Chapter: A Long Night
After killing the demon, Cheng Yu dragged the corpse into the kitchen and left it there temporarily.
Tomorrow morning when Karl's cavalry arrived to pick up the buns, he'd hand the body over to them for disposal.
Bloodstains covered the living room floor. Mina fetched a bucket of water and mopped up the mess.
The two of them worked from one in the morning until two, finally getting the living room back to some semblance of order.
Mina slumped into a chair, utterly exhausted. She stared up at the ceiling with bleary eyes. Her biological clock was completely wrecked. She felt like a zombie.
Outside, voices drifted through the broken doorway.
"This forest is huge. It took us a whole day and night just to get through."
"Kamul came this way. Why haven't we seen any signs of him?"
"Look, there's a light up ahead."
"Looks like a human manor."
The door to the living room—already chopped off earlier—offered no barrier. Four demon soldiers walked straight into the manor and spotted Cheng Yu and the others in the living room.
Just killed one demon, and now four more show up. Is anyone getting any sleep tonight?
Cheng Yu noticed the four demons and patted the drowsy Mina. "Don't fall asleep. More demons."
"Seriously? Don't demons need to sleep at night?"
Mina groaned in complaint.
She grabbed her own tail and bit down lightly, using the pain to jolt herself awake.
The four demon soldiers closed in—all of them over two meters tall, with a pair of horns jutting from their heads. They looked vicious.
Humans and demons were at war. The two races were like oil and water.
Four hostile gazes locked onto Cheng Yu and Mina. One of the demons, slightly pudgy compared to the others, stepped forward into the cabin. "Human, do you want to live?"
Isn't that obvious? Who doesn't want to live?
Cheng Yu grumbled internally but said nothing. He just nodded.
"Then hurry up and cook us some food. If we're satisfied, we might let you go."
[Task: Prepare food for four demon soldiers and earn positive emotion points. Task Reward: Special Recipe]
The system notification chimed in Cheng Yu's mind.
What's a special recipe?
Cheng Yu was curious, but he kept his expression neutral. "I happen to be a chef. What would you like to eat?"
"As long as it's meat, anything's fine. Just don't keep us waiting."
The four demons had been walking through the woods for a day and a night. They were starving.
There was a faint smell of blood lingering in the living room. Cheng Yu and Mina had cleaned up most of it, but some stains remained.
Demons had a keen sense of smell for blood—like dogs detecting something foul.
"Why does your living room smell like blood?" the pudgy demon asked suspiciously.
Cheng Yu grabbed Mina's injured hand and held it up. "We were replacing the door earlier, and my slave accidentally hurt her hand. Just a little bleeding."
"Just a little blood? Whatever. Go cook. I'm about to faint from hunger."
Another demon waved dismissively. He didn't care about the blood. Filling his stomach was the priority.
Cheng Yu pulled Mina into the kitchen.
Once they were out of earshot, Mina looked confused. "The two of us together should be able to beat them. Why are you cooking for them?"
"No reason."
Cheng Yu planned to complete the system task first. He'd kill them afterward.
Making buns was too much trouble. He'd just fry up a couple of home-cooked dishes for the four demon soldiers.
Candlelight flickered in the kitchen. Cheng Yu opened the cabinet and pulled out the fresh beef he'd bought earlier that day.
As soon as he grabbed it, his eyes drifted to the demon corpse lying on the floor, and he hesitated.
Beef cost over 40 copper coins per pound.
Inheriting the fine tradition of thrift and resourcefulness, Cheng Yu put the beef back in the cabinet.
The Dragon-Pattern Golden Knife appeared in his hand. He swung it down, cutting open the demon soldier's clothes, slicing through the skin, and carving off seven or eight pounds of lean meat from the thigh.
The texture of demon meat was surprisingly similar to beef—marbled with fat and lean, packed with protein.
Using that meat, he prepared two dishes: fish-flavored shredded pork and sliced meat soup.
The four demon soldiers waited in the living room for over ten minutes.
Cheng Yu emerged from the kitchen carrying a large pot of steaming sliced meat soup. "Gentlemen, your soup is ready."
Mina followed behind him, holding a pot of fish-flavored shredded pork.
