Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 26

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Chapter 9: Unprecedented

Keinzel swung his sword, decapitating a nearby goblin.

Usually, one would focus on raising the stats specialized for the swordsmanship they learned.

However, Keinzel had ‘Gastronomy,’ which increased all his stats when he ate food.

With stats averaging over 30 and advanced beginner swordsmanship pushed to its limit,

Keinzel’s sword was fast, heavy, and unwavering.

He quickly eliminated two goblins lying in ambush and shouted,

“Captain Abel! It’s a preemptive strike! There were only ten goblins left in the goblin village! The rest must be hiding to ambush us here!”

“What? A preemptive strike?! Damn it! Inform all members of the Yellow Knights! Prepare for battle immediately!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Abel’s response was swift.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he issued the most appropriate command for the situation.

It was unwise to move rashly without knowing where the enemies were hiding.

The stronghold was already secured. Therefore, it was best to defend it and move defensively.

Abel shouted,

“The enemy’s weapons are only crude stone spears and axes! If you calmly block with your shields, you won’t suffer any damage. Do not charge recklessly! And get Sir Keinzel to join us here quickly!”

“Yes, Captain!”

Kieeeeeek!

Keinzel, slashing off the arm of a charging goblin, rushed back to the stronghold.

The battle between the Yellow Knights and the goblins had begun in earnest.

‘A lot of hostility is coming from the rear! The enemy’s infiltration route is the back!’

Fallen Star detected the movement of the goblins crossing over in the darkness.

Activating it consumed a significant amount of mental power, but it couldn’t be helped.

To protect his allies and defeat as many goblins as possible, he needed the power of Fallen Star.

‘I need to take on the side with the most goblins.’

“I will deal with the goblins infiltrating from the rear!”

“Understood! Report immediately if you need support!”

“Yes, Captain!”

A goblin charged, wielding a stone axe.

‘Something like that can be disarmed…!’

Keinzel knocked away the goblin’s weapon and then unleashed Winden.

A technique where the sword is swung and slashed from below to the side, the name derived from the sword’s trajectory resembling a rotating wheel.

“Kuururururuk!”

The goblin whose arm was severed fell backward.

Meanwhile, another goblin pounced on Keinzel.

‘Why is it so slow? No, am I just faster?’

The attack had already been detected by Fallen Star.

Knowing it, there was no way he would get hit.

Keinzel ducked down and thrust his sword into the goblin’s chest.

With a ‘thwack’ sound, the goblin spat out blood and collapsed.

‘Thanks to Fallen Star, it’s like having eyes in the back of my head!’

The faces of the knights showed astonishment as they watched Keinzel’s sword strike down the goblins in one blow.

“T-That’s the underachiever?”

In an instant, over ten goblins were spewing blood from Keinzel’s sword.

Yet, not a single drop of sweat appeared on his face.

“How can he be so strong…”

Besides Keinzel, there was another trainee knight who stood out: Captain Abel.

He had learned the Ascending Swordsmanship passed down in the Carters family since he was young. That was why his intermediate swordsmanship was at 7 stars.

Keinzel licked his lips as he watched Abel’s swordsmanship.

‘From intermediate swordsmanship onwards, you can’t acquire it just by honing the basics. That’s the Carters family’s secret swordsmanship.’

Nine Blades Enatos Xiphos!

As the name suggested, it was an incredible swordsmanship that could defeat nine enemies with a single swing of the sword.

Abel could only handle three blades so far, but that was still a remarkable feat.

“Goblins are being felled three at a time with a single swing of his sword!”

“I’ve seen him use Enatos Xiphos in the training grounds, but I never knew it was this powerful!”

Abel shouted,

“Quiet! Focus only on your opponents! And it’s not Enatos yet. At best, it’s Tritos [referring to the ability to strike three targets at once]!”

“Still, it’s amazing!”

Abel twisted his lips.

His swordsmanship was flashy but not efficient. The preparation required for execution was too extensive.

How did that compare to Keinzel’s swordsmanship?

It was the epitome of basic skills, specialized in defeating enemies.

