Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 897

“And I will stand at the forefront of this battle.”

Ethan’s charisma instantly overwhelmed his enemies. With his command, the black armored weapons around him raised their left arms simultaneously.

Creaaaaaak–

Clack–!

Their left arms were fitted with a crossbow loaded with thousands of arrows. And these crossbows immediately shot out dozens of arrows every second.

Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh–

The crossbows that shot arrows like machine guns began to sweep away the troops of the Luvien Imperial Army.

“E- Ethan... You bastard!!!” Edgar shouted in fury when he saw the knights standing right next to him fall one after the other. It was only natural. After all, the person he used to ignore and mock threatened his existence with an excellent armored weapon.

“How dare you put your trust in a mere armored weapon? You bastard! You’re nothing without that armored weapon!”

Ethan could hear Edgar’s shouts. He turned his cold gaze toward him and said, “I am nothing without my armored weapon.” This was the truth; Ethan did not deny it.

“But I am the only one in the world that can operate and man this armored weapon.”

“...!”

Swooooooooooosh–!

The Transcendental Being’s Weapon that Ethan piloted slid forward, the wheels on its feet helping it to move at high speeds. The gigantic greatsword in Ethan’s armored weapon’s hands swung and sliced through the disoriented knights, finally falling down upon Edgar’s head.

“A- aaaaaaaaaaack!”

Fwooooosh–!

The Transcendental Being’s Weapon’s greatsword easily split Edgar in half.

Fwiiiiish–!

Fwiiiiiiiiiiiish–!

Fwiiiiiiiish–!

After finishing all the arrows loaded in their crossbows, the other armored weapons immediately grabbed the greatswords in their hands and slammed them firmly on the ground.

Booooooom–

The vast wave created by the swords instantly separated the knights.

“Mages!!!”

“Fire!!!”

Bang– Bang, bang, bang– Bang, bang, bang, bang–!

Explosions from the magic that the mages of the Luvien Empire sent devoured the armored weapons.

“Hi- Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiik!”

“They- they’re too hard!”

“I can’t even leave a scratch!”

However, the armored weapons were unexpectedly formidable. This was more so the case for the Transcendental Being’s Weapons that Ethan was manning. Since it was the recreation of the Divine Weapon Bless, it was far superior to the other armored weapons.

Swoosh– Swoosh– Swoooooooooooosh–

With every swing of Ethan’s greatsword, dozens of the imperial army troops would be swept away.

[A total of 732,716 troops of the Luvien Imperial Army have died!]

After seeing the number of their troops decrease rapidly, the knights finally felt regret.

‘We should never have ignored Ethan.’

‘The armored weapon is truly a weapon of war with amazing power.’

‘If the armored weapon pilot like Ethan stood at the forefront of our troops, then the Luvien Empire would have become a more outstanding nation.’

However, it was far too late.

Clack–

A colossal force started to gather in front of the now-opened chest of Ethan’s armored weapon. This was none other than the Transcendental Being’s Weapon Breath.

Vwooooooooooooong–

A light stretched out from the armored weapon’s chest as Breath was activated. It instantly burned down 4,000 of the Luvien Imperial Army troops to nothingness. Perhaps the only thing that could quickly create so much damage and devastation was armored weapons like these.

Bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz–

Then, God of Archery Miao made a move. She pulled the strings of her bow and shot arrows that stabbed through the spinal area of the armored weapon. Sparks flew all over the place when Miao’s arrows pierced the armored weapon, forcing it to stagger and almost lose its balance. In the end, armored weapons were machines. If something went wrong in one portion of its body, then malfunction would happen all over its body.

The Luvien Imperial Army had learned how to fight against armored weapons. Of course, the combat methods used against armored weapons were something that they had all neglected back then. However, they could still turn the tides of war in their favor just because they had the most basic knowledge of dealing with these weapons of war. And what was the most basic knowledge? It was none other than attacking the cockpit.

Crack–!

The transparent glass that protected the cockpit of one of the armored weapons broke apart, taking down the pilot that operated it and forcing it to a stop. The Luvien Imperial Army did not let go of the opportunity and immediately moved to destroy the armored weapon.

