The Mysterious Watcher

"Why are you all looking at me? Good heavens, are you going to be picky even about beef? We're servants, not nobles. It might look strange, but if the lord told you to eat actual shit, you'd still have to eat it."

With that, Sparrow scooped up a piece of beef and ate it with the resolve of someone marching to their death.

The next moment.

Sparrow's taste buds were instantly conquered by its distinctive flavor. Carefully marinated and fried until crisp outside and tender within, the beef filled every bite with rich juices. The dry-pot cooking method greatly enhanced its texture, while the vegetables absorbed the essence of the beef and gave back their own fresh fragrance.

Perfect! That apple-and-almond stew with cured meat was garbage by comparison.

No wonder the lord didn't like it.

Sparrow fell silent for a long while, then forced a pained expression. "Goddess above, this is awful. I'll take it away and throw it out."

"Why throw it outside? If it tastes bad, we can give it to the slaves."

Scissors narrowed her eyes suspiciously and reached for the dish, but Sparrow dodged her hand.

"Something's wrong. You're hiding something."

Everyone immediately caught on and rushed to grab some. Before long, the small pot of dry-pot beef had been devoured, and even the seasonings clinging to the dish had been licked clean.

"That was delicious." Scissors smacked her lips, still craving more.

"As expected of our lord. He even knew something this delicious existed."

"Of course. Our master is a noble, after all."

Only the cook, Dinner Plate, was left reeling, muttering, "How is this possible? Why does it taste so good?"

Field himself thought it was only average. At least, it wasn't the flavor he had wanted.

"Too much salt, and the heat wasn't controlled properly. Also, did they put sweet curry powder in it? It tastes strange." Field smacked his lips. "Ashina, what do you think?"

Ashina's cheeks were stuffed so full that she couldn't answer, so she gave Field a thumbs-up instead.

"You glutton." Field leisurely took a sip of tea.

He had originally planned to rest for three days and properly unwind, but by the second day, Field could no longer sit still. His territory produced nothing and was still in a dangerous area. Doing nothing left him too anxious to relax.

There were plenty of matters to handle in the territory, but none could be resolved with a few words. Field decided to address the timber shortage.

After straightening his clothes, Field opened his door and immediately ran into Ashina, who had a bow on her back and a spear in hand.

She seemed to have just returned from outside, and there were still splashes of foul blood on her face. A patch of ground without skull markers had also appeared on the Mini-Map, clearly her handiwork.

"Good day, my lord." The moment Ashina saw Field, her serious expression vanished. Smiling, she lifted her skirt and greeted him sweetly. "What do you need me to do today? I'm fully rested."

With that, Ashina pointed at her eyes.

Sure enough, the faint dark circles beneath them had disappeared. Her red wolf eyes looked both lively and alluring.

She had fought her way back from Mapleleaf Territory for four days and nights, yet after resting for just one day yesterday, she was already brimming with energy. Her eyes weren't even dry.

"Chosen Ones really do recover quickly," Field marveled. "Good timing. I'm planning to lead the troops to retake the logging camp, and I'll need you to protect us."

"Yay! Doing things with you is always fun, my lord." The girl swished her tail, then suddenly remembered something and frowned. "My lord, something felt very wrong last night. During the latter half of the night, around three, something was watching the territory. I went out and circled the area several times but found nothing unusual. Still, I'm certain my senses weren't wrong."

"No wonder you're carrying weapons. Do you know what it was? Don't tell me it's Goblins again." Field immediately realized how serious the problem was and rubbed his chin in thought. "That doesn't make sense. Goblins couldn't possibly escape your claws."

"It wasn't Goblins. I remember their scent. What I smelled last night definitely belonged to a Corrupted Creature, but it was something new, and it could block my perception. The wind told me everything. Its scent carried an extremely strong bloodlust and hostility."

Field was silent for a moment. "Understood. Go have breakfast first. I'll tell the patrolling guards to be more careful."

Ashina shook her head and, after some consideration, said, "Hmm... it would be best to pull back our defensive line and have them patrol in groups of five, equipped with horns."

She rarely offered opinions on military matters and never said a word about internal affairs. Whatever Field told her to do, she did. If Ashina had been an official in ancient Huaguo, the emperor would definitely have liked her.

But precisely because Ashina seldom voiced an opinion, Field took her thoughts especially seriously.

"So it's that dangerous." Field nodded gravely. Ashina could face a Third-Rank Rat Demon without so much as a change in expression. Anything that put her on guard was certainly no ordinary threat.

"We'll have to start another round of recruitment too. Our current defensive forces still aren't enough. I'll leave that to Tate." Field rubbed his brow. "Hopefully there's still timber left at the logging camp. Wooden walls would make defending this place much easier."

"I will protect you with my life," Ashina solemnly promised.

The logging camp lay east of the Grand Winery, at the boundary between the forest and the lake. This lake had once been a beautiful ribbon linking the Grand Manor to Starry Night Lake, but now it was thick with bones. Countless grayish-white corrupted reeds and skeletal frames stood in its gray-black waters.

Purifying this lake would require tens of thousands of bottles of Purification Potion.

Apart from writhing vines and scattered bones, the most common sight along the way was tentacles, formed from corrupted weeds. Field had long since grown accustomed to them. When he first encountered this Cthulhu-style landscape, its disgusting scenes had filled him with terror and dread. After seeing enough of it, though, he found the little tentacles on the ground dull, even somewhat cute.

These tentacles weren't the kind from adult anime that constantly grabbed women and made them bear offspring. They had no offensive power or strength. At most, they made travel difficult for wheels and horses.

One of Field's favorite daily amusements was poking the surrounding tentacles with his lance, then watching them curl into balls like sensitive plants.

As they marched, the river slowly entered the area illuminated by the Mist-Driving Lamp. Everyone could now faintly make out the logging camp on the opposite bank. Its enormous buildings lurked in the darkness like a great beast waiting to devour its prey.

The guards had already spread out and begun engaging the Corpse Ghouls.

"Don't make too much noise. Corpse Ghouls have sharp hearing. You two, help me."

Wildcat, the guard captain, gave the two men beside him these instructions in a low voice, then crouched and hurried forward, creeping up behind a Corpse Ghoul that resembled a woman.

Squish!

Gripping the middle of his halberd, Wildcat drove it into the Corpse Ghoul's neck with a minimal movement. The guard beside him immediately stepped forward and seized the hair of the ghoul before it could scream. Working with Wildcat, he tore its head clean off. Despite the revolting sight, neither man so much as furrowed his brow.