Gourmet Gaming

Chapter 401: The First God Rank Artifact

What kind of an existence was the Death Guide? The truth was, there was only one Death Guide, a fact that was contrary to what the Rocard Kingdom believed. And this person happened to be Death, an unofficial Korean ranker that had been working under a thin veil of mystery for the longest time.

Death transferred to the Black Wizard class and accidentally reached the God Class ‘Immortal’. The Immortal class was simply put, a higher rank of the necromancer class. The biggest reason why his existence remained unknown was…

‘Undead summoning.’

The ability to summon a huge number of the undead had allowed him to forego participation in any party hunt. The Immortal’s summons were completely different from an ordinary necromancer’s summons, which had given him the leeway to work independently.

Death was one of the few people that had received the Black Dragon Vormon’s quest. He was the one that found the Death Knights and the souls trapped in their bodies. He had struggled desperately to gather all of the legendary souls. He also did his best to grow stronger and eventually gained enough foothold, becoming Black Dragon Vormon’s Undead Corps’ commander.

But after all those hardships, what the hell was happening right now?!

Death thought that he could continue digging through and pushing the Asgan Continent to its limit with Black Dragon Vormon’s Undead Corps as long as he remained alive. However, Vormon had died and Death was left with no choice but to give up on his dreams. However, even if he gave up on that dream, Death still had the power to swallow a huge dungeon or field by himself.

Yes, he had power that was comparable to the Summit Five.

Each of the players hailed as the Summit Five had the power to fight against an entire kingdom by themselves. However, Death was different. He could fight against an entire kingdom thanks to the power of the undead that he summoned.

So, he made a decision. Death, who had become the king of Vormon’s Undead Corps, knew that the Undead Corps would disappear forever a month after Vormon’s Death. However, he thought that it would be a pity to simply lose them like that.

If Death risked everything and attacked Asgan Continent, he was sure that Ellie and her troops would decimate them. Therefore, he needed to increase his power. Besides, he did not want all the time and effort that he invested into Vormon’s Undead Corps, as well as his plans on building an undead kingdom, to go to waste. So, he decided to plunder the Hybrid Race living under Vormon’s protection.

Death wanted to gain their special crops and special artifacts! On top of that, he also wanted to gain money by selling the Hybrid Race as slaves! That was right. He planned to destroy the lives of thousands of people in the Rocard Kingdom, just for his own personal gain.

However, something unexpected happened. Golden Mage Ali and Minhyuk had suddenly appeared. The outstanding men from Atlas came and trashed his Death Knights. But not long after, Minhyuk disappeared to who knew where.

“Where did he go?”

Death did not know where he went but there was one thing that he was sure of. Ali and the Food God might have appeared as variables but he would still be able to succeed in his quest to plunder the Rocard Kingdom. Death wanted to squeeze the Undead Corps until the very end and make them exert their strongest power before they disappeared completely.

Furthermore, as the Immortal and their king, he would also be able to temporarily exert the strongest power he could muster. Death decided to use this opportunity to push through. He might not know where the Food God went, but he knew that he would be gone for a while. So, he once again launched an all-out attack.

Alas, another unexpected thing happened.

“What the hell?!”

Five hundred of Rocard Kingdom’s elite soldiers suddenly became more powerful. These soldiers were barely able to deal with the skeleton knights before, but now every single one of them could fight against three or four by themselves! This was something very surprising.

‘Don’t… don’t tell me!’

Death had a hunch that this was all thanks to the Food God’s power.

‘Yes! It must definitely be the Food God’s excellent buff abilities!’

However, that thought was unbelievable, so he shook his head. If he continued to think in that direction, then it meant that he was not denying the fact that the Food God harbored power that was beyond any common sense.

Even if he was not using Vormon’s Undead Corps, the number of undead that he could summon were usually around 2,000. However, the Named NPCs that the Food God had summoned in this battlefield, together with the mighty elites of the Rocard Kingdom, as well as Ali, were more than enough to deal with those undead. Death needed to prepare another move.

That was when he brought out two small decrees. These parchments were something that Vormon had handed over to him when he became the commander of Vormon’s Undead Corps. These were decrees created with Vormon’s amazing magic and brilliant mind.

‘Undead Strengthening Decree.’

‘Powerful Undead Troops Production Decree.’

The Undead Strengthening Decree had the power to increase the power of Vormon’s entire Undead Corps right now. Vormon had intended to use it later during the battle of the continents. Of course, by then, the number of undead in their hands would be replenished, although it did not came to be.

