Chapter 125: The Autumn Hunt Ends

The night on the grasslands was quiet and affectionate. The night sky was unobstructed, allowing one to fully appreciate the myriad of stars, and the bright moonlight spilled over the earth. Piles of firewood were set up in the center of the lawn outside the camp, and the blazing bonfires reddened the night sky and the smiling faces of everyone.

The male servants deftly turned various processed meats on the grills. Although the overall roasted game, once the heat was controlled, could achieve a yellow-red, oily, and shiny appearance, with crispy skin, tender meat, fat but not greasy, and a crispy, delicious taste, it took a long time and required man power to watch over it, adjusting the fire, brushing oil, and trimming it.

If preparation had started earlier, there would naturally be no problem, but today, due to special circumstances, the preparation time for the night banquet was compressed very tightly. To prevent the noble lords from feeling like they were waiting a long time for food, another strategy had to be found. The only people who could make nobles wait were other lords or ladies who were also nobles, not servants like them. Although today could be said to have a cause, in order not to leave a bad impression on the host family, the supervisor in charge of arranging the specific matters of the banquet selected a part of the game for cutting and roasting. For these servants who depended on others for their livelihood, one could not be too careful.

Soon, the scent of meat with a hint of charred fragrance drifted with the breeze throughout the entire camp. George and the others, sitting at the tables outside the camp, were even closer to the source of the scent. The nose-tickling aroma that permeated everyone really stirred up the gluttony in their stomachs. Craig, who was the worst at hiding his emotions, swallowed his saliva several times in a row.

“What, you little greedy cat, you can’t hold it back already? Do you want to go over to that grill and grab a piece to put in your mouth yourself?” Chrispian, who had arrived at some unknown time, wrapped his arms around Craig from behind. Standing straight with his chest out, he lifted Craig’s feet off the ground.

Craig, who had suffered a sudden attack, wanted to struggle with all his might, but with his feet off the ground, his arm strength was no match for the opponent. He struggled for a good while without any effect. Of course, this was under the premise that he did not use any fierce resistance moves. After all, the other party was an acquaintance, not some mortal enemy, so how could he use ruthless moves?

George couldn’t stand watching anymore and spoke up to mediate: “Chrispian, stop teasing Craig. Put him down quickly, or be careful, he might get anxious and bite you!”

After hearing George’s words, Chrispian loosened his arms. Craig immediately flew out of Chrispian’s reach like a bird escaping from a cage. He went straight to hide behind Hiren. Perhaps in his view, George’s body was still a bit too small; only a big frame like Hiren’s could block someone’s line of sight.

Combining this with Ben’s previous behavior, George really didn’t know whether to laugh or cry: “Why do you guys never get along whenever you meet! There didn’t seem to be any major conflicts before!”

Of course, the other layer of meaning in George’s words was that you guys are almost grown men, why do you still like to tease this little guy Craig so much. The reason he didn’t say it so bluntly was also to save some face for Craig. Kids of this half-grown age are the most troublesome; if you’re not careful, they might become shameless later.

Several people also understood the underlying meaning of George’s words. Ben was the first to speak: “It’s that kid looking for trouble with us himself, otherwise we few wouldn’t have any conflict with this little brat.”

“Who told you to always come here to freeload? Once or twice would be fine, but you come more than ten times a year. Sometimes you even stay for a whole month.” Craig stuck half his head out from behind Hiren and complained with a pout.

Is this a battle between big gluttons and a little glutton? It was because of this so-called freeloading problem that the conflict between them grew bigger over the years. Among these noble teenagers, except for George, the freak who already held power in the Territory at a young age, whether they were family Heirs or not, as long as they had not officially participated in family management, they all had a relatively high degree of freedom.

As long as those Heirs could over-fulfill the tasks assigned by the family, they still had a few months each year to move freely within the Nohan Kingdom if accompanied by someone. The ones who were not Heirs were even freer, so coming to Bolerum Territory seemed to be their best choice. After all, among their friends, only this one needed to guard a region and couldn’t move around freely.

In addition, the prosperity of Bolerum Territory was second only to Karada, and it didn’t have as many dignitaries and politicians as Karada. One didn’t need to be careful when acting outdoors, and occasional indulgence wouldn’t cause any trouble. The abundant seafood brought by the seaside and the comfortable climate made it a very good place for vacation and leisure.

Perhaps in Craig’s eyes, these few were just like him, coming to George’s side to freeload! Who told George’s family to have such good food? Although those few used the banner of mutual exchange and common progress, in fact, at least half of the reason was the food at George’s house.

However, these guys were not people who ate and drank for nothing. In fact, their status and self-esteem did not allow them to do such things. So either they brought some gifts, or some small tips on cultivation, in short, they never came empty-handed. But Craig didn’t know about this aspect at all, or perhaps he was judging others by himself. Thinking that George was suffering a loss in this regard, he naturally wouldn’t give those few a good look.

