Chapter 33 Part1 (1/2)

<chapter 33.=”” t.i.tan=”” -=”” 1=””>

If there was one thing Lee s.h.i.+n Woo hadn't taken into account, it was Metafel's, or the one once hailed as the Mercenary King's 'pride'.

[Kik, so there wasn't someone behind me... No, they may still be there, but that guy's the leader! K-kiiik! How funny! Kuheeeeehk!]

Metafel must've thought that he was just some unknown spy, but what would he think if he knew that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was actually the mastermind behind all of this?

Not only had he lost the artifact that the Archmage had given him, but it'd also been used against him to divide his troops. What if these Giants and the undead, who had gradually cut down his troops by half, were on the same side?

[Kiiiiiiiik! The Mercenary King, Metafel is gone. Completely gone! Yeah, it's been a long time since my rotten brain has been eaten away, so how could I be the same as before!?]

The moment Metafel was able to see the man who had cleverly led him here, used his pride against him so that he wouldn't call for reinforcements, who commanded the undead, humans, Giants, even golems and other races as well, had trapped his forces inside the mountain range, and had cajoled them...

[Kukeuk. Kuheuk... Kuaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

He charged forward as if he were going to do that from the very beginning. When he thought about his proud 50,000 troops being taken down by that man, he knew he couldn't just sit around like an idiot and do nothing.

[You don't need a corps anymore.]

[You want me to take the Lightning Shadow General's place? Archmage, I am the Mercenary King. I am strongest when I lead.]

[No, you still don't understand, do you? That was all in the past. You're different now.]

That was a part of the conversation that they'd had after the Lightning Shadow General's death.

At the time, Metafel hadn't understood what the Archmage was telling him, and so, the Archmage gave him a mission. That mission was to invade the Giant's domain.

[Kik...]

Back then, he thought that by killing all of the Giants and eating all their rotten flesh and blood that he'd be able to level up. However, that didn't actually happen.

Numbers were meaningless due to the perilous terrain, and his opponents were stronger than he'd antic.i.p.ated. His squads would clash with a small handful of troops and would repeatedly be ripped apart over and over again. Now, Metafel understood what the Archmage was trying to tell him.

[Weaklings... are unnecessary! Kuaaaaaah!]

A single absolute being held no weaknesses. Metafel had a way to become the 'absolute strongest', and all he needed to do was make up his mind. It was too much of a waste to just use his ability to heal his wounds. The ability that came with his 'rebirth' wasn't something as trivial as a healing ability.

[G-General...!]

[Delicious! As I thought, it's delicious!]

He would become stronger and grow through eating, and ultimately, evolve. Metafel shuddered. It felt like that once unbreakable wall was cracking bit by bit and light was s.h.i.+ning through. The more he stretched out his hand, the wider he opened his mouth, the more intense that light became.

[All of you... come to me! I will... eat all of you!]

And thus began Metafel's feast of his troops.

”That crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d is...”

Seeing that, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo shuddered for a different reason.

Metafel's soldiers were dwindling rather quickly. Through the efforts of the Giants and Pauls, around half of Metafel's soldiers had been defeated, and Metafel began to eat the other half.

[General, why...!?]

[Geureu...! There's no reason for you to live when you couldn't even take down one enemy. Be thankful that you can at least become a source of nutrients for me!]

[Guaaaaahk!?]

The crazed Metafel began to eat without considering the soldiers around him watching. Although Metafel looked exactly like a human at first, when he opened his mouth and his jaw stretched, his cheeks ripped open, revealing sharp beast-like teeth within.

”That crazy Ghoul b.a.s.t.a.r.d!”

”I-I'm scared. He's getting stronger.”

”s.h.i.+n Woo, what are you going to do?”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo briefly thought about the unforeseen situation ahead of him. Should we take him down immediately, or should he just proceed with his original strategy? But he really didn't even need to think about it.

[Kuhaaaaaaaaaaah!]

”Keuk!?”

The moment Metafel roared, a red aura surrounded the soldiers that were once under his command. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought it was some sort of special buff skill that Metafel could only use by eating a few of his troops, so he felt really uneasy and recalled his forces, but...

[Kuaaaaaaah!]

[Kik, Kihiiiiiii!]

”...What the h.e.l.l?”

It wasn't actually a buff; it was actually a skill that forced his subordinates to do something... to run towards their commander, Metafel.

[I-I don't want to!]

[Sir Metafel, please don't!]

[It's better if you give your lives to me than to those insects! I'll eat you all!]

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo suddenly realized as he watched Metafel open his mouth wide and continue eating. That was the cheat skill that allowed him to ignore the mana's spatial inference and gather his troops with him at its center! A skill that allowed him to have an emergency food supply nearby at all times!

”So why is he doing that now!?”

[Master, you won't be able to win once he's really started eating! When he's done eating all of those elites, he might...!]

”Yeah. Since he's almost grown as much he could as a level 7.”

s.h.i.+no Rendu had sent him an urgent report, but Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was already aware of the situation. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo didn't know why that crazy b.a.s.t.a.r.d began to eat his own soldiers once he caught sight of him, but the number of soldiers wouldn't matter if he became level 8.

Even so, even if they attacked, all of his injuries would be healed because he was continuously eating. And despite Kratia's spell, Setoin had survived and almost as if expecting that this would happen, was standing by Metafel's side to protect him!

”Above all, it's impossible to take him down, as the Empire's troops are swarming him from all over. Then, instead... we'll stop him from eating! All forces, attack! They're nothing more than target practice right now!”

Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's booming voice resounded throughout the mountain range. If they couldn't stop Metafel from eating, then they would remove his food supply. That was the only thing Lee s.h.i.+n Woo could do at this point.

Because of his skill, Metafel's subordinates couldn't do anything but rush towards him. Therefore, he wouldn't have to worry about any casualties and his forces could just take them down with ease!

[Guoooooooooooooh!]

[Kyahaaaaaaah!]

[For the t.i.tan's Pride!]

All who heard his call discarded their covert operations and charged out from the canyons, above the hills, and between the boulders.

Metafel continued to eat his own troops, and those troops were forced to focus on Metafel. The Paul Corps and the Giants charged at the enemy troops... and it was chaos.

”How did it come to this?”

”Don't ask me.”