Shiiiing—

Vlan watched Minhyuk pull the sword out of its sheath.

"Ha!" Vlan laughed incredulously. They might be incumbent, non-commissioned officers right now, but they were once a part of the nation's Special Forces. Not long ago, they even participated in a real-time, mock survival battle against the US Special Naval Forces. Although they had lost, they were still veterans who had trained for a long time. Yet, there was some bastard who they did not even know of, who suddenly entered their tactical field fearlessly. 

"You have done something that should never be done," the man said. 

Vlan thought carefully about what he was talking about. He thought, 'Did Lucia tell him something?'

If they truly were lovers, then this man would definitely be angry. That was enough reason for him to move like this. However, his bravery would rather make Lucia feel sorry for him. 

The man grabbed his sword tightly as he dashed towards Vlan and roared out, "I mixed that dry spicy seafood noodles with tuna and sausages!" 

"...?" 

The man’s momentum was fierce as he dashed towards Vlan. However, one of the members of Bacallo Guild blocked his path and drew his dagger.

Vlan clicked his tongue, “Tsk!”

*** 

“Tsk!” Alicia clicked her tongue. 

‘I can’t believe they dared to stop Minhyuk from eating his fill. Wow. They even went all the way.’ 

The scene enlarged in the monitor was that of a man wearing a white mask and the Bacallo Guild's confrontation. Meanwhile, the guild masters were grouped together and talking.  

"Bacallo Guild’s squad is really strong." 

"Did you fight with them?" 

“Our guild fought with those guys before. Back then, four of my kids were at Level 120." 

"???" 

"They couldn’t break through their tactical field. The four of them were even killed by three Level 70 players and were robbed clean. I heard that they were really no joke…" 

"Wow... how in the world can a Level 120 be defeated by a Level 70?" 

"Their tactical field is quite amazing. They would hit you then disappear like a ghost. Since they were soldiers, they can easily use the terrain to their advantage. Besides, you need to break through their formation to get away from their transparent encirclement. It’s like being caught in a spiderweb. Lucia wouldn't even be able to get out once she's trapped in their tactical field. You'll only get out once you're dead… "

Alicia nodded at their explanation. She thought, 'Interesting.' 

When she had met Minhyuk before, she could not tell how strong he would become. However, he was someone who constantly trained himself, without external stimulus. At that moment, when the guild masters finished talking, Alicia heard Cain murmur something. He said, "...That person’s movements are strange…" 

Alicia turned her head to look closely at the monitor. Cain's father might be a CEO, but he was also someone who had won gold medals in both kendo and judo. 

"A black belt? No, probably more than that.." 

***

The player that blocked Minhyuk’s path was named Ben. He might be a Warrior class player, but he specialized in daggers. He was also a 3-dan in kendo, 3-dan in judo and a 4-dan in taekwondo. Ben was proud to say that he would not bring shame to the name ‘Special Forces’. Even his skills in the martial arts were among the best. He was thinking of stabbing Minhyuk in the neck and waist in one breath. 

Dash! 

The moment he reached Minhyuk…

Fwoom! 

Grab! 

…Minhyuk easily grabbed his wrist that aimed for Minhyuk's neck. 

"...!" 

Ben and Vlan's eyes grew wide at the same time. Ben tried to kick Minhyuk’s knees, but Minhyuk was faster.

Bang! 

"Ugh!" Ben cried as Minhyuk stepped on his foot. Enraged and in pain, Ben tried to slam his elbow into Minhyuk’s chin.

Swish! 

However, Minhyuk tilted his head slightly, just avoiding the attack, and clenched his hand holding Ben’s wrist with even more strength.

Clench! 

"Ugh...!" Ben cried out as the grip on his wrist tightened. It felt like his wrist was going to break. Ben might not be able to feel much pain since this was a game, but he could feel the intention. He was forced to kneel down with Minhyuk’s strength.

Slash! 

Minhyuk easily slashed Ben's throat with his Sword of Rebellion and walked towards Vlan. Vlan was left in a daze after seeing Ben forced out that easily. He thought, 'W, what the hell... B, Ben's one of the best in my unit... How can that bastard manage that!' 

Vlan quickly sent a signal.

Daaaaash! 

Daaaaash! 

Three of the guild members who were in the vicinity appeared and surrounded Minhyuk. 

Dash! 

Slash! 

Swiiish! 

Fwooom! 

Slash! 

It was quick and clean. Minhyuk calmly brought them under control within two minutes. After all, his stats were overwhelming. Even if they had the same stats as him, they would not be able to match him in skills. Furthermore, before he came to challenge them, he already buffed himself up by eating. Witnessing the sudden turn of events, Vlan quickly hid himself in the woods. Then, he pressed down on a button on his left wrist. 

[You can now give orders to your troops.] 

This was the special ability of the Iron Blooded Commander. As soon as the tactical field was activated, he would be able to give orders to his troops, and see a map that would help him assess the status of his troops and their tactical field. 

"This is the company commander. Listen to my orders. From now on, we will activate the tactical field!"

[The tactical field will begin to unfold and cover a 500m radius.]

[With the effects of the tactical field, all Brave Warriors will have a 20% increase in all abilities.] 

Swooooooosh! 

A transparent blue wall started to form. This was a sign that the tactical field was activated. Then, a map suddenly appeared in front of Vlan. There were red dots that appeared on the map indicating the positions of his troops. If the target fights with his troops, then the enemy's position would be marked in blue. But the blue dot kept on appearing and disappearing. 

'Damn it, he's more powerful than I thought.' 

There were many hidden masters in Athenae. There were even rumors that there was a 100-level difference between the number one top ranker and the number one unofficial ranker. 

However, Vlan still had a smirk on his face. He said, "Right now, you're just a rat trapped in my trap…!" 

