Chapter 115 - 114: Flavorful Hodgepodge

Chapter 115: Chapter 114: Flavorful Hodgepodge

Night slowly fell over the Gray Mist Forest.

In the clearing in front of the cabin, a bonfire crackled. The dancing flames dispelled the forest’s chill and dampness, casting flickering shadows across everyone’s faces.

Trist squatted by the fire, meticulously preparing a pot of bubbling stew.

He stirred the greenish-brown broth with a wooden spoon. Unidentifiable chunks of meat and twisted roots tumbled within it.

Once he was certain it was ready, he ladled out a spoonful, blew on it, and sniffed it ecstatically. Then he enthusiastically called out to the others, "Care for a taste? A Gray Mist Forest specialty: goblin hind leg, slow-cooked with Glowing Mushrooms and Thorny Roots. The flavor... is quite unique."

Before he could finish, Laila’s face suddenly paled. She whipped her head to the side, clamped a hand over her mouth, and made a suppressed retching sound, her shoulders trembling slightly.

Hulk emotionlessly gnawed on a piece of hardtack, while Belte quickly patted Laila on the back.

Zoya didn’t seem to hear Trist’s invitation at all, busy whittling something with the dagger in her hand.

Bruce’s reaction was the most direct. He bared his teeth at Trist’s steaming spoon. "WOOF! WOOF WOOF! Scram!"

The smile on Trist’s face froze for a moment. Then, with a self-deprecating shrug, he began slurping the stew down himself.

He mumbled indistinctly, ’So, deep-seated prejudice applies even to a bowl of hot soup.’

Just as they had before clearing out the goblins, the Dragon Fang Squad and Trist agreed to attack the Dogman Cave the next day, after the mist had dissipated.

The rule in the Gray Mist Forest was that all extermination missions should wait for the best possible visibility.

After all, these monsters had lived here for years; the mist affected them far less than it did outsiders.

As Adventurers, they had to eliminate environmental disadvantages as much as possible.

"Those Kobolds have been living here for a long time," Trist said, breaking the silence as he slurped his thick soup. "I moved to this area five years ago, and they were already in that cave back then."

Hulk seized the opportunity to ask, "What are the specifics of the cave?"

"At first, there were over fifty of them in the cave. They were very active back then, always coming out and sometimes even harassing me near my cabin. But for some reason, their numbers started to dwindle, and they came out less and less. I ’contributed’ to some of that, of course, but I definitely didn’t kill thirty of them."

"When did you discover the Dogman Mage?"

"About two months ago, I think," Trist recalled. "I took Little Treasure Pearl into the woods to catch wild rabbits and ran into seven or eight Kobolds. I was still debating what to do; if I killed too many at once, the ingredients would lose their freshness before I could eat them all. After all, only the freshest flesh can guarantee the best texture."

"To my surprise, one of them, a red-colored Kobold, actually threw flames at my Little Treasure Pearl. It’s a bit afraid of fire, and with the other Kobolds around, I had no choice but to retreat for the time being."

He licked his lips, a nostalgic light in his eyes. "I was once fortunate enough... to taste a bloodline-awakened Kobold. The flavor... tsk tsk, it’s completely different from the common variety. Its skin was firmer and more elastic, the muscle fibers..."

"Ahem," Hulk interrupted his cursed ’Spellcasting’. "From a combat assessment perspective, an individual Kobold is about as strong as a goblin. But Kobolds are usually more organized. The more there are, the harder they are to deal with, especially with a Mage directing them."

Belte immediately chimed in, eager to go, "Captain, the usual plan? Should I go lure them out again?"

Hulk didn’t answer directly, instead turning to Trist. "How many are usually at the cave entrance? Do they chase you if they see you?"

"Two," Trist said with certainty. "Sometimes I show myself on purpose. They usually send one back into the cave to report, but they rarely give chase. That Dogman Mage isn’t stupid. Its brain would be perfect for..."

"So the luring strategy won’t work!" Hulk raised his voice, cutting off his ’spellcasting’ once again.

Belte’s eyes lit up as he proposed a new idea. "I heard Kobolds love shiny things! What if... we throw a few Golden Shields over there? They’re so shiny, they’re sure to lure those two out! We take them out quick, then rush in before the others can react!"

He finished, looking at his teammates expectantly.

Laila shot him a glance. "Using your brain is a good thing, Belte. But throwing Golden Shields at Kobolds? That will just make them wary. They’ll think it’s some new kind of weapon." She turned to Hulk, proposing a more direct plan. "Zoya and I can coordinate to silently eliminate the sentries, then we charge straight in. Clean and simple."

Hulk nodded. This aligned with his usual steady and efficient style. But he noticed Hesia hadn’t spoken and seemed to be deep in thought, so he asked, "Galen, any ideas?"

"I was thinking... maybe we don’t have to rush in," Hesia began, a little uncertainly. "We don’t know the situation inside the cave. What if I cast [Greasy Skill] at the entrance, then light the grease on fire and use the thick smoke to flush all the Kobolds out?"

The moment he finished speaking, Belte was the first to cheer. "Smoke them out! Solid plan!"

Laila also nodded and added, "It could work. Kobolds have a keen sense of smell. The thick smoke will be highly irritating to them."

Hulk: "That’s the plan, then. We’ll guard the entrance and wait for the smoke to force them out. It’s much safer than rushing into a cave with an unknown layout."

With the strategy more or less decided, the atmosphere lightened.

Hesia grew more curious about the gourmand and asked, "Mr. Trist, have you always lived alone in the Gray Mist Forest?"

"Not entirely." Trist poked the fire, making the flames burn brighter. "I wasn’t born in a village here. Many years ago, I came here from my hometown. I was an Adventurer for over a decade, wandered all over, and in the end, I decided this place suited me best, so I built a cabin and settled down."

"There used to be villages around here?"

"Mhm, there were a few." Trist’s gaze fell on the dancing flames, his tone as flat as if he were recounting a history that had nothing to do with him.

"Back then, this forest wasn’t called the ’Gray Mist Forest.’ Then, about twenty years ago, for some reason, the mist started appearing more and more frequently, and it just got thicker. The villagers felt uneasy, so they gradually moved away."

"So the mist appeared later on?"

"Yes." Trist’s tone was firm, and the corner of his mouth even curled into a wry smile.

"This mist is very interesting. It provides a sanctuary for the weak, shielding them from greater threats from the outside world. That’s why creatures like Kobolds and goblins, which normally wouldn’t even make it to the main stage, can thrive here peacefully. This way, they won’t go extinct, right?"

"But things haven’t been so peaceful in the forest lately. A while ago, I saw a group of people. They weren’t dressed like Adventurers, more like the private soldiers of some nobleman. They were driving a horse-drawn carriage with an iron cage, capturing goblins everywhere. I have no idea which nobleman it could be, to actually..."

A strange expression appeared on his face. "...also have such a refined taste in ingredients."

Then, he unconsciously began to mutter to himself again, comparing the textures of different goblin parts and the proper cooking times, completely lost in his own culinary world.