Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 260

Two skills acquired from the culinary trial were on display.

When a trial begins, stats drop to 1/10, and most skills become unusable.

However, Cainchel was challenging his second trial in a row.

In such cases, newly acquired skills from the previous round are said to remain intact.

One such skill was a new form of pasta creation, extracting thin, long noodles from his Aura: noodle making.

Using this skill, hundreds of different kinds of noodles with completely different properties could be created.

‘Even if Alio Olio, taught by Hector, is difficult, I can at least use pasta a few times,’ Cainchel thought.

Of course, he would have to keep eating combat rations to replenish his Aura, but that alone would greatly increase his combat power.

‘Then, the pasta I need now is Fettuccine…!’

Cainchel imagined Fettuccine noodles, wide and well-suited for cream sauce.

It was a noodle that resembled a ribbon, hence the meaning of ‘small ribbon’ [from the Italian word ‘fettuccina’].

Before he knew it, hundreds of strands of Fettuccine were materializing at Cainchel’s fingertips.

‘Tch, if I had eaten dragon meat instead of lamb jerky, I could have extracted much more Aura,’ he lamented.

It was a minor pity.

The mercenaries fighting the Skeleton Knights a short distance away were surprised and stared at Cainchel.

“What on earth is that…!?”

“…Magic?”

“No, that’s Aura! I can’t believe the newbie is a Sword Knight…!”

There was no time for explanations. Cainchel shouted at Josh.

“If I can tie up the enemy with this, shoot all the fire arrows you have!”

“No… if we use them all on one guy, how are we supposed to deal with the rest of the undead?!”

Then, Baker, who was back-to-back with him, nudged the hunter.

“How about doing as the newbie says? I’m sure he has something in mind.”

“Oh, now that I think about it, you’re right. I’d believe the newbie if he said he was making cheese out of sheep’s milk right now,” Josh replied.

Josh plucked the bowstring with his calloused fingers, signaling that he trusted Cainchel and would cover his back.

Cainchel silently nodded in response.

Then, with an Aura-fueled burst of speed, he jumped back into the enemy lines.

Arriving at the center of the undead army, Cainchel unleashed elementary swordsmanship honed to the extreme.

Downward slash, upward slash, vertical slash, diagonal downward slash, diagonal upward slash, plus a thrust—the basics of swordsmanship.

Among them, the thrust had the smallest attack range but allowed for tremendous rapid attacks.

Cainchel became a streak of lightning, darting through the enemy ranks.

It didn’t have the power to penetrate the thick armor worn by the Skeleton Knights in a single blow.

However, it was so fast that it looked like a silver storm was raging.

‘I didn’t intend to inflict a fatal wound with this anyway,’ Cainchel thought.

Cainchel had pre-connected pasta to the tip of his sword. The Fettuccine would wrap around the undead with just a graze.

After confirming that the pasta was stuck to the bodies of nearly five hundred undead, Cainchel shouted.

“Now, Josh!”

Josh’s eyes, who had been preparing to shoot fire arrows, lit up.

“Here I go, you wretched skull bastards! Taste Josh’s fire arrows! A little hot, isn’t it!”

*Fwing-!*

*Pee-wing-! Phew-!*

Not only Josh but also other hunters nearby shot fire arrows at the undead army.

The arrows, flying with a sharp whistling sound, pierced the lower abdomens of the Skeleton Knights.

Moreover, that was not the end of it.

The moment the arrow hit a Skeleton Knight, a huge flame erupted.

It looked as if a 5th circle fire magic spell, Fire Field, had been activated.

Moreover, because it was a flame fueled by holy oil, it would never go out once it stuck to the undead’s body.

The hunters who attacked were surprised.

“What?! Why is the firepower so strong?”

“It’s the newbie! The newbie must have done something!”

The flames instantly turned hundreds of undead bodies to dust.

Cainchel admired the collaboration between Fettuccine and fire arrows.

“Wow! That’s really awesome!”