And a more important point was the contradiction that appeared in several banquets where individual serving was not implemented. It was a gathering similar to a buffet. Without the restrictions of many etiquettes, everyone used all their skills to fight for the delicious food in their mouths. Craig, who had the worst strength, was a bit miserable. Those outsiders wouldn’t give in to him like George and Hiren, the locals of Bolerum Territory. Those few times could be said to be the beginning of the conflict between Craig, the little glutton, and the big gluttons from different territories.

Since then, Craig, who felt bullied, took the lead in provoking, but unfortunately, he was abused by those outsiders because his strength was inferior. Although he didn’t suffer any physical harm—after all, guests in someone else’s home wouldn’t use heavy hands on the host’s other guests. Besides, in their eyes, Craig at that time was just a spoiled brat!

In fact, among those people, Green’s Rank was comparable to Craig’s at the time. It was thought that a Knight who specialized in combat would have an absolute winning chance against that Bard. But unexpectedly, Craig’s mind and willpower were too fragile, and he was actually played around by an incomplete soul-confusing song.

After losing out in several conflicts, the grudge between Craig and those few was completely settled. Every time they met, both sides would provoke each other, but Craig didn’t dare to do anything. Having suffered a great loss in the previous conflicts under the guise of sparring, he knew his strength was inferior and wouldn’t ask for trouble again—he wasn’t a masochist. George and the others had also partially seen this situation. Before, they thought Craig was throwing a little tantrum, while the other side treated him like a child to tease.

The latter thought was correct. The few of them were indeed teasing Craig as a way to amuse the little guy, which had become a form of entertainment for them. Although playing with things saps the will and playing with people saps virtue, they hadn’t reached that extent. And today, with the topic laid out, George finally figured out through the meaning of the words that the original cause of the conflict was actually eating.

This wasn’t to say that George’s observation before wasn’t careful, but that he had never associated it with this aspect. This should also be a barrier of knowledge formed by his experiences before crossing over. After all, in the thirty years that Li Desheng lived, he had never seen anyone hold a grudge against someone because of eating.

“Clap! Clap! Clap!” George clapped his hands first, then touched his chin and said: “Since the matter has been cleared up, there’s no need to have a tense atmosphere every time we meet. At worst, I’ll prepare more food for the next gathering.”

“No!” Craig, Chrispian, and the others said at the same time.

“Next time I will definitely win.” This was Craig’s voice.

Ben looked at Craig with a provocative look and said: “For that kind of banquet, the food must be snatched to be interesting! A little mouse like that is also a good adjustment.”

“Fine, do whatever you want! Just don’t make things too big and disturb my peace.” Looking at these guys playing like children, George said speechlessly. He was also thinking in his heart, ‘Usually happy enemies are a pair of men and women, how come it turned into a few young men here? Is this the posture of forming the Longkong Mountain Infrastructure Construction Corps? I hope I’m not included.’

Just then, the male servants brought up the game roasted to eighty percent done. The first wave served was all some sliced meat and bone-in meat of birds. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and Sichuan pepper, and squeezed with lemon juice, they had a unique flavor.

To be honest, compared to most Western countries before George crossed over, one good thing about processing meat here was that the blood was let out like in Tianchao. It was said that people who believed in Christianity or Catholicism did not eat animal blood. But in Germany and other places, there were sausages made of pig blood. George thought it was more likely because of laziness! Especially after the introduction of electrode slaughter.

Meat from animals that had not been bled always had a strong fishy smell, which seriously affected the appetite. And the insistence on bleeding here, apart from religious factors, was mainly because in the past, in the absence of spices, it was necessary to make the meat palatable! However, the taste of meat from uncastrated domestic animals was still criticized by George. But in order not to offend the Druids working for him in the Territory, George could only temporarily put his appetite on hold and postpone this proposal indefinitely.

Along with the silver dinner plates came knives and forks of the same material. In addition, the drinks in the water jugs on the table were refilled by the Maids. Unfortunately, in George’s eyes, he didn’t see any vegetables. Although he had lived for more than ten years, George still couldn’t help but make a small complaint in his heart about the eating habits of this world. You know, before crossing over, if he cooked for himself, George was a herbivore who ate over a kilogram of various vegetables every day.

After cutting a piece of meat into bite-sized pieces and putting it into his mouth with a fork, George chewed a few times and felt that the taste was passable. At the same time, the servants placed a small basket on the center of the table, which contained some baguette cut into small sections. This was to take care of the special habit of certain nobles who must eat some grains with every meal. Seeing this, George complained in his heart, ‘Why don’t you take care of my habit of loving vegetables! Is it just because there are too few people?’

