Cooking Swordmaster [EN]: Chapter 301

They were, without a doubt, men of the Royal Army. Their uniforms were of a unified design, and the weapons they carried were sharply honed.

The Royal Army mostly belonged to the Ministry of War and maintained security in the provinces.

But why were they massacring the fishing village residents?

“■■■■■■■■■■―――!”

The Royal Army soldiers shouted something, but to Cainchel, who didn’t understand the Ming Dynasty language, it was just meaningless screaming.

Cainchel called to Bishop in his mind.

Then, with a slight dizziness, the language of the Ming Dynasty, which he was encountering for the first time, began to sound like the common language of the continent.

However, the translated screams were not pleasant at all.

“S, save me! We haven’t committed any crimes……”

“Shut your mouth and die, you traitors!”

“Ugh, ugh……!”

Cainchel’s eyes turned cold. The Royal Army soldiers were wielding their spears at children and the elderly who couldn’t resist.

The only weapons they held were rusty and old farming tools. How could they commit treason with such things?

Maia, who had forcibly connected to Cainchel’s neural network, sneered.

― Values change even when the country changes, and this is the Eastern Continent. This might be normal here. Maybe they are real traitors.

‘……So I’m going to catch them and find out. Besides, if I ignore something like this, what becomes of the oath of a Free Knight?’

To protect the weak, to carry out justice and good, and to destroy evil and injustice.

It was the most important part of chivalry, which he had heard endlessly since his days at the training center.

‘Besides, look at the state of the Royal Army soldiers. They have unfocused eyes as if they are possessed by something, and they are drooling. It clearly looks like they have been afflicted by the curse of lust.’

Then Maia grinned.

― You even grasped that in this urgent situation? You really have to be my guardian. Choosing you was the right answer. Now, I’ll leave the rest to you.

Confirming that the connection with Maia was severed, Cainchel stepped onto the battlefield in an instant.

At the same time, dozens of strands of pasta spewed out from Cainchel’s hands.

The launched lasagna, without any warning, wrapped around the arms and legs of the Royal Army soldier who was wielding his spear.

In the end, he couldn’t even let out a proper scream and had to collapse.

The Royal Army soldier next to him didn’t even realize that his comrade had been completely subdued and was about to stab an old man holding a sickle.

“Die, traitor!”

Thwack!

However, the Royal Army soldier was struck in the back of the neck by Cainchel’s hand and fainted while foaming at the mouth.

He had neutralized two people in an instant upon his appearance. The other Royal Army soldiers screamed at the sight.

“W, where did that guy suddenly come from?!”

“I don’t know! Just kill him! Then Daji-nim [referring to Lady Daji, a mythical fox spirit] will look upon me!”

“Oh, Daji! How beautiful you are!”

“I fell in love with you just by looking at you once from afar! I can do anything with a smile for you!”

It seemed that the name of the nine-tailed fox who had transformed into a woman was Daji. He decided to catch a Royal Army soldier and hear the details directly.

‘But they changed this much just by seeing her once from afar. It’s no wonder the Emperor was infatuated.’

Perhaps the nine-tailed fox had become a more dangerous being than Asmodeus himself.

The number of Royal Army soldiers who attacked the fishing village was about thirty.

Moreover, a faint but mysterious energy was imbued in the weapons they held.

It was a form he was seeing for the first time, but he could easily tell that it was an Aura Sword [a sword imbued with magical energy].

‘Does that mean they are all Sword Knights or higher?’

Moreover, even in a state of lost reason, the hand movements of wielding the spear were uninhibited.

That meant they were thoroughly trained.

To use the power they gained in that way against the elderly and children who couldn’t even resist.

It was all a tragedy created by the abilities of the nine-tailed fox and Asmodeus.

‘Anyway, I have to subdue them without hurting them as much as possible. Then, should I make their movements a little dull first?’

Cainchel held Durandal in both hands and poured Aura into it to the limit.

Then, in an instant, the surrounding moisture froze and turned into ice, and a coldness was emitted.

A young man buried under the rubble of the collapsed building screamed.

“T, that’s Ice White Divine Palm?! Could it be that the Great Hero is a master of the Northern Sea Ice Palace?! But be careful! Even if you are a martial artist, it is a serious crime to point a sword at the Royal Army!”

The man was worried about Cainchel’s safety even in a situation where his own life was at stake.

“Can you wait a little bit? I’ll subdue those guys as quickly as possible and save you right away.”

“So dangerous……! Ugh, ugh! Watch out behind you, Great Hero!”

Even so, Cainchel was also aware of the existence of the Royal Army soldier rushing at his back.

He lightly bent his body and barely dodged the spearhead that had come right in front of him.

“Exploding Fist-!”

At the same time, Cainchel’s fist struck the Royal Army soldier’s chest.

With a thud, the Royal Army soldier’s body bounced backward.

“Kkeuaaaak!”

And he collapsed while vomiting blood.

It was impossible to block the shockwave emanating from the exploding fist even with iron armor.

The technique that Ian had spent his entire life creating was perfectly reproduced in Cainchel’s hands.

He would definitely be incredibly proud to see this.

Once again, he activated Fallen Star to the limit. Then he felt the hostility of the Royal Army soldiers aiming at him.

Cainchel’s fist began to go against the flow of hostility and beat the bodies of the Royal Army soldiers.

Thud, thwack, thwack!

“W, what? Why is he so strong despite being a ronin [a wandering warrior]?! ……Kkeu, kkeueok!”

The Royal Army soldier who shouted that was hit by another Exploding Fist and collapsed forward as he was.

After that, it was literally one-sided.

Most of the Royal Army soldiers couldn’t move properly because of their frozen armor.

Cainchel was frighteningly strong.

