Arcane Journey

Chapter 157 Food
A victory banquet is held in the evening.

In fact, Brian didn't like to attend such occasions, but he knew the importance of celebrations in a territory, especially this kind of big victory against the enemies from the City of Shadows.

What's more, his territory was first established and he won the first war.

Whether it's the memorial ceremony or the current celebration, his appearance will not only be very conducive to uniting people's hearts, but also more conducive to future development.

He put down the books in his hands, changed into his usual clothes, walked out of the room, and walked towards the banquet hall of the rock bunker.

As soon as he reached the door of the hall, he saw rows of long tables occupying the area outside the hall, leaving an aisle in the middle.

All of these are the results of his letting go of Graal's arrangement.

Apparently, what the fat businessman did was to his great satisfaction.

The civilians from Mokou Town and several small villages squeezed shoulder to shoulder on the bench one after another. When they saw him appear, they all stood up and bowed in salute.

Looking at the enthusiasm in the crowd, Brian knew that he, the lord, had been recognized by them.

This recognition may have started with the abolition of slavery, or it may have ended with the end of the war. In any case, he is still a relatively qualified lord.

This reminded him of a dream he had once had:
In the dream, he stood on the top of the world, became a noble and proud leader, and ruled countless other small worlds. The residents of the shining city ruins fell at his feet, cheered wildly, and shouted out His adoration and loyalty.
He couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous about his sweet dreams.

After all, just ruling a town and holding a banquet made him a little hesitant and a headache, let alone those things that were out of reach.

Obviously, he doesn't like wasting time on such occasions.

Brian put away his flying thoughts, nodded slightly to his leaders, motioned to sit down, and walked in.

There is neither arrogance and coldness in his expression, nor cramped and overly modest, but he can always nod his head properly or respond with a smile.

One of the advices he had received from a wise old king when he was still in the little world of his own rebirth was to be fully aware of his strengths and weaknesses.

For underestimating oneself is as great a mistake as overestimating oneself, and false humility is as terrible as false pride.

Always know who you are and what to do on what occasion.

And use this to guide and restrict your behavior. Any way of life other than this is stupid.

Brian stepped into the bustling hall and looked around.

Once, when the owner of the Rock Bunker was the Zhentarim, the walls, floor, and ceiling of this wide banquet hall were cleverly spliced ​​with thick wooden boards, depicting various dark creatures.

Now, he has dismantled all these messy dark creatures and replaced them with screens and oil paintings, making the originally depressing atmosphere completely new and bright.

He walked through the hall and sat on his own main seat. The old swordsman Baleris sat on his left, his eyes vigilant and sharp.

Businessman Graal, the largest investor, sat on the right with a smile.

However, Brian caught a fleeting sadness in the small eyes of the businessman who was about to squint.

That's understandable, since his cousin Zander was killed fighting hobgoblins.

Brian secretly reminded himself that in the morning of tomorrow, he would immediately go to the mage's tower in Araby City. After discussing the important matters with the female lord, he would go to rescue Graal's daughter who was trapped in a magic book.

Coincidentally, the place where the magic book was sent happened to be Silvermoon City in the Northland.

He stopped thinking about it, raised his voice, and signaled everyone to be silent.

In the name of the Kingdom of Cormyr, the Obeszier Family, and the lord of Mokou Town, he raised his wine glass after speaking a few words, and shared the first glass of wine with everyone.

Immediately afterwards, with the collision of countless wine glasses celebrating the victory, the harpist, trumpeter, flute player and drummer in the corner began their elegant and passionate performances.

The noise gradually increased and combined into a continuous roar, like a large-scale chorus, which made people dizzy.

Brian resisted the urge to exert a silent magic on himself, and immediately signaled Graal beside him, indicating that the banquet could begin.

Graal nodded slightly, and ordered in a low voice for the servants to bring the food.

The dishes followed one after another, even for a well-informed person like Brian, he could see a little bit of flaws.

This made him unable to help secretly Zanglar's ability to handle affairs.

According to customs and traditions, the servants will serve him a taste of each dish, after all, as the supreme lord, he has the right to choose the favorite part of any dish.

Fortunately, he had this kind of experience before. He either nodded and waved away every dish he brought, or just took a few bites.

Otherwise, even if he supported him to eat, he wouldn't be able to eat that much.

As a spellcaster, his appetite is not as big as he imagined.

At the same time, in order to show the lord's friendship and honor to his subordinates, Brian carefully selected and gave them to those who had outstanding military achievements and contributed more.

He gave Graal a plate of tofu with shallots, chives, oyster sauce and garlic sauce.

Looking at the dishes clearly, the smiling Graal understood his intentions and launched a fierce attack on it, as if it was the enemy's enemy.

Then, Brian sent a plate of ham brushed with honey, brown sugar and pineapple juice from the Chult Forest to the old sword saint Ballerius.

