"Riding a griffin back to the kingdom? You're not kidding, are you?!"

Taking the bundle of firewood from Todd, Rachel followed his gaze to the sky and said incredulously.

With his feet firmly planted in the deep snow and his hands gathering rotten wood and branches, Todd straightened up, looked at the beautiful snow-capped peaks under the sunlight, and nodded, saying, "I'm not kidding. Like I just said, Leviathan gave me an insight in the spiritual world."

"Since I can bring humans into my soul world, why can't I bring monsters in as well?"

Rachel pulled her fur coat tighter, her face flushed red from the cold: "The people of the Muxi Kingdom trust you based on long-standing acquaintance and reverence. The successful soul linking was also achieved on the premise that the recipient had no resistance whatsoever..."

"The monsters in the Shadow Kingdom have no intelligence; they live independently and only react according to instinct. Trying to establish a soul link with them will involve many uncertainties. In the worst case, it could even lead to the situation that happened to Clarence."

Todd stroked his slightly stubbled chin, pondering as he said, "These monsters might not be as stupid as we imagine. According to Leviathan, its race existed since the beginning of this world. In that case, this race's development time is far longer than that of humans, and I think it's possible to communicate with them."

"Speaking of which, what exactly is the race that Leviathan is referring to? Half human and half them, what is the relationship between the two?" Rachel asked, holding the firewood.

Todd pointed to the ground beneath his feet: "The answer should lie deep within the Shadow Kingdom. The radioactive source, the tyrant, Leviathan, and the mutation—these elements may all be pieces of the puzzle. If we can find the connection between them, we can completely unravel the mystery and reveal the greatest secret behind the Shadow Kingdom!"

Looking back at the shivering Rachel, Todd suppressed his ambition and said helplessly, "But first, we must find a way home. Gaining the griffins' trust and incorporating them into the spirit world is the most important task at hand."

Rachel stamped her foot, breathed on her hands to warm them, and asked Todd, "Gain the griffin's trust? How do you plan to do that?"

Todd raised his head confidently and said with a smile, "In my hometown, there's a saying: 'Win people over with virtue.'"

Ten minutes later, the two men, laden with firewood, returned to the entrance of the Griffin Cave.

The unexpected situation at the entrance gave Todd confidence, which was a harsh slap in the face.

The two silly birds in the cave actually blocked the entrance with stones while the two went out to gather firewood!

Rachel glanced at the tightly blocked hole, then rolled her eyes at Todd and said with amusement, "'Winning people over with virtue'? Huh?"

Feeling humiliated, Todd put down the firewood in his hand and threw a punch. With a loud bang, a gap was instantly punched in the pile of stones.

Using the light from outside the cave, we looked inside.

Todd saw the griffin couple huddled together, hiding behind a pile of rocks, croaking in fright from the earlier attack.

Another punch.

The pile of stones used to block the entrance was partially destroyed. The griffin couple were terrified when they saw their carefully laid obstacle destroyed so easily. They scattered like headless flies throughout the cave.

In a fit of rage, Todd stuck his head inside, staring intently at the two clumsy birds, and roared with a forced smile, "Fellow villagers! Open the door! The community is bringing warmth!"

Ten minutes later, Todd cleared the stones from the entrance and, with Rachel, returned to the campfire deep inside the cave.

The griffin couple clung to each other, their eyes filled with terror, desperately curling up against the wall.

They eventually learned from the ostriches, turning their rear ends towards Todd and their heads towards the rock wall, trying to avoid seeing or hearing about it.

Todd, feeling both annoyed and amused, didn't bother with them and started a fire to cook.

Among the food brought from Meredith were some dried fruit, black bread, oats, cheese, salt, and bacon.

During dinner last night, Todd noticed that the two griffins had a similar preference for food to humans. They devoured half a roasted lamb he tossed them, with just a little salt added, skin, meat, and even bones.

Since that's the case, Todd simply decided to cater to his preferences.

Using his culinary skills from his previous life as a single dog, he gained the trust of the griffins through delicious food, thus establishing a soul link with them. Ultimately, he used them as mounts to return to the Kingdom of Twilight.

Today, he's going to try a dish recommended by a Swiss friend from his past life—cheese tarts.

Add water and salt to cheese, along with bread flour and rye flakes, and bake over low heat while stirring constantly until it becomes a batter.

Next, chop the dried fruit, cured meat, and other fillings, wrap them in the batter, and bake on both sides. In less than ten minutes, a delicious and simple snack is ready.

The aroma of baking food not only attracted Rachel, who has no resistance to delicious food, but also lured the two silly birds who were "reflecting on their mistakes" in the corner to the front of the pot.

The male griffin circled around to the other end of the pot, trying to keep as far away from Todd as possible while still craning its neck to smell the aroma from the pot.

The first batch of pancakes is ready.

Surrounded by one person and two birds, Todd first tasted a piece himself.

He nodded in satisfaction as he chewed; the taste was good, and his cooking skills hadn't deteriorated after all.

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