Leveling Up Through Eating

Chapter 666: The Land of the Forgotten Heroes

Sun Wukong asked his queen after a thought flashed in his head, “How was the dish that the chef from another world cooked for you?”

The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal had heard that the chef was the one that helped Queen Ari gain vision.

“…It’s the most delicious dish that I have tasted in my entire life.”

“…I see.”

Sun Wukong would have to thank the man. But for now, all he wanted to do was hug Queen Ari tightly into his arms.

“I’ve lived a wonderful life.”

Just like that, the time passed by quietly. One hour, two hours, three hours. Sun Wukong felt a deep ache in his chest as he recalled the memories of the time he spent with her.

Thump.

By the time dawn broke out, Queen Ari passed away. Although her body had already started to cool down in Sun Wukong’s arms, her expression remained gentle and happy.

Not long after, the palace started to get busy preparing for Queen Ari’s funeral. As for Sun Wukong, he said, “The chef. Bring the chef to me. Tell him that I will grant him whatever he wants!”

***

In the past, the Kingdom of Eden was considered as the most beautiful and peaceful kingdom in all of Edea, under the fair rule of the Bull Demon King. The kingdom rarely went to war and even held festivals for the people to enjoy themselves. In fact, the Bull Demon King wanted to treat everyone equally, personally stepping forward and punishing the nobles if they tried to persecute the commoners unfairly.

However, that was no longer the case.

Shiver, shiver, shiver—

The people of Eden were lying face down, bodies trembling in fear as their new king, Rumacar, marched in front of them. If any of them raised their heads in an untimely manner, all of them knew that the disciplined and strict knights would immediately cut their heads off.

“It’s filthy and it stinks. Take it down or tear it apart, I don’t care. Immediately make a prayer room for the Jade Emperor.”

“H, how… how can you tear down a house that has existed there for thirty long years!”

Rumacar turned slightly to look at the old man that had voiced out his complaint.

“That’s right. We shouldn’t easily tear down a house that has existed for thirty years.”

“Aaah, aaaaaaah…! Th, then…!”

Thump—

The old man, whose head fell off and rolled on the ground with one swing of Rumacar’s hand, could not even finish his words.

“It’s fine now, no? Anyone that goes against my order of creating a room for the Jade Emperor deserves to die. Don’t you think so?” Rumacar said as he looked at the knights behind him.

The knights kept their mouths shut, gulping dryly at the sight. Among them stood Aaron, who was shivering at the sight, his palms clenched tightly into fists. That old man had been running a small pub. Aaron often went to the pub to drink and chat with him. Now, that old man was killed.

Aaron was the commander of the Kingdom of Eden’s Royal Knights. He was hailed as the strongest knight, not only in Eden, but in all of the other kingdoms in Edea. Sword’s Saint Aaron, that was what he was called.

Aaron hated that he was witness to how far the Kingdom of Eden had fallen. He hated how this country fell and was persecuting its people.

“Commander Aaron. Heed my orders, quickly clean that filthy thing up.”

“…I have received your orders.”

However, he was nothing but a mere knight. All he could do was to follow the orders of their new king, Rumacar, and this world’s god, the Jade Emperor. Sometimes, he would catch himself missing him.

Then, at that moment…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Suddenly, the sound of drums began to ring loudly in the area. Rumacar’s expression turned ugly, his head turning swiftly towards one direction. Commander Aaron also felt the tremendous energy that appeared in the distance.

Along with that, the gasping soldiers ran up to them and reported…

“The, the Bull Demon King… has returned!!!”

“…What?!”

Rumacar could not help but be shocked. He had inflicted a fatal injury upon the Bull Demon King before he fled. He could not even find him anywhere in Edea even after countless thorough searches using the power of the Jade Emperor. Yet now, he had somehow returned. However, not long after, a gruesome smirk appeared on Rumacar’s face.

“Summon the entire army.”

