Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 129

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39 Into the Flames

Just because dwarves are immune to fire doesn’t mean their homes are.

As soon as the Fire Spirits began to rampage, Ironforge was instantly engulfed in flames.

Even for dwarves who are unharmed by fire, facing a Fire Spirit directly is dangerous.

In the end, they had to abandon their homes and evacuate to where there was water.

“Evacuate to the riverbank while the warriors deal with the Fire Spirits! Even Fire Spirits can’t approach water!”

“There’s a child in the workshop! A child!”

“Anyone free to help? Damn it, guess I’ll have to go. Blue Mountain is on his way!”

Thanks to Blue Mountain’s efforts in leading the dwarves, the evacuation was carried out safely and quickly.

“······Hoo! It seems the evacuation is mostly complete. Check if any of your comrades are missing!”

Then, the dwarf technicians gathered at the evacuation site raised their voices.

“All of Team 4 evacuated!”

“We’re safe here too.”

Having confirmed that, Blue Mountain finally had a moment to breathe.

“Thankfully, the technicians have evacuated safely······. If only we could do something about the residential area······.”

The residential area where the women and children are staying is at the northern end of Ironforge.

In other words, they need to deal with the Fire Spirits rampaging around the smelter in order to evacuate.

“We decided to leave that to the warriors, didn’t we? We have to trust them.”

Blue Mountain let out a hot sigh. Durendal is a sword made for humans.

“If he can use its power properly, he could freeze even the vast ocean. But can Chef Al really······.”

He had no choice but to hand it over to him, but he wondered how much of Durendal he could actually use.

His heart burned thinking about those waiting for rescue in the residential area.

“But Bittist, why did the smelter suddenly become like this? Surely it passed the safety inspection without any problems?”

“I don’t know the reason either. The Spirit concentration inside the smelter was definitely below the standard.”

The management of the smelter was something all dwarves put their heart and soul into. It was that important and dangerous.

The technician, who had been looking serious since earlier, held out a small bell.

“Could you take a look at this for a moment? I think I forgot I had this in my pocket after the smelter safety inspection······. Something’s strange.”

It was a magical tool called the ‘Spirit Bell’ that checks the Spirit concentration around it.

“Strange?”

“Yes. The Fire Spirits are rampaging like that, but it’s showing as normal here.”

“······.”

Blue Mountain narrowed his eyes and looked at the Spirit Bell.

Ding-!

It was emitting a clear ringing sound every five seconds.

If the Spirit concentration around it exceeded the standard, it should vibrate much faster than this.

“There are so many Fire Spirits rampaging around. Surely the Spirit concentration around here should be at its highest. But······.”

Blue Mountain instantly grasped what it meant. His face twisted with anger.

The Spirit Bell was something that Baron Brigham had obtained.

He had happily accepted it and used it for 10 years because he offered to provide everything needed for the maintenance and repair of the smelter.

But to think it was a manipulated item that was designed to show the desired numbers.

“Brigham, that bastard······.”

“Still, shouldn’t we ask Baron Brigham directly first? It could be a simple mistake······.”

“What are you saying! The entire clan is in danger because of that mistake! And what? Getting an answer is the priority?”

“I, I, I, I’m sorry. ······I didn’t mean that.”

“No, you’re right. Yes, we need to get an answer. Of course, using this.”

Blue Mountain raised the large axe he had used to clear the way.

Baron Brigham had touched something he should never have touched.

He would soon pay the price.

@

“First and second rows, alternate to clear the path. When dealing with Fire Spirits, you must move in teams of four. Blocking the flow of air weakens the enemy’s momentum. In the meantime, pour in Aura Swords [swords imbued with magical energy] to send them back to the Spirit Realm.”

At those words, two dwarf warriors in the front row nodded. Cainchel’s instructions were accurate and efficient.

At first, there were warriors who refused to follow the human’s words.

However, after seeing him defeat three Fire Spirits at the same time, they had to acknowledge Cainchel’s skill.

“He’s like the captain of a knight order. Even the squad leaders of mercenary groups can’t command this cleanly.”

“I’ve done similar work before, though not officially.”

Cainchel said, looking at the still blazing building.

With the help of the dwarf warriors, they were able to drive out the Fire Spirits that had occupied the streets.

However, Fire Spirits were constantly emerging from the smelter.

At this rate, it didn’t seem like it would end no matter how many enemies they defeated.

‘I have to get to the smelter and activate Sherbet [a powerful ice-based ability] no matter what.’

Fortunately, the dwarf warriors believed in his words and followed him.

Before he knew it, the Fire Spirits pouring out of the smelter had filled the streets. The newly emerging ones were spewing out much stronger flames.

There was no more room to hesitate.

“I’ll drive away the ones in front first, so charge in right away!”

“Understood!”

He poured the Aura burning in Durendal [a legendary sword] to its limit. As the Aura of Heaven disappeared, a terrifying chill began to emanate.

The ground, which had melted and turned into lava, instantly froze.

At the same time, the movements of the Fire Spirits stopped for a moment.

Not missing the opportunity, the dwarf warriors charged like angry bulls.

“I can’t lose either! Take my axe!”

“Euryahryahryahryah!”

“I’ll break through! The path!”

Gueooooooo-!

The Fire Spirit hit by the axe let out a strange sound and returned to the Spirit Realm.

Chelba, who was fighting at the front, raised his axe.

“There’s no end to this! Chef Al! What’s for dinner tonight?”

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?”

“Just answer me!”

