Chapter 206: Magical Cuisine

Besides the Dracolisk Heavy Cavalry, some countries also formed Mammoth Cavalry. Those enormous creatures, standing four to five meters tall and weighing over ten tons, were virtually unstoppable when they charged.

There were also the Drow Elves who established the Basilisk Knights. This type of Basilisk was massive, almost comparable to a Dracolish, and possessed the ability called Petrifying Ray. These Basilisk Knights were just as troublesome to deal with as the previous two types of cavalry.

Of course, this did not mean the Centaur Heavy Cavalry was weak. On the contrary, the Centaur Heavy Cavalry was quite formidable. Although the previously mentioned heavy cavalry types were powerful, they had many limiting factors. The most important one was that there were too few of these heavy cavalry units.

The Centaurs were different. As long as Zhenbei City continued to develop, Su Lun could easily assemble a Centaur Heavy Cavalry force numbering in the thousands.

After the Centaurs joined Zhenbei City, Su Lun discovered that the Centaurs had many more advancement paths. The most basic was the Centaur Herder, then the Centaur Recruit. After that, the Centaurs could branch into two advancement routes. One branch was the Centaur Guerrilla Archer, Centaur Elite Mounted Archer, and Centaur Master Archer.

The other advancement route was the Centaur Guardian, Centaur Heavy Cavalry, and finally, the Centaur Trampler.

The emergence of this versatile cavalry, capable of both ranged and close combat, immediately filled a gap in Zhenbei City’s defenses. In the future, Zhenbei City could rely on the Spearman formations and Longbowmen for frontal engagements. The Centaur Mounted Archers could maneuver and flank from the sides, while the Centaur Heavy Cavalry remained ready to exploit any weaknesses in the enemy lines. Once an opening appeared, they would launch a surprise assault to break the enemy formation, delivering the decisive blow on the battlefield.

For the Mounted Archers’ equipment, Su Lun chose Iron-Reinforced Leather Armor with an inner layer of Chainmail. The total weight was about thirty jin, which was just right for the Centaurs. Their weapons included a Scimitar and a Centaur Longbow.

The Scimitar was their melee weapon, used for pursuing enemies or when enemies got too close. Moreover, with the Iron-Reinforced Leather Armor and Chainmail, these Centaurs could also act as heavy cavalry for charging, though they would only charge against regular infantry formations.

In the recent battle with the Orcs, Zhenbei City captured over two thousand Orcs, along with Gnolls, Hobgoblins, and Bugbears. The Bugbears, Hobgoblins, and Gnolls were all assigned to work in quarries and mines. Since the Orc slaves were quite strong, Su Lun planned to sell them into the human world.

It was important to know that this world revered martial prowess. Almost every city had structures like colosseums where gladiator shows were held daily. However, ordinary gladiator shows no longer excited the audiences. Therefore, many arenas began hosting more dangerous matches.

For example, they would hunt ferocious beasts and give the gladiators broken weapons to fight these beasts to the death. Alternatively, they would capture other non-human races, such as Orcs, Trolls, and Ogres, and have the gladiators battle them.

These cruel and bloody performances were very popular in human nations. With over a thousand Orc captives, if they were put to work within the territory, any rebellion they staged could cause significant damage. To reduce this risk, Su Lan decided to sell these Orc captives as slaves.

A strong Orc slave could fetch at least five Gold Nar, and an Orc Warrior would command an even higher price. Of course, if these Orc slaves could be transported to the Southern Provinces, the profits would be even greater.

Su Lun had already divided these Orc slaves into many small groups. He could not sell large numbers of slaves at once because if people found out, the price of Orc slaves would naturally drop, which was something Su Lun did not want to see. Therefore, he planned to sell them in batches.

The arenas had no humanity to speak of. For those seeking sensory stimulation, the bloodiest and most violent shows were particularly popular. Matches pitting Orcs against humans in brutal combat were very well-received.

Of course, such gladiatorial events also had high turnover rates. The demand for Orc slaves was great, and the batches Su Lun sold would be used up quickly. After just two or three rounds of selling, this group of Orcs would be completely sold out.

…

Zhenbei City continuously relocated people from the lands of other lords. The arrival of a large population slightly eased the labor shortage in Zhenbei City. The foundation of Zhenbei City’s Triumphal Arch was finally completed. The entire Triumphal Arch was constructed using marble, and Su Lun specifically allocated over a thousand people from other areas to build it.

The construction progress of the Triumphal Arch was slow, primarily because the marble required extensive carving. There were eight reliefs in total on the Triumphal Arch, each depicting a victorious battle commanded by Su Lun. For the sake of these reliefs, Su Lun had to accept the slower progress.

On this Triumphal Arch, the names of soldiers who died in each war and the soldiers and officers who performed meritorious deeds would be engraved. This was also an honor for the soldiers of Zhenbei City.

The designed height of the Triumphal Arch was 23 meters, with a width of 44 meters and a thickness of 22 meters. It was a structure with three arches. The architectural style of the Triumphal Arch was Gothic, and the pillars of the arches were carved with angels as decorations.