The Kingdom of Eden was currently in a chaotic state. There were even some people that dreamt of staging a rebellion. There were also some of them that had been waiting here, hoping against hope that the Bull Demon King was still alive and well. But today, Rumacar would make sure to cut the Bull Demon King’s head off and make it roll in front of everyone.

The Kingdom of Eden’s troops swiftly gathered at the command of their new king.

***

The Bull Demon King stared at the troops that started to line up at the walls that he built together with his people.

Vwooooooooooong—!

The troops’ roar along with the loud blare of the horn shook the world.

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Waaaaaaaaaaaaaah!”

“Slaughter the tyrant!!!”

“Waaaaaaaaaaah!!!”

The gates began to open at the loud roars of the hundreds of thousands of troops that spilled out on the field. However, the Bull Demon King walked forward, ready to face them all by his lonesome self.

‘I’m sorry.’

The Bull Demon King looked at the soldiers. They were someone’s father and someone’s child. He was sure that he had seen them at least once, greeted them, and even laughed and chatted with them. However, the Bull Demon King decided to ignore that fact and see them only as the Jade Emperor’s dogs. Besides, these people had already turned a blind eye to his plight.

He would destroy the fallen Kingdom of Eden. Getting back his throne? He never dreamt of it. All he wanted to do was to let them know that the Jade Emperor and his envoys were in the wrong.

Thud—

Holding an old woldo in his hands, the Bull Demon King continued to walk forward.

“Hihihihihihing!”

“Hihihihihihing!”

A ten thousand-strong cavalry charged toward the Bull Demon King. They were immediately followed by the soldiers. The Kingdom of Eden had a total of 750,000 troops. Each and every single member of the kingdom’s army was very powerful. That was especially the case for their cavalry, the pride of the Kingdom of Eden. All of the members of the cavalry were knights.

The Bull Demon King saw the man leading the cavalry.

‘Ard.’

He knew the man. That man used to be a kid that had dreamt of joining the cavalry. The Bull Demon King was the one that personally chose that child. But now, that child’s spear was aimed at him. He was also aiming his blade at them.

Slash—

With one slash of the Bull Demon King’s woldo, Ard, who was running at the lead, flew away.

“Charge.”

The Bull Demon King charged toward the cavalry and the troops behind them at the speed of light. At the same time, an unknown voice rang and lingered in his ears.

‘Hanwoo, charge!!!’

The Bull Demon King was sure that it was the voice of that person that he met in the other world.

‘Thank you. I hope you live well,’ the Bull Demon King thought, hoping those words reached the man that he could not remember. Still, he was very grateful to whoever it was.

Slash, slash, slash, slash!

A shocking spectacle unfolded in front of everyone as the Bull Demon King charged forward at the speed of light, crushing everything and everyone in his path. Just like Moses parting the Red Sea, a path miraculously opened up in front of the Bull Demon King. Just like that, the pride of the Kingdom of Eden, the cavalry, was swept away by a single man.

“Hi, hiiiiiik!”

“A, aaaaaaack!”

The cavalry men that the Bull Demon King passed by all disappeared without a trace. But he did not stop, instead, he continued to charge forward to where the footed soldiers were.

Meanwhile, on top of the walls.

King Rumacar looked down with an air of arrogance at the Bull Demon King. He was lounging on top of the walls while leisurely eating grapes.

Baaaaaaaaaaaang—

“Leap.”

A powerful force covered the Bull Demon King’s legs, boosting his ability to leap by around six times and allowing him to jump to higher places and reach the place where Rumacar was.

Rumacar stared at the incoming woldo that was aiming for his head in interest, his head tilting slightly to the side and avoiding it completely.

Vwooooooong—

“Interesting.”

The Bull Demon King immediately spun around and charged toward Rumacar once again.

Ping—

A slash appeared on the cheeks of Rumacar, the Jade Emperor’s Envoy, as a drop of blood dripped down his chin.

