If there was one thing Lee Shin-Woo hadn't taken into account, it was the pride of Metafel, the one who was once hailed as the Mercenary King.

[Kik, so there wasn't anyone after me... No, they may still be there, but that skeleton’s their leader! K-kiiik! How funny! Kuheeeeehk!]

Metafel had assumed Lee Shin-Woo was only an unknown spy; what would he think once he figured out that Lee Shin-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 the Giants and the undead who had been gradually cutting 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!?]

Metafel saw the skeleton who had cleverly led him here as it used his hubris against him so that he couldn't call for reinforcements; it had been commanding undead, a human, Giants, and even Golems and other races to trap his forces in the mountain and cajole them. All of a sudden...

[Kukeuk. Kuheuk... Kuaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

Metafel charged forward like he had been planning to do that from the very beginning. When he thought about his proud 50,000 troops being taken down by that skeleton, 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.]

They had the conversation 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: to invade the Giant's domain.

[Kik...]

Back then, he had thought he would level up by killing all of the Giants and eating their rotten flesh and blood, but that didn’t turn out to be the case.

Numbers were meaningless due to the perilous terrain, and his opponents were stronger than he'd anticipated. His squads clashed with small units of enemies and got ripped apart over and over again. At this moment, Metafel realized 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'. 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 gift that came with his 'rebirth' wasn't something as trivial as a means of recovery.

[G-General...!]

[Delicious! As I expected!]

He would grow stronger through eating and ultimately evolve. Metafel shuddered. It felt like a once unbreakable wall was cracking bit by bit, letting light shine through. The more he reached out to grab his subordinates and the wider he opened his mouth, the more intense that light became.

[All of you...come to me! I will...eat every last one of you!]

And thus began Metafel's feast on his troops.

"That crazy bastard..."

Seeing that, Lee Shin-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 now 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 with no consideration for the soldiers watching him. Metafel had looked exactly like a human at first, but when he opened his mouth and stretched his jaw, his cheeks ripped open, revealing sharp, beast-like teeth within.

"That crazy Ghoul bastard!"

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

"Shin-Woo, what are we going to do?"

Lee Shin-Woo briefly considered the unforeseen situation. Should we take him down immediately, or should I proceed with my original strategy? In the end, there was no reason for him to hesitate.

[Kuhaaaaaaaaaaah!]

"Keuk!?"

The moment Metafel roared, a red aura washed over the soldiers that were once under his command. Lee Shin-Woo thought it was some sort of special buff Metafel could only use by eating a few of his troops, so he quickly recalled his forces out of concern, but...

[Kuaaaaaaah!]

[Kik, Kihiiiiiii!]

"...What the hell?"

It wasn't actually a buff; it was 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 you give your lives to me than to those insects! I'll eat you all!]

Realization dawned on Lee Shin-Woo as he watched Metafel open his mouth wide and continue eating. That was the cheat skill that allowed the general to ignore the mana's spatial inference and gather his troops around him! A skill that allowed him to keep 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 reached the top limit of level 7."

Shino Rendu had sent him an urgent report, but Lee Shin-Woo was already aware of the situation. Lee Shin-Woo didn't know why that crazy bastard began to eat his own soldiers once he caught sight of him, but no amount of fighters would be able to face a level 8.

Even if they attacked Metafel, all of his injuries would be healed because he was continuously eating. And despite Kratia's spell, Setoin had survived and was now guarding Metafel by the side like he had expected this to happen!

"Above all, it's impossible to take him down with the Empire's troops swarming up to him from all over... We'll stop him from eating his men! All forces, attack! They're nothing more than target practice right now!"

Lee Shin-Woo's booming voice rang through the mountain range. If they couldn't stop Metafel from eating, they would remove his food supply. That was the only thing Lee Shin-Woo could do at this point.

Because of his skill, Metafel's subordinates couldn't do anything but rush towards him. Therefore, Lee Shin-Woo’s forces could take them down easily without having to worry about casualties!

[Guoooooooooooooh!]

[Kyahaaaaaaah!]

[For the Titan's Pride!]

All who heard his call discarded their covert operations and charged out from inside 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 enemies then... It was utter chaos.

"How did it come to this?"

"Don't ask me."

Oh, how bitter the surprise tasted. Lee Shin-Woo knew things wouldn’t go according to plan from start to finish, of course, but who could have foreseen that Metafel had such a trick up his sleeve?

Moreover, Metafel was situated in a location unfavorable to them. By breaking the entire cliff with her arcane magic, Kratia had inflicted a significant amount of damage on the main force, but she had also turned the landscape into an open snowy plain, which made it difficult for them to further attack Metafel.

"It’s come to a total war."

"I don’t think you can call this war… If anything, it should be called a dining room."

"It's the most intense dining room I've ever seen..."

"Stop as many of them as you can! We're going too!"

The crazed Metafel didn't discriminate between friend and foe. He simply continued to eat his way to level 8. Meanwhile, the Paul Corps attacked the clamoring troops compelled to rush to their general, allowing them to rest in peace. No battle should do such a one-eighty in such a short period of time.

Things aren’t that bad if we exclude the fact that Metafel is getting continuously stronger.

Lee Shin-Woo drew swords with both hands and pointed Jin to the enemy forces. Jin began to run. The reason Lee Shin-Woo had so adamantly ordered the Giants to break the cliffs and spread poison was because of the absolute numerical disadvantage between his people and Metafel’s.

