Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 1058

Some people said that if Nerva, who was once the emperor of the Luvien Empire, and Brod, who harbored deep hatred and resentment toward him, worked together, then they would be able to exert power so strong that they wouldn’t even be afraid of the Eight Pillars.

Brod was just that strong. He had always created a breakthrough using his strength alone whenever the Beyond the Heavens Empire needed him, and was considered the strongest man of the current era.

And there was also Nerva, the previous empire of the largest empire in Athenae.

The two were beings that could never mix, just like oil and water. However, this inevitable situation brought them together.

Lord of the Monsters Barbarian frowned. ‘Who’s that one-armed guy?’

As someone who had been hiding behind the shadows for a very long time, Barbarian did not know much about the Luvien Empire. And because the one-armed man did not show any special combat moves during the battle, he did not catch his interest. That was why he was left dumbfounded when he heard the man say he would kill fifteen million monsters alone.

‘My monsters? Hoho!’

Barbarian found it highly ridiculous. The Named Monsters that he created had an average level of Level 860.

Dozens of these Named Monsters stepped forward, casting their unique characteristics toward the one-armed man. Each of their characteristics was different. Some left their victims stunned, some induced panic, and some gnawed at HP.

Barbarian blinked blankly at the scene in front of him.

‘Nothing is working on him? W- what the hell is happening?’

The monsters’ special characteristics did not damage Nerva at all. Why? The reason lied in the authority that Nerva had obtained during his time as the emperor of the Luvien Empire and as a candidate for the Battle God’s descendant.

Nerva possessed various authorities and powers during his time as the emperor of the Luvien Empire, including the authority of “The Absolute One.” Although he had stepped down from the throne, he was not stripped of this power.

It was in the face of this power that the monsters’ special characteristics could not reach and do anything to him at all.

“Ki- kihyeeeeeeck?!”

“Keuhaaaaack!!!”

“Kyaaaack!!!”

The monsters took a step back.

If Brod was a wolf, then Nerva was a hawk. The monsters felt fear when they saw his hawk-like eyes glaring at them as he scanned his surroundings.

Boom–

Then, Nerva triggered his skill, “In the Presence of the Emperor.” The moment it got triggered, an overwhelming pressure began to weigh down on the monsters.

Thud–!

Thud, thud, thud!

Thud, thud–!

The monsters were forced to kneel one after another. Some of them tried to resist, but they still ended up kneeling and worshiping the man who released the overwhelming power.

“...!”

Barbarian was left dumbfounded. The image of over ten million monsters shaking on their knees as they knelt before the one-armed man was genuinely shocking. This was worship. The worship and praise given to the most extraordinary absolute being!

“B- bastard!”

Barbarian was entirely determined to kill Brod. However, his entire plan had gone awry. Maybe this man was just an actor who had learned a lot of miscellaneous skills. After all, some people like that did not have a strong force but could make their enemies retreat with their miscellaneous skills and great acting.

“Stand up!!!” Barbarian shouted, his fingers pointing up as he forced his monsters to stand up.

The three-headed lion stood up in front of everyone’s eyes. Its figure was reminiscent of that of the Hell's Gatekeepers, the Cerberus. The difference was they were stronger and better than the Cerberus. This monster was the result of the interbreeding that Barbarian did. And he had produced no less than thirty of such monsters.

Their legs, which were from a leopard, were powerful and gave them speed, making it hard for people to follow them with their eyes.

Thud, thud, thud–!

They charged toward Nerva at the same time.

“That’s dangerous…” Ares groaned.

He and countless other rankers have already clashed with the three-headed lions. Their level was around Level 800, and they had tough skins. That was not the only problem. Since they were equipped with strong and fast feet and maws that could crush anything, it was tough to hunt them, too. These monsters had already beaten tens of thousands of their troops.

And thirty of these monsters were charging straight toward the one-armed Nerva.

“Plaid Swordsmanship Chapter 4.”

