Your Majesty's money, why don't you engrave my name on it?

"My last name is 'Antichi', man," Leslaufer sneered. "Ancient, do you think that's nonsense? Besides, there's absolutely no need for me to blackmail you at this point—didn't you hear me say 'first'?"

Pierre's heart sank. Regardless of whether the other party had deceived him or not, this "deal" was probably gone.

"I've been traveling across the empire for months, and you're just asking for someone. I'm wasting my time, and do I have to pay for it?" Reslaufer listed the terms to Pierre without thinking. "If this deal goes wrong, what will happen to my reputation? Do I have to pay for it? That little girl has been with me for so long, and we have some feelings for each other. Do I have to pay for it?"

"Don't think this is expensive. At least here you can still hear the sound of gold coins. I met a paladin on the road. If you dared to say this to him, you should be lying on the ground now."

The mercenary's words all had one meaning, which was "more money." However, Pierre was not one of the most influential people in the Dieu family, so how could he afford to give him so many gold coins?

"If you don't want to, forget it." Pierre, whose face turned pale under the light, turned away coldly, ready to end this unsuccessful conversation.

"I don't have money, I don't have money. I have to pretend to be poor." The mercenary's taunting made him stumble. "Why else do you think I don't have noble status yet? I'm terrified of having to deal with people like you every day after retirement."

Reslaufer did not lower his voice as Pierre did, so he quickly attracted a lot of attention. However, these unkind looks did not intimidate him at all. All he noticed was that after being humiliated, Pierre quickly walked towards where Witt and Angelita were, wondering what tricks he was going to come up with.

"I see... Honey glazed ribs require spareribs with the periosteum removed... One teaspoon of smoked paprika..."

At this time, Werther had completely transformed into a student. The old man took out a pair of glasses, a notebook and a charcoal pencil from his pocket and copied down Angreta's story word for word. He would then read it back to ensure that the record was completely correct. He didn't even notice Pierre approaching him.

"Sir Witte!"

Pierre had to raise his voice again to wake up the old nobleman who was immersed in his own world: "It seems that things are going very smoothly on your side, right?"

"Progress...? Ah, of course." Witt looked up in confusion, and only came back to his senses after seeing the person's face clearly. "My conversation with Miss Barty has benefited me a lot! After decades of detours, I finally got on the right track tonight! Can you imagine the joy of such an achievement?"

Angelita stepped aside and said nothing, quietly observing the man who had so rudely interrupted the conversation. She also heard what Reslaufer had just said. Although she didn't know the details, she probably thought that a deal had fallen through.

So what was he doing here? Was it some kind of back-up plan? Or was he simply venting his frustration?

"Me? I'm afraid not." Pierre raised the corner of his lip, and it was unclear whether he was smiling or not. "But as someone who works for you in Joffrey and a guest at your party, I'm happy to share this joy with you. A joy shared becomes two, isn't that what the old saying says?"

"That's right," Witt nodded with satisfaction, flipping open his notebook to show Pierre, "Come and take a look at my work. It will surely open your eyes. I can explain to you point by point the similarities and differences between Inassus's conventional cooking methods, the Empire's culinary culture, and the derivative changes at the border between the two—"

"I'm very interested in this," Pierre responded immediately, "but I'm afraid the text alone is too difficult for me to understand. You know, the Dieu family is not good at this. Could you please open my eyes with more practical operations?"

Witt Luwalu was shocked. He stared at the man with wide eyes, as if he was meeting him for the first time. "From what you said, you mean you want me to cook for you?"

"Then you've found the right person! Give the order to bring the whole kitchen up here! Young man, even though I'm old, I'm still very nimble in the kitchen!"

Pierre wasn't surprised by Witte's confidence. Instead, he took a step forward. "Of course, I've never doubted your expertise in this area. But with the banquet already underway, are we running low on ingredients?"

Hearing this, Witt hurried to ask the chef. Since he planned to display all the food too early, the kitchen reserves were unexpectedly exhausted. Soups and desserts could still be made, but everything else was gone.

It was getting late, and the vendors were either attending banquets or had gone home early to rest. Even if they were dragged out, they probably wouldn't be able to produce much decent material, which obviously couldn't satisfy Witt's desire to share.

"Since this gentleman likes it so much, why not think about it another day? It's better to be well prepared than to rush into battle." Angreta had already sensed Pierre's ill intentions and spoke up quickly, hoping that Werther would stop in time. However, at this point, even if Werther wanted to swallow his words, it was too late.