On the other hand, the Powerful Undead Troops Production Decree was a special parchment that could produce Vormon’s Undead Corps. And the one that could produce these troops was none other than Immortal Death. Death used this excellent parchment to produce several incredibly powerful units of undead every day. However, the only downside was that these troops were disposable. Thankfully, the parchment could accumulate the troops that he produced everyday. It was because of this that Death had refrained from using the parchment and opted on accumulating the troops that he could produce. It was only today that he thought of using them.

Death immediately tore the Undead Strengthening Decree. The moment he tore the parchment, a black current swirled over the heads of the undead and got sucked into their bodies.

“Kiheeeeeeeek!”

“Kyaaaaaaaack!”

“Kihyaaaaaaack!”

Notifications rang for Death alongside the roars of the undead.

[You have used the Undead Strengthening Decree.]

[All of Vormon’s Undead Corps’ abilities have increased by 1.3x.]

[Their HP reserves have increased by 1.5x.]

And it did not end there. With his God Class Immortal, he gained a new set of special skills. He could designate a place and make the area around it a ‘death zone’. Death raised his staff encrusted with black gems. A powerful wave of power stretched out from the staff before seeping down into the ground just below the gates of Rocard Kingdom.

Shwaaaaaaaa—

Then, a black aurora stretched out and covered a radius of 30 meters.

[Death Zone]

[Those that stand inside the Death Zone cannot use any skill or potion.]

[You cannot use any special power to stop the Death Zone.]

[The skill has a 30 minute duration.]

That was right. Death Zone was a skill that restricted anyone within its radius of effect from using any of their skills and potions. However, as long as they escaped the 30 meter radius of the Death Zone, then it would be alright.

However, with the enemies in a position where they had to protect? The moment they stepped back, the gates would be taken over. It was a fact that they were forced to defend their gates. Simply put, this ability was very much perfect for their situation. And finally…

Riiiip—

[You have used the Powerful Undead Troops Production Decree.]

[You have awakened the 3,151 Powerful Undead Troops that have been produced and accumulated in the decree.]

Crack, crack, crack, crack, crack—

The ground suddenly cracked the moment the decree got ripped into two. Creatures with thick, bony, yet sturdy arms, broke out of the ground. Some appeared while wearing crowns on their heads, while some wore black full-plate armor on their bodies. These were the strong troops that Death had produced everyday.

When he produced these troops, Death had placed one word among each and every one of them. And that word was none other than ‘Lord’. The name of these armor-clad undead were ‘Skeleton Knight Lord’. At first, he added the word to distinguish them from the other undead. But with the crown on their heads, the name sounded perfect, so he used the word on all of them. The level of the skeleton knight lords were around Level 490. But, was that all?

Bang, crack, bang—

Giant bone drakes appeared as the ground exploded once again. They were also wearing huge crowns on their heads! Their defense was unimaginable that it was safe to say that they were breaking the balance. It was beyond what any ordinary player could deal with. In fact there would not be any difference between them and those Named NPCs over on the other side.

However, their HP was less than 1,000. With their defense over 10,000 and HP less than 1,000 it was clear how much of a help they would be. But with their almost impregnable defense, even with their extremely low HP, they would still be able to exert a tremendous force in the battlefield.

Thuuuud!

Even among the undead, their size was overwhelming. They were six meters in height! They were named ‘Lord Legends’. That was right. Death’s naming sense was among the worst! But it did not matter, he was currently intoxicated by power and in ecstasy.

“I really gave the Lord Legends a nice name! As expected of me…”

He must have been a genius! He was completely unaware of the stinky and cringy name that he had given. However, unlike their stinky names, the six meter tall Lord Legends had similar defenses as bone drakes, while their attack was similar to those of the Death Knights. Even their HP was quite significant.

Simply put, they harbor a lot of power!

“Clean them up!” Death ordered as the strong troops moved forward.

“Heok! I… I can’t use my mana!!!”

“The land and the trees won’t listen to me!!!”

“Everyone, retreat!!!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!!! If we retreat, then who will protect the gates?!”

The Death Zone had brought chaos and confusion to the Rocard Kingdom troops. Its sudden appearance meant that they would have to use their bare bodies to defend the gates. And the six Lord Legends clashed against Minhyuk’s exhausted Named NPCs.

Baaaaaang—

Stones and dust splashed around as one of the Lord Legends struck its sword down on the ground. Ben hurriedly avoided the attack as he stabbed it accurately on the forehead. However, he failed to deal any damage.

“What kind of…”

The Lord Legend sent another attack to the shocked Ben. Conir, Aruvel, Corr, and Cerberus were also in a similar situation. The worst part was that there were new types of undead coming up from behind! The skeleton knight lords with their clattering bones stuck to the gates while the bone drakes slammed their gigantic bodies on it.