On the left and right sides near the front of the arch, statues representing Zhenbei City’s soldiers would be erected: Barbarian Warriors, Elite Spearmen, Half-elf Longbowmen, Drow Elf Warriors, and Centaurs, among others. At the top of the Triumphal Arch, there would also be a statue of Su Lun on horseback charging into battle.

The entire Triumphal Arch project was massive. Without sufficient manpower, completing it would have been impossible in less than a year or two. During construction, Su Lun specifically used the Turn Stone to Mud spell to fuse the seams of the Triumphal Arch, making it look like one solid piece.

With the defeat of the Orc Tribe, Zhenbei City became the most powerful force in the surrounding Wasteland. Su Lun’s workload also became much lighter. Now, besides his daily fixed training and inspections, what he enjoyed most were the various delicious foods developed by the Halfling Frodo.

Frodo even used some dragon meat from the Lord’s Castle warehouse along with other ingredients to create magical dishes. This was actually secretly supported by the gluttonous Heatherway; otherwise, how could Frodo have taken things from the warehouse?

Of course, Su Lun had to admit that the magical dishes made by Frodo tasted excellent. Otherwise, after hearing about Frodo’s new magical food tasting event, so many people wouldn’t have come.

“Johnson, aren’t you supposed to be inspecting the mine today? Why are you here?” Su Lun asked Johnson, who was arm wrestling with Jushi.

“Boss, I already finished the inspection,” Johnson said quickly. Just as he got distracted answering, Jushi suddenly exerted force and gained the upper hand. Although Johnson reacted quickly, he had lost the initiative. Their strength was almost equal, and in the end, Johnson lost.

“Haha, I won! You have to give me half of your share today,” Jushi said excitedly.

“Harris, what happened to your head?” Harrison sat at the far end of the table with an impatient expression. His restless demeanor was completely unlike the steadiness expected of a Constable, a stark contrast to his serious face.

“Uh,” Harris rubbed his head, carefully avoiding the large bump. “Today, I went to help Frodo collect Amethyst Honey from Violet Peak. A Mountain Rage Bear also took a liking to it. Although we managed to drive away the Mountain Rage Bear, I got stung by the Violet Peak bees several times.”

Upon hearing this, Su Lun couldn’t help but shake his head. Another glutton. At the same time, he became interested in Frodo’s feast today.

Besides them, Chris, Heatherway, Carina, Grace, and the young mare Mishen were all here.

“Is everyone here?”

The Halfling Frodo walked out wearing a pure white chef’s uniform. The chef’s uniform seemed a bit too large for him, making him look somewhat comical. After looking around, Frodo said, “Then let our tasting event officially begin.”

Subsequently, Frodo pushed a food cart in. All the food on the cart was covered with lids. After placing the food on the table, everyone stared intently at the delicacies.

In the center was a large piece of Frost Wyvern tenderloin. The Frost Wyvern tenderloin was coated with a layer of honey, looking very tempting. Besides this Frost Wyvern tenderloin, there were also various desserts, drinks, staple foods, and so on.

A strange fragrance filled the air.

Not only did Su Lun’s Adam’s apple bob, but everyone else also wore expressions of barely contained hunger.

The Halfling Frodo now looked radiant, as if he had entered his element. After all the food was served, he finally called out.

“Let’s eat!”

Su Lun picked up a knife and cut a piece from the honey-glazed tenderloin. After Su Lun made the first cut, everyone else immediately sprang into action. They fought over the food, scrambling for more, which made Su Lun’s eyes twitch… this was the behavior of the Heroes under his command.

“This secret recipe roast meat.”

“Tastes really good!”

Su Lun took a bite. The crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside tenderloin roast underwent an incredible transformation as soon as it entered his mouth. Su Lun felt a faint burst of ice crystals explode in his mouth, making his entire palate feel cool and refreshing. This was the inherent characteristic of the Frost Wyvern’s meat. Through Frodo’s cooking, one could more clearly experience the texture of the Frost Wyvern tenderloin, along with the various magical and delicious spices.

The secret recipe tenderloin tasted excellent. Everyone was chewing large mouthfuls. Su Lun felt the wonderful cool sensation within the roast meat. The crispy-on-the-outside, tender-on-the-inside tenderloin was paired with all sorts of spices. The honey fruit drink made with Amethyst Honey, combined with Ice Cream, tasted fantastic.

The young mare Mishen now completely disregarded her image, eating a box of Ice Cream heartily. The young mare particularly loved all kinds of sweets. Next to her was a cleanly picked Frost Wyvern rib. Her pretty face was flushed red, and there were still greasy stains at the corners of her mouth.

Heatherway used Wizard’s Hand to cut the Frost Wyvern ribs into small pieces and then enjoyed them slowly. Carina and Grace also completely abandoned their usual poise and image. Aydin also hid in a corner, eating voraciously.

Su Lun lay comfortably on the sofa, feeling the energy within his body slowly merge into his flesh.