Chapter 168: Fight

She took a bite, and her eyes widened. "Wow, wow."

The tender, melt in the-mouth texture and the sweet and sour sauce blended perfectly, bursting with unparalleled deliciousness, none of the dishes she had ever eaten in the palace could compare.

’Plus, it’s so warm...’ As a princess, Irena rarely had the chance to eat piping hot meals, to prevent poisoning, she had to have her maids taste-test the food before every meal, by the time all the dishes had been tested, the food was already a bit cold.

But this plate of omurice was fresh out of the pan and piping hot, this was her first time experiencing such a feeling.

Irena stared blankly at the plate in her hands.

"It’s so delicious, so delicious." She snapped back to reality, shouting excitedly, and couldn’t wait to take another huge bite.

She praised the food endlessly, the subsequent dishes astonished her just the same, Ethan also served a post-meal dessert — ice cream.

Irena ate all the food with complete satisfaction, watching Mirelle and the maid clear the dishes, she walked up to Ethan and said sincerely, "Mr. Ethan, I want to hire you as my royal palace’s chef."

"Thank you for your kind offer, but I’m just a farmer, cooking is only my hobby..."

"A farmer?"

"Yes, someone who grows crops."

"Humans indeed can cultivate crops, you are engaged in such a great undertaking, I cannot force you..." Irena’s tone was filled with regret, showing just how satisfied she was with Ethan’s cooking.

Seeing her disappointed look, Ethan smiled. "If you ever want to eat my cooking again in the future, you can come find me in the Great Forest, my home welcomes your visit anytime."

"The Great Forest? Going to the Great Forest..."

"You know about the Great Forest?"

"Marquis Karloitz said he wanted to develop the Great Forest and even sent an expedition team over... Are you okay?"

"I’m fine, no need to worry."

"You are truly amazing, Mr. Ethan, not only are your culinary skills superb, but you can also grow crops, and you’re so powerful..." Irena clasped her hands together and lowered her head, her tone filled with envy.

"Yet I... I can’t do anything..."

Night fell.

Irena and her maid returned to the carriage to rest, Ethan took out the crystal ball to contact Leon, he had to tell Leon that the princess was with him.

"You’re saying Her Highness the Princess is with you?"

"Yes, Mr. Leon, here is what happened..." Ethan told Leon the whole story.

After listening, Leon sighed deeply. "I understand, I will immediately notify the royal capital and have them send troops to reinforce Marquis Ambric’s territory."

"It seems Marquis Karloitz is planning to risk it all."

"Yeah... I’m really worried that he might harm you..."

"I’ll be fine, don’t worry." Ethan smiled and stood up.

Mirelle, who had been sleeping on the roof of the carriage, also opened her eyes.

Dozens of stealthy figures appeared around the campsite, they were all elves dressed in black stealth gear, seeing that they had already been discovered, the elves swarmed forward.

Ethan drew his Holy Sword without hesitation. "An attack of this level..."

These elves were not very strong, at least, compared to the magical beasts of the Great Forest that Ethan and his group usually dealt with, they were pathetically weak.

"There’s no need to ask to know who sent them, right?" Mirelle bound a few of the surviving elves with spider silk, her tone full of disdain.

Ethan had long guessed the origin and purpose of these people. "It should be Marquis Karloitz."

Hearing this, one of the bound elves trembled slightly.

Ethan looked at him expressionlessly and raised his Holy Sword. "Is your target Her Highness the Princess?"

A trace of fear flashed in the elf’s eyes, Ethan swung the Holy Sword without hesitation.

The sharp blade flashed past, and the elf’s pointed ear was lopped off.

Just as the elf was about to let out a miserable shriek, Ethan covered his mouth and said calmly, "If you don’t return, Marquis Karloitz will just continue to send people to their deaths, to me, that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing."

He would just kill however many came, whittling down Marquis Karloitz’s forces, Ethan pressed the Holy Sword against the elf’s neck.

The elf collapsed to the ground, Ethan withdrew his Holy Sword and looked around at the remaining elves.

"What do you want to do with them?" Mirelle asked.

Ethan looked at the corpses littered across the ground, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. "Kill them all."

"Oh."

Ignoring the terrified screams coming from behind him, Ethan turned and walked toward the carriage, through the window, he saw Irena trembling, hiding in her maid’s embrace.

"Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, Ethan and Mirelle are both very strong, meow~" Pearl comforted Irena from the side, seeing Ethan walk over, she jumped next to Irena and gently patted her shoulder.

"Everything is fine now, meow~"

"A-are you alright?" Irena suppressed her fear and looked at Ethan.

Even though Ethan had just killed so many elves, his expression was just as gentle as when he had been cooking earlier, this put Irena’s mind at ease a little.

"Those people... what happened to them?"

"They’re all dead."

"Ah..."

"Did you want me to let them go?"

"N-no, that’s not it..."

"Rest assured, we will protect you until we reach Marquis Ambric’s territory, I have already notified the royal family, and they will soon send someone to pick you up."

"Thank you, Mr. Ethan."

"You’re welcome."

"How can I ever repay you..."

"I heard that the royal family does not seem to approve of Marquis Karloitz’s plan to develop the Great Forest."

"I don’t know much about politics..."

"That’s enough, just consider this doing me a favor." In any case, the royal family stopping Marquis Karloitz from developing the Great Forest was a good thing for him too, since that was the case, helping this princess wasn’t a bad idea.

Ethan comforted Irena with a few more words, then turned and headed back to the campsite. Looking at the corpses strewn across the ground, he furrowed his brows slightly. "These bodies..."

"What? Are they an eyesore? I can dispose of them."

"Really?"

"It’s a piece of cake." Mirelle hopped over to a corpse, extended a finger, and flicked it lightly, a drop of purple liquid landed on the body.

The corpse melted at a visible rate, turning into a puddle of bloody water that seeped into the soil in the blink of an eye.

Ethan watched this in astonishment. "How did you do that?"

"My venom, how about it? Want me to share some with you?"

"Although I’d really like to, it doesn’t seem like I have much use for it right now."

"Is that so? Never mind then, stretching my limbs made me so hungry~"

"I’ll go make some midnight snacks, I’ll leave the rest of this to you."

"Haha, I knew you were the best~" Humming a tune happily, Mirelle disposed of the remaining corpses one by one, Ethan began to prepare the late-night meal.

"What are you making, meow?"