Balleris, who was born in the Chult jungle, carefully dipped a little honey with his index finger and put it in his mouth to taste, immediately showing nostalgia.

Two plates of pan-fried angle trout fillets sprinkled with shallots, lemon, salt, pepper and paprika, looking moist and glistening, were presented to Tysonde, Patriarch of the Church of the God of Knowledge, and the Templar Knights who accompanied him Head of regiment.

From the kind smile on the middle-aged patriarch's face, Brian could tell that although he suffered heavy losses in this battle, he was very satisfied with the results.

The reason for his satisfaction was that his attitude towards the promotion of knowledge was so resolute that the Patriarch felt particularly at ease.

Moreover, as priests, they take life and death very lightly, and it is more like an honor to return to the embrace of the gods.

A colorful, floral Wild Leaf Medley wine, and a lively citrusy Wood Elf Forest Salad, which Brian chose to give to Miss Karina of the Church of the Earth Mother.

In yesterday's battle, nearly a hundred watcher rangers under her command not only blocked the humanoid creatures from the Stormhorn Mountain Range and the Zhentarim mercenaries, but also guarded the newly established five small villages. The rangers in the guerrilla warfare had no casualties.

The most important thing is that this smart and beautiful female priest really followed his instructions and successfully dragged the group of druids who like to fish and play cards into the water

Heartland Rose Apple and Blackberry Pie, a thick artisanal pie crust with a flaky meringue cream pie top that seals in the flavors of eggs and delicious rose apples, while blackberries are packed with a special fruity aroma.

Brian chose to gift the dessert to Graal's son Lando.

After this young soldier experienced a fierce battle, he looked very dull. Sitting next to Graal, he kept his head down and said nothing from the beginning to the end. Come on.

Those who shiver from the cold can best appreciate the warmth of the sun, and those who have experienced hardships in life know the value of life best.

Brian knew that after this battle, the young warrior in front of him who had successfully mastered the desert wind swordsmanship would fully mature and become a usable talent.

In this case, he began to consider preparing him to advance to a dragon vein warlock.

Homelet Gold Roast Turkey Wrapped in Spicy Minced Pork and Spicy Gravy.

What could be more mouth-watering than a fat turkey roasting over the hearth, dripping with juicy gravy.

The turkey is wrapped in a succulent filling made from the bird's gravy, which includes a spicy minced pork, and seasoned white bread and croutons, with chopped onions and shallots. A seasoned gravy made from a piece of celery, which can also be eaten with bread.

Brian signaled his servants to deliver these two hearty delicacies to Purple Dragon Knight Oberth and Battle Mage Marek.

Through this battle, he had secretly made a decision to let the experienced old man Baleris manage Mokou Town on his behalf, with Purple Dragon Knight Obert as his deputy.

In this way, he can free up most of his time to spend on his wizard tower construction and Nether scroll collection.

Seeing the two of them savoring the delicacy with relish, Brian smiled slightly, and turned his gaze to Warmage Marek, who was dipping slices of bread into gravy.

He thought that among his subordinates, the one who could break through the legendary realm the fastest was the Holy Avenger and part-time Juggernaut Baleris.

Who would have thought that after this battle and the huge energy contained in the ancient silver dragon scales, Marek successfully resisted the scour of this force, and there was a faint tendency to step into the legendary realm at any time.

In the game world, in his impression, Marek used the scales of a mature golden dragon as a medium to break through the legendary realm.

Obviously, the ancient silver dragon scales given by Silver Wing himself are more effective.

Now, the power of this war shaper has been accumulated, the only thing missing is comprehension.

At this time, a plate of hot abyssal dragon meat skewers dipped in flames was brought over by a servant. Brian came back to his senses, put down the wine glass in his hand, and motioned to give it to the dragon vein warlock Salo.

This is a skewer made of salamander meat, because the salamander's natural flame resistance gives this meat a rich layer of spicy pepper and fire moss.

After Salo finished eating a bunch, a fist-sized flame spewed out from his mouth with grinning teeth, startling the ranger Puranda beside him.

The delicacies from tiefling, a race of hell, would be useless without fire resistance.

Smeared with multiple layers of honey, the Sambia crystal-smooth honey grilled ribs were delicately roasted over an open flame, and delivered to Salo, in front of the cursing Ranger Puranda.

Because the toast in his hand was burned to ashes by Salo's flames, and even a strand of his hair was scorched.

Then, a Rigo barbarian-style venison pot roast appeared.

Smelling the aroma, Brian immediately guessed that this food was made from the tender side of venison, dried apricots, golden potatoes, and herbs mixed with natural wild herbs.

He waved his finger, and the servant followed his gaze, and brought the twice-cooked meat to a sturdy Bedai barbarian.

