Chapter 27: The Challenging Food Quest
Chapter 27: The Challenging Food Quest
September 25, 2017
The only places nearby where Lu Hai Kong and his gang can grind are the Refugee Camp and the Bandit Camp. Engaging with the Bandit Camp is out of the question for now, and the Refugee Camp has been nearly emptied.
Lu Hai Kong now faces a predicament with a severe lack of monsters to fight.
From a developmental perspective, this situation doesn't significantly impact Lu Hai Kong. After all, he already has enough funds to feed his men. The Refugee Camp will respawn in half a month, providing Lu Hai Kong with another substantial income.
Although the earnings are not substantial, they only need to grind once. Lu Hai Kong's finances will be sufficient to start tackling the Bandit Camp.
Furthermore, an essential point to consider is that even without monsters to fight, Lu Hai Kong and his gang's strength will continue to improve.
While the Dynasty members don't gain skill proficiency as quickly without monster-slaying, it's only slightly slower. In ten days to half a month, gaining a level or two is manageable. Moreover, the first batch of eight Bandit Infantry under Lu Hai Kong's command is almost at level 4. In half a month, Lu Hai Kong can raise their primary skills to level 5, significantly boosting his gang's overall strength.
Lu Hai Kong's two primary skills, Basic Internal Power, are already at level 3, and Basic Axe Technique is at level 7. Given his progress, it will take less than ten days for Lu Hai Kong to advance these skills to levels 5 and 10, respectively, if he focuses.
This will lead to a significant improvement in Lu Hai Kong's strength and may even unlock his Strength attribute.
With this in mind, it's possible that in half a month, Lu Hai Kong and his gang might be ready to take on the Bandit Camp.
Despite their promising future, Lu Hai Kong faces an immediate challenge: a quest involving a food crisis in a nearby bandit camp.
The quest has a time limit of half a month, and half the time has already passed. Lu Hai Kong has only managed to gather over ten thousand units of food, leaving a deficit of over eighty thousand pounds to fill.
Where can Lu Hai Kong find eighty thousand pounds of food? Even if he could conquer a Bandit Camp now, it might not yield more than twenty or thirty thousand pounds of food.
It seems that completing this quest is nearly impossible for Lu Hai Kong. It might be better to give up since there's no penalty for failing. Instead of wasting time on a futile task, it's better to focus on improving our strength."
This is a reasonable approach, but the quest's reward tempts Lu Hai Kong. The Ornate Battle Axe isn't the main attraction; it's the skill book, Barbaric Strength, which enhances physical attributes like Strength and Constitution.
This type of skill book is incredibly valuable to Lu Hai Kong, who primarily wields an axe. The advantage of using an axe is its immense power and destructive force. In combat, a single axe swing can often finish the job, making it appear stylish and powerful.
However, those who use axes know that this weapon can be exhausting. The more powerful the attack, the more stamina it consumes. Even a mighty warrior like Cheng Yaojin from Heroes of the Sui and Tang Dynasty, known for his 'Three Cuts' nickname, struggles to maintain peak attack power after three swings.
Lu Hai Kong was beginning to feel his strength waning. In prolonged battles, his combat power was now less than half of what it was at his peak, so he desperately wanted to acquire the manual, Barbarian Bull Power. However, given the current situation, the manual seemed to be slipping further and further away from his grasp.
Lu Hai Kong was deeply frustrated by this, but after pondering for a long time in the bandit camp's mess hall, he couldn't come up with any solutions.
"Hey, what's wrong? I've been calling you for ages," Wang Fatzi said, placing his plump hand on Lu Hai Kong's shoulder. He almost slapped Lu Hai Kong into the table but also snapped him out of his deep thoughts.
Lu Hai Kong rubbed his forehead, which was red from hitting the table, and said angrily, "Can't you greet me in a different way? Don't you know that hurts?"
"I've been calling you for ages, and you're ignoring me. Here, have some chicken soup I just made," Wang Fatzi said, knowing exactly how to handle Lu Hai Kong, the foodie. He casually pushed a bowl of fragrant chicken soup towards Lu Hai Kong. The foodie, who had been grumpy moments ago, instantly calmed down.
Taking the soup, the foodie first sipped it, a happy smile appearing on his face. "Delicious! This is the first time I've tasted your chicken soup. It's so good."
As if remembering something, the foodie tightly hugged the soup and looked at Wang Fatzi suspiciously.
"I thought you said all the food in the mess hall had to be paid for. If you don't pay, you don't cook. What's with this bowl of soup, then?"
Wang Fatzi looked at the foodie with a pained expression, thinking, 'Is there poison in the soup?' The foodie held the bowl tightly, not letting go. With a sigh, Wang Fatzi glanced at him.
"It's customized by Old Man Wang. I kept a bowl for you," Wang Fatzi explained.
"Hmph, so you're not a proper chef either. You secretly kept a customer's dish," Lu Hai Kong scoffed.
"I won't drink it then!"
Lu Hai Kong clutched the soup bowl, not letting go. He carefully savored it as if it were a fine aged wine.
Seeing the foodie's reaction, Wang Fatzi felt a sense of accomplishment. After all, as a chef, having someone enjoy his cooking this much was a validation of his culinary skills.
"Come on, you look so worried. Did you run into some trouble?" Wang Fatzi asked casually as he sat down.
In the 16-9 book, there's not a single mistake!
Lu Hai Kong was particularly relaxed while eating, with no signs of vigilance. He shared his task-related woes with Wang Fatzi while enjoying the food.
After listening, Wang Fatzi casually replied, "Oh, that's the issue?"
"What do you mean, 'that's the issue'? It's a difficult task. Half the time has passed, and I still need over 80,000 jin of food. It's basically impossible for me to complete it," Lu Hai Kong said, taking a sip and giving Wang Fatzi a sideways glance.
"Why? It's just 80,000 jin of food, right? Can't you just buy it in the county town?" Wang Fatzi asked, puzzled.
"The county town? Is that somewhere I can go?"
"Why can't you go? Are you wanted for something?" Wang Fatzi inquired further.
"No, but I'm an outsider bandit. Going into the county town would be like sending a sheep into a tiger's den," Lu Hai Kong explained.
Wang Fatzi smiled, "If you don't tell me, how would I know you're a bandit?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Hai Kong was stunned.
(End of Chapter)
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