Chapter 440: The Continental Front
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 440: The Continental Front
“Yeehaw! This brisket just melts in your mouth!”
“…”
It was a voice that could silence an enemy’s speech in a single blow. I had expected something, but I never imagined he would play the brisket card right from the start. He was standing on a platform, a position visible from anywhere on the enemy’s fortress walls. While it wasn’t within range of a direct long-range attack, the fact that he could speak with such magnificent confidence meant Lee Wanyong’s nerve had grown considerably.
Or perhaps, I thought, it was because he knew we were here to protect him. Lee Wanyong and a few members of his special commando unit had set up a large table and taken their positions. Soon, a boisterous clamor began to fill the air.
Though it had been a short time, the elites he had hand-picked—all massive in stature—appeared to be tankers. Anyone could see they had hearty appetites. No, more than that, they looked like the type of people who could make anything taste delicious.
I figured even those with poor eyesight could tell what they were doing. They were setting up a grill and placing thick cuts of meat on it. They were having a barbecue.
Sizzzzzzzzzle—
The sound that echoed out was quite the spectacle. The delicious noise made my own mouth water.
“Ahhh… Do you hear that sound!”
“This is the sound of meat grilling, is it not?”
The meat was from a magical beast that resembled the cows commonly found on the continent. It was a creature that could certainly be found on the Western Continent as well. Of course, there were many other types of meat available, but I had a feeling I knew why Lee Wanyong had chosen that particular beast. It was because it would be more familiar to the Westerners.
There was no point in eating food that only existed on our continent; they wouldn’t understand. It had to be a familiar and friendly taste. He must have concluded that the provocation would only be meaningful if he showed them something they actually wanted to eat.
‘Smart bastard.’
It was a small thing, but the detail of the provocation was on another level. The way he meticulously handled even the smallest parts made him seem like a home shopping host selling meat.
Sizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzle—
“This is the sound. Now is the time to flip it.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to wait a little longer?”
“No. We must flip it now. Isn’t steak best served medium rare? You must sear each side with care so the juices don’t escape. Oh, that’s it. Perfect.”
The commandos Lee Wanyong had personally selected were also playing their parts brilliantly. The situation was so absurd that not a single voice could be heard from beyond the fortress walls. Broadcasting the sound of grilling meat and the commentary using voice-amplifying magic was a ridiculous idea even by my standards. But looking at the expressions of the soldiers around me, it seemed to be blowing away all the stress they had accumulated.
And it wasn’t just Lee Wanyong. The enemy might not be able to hear everyone, but they could certainly see them. Unlike before, when we had eaten in a separate area behind the fortress, everyone was now setting up grills atop the ice walls and cooking meat.
“Well done!”
“Isn’t that the guy we saw once before? The one who got on the platform during the war with the Southwestern Alliance?”
Voices rose from here and there. Some warriors, realizing that the man taunting the enemy was the same one who had argued with Ha Yuri during the war with the Southwestern Alliance, were even applauding.
Sizzzzzzzzzle—
Along with the sound of grilling meat, a cheerful uproar spread. You would never think these were people on the verge of war. Even those who had been briefed on the Western Continent’s situation understood the meaning behind our actions.
“People of the Western Continent! Do you see this! As I cut it, the juices are just dripping out. It looks so delicious. The outside is perfectly cooked, and the inside looks incredibly tender.”
“…”
“This brisket… I think I’ll have a bite.”
“…”
“An excellent source of protein before the war begins.”
The way Lee Wanyong slowly brought the meat to his mouth was by no means fast. In fact, it was slow. He moved the meat toward his lips with extreme deliberation. First, he savored the aroma, as if handling a precious treasure. It was like a spaceship attempting to dock with a space station; he was attempting to dock with the meat.
The moment the meat was sucked into his mouth, a sound effect rang out.
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
I had to doubt my own ears. I couldn’t believe that was the sound of someone chewing meat. Strangely, the smacking sound wasn’t disgusting at all. On the contrary, it was stimulating my appetite.
“Yeeeeeeah! This brisket just melts in your mouth! It’s melting. Absolutely. Melting away!”
“I can’t even describe this texture. I can feel it perfectly in my mouth. You all know what I’m talking about. This feeling of different textures of meat being chewed all at once. My dear brothers and sisters of the West, it would have been wonderful if we could have eaten together… This is truly a shame.”
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp! Slurp! This brisket just melts in your mouth!
He was an incredibly detestable sight.
Even from my perspective as an ally, the sight of him lifting his sly face and taunting those on the Western Continent’s walls made me want to smack him one.
Slurp! Slurp!
The smell of grilling meat wafted over the fortress walls.
It was comical, but they would be able to smell it too. The mages on our walls were using wind magic to send the smoke and aroma in their direction. It took some mana, but it wasn’t a difficult task. I could see Choi Eunju putting in quite a bit of effort.
It was only natural that the savory smell was starting to make me hungry as well. When I focused a bit of mana into my eyes, I saw that, as expected, the faces of the soldiers beyond the walls were twisted in grimaces.