There are nearly a hundred tribes of Bedai barbarians in the Ennook Desert. Brian's original plan was to wait until the territory was stabilized before attacking these barbarian tribes.

Now it seems that Salo helped him complete this task in advance.

In this way, based on the moose tribe, he can gradually conquer this nomadic people living in the Ennook Desert and work for himself.

At the prompt of Graal, he called a goblin from Hedge Village to him and gave him a tempered barbecue chicken snake animal wing.

The other party was flattered and thanked again and again, prostrated on the ground excitedly, with endless compliments in his mouth, and finally ran down cheerfully carrying the food.

This little goblin was called Keke, and it was he who led a group of orcs and gnolls to the grove where the druids fished in Jade Garden regardless of personal safety, and he also lost a fireball scroll by the way.

The residents of Hedge Village are all evil humanoid creatures known to the world. Seeing this little goblin, Brian suddenly had an immature thought.

He also gave the elf delicacy 'harvest vegetable puree' to the moon elf mage Ru Yin.

Since this beautiful elf female mage chose to join Mokou Town, she has been leading the people of the Silver Scholars Association to help him in the gray dwarf city in the Underdark region to add magic spells to the stone bricks used to build the tower, increasing its strength and defense. force.

Now, they have added a new task, modifying the constructed golems and gargoyles they just obtained.

Smoked sausage with dwarven yellow mustard and two large bottles of fine wine, Crazy Water, for the gray dwarf Shendi Wang who unexpectedly came to the banquet.

In fact, Brian thought that the King of the Deep Earth wanted to use this opportunity to ask for a debt, but he guessed wrong, the other party did not pay for the goods, but just came to taste the free wine on the surface.

However, he quickly revealed his intentions. It turned out that the drow elves found traces of Orens, one of the three giants of the devil, the undead lord Orens.

The far-sighted King of the Deep fears that his city will once again be visited by a demon lord.

Of course Brian knew what was coming, and assured him that he would help him ward off the demon's corruption.

Three Vader rolls of beef stew were given to Golem Priest Stone Whisperer Hegram and his two apprentices, Leawood and Lokhan.

He knew the help given to him by the stone giant old priest.

Similarly, with the defeat of the hobgoblin army, he has decided that after the territory stabilizes, he will eliminate the hobgoblin army in the Mokou Mountains and find a suitable settlement for the stone giants.

Finally, he raised his hand, and brought the steaming hot food full of meatballs brought by the four together. Using the telekinesis ability of the Arcane Hand, he sent it to different places under the surprised eyes of everyone. On a table full of delicacies placed in an unobtrusive corner, there was a fat man who was only a little thinner than Graal.

This hefty treat is: Denzur-style 'Hold on! ! 'meatball.

Mainly beef, mutton, pork, onion and a small amount of dwarven gravy seasoning, together with smashed egg berries, all mixed together into meatballs, very suitable for humanoids with amazing appetites as a staple food.

And the eater is the human being transformed from the red dragon Argotus.

This guy has a fat head and big ears. There is no hair on his bald head, and he is as tender as a newborn baby's butt.

His clothes were stained with wine and gravy, and he was buried in a pile of delicacies, eating and drinking.

Looking at Argotus' appearance, Brian couldn't help but look at the temporary benches and long tables placed outside the banquet hall, indicating that it's time to eat.

The residents of Mokou Town sat together with the civilians of the five nearby villages, as well as the adventurers and mercenaries who participated in the battle.

Following his order, the crowd rushed towards the tables piled with food as if they were slapping against the waves of the reef.

Looking at this scene, he couldn't help recalling the lively scene of eating in the real world.

At this time, the young maids wandered among the banquets in the hall, pouring wine for people from time to time.

Although it is very lively, but he always likes to be quiet, he always feels that the place is stuffy, noisy, and exudes a strong smell of alcohol, so he can't help but want to go out to get some fresh air.

But for the sake of etiquette, he can only leave after the banquet is over.

After a long time, when Brian learned from Graal that it was okay to leave now, he got up with relief and prepared to leave.

For now the servants had cleared away the leftovers, pushed the table against the wall to make room for dancing, and as the music grew wilder, the crowd joined in the revelry.

However, when he was about to leave, he was stopped by Karenna, the Patriarch of the Mother Earth Church.

"Lord, are you going to run away early?" The female priest folded her arms and leaned against the door, looking at him with a smile.

Her hair falls like a waterfall on her shoulders, her face is flushed with alcohol, and her facial features are as perfect as an exotic beauty. She is not wearing a skirt, but a short woolen coat and breeches, which highlights her beauty even more. figure.

"That's right, I prefer to be quiet." Brian smiled and said calmly.

"Standing is a bit boring, do you want to dance with me?" Karina blinked and extended an invitation to him.

"It's my pleasure, though"

Before Brian finished speaking, Karina interrupted him, pursed her lips and said with a smile: "It can be seen that the lord of Mokou Town is not a funny person, and he can't even dance."