"I'm afraid I've never mentioned to anyone that I, too, love to eat. I love delicious food," Pierre Dieu said confidently. "Unfortunately, this isn't a hobby we can boast about in our Dieu family. I've always been too shy to bring it up, and I only regret not being able to share a few words with you. But now that this young lady from the Empire has arrived, and she's so accomplished in this field, isn't tonight a golden opportunity bestowed upon us by Delynissus, the god of feasting?"

"It's okay if you're short on food. I always have some wild game on hand. I originally planned to eat it all by myself, but that would have been too selfish. Now's a good opportunity to share. Someone, bring all of Master Witte's food up here!"

Chapter 184 Giant Mosquito Bat

Ingredients are a concept that can have countless possibilities. Birds and beasts, animals and plants, strange humanoids, liquid soil, all can become ingredients.

However, Pierre did not bring up those dead things. When the other members of the Dieu family left and came back, several huge iron cages with curtains covering five sides caused a commotion in the audience.

The fishy smell in it makes people want to vomit out everything they just ate.

"Pierre, what are you doing!" Witt's face immediately darkened. "You're going to ruin this party!"

"On the contrary, I want to bring this banquet to a climax!" Pierre laughed. "Sir Witte, don't you think that ingredients should be the freshest?"

"Or does your past experience, like the one you have now, only exist on paper?"

"Sir Witte!" Angelita hurriedly tried to calm Witte Lovalu's mood, but Witte, who was provoked like this in the field he loved most and was best at, could no longer listen to anything.

"Good!" Witt nodded slowly, his slightly cloudy eyes fixed on Pierre's face, which was hiding something. "Very good! Then you will all have a feast today - lift the curtain, I want to see what you have brought!"

"You're planning to slaughter them in public? At a banquet?" Bella couldn't help but stand up. "I can't believe my ears! Is this what well-educated gentlemen and women with conscience should do? Such innocent creatures are being toyed with and slaughtered like this! How could you have the heart to do such a thing?"

Both the dress and words of Priest Bellaidas were convincing enough that the guests, who had just settled down to watch the show, immediately started whispering to each other again.

"Don't worry, young lady. There's no need to be so nervous." Pierre waved cheerfully at the crowd, signaling for silence. "I can assure you, and everyone present, on the honor of the Dieu family, that not a single creature here is innocent—please look at this first ingredient."

The curtain on an iron cage was suddenly ripped down, revealing the creature inside, dozing in a pair of leather wings. The sudden light and voices startled it awake. With a resounding thud, the creature slammed into the sturdy iron door at a speed no one could see. Its pairs of hollow, needle-like beaks, like those of mosquitoes, stretched far out, nearly piercing a guest who strayed too close.

As the guest rolled and crawled away, the monster's claws with sharp pincers were still rubbing against the iron fence, making a sharp and sinister noise, as if warning everyone present that they might become its next meal.

"Stirgey—Giant Stirgey!"

Bella immediately recognized the origins of this half-human-tall monster. Like its stirge cousin, this species, resembling a hybrid of a large bat and a giant mosquito, favored blood. However, it was significantly larger, and as its beak penetrated its prey, it secreted a muscle-dissolving saliva, allowing it to further enhance its blood intake, "drinking" nearly 90% of the prey's flesh into its stomach, leaving only a skin bag wrapped around bones on the ground.

Fortunately, this giant mosquito bat is not a social creature like the mosquito bat. Otherwise, where they appear, there will soon be no living creatures except themselves.

Pierre was not wrong; such a beast was certainly not innocent—although it was its instinct to hunt in that way, even druids found it difficult to dislike the giant stirge bat.

"Well, no one should object to a monster like this, right?" Pierre glanced at Bella. "And what I want to say is, killing it directly in the cage isn't my intention. We should give it plenty of exercise. That way, the meat we get from killing it will be even more delicious."

"You're going to send someone in to fight it?" Witt couldn't help but frown. "Although I really want to go through the whole process from beginning to end, I haven't touched a sword in many years. If the cook is eaten by the ingredients, will it be..."

"You're the host, how could we possibly trouble you? The other members of the Louvalou family aren't quite suitable. But don't we have three of the town's most recognized families?" Pierre said with a hint of sarcasm as he looked at Philippe Fengquan, who had been trying to keep a low profile. "I propose that our family and the Fengquan family take turns in taking charge."

"Master Philip, do you think this giant stirge will help you stretch your muscles?"