“That’s beginner swordsmanship at 10 stars. It’s like watching a swordsmanship textbook in motion. Keinzel, just what are you…”

Keinzel was equally impressed by his opponent’s swordsmanship.

‘That’s intermediate swordsmanship? If you learn something so overpowered from the start at the academy, how is someone like me, who has nothing, supposed to become a knight!’

From the beginning, the academy itself was a place created for people like Abel.

It was as if the people who would become knights were already predetermined.

‘But I have cooking!’

Keinzel could improve his swordsmanship by cooking.

Until now, he had only prepared ingredients or made simple dishes.

In the end, only his beginner swordsmanship had improved.

But this was just the beginning.

He would learn more dishes from Gordon, Geoffrey, and Einchel.

Then he would surely be able to acquire intermediate swordsmanship as well.

‘Besides, it’s much better to ask them to teach me cooking than to ask for the Ascending Swordsmanship passed down through a martial arts family, right?’

Thanks to the efforts of Keinzel and Abel, less than half of the attacking goblins remained.

Then the goblin chieftain began to act.

“Kuururururuk!”

The goblin chieftain, who had been watching the situation from the rear, blew a horn.

Keinzel knew that this was an action to summon the Poison Goblins.

‘They’re coming!’

Keinzel shouted,

“Poison Goblins! We must prepare for the enemy’s poison attacks!”

A member who had disliked Keinzel since the afternoon muttered with a dumbfounded expression,

“Where are these Poison Goblins supposed to be? …Ugh, ughaaaaaack!”

Before they knew it, crimson goblins had approached right in front of the stronghold.

There were only five of them, but they were extremely dangerous.

They carried potent poison within their bodies, and if one was bitten by their teeth or scratched by their claws, their skin would rot in an instant.

Moreover, inhaling their blood would cause one to lose consciousness immediately.

Abel’s face contorted in shock.

“P-Poison Goblins?! …Was Sir Keinzel right? Damn it! Everyone, move away from the stronghold! It’s dangerous to allow the enemy to attack while we’re clustered together!”

In a situation where there was no proper means of detoxification, being poisoned meant having to prepare for death.

“Kieeeeeek!”

The Poison Goblin used the dagger it was holding to slash its own forearm.

Then, blood mixed with poison spurted out.

“Damn it, poison cloud! Everyone, don’t breathe!”

A technique synonymous with Poison Goblins, spreading the poison they carried within their bodies.

The poison cloud rode the wind and instantly enveloped the entire Yellow Knights squad.

In an instant, the entire squad was poisoned.

“Cough, cough!”

“Kueooooeok!”

The sight before their eyes turned crimson, and their minds burned white.

A life-threatening situation if they didn’t ingest an antidote within ten minutes.

Then, someone threw a pouch in front of Abel.

“It’s an antidote. It has an injector made by the Magic Tower attached, so aim it at the area where your heart is and shoot.”

“…Wh-Who gave the antidote…”

Abel forced his trembling body to rise. And he saw the face of the person who had saved their lives.

A man who, until recently, had been called the worst underachiever, but who was stronger than anyone else today.

He was the one who had brought the pouch containing the antidote.

“H-How…”

It was as if he was asking if he had known. Keinzel answered as if it were obvious.

“I clearly said that I saw Poison Goblins, didn’t I? I simply prepared for it. I’ve already taken it in advance, so Captain, please take care of the other members.”

“What are you going to do now…”

“I’m going to go and deal with the remaining goblins.”

Abel lowered his head.

Keinzel Van Gistad.

He was right.

@

The rest was instantaneous.

Keinzel had over 30% poison resistance.

The Poison Goblins’ blood was something he could even make into pudding and eat.

As long as poison didn’t work, Poison Goblins were no different from other goblins.

He could easily take care of them all by simply swinging his sword a few times.

“Hee… Hee… Haa!”

The member who had taken the antidote gasped for breath.

Abel said in a low voice,

“Everyone, report your status.”

“…Yes, Captain.”

The situation was dire. All of the Yellow Knights members except for one had been poisoned by the poison mist.

They had taken the antidote immediately, so their lives were not in danger, but they would need to rest for a while.

