Chapter 93

Aiomede's paladins were strict with themselves. They had excellent equipment, but when they were on the move in the wild, they kept everything else very simple. As Zhao Mai watched, they dismissed their mounts, sending them back to the heavens to save on feed. Then, they took out dry rations from their backpacks.

The rations were hard biscuits made from a mix of barley flour, wheat flour, and oatmeal, baked with hops and dandelions. The side dish was yogurt soaked in strong barley wine. As a normal man from a great culinary empire, Zhao Mai found it impossible to watch a group of beautiful girls gnaw on dry biscuits without doing anything. He sighed and stopped this heart-wrenching scene.

"Let me cook something for you, sigh..."

What could Zhao Mai come up with? Even the most skilled cook would struggle without ingredients, but he still had instant noodles from home. As a solitary otaku, he naturally mastered various methods of preparing instant noodles. However, cooking for six people at once, he didn't have a pot big enough.

"Hayou, can I borrow your helmets?"

The paladins, all wealthy enough to afford full plate armor, had intricately crafted helmets that were deep and pointed, with no hollows, making them perfect for use as pots—Elven artistic hollow styles wouldn't work, and Dwarven helmets were too thick and difficult to heat. Zhao Mai roughly estimated that four helmets would be enough to cook for six people, solving both the pot and bowl problems.

Using the Water Creation spell, he summoned the natural forces to condense water from the humid air. The area was near a swamp and a forest, so the air was moist, and Zhao Mai easily gathered enough water to clean the "helmets" and then boil it. Under the watchful eyes of the paladins, Zhao Mai opened the instant noodles and threw them in. He had already decided that instant noodles, while long-lasting and tasty, took up more space for their weight, making them impractical to carry. It was better to use this opportunity to win their favor.

Adding the seasoning packets, the aroma soon filled the air. Compared to the cooking habits of Golarion, the rich seasonings in the instant noodles were something the paladins had never seen. Aiomede, being the highest-born among them, with a powerful wizard for a father, was no stranger to rare items. But the instant noodles still surprised her, making her appetite grow uncontrollably.

Especially in the aroma, there was a faint herbal scent and a subtle alchemical aroma, which reminded Hayou of her father. He always had that peculiar, slightly stimulating smell of spell components. Combined with the sickly damp heat from her mother, this was Hayou's entire olfactory memory of home.

"Unfortunately, we don't have any eggs, so I can only add some ham slices." Zhao Mai used a knife to slice the smoked ham thinly and threw it in as the water boiled. "It'll be ready in two minutes, and everyone can eat."

Just as he finished speaking, a twisted and ugly arrow landed in the middle of the stove, followed by the sound of a charge from the forest. "Who was negligent and didn't keep watch?!" Hayou shouted angrily, raising her holy symbol and chanting, "The Goddess of Successors shows her power, protecting the weak from evil!"

A beam of light from the holy symbol enveloped Zhao Mai. Combined with the previous incantation, Zhao Mai knew this was a "Protect Others" spell. If Zhao Mai were to be injured, half of the damage would be transferred to Hayou. However, this spell required the caster and the recipient to wear matching platinum rings, often jokingly called the "I'll protect you, my wife" spell. So Zhao Mai couldn't help but wonder, "Where are the rings?"

Hayou's reaction was swift, and the others were not far behind. Years of training made them immediately stand up, draw their weapons, and cast spells. The Blessing spell immediately brought everyone to their peak physical state, while the Detect Evil spell reported the number and general direction of the enemies. One paladin cast Light on a spear, and her companion threw it back along the trajectory of the enemy's arrow, providing illumination for the group.

Meanwhile, about fifteen goblins, wielding axes and scimitars, trampled through the leaves and twigs, charging at the female knights. This was likely a raiding party, all wearing armor, indicating they were "profitable warriors." The leader, wearing a clearly ill-fitting chainmail, held a heavy dwarven axe and shouted fiercely. Zhao Mai smiled; the dwarven heavy axe was thick, short, and heavy, with a high density. Dwarves liked to fill them with lead to increase their weight, making them particularly powerful for chopping. Without the dwarven low center of gravity, using such a weapon was quite difficult.

"Protect our food, and do not let the goblins get close or destroy it!" Hayou shouted, taking her shield and forcefully planting it in the ground. They all had standardized shields, curved at the top and sharply pointed at the bottom, resembling inverted teardrop-shaped cavalry shields. The female paladins worked in perfect harmony, planting their shields in the ground to form a wall around the four pots of instant noodles.

"I will lead the charge!" a black-haired paladin said, "I will wash away the stain of my negligence in not keeping watch!"

"Lead the charge, and your dinner will be halved!" Hayou was merciless.

All the paladins' expressions changed, realizing that their battle performance was tied to the amount of dinner they would receive! The growling stomachs and the fragrant aroma of the food were more motivating than the most rousing war drums. Though none of them were barbarians, their eyes reddened, showing that rage was a matter of mood, not class.

Zhao Mai received special treatment, enjoying the same privilege as the instant noodles, which was to squat behind the shield wall. He quickly assessed the situation and knew that the paladins' victory was obvious. To prevent the enemies from escaping and to avoid being harassed during their meal, he cast the Entangle spell, kindly blocking the goblins' retreat. The forest environment enhanced the spell's effect, with the twisting branches and thorns clearly emitting a "trouble ahead" vibe.

"Reserve rations, defend, and be on alert." Zhao Mai gave the order, squatting behind the shields and vigilantly watching another direction to prevent more goblins from flanking them. The paladins had also considered this, forming a two-layer charge formation of three and two, with one left as a reserve, while continuously using Detect Evil to monitor the battlefield.

Even if the situation worsened, the paladins could heal and protect each other, and their martial skills were formidable. As long as the command structure didn't collapse or they didn't encounter a powerful and cunning spellcaster, Zhao Mai couldn't imagine them losing to these goblins.

To eat the noodles, using hands and knives was definitely out of the question. He wondered if they had brought forks. Zhao Mai thought for a moment, then looked for long, thin branches, considering whether he could teach them how to use chopsticks.

That would definitely be more fun than fighting goblins.

...

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