Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 240

Machoongs were a type of insect, high-ranking predators in the Demon Realm.

Naturally, the strength of each individual was weaker compared to other demons. However, they gathered in swarms of tens of thousands, forming a colony.

The power emanating from them was enough to make even lower-level demons avoid them.

“They’re holding out better than I expected. But can they block this while holding their breath?”

With a gesture from Muhammad, the Machoongs, which had been widely dispersed, began to gather all at once.

The change was instantaneous. The swarm, which had only appeared as black mist, transformed into a massive iron mace.

It was launched to crush everything in its path.

However, Cainchel was not one to be hit by such a slow attack.

Activating Double Booster, the movement of his body accelerated to its limit.

— Ku-gu-gu-gung!

The iron mace destroyed not only the ground where Cainchel had been standing but also the building behind it.

“Hehehe.”

Muhammad watched the destruction he had caused with a satisfied expression. With this power, becoming the ruler of the Ottoman Empire was only a matter of time.

Then, from behind him, Cainchel appeared, having vanished earlier.

Before he knew it, he had activated the Sword Ki Manifestation [a technique that allows the user to project their inner energy into a physical form], and a brilliantly shining flash was launched.

“……Keuk?!

“I told you not to look away during battle, didn’t I?”

With this attack, the Machoongs that had formed Muhammad’s right arm were annihilated.

For the first time since the battle began, the smile disappeared from his face.

“T, this much can be healed with holy light……!”

Then, the Machoongs that made up other parts of his body wriggled and regenerated the destroyed arm.

A strange light flickered in Cainchel’s eyes.

‘So, the remaining part was the main body when attacking. If it were me, I would have created at least three dummies.’

Moreover, the attack method was exceedingly simple.

No matter how strong the attack, it was useless if it didn’t hit. If the power was sufficient, it would be much better to increase the number of attacks.

Muhammad’s body was a colony made up of hundreds of thousands of Machoongs. Yet, he was not utilizing any of its advantages.

“How dare an infidel wound the sacred body bestowed upon me by that being……!”

Unlike before, he began to emit blatant murderous intent. As if responding to it, the remaining Machoongs moved wildly.

“Sacred Iron Mace!”

It was the same attack as before. Starting from the point where the iron mace fell, the ground split, and the earth twisted.

However, once again, Cainchel was not there.

“Where are you looking? Not even a trace of my afterimage remains there.”

“Heu-kkeueuk!”

It was just a trivial taunt, but Muhammad once again launched an attack that would never hit.

It was like wielding a halberd to swat a fly.

‘This will be a long battle. Then, is it time for Brilliant Road to shine?’

Activating the skill, the area untouched by the shockwave began to glow brightly.

From there, he would use the Sword Ki Manifestation to whittle away at the opponent’s health.

Moreover, Muhammad was mobilizing all the Machoongs except for the main body to create the iron mace.

At that moment, he removed the meringue [protective magical barrier] protecting his body and breathed freely.

At this rate, he could fight for an hour, two hours, or however long it took.

As the grueling war of attrition continued, Muhammad screamed.

“N, no way! It’s already been an hour?! But how can you keep moving!”

Muhammad had inherited the power of a demon through a contract.

If his combat experience had been only at the level of a Silver-ranked mercenary, he would have been much more difficult to deal with.

‘So, in the end, he wasn’t even that good.’

Cainchel confirmed that the hundreds of thousands of Machoongs had been reduced by more than half. Clearly, the damage to the main body was even greater.

Ku-gu-gu-gung-!

Once again, an attack that could turn a human into minced meat just by grazing them tore through the air.

At the same time, seven flashes of light struck Muhammad’s body.

“Keo, keoeok……!”

Muhammad vomited out the corpses of dead Machoongs instead of blood. If any more damage accumulated, he would not be able to maintain the colony.

The power he had obtained by offering his soul to a god was collapsing so futilely.

Now, it didn’t matter what kind of magic the opponent was using to hold his breath for over an hour.

To survive, he had to escape right now.

In that instant, Muhammad’s eyes fluttered. Or rather, the Machoongs that made up that part were vibrating.

“I offered my soul to that being……. Then I’m already dead……. Eua, euaaaaaaak!”

In the face of a reality he could never accept, the little bit of reason that remained in Muhammad vanished.

Soon, the instinct of the insects began to dominate the colony.

Cainchel unleashed Onion Swordsmanship with two completely different swords.

And to replenish the insufficient Aura, he chewed on the jerky he had brought as an emergency supply.

Made from the meat of a Giant Sand Worm, it filled him with a considerable amount of Aura.

He needed at least 15,000 Aura for the technique he was about to use.

Fish and Chips.

Extreme cold erupted from the seven Durandal swords, and Fragarach unleashed a shockwave with the force to tear apart space.

“This is the end……!”

The strike that had blown away one leg of the colossal golem was recreated at this very moment.

* * *

“……That was close.”

Cainchel smiled wryly as he watched Muhammad turn to ashes and disappear.

He didn’t know which demon Muhammad had contracted with. But it was truly an incredible ability.

‘If a contractor with the power of the Upper Ten Demons were to appear……. It’s terrifying just thinking about it.’

It seemed he needed to acquire Souvide and Extreme Onion Swordsmanship as soon as possible.

Souvide was a skill on par with Brilliant Road, and Extreme Onion Swordsmanship would directly and greatly enhance his combat abilities.

But first, he had to clean up after Muhammad.

In his residence, men dressed in luxurious clothes were clinging to each other as if they were one body, moaning.

Bishop, which had emerged from Cainchel’s groin, wrapped around their bodies. It was to confirm their deaths.