“Sir Keinzel saved us all. It would have been a really dangerous situation if we didn’t have the antidote he brought.”

“…”

“There were Poison Goblins. They were just hiding deep inside for a surprise attack. He was right, and we were wrong. We must not forget that fact…”

“…”

They had nothing to say, even if they had two mouths. Everyone owed their lives to the one they had mocked and ridiculed as an underachiever.

But Keinzel, the person in question, was looking at the bushes far away.

Keinzel got up from his seat and walked over the hill. And he said,

“How long are you going to keep watching?”

“…”

“This is my third time doing this training. I know that there are no observers who save the situation in the first place.”

Then the instructors, who had been digging tunnels and hiding, stood up.

Their concealment skills were amazing.

He would never have found them without Fallen Star.

Instructor Bucks walked out, gagging Instructor Ian.

“Oop! Oop!”

He had been holding him back because he had unconsciously tried to jump out the moment the Poison Goblins appeared.

“How did you know?”

“Didn’t I faint after being attacked by a goblin three months ago? I thought I was dead for sure, but when I woke up, I was in the hospital. Even though it’s supposed to be a real-life training, I thought there would definitely be something prepared for safety somewhere.”

“…Ah, that guy sure has a knack for noticing things.”

In fact, he had been subjected to similar things by Gordon Lambolton before.

The people at the Stanis Knight Academy all seemed to be out of their minds.

The Yellow Knights members widened their eyes at the sudden appearance of the instructors.

Were they watching the goblin extermination battle while hiding in such a place?

Ian, who had finally been released, ran to Keinzel and stroked his body.

“Huk! Huk! K-Keinzel! Are you okay? S-Sorry. I saw the Poison Goblins appear and tried to save you, but Bucks, that bastard…”

And then Ian shut his mouth.

There wasn’t even a small scratch on Keinzel’s body.

This meant that the enemy’s attacks hadn’t even grazed Keinzel in this chaotic situation.

Ian swallowed hard. Just how strong have you become, Keinzel?

Bucks called the medics and priests who were waiting in the rear.

And he used miracles on the bodies of those who had been poisoned.

“You’ll all be better if you rest for a while. Then, although it’s a bit early, I’ll tell you about the results of this training.”

Originally, it was an evaluation that the members would hear after returning to the unit.

But Bucks seemed to be in a hurry for some reason.

He looked as if he was filled with anticipation for something.

“First, Abel Carters.”

“Yes.”

“As Captain, you responded calmly and well to the sudden enemy attack.”

“Thank you.”

“However, you dismissed the member’s opinion that there might be Poison Goblins. A commander must prepare for even a one percent possibility.”

“…”

“You are a Gold rank. I was going to give you Silver, but I gave you special bonus points because your swordsmanship in cutting down goblins was very outstanding.”

Abel lowered his head.

How was he supposed to become the number one in the rankings if he was already receiving Gold rank?

“Then next is Keinzel.”

“Yes? Isn’t it Sir Wagon’s turn in the ranking order?”

“Those who have been evaluated can wait quietly.”

“…I understand.”

“You played the role of a scout and informed us of the enemy’s surprise attack, but it was a bit late. If you had been five minutes earlier, we could have dealt with it more easily.”

It was Abel who was flustered by the negative evaluation of Keinzel.

“Instructor! I’m sorry, but I’d like to say a word as the Captain of the Yellow Knights. If it weren’t for Sir Keinzel, the Knights would have been annihilated. Moreover, the swordsmanship he used to cut down the enemy in an instant… I learned how great basic swordsmanship trained to the limit can be. It’s because I’m incompetent that I couldn’t properly deal with the Poison Goblins. So to Sir Keinzel…”

Then Ian, who was next to him, said instead,

“Don’t worry and listen to Instructor Bucks, Abel. The instructors have already discussed what kind of evaluation Keinzel will receive.”

“N-No way…”

Instructor Bucks cleared his throat a few times and continued,

“Then I will announce the evaluation grade of Keinzel, who has completed this training.”

Gulp.

Everyone waited for Instructor Bucks’ mouth to open.

Unprecedented #2