Fettuccine is a wide noodle that absorbs a lot of sauce. By reproducing that characteristic with the pasta skill, the Aura turned into a highly flammable substance.

‘If I combine this with flambé [a cooking procedure in which alcohol is added to a hot pan to create a burst of flames], I could do something ridiculous?’

As a huge number of undead were wiped out in an instant, cheers erupted from all over the place.

“Woah oh oh…!”

“Hahaha, you skull bastards! How’s the taste of Josh’s fire arrows! A little hot, isn’t it!”

“Damn, the newbie is so cool! I’m a man, but I think I’m going to fall in love!”

Although 1/6 of the undead army was turned to ashes at once, the battle was not over yet.

In particular, the Death Knights, as high-ranking undead, did not die even after being hit by the flames of holy oil.

*Clatter! Clatter!*

The Skeleton Knights, sensing the crisis, began to move in unison, clearly wary of Cainchel.

‘At this rate, I won’t be able to tie them up easily with Fettuccine like before. Then, this time, I’ll go with Ravioli!’

Then, a crescent-shaped, wide Aura formed on Cainchel’s palm.

He turned his gaze towards the Death Knights riding skeletal horses and charging towards him.

It was a spectacular sight to see nine Death Knights riding their horses all at once.

“Sorry, but I only have one body. I don’t intend to play with all of you.”

Of course, if I had the Sword of Igyeo or Onion Swordsmanship, things would be different, but now was the time to step back.

Among the thousands of undead, there were only thirty Death Knights.

They were that strong.

Cainchel kicked off the ground and retreated backward. At the same time, he threw Ravioli at the Death Knights.

Ravioli is elastic like rubber and stretches well. However, the moment it sticks, it hardens and prevents the opponent’s movement.

*Kugugung-!*

The Death Knights, unable to move because of the Aura that covered their entire bodies, fell from their horses and crawled helplessly on the ground.

Then, the snow piled up on the ground rose like dust.

‘Oh…! This chewy feeling is different from jelly!’

It sticks very well.

If you tie up the opponent’s body with Ravioli, which means to surround, they cannot easily escape until they use Aura.

The Death Knights thrashed like mice caught in a trap, but that was all they could do.

Cainchel, looking satisfied, began to make fettuccine once more.

“……Looks like the guests are very hungry, so let’s take some additional orders from now on.”

* * *

The battle was over.

Mercenary Captain Percival stared blankly around. The other mercenaries were the same.

The snow, which had been so deep that their feet sank into it just an hour ago, had completely disappeared.

That meant the heat covering the battlefield was intense.

Someone shouted.

“W-We survived……. We survived……!”

“Wooaaahhhhh!”

“Long live the Highlander Mercenary Corps!”

“Long live the rookie of the century!”

A force of less than a thousand had won against an undead army of over thousands.

There were quite a few injured, but almost no deaths.

It was an unbelievable, historic victory.

Percival looked at Cainchel’s back, the hero of the victory. He was eating a biscuit, saying he needed to replenish his Aura.

“I thought I’d be lucky just to survive for an hour. But to actually win……. It’s all thanks to you, Cainchel.”

“……I didn’t know it would go this well either. The hunters are better at archery than I thought.”

Cainchel smiled wryly and looked at the people giving first aid to the injured.

He had sealed the Death Knights’ movements with Ravioli and eliminated hundreds of undead at once with Fettuccine.

Even so, the mercenary corps had suffered quite a bit of damage.

Percival approached Cainchel and asked.

“Aren’t you satisfied, even after achieving such a great victory?”

Cainchel silently nodded.

He wanted to pass the trial with everyone alive, but in the end, he couldn’t.

“The only confirmed death is Stigma. Haa……. Who would have known he’d be hit in the left chest by a stray arrow from a skeleton archer.”

The battle was over, but reinforcements had not yet arrived.

It meant they had achieved this incredible victory in less than an hour. However, the fact that Stigma, with whom he had shared a strong friendship through a thousand deaths, had died felt so unfortunate.

