“I’ll go pick some wild fruits.” Evan jumped down from the carriage and rushed into the forest, quickly disappearing from view. He clearly didn’t want to taste Mag’s cooking, either. Furthermore, the glance that Mag had directed at him earlier had struck him with an indescribable sense of fear, making him want to get away from Mag.

  Mag didn’t object to it. He didn’t want to cook for them anyway, so this was ideal.

  After draining the cow of blood, a thought suddenly occurred to Mag. He turned to Sam, and said, “Mr. Sam, you seem to be very familiar with this area; would you be able to get me a bamboo stalk? I want to make some skewers for beef kebabs.”


  “Sure, I’ll get one for you right away.” Sam nodded before turning to climb up the nearby mountain.

  “Beef kebabs? Mr. Mag, beef should be eaten in large mouthfuls. Making it into kebabs will take away from the effect, won’t it?” Dennis was a little concerned.

  “Don’t worry, there’ll be enough kebabs for everyone. This cow definitely has enough beef to go around.” Mag smiled as he began to dissect the cow. His blade glided through its flesh, not coming into contact with its bones at any point in time. His motions were smooth, efficient, and elegant, putting on a brilliant display of mastery.

  Those are some really impressive knife skills. It must have taken him many years to get to that level. Sivir was full of praise at the sight of Mag’s blade proficiency. Her eyes glazed over slightly as she looked at Mag’s expression of rapt focus and concentration. She couldn’t help but be reminded of someone else when she looked at Mag.

  The surrounding mercenaries also wore expressions of praise and amazement. Perhaps Mag wouldn’t be able to beat them in a fight, but his expert bladesmanship and control were exemplary.

  “Father, can I also have a lot of kebabs?” Amy asked expectantly.

  “Yes, you can have as many as you want.” Mag nodded with a doting expression.

  After dissecting the cow, Mag made a rough estimate of everyone’s capacity for food. Aside from the rib-eye beef, he also sliced off another two large slabs of tenderloin beef before washing it all in the stream. He then began to pull out all types of condiments from his backpack, and there was even a foldable kebab oven in there.

  This was something that Mag had purchased after extensive bartering. He could find ingredients for roast meat in the wilderness, but he had to prepare his own oven, which had to live up to his standards. Otherwise, a lack of proper cooking utensils could ruin the dish.

  “Mr. Mag, all other mercenaries pack as little as possible and only carry the bare essentials with them, but you…… you’re carrying a kitchen with you!” Dennis looked at Mag with a peculiar expression.

  “Well, I have my daughter with me, so I’ll naturally have to prepare some more things,” Mag replied in a justified manner. He poured a cup of water for Amy from a water jug before feeding Ugly Duckling some water from the stream. Then, he pulled out a large paper bag to marinate the beef in.

  “You sure are a good father, Mr. Mag. My son is about the same age as your daughter, and he’s constantly nagging me to take him into the wilderness, but I’ve never taken him even once.” Scott sighed with emotion.

  “He’ll know what you’re a good father when he grows up, Mr. Scott.” Mag turned to Scott with a smile. After all, not everyone had a 4th-tier magic caster as a child. As such, taking them into the wilderness would incur a massive risk.

  “I hope so.” A smile also appeared on Scott’s face.

  Mag began to prepare the beef in what was clearly a thoroughly rehearsed process. All of the mercenaries sat on the ground and chatted among themselves while looking at Mag with surprised expressions. They had never seen anyone prepare roast meat in the wilderness, and the complexity of the process came as a shock to them.

  After all, if they wanted to roast meat, they would simply brush some oil over it before placing it over a fire. Right before the meat was fully cooked, they’d sprinkle a pinch of salt over it, and that would be the extent of the condiments applied. Sometimes, the meat was tasty, and other times, it would be overcooked. However, the flavor wasn’t really important to them. In the wilderness, safety and sustenance were the key considerations.

  If they made such extensive preparations as Mag did every time they wanted to have a meal, they wouldn’t have any time to do their missions. However, they had never been treated to a meal cooked by a professional chef in the wilderness, so all of them were thoroughly looking forward to it.

  Sam quickly returned with a green bamboo stalk. Under Mag’s instructions, he chopped the stalk into skewers, and skewered the marinated beef and Purple Golden Mink meat. The remaining wood was thrown into the fire, while a makeshift roasting frame was constructed from rocks.

  The mercenaries had all stopped talking, and their eyes were fixed on Mag. Watching him cook was like watching a spectacular performance; each and every step was a brilliant spectacle. They didn’t understand why a simple roast meat dish required so many complex procedures, but they were all looking forward to the end product.

  He’s just showing off; there’s no way the kebabs would be any good. Eva washed down a mouthful of coarse cornbread with some water as she glowered at Mag from the carriage.

  Evan returned to the carriage with a few mandarins in his hands, two of which he passed to Eva with a smile as he said, “Have some mandarins, Eva; I just picked them.”


  “Thank you, Master Evan.” Eva accepted the mandarins with a joyful expression, and cradled them carefully to her chest as if she had received a pair of precious treasures.

  “You’re welcome.” A hint of disgust flashed through Evan’s eyes, but he still maintained his smile. However, his brows furrowed as he caught sight of Mag, who was being surrounded by his intrigued fellow mercenaries. His gaze fell on Sivir, and veins began to bulge on his forehead as he slowly clenched his fists.

  Everything was prepared. Mag tested the temperature of the flames with his hand before placing a bunch of kebabs over the roasting frame.

  The beef began to sizzle over the red-hot flames, and its surface quickly began to change color. Oil began to bubble and fizz as the delicious aroma of beef wafted through the air.

  The mercenaries’ eyes lit up as they caught a whiff of that scent, and they couldn’t help but inhale deeply to capture more of the aroma.

  Mag was tending to over 20 kebabs at once, but his motions were still calm and unhurried. When the kebabs were cooked to about medium-well, he began to apply the sauces that he had mixed in advance over their surface.

  The sauce made the aroma of the beef even more alluring as the kebabs were placed back over the fire.

  “That smells so good!” Dennis was staring at the kebabs with incredulity in his eyes.

  “What an alluring smell! How can roast beef smell like this?” An entranced expression appeared on Sivir’s face.

  “This aroma…… How is this possible?!” Evan and Eva were also stunned as they looked at Mag’s kebabs.