Chapter: A Fateful Delivery
In the early morning, the sound of hurried hoofbeats shattered the manor's tranquility.
The Northern Fortress cavalry arrived at Cheng Yu's manor right on schedule.
Karl dismounted. The manor's living room door was badly damaged, and a faint smell of blood hung in the air.
"Cheng Yu! Cheng Yu!"
Karl called out twice into the manor.
After a moment, Cheng Yu and Mina emerged from the kitchen carrying a steamer. They set it down on the long table in the living room.
"Good morning, Captain Karl."
Cheng Yu raised a hand in greeting, his voice weary.
Because of the demon attack last night, he hadn't slept well at all.
Karl eyed the broken wooden door and the gaping hole in the wall suspiciously. "Looks like you had a fight here."
"Five fierce demon soldiers broke into the manor last night, but we killed them—me and my orc slave. The two of us were pretty amazing." Cheng Yu grinned.
Hiss~ Boss Cheng Yu is so shameless~
Karl sucked in a breath, mentally groaning.
Cheng Yu was an ordinary chef. There was no way he could beat five demon soldiers. Only his orc slave could've killed them. Karl guessed that during the battle, Cheng Yu had probably just stood on the sidelines cheering, then afterward said, "The two of us were pretty amazing."
Karl glanced at Mina again. To take down five demon soldiers, this orc slave was probably a second-tier warrior.
The Celsis Continent had many professions: mages who wielded magic, warriors skilled in close combat, priests who served the gods, alchemists who turned waste into treasure, assassins who specialized in disguise and assassination, and more.
Each profession ranged from tier one to tier nine. Tier one was the weakest. Tier nine was the strongest.
Beastfolk and demons had naturally strong bodies—born warriors. Most of them fell into the warrior class.
But it wasn't absolute. Some beastfolk or demons became mages or alchemists.
Elves were naturally attuned to magic and most became mages.
Humans were more balanced, with representatives across all professions.
After Mina helped the cavalry pack up the buns, she dragged out the five demon corpses.
"Captain Karl, these demon bodies are for you. Take them back and claim credit."
The demon corpses were useless to Cheng Yu, so he figured he'd do Karl a favor.
"This... I couldn't possibly..."
Killing a demon squad that crossed the border wasn't a huge achievement, but it was still noteworthy.
Bringing the bodies back to the Northern Fortress would earn him commendation from his superiors—good for promotions.
Karl acted embarrassed on the surface, but he absolutely wanted them.
"We're all friends here. It's only right to help each other out a little."
To get ahead, you needed connections and influence. Making friends with officers at the Northern Fortress meant he could ask for help if trouble came up later.
Cheng Yu really is a good guy!
Karl was thrilled and didn't refuse.
"Thank you, then."
After paying, Karl and his men rode back toward the Northern Fortress with the buns and five demon corpses in tow.
The weather was beautiful today. Cheng Yu walked over to a large tree in front of the manor, sat down in a chair, and lazily soaked in the sun.
After last night's events, Mina's favorability toward Cheng Yu had hit 100 points. She was impressed by his strength and courage. A gentle smile played on her rosy lips as she walked up behind him. Her slender fingers settled on his shoulders, and she started massaging.
"How's the pressure?" Mina asked softly.
"A little harder."
Cheng Yu basked in the sun and enjoyed the massage from his wolf-eared girl. This really is the life of a god.
Earth? Even dogs wouldn't go back there. I'm spending the rest of my life on the Celsis Continent.
After patting Cheng Yu's back for a while, Mina leaned down gently. Her slender arms wrapped around his neck from behind, and her generous chest pressed against his shoulders as she drew close.
"Mina, it's hot. Aren't you uncomfortable pressed up like that?"
"I'm not hot."
Mina didn't understand why, but she felt happy being close to Cheng Yu.
Ignoring her for the moment, Cheng Yu opened the system warehouse.
He'd completed a system task last night and received a special recipe, but he hadn't had time to check it yet.
He pulled the special recipe from storage. A sheet of paper materialized in his hand with text written on it.
[Black Flatbread: Bitter taste. Slightly increases the eater's magic power for five minutes. Ingredients: flour, baking soda, sesame, peanuts, black pine nuts, wind-thunder fruit. Preparation method...]
All the food Cheng Yu could make so far was just delicious—it didn't provide any buffs to the eater.
This food called black flatbread could give the eater a five-minute buff.
Increasing magic power meant that any spells or skills used would be more potent.
Cheng Yu had read The Complete Collection of Plants and Animals on the Celsis Continent before.
Two of the ingredients mentioned in the recipe—black pine nuts and wind-thunder fruit—were plants unique to the Celsis Continent.
Black pine nuts tasted extremely bitter, while wind-thunder fruit was a common material alchemists used to prepare potions.
Neither black pine nuts nor wind-thunder fruit were available in the small town of Bailu. He'd need to visit a major city to find them.
The cavalry returned to the Northern Fortress in a cloud of dust.
The Northern Fortress was built along the ridge of the Snow-Capped Mountains.
The mountain range stretched for thousands of miles, with a small fortress every few hundred meters and a large fortress every few thousand meters. The fortresses were connected by towering walls—reminiscent of the Great Wall.
Powerful defensive magic circles were engraved on the surface of the fortresses and walls, capable of repelling most physical and magical attacks.
The core hub of the entire Northern Fortress network sat just outside Bailu Town.
Karl led a dozen cavalrymen into the large fortress.
Before he'd gone far, a middle-aged man called out to him. "Karl! According to the guards' reports, some of your cavalry leave before dawn every day. What are they doing?"
Karl turned to look at the middle-aged man—General Oggus Barney, commander of the Northern Fortress.
General Barney had received the guards' reports and come to the fortress entrance to intercept Karl and question him about what his cavalry were up to every day.
"Reporting to the general, I've been sending cavalry out on patrol to prevent small groups of demons from sneaking across the border at night."
Karl kept his expression calm, steady as an old dog on the outside—panicking on the inside.
If the general found out he'd been sending cavalry to Bailu Town every day to buy buns, he'd be strung up and flogged.
"Really?"
General Barney looked at Karl skeptically.
"These are the demon soldiers we killed during our patrol just now."
Karl had his men display the bodies of the five demon soldiers to General Barney.
Seeing the five demon corpses, General Barney nodded approvingly. Most of his doubts evaporated. He smiled and praised, "Your cavalry did well."
"It's our duty to defend the Black Sun Empire's territory."
Karl placed his right fist over his chest in salute.
Looking at Barney's aged face—heavy bags under his eyes—Karl asked, "General, did you not sleep well last night?"
"Yes. The third prince was ordered to inspect the northern border, and he's been complaining that the food here is terrible. The northern fortress can't compare to the palace, of course. These pampered royal children are exhausting to deal with." Barney rubbed his temples.
"General, give this to the third prince to try. Maybe he'll be satisfied."
Karl pulled two buns from the large bag and handed them to Barney.
"What is this?" Barney asked, puzzled. He'd never seen such food.
"This food is called a bun. It's made with flour and beef. Tastes incredible," Karl said.
"Alright. I'll bring them to the third prince to try."