However, right now, Metafel himself was cutting down his own troops. And his soldiers couldn't put up a proper fight because of his skill. By taking advantage of this situation, Lee Shin-Woo should be able to kill Metafel fairly easily.

The key lies in...

"Whether Metafel reaches level 8 or not."

Lee Shin-Woo muttered while summoning a gigantified Melting Double Bone Axe in the air. He detonated it to spread Acid Poison all over thousands of enemy troops. Hearing his mutter, Jin slightly tremble.

"What do we do if he becomes level 8? Do we do what we did against Feotane Von Seldin...?"

"No. He won't be that strong. Feotane seemed powerful even among level 8s… But Metafel will definitely become a lot more formidable. Moreover, given his innate ability as a ghoul, taking him on with numbers is a really bad idea."

To be honest, Lee Shin-Woo didn't even want to imagine facing a foe like a level 8 Ghoul. If Metafel was to eat one of his troops while fighting, not only would his wounds heal, but he would become stronger as well. No matter how many level 7 elites Lee Shin-Woo had under his command, he couldn't help but feel reluctant.

"Plus, he’s eating skeletons unlike what I expected. I hope he breaks his teeth chewing their bones."

"Shin-Woo, get a hold of yourself. If you lose focus, we'll all die... Tch!"

Jin admonished Lee Shin-Woo for acting like a toddler before suddenly leaping into the air. He had barely avoided the black arrow that flew past his feet; it was Setoin Miletus. At some point, Metafel’s right-hand man had gotten to the front to block their way.

[It'd take way too long to take down the Giants and the Golems.]

Unlike the Empire's troops continuously swarming Metafel, Setoin was surprisingly able to retain his intellect. Of course, he was likewise clad in a red aura, but his indomitable will to protect Metafel allowed him to resist its effects.

He was truly a faithful subject... He was also a true pain in the ass for Lee Shin-Woo.

[Come. You're not planning on running away again, are you?]

"Of course not. Taking you down will definitely weaken him."

Lee Shin-Woo replied calmly with his eyes on Setoin as the undead aimed his bow and arrow confidently at them. However, Lee Shin-Woo was actually quite frustrated because of Kratia, who was sitting behind him.

Immediately after she used her arcane magic, Kratia had become dead weight. Moreover, his opponent used a bow. It would be quite difficult to take him on while protecting Kratia.

"I have things to attend to. I don’t have time to play with you!"

[Keuk!]

He had no choice but to kill his opponent as quickly as possible! Lee Shin-Woo linked his mind with Jin before they suddenly charged forward at Setoin.

Setoin seemed to have expected the move and shot dozens of arrows at once—it must have been a skill. But then a shield suddenly appeared right in front of him and blocked the arrows before blowing up, hitting him squarely.

[Kuhahk!?]

"Know your place!"

To be honest, Lee Shin-Woo had taken an instant dislike to Setoin right from the beginning. Setoin was always guarding Metafel by his side and carefully coming up with plans for him. Lee Shin-Woo had stolen the magical device, but despite being just an aide-de-camp, Setoin had the gall to look down on Lee Shin-Woo.

"Thanks for coming over here yourself!"

[Keook!]

With a Breath of the Lightning God stuck in his neck, Setoin rolled onto the ground and attempted to get to his feet. Lee Shin-Woo pushed the blade all the way into the ground, preventing Setoin from moving. Jin broke his bow into pieces with a forceful kick of his front legs.

"You're really fast..." Kratia muttered.

Although Setoin was a level 7 like Lee Shin-Woo and an elite, their fight had concluded instantaneously. Kratia, who had taken a defensive posture, marveled at Lee Shin-Woo for overpowering Setoin in an instant; she hadn't even been able to react. He should be able to fight Metafel head on with such power...

"Jin!"

"Keuk!"

Jin pulled back again as a wave of red, dreary mana struck the ground where they once were. There was only one thing that would cause Lee Shin-Woo and Jin to retreat: Metafel himself.

[You're trying to steal Setoin away from me as well? We can't have that.]

"Ha!"

The moment Metafel touched the Breath of the Lightning God, Lee Shin-Woo detonated it.

Lee Shin-Woo had wanted to either injure Metafel or finish Setoin off… Unfortunately, Metafel raised his arms in defense and grabbed the exploding Breath of the Lightning God with his hideous tongue, swallowing it whole.

Immediately after, the Breath of the Lightning God exploded with a boom and blew up his arms, but he regenerated the limbs immediately with his overwhelming healing abilities.

"...What?"

[General!]

[Setoin, good work.]

[Yes, General...]

Lee Shin-Woo groaned at Metafel's impressive display of durability; he had survived the explosion of a Breath of the Lightning God unscathed. Metafel then grabbed the toppled Setoin and ate him.

He swallowed him down, and red mana exploded from his body.

[I think... I'm nearly there.]

Metafel turned to Lee Shin-Woo and grinned.

Cracks snaked down his body as it swelled like it was going to explode.

[Wait right there. I'll eat you in a moment!]

Lee Shin-Woo couldn't even recognize Metafel anymore. Metafel cried out as waves of mana shot out from his body.

Lee Shin-Woo had a hunch. Metafel had begun to level up.