"Me?" Philip's face paled instantly. He might be able to kill an ordinary stirge bat, but with a giant like this, he was afraid he would be drained of blood before he even had a chance to fight!

"Well, it seems Master Philip is not in a good mood." Pierre surprisingly did not embarrass him, but turned to look at Reslaufer. "Then, as the common guests of the Maple Springs and Loireau families, would the nobles of the empire do us the honor of meeting you?"

"Oh, by the way, I think many of you here have heard of this gentleman's bravery. It's obviously not appropriate for him to take on all the responsibility alone. How about we add some chips, so that each person can only play once?"

Reslaufer looked at the iron cages on the field: there were a total of six, including the giant mosquito bat. The opponent was obviously well prepared. No matter how they were distributed, they would need to deal with two or more.

Is this some kind of show? Or is it aimed at Angrita? Reslaufer walked up to the dwarf and patted him on the shoulder, preparing to let him go ahead and test the waters. However, before Vondar could make a move, Angrita had already stepped forward:

"Uncle Raslaufer doesn't need to do anything about this kind of thing. I can handle it."

Can you really, Princess? He glanced at Angritta, but she ignored him. "Please give me a dressing room."

"If you want to prove yourself, there's no need to choose this moment," Reslaufer couldn't help but warn. "The giant stirge bat isn't an easy thing to deal with. It will look for vulnerable spots in its prey and quickly attach itself to them. Then, it will pierce your skin with its long beak and grip you tightly with its pincers. It won't break away from its target until it's sucked enough blood."

"I don't intend to prove myself. I've already proven myself once before," Angarita gave Leslaufer a reassuring look. "I'm delighted by Lord Witte's yearning for the empire. This is simply a token of my respect. Don't worry, I'll be back soon."

Chapter 185 Fool Style

It was impossible for Reslaufer not to worry. When Angelita changed her equipment and returned to the banquet room, the mercenary moved forward with the sheep bone, ready to intervene if something went wrong. However, before he could get close to the iron cage, Pierre stopped him with fiery enthusiasm.

"Get out of the way." Leslaufer said with a sullen look.

"Don't be impatient, Mr. Reslaufer. You can't go near that cage now," Pierre said as two fully armed family members approached him from behind. "Giant stirge bats have poor eyesight and can only see things that are close. If you approach rashly, you might become prey."

"I must remind you: these cages aren't randomly placed, but arranged in a certain pattern. You wouldn't want your employer to face an opponent more powerful than this giant stirge, would you?"

Leslough almost wanted to stab a leg of lamb into the throat of the man who was laughing maliciously, but in the end he suppressed his anger for the time being and slowly moved sideways a few steps, still towards the cage.

If the other party dared to stop him any further, Leslaufer would immediately send these dieu to the table. Fortunately, the other party seemed to have received the hint and cautiously ignored him.

But Pierre's provocative mouth continued. "Also, there's another reason I'm preventing you from getting too close. Aren't you all wondering, 'How can this giant stirge bat move around in such a large cage?' Don't worry, I've already thought of this problem."

"Stop, Pierre! You can't—" Witt finally noticed what the other party was about to do, but it was too late. The magically locked iron cage door suddenly flew open, and the gigantic, mosquito-like, bat-like monster immediately pounced on Angelita, who was standing nearby. Its needle-like beak was like a lance, carrying an unstoppable momentum, ready to pierce the girl's heart!

Intelligent races have their own food culture, and these beast monsters also have their own eating preferences. For example, the giant mosquito bat likes to suck the blood of its prey from the heart tip, and then start to eat the liquefied meat juice.

But this time, its hunt was doomed to fail. Angrita clutched the Shouzhi Longshi sword in both hands, the tip of her sword pointed downward, seemingly leaving an unprotected gap in front of her. However, just as the beak was about to strike its chest, Angrita's eyes suddenly sharpened. The sword slashed a brilliant arc under the light, deflecting the slender beak to the right and down. The giant stirge bat naturally extended its claws, but at this moment, Angrita's sword spun faster than the giant stirge bat's head, giving it an advantage in reach!

Shouzhi Changshi easily pierced the giant mosquito bat's soft belly. With a mournful scream from the monster, a splash of blood immediately spilled into the air as the sword was swung!

"What a beautiful Fool's Style!" Even Pierre couldn't help but exclaim in admiration. "Turning passive into active, even though it's a basic sword technique, being able to perform it with such ease is truly remarkable!"

