Chapter 474 – What a Shame!

The guards ate with great enthusiasm. Goebel and the other mages kept glancing over at them, and before they knew it, the soup simmering in their pot and the hardtack in their hands had gone untouched for quite some time.

Goebel’s guard captain noticed his employer’s gaze and, out of respect, asked a token question:

“Would you like to try some, master? It’s really delicious!”

Mages were the most pampered of people, and this employer of his was no exception.

Surely he’d recoil at the sight of insect limbs and never dare try them?

Besides, these were ingredients he’d paid for himself! There was no reason to give them away for free.

“Mm.” Goebel gave a restrained nod.

This unexpected answer caught the guard captain off guard for a moment. Then, somewhat reluctantly, he broke off a small portion of a beetle leg and even dipped it in some sauce for him. “Here, give it a taste!”

Goebel did his best to hide his eagerness and took a small bite.

Once it was in his mouth, there was no hiding it anymore—his reaction in that instant betrayed his true feelings.

Dried vegetable soup? Hardtack? They could all go to hell!

“Joyce, give me another beetle leg and bring me a bowl of sauce—I’ll pay you three silver coins!”

This was just a hind leg—one silver coin bought two of them!

A bowl of sauce cost only one silver coin as well.

The guard captain stood to earn at least one and a half silver coins from this.

If it were anything else, that kind of profit would have had him agreeing instantly with a cheerful grin, trotting off to get it done.

But right now, he hadn’t even had his fill yet!

Lady Moira had said so herself—who knew when they’d encounter ironclad beetles again!

Oh well. For the sake of him being his employer, and for the sake of him being a mage.

The guard captain put on a show of delight as he broke off another beetle leg and went to fetch him a bowl of sauce.

With Goebel leading the charge, the other mages soon crumbled as well, buying beetle legs from their own guards.

The guards had earned a bit of money, but they weren’t as happy as one might expect. Each of them just buried their heads and ate furiously.

Delicious magical beast meat that went into your own stomach and became nourishment for your body—that was truly yours.

If they ate too slowly, what would they do if the mages wanted to buy more later?

Vasida watched the scene at the human camp with a touch of nostalgia. “I dare say, from now on, whatever you have them eat, Instructor, they’ll be willing to try.”

They had gone through the same process themselves.

“This is far from enough!” Mo Lan said. “There are plenty more edible magical beasts along the road ahead. Let’s try to empty their pockets, then bring some valuable magical beast materials out with us. Hopefully by the time we reach Lance City, we’ll have enough money to rent a decent little courtyard.”

Lilith was quite interested in today’s selling venture. “I secretly used mind-reading magic today. The guards still have an average of five to eight gold coins on them, and the mages should have even more.”

They were in the middle of talking when they sensed someone approaching. They dropped the subject and turned to look at the newcomer.

It was the Intermediate mage and his guard captain.

The mage wore an expression that said he could hardly bring himself to speak, and merely gestured at his guard captain.

The guard captain stepped forward with a helpless look. “Lady Moira, my master would like to ask—is the meat from the ironclad beetle’s body edible?”

After asking, he too looked at Mo Lan with anticipation.

The beetle legs were so delicious—wouldn’t that pale, white insect meat be even better? He was rather eager to find out himself!

The Sorceresses: “…”

Had they still not had enough?

“It’s technically edible, but I’d advise against it. It’s far too fishy—even the sauce can’t cover it up.”

Mo Lan said, “If you want to try it, go dig some up yourselves. We just buried them; they shouldn’t have gone bad yet. Free of charge.”

Insect meat that even a dog wouldn’t eat—if she charged money for that, she’d truly have no conscience.

Goebel gave up the moment he heard this.

Meat that the stingy mage was giving away for free? It had to be terrible!

This Lady Moira—stingy she might be, but she truly knew how to eat! Thinking back on it now, that meal at the inn might not have been purely about stinginess after all.

If they were eating delicacies like beetle legs every day, of course they’d find inn food hard to swallow.

What a shame that such delicacies were so rare.

Goebel felt a twinge of regret that after the battle, he’d been too worried about lingering magical beasts to get off the carriage and buy beetle legs in time.

Back at his own tent, Goebel gave his guard captain strict instructions: “If Lady Moira sells anything else, you must let me know immediately!”

“Yes, sir!” the guard captain replied.

It seemed that from now on, even the mages would be scrambling for Lady Moira’s goods!

That evening, the guards took the initiative to arrange a night watch schedule. This was routine for them—they were long accustomed to it.

Mo Lan said nothing more and retired to her small tent along with her “Apprentices.”

She had already divined that tonight would be safe.

Ironclad beetles were omnivorous magical beasts—they ate grass, meat, even dirt.

But if any other creature intruded on their territory, it would immediately be swarmed and overwhelmed, just as they had experienced during the day.

The fact that the ironclad beetles had been here to encounter them in the first place proved that the surrounding magical beasts and wild animals couldn’t defeat them. Over time, other creatures had learned that this stretch of grassland was dangerous.

Now, the ironclad beetles’ scent still lingered, and no other wild animals or magical beasts would approach for a while yet.

Back in her tent, Mo Lan used Divination Magic once more to read the fortunes for the night. The results were entirely favorable.

Reassured, she turned her attention to studying human Alchemy.

The night passed without incident, just as expected.

The next morning, the caravan set off again.

As before, Mo Lan’s carriage led the way.

But this time, the three carriages behind and their guards followed much more closely.

Having witnessed Mo Lan’s strength yesterday, and knowing they would certainly enter the Colorado Mountain Range today, staying close to her was the safest option.

They had barely reached the foot of the mountains when the lead carriage came to a stop.

That familiar figure climbed atop the carriage once again.

No one knew what was happening at first, but then a roar rang out, and they realized another Intermediate magical beast had attacked.

This time she used only a single Intermediate spell—a massive arrow of gold-element energy. But it was just as effective, piercing straight through the beast. The arrow entered through its eye, and the creature collapsed in an instant, its hide and fur completely undamaged.

She skinned it, cut away the teeth, claw tips, and tail to keep, and tossed the rest aside.

The caravan moved on.

The guards and mages cast wistful glances at the magical beast carcass left by the roadside, and the same thought arose unbidden in every mind: “What a shame! Can’t eat it…”

The caravan entered the mountains, and the road grew increasingly difficult to traverse.

It was clear that no one had passed through here in a very long time. Though traces of the original path were still visible, many sections had been gradually overtaken by grass and brush, requiring clearing before the caravan could proceed.

The guards fought over who would go to the very front of the caravan to clear the way.

The job of path-clearing—once the most dangerous task—had now become the safest and most coveted one.