[Target - Katie]
[Status - Anger, Hunger]
“…”
[Target - Steiner]
[Status - Anger, Hunger]
It went beyond mere provocation; I could now feel the anger radiating from them. The fury directed at Lee Wanyong was slowly flowing toward me as well. It was in that moment I realized he was perfectly optimized for extracting the emotion of anger.
I couldn’t determine exactly what kind of meals they were having, but there was no way they had anything decent to eat. They would be lucky to be boiling something like corn porridge. With their supply lines completely cut off, they had been maintaining this front with a large number of troops for a long time. I didn’t know for sure, but even their officers were likely not eating satisfying meals.
Slurp! Slurp! “Ahhh… It’s melting. This brisket is just melting in my mouth!”
“Have a drink, brother.”
“But we’re in a state of war, how can we drink…”
“How strong can those Western bastards be anyway, Wanyong? You know what they say, you have to eat well to fight well. How can you even draw a bow properly on an empty stomach? Everything we do is to eat and live.”
“You’re right! Let’s have a drink, Hyungwook.”
“No matter how delicious the meat is, doesn’t it get a little greasy if you keep eating it? Having a drink at a time like this is part of the fun, isn’t it?”
The absurd thing was that this was the first time these men had ever met. It was surely no illusion that they looked like friends who had been drinking together for years. Their actions had already surpassed the level of mere acting.
Grrrrowl…
“Ah…”
The sound came in an instant, and it wasn’t from our side.
“Puhahahahahahaha!”
As if in response, Lee Wanyong’s sly voice echoed out.
The one who made the sound was the man who had been speaking from their platform. His face instantly flushed with shame, but Lee Wanyong wasn’t the type to miss an opportunity like this.
“Puhahahahahahahaha! My goodness, I’m sure I didn’t just imagine what I heard. Brothers and sisters of the Western Continent! No matter how important the war is, you must eat properly!”
“Brother Wanyong! You think those Westerners even know the taste of meat? They’re probably just scraping by, chewing on grass porridge!”
The performance of the man called Kang Hyungwook was particularly outstanding.
“They must be filling their starving bellies with a naturalist diet. Slurp! Slurp!”
In the end, the man who had caused the incident couldn’t utter another word and retreated from the platform. It was just a changing of the guard, but his retreat seemed to speak volumes about the current state of their front line.
The next speaker, who came up very calmly, began to speak as if nothing had happened. But he was the same. The problem was that his nutritional state didn’t look very good. I had expected it to be bad, but I hadn’t realized the Green Skins had been tormenting the Westerners to this extent.
“The Queen of the East, Garia, and the leader of the Green Skins, Blood Dagger…”
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
“…have committed an unforgivable sin…”
“This brisket just melts in your mouth! Ahhh…”
“Our demands are simple…”
“It’s meeeelting in my mouth! Slurp! Slurp!”
He wasn’t even dignifying their absurd logic with a response. It wasn’t worth responding to in the first place. It would be more accurate to say he had never intended to pay any attention to their words. The answer to their passionate oration was, simply, brisket.
They were the ones getting angry; we were the only ones having fun.
In fact, I couldn’t resist either and had already started a grill with Jang Ye Ri and Han So-Hye, so I couldn’t even begin to imagine how they must be feeling. As this simple act drew such a huge response, Jang Ye Ri spoke up, curious.
“How did you know their supply situation was so poor?”
“Well, it was a bit obvious, but I could roughly see it. Didn’t I tell you?”
“You mean your eyes that can read emotions, albeit slightly?”
When I nodded, it was Han So-Hye who quickly averted her gaze. Come to think of it, I had never told her. Seeing her hastily bow her head, as if thinking I was reading her emotions, I quickly added.
“I can’t read everything.”
“I-I see.”
The sight of Han So-Hye letting out a sigh of relief was almost pitiable. Though she was flustered, I thought this time would be enjoyable enough for them as well. I could tell just by the way they were focusing mana into their eyes to check the faces of the enemy soldiers.
Slurp! Slurp! Slurp! Slurp!
He didn’t answer their bullshit. The job Han So-Hye and Jang Ye Ri had intended to do was being handled more brilliantly by him than anyone else. But that wasn’t the only thing I expected from Lee Wanyong.
“Our continent is always o-open. If there are any among you who believe your current path is wrong, we ask that you c-cross the walls and come to the Western Continent at any time.”
Just as the trembling voice, whether from anger or panic, finished speaking, Lee Wanyong, smacking his lips, opened his mouth again.
Slurp! Slurp! “I keep hearing a dog barking, so I can’t just ignore it. Hey, you crazy bastards! Who in their right mind would cross over to an alliance that can’t even feed its soldiers meat before they head into battle? If you were here right now, tearing into this brisket with us, would you want to cross over to the Western Continent to eat grass porridge? Are you out of your goddamn mind?! Puhahahahahahaha!”
I could only think of it as a heavy dose of truth.