Chapter 139: Ravager

Ethan turned to the beastmen, all of whom were eyeing the sweet potatoes like starving wolves. "I’ll treat you all to a feast later, for now — work hard."

"Ohhh!!" Under Ethan’s direction, they threw themselves into the harvest with roaring enthusiasm.

Most of them usually foraged for wild fruits or scrounged for wheat, harvesting crops at this scale — actually pulling enormous Honey Sweet Potatoes from the earth, feeling the weight of them, seeing the pile grow — was a first, it gave them a deep satisfaction, even before a single bite.

The stronghold filled up fast. Sweet potatoes, wheat, fruits, and vegetables were heaped in every available corner.

"Now it’s time to cook." While the beastmen were still busy in the fields, Ethan built a makeshift stove from stones and got to work.

First up: candied Honey Sweet Potatoes, he peeled and sliced the golden-fleshed tubers, fried them until crisp, and coated them in syrup extracted from sugar beets, the aroma punched through the camp like a fist.

A lizard beastman couldn’t help himself, he snatched a piece when Ethan’s back was turned and stuffed it in his mouth. His groan of satisfaction carried across the entire clearing.

The others swarmed over, jostling and elbowing.

"So delicious."

"My whole body is filling with strength."

"Did I just level up?!"

Battle-hardened warriors, every one of them, and they were stunned by a single dish, they stared at the man behind the stove in disbelief.

Ethan waved his spatula. "There’s plenty more. Eat slowly. And by the way — if you’ve got energy to spare, go hunt some game for me. I’ll make meat dishes for everyone."

The beastmen swept up the remaining candied sweet potatoes and charged into the forest, fueled by a second wind. They returned with carcasses slung over their shoulders, grinning.

Meanwhile, Ethan baked soft, honey-glazed bread and prepared thick burgers — the kind of food no race could turn down.

The cycle repeated throughout the night. Eat, work, eat again. Without realizing it, the beastmen’s strength climbed with every meal.

"Just who are you?" Rauk asked, flexing his hand, feeling the new power humming through him.

Ethan smiled mildly. "Just an ordinary person living in the Great Forest."

The midnight feast carried on until dawn.

Today was the day of the attack. Everyone needed a full stomach. Ethan used the previous day’s harvest to prepare a hearty breakfast spread — grilled meat, bread, stews, and candied sweet potatoes for the road.

Watching the beastmen eat their fill, grab their weapons, and march toward the front lines with fire in their eyes, Liora tugged at Ethan’s sleeve. "Are you not tired?"

"It would be a lie to say I’m not." Feeding hundreds of fighters all night was brutal, but Ethan didn’t complain, he simply did what he was good at, giving the beastmen the strongest support he could.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I can." He smiled and patted her head, brushing a stray leaf from her hair. Then he straightened, rolled his shoulders, and walked toward the battlefield.

In the distance, a dark, swarming mass of monsters was closing in. The beastmen showed no fear — their fighting spirit burned bright.

"They could have run, yet they chose to fight. Why is that?" Liora asked quietly.

"Who knows..." Ethan paused. "Because there are things that someone has to do. And they have the power to do them."

He let go of Liora’s hand and tightened his grip on the Scythe of Gaia.

Sensing the aura pouring from Ethan and Pearl, the monsters grew frantic. The Scythe of Gaia resonated with its master’s fighting spirit, and its blade began to grow.

Pearl leaped up, landed on Ethan’s head, and called back to Liora. "If we have the ability to change this, why shouldn’t we, meow?"

"You’re right."

Seeing Ethan and Pearl standing side by side, weapons ready, the beastmen raised their own and let out a deafening roar.

Amidst the clamor, Ethan leveled the Scythe of Gaia at the surging horde.

"Wrath of the Earth!"

"Meteor Summon, meow!!"

The attacks rained down, the battle ignited.

Sharp stone spears erupted from the earth, sending a wall of monsters flying. Massive meteors crashed down after them — Pearl’s Meteor Summon.

"Hold them off until the meteors land!" Ethan roared, swinging the Scythe of Gaia and cutting down everything in his path. The monsters he flung aside were trampled by their own charging kin.

The beastmen surged into the enemy lines. Slaughter played out in every corner of the battlefield.