"Mr. Reslaufer, it seems you're not only a good soldier, but also a good instructor! Talents like you are the most scarce resource in the army!"

"It's not just me who taught me." Leslaufer's words were not humble. Patrick also gave Angelita a lot of guidance on swordsmanship. The girl's achievements today were not his alone.

Of course, the most important thing was that Angarita was both talented and willing to practice diligently. Reslaufer looked down on most nobles, but such noble children were undoubtedly a huge mountain standing in the way of ordinary people, making it almost impossible to climb over them.

The giant mosquito bat's main weakness is its abdomen. After causing such heavy damage to it, Angelita's move of quickly keeping a distance undoubtedly choked the giant mosquito bat's last blood clot. After its final dying struggle, the monster fell to the ground and did not move.

"Pierre, I demand an explanation from you!" Werther came over angrily, pointing at Pierre's nose and accusing him, "You almost killed a count's daughter! Murderers like you should be sentenced to death by hanging!"

"Calm down, Lord Witte. If Frey Town weren't under imperial rule yet, there's no need to rush to punish me." Pierre brushed away the old man's fingers and said calmly, "Nothing's happened, is it? Your top priority now should be processing the flesh of this giant stirge bat. If you wait until it freezes in the chilly night air, all your efforts will be in vain."

Witt had to admit that Pierre was right. Amidst endless cursing, the old man ordered his men to carry the large group of giant mosquito bats to the water tank, clean them, bleed them, and remove their hair. He then busily began a series of preparatory work.

After removing the inedible internal organs, mouthparts, and claws, the membranes removed from the giant stirge bat are best grilled, though generous amounts of garlic and chili peppers are needed to mask the inherent, often difficult-to-remove flavor. Stirge bat meat is best used in soups. Adding a little diced fruit creates a broth resembling chicken soup, while the meat itself resembles tender chicken, offering a fresh and fragrant flavor with a slightly sour and sweet taste that leaves a lasting impression.

The first to enjoy these two dishes was naturally Angelita, followed by Reslaufer and his party and the members of the three major families. As for the others, they could only sip the broth to taste the freshness. However, even so, this unique banquet style piqued the interest of the guests who had just fled in fear. They all took their seats again with great interest, waiting for the next "dish" to be released.

But this time, no one dared to sit near the cage. They all stayed away for fear of being affected during the "cooking" process.

"Why don't you drink it?" Daisy leaned close to Bella, looking curiously at the untouched bowl of mosquito-bat soup in front of the druid.

"You know I'm a vegetarian," Bella shook her head. She was about to push it in front of the poet, but she found that he hadn't tried this rare game either. "What about you? I saw you enjoyed eating meat before."

"I...have some bad memories of game—more than a little," Daisy shrank back in fear, as if she'd really remembered something. "Back home, eating game always leads to trouble. Every time something goes wrong, the whole village suffers along with the greedy person. I'd better not eat it."

"I never saw you skip a single bite when we were traveling in the wilderness. Why are you being so pretentious now?" Bella was amused. "You should drink my portion too, before it gets cold. It's all natural for beasts to eat humans, and vice versa. No god would punish you for it."

"Of course, just don't do it in a performance like this. Anne did a good job. At least she gave the beast a good time."

Chapter 186 Dragonborn Feast

Pierre was not lying. When the curtain on the second iron cage was lifted, the creature revealed inside was indeed stronger than the giant stirge bat - a giant goat with a bad temper.

A member of the Dieu family emerged from the crowd, and after a somewhat difficult battle, he brought a new round of dishes to the crowd. Unfortunately, this challenger was somewhat incompetent, severely damaging many of the giant goat's edible parts during the battle, so much so that when Witt was cooking, he actually scolded him and Pierre, the instigator, again.

This was an insult to a soldier, but Reslaufer noticed that these Dieu, who were clearly from military aristocrats, had no sense of honor that matched their status. Instead, they all had indifferent expressions, which added another layer of suspicion to the mercenaries' hearts.

"It seems that the so-called Dieu family is nothing more than this." Even though the giant goat is indeed stronger, the giant mosquito bat is a real predator. The gap between the two battles is still visible to the naked eye. Even Philip Fengquan couldn't help but feel proud of such an advantage.

"Hurry up and open the third cage! Let's see what other goodies you have prepared!"

"Please be at ease, Master Philip," Pierre nodded to his men, "This is no ordinary beast. Please be prepared."

