellie stood silently in front of Arcalso despite his provocative words.

“You can attack first,” Arcalso said as he shrugged his shoulders.

At this point, Ellie had already determined how she could receive attention by teaching this arrogant punk in front of her.

“Kekekeke. Fufufufu.”

“He told her to make a move first, no?”

“Go on, let’s see it.”

“How can she even wield a sword with those small hands of hers~?”

Ellie moved amidst the jeers of the kings and emperors. In one swift movement, her sword had already shot out. Its target was Arcalso’s neck.

“...!”

Arcalso was shocked. The speed at which the woman moved was beyond his expectations. He quickly tried to lift his sword to stop her, however, Ellie maneuvered her sword and moved it out of the way. Then, she folded her left elbow and hit him on the chin.

Craaaack–!

The sound of Arcalso’s jaw breaking rang loudly in the area. Ellie, someone who was a candidate to inherit the position of the Sword God, had both attack and defense that were beyond anyone’s imagination.

Thud–!

It only took one move to knock Arcalso out. The worst part was it was with only her elbow, not even her sword. Ellie stared at Arcalso, who had fainted from the pain of his jaw breaking. Then, she asked Minhyuk, “Can I kill him?”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

Minhyuk grinned as he replied, “Of course, you can kill him.”