The four demons caught the aroma and couldn't wait. They grabbed their knives and forks and dove in.
"This tastes incredible."
"I've never had broth this good."
"Is human food always this delicious?"
The four demon soldiers heaped praise on the sliced meat soup.
[Positive Emotion Value +12]
[Positive Emotion Value +11]
[Positive Emotion Value +11]
[Positive Emotion Value +12]
[Task Complete. Reward: Special Recipe]
The system chimed, and a special recipe was automatically added to Cheng Yu's inventory.
The four demon soldiers devoured everything on the table. Two bowls of fish-flavored shredded pork and sliced meat soup—completely cleaned out.
After eating their fill, the pudgy demon picked up his blade and sneered. "You're an excellent chef. Shame you're about to die."
"Hey, didn't you just say you'd let us go if we cooked for you?"
Mina bared her fangs, furious. These demon soldiers had no sense of honor.
The pudgy demon laughed mockingly. "These dishes were made with beef. I don't eat beef."
Cheng Yu's expression remained calm. "Actually, what you ate wasn't beef."
"If it's not beef, then what kind of meat was it?"
The four of them froze, confused. They'd all assumed it was beef.
Cheng Yu smiled mysteriously. He turned and walked into the kitchen, then dragged a demon corpse out into the living room. He pointed at the incomplete thigh. "What you just ate came from right there."
"Kamul?!"
The four demon soldiers' eyes went wide. They'd just eaten their companion's flesh. Nausea surged through them.
But none of them vomited. The food Cheng Yu had made was too delicious. Even knowing what it was, they couldn't bring themselves to feel sick.
The contradictory emotions left them drowning in guilt.
"You... you're a devil!"
The four demons suddenly realized the human standing before them was a living nightmare.
Mission complete. The golden kitchen knife appeared in Cheng Yu's hand. He flashed his teeth in a wicked grin. "Hehehe. None of you are leaving tonight."
Before, Cheng Yu had thought he was weak—a little timid. But now he knew better. He was strong. Time to throw his weight around.
With a leap, he lunged forward. The Dragon-Pattern Golden Knife swung down toward one demon's head.
The soldier raised his broadsword to block.
The golden knife collided with the broadsword. An overwhelming force pressed down. The demon soldier was driven to his knees, and the floor cracked beneath him.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound.
The broadsword snapped in half under the kitchen knife's edge.
Without the sword to stop it, the blade fell. Cheng Yu split the demon soldier's head clean down the middle.
Seeing their comrade killed, the other three attacked.
One struck Cheng Yu from behind, slashing at his back.
No blood sprayed. The broadsword barely scratched his skin.
Over 300 defense points were enough to block ordinary demon soldiers' attacks.
The other two demons flanked him, one on the left, one on the right.
Cheng Yu punched one square in the chest. A massive force erupted. The demon's chest caved in, ribs shattered, and he flew backward—smashing through the living room wall and leaving a human-shaped hole.
The other demon swung his blade from the right, aiming for Cheng Yu's head.
Cheng Yu stepped back to dodge, then thrust the tip of his kitchen knife forward, piercing straight through the demon's chest. Blood gushed out.
The demon behind him hacked at Cheng Yu's back five or six more times, but only managed to scratch the surface.
Fast as a tiger, Cheng Yu spun around, grabbed the demon by the throat, and twisted. His neck snapped.
In less than five minutes, all four demon soldiers lay in pools of blood—four cold corpses.
"Cheng Yu, you're amazing!"
Mina ran over to him, her eyes shining with admiration.
Beastfolk worshiped strength. They revered the strong. The power Cheng Yu had just displayed was on par with a Silver Wolf warrior.
[Host has gained +10 Favorability from Mina]
[Congratulations! The host has reached 100 Favorability with Mina and obtained the Silver Wolf Clan's innate skill: Silver Moon Shockwave]
[Silver Moon Shockwave: After a short charge, release a powerful energy shockwave forward]
Cheng Yu opened the system panel. Sure enough, it had changed.
Host: Cheng Yu
Cooking Level: Max
Strength: 387
Defense: 387
Skill: Silver Moon Shockwave
Equipment: Dragon-Pattern Golden Knife