Chapter 567. Number Four's Abilities
Badley Deep Furnace kept his promise and did so quite thoughtfully.
He not only assigned a seasoned dwarf guide familiar with every mountain path and pass, but also replenished the mission with enough supplies to support them all the way to Forgefire.
More importantly, there was an official travel document bearing the emblem of the Deepfire clan and the seal of the Lord of Ashwood.
This parchment proved to be very convenient during their subsequent journeys through the territories of the various dwarven clans. After being inspected by the guards at checkpoints, they would usually wave them through, saving them a lot of trouble with questioning and negotiation.
Of course, the term "unimpeded" only refers to the situation relative to human obstruction.
Although the dwarves' territory is not large, the mountains are steep and the roads are winding.
Every day, the team trudged along the seemingly endless winding mountain road, the sheep's hooves and wheels striking the rough stone surface with monotonous sounds. Day after day, it was still a long and arduous journey.
The guide's name was Bloom Stone Anvil, a middle-aged dwarf with a loud voice and a beard that was braided into several thick braids. He was quite talkative.
According to him, the procession would pass through the city of Golden Flame, which had suffered a great calamity, tomorrow.
This also means that there are less than three days left to reach the destination, the Forging City.
As night fell, the team set up camp behind a rock sheltered from the wind.
The dwarf set up a sturdy iron pot, poured in water and various dried goods, and soon, the pot began to bubble and gurgle, and a strong aroma filled the air.
Even while cooking, Bloom's mouth never stopped.
"Hey, this is our dwarven treasure, Forge Stew!" Bloom proudly introduced, stirring the thick, mushy food in the pot with a long-handled ladle. "Just throw in dried mountain wolf meat, tough tubers, and about a dozen spices, and simmer it all together. Look at the color! Smell the aroma! After a long day, a pot of this, hot and comforting, will give you a burst of energy! If you ask me, the taste is just as good as those 'delicious' dishes!"
A straightforward human female warrior in the delegation curiously scooped up a small bowl.
She blew on the hot food, carefully took a bite, chewed a few times, and raised one eyebrow.
"How is it?" Bloom looked at her expectantly.
The female warrior hesitated for a moment, but still admitted frankly, "The taste... is quite substantial, but it's still far from the level of [delicious]. It's at least much worse than the delicious mushrooms I've ever eaten."
Bloom's smile froze: "Impossible..."
“But the Delicious Mushroom is just better,” the female warrior insisted, taking another spoonful to savor it carefully. “This spice is a bit stronger… the Delicious Mushroom has a fresher texture and a much milder flavor.”
Bloom's mustache twitched slightly, clearly displeased, as he muttered something like, "Outsiders just have bad taste."
The two's argument made Inanna a little hungry.
While rubbing the baby in her arms, she muttered to herself with some regret, "I should have brought more delicious mushrooms with me."
But no sooner had she finished speaking than Number Four rolled out of her arms with a thud.
"Xiao Si?"
“Ah Fen, there’s actually another Delicious Mushroom in the team.”
"Where?" Inanna asked, puzzled.
Could it be that a member of the delegation secretly brought some delicious dried mushrooms?
But those are other people's things, and Inanna would never ask her subordinates to hand over her snacks.
However, number four only left Inanna with a cool silhouette. (In my opinion)
To everyone's astonishment, Number Four picked up a kitchen knife and, mimicking the Sword Saint's wild swings on the arena, sliced off one of his tentacles and poured it into the pot.
A huge question mark appeared above everyone's head.
Inanna quickly took out a magic potion and applied it to the slowly healing stinger, asking with concern, "Little Four, what are you doing?"
Number Four simply took the long spoon from the dazed dwarf, stirred it a few times in a seemingly serious manner, and then handed it to Inanna: "Try it!"
Number Four is quite confident in his own flavor.
Every time the black demon gnawed at itself, it would show a blissful expression.
Inanna looked at the gooey mess with a few pieces of mycelium and tentacles floating on it, and her face showed displeasure.
Some people around even showed expressions of horror.
Inanna wanted to ask for the first time if Number Four was not quite right in the head.
Who lets their partner taste their own food?
However, within the microbial network, the hopeful thoughts of Number Four kept coming.
If she didn't eat it, Inanna was afraid of hurting Xiao Si's feelings.
Inanna had no choice but to take the bowl and take a small bite.
kindness!
It definitely tastes like what I usually eat – the taste of [Delicious LV10]!
It's even a bit chewier than regular delicious mushrooms.
Inanna took a big, satisfying sip, and immediately felt as if she were back in the mushroom garden.
Seeing Inanna's satisfied expression, Number Four stood even more upright.
The swordsman, who was not far away, had no idea what that stupid mushroom who had just placed himself in the food reserve position was so proud of.
"This is the delicious mushroom?" Dwarf Blum was still thinking about the argument from earlier. After Inanna finished eating, he immediately served himself a small bowl.
He wanted to see just how delicious the mushrooms the female warrior described as far superior to their "forge stew" really were.
A few seconds later, the female warrior scoffed disdainfully at the dwarf writhing on the ground, repeatedly shouting "I'm so happy" and "I've wasted my life before."
The country bumpkin from the mountains looked utterly pathetic when he first tasted delicious mushrooms.
Back when she first tasted the delicious mushrooms, although she was amazed by their beauty, she shouldn't have acted so out of sorts.
Thinking this, she also stepped forward and scooped out a bowl.
Then she muttered, "How can it taste so good?" and wrestled with the dwarf.
Looking at the two people writhing like maggots on the ground, Ronan stared at his bowl, not daring to make any further moves.
He couldn't imagine how he would maintain his authority in the team if he turned into that kind of person...
The others, however, did not have this concern. After figuring out that the two were not poisoned, but simply had lost their minds from eating too much, no one wanted to miss this opportunity to experience it.
Finally, a large group of people collapsed next to the pot. If someone who didn't know what had happened saw it, they might even think that the whole group had been poisoned and killed.
They can't be blamed for losing their composure like that.
Inanna didn't react as strongly because she was in the mushroom garden and had [Delicious LV10] food to eat every day.
The vast majority of others have only eaten delicious mushrooms between LV1 and LV3.
Even someone like Ronan, who held an official position, had only ever tasted the level 4 "deliciousness" at most.
However, after everyone got up again, the way they looked at Number Four changed slightly.
Of course, Number Four was completely unaware of this change.
...
The following day, the mission continued along the mountain road.
Most of the members still looked somewhat dazed, and the taste of yesterday's delicious, juicy tentacles seemed to linger on their tongues.
Only Bloom seemed a little down, not because of the delicious mushrooms, but because...
"Golden Flame City is just ahead. In the past, when we reached this bend, we could look up and see the bronze spire of the city's great clock tower, gleaming in the sun. But now..."
He couldn't continue, and just sighed heavily.
Without even reaching the city, the trauma left by the elemental riots originating from the depths of the earth was already laid bare before everyone's eyes.
The trees and ironwood bushes that had been along the roadside have disappeared, replaced by an endless expanse of scorched earth.
The land became pitted and uneven, with the edges of the pits revealing twisted rock crusts that had been melted at high temperatures and then cooled and solidified.
There were no birdsong, no animal tracks, and even the wind seemed hollow as it swept across the land. A faint, almost imperceptible smell of ashes filled the air.
They hadn't gone far when the delegation ran into a group of fully armed dwarf warriors.
(End of this chapter)
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