Thuuuuuud—

The Bull Demon King, who landed on the ground once more, began to sweep away the Kingdom of Eden’s army. In that short amount of time, around 20,000 of the troops had already died.

“C, crazy…!!!”

“As expected of the Bull Demon King!!!”

Rumacar’s expression turned cold as he wiped the blood off of his cheeks. Strangely enough, the drop of blood made him smile strangely. Then, he stood up from his seat and lightly held his sword, jumping down from the walls and arriving in front of the Bull Demon King in a flash.

‘What…!’

Rumacar moved so fast that no one was able to see how he moved. Even the Bull Demon King, who was able to wipe out 20,000 troops in one go, was unable to feel Rumacar’s presence.

Stab, stab, stab, stab—!

The Bull Demon King’s skin was sturdy and thick. There was no weapon or magic that could pierce through it and break it apart. However… his body was easily stabbed by Rumacar with his sword, blood dripping down and covering his body.

“Keuhaaaaack!”

The Bull Demon King brandished his blade recklessly, but Rumacar easily escaped with just a slight twist of his toes. He even countered with an attack of his own by slamming the flat of the blade of his sword on the Bull Demon King’s face.

Baaaaaang—

Although the Bull Demon King was only hit by the flat of the blade, he was still thrown to the ground by the force of the blow. Rumacar did not let the opportunity slip by, his foot trampling on the Bull Demon King’s face.

Stomp, stomp, stomp!

“A mere king from an uncivilized kingdom dares to go against the Jade Emperor and his envoy?”

“Keuhaaaaaaack!”

The Bull Demon King struggled but Rumacar just laughed at his vain efforts. After making a mess of the Bull Demon King’s face, Rumacar stepped back and said, “Die.”

Rumacar did not want to kill the man with his own hands. He wanted him to experience a disastrous death at the hands of his beloved people and army. This would be his and the Jade Emperor’s punishment for this measly king. He wanted to show him how cruel and vicious he was.

Rumacar cackled at the Bull Demon King’s figure. He turned around, his hands behind his back as he looked at the kingdom. Then, he said, “The Million Great Army that you have led? They are no more.”

That was right. Even the Million Great Army that he had raised and nurtured as the king had now turned their backs on him and served the Jade Emperor.

“The people that you loved and cherished? They are no more.”

The people that he cherished, the ones that he laughed and cried with and discussed the bright future of the Kingdom of Eden were no longer with him.

“You are all alone.”

Indeed. The Bull Demon King was now all alone. He was once a great and kind king, but now he was reduced to nothing but an unfortunate king who would go down in history as a tyrant.

“You no longer have any comrades,” Rumacar’s cold voice rang in the ears of the fallen Bull Demon King.

However, Rumacar, who was standing with his back to the Bull Demon King, could not help but be puzzled. He should have already heard the sound of the Bull Demon King being trampled on and killed. However, there was no sound that rang behind him. So, he turned around to look, only for his face to turn ugly.

The Sword’s Saint Aaron, the Kingdom of Eden’s First Royal Knight Order Commander, was supporting the Bull Demon King. Standing around them were 20,000 strong knights. All of them stood, their blades aimed at their allies to protect the Bull Demon King.

Sword’s Saint Aaron spat coldly, “His Majesty, the Bull Demon King, is not alone.”

***

At the same time.

“I don’t think I will be able to bring my troops and fight by your side.”

The Great Sage, Heaven’s Equal, heard about how Minhyuk was related to the Bull Demon King.

Sun Wukong, who sent something towards Minhyuk’s body, said, “However, I can lend you my powers.”

Swoooooooosh—

Then, Minhyuk, who saw the Flying Nimbus appear in front of him, climbed on top of the cloud. He had heard from Sun Wukong that his dear Hanwoo was fighting a lonely battle.

“Hang in there, Hanwoo.”

At this very moment, the Bull Demon King’s greatest and strongest comrade headed for the battlefield at the speed of light.