Chapter: Aftermath
The bone dragon fell to the ground.
Cheng Yu carried the over-ten-meter-long bone dragon frame to the ice cellar and placed it together with the Black Shadow Crows to deal with them all together.
"Master Cheng Yu, another demon soldier is coming!"
Ivennie shouted to Cheng Yu and pointed toward the woods.
Cheng Yu looked in the direction Ivennie pointed. A demon soldier carrying an axe was walking toward the manor.
"Hahaha! After walking so far, I finally found a human settlement!"
The demon soldier spotted Cheng Yu—like an old bachelor who'd been single for ten years seeing a peerless beauty. He licked his lips, ecstatic.
However, before he could be happy for long, an invisible force slapped him.
Bang~
An explosion sounded. The demon soldier's head burst like a watermelon. Blood sprayed everywhere.
The headless body fell heavily.
Cheng Yu shook his wrist with satisfaction. 602 points of strength was enough to instantly kill any first- or second-tier warrior.
"Strange. I don't see you exercising normally. Why are you so strong?"
Mina looked at Cheng Yu as if looking at an alien.
It was said that warriors needed constant tempering to become strong, but Cheng Yu did nothing and became incredibly powerful.
It was truly absurd.
"This is love and peace, and the power of bonds between companions."
"???"
Mina's face was full of question marks. She didn't know what this "bond power" Cheng Yu was talking about meant. Cheng Yu often spoke words she didn't understand.
The Northern Fortress defenders killed most of the demons. A small number of demons broke into Black Sun Empire territory. Demon soldiers and undead monsters broke into Cheng Yu's farm one after another.
Cheng Yu sat in the garden, legs crossed, calmly drinking coffee. He'd become a god of war. The radius of fly-swatting magic was several kilometers. No matter what monster it was, as long as it appeared in his field of vision, raising his hand was a massive slap.
He slapped from noon to afternoon, and from afternoon to night.
Cheng Yu's arms were almost numb from clapping.
All the demon soldiers who broke into the farm were killed instantly by Cheng Yu without exception.
Cheng Yu's strength might not be invincible, but he was definitely a powerhouse.
At the same time, after a full day of hard fighting, the Northern Fortress defenders finally drove the demon army back to the northern border.
The fortifications were rebuilt at the breach. Mages engraved defensive array patterns on the fortifications.
Outside Cheng Yu's manor was a farm of over a hundred acres. At the edge of the farm lay a large area of demon soldier corpses—all killed by headshots.
[Task Completed: Reward Special Recipe - Pickled Earthworms]
The system notification sounded in Cheng Yu's mind.
Another special recipe.
Happy mood.
Cheng Yu couldn't wait to check the special recipe.
[Pickled Earthworms: Earthworms that have been pickled and fermented have a fishy smell. Eating them can quickly heal injuries and restore physical strength. Ingredients: black earthworms, salt, MSG, snow dragon grass, corpse flower, asparagus seeds...]
Famous dark dishes on Earth—like pickled puffins and canned herring—were all produced through pickling and fermentation.
Can this food called pickled earthworms really be eaten?
The last special recipe—black flatbread—had tasted bitter and astringent. Cheng Yu couldn't help but suspect all the special recipes rewarded by the system were dark dishes.
In addition to pickled earthworms, the three magic materials mentioned in the recipe—snow dragon grass, corpse flower, and asparagus seeds—all had strong fishy smells.
I can't even imagine what kind of intensely sour taste these three things will have when mixed with pickled and fermented earthworms!
Even flies would probably shake their heads at it.
However, this food could quickly heal injuries and restore physical strength. It seemed to be excellent healing medicine.
Snow dragon grass, corpse flower, and asparagus seeds weren't sold in a small place like Bailu Town.
Cheng Yu planned to visit Snow City again when he had time.
At that moment, Charles emerged from the woods outside the manor. The white stockings wrapped around their thighs were torn by branches. They'd sobered up.
Seeing the bone dragon next to Cheng Yu, Charles's handsome face showed confusion.