Chelba’s eyes showed an unusually strong will. The same was true for the other dwarf warriors next to him.

Cainchel had no choice but to tell them the menu he had been thinking about.

“I was thinking of making seasoned chicken, fried crispy on the outside and moist on the inside, coated with a spicy and sweet sauce.”

“Seasoned chicken? Is there such a dish? But hearing the words spicy and sweet strangely makes my mouth water.”

“It’s so spicy it brings tears to your eyes, but it’s also very sweet with plenty of strawberry jam. The great writer Goethe [a famous German writer] took a bite and ate it with his hands as if he didn’t care about getting the sauce on them.”

“The great writer Goethe ate a dish made by the chef? He must have been a huge figure! But about that seasoned chicken dish. Does it go well with beer?”

Cainchel seemed to know why Chelba was asking this. He had the eyes that only someone who was prepared to die could have.

Something hot welled up from deep inside his chest.

“······Properly fried seasoned chicken remains crispy even with plenty of sauce. Taking a bite of crispy seasoned chicken and drinking beer is literally a taste of heaven. You’ll definitely like it if you try it.”

“Hehe, is that so? Then I can’t die before I eat it!”

“That’s right! Oh, and the drumstick is mine!”

“I prefer the breast meat, even if it’s a little dry!”

“Then I’ll leave the rest to you, Chef. Leave the path-clearing to us and head to the smelter!”

Leaving those words behind, the dwarf warriors charged forward.

There was no point in dragging it out any longer, as his Aura would only run out. There was no time to hesitate.

Cainchel strengthened his grip on Durendal and cut through the Fire Spirits.

“Hyaaaaaap!”

The axe thrown by Chelba towards the Fire Spirit blocking the way flew. For a moment, the Fire Spirit’s body blurred.

‘Booster!’

He poured Aura to the limit into both feet and his waist.

And then he jumped into the flames.

@

It felt like the entire city was engulfed in flames.

‘If my fire resistance was even a little lower, the hot air would have burned my lungs.’

Before he knew it, Cainchel was right in front of the smelter.

It was possible because of the dwarf warriors who risked their lives to clear the way.

Without them, he would have burned to death after using all his Aura to deal with the constantly swarming Fire Spirits.

But he overcame it. He was finally able to reach the enemy’s base like this.

Even now, Fire Spirits were constantly emerging from the smelter.

‘It’s like there’s a passage to the Spirit Realm inside.’

If he used Sherbet, he could freeze them and the smelter solid.

However, Cainchel only had 900 Aura left.

‘Damn it······. I used too much Aura······.’

To activate Sherbet, he needed about a thousand Aura at once. But it’s not like exactly a thousand is consumed.

Sometimes it’s more than that. Sometimes it’s less.

In the end, that small difference consumed one of the usable Sherbet charges.

‘······I need a dish to eat and recover Aura.’

The first thing that came to mind was the dragon meat in his two-dimensional pocket [a magical storage space]. Just one bite of that would recover about 100 Aura.

However, the digestion of the dragon meat he had already eaten was not yet complete.

Cainchel was in a state where he couldn’t put dragon meat in his mouth for another month.

‘Think, Cainchel! Among the ingredients you have now, there must be something you can eat even when you’re full!’

Inside the two-dimensional pocket were all sorts of ingredients and seasonings he had obtained from Ironforge.

However, there was nothing among them that was so full of life that it could fill 100 Aura at once.

‘Wait a minute, life force?’

Something flashed through Cainchel’s mind like lightning. The essence of the World Tree gathered in Mimir’s Well [a source of immense magical power].

Eating vegetables sprinkled with that would recover an unusually large amount of Aura.

‘That’s right, Aura is life force! It was enough to save the dying Nimue, so there must be a tremendous amount of Aura contained there!’

Cainchel took out a potato from his two-dimensional pocket. Speed was important now. He sprinkled a few drops of Mimir’s Well, which was stored in a small bottle.

The area around the smelter was burning so hot that magma was forming.

The heat was so intense that he had to worry about the potato burning.

Chee-ick-!

The potato exposed to the hot air instantly cooked. A mess of a dish with the outside burnt black and the inside undercooked.

He shoved the moderately cooked potato into his mouth as it was.

[You have tasted the 1-star dish ‘Roughly Cooked Whole Potato’.]

[Due to the influence of the Gourmet Level, you have absorbed the experience and Aura contained in the dish.]

“What, they’re supposed to be Fire Spirits, but they can’t even bake a potato properly? The outside is too burnt and the inside isn’t cooked at all. If you plant it in the ground, it’ll sprout as it is!”

How long had it been since he had eaten such a terrible dish?

However, he felt that the empty Aura had filled up to some extent.

Cainchel chuckled and gripped Durendal with both hands. And he poured in all the remaining Aura.

The blade he stretched out with all his might began to emit a chill that froze everything.

The sword vibrated. It was as if it was saying that it was a little lacking, but it was reasonably full.

He swung it as it was.

Then the ground and the air froze. The flames that seemed to burn everything lost their power and subsided in an instant.

Crack-!

White snow fell on the smelter, which had large cracks.

No more flames could be felt inside.

Cainchel took a deep breath and muttered.

“······I don’t need fire that can’t even bake a potato properly.”

Thus, the fire of the smelter, which seemed to burn down the entire Ironforge, was extinguished.

What kind of expressions would the dwarves make if they knew that a potato had saved their lives?

Thinking that, Cainchel put Durendal back into its sheath.

Into the Flames #2