Kihyeeeeeeeeee–!

The image of dozens of hawks flying in the vast, open sky spread in their eyes. At the same time, dozens of sword lights shot out from Nerva’s sword, flying beautifully like the hawks in the sky. Then, the hawks descended.

“Cast Hunting.”

Slash, slash, slash–!

The hawks and the sword lights pierced through the charging lions with great accuracy.

“Groar!”

“Graaaaack!”

“Grrrrrr!”

Some lions braved through the pain and continued to charge toward Nerva. Nerva swung his sword lightly and cut down the lion, which opened its maw to devour him.

Shwaaaaaaa–!

Thud– Thud, thud–!

The troops of the allied forces looked at Nerva in admiration as he skillfully strode amidst the three-headed lions and cut them down one after another.

On the other hand, Barbarian was left wide-eyed as he watched the scene. “Wasn’t he supposed to be just an actor?! G- go at the same time! Bite him at the same time!”

Flash, flash, flash–!

Dozens of lions ignored the pain coursing through their bodies and jumped at Nerva at the same time. Everyone watching the scene could tell it was a dangerous moment for the former emperor. Even if Nerva could fire attacks like that, it was still tough for someone who had lost an arm to fight back against that many monsters simultaneously.

Vwooooooong–!

Just then, a small light flashed into existence as a magic spell manifested. Then, a black “arm”, which was created using the outstanding technology of the Luvien Empire, appeared on Nerva’s left shoulder.

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

Nerva wanted to spend the rest of his life leisurely and live comfortably until his old age. He had let go of his greed and only wished to see the Luvien Empire remain intact and come into Brod’s hands. He also knew there would be a lot of risk and danger during the process. That was why he secretly created this left arm. Even though Nerva could only use the arm for an hour, it was no different from a real arm.

Now holding his sword with both hands, Nerva grinned at the approaching lions. “Hawk Raid.”

Slash, slash, slash–!

At that moment, thousands of swords appeared and slashed the approaching lions. The lions could not even leave a single scratch on Nerva’s body before they fell.

“Bastard!” The shocked Barbarian shouted at Nerva.

Nerva just glared at him coldly.

“Didn’t I tell you to shut that disgusting trap of yours? Never mind, let me rip that trap of yours apart,” Nerva said as he flew like a hawk.

Players would have at least one one-shot kill skill in their arsenal. Penalties often accompanied these skills. Surprisingly enough, Nerva’s one-shot kill skill did not have any penalties.

Nerva was once the greatest emperor. He was a strong man who built the strongest and largest empire. He suffered huge damage when he tried to use the skill the first time, but despite this, Nerva did not stop growing.

There was a vast difference between a player and an NPC. For players, their growth was determined by their level and their skills. However, NPCs did not have such restrictions. Because they could strengthen and grow by themselves, they could eliminate the damage that such a powerful skill could cause them.

Kihyeeeeeeeeck!

Everyone stared at Nerva, who soared beautifully in the sky like a hawk. When the sun's light reflected from it, a brilliant glimmer appeared on the blade of his sword.

“Hunting Time.”

Beeeeeeeep–!

Thousands of sword lights shot out from Nerva’s sword and pierced through the monsters beneath him.

Stab, stab, stab–!

The sword lights had already pierced through the bodies of the monsters.

Swoooooosh–!

Like flying hawks, the sword lights dislodged themselves and flew to the sky again.

Hunting Time was a skill that had a duration of four minutes. During that time, all those recognized as enemies would be continuously targeted by the sword lights until they were killed. The skill could also deal an additional 6,000% damage, a number that would be seen if it could be displayed in the players’ notification windows.

The sword lights danced around the air and continuously dealt an additional 6,000% damage as they attacked the monsters. And since Nerva’s attack power was high, the damage that the monsters incurred was beyond imagination.

Stab– stab, stab–!

The sword lights constantly cut down the enemies, alternating between flying and descending from the sky.

