Chapter 1284 - 630: Transition and Imminent Arrival_2

Tal didn’t even dare to think too much.

If it were Xia Nan, with the experience he had accumulated over the years, he could barely judge his combat level.

But if the subject were this barbarian called "Frogon," Tal felt that his scale for assessing strength was completely obsolete at this moment.

He simply wasn’t someone of the level he could come into contact with.

In fact, days ago when he followed Xia Nan back to the camp and saw this barbarian, he had already regretted his request to follow them to Bloodforge Castle.

Fortunately, over the past few days, neither Xia Nan nor Frogon had made things difficult for him, allowing him to endure under immense pressure until now.

Now, they were finally about to reach their destination, and Tal couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the camp, Xia Nan was unaware of the psychological activities of the stout ranger.

Of course, even if he knew, he wouldn’t care much.

At the moment, he was enjoying today’s dinner.

"Sizzle!"

The fat sizzled under the grill flame, dripping enticingly over the surface of the venison.

His perception ability quietly came into play.

Xia Nan turned the venison skewer over the fire, carefully observing the heat.

Though the time since his transmigration wasn’t long, due to the Lone Wolf’s ways, he often had to camp out alone in the wild, thus improving his cooking skills.

Especially for these types of dishes that require only flame and simple spices, he became quite proficient.

After turning the venison a few more times over the flames and confirming it was perfectly done.

Xia Nan quickly stood the skewer upside down in the ground, freeing his hands, and took out a small clay pot from his waist pouch.

—Anvil Honey.

Obtained months ago on the way from River Valley Town to Suo Yu Bay.

It was kept because of its uniquely wonderful taste, used occasionally as a food seasoning.

He remembered hearing fellow adventurers say that this honey was very suitable as a gift; he even thought of taking it back to acquaintances in River Valley Town after his trip to Suo Yu Bay, or giving it to newly met friends during the journey.

But after obtaining the White Pot pocket watch, he had forgotten it deep in the space of the pocket watch within a backup supply backpack until he remembered during a recent supply sort at Salt Rock Port that he could’ve shared it with the little guy and Lorin.

Given the current circumstances, estimating that he won’t return to River Valley Town anytime soon, Xia Nan decided not to keep the honey in his backpack any longer, taking it out to enjoy whenever he felt like it.

"Sss..."

The amber-colored viscous honey was gently brushed over the venison’s surface with a small brush prepared earlier, slowly spreading out. Before dripping, Xia Nan quickly adjusted the angle with a rotation, wasting not a single drop, enveloping the meat with its reddish-brown color.

The air was filled with an enticing aroma.

As he took a bite, the distinctive fresh fruity scent of Anvil Honey perfectly merged with the rich fat of the grilled venison, neutralizing its original greasiness, leaving only its pure delectable taste.

Always one to revel in a good meal, Xia Nan instinctively squinted his eyes.

"Woof..."

A low whimpering sound suddenly came from beside him.

Winter Wolf Fenney was there, wagging her tail gently, her body crouched low, and her fluffy head nudged against Xia Nan’s arm.

A pair of icy blue wolf eyes looked up at Xia Nan, pleadingly.

Knowing what she wanted, and since there was plenty of honey, Xia Nan didn’t hesitate much before taking the venison from the skewer and handing it to Fenney.

From the beginning of their short time together, Winter Wolf Fenney showed him an unusual affinity and warmth.

Initially, he found it strange and didn’t know the reason.

But as they spent more time together, he truly felt Fenney’s pure emotion towards him.

In response, Xia Nan didn’t mind extending the same kindness in return.

On another note, although they hadn’t fought side by side yet, he and Fenney had great synergy; even though their actual battle strengths differed, this little wolf perfectly supported and distracted foes, never needing protection, making Xia Nan very satisfied and willing to share his favored food with her.

It’s worth mentioning that Barbarian Fukuoka’s taste might be influenced by the Northern Tribe he grew up in, not liking sweet foods much, thus declining Xia Nan’s offer of honey-dipped meat.

Instead, he had a soft spot for the tougher, odorous Layered Armor Elephant meat which Xia Nan found too dry and rubbery days ago.

A large piece he brought back from the battlefield out of curiosity was almost entirely eaten by him.

As a professional adventurer, besides researching battle skills, Xia Nan hadn’t forgotten his main job.

After finishing a battle a few days ago, he conducted the fieldwork on the battlefield.

The final harvest, however, was quite ordinary.

Though the Layered Armor Elephant had a Level 3 Challenge Level, it didn’t have any unique abilities like the Petrified Lizard and was a stat monster like the Bear, relying mainly on bodily strength.

In this scenario, it naturally didn’t have any particularly valuable loot materials on its body.

To say the least, its thick leather armor might be worth some money.

But harvesting it was too troublesome, and he didn’t want to expose the existence of the White Pot pocket watch to outsiders like Tal, so Xia Nan saved himself the trouble by not taking it.

Regarding adventurer spoils, according to industry rules, although there was still a surviving member, it was merely a recently formed temporary team, and Xia Nan had actually saved the only survivor of the team, granting him complete rights to the distribution.

However, after checking everything with his attribute panel’s golden finger, there wasn’t any notable gain.

The adventurers teamed with Tal appeared not to be very wealthy, having spent their savings in casinos and on drinks.

Their used equipment, crucial armor and weapons included, only had a few ordinary descriptors of White Equipment, with many damaged from battling the Layered Armor Elephant.

Even if he took it back, it would only be salvageable as secondhand equipment, never enjoying the full price convenience of enchanted equipment.

Adding it all up wasn’t worth much, so Xia Nan didn’t waste his stamina bringing them back, leaving Tal to handle it.

Interestingly, this made Tal hesitant instead.

Unlike Xia Nan, who never squanders money and has assets worth over ten thousand gold, this bald ranger from a humble background abundantly indulged in all the adventurers’ mainstream vices.

Over the years, he had hardly saved anything.

Being just temporary teammates, he felt no emotional attachment to the coinmates.

Under normal circumstances, he’d probably scrutinize even their undergarments for anything valuable hidden inside.

But since Xia Nan had specifically mentioned leaving everything on the field for him to handle, the situation was too delicate.

He didn’t want to leave a bad impression on such a powerful young adventurer or waste his time due to cleaning up the battlefield.

After brief yet intense hesitation, Tal also abandoned the battlefield spoils, leaving those secondhand equipment alongside their owners.

"How far is it to Bloodforge Castle? I estimate we’ll arrive by the day after tomorrow at the latest, right?"

Xia Nan compared their surroundings to the map, assessing the remaining journey in his mind.

Not wanting to neglect anything, as soon as he finished speaking, Tal, who was in charge of leading the way during this period, immediately sat up straight and responded:

"Yes! Yes! You’re absolutely right!"

"If we continue at our current pace, we should see Bloodforge Castle by noon tomorrow at the latest."

For convenience of training, the group mostly set camp in the afternoons, not hurrying much along the way.

But since they were now so near the target they could almost see it from afar, there was no reason to spend another day unnecessarily in the wild.

Frogon’s motion of maintaining his Short Axe paused, as he spoke:

"Then let’s travel further tomorrow, aiming to reach Bloodforge Castle before nightfall."