"Just now I dreamed I was slapped by a bone dragon. There's actually a bone dragon here."
"Is it possible you weren't dreaming just now?"
After Cheng Yu's reminder, Charles realized they'd really been slapped by a bone dragon.
"Such a cute dragon, but it turned out to be so mean."
Charles thought the bone dragon had been quite cute.
"Young man, are you not injured?"
Cheng Yu had been kicked in the chest by the bone dragon just now and felt stuffy. Mina had even been beaten by the bone dragon until she vomited blood. Charles didn't seem injured at all.
Charles stuck out their tongue playfully. "Maybe it's God's blessing."
"Really?"
Placing the Dragon-Pattern Golden Knife against Charles's neck, Cheng Yu smiled kindly. "Let me test whether God can still protect you."
"No! Don't cut me!"
Looking miserable, Charles hugged Cheng Yu and begged for mercy. Where in the world is there any God's blessing? They'd just been talking.
Cheng Yu shook Charles off. "I'll make bone soup for you tonight."
Great!
Charles's attitude changed very quickly. They'd been begging for mercy one second, and were cheering the next.
Cheng Yu walked over to a Black Shadow Crow corpse, cut open its abdomen, and various internal organs spilled out.
Along with the internal organs came a thumb-sized red crystal.
"What's this?"
Cheng Yu picked up the red crystal and wiped off the blood on the surface. The crystal was as beautiful as a ruby.
A type of energy crystal formed inside large magic beasts' bodies—called magic crystals. Magic crystals were necessary materials for magic tools or alchemical potions and were quite valuable.
There was an unexpected surprise inside this Black Shadow Crow.
He'd keep the magic crystal and see how much it could be sold for next time he visited Snow City.
Cheng Yu cut a large piece of meat from the Black Shadow Crow's belly and brought it to the kitchen along with the dragon bones to cook dinner.
Half an hour later, the four of them sat at the dining table for dinner.
On the table sat a plate of fish-flavored shredded pork, a plate of Kung Pao chicken, a plate of minced meat eggplant, and a bowl of dragon bone soup—three dishes and one soup.
Mina tasted the fish-flavored shredded pork. It was fresh, salty, sour, and spicy—smooth and refreshing. The aroma of meat and the fragrance of fungus blended perfectly.
"Delicious! Really delicious!"
Mina commented, then tasted the Kung Pao chicken.
Kung Pao chicken was mainly made from Black Shadow Crow meat, supplemented by peanuts, cucumbers, peppers, and other ingredients. It tasted sour, sweet, and slightly spicy. The meat was fresh and smooth—red but not spicy, spicy but not overwhelming. The aroma of peanuts was fully released by the hot oil.
"Kung Pao chicken is also delicious!"
Mina had eaten Kung Pao chicken made by Cheng Yu before, so she knew the name of this dish.
The Kung Pao chicken made from this bird meat was even better than chicken.
Ivennie also thought it was delicious and ate the Kung Pao chicken eagerly.
Charles scooped a bowl of dragon bone soup with a spoon. The soup was milky white and delicious.
"This delicious soup has a hint of heat—like hot summer. I'd guess this bone dragon was probably a red dragon subspecies with low blood purity when it was alive."
The three dishes and one soup tasted like the finest food in the world. Mina ate three large bowls of rice.
At night, in Cheng Yu's study, Mina snuck in.
"Mina, what are you doing here?"
Cheng Yu asked knowingly.
"To study human writing with you in depth."
Mina, with her slender figure, walked over to Cheng Yu with light steps and sat in his lap. A pair of flawless white legs rested on his legs.
"How's your injury?" Cheng Yu asked with concern.
"My chest still hurts a little."
Her white hands covering her chest, Mina looked delicate and charming.
Seeing Mina's alluring appearance, Cheng Yu sighed internally that a young female wolf in heat was even more seductive than a fox.
Perhaps because of her childhood experiences, Ivennie wasn't as passionate as Mina.
Mina's large white tail swung left and right. Her arms wrapped around Cheng Yu's waist, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "Master, help me rub it."