They were strong, but the monsters were simply too many. A densely packed horde covered the entire plain, blotting out the grass. Even fighting one against ten, the beastmen started to flag. Wounds appeared on arms, legs, backs. Blood stained the earth.

Then Pearl’s voice rang from above. "It’s here, meow~"

BOOM——!!!

A deafening shockwave swept across the battlefield at visible speed, flattening everything in its path. Even the beastmen staggered and dropped to one knee under the sheer pressure.

When the dust cleared, more than half the monster horde was gone. Craters dotted the plain where meteors had struck, still smoking.

"That magic is terrifying!!" A beastman gave a thumbs-up to Pearl, perched on Ethan’s head.

Pearl wagged her tail proudly and began chanting again. "Thunder Strike, meow~"

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!

Dozens of lightning bolts crashed from the sky, blasting the stragglers to charred husks. The air reeked of ozone and scorched fur.

Seizing the opening, Ethan swung the Scythe and unleashed a second Wrath of the Earth. Stone spears ripped through the monster ranks, scattering them like leaves.

"I didn’t expect a human and a little kitty to be this amazing."

"It’s Ethan’s cooking that gave us the strength."

"You’re bleeding bad — get to the back."

"A scratch like this is nothing." A bear beastman, drenched in blood from ears to ankles, slammed his palm into the ground.

Boom!

The earth heaved and rolled like a wave, crushing the surrounding monsters flat, the bear beastman thumped his chest and let out a roar of his own.

The leopard beastman who had just told him to retreat rolled his eyes, unsheathed his claws, and dove back into the fray without another word.

"We can’t keep going like this, meow..." Pearl had burned through most of her mana on two major spells, she munched on the snacks Ethan had packed while scanning the field below, even after wiping out so many, the monsters still held a clear advantage in numbers.

"At least we’re not losing ground." Ethan decapitated a monster mid-swing, voice as level as if he were discussing the weather.

Morale held firm, and their goal wasn’t to kill every last creature — it was to buy the task force enough time.

"We’ll pull back for now."

"Got it, thanks for the hard work."

"If you get hungry, come back and eat."

Their part was done. Ethan and Pearl fell back to recover mana.

At the rear, beastmen tended to the wounded beneath makeshift shelters of stretched hide. Among them, a small figure moved between the injured, wrapping bandages with steady hands.

Liora spotted Ethan and Pearl and ran over immediately. "Are you alright?"

"We’re fine." The beastmen had shielded them well.

Pearl leaped from Ethan’s head into Liora’s arms, nuzzling the bandages she held. "Then I’ll go help with the wounded, meow~"

"Yeah, I’m counting on you." Ethan patted Liora’s head and turned toward the cooking area. Ingredients were already spread across a makeshift table.

’What should I make?’ Something portable — easy to eat mid-battle. He thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up.

"Cookies."

In the chaos of combat, cookies were the simplest food to carry and eat on the move. He started mixing the dough, working fast.

"Human, I’m hungry."

"Man, what a mess it is out there."

While baking cookies, Ethan also prepared hot meals for fighters rotating back from the front lines. Piping-hot burgers with thick patties, crispy fries seasoned with salt and garlic. The beastmen scarfed them down, grabbed their weapons, and headed back out at a jog.

Watching them go, Ethan packed the finished cookies into every pocket he had.

"Waaaahhh!"

"What’s wrong?"

"Your friend just took down a high-tier monster!" Zharok had killed one of the Ravager Lord’s strongest guards with his bare strength.

But casualties came too, a beastman warrior with a gaping wound in his chest was being carried to the rear. Liora and the others rushed to treat him.

Ethan set the cookies aside and stood. "Pearl! I’m going out!"

"Got it, meow~"

"Human, hurry up and cook!"

"This should be enough for now. I’m going to help."

"It’s too dangerous!"

"Don’t worry." He patted the beastman’s shoulder and strode toward the front.

A massive monster burst from the horde.

"It’s a Ravager!"

"A Ravager?" Ethan asked.

A rhinoceros beastman bared his teeth. "It’s a failed mutation — couldn’t become a Ravager Lord, but it’s still no pushover, those long arms will tear you in half if they grab you, be careful — a fragile human body won’t survive a single hit from those things!"