The Sword of the Gods and the Luvien Imperial Army began to work seamlessly together to pull down more armored weapons and reduce the number of their formidable enemies. And the appearance of one man also helped accelerate their pace.

Blink–!

The man swung his sword while looking at the armored weapon’s pilot.

Crack, crack, crack, crack–!

The swing of his sword quickly broke the transparent glass that protected the cockpit and also killed the pilot inside. This man was none other than Duke Ruffiso.

‘These things are all the same,’ Duke Ruffiso thought as he hurriedly moved to reduce the number of armored weapons in front of them. And amidst the destruction and chaos around him, another thought flashed.

‘The pilot named Ethan is not a monster.’

Anyone who was not a fool would realize this matter. And Duke Ruffiso was no fool. He understood that something was wrong with the Transcendentals’ Holy Land.

‘Come to think of it, the bond between the Transcendental Being and his fragments runs ridiculously deep.’

Could monsters genuinely have such a deep and lasting bond? At the same time, Duke Ruffiso coveted Ethan and his talents.

“Did you say your name was Ethan?”

Duke Ruffiso looked around. Before he knew it, there were only approximately 190,000 surviving Luvien Imperial Army troops.

“Come back to the Luvien Empire. I will let you be a member of the knight order under my command.”

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Under Duke Ruffiso’s command, this order was known as the Star Knights, second only to the Sword of the Gods. That was how powerful they were. But his offer did not end there.

“I will also grant you the title of a count.”

Any player would dream of being granted the title of a count inside the Luvien Empire.

Ethan had once hoped that he would stand at the forefront to defend his allies, kill all of the enemies, lead them to victory, and receive the praises and love of the many. Perhaps Duke Ruffiso’s offer was a reception worthy of his talents and would allow his dreams to come true. However, something far more important than that dream had appeared for Ethan.

‘The only person that reached out a hand to me when I was at my lowest.’

That man handed over the ring to Ethan and told him.

–I know that I’m just me. However, thank you for choosing to stand by my side, Ethan.

His eyes were filled with sincerity. He was different from those people who coveted his talents yet despised him.

The only one that held me tight in his embrace.

Ethan had now realized that protecting the man who put his trust and faith in him was more enjoyable than pursuing wealth, fame, honor, or even his own precious dreams.

Baaaaaaaaaaaang–

Missiles shot out from all over the Transcendental Being’s Weapon’s body and rained down upon Duke Ruffiso.

Dash, dash, dash, dash–

Duke Ruffiso moved like a ghost, rushing forward while evading the missiles aiming for him.

“The biggest problem with armored weapons is their reaction speed.”

Duke Ruffiso was fully aware of the problems of the armored weapons. No matter how outstanding its pilot was, the armored weapon’s reaction speed would never be as good as that of a person’s reaction speed.

Boooooooom–!

Duke Ruffiso evaded the armored weapon’s swinging greatsword and used this opportunity to plunge his sword into the Transcendental Being’s Weapon’s arm.

Craaaaack–!

Then, Ruffiso ran along the armored weapon’s arms and completely smashed the arm until it was no longer functional.

Bzz, bzz, bzz, bzz–

Sparks once again appeared all over the Transcendental Being’s Weapon’s body. Although it grew stronger after meeting an excellent master and pilot, the fact that it could not produce a power that was as strong as its power in its heyday remained.

Although Black Hammer Dwarven King Vernon could choose to make it so it would have a greater force and power, he decided to do something else. Vernon chose to recreate Bless to completely restore itself in two weeks, even if it were smashed and broken to smithereens. Instead of having enormous power, Bless was able to be functional forever.

Vwooooooooooong–!

Although Ethan controlled it so the armored weapon in his hands could swing its arms, it needed to be faster.

Bang– Bang, bang, bang, bang– Craaack–!

Every swing of Duke Ruffiso’s sword would create sparks and break a portion of the Transcendental Being’s Weapon’s body. However, Ethan had never even entertained the thought that he could defeat all of them here.

“Emergency Power Operation.”

Vwoooooooooooooong–!

Bless, already left staggering and creaking by its joints, suddenly regained vitality and original speed. Then, Ethan pulled one of the levers inside as hard as possible.