Barbarian and allied troops were rendered speechless at the sight of the monsters being wiped out rapidly.

Meanwhile, Brod was also killing the monsters on his side non-stop. The number of monsters he killed was on par with the number that Nerva killed alone.

At that moment, Brod’s face grew ugly. “NERVA!!!”

The furious Brod jumped at Nerva, who had landed on the battlefield again.

“Didn’t I tell you never to cross that line?!”

Apparently, he was furious because the sword lights created by Hunting Time, which was still active, were cutting down the monsters that Brod was trying to hunt.

“Ah. Sorry,” Nerva said calmly.

Brod was anything but calm. He slapped Nerva.

Thwack!!!

“Damn you, Brod! Aren’t you a bit too much?!”

“You think it’s a bit too much? I still can’t forget my men, who you poisoned, by the way.”

“You’re not being unreasonable here just because of what happened in the past, no? Did your hatred already eat at your brain?”

In the end, the angered Brod grabbed Nerva by the collar.

“Ho- hohoho…?”

Barbarian and the troops of the allied forces were dumbfounded. Why were they fighting against each other when they were doing an excellent job on their own?

And Barbarian, who listened to the allied forces, could figure out the story.

‘So, something like that happened between the two? Hoho. If I do this well, I can kill them without doing anything.’

Barbarian felt threatened by the force that the two were releasing. To his relief, the two were busy grabbing each other’s collars.

In the end, Brod was unable to contain his anger. He swung his sword and slashed Nerva.

Slaaaaash–!

“Kghhk. You lunatic! Really? Right now? In this situation…”

Brod did not give Nerva any time to breathe. He swung his sword and put pressure on Nerva. Nerva, who saw a gap in his defenses, took the opportunity to cut Brod with his sword.

“I will kill you today! No matter what!”

Blood spurted all over the two's bodies. Strangely, when the monsters tried to attack them, they were quickly dealt with.

“Get lost!”

Slash!

“Don’t meddle!!!”

Slash!

Just like that, the two continued to fight their bloody battle.

Slash–!

In the end, Nerva, whose flank had been cut down, stumbled on his feet. Brod raised his foot and kicked him hard on the abdomen.

Thud–!

Nerva was sent flying away. The place where he landed was where Barbarian, who was riding atop his monster, was.

‘Ho- hohohoho!!!’

Barbarian’s grin almost reached his ears. He felt extremely delighted to see the two men, who he thought were the most dangerous, anxiously tearing at each other as they tried to kill the other.

“Hohohohoho!” Barbarian cackled, unable to hold back his laughter.

Brod stepped on the monsters and charged forward while a powerful force began to gather on the blade of his sword.

“Mercenary’s Pinnacle Swordsmanship.”

The grin on Barbarian’s face grew even wider. He could tell Nerva would not be left intact if that force hit him.

When Brod was almost near Nerva, he unleashed his power.

“Wolf King’s Hunt.”

Awooooooo–!

With a loud howl, Brod’s most powerful force shot out of his sword. To everyone’s shock, it was not flying toward Nerva. Instead, it was aimed at Barbarian.

“Hoho…?” Barbarian’s laughter was cut short. The moment he sensed something was off, he immediately tried to escape.

“Hey, didn’t I say I will tear that disgusting trap of yours?” Nerva said as hundreds of hawks appeared and clung to Barbarian’s feet, effectively controlling his movements.

“This- this…!”

Only at this moment did Barbarian realize that the two had completely tricked him! The two were just acting!

The gigantic wolf king immediately ripped Barbarian’s body with fierce, sharp teeth.

“Keuhaaaaack!”

Nerva looked up at Brod after seeing Barbarian torn apart by his power.

‘B- Brod, this bastard…’

The two of them had known each other for a very long time. Although they were archenemies now, they could still understand what the other intended to do with just one look at each other.

‘...He cut too deep. It really hurts…’

Nerva was sure that Brod did it on purpose.