Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 185

Adolf, seated on his throne, exuded a chilling aura.

Most of eastern Deutschland [Germany] was already under his control.

He could become the true king of Deutschland once he forced the remaining southern lords to kneel.

The nobles bowing before Adolf fell into two distinct groups.

Those who had supported Adolf from the beginning couldn’t hide their joy at the power they would soon receive.

The neutrals, with swords metaphorically held to their necks, had no choice but to bow, their expressions sour, as if they were chewing on unripe fruit.

“Count Mikhail, what is the status of the Eldrad occupation?”

At this, Count Mikhail, the leader of Adolf’s faction, lowered his head even further.

“The elves are resisting more fiercely than expected, making progress very slow. But do not worry. Within fifteen days… no, within ten days, I will deliver them all to Your Majesty.”

“Good. I have heard of your achievements from Duke Merlin. Tell me if you need anything.”

A forced smile appeared on Count Mikhail’s lips.

Fortunately, Adolf didn’t seem to know about his elven smuggling operation.

He had been kidnapping elves from Eldrad and using them as slaves for a long time.

The ageless and beautiful elves were precious, worth more than a thousand gold pieces each.

He shifted his gaze to Marquis Rommel, a neutral noble wearing a disgusted expression. He felt a surge of satisfaction.

How many humiliations had he suffered under the great lord Marquis Rommel!

But now the tables had turned.

Count Mikhail spoke loudly, as if for the neutral nobles to hear.

“If we had a few more boss-type Tartaruses [powerful, monstrous creatures], we could occupy Eldrad in an instant.”

“Hmm, but to reliably synthesize a boss, we need to use Sword Knights [elite warriors] as materials.”

“Aren’t there plenty of Sword Knights here?”

It was a clear jab at the neutral nobles. Many heads of martial families were among them.

Marquis Rommel glared at Count Mikhail, his eyes flashing with anger.

“What are you implying, Count Mikhail!”

“I mean exactly what I said. Surely you wouldn’t refuse, after swearing allegiance to Adolf with your lives?”

“You, treacherous dog…!”

“Hahaha! I’ll take that as a compliment!”

Adolf nodded with a satisfied expression.

Why hadn’t he thought of this before?

Until now, he had to use criminals or convicts because he couldn’t find proper materials.

Naturally, their performance was poor, and Adolf’s power suffered.

“I’m certainly curious how strong a Tartarus made from a Sword Knight would be. I should try making one as a test. That was a very good idea, Count Mikhail. I will reward you handsomely.”

“Your benevolence is boundless.”

Count Mikhail looked at Marquis Rommel with gleaming eyes.

He could finally get rid of that annoying man before his eyes.

Marquis Rommel was a skilled man, expected to become a member of the great Pentagram [a council of powerful figures].

He was an obstacle that had to be overcome to become the Chancellor, the head of the military.

To think he could eliminate that eyesore with just a few words!

“Duke Merlin, make sure to create a particularly strong chimera [a creature made from combining different animals].”

“Understood. Heh heh.”

A strange old man’s voice echoed from Adolf’s shadow. And a black hand emerged from the darkness, grabbing Count Mikhail’s body.

Startled, Count Mikhail cried out.

“Y-Your Majesty! What on earth is going on!”

“Why? Didn’t you suggest making a Tartarus from a Sword Knight?”

“T-That’s not what I meant!”

He hadn’t meant it that way!

He had been more loyal to Adolf than anyone else in this room.

To think he would be sacrificed like this.

Adolf chuckled and muttered.

“Come to think of it, you are also a Sword Knight. I’ll gladly accept your overflowing loyalty.”

“Kuaaaaaak!”

Count Mikhail’s body, held by the black hand, slowly began to decompose.

The nobles’ faces turned pale.

Not only the neutrals who were walking a tightrope, but even Adolf’s supporters were not safe.

Adolf slowly rose from his seat and scanned the nobles, saying.

“Why such expressions? Aren’t you curious how strong a chimera made from a Sword Knight would be?”

No one could answer that question.

Merlin created a plausible chimera from Count Mikhail in half a day.

A smile filled his face, as if he was pleased with the completion.

“As expected, the materials were good, so it has tremendous power! Moreover, I used the elves you captured as a medium for synthesis, and the compatibility is excellent.”

“Hahaha! I like it. I like it very much! But it seems like it needs a new name.”

“Please, Your Majesty, name it.”

“How about Erebus, meaning the ruler of Tartarus?”

“Kee hee hee. That’s a great name.”

Erebus, a chimera made from a Sword Knight who could wield aura [a powerful energy force].

That was how the boss-level Tartarus came to be called Erebus.

Adolf, still rubbing his stiff shoulders, asked.

“I heard that Friedlich was able to recapture Potsdam thanks to two Sword Masters [highly skilled swordsmen]?”

“Yes. They are probably the ones who fought you in Britannia, Your Majesty.”

Crack-!

“…To deal with them for sure, we need at least ten Erebus.”

Adolf gestured, and his shadow emerged, enveloping the bodies of the nobles from martial families.

“Uwaaaak! Adolf!”

“…You monster!”

And as he clenched his fist, the shadow contracted, crushing them. There was no need to keep them alive to use them as chimera materials.

“Hard to find materials. Treat them with great care.”

“Kee hee hee!”

Despair appeared on the faces of the nobles who barely survived.

What stood before them was not Adolf, the Crown Prince of Deutschland. Just a monster that used to be Adolf.

Marquis Rommel muttered in a miserable voice.

