Chapter 74: Dwarves

Walter didn’t seem worried about the monsters at all, sitting in the driver’s seat, he gently waved his hand.

Swish, swish, swish!

Blood-red light turned into sharp blades, instantly slicing the three charging monsters into pieces, the monsters burst apart upon being struck by the blood-red light.

Ethan picked up the Scythe of Gaia. "Wrath of the Earth."

Countless stone spears shot out from the ground, skewering the pursuing monsters.

Walter watched the power of the stone spears in admiration and clapped his hands excitedly. "Hahaha! I’ll leave the rear to you!"

"Alright, leave it to me."

The monsters fell, pierced by the spears, but more charged forward, trampling over their companions’ corpses.

Pearl shouted impatiently. "Thunder Strike, meow!!"

Rumble... BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!

Pearl unleashed its magic, reducing the charging monsters to charred remains, after casting the spell, it jumped onto the handcart, purred comfortably, and pointed at the mana crystals scattered among the ashes. "Should we go pick those up, meow?"

"We should." Ethan nodded.

They waited until Walter had eliminated every monster in front before stopping to collect the mana crystals, soon they had gathered a full bag.

Walter patted the bag. "Do you have any use for these things?"

"Not really, do you need them?"

"I also absorb mana crystals," Walter answered.

’So it isn’t just beastmen who absorb them.’ Ethan hadn’t expected vampires to do the same, he looked at Pearl.

Pearl said nonchalantly, "Did you not know that, meow?"

"I didn’t, mana crystals aren’t of much use to me, so please use them as you see fit, just leave a few pieces for me," Ethan said.

"What are you going to do with them?" Walter asked.

"I want to try pickling them." Recalling what Zharok had mentioned before, Ethan picked up a mana crystal, it was hard as a rock, how could he make it edible? After thinking it over, he decided to try preserving them in sugar first.

"In that case, let’s take a break here," Walter suggested.

"Let’s go rest up there, I remember there’s a stream over there," Ethan said, pointing to nearby high ground, resting near water would make cooking much easier.

They arrived at the side of a clear stream and stopped the handcart, Ethan took a sip of the stream water; it was cool and sweet, it should be great for cooking.

"Let’s have lunch here," Ethan said, immediately starting a fire.

Walter walked into the forest and returned just as the flames were ready, holding two Four-Legged Chickens that had already been bled.

"I happened to find these nearby, how about a chicken dish for lunch?" Walter proposed.

"That’s great, I was just wanting to try out a new recipe." Ethan took the chickens and began preparing the meat, he chopped the chicken into pieces, marinated them, then mixed a batter and coated the chicken pieces.

"What are you making, meow? It looks like fried chicken, meow," Pearl asked.

"Exactly, fried chicken nuggets."

"Meow? That’s definitely going to be delicious, meow! Fried food is the best, meow~" Pearl said.

Ethan poured oil into the Cauldron of Blessing and then raised the flame’s temperature, he used Fire of the Spirits to control the heat precisely, once the oil was hot, he dropped the battered chicken pieces in one by one.

The chicken pieces tumbled in the hot oil, emitting an enticing sound, Pearl and Walter stood next to Ethan, practically drooling with anticipation.

Ethan scooped the pieces out but didn’t hand them over yet. "They taste best when fried twice."

"They look delicious already, meow~" Pearl said impatiently.

"Wait a little longer, since the oil is already hot, I’ll fry some fries." Ethan cut potatoes into strips and fried up a batch.

After an unknown amount of time had passed, Ethan set the fries aside and put the chicken pieces back into the oil for a second fry, once they were golden and crispy, he scooped them onto a plate.

[Delicious Fried Chicken Nuggets]

[Four-Legged Chicken, marinated, battered, and deep-fried. The crispy skin and tender meat perfectly combine to create an unparalleled delicacy.]

[Delicious Effect: Agility attribute increases upon first consumption.]

[Delicious Effect: Agility attribute increases for one day upon consumption.]

[Crafting Difficulty: ★★★]

"Come, let’s eat," Ethan called out, he picked up a drumstick and took a huge bite.

Crunch!

The crispy skin let out a clear, satisfying sound, the savory, slightly spicy chicken was tender and juicy, unbelievably delicious, just one bite left a lingering aftertaste.

"Woo-meow! So hot, meow! So delicious, meow!" Pearl cried out from the heat yet refused to put down the drumstick in its paws.

"Truly delicious, it would be even better paired with some wine," Walter sighed.

"It should actually be paired with beer," Ethan corrected.

"Beer? I’ve had beer brewed by Dwarves before," Walter said.

"Hmm? Really?" Ethan asked in surprise, Dwarves brewed beer? If so, maybe he could get some too, brewing beer required malt and hops, he hadn’t even found rice yet; barley and hops certainly wouldn’t be easy, he hadn’t expected someone else in this world to know how to brew.

"Where do the Dwarves live?" Ethan asked.

"You can ask the elves; they should know, I haven’t seen a Dwarf in a very long time, so..." Walter trailed off.

What a pity, but he would be going to the Elven Kingdom soon, so he could just ask them then.

"What is that, meow?" While gnawing on its drumstick, Pearl looked toward the distance, a bush had rustled.

’Was someone hiding there?’ Ethan didn’t sense any killing intent or hostility, so he wasn’t concerned, just as he was about to stand up, Walter waved his hand.

"Ahhh!" A Fox Beastman with orange fur, wearing tattered clothes, was swept up by a blood-red light and flew out of the bush.

However, he was very young, he was even smaller than the children Ethan had met at the Minotaur village, trapped in midair by the blood-red light, the little Fox Beastman began crying out of fear.

"Ahhh! Help! Ahhh!!"

"If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to eat him, meow," Pearl commented, looking at the terrified child.

"B-But... there’s a human..." the little Fox Beastman said fearfully, seeming to have some sort of trauma regarding humans.

’What was wrong with humans?’ Ethan, Walter, and Pearl looked at the crying child in confusion.

’He seems to have misunderstood something.’ At a time like this, the best solution was something delicious.

Ethan had Walter release the little Fox Beastman, then held out a drumstick.

"Want some?" Ethan asked gently.

The little Fox Beastman shrank back, watching Ethan warily, Ethan tried his best to appear friendly and offered the drumstick again.

"...Wah?!" The little Fox Beastman took a bite of the drumstick, and its eyes instantly lit up, it gobbled down the meat while simultaneously looking at Ethan in a panic.

Ethan breathed a sigh of relief and gave it a few more pieces. "There’s still plenty, eat slowly."

Pearl chimed in defensively. "There are exactly eight, so we each get two, meow~"