“Accelerate.”

Fwiiiish–!

Blazing flames shot out of Bless’ vents. And at that moment, the armored weapon’s slow reaction speed, the weakness that Duke Ruffiso was talking about, disappeared. Bless moved so fast that it only left afterimages behind.

Baaaaaaaaaaaang–!

Bless punched Duke Ruffiso with its remaining hand.

Fwoooooooosh–!

After sending Duke Ruffiso a bit further away, blazing flames shot out of Bless’ vents again.

Baaaaaaaaaaang–!

The weapon in Bless’ hands slammed straight into Duke Ruffiso.

Baaaaaaaaaaaang–!

“...!”

“D- Duke!”

“Dukeeeee!”

The entire world was left in shock after seeing Duke Ruffiso get beaten up by someone. No one in the Luvien Imperial Army could even land a strike on the man, but here he was getting beaten up.

Creaaaaaaak–! Clank, clank, clank, clank, clank–!

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang–!

They watched as the armored weapon clenched its only remaining fist and quickly punched Duke Ruffiso.

Thud, thud, thud, thud–!

Duke Ruffiso was furious after being forced to kneel on one knee. He was fully aware that this was Ethan’s final struggle. However, he grew angry at the fact that the man was trying so hard to stop him, even until his very last breath.

Boooooooooom–!

The power Duke Ruffiso could use because he was born from transcendentals was triggered at this moment.

Cliiiiiink–

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash–!

With just one light swing of his sword, a powerful force born from the divine energy he had triggered slammed straight into Bless.

Creaaaak–! Creaaaak–!

Sparks appeared all over Bless’ body. At this point, Ethan knew that he could no longer operate Bless.

Clank, clank–!

Although Bless staggered back, there was a bright smile on Ethan’s face.

[A total of 904,513 troops of the Luvien Imperial Army have died!]

Why was Ethan smiling? Because he had completed his mission. All of the armored weapons, except Bless, had already been destroyed.

‘However, it’s not over yet.’ Ethan had something else that he needed to do.

Duke Ruffiso walked toward the staggering and reeling Bless. “I will hang you alive.”

Ruffiso wanted to interrupt Ethan’s glorious end.

[The Transcendentals’ Holy Land’s Boss Monster, the Transcendental Being, has appeared!]

At that moment, the rusty door at the end of the red carpet slowly creaked open. The boss appeared behind the armored weapon before Duke Ruffiso could reach Ethan. Then, with his long silver hair, the Transcendental Being swung his sword.

Vwooooooooooooong–!

A fierce wind engulfed Duke Ruffiso and the entire Luvien Imperial Army behind him.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaaaaa–!

***

The entire world was watching the situation inside the dungeon with rapt attention.

Duke Ruffiso was sent flying backward, his body easily torn and ripped apart when the Transcendental Being appeared. All the viewers held their breath as doubts flashed in their heads.

[Why did a player like Ethan appear as a mob inside the Transcendentals’ Holy Land?]

[Don’t you feel that there’s something wrong going on here?]

[If there’s something wrong, then... Do you think someone made a dungeon?]

[Guys, just think about it. Even if someone made a dungeon, do you think a player can make a dungeon with such difficulty?]

That was right. Common sense would dictate that it was impossible. Even the commentators denied this hypothesis. It was just that impossible.

At that moment, the Transcendental Being’s Weapon finally started to collapse. However, before it could completely collapse, Ethan did the last thing he needed to do. Ethan took something out of the collapsing armored weapon. He squeezed the last of his strength and put it on his back. He smiled faintly as he looked at the Transcendental Being behind him. After that, the armored weapon collapsed utterly.

“...”

“...”

“...”

Everyone was left speechless at that moment. The thing that Ethan took out and put behind his back was none other than a white cape carrying the symbol of a fork and knife crossed together, a white cape that symbolized the empire that everyone was very familiar with.

Then, at that moment, the Transcendental Being’s Weapon exploded.

Baaaaaaaaaaang–!

The Transcendental Being walked through the blazing flames caused by the explosion. And when he appeared, the symbol of the fork and knife crossed together appeared on the back of his white robe.