Baaaaaaang—

Baaaaaaaaang—

Ben, Aruvel, Conir, and the rest of the troops, including the soldiers of Rocard Kingdom, could only flee inside and block them by closing the gates. All they could do was block the gates with their bodies to stop them from being opened.

Baaaaaaaang—

Dozens of bone drakes continued to slam into the gates at Death’s order.

“Keheok!”

“Kggggghhhk!”

They screamed as their bodies bounced off of the gates.

“Attack!” Beth ordered loudly. However, their arrows just bounced off of the bone drakes’ bodies and did not do any damage at all. It was clear that their defense was very high! But what made them feel more desperate was the fact that their skills had been restricted.

“Ali, if you use Turn Undead at a distance, then…”

“I don’t have enough MP.”

They were in the worst situation possible. Ali could release his snakes and prey on his enemies’ MPs, but that only worked for the living. He could not prey on the bony undeads’ MP. But, even if that was the case, they would not let the undead get past them easily.

“Block them with your bodies!”

“Stop them!!!”

“Open the gates for a moment, our First Unit will take that opportunity to go out. Make sure to immediately close the gates right after we go out!!!”

Those that were already on the brink of death volunteered to go out of the city once the gates opened. Then, they fought against the undead just right outside. Those left inside saw how the First Unit fought against the undead right at the entrance of the gates.

“Quick, close the gates!!! Keuhaaaack!”

“Close theeeem! Aaaaaack!”

“Bennet! You must survive! Close the gates!”

Screams rang loudly in the area as they got stabbed by spears and blades. They cried loudly as their bodies spurted out blood. The people of Rocard Kingdom had no choice but to close the gates in tears and reluctance.

All of them were of the same mind. They all had a firm will and determination to protect their kingdom! Under these dire circumstances, they were able to hold out and protect the gates for twenty minutes. Alas, they were already at their limits.

“Keuhahahahahahahaha!” Death laughed viciously.

He would build his ‘Kingdom of the Dead’ by plundering and looting the Rocard Kingdom! Then, the gates slowly began to open.

“Keooook!”

“Keuaaaack!”

The undead once again stepped foot inside the kingdom through the open gates.

“Kill all of the Food God’s subordinates!”

They said that the Food God would become a king. But the first king would be him, and him alone. In reality, he might be someone that could easily be ignored and could not do anything. However, in this place he would be the king.

‘Even if I can’t do anything in reality, I will still become king here!’

The cries of the people that he put into despair did not register in his ears. Only the fact that one of the Lord Legends had broken through the gates entered his mind. This was the Lord Legend that had power comparable to a Legendary Named NPC! And it will slaughter hundreds of these people for him.

Just when Death was about to grin widely…

Crackle!?

Bang, bang, bang!

A mysterious, yet domineering, blood-red lightning bolt fell down from the sky and struck the Lord Legends. The lightning strike had wiped out dozens of undead in one go.

[Three Lord Legends has been destroyed.]

[Forty one Skeleton Knight Lords have been destroyed.]

“…?!”

The Lord Legend that was comparable to a Legendary Named NPC was thrown away in one strike?! However, it did not end there. Another set of notifications rang the moment the unidentified lightning bolt struck down again.

Crackle!

Bang, bang, bang!

[Five Lord Legends has been destroyed.]

[Thirty four Skeleton Knight Lords have been destroyed.]

Crackle!

Bang, bang, bang!

[Fifty four Skeleton Knight Lords have been destroyed.]

“…?!”

Death suddenly turned flustered. What the hell was that skill and how the hell did it have that much power? Then, it made him think, ‘But skills can’t be used inside the Death Zone, right…?!’

He could not understand what was happening. Finally, the figure that struck down his Lord Legends appeared in front of him. The man was none other than the Food God. The Food God held an unidentified blood red sword which he brandished once again.

Crackle!

Bang, bang, bang!

Another blood-red lightning bolt fell down from the sky and annihilated everything that it fell down on.

‘Im… impossible! Does he have the power to neutralize the Death Zone?’

Common sense told Death that it was impossible. The Death Zone was an ability that ignored any kind of power or ability that could stop it. However, this was the Food God, and he might really have that kind of power.

So, Death decided to use one of his skills. This skill was none other than ‘Enemy Troops Observation’. This skill was very useful in creating the undead. This skill would observe the enemy’s active skill and develop a sub-par, yet compatible, active skill that the undead could learn.

[The Enemy Troops Observation has started.]

Ring!

[The Enemy Troops Observation has been completed.]

[There are no skills that are currently being used.]

[The attack is an ordinary attack.]

The moment Death heard the notifications, he recalled…

“Ordinary attack…?”

… he recalled what the players called attacks like this. A direct and basic attack.