Percival put his hand on Cainchel’s shoulder.

“Sometimes I think about this. As the captain of the Highlander Mercenary Corps, I am responsible for the lives of hundreds of people. So, if my subordinates die because of my wrong orders, I would be really sad. But Cainchel.”

A strange, wistful aura settled in Percival’s blue eyes.

It was as if he knew that this place was a world reconstructed by Cainchel’s memories.

“Would you look over there for a moment?”

Following Percival’s words, Cainchel shifted his gaze to where he was pointing. He saw the mercenaries reveling in the joy of victory.

“I’m going to propose to Ann Shirley when I get back home. I fought to protect my country today, but now I’m going to live for her.”

“Ah……. I can finally go home and eat the stew my mother makes……. I’m so glad…….”

“This body of mine, you see. I made amazing boots out of deer hide for my son? His birthday is next month, and I think I can give them to him in person.”

Percival’s eyes reddened as he watched his subordinates rejoice in their survival.

And he looked at Cainchel, who had made it all possible.

“So, how about thinking of it this way? That you saved them instead of Stigma dying because of you.”

Percival seemed to be talking to himself.

Cainchel knew how much guilt the man in front of him felt for the dead subordinates.

It was then.

Stigma, who had been covered with a white cloth with an arrow stuck in his left chest, suddenly stood up.

The face of the mercenary next to him turned white.

“Euaaaagh……! You bastard! Are you a zombie!?”

“What nonsense are you talking about! I’m fine! Look, the arrow is stuck in the jerky I had in my chest!”

“…….”

Cainchel and Percival looked at each other with bewildered faces. Stigma, who they thought was the only casualty, was actually alive.

“Kuhaha! The rock-hard jerky saved my life. So, no one died after all.”

A tear streamed down Percival’s face as he laughed heartily.

He rubbed his face with his sleeve and muttered.

“……But it’s so strange. Such a miraculous thing happened, but why am I crying? What on earth…….”

“Captain Percival…….”

Cainchel looked at Percival, who seemed much younger than he knew him to be.

None of the wrinkles that had filled his face were visible.

It wasn’t just because ten years had passed.

The great guilt that made him abandon even the name Parzival had made him look much older than his actual age.

‘You’re right, Percival. It’s not that your subordinates died because of your inspiration, but that Britannia was not destroyed because there was Mercenary Captain Percival.’

Percival was still waiting for his comrades and lover who had not returned from the frozen place.

When he returned to the Gistad Territory, he was planning to drink beer while eating the sausage he made after a long time.

‘……I have so much to tell you that even drinking all night won’t be enough.’

And just like in the previous turn, Meliot was the first to arrive among the reinforcements.

He stared at the annihilated undead army with wide eyes.

“Good heavens……. Did you defeat all those undead? As expected of the Highlander Mercenary Corps. You are much more amazing than I heard.”

Percival shook his head. This incredible victory was not his.

“It’s all thanks to Sir Cainchel here. If it weren’t for this man, we would have been lucky to perish together.”

And he briefly reported the progress of the battle.

Meliot stroked the beard that covered about half of his face.

“Such a young knight, you say? Haha……. I never thought there would be such an outstanding supernova in northern Britannia. The future of Britannia is really bright.”

At that moment, as Meliot said, the remaining eight reinforcements arrived late.

It was the Seven Virtues and the Holy King Aslan, whose faces Cainchel also knew well.

From now on, the final battle of the Seven Deadly Sins War would unfold in earnest.

‘That’s the end of what I have to do. By the way, Lady Elizabeth is the same as she was ten years ago…….’

At that moment, Cainchel’s eyes met those of a man wearing a cloak at the very back.

He was a man Cainchel didn’t remember.

The fact that he was with them without being one of the Seven Virtues meant…….

Something flashed through Cainchel’s mind like lightning.

He realized the identity of the ninth man.