After finishing speaking, she deliberately showed a provocative look.

"You guessed it." Brian said with a smile, "It's true, then I can go."

In fact, he would, but he rarely showed it if it wasn't necessary.

"It's okay, I can teach you."

Karina gave him a look full of deep meaning, stretched out her little white hand, and extended an invitation to him again, "By the way, how about talking about the Emerald Garden?"

Brian knew that the other party had already talked about this, and if he refused again, it would be merciless.

It just so happens that he also has a plan for Emerald Garden. If the Earth Mother Church comes forward, it will get twice the result with half the effort.

He smiled, "If you want to teach me, it depends on how good your dancing skills are."

"Try it and you'll know." Karina smiled, "Heaven's circle, will it?"

"No problem." Brian nodded slightly, letting her soft little hand rest on his palm.

The circle of heaven is the favorite dance of Cormyr's high-ranking nobles. From this, it can be seen that the priestess is very likely to be a noble lady.

He learned it once in the game world, but after such a long time, he has long since forgotten it completely, and only vaguely remembers it.

Perhaps with his more than 20 points of intellectual familiarity, he can quickly find the feeling.

The two walked into the dance area, and everyone consciously gave up a space.

Seeing this situation, Brian suddenly felt a little regretful.

He found himself in the spotlight, and even the musicians were smiling at him, as he could clearly feel that they were suddenly playing with energy.

Brian could only bite the bullet and dance with this enthusiastic female priest for a while. Karena's dance skills were as superb as she said, but he was a little hard to explain.

Her movements were like flowing clouds and flowing water, so smooth that she didn't miss a beat.

She is not shy, and she is in touch with people intimately.

The two of them hugged, their waists and legs pressed together, her breasts pressed against Brian's, warm breath moistening his neck.

She smelled of sandalwood and spices.

Then she slid her hand between them and gently pushed Brian away, her palm still pressed against his stomach, a sly smile on her face.

Then she gently pulled him back, and they were so close that her thick eyelashes brushed Brian's chin.

Then she gently pushed Brian away again, but kept within reach.

From Brian's point of view, this is not a dance, it's more like a game.

Because his rhythm was completely controlled by the other party, he was completely guided like a clumsy novice.

He can only be thankful that there are no mobile phones in this world, otherwise it would be embarrassing if he was photographed.

"Why do I think you have other plans." Brian asked curiously.

"I'm someone who likes to plan everything in advance."

Karina's soft lips were close to his ears, with a faint smile on her face, "There are always plans, but you are my cutest plan so far."

Hearing this, if Brian couldn't understand what the other party meant, he would have lived in vain for so many years.

"Now it's time for us to talk about the Emerald Garden." He said to her in a slightly forceful tone, "You just mentioned it."

"What do you want to know." Karina slowed down her flowing dance and asked curiously, "Or do you have any plans for these druids?"

"I just want to open a tunnel between Mokou Town and Araby City, the shortest distance, which is the Horn of Storm Mountain Range." Brian said his plan.

Of course, he is very clear about the so-called truth that if you want to get rich, you must first build roads.

"You are going to blow through the mountains, and the druids will look for you desperately. How dare you think." Karina gave him a surprised look, and then said, "Isn't the Gnoll Pass inconvenient?"

"It's not very convenient." After Brian finished speaking, he told the female pastor in detail about his planned ideas about railways and trains.

In the conception of the train, the most important problem is the power. Although it has not been solved yet, he has already tried it in his heart.

"There is a proverb in my hometown: if you want to get rich, build roads first."

He went on to say, "Although the location of Mokou Town is superior, the transportation is not very convenient. If this project is completed, it would take about 20 days to travel, but I can reach Mokou Town from Arabe City in just two days. "

"Actually, not all the druids are stubborn."

Karina handed over the rhythm of the dance to Brian, thought for a moment, and said, "I am very moved by your plan. I am willing to help you with this and try to convince them."

"Thank you so much." Brian returned the rhythm to her and thanked him sincerely.

"There are so many ways to thank you." Karina speeded up her pace, gracefully spun her graceful figure, and asked with a smile, "What method do you think is the most satisfying?"

Brian pretended not to understand Karina's vague hints.

After the two danced for another section of 'Heaven's Circle', under her resentful eyes, he finally left the hall.

Just when he returned to his residence and was about to open the door to enter, the warning circle set up in the room sent a slight vibration in his mind, which made him wake up suddenly.

He quickly calmed down, closed his eyes, and peered into the situation through the secret eye in the room.

He found a black figure whose face could not be seen clearly, sitting on his bed, as if waiting patiently for something.

The shadow guard assassin in the city of ghosts?

Brian looked cold, checked his status, and walked in as if nothing had happened.

(End of this chapter)