He laughed sinisterly. No enemy had ever escaped their tactical field. 

***

A blue barrier suddenly appeared in the forest.  A woman approached the barrier and pressed her hands on it. The woman realized that she could not break through the barrier. It felt like a solid and sturdy wall to her.

'I heard a scream coming from around here?' 

The woman, Lou, was the same woman that had given Minhyuk the Welch's drink earlier. She was considered a big shot too, but in this tournament, she was just like a normal archer. Lou quickly jumped up on a tree to scout the situation inside the barrier.

'It's the Bacallo Guild?' 

Lou saw the members of Bacallo Guild camouflaged in various places within the barrier. Some players were setting up tricks and traps, some were aiming with their crossbows while others were hiding behind trees. 

Daaaaash! 

Lou climbed up higher to see the situation inside better. When she looked down…

'Wow...' 

…she saw a spectacular and shocking sight. Inside the barrier, the Bacallo Guild members maintained their position. For Lou, who was not familiar with it, it looked like their positions were very stable. Then, she saw a man walking out of the forest. 

'Huh…? That man…' 

It was the person who made her feel relaxed and eased the tension in the convenience store earlier. 

'Don't tell me that he's the one the Bacallo Guild was after?' Lou thought, tilting her head in confusion. That player did not look strong, but it was very nice to see him smile and eat happily. At that moment… 

Fwoooooosh! 

A crossbow was shot. 

Twaaaang! 

Then, someone pressed a button and exploded one of the installed traps, triggering a cloud of dust. Lou watched with bated breath. The Bacallo Guild members slowly narrowed the distance with the man. One of the members stopped and raised his hand.

'That’s a signal to stop.' 

Then… 

Slaaaaaash! 

The man suddenly tore through the cloud of dust and slashed a Bacallo member’s chest. Then, he kicked on the tree and attacked the man who had just sent a signal out. The man's sword suddenly flashed with a white light. 

[Vital Strike] 

[Additional 28% attack power for each successful attack.]

Slash! 

“Gasp…!” The member that was stabbed on the chest shrieked loudly, while the man continued his attacks mercilessly.

Slaash! 

Slaaaaaash! 

'F, fast…' 

Lou was very astonished. The man cut down two men in a single breath, before quickly dealing with the remaining two. Then, Lou met the man's eyes.

Step—

"Ah, hello," The man said, greeting Lou politely. Lou unconsciously bowed her head in return. 

***

"..." 

Jan was left speechless. Everything happened so quickly. Even the audience sitting in the stands were silent. Then, the man's voice and actions towards the woman broke the silence. 

[Ah, hello.] 

"W…wooooooooow!" 

"C..cool!" 

"Waaaaaaaaaaaah!" 

"A…an incredible scene just happened, Pro Mukbang BJ! He wasn't just someone who eats well!" 

"Wow... He's unexpectedly attractive..." 

"He's quite polite. He even said hello to the person who gave him a drink earlier, right?" 

The audience broke out in cheers. Jan's Wyvern King flew up and stopped right above the tactical field.

"Kiheeeeeee!" 

The Wyvern King hovered around the tactical field, allowing Jan to clearly see the situation within the barrier. 

"Ah! Player Minhyuk completes his eighth kill, ninth, and tenth! Eleventh kill!" 

They could see Minhyuk roaming around the tactical field to hunt down the members of the Bacallo Guild. 

"Waaaaaaah!" 

The shouts and cheers grew louder and louder. 

***

Sword Emperor Ellie was the woman hailed as the greatest empress in history. She inherited her father, the former emperor’s name and reputation. Right now, Empress Ellie was sitting on her throne with a frigid and cold expression as she held a sword in her hands. Her figure was the embodiment of the name Sword Emperor. Anyone who saw her sitting lazily with her long hair draped behind her shoulders would admit that she was a great beauty.

"Looks like the competition is reaching its climax." 

"Yes, Your Majesty. There's also a foreigner who eats very well in the competition." 

"A foreigner who eats well?" Ellie asked curiously.

‘The people were cheering him on just because he ate well?’ 

In fact, Ellie really did not care a bit about the competition. She was just following the orders of the God of Athenae to find a successor and pass on her sword technique. However, the truth was that she did not have the slightest bit of interest to find a future successor. She was just fulfilling the mission that God had given her. The person that would succeed her did not need to be that special, so she was not very interested in this tournament.

'Eating well… Well, that's a good thing.' 

There was a time when eating was considered to be a joy in her life. Did having everything in the world meant that she was happy? And yet, even with everything, she had been happy when it came to food. It was a different feeling of happiness to have three meals a day. And Ellie missed that happiness.

It seemed like her interest had been piqued. So, she said, "Bring me the magic crystal ball." 

The servants moved quickly. They had already prepared the magic crystal ball earlier, but they did not activate it because Ellie did not want to watch. The servants quickly placed the huge magic crystal ball in front of Ellie and turned it on. The image in the crystal ball showed a foreigner wearing a white mask surrounded by other foreigners hiding deep within the forest.

Fwooooom! 

The man raised his sword covered in white light and swung it thrice in succession.

Slash!

Slash! 

Slash! 

[Aaaack!] 

[C, crazy… he's crazy strong!] 

Ellie was just lazily squinting at the video, but her eyes soon went wide in shock. Ellie even jumped up from her seat the moment she saw the sword in the man’s hands. The pattern of the phoenix engraved on the hilt of the man’s sword was something that she would not mistake for something else. Only one man, and one man alone had that. It was the blade that she had bestowed upon the man that she loved and cared for the most in this world.

"Ellie's Kitchen Knife…!" 

And the sword was shining brightly in the hands of an unknown foreigner.