After chewing the meat in his mouth and swallowing it, George poured himself a glass of milk from the water jug to moisten his throat and asked: “Gentlemen, is any of you going to the Northern Fortress this year?”

“I am.” Ben raised his hand first and said, “Time flies so fast! I didn’t expect George to be at the age where he needs to go to the Northern Fortress for rotation duty.”

“Your home is near the Northern Fortress, you seem to go every year!” Craig, who was on the side, specifically spoke against him.

“But can you really get away? You can’t leave the affairs in the Bolerum Territory for too long, right?” Chrispian asked George with some doubt.

George shook his finger and said: “If I really couldn’t get away at all, would I still be able to come to Karada every year?”

“You know what I mean. Even in Karada, you can remotely command the affairs of your Territory. But at the Northern Fortress, I’m afraid you won’t have this opportunity.” Chrispian took a sip of fruit juice and swallowed the food in his mouth completely, “First of all, private long-distance communication tools cannot be used there due to the special magic array. Secondly, in that kind of environment full of killing and depression, I’m afraid it will be difficult for you to calm down and think about some problems in the Territory. Most importantly, during the annual Barbarians invasion period, you need to guard the city day and night for at least 15 days. I’m afraid you won’t be able to spare time to complete the government affairs of the Territory during that period.”

George put down the knife and fork in his hand, thought for a moment after stretching, and said: “It’s fine to put it aside for a while. Moreover, in winter, most of the northern ports will be frozen and unusable. In that case, the number of fleets passing through our Territory will also drop significantly. If it’s just internal affairs of the Territory, if arranged in advance, there won’t be any big problems.”

“Since you have already made arrangements, I won’t say anything more.” Chrispian said, suddenly thinking of something, “How about we all go to the Northern Fortress this year! Anyway, those rotation systems don’t apply to us. If there are more people guarding the city, I think the garrison commander, Count Markin, won’t object, right? Even His Grace the Duke would hope that we can contribute more to the country!”

Ben was made speechless by Chrispian’s behavior of acting on impulse. He stroked his forehead and protested: “Don’t make decisions for all of us without authorization. Although I can explain it to my father, it’s no problem for us few Knights to go. But Green is a Bard, it’s not very good for him to go there!”

“Who says I can’t go there? My inspiring songs have a much more obvious effect on ordinary soldiers than on you.” Green, feeling looked down upon, immediately expressed his determination.

Chrispian immediately made the decision for everyone: “If no one raises any more questions, then it’s decided that we will all go to the Northern Fortress this winter.”

“Hey, Aldred isn’t here yet! You guys aren’t making the decision for him too, are you!” George looked at the scene in front of him and kindly reminded them.

“Don’t worry, he will definitely agree.” Chrispian said, spearing a piece of meat and continuing to eat.

As they spoke, George took a section of baguette with a crispy crust, soft and slightly chewy inside, dipped it in the meat juice of the roast meat on the plate, and put it in his mouth. By the time everyone finished the food in front of them while eating and chatting, the servants brought up another plate of whole roasted wild rabbit. Its surface was golden and oily, the outer meat was burnt yellow and crispy, the inner meat was soft and tender, and the meat fragrance was tangy. It really made one’s index finger twitch.

After finishing dinner, George and the others returned to their respective tents to rest up for tomorrow’s hunt. Of course, some people went to explore the secrets of life with their partners. However, today there were fewer people with such interest than usual during the Autumn Hunt. On the one hand, some people were frightened during the attack; on the other hand, such a big incident happened during the day, so they really didn’t have that kind of interest at night.

In his own tent, George finished today’s evening lessons as usual. ‘Sigh! This Autumn Hunt has really delayed things. Originally, according to the progress, I could have condensed the Nine Emperors in the Sea of Consciousness tonight. But condensing the Nine Emperors takes a long time and requires an absolutely quiet environment. Doing this kind of thing in a tent in this camp isn’t just asking for trouble? If disturbed, I would definitely go into Qi deviation.’

As for which star to choose, George had already made a decision—the eldest son of Doumu Yuanjun, Heaven Emperor Gouchen Shangdi. Although both had the effect of commanding stars, Gouchen Shangdi was more inclined towards killing and warfare. This matched George’s needs for a long time to come.

‘Controlling the two poles of north and south and the three powers of heaven, earth, and man, commanding the stars, and controlling the affairs of war in the human world. I hope this choice won’t disappoint me!’ George muttered to himself in his heart.

The Autumn Hunt for the next few days passed as peacefully as George had thought. On the second day, because the woods had not been fully inspected, for the sake of fairness, everyone’s hunting ground was limited to the grass. Several people without falcons, including George, suffered a disadvantage in this regard. Fortunately, on the third day, George hunted a horned stag in the woods, finally regaining some face.