— They were simply knocked unconscious by the Machoongs.

‘I can see that, Bishop. Aren’t you actually enjoying this?’

As if to prove it, an old man who had collapsed in the corner staggered to his feet.

“Ugh……. What on earth happened…….”

“Are you conscious?”

“……Thankfully, it doesn’t seem to be Anubis’s realm [referring to the afterlife in Egyptian mythology]. Are the other tribal chiefs alright?”

“Yes. They are all alive.”

Suddenly, the old man, his eyes wide, asked,

“Muhammad Al-Din……! What happened to him?! That madman is the one who did this to us!”

Cainchel shrugged and briefly told the story of how he had been attacked by Muhammad and defeated him.

“That monster, you say?”

Then, the old man showed an interested look rather than being surprised.

“An exotic appearance that even a man would fall for, and a holy sword at his waist……. Could you perhaps be Cainchel van Zistad, the Duke of Britannia?”

“You know of me.”

“I once heard a rumor that the head of the Janissaries [elite Ottoman soldiers] had gone to Britannia’s hero for help. Ah, I’m late with my introduction. I am the chief of the Horus tribe, though I am lacking.”

He was the representative of the beef-supporting faction that divided the Ottoman Empire.

The Horus tribal chief pointed to the food on the table and said,

“In fact, I arranged this meeting. I thought that we should join forces with those who follow the Sultan, even if they are from his side, in order to overcome the great drought…….”

An alliance with those who followed the Sultan. That was the taboo that the Horus tribal chief had committed. If it weren’t for Chimaek [Korean fried chicken and beer], he would have become Muhammad’s faithful servant.

Only then did Cainchel realize what was going on.

‘He must have said something about brainwashing during the fight, right? It seems that Chimaek prevented it.’

It was a strange feeling.

Just by cooking, Muhammad’s plot to swallow the small and medium-sized tribes of the Ottoman Empire had been shattered.

But among the food on the table, there was something particularly eye-catching.

‘Wait a minute. But this steak is no joke, is it?’

On the surface, it was low-grade beef that could be commonly found even in Britannia.

But when he cut it with a knife, he felt an unbelievably rich flavor.

It was cooked so exquisitely that not a single drop of juice was wasted and remained inside the meat.

‘Moreover, it’s chewy and incredibly tender.’

It was a taste that reminded him of an Evolving Steak.

It was a dish made from cattle that were fed beer and massaged every day.

‘It’s a little lacking compared to that, but this is really excellent. Who on earth made this steak?!’

Then, a soft voice answered.

“Do you like the steak I made? It may not look different from other cuts, but you have a great eye. I’m Jaime Oliver. Thank you so much for saving us.”

“Jaime? Could you be Chef Jaime from Gaul [ancient region corresponding to modern France]?”

He was a skilled chef who was among the top five even in the gourmet country of Gaul.

Jaime rushed over and hugged Cainchel, who was extending his hand to shake hands. Then, he began rubbing his cheeks against both of Cainchel’s cheeks.

“…….”

As Cainchel widened his eyes with a bewildered expression, Jaime scratched his head.

“S, sorry. I didn’t realize I was doing a Bisous [French greeting of kissing on the cheek] because I was meeting someone I really wanted to see.”

The Bisous, hugging and rubbing cheeks, was a unique greeting in Gaul that expressed respect.

“I never thought I would meet the hero who saved the continent with cooking in a place like this. It’s a pleasure to meet you. May I call you Chef Cainchel?”

It was such an intense reaction that it reminded him of when he visited the Knight Training Center.

As Cainchel nodded, a bright smile appeared on Jaime’s face.

“What you just ate was my secret weapon, Ox Tongue Steak. It’s a cut that you can only get a very small amount of even if you slaughter a cow. It may look like it has little fat, but it actually has a high fat content, so if you grill it well, it has a very good flavor.”

“Everything is great, except for the Ox Tongue Steak. How on earth did you make it?”

“That’s called reformed meat…….”

The two men’s conversation about cooking continued for hours afterward.

In the meantime, the fate of the Sekhmet tribe, which had been led by the dead Muhammad, was decided. They would receive help from the surrounding tribes until they recovered from the damage they had suffered this time, and after that, they would elect a new tribal chief.

Jaime said with a sullen expression, as if he was sad that he had to part with Cainchel.

“It hasn’t been long since we met……. I think I’ll be staying here for a while to continue my beef research, so please come and visit me anytime. But are you cooking pork dishes, Chef Cainchel?”

He meant whether he was helping the Sultan.

If so, the two would be competing with cooking for the remaining 10 days.

“I’m cooking something other than pork right now.”

“That’s a relief. Then what kind of dish…….”

“It’s called Chimaek, and the dwarves are helping with the sales, so come and try it sometime. I’m sure you’ll like it.”

“Chimaek, you say. It’s strangely mouth-watering. But as you can see, the Ox Tongue Steak I make is the best dish. You’ll have to be nervous because I won’t give up easily.”

“Of course.”

Cainchel and Jaime shook hands in the Britannia style this time, not the Bisous.

He had defeated Muhammad, the contractor of the demon, but the meat war still had two weeks left to go.

Cainchel had to abandon the certainty that he would win easily. The Ox Tongue Steak that Jaime made was truly an amazing dish. In particular, the skill he used to make that dish with low-grade beef was chilling.

‘Then I should use the seasoned chicken I’ve been saving.’

Crispy fried chicken and spicy-sweet seasoned chicken.

A dish with distinct advantages is mixed half and half. Cainchel and Jaime. The two chefs’ cooking battle had only just begun.