“…Count Mikhail. You were mistaken. Adolf didn’t need subordinates, just test subjects to manipulate at will.”

@

Horizon brought 500 Elven Knights as reinforcements, as promised.

And at the head of them was an elf waving her hand with a cheerful expression.

It was Eirene, the queen of the thousands of elves residing in Eldrad and the guardian of the World Tree.

“Long time no see, human!”

“Eirene?!”

Eirene chuckled with her characteristic mischievous smile.

“I’m glad you remember to call me by that name. If you called me queen or something, I was going to kick your butt.”

“Let’s postpone the greetings for later. But what about Eldrad? Why did you come here yourself?”

If anything went wrong, Eldrad’s World Tree could burn and disappear. Then the power of the Elven Knights would rapidly weaken.

“It just means this matter is important. Even if Eldrad is surrounded by the Great Sea, Adolf, with the power of a dragon, could conquer it in three days if he wanted to.”

Elves have a huge, unmovable weakness called the World Tree.

Didn’t the elves of Britannia show what happens when you only defend?

Friedlich reached out to Eirene with an impressed expression.

“Queen of the Elves. I am grateful for your help. I will ensure that goodwill between humans and elves continues even after the civil war ends.”

“Yeah. Take care of me.”

Friedlich’s face turned red as he grasped Eirene’s slender fingers. She was as radiant as a ripe apple.

With the Elven Knights joining, the Friedlich army’s strength doubled in an instant.

In particular, the skills of the three bodyguards protecting Eirene along with Horizon were amazing.

All of them were close to Sword Masters.

“I’m Black Pepper. Nice to meet you.”

“I’m Clover.”

“…Apple Mint.”

Strangely, except for Horizon, everyone’s name was a spice. Moreover, they each had a specialty: spiritism [communication with spirits], archery, and swordsmanship.

All the Elven Knights, regardless of gender, were young and beautiful.

But the soldiers didn’t have the luxury to pay attention to their appearance.

“To retake Weimar, we must first seize the territory of Count Mikhail, which will serve as a bridgehead!”

“Are we finally going into battle?!”

“That’s right. Count Mikhail is the leader of Adolf’s faction and a man with tremendous loyalty. He won’t surrender easily. But we have seasoned chicken!”

A cheer erupted from among the soldiers gathered at the knight’s words.

“Seasoned chicken! We can finally eat seasoned chicken again!”

Sounds of calling for seasoned chicken were heard from all over. Curious, Eirene asked.

“What is this seasoned chicken that everyone wants to eat so much?”

Kainchel briefly explained it to her. Then Eirene’s eyes widened.

“What, invincibility?!”

The only monster dishes that could be made now were Sea Pie and Seasoned Chicken, which increased strength and stamina.

Unfortunately, even if you eat both, only one effect is applied.

Besides, elves can’t eat meat.

‘Oh, wait a minute. Elves can eat Mandrake Roast, right?!’

Kainchel ran to the kitchen and made Mandrake Roast, which he had learned from Bluebeard.

Eirene shouted after eating it.

“What is this spicy and chewy taste?! And the outside is moderately burnt and super crispy! Is this really a dish made from monsters?!”

“…Yes. It doesn’t use meat, so even elves can eat it to their heart’s content. But do you feel any different?”

“Wait a minute…. My body is strangely hot and throbbing…. Ah, what is this! I can hear the voice of the World Tree even though I’m so far away!”

It was the same for Apple Mint, who was a spiritist.

“Queen! I can suddenly hear the voices of intermediate spirits! I haven’t been able to get an answer even when I called their names after the passage to the spirit world was blocked!”

“Are you okay, Black Pepper?”

“D-Don’t touch me! It feels like dozens of bugs are crawling all over my body!”

“…I feel like I can hit the target over there right now.”

Even Horizon, who was always taciturn, was wriggling her body.

“H-Human. You suddenly look very handsome. If you don’t mind, wouldn’t you like to have an in-depth conversation about vegetarian cuisine?”

Kainchel pushed away Horizon’s head, who was trying to grab his arm, and said.

“It seems that Mandrake Roast makes the elves’ senses more sensitive…. Ugh, but it’s too sensitive!? Get that face away from me, Horizon!”

“…Y-Yeah. Anyway, it’s really delicious. Yeah, really.”

Eirene’s bodyguards also nodded with blushing faces. It seemed that it wasn’t just their senses that had become sensitive.

In the end, while the knights who ate seasoned chicken blocked the enemy’s attacks, the Elven Knights formed a formation to attack the enemy from the rear.

Knight Andrei shouted to the soldiers who were about to leave for the battlefield.

“Captain Kainchel has promised to reward those who have contributed to this battle with one chicken per person!”

“One chicken per person?!”

“And even that precious cola with it!”

“Uooooooo!”

Some of the soldiers even shed tears of joy.

“Chi, Chirellujah… [Chicken Hallelujah]”

“Chimen! Chimen! [Chicken Amen]”

Invincibility is activated when you eat about three pieces of seasoned chicken. But that wasn’t enough. They wanted to eat chicken until they burst.

But until now, they had no choice but to endure it. Seasoned chicken is more of a magical tool to protect the body than a dish to fill the stomach.

But now they could eat seasoned chicken until they burst.

The soldiers’ morale, which was already high, soared into the sky.

Elizabeth, who was following the soldiers from the rear, sighed.

“Tsk, those idiots…. But seasoned chicken is really delicious. Oh, I don’t care! Chimen! Chimen!”

The time has come to hunt the monster that ate the dragon.

The Dignity of Seasoned Chicken #4