Could it be a monster? Reslaufer couldn't help but perk up. If this guy really dragged a creature like an owlbear to such a banquet, no matter what his plan was, Reslaufer would have to look at this man with new eyes.

However, if the other party still releases the prey out of the cage as before, I really don’t know how many of the people here can survive.

The bloody scene of an adult owlbear wreaking havoc at the banquet appeared before his eyes, and a strange smile appeared on the corner of Leslaufer's mouth.

However, when he noticed the size of the third iron cage, Leslaufer gave up the idea: this cage was only slightly larger than the one that held the giant mosquito bat before. If there was really an owl bear inside, it would probably only be a cub.

"Could it be a cockatrice?" A flurry of whispers rose among the crowd, and Reslaufer couldn't help but agree. After all, it was well known that while the cockatrice's petrification ability was extremely deadly, it was still an extremely delicious delicacy—though that would take more than three hours to process. The petrification contact of such monsters could still have an effect for some time after their death.

If Witt Loire was turned into a stone statue because of this...that would be interesting.

But this speculation was ultimately dispelled by the lifting of the curtain. When the caged creature was revealed, everyone present was speechless, and Witt, after a brief moment of shock, came to his senses and said, "Pierre! You lunatic!"

In that small iron cage, there was neither an owlbear cub, nor a petrifying cockatrice, nor even a monster or an aberration. However, that creature was certainly not a particular kind of beast either.

It was a petite, relatively muscular adult male bipedal creature with rosy-white skin and sandy, curly hair. He had no beard, but long sideburns hung down his sides. His deep brown eyes stared fearfully at the crowd outside the cage, while his hands tugged helplessly at his brightly colored, yet wrinkled, clothes.

Yes, this is indeed not a beast or a monster, it is a humanoid creature, an intelligent race, to be more precise, it is a halfling!

"Do you want us to eat human flesh? You're not qualified to force us to do so!" A minor noble stood up angrily. "I will never accept such humiliation! This has nothing to do with our status; it's a trampling on the honor of being human!"

"Is this the custom of the Kingdom of Latour? Are you all such barbaric and shameless beasts?!" Several other guests immediately protested, "Even if it's a joke, this is too much!"

The halfling inside the cage seemed to be completely unaware of these words and simply shrank deeper into the cage. Even when someone stepped forward to open the cage, he still refused to emerge.

Everyone could clearly see that his eyes were fixed on Edward, who had transformed into a dragonborn, and he looked like a lamb facing a tiger.

What he is afraid of is... the Dragonborn?

"Quiet! Please, everyone!" Pierre, noticing the confusion among the crowd, immediately used his voice to drown out the discussion. "Whether it's stirges or goats, they're both acceptable foods. But have you ever considered that there are also intelligent species that don't like them?"

"For example, ogres?" Edward couldn't help but ask, "If everyone here is well-informed, they should know that we dealt with an ogre who sneaked into the town last night - and one of the ogres' favorite things is halflings!"

"Is it a complete coincidence that Mr. Pierre happens to keep a halfling?"

The crowd stirred again, and the halfling in the cage also reacted violently, which seemed to confirm Edward's words.

"Ogres certainly like halflings, but these little creatures aren't just snacks for them; they're a feast for another race!" Pierre sneered. "Mr. Dragonborn, I noticed you've been having a poor appetite, so I figured out a way to get this 'snack', and now you're trying to bite me back?"

"We've never seen a Dragonborn eat a Halfling!" someone questioned. "Who knows if what you said is true?"

"Have you seen the so-called 'destroyed ogre'? Then tell me why this halfling is so afraid of him!" Pierre encouraged. "The Kingdom of Latour and the Dragonborn Clan are quite close. No one understands Dragonborn better than us who are from the Kingdom of Latour! Although they don't have the blood of true dragons, those among them who possess five-colored scales rather than metal are just as evil as five-colored dragons!"

"They've always wanted more land, to restore the glory of the dragon era!" Pierre ordered his men to distribute a large number of copies of the documents to everyone. "Take a look, everyone! This is evidence that the Dragonborn are planning to seize the kingdom! I obtained it from my family the other day, and it's irrefutable!"

"And now a Dragonborn appears here. He says he means no harm. Do you believe me or him?"

"So..." Philip looked at the document in his hand. Even an outsider wouldn't dare to forge the seal of the Dieu family patriarch, let alone a family member. This was undoubtedly true. "He showed up here because he stole from our family's cemetery! Could it be that you Dragonborn have your sights set on Qingzun City?"