Moreover, the spears they tried so hard to thrust in couldn’t penetrate the wall of Aglio Olio that had appeared in front of Cainchel’s body.

In the end, less than three minutes after the battle began, Cainchel was able to subdue all the Royal Army soldiers.

“Hoo…….”

However, he wasn’t happy at all.

Nearby, people who had been attacked by the Royal Army soldiers were already collapsed.

Most of them were killed instantly, and even those who survived were so seriously injured that they wouldn’t last even half a day without immediate treatment.

Even so, they bowed their heads to Cainchel.

“Ugh, ugh……. Th, thank you for saving us…….”

“Don’t say any more. Your wounds will open.”

“……I, I can’t…….”

Cainchel first put dried Kraken, which he had brought as emergency rations, into the old man’s mouth as a temporary measure.

“And please eat this for now. I’ll make food that will heal your injuries right away.”

“Th, thank you…….”

Cainchel bit his lip.

This kind of thing is happening even in such a secluded fishing village. Clearly, similar things are happening throughout the Ming Dynasty.

Cainchel used pasta to tie up the bodies of the collapsed Royal Army soldiers and approached the man who had been buried under the building.

“Are you alright?”

“……Thank you so much. I survived thanks to you, Great Hero. Please allow me to serve you as a benefactor in the future. Ah, I’m late for the introduction. My name is Wang Jeok-sam. I’m a peddler who travels around this area selling goods.”

“Cainchel van Zistad.”

“A, are you from the Western Continent? Now that I see it, your face is a bit unique……. H, heok, I’m sorry. I thought you were definitely a martial artist because you speak Han so well and even use Ice White Divine Palm.”

‘A martial artist…….’

It seemed that there was a group of warriors in the Ming Empire.

Anyway, meeting Wang Jeok-sam was a great fortune for Cainchel. As a peddler, he would be well-versed in the geography and information of this area.

Wang Jeok-sam sighed as he looked at the Royal Army soldiers who were tied up and unable to move due to the sword energy.

“It’s all because of Empress Daji. Those who make eye contact with her all become blinded by love. Recently, it’s gotten even worse. The Ming Empire will definitely be destroyed because of Daji.”

Cainchel narrowed his eyes as he looked at the wound on Wang Jeok-sam’s leg. It seemed that he had been injured while being buried under the building.

“Um, just a moment. It seems that I need to make medicinal cuisine to treat your injuries before hearing the details.”

“……Medicinal cuisine? What on earth is that?”

“It’s food that restores lost stamina and heals injuries to some extent. And it might be a panacea that can return the strangely changed Royal Army soldiers to their original state.”

Then astonishment appeared in Wang Jeok-sam’s eyes.

It was something he would never believe if it came out of someone else’s mouth. However, Cainchel was an absolute master who had subdued dozens of Royal Army soldiers in an instant.

“T, such a dish exists……. C, could it be that you are a divine immortal?”

“I’m just a Sword-wielding Cooking Mas……. No, let’s just say it’s something similar. Anyway, there’s no time. Then I’ll start cooking right away.”

“A, alright.”

Wang Jeok-sam was sweating profusely. Perhaps he had met someone unbelievable.

*

*

*

It had to be fed not only to those who were injured but also to the Royal Army soldiers who were possessed by the nine-tailed fox.

In that case, a stew that could be made in large quantities at once was perfect.

Cainchel first checked the ingredients in his two-dimensional pocket.

He always carried plenty of seasonings and potatoes, but there was no meat.

“I can’t make beef stew with this. I should have brought plenty of Giant Sand Worm meat if I had known this would happen.”

Who would have known that he would come to the Eastern Continent so quickly?

Moreover, he had to travel with a high dragon with tremendous appetite for a while. It seemed that he had to go to the market to replenish his ingredients sometime today.

However, he had to serve the waiting guests first.

‘I’m glad I at least have chorizo made from Gorgon. Then, shall I make Tuscan-style Chorizo Potato Stew?’

Chorizo is a type of sausage mainly eaten in Tuscany [a region in Italy].

It is characterized by its deep red color and spicy taste because it contains dried and smoked peppers.

Wang Jeok-sam’s eyes widened as Cainchel took out chorizo along with various spices from his two-dimensional pocket.

“You truly know how to use mysterious magic.”

Cainchel replaced his answer by shrugging his shoulders.

Many of the injured had fatal wounds. He had to hurry for their sake.

“Hoo, then shall we begin?”

Cainchel placed paprika and garlic on the makeshift cooking table and began to slice them.

Adding smoked paprika would make the stew smell better, but unfortunately, he didn’t have it.

‘Then I’ll have to char it over the fire to bring out the flavor.’

Next, he had to cut the onions and potatoes to be added to the stew into bite-sized pieces.

Using onion swordsmanship, he could prepare ingredients for hundreds of people in an instant.

‘Alright, perfectly wonderful.’

When the preparation of various vegetables was finished, Cainchel added olive oil to a large pot and heated it up.

Then, as he added garlic and heated it, a savory and fragrant smell began to waft.

Wang Jeok-sam, who was watching Cainchel cook, now had an expression that wouldn’t be strange if he fainted at any moment.

He was a peddler who traveled around selling goods in numerous cities.

He had several opportunities to see the skills of masters who boasted of having learned rising martial arts.

That’s why he knew very well. It was difficult even for the top hundred masters in the world to win against dozens of Royal Army soldiers without a single scratch.

Moreover, he could even make a dish that could return the insane Royal Army soldiers to their original state.

“Could it be that you are really a divine immortal who has ascended to immortality…….”

“I told you I’m not. Do I look that old?”

“……Then what on earth…….”

Perhaps the man in front of him was the hero who would return this insane Ming Empire to normal.

“Gulp…….”

Wang Jeok-sam swallowed without realizing it, thinking such thoughts.