Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 340 I Made a Deal with the Devil

Although he had a premonition, Ethan still felt complicated when he saw the ranch that "Red Eyes" had mentioned. The two stood on a small hill not far from the village, looking down at the people patrolling under the eerie green light. The only reason they could still exist here was that they could provide a stable supply of meat for the ghouls living in Mirror Furnace City.

The fog makes it impossible for the people living here to distinguish between day and night, but each of them still holds a belief in their hearts—that one day, Van Fleet will find a way out of this hellish place and lead them back to Darkhearth.

This became the spiritual pillar for each of them.

The reason they trusted Van Fleet so much was his extensive knowledge as a witcher; he had single-handedly built the village and set up a defensive line around it to protect it from ghouls.

"The number of humans who come here is limited. Mother thinks that instead of eating them all at once, it would be better to drive them to a fixed place and let them reproduce there."

The young man with red eyes was filled with pride. "It's just like herding sheep. We are all shepherds."

At first, there were not many lambs in the sheepfold. But through their long efforts, the number of sheep in the sheepfold grew. The people who suffered here fell in love and married, and the children born here became a source of high-quality food for them.

The young "red-eyed" man was named Peter, a name all too common in the Empire.

This was the name his mother gave him. His memories of his human past had long since become blurred, but that no longer mattered. He now had more family, living with his close brothers and sisters, and now they had welcomed a true gourmet.

“Mr. Ethan, I would like you to stay here and help us improve our flock.”

They had enough lambs, but it was still far from the "superior quality" that Ethan had described at the banquet.

"What are you doing here?"

The voice from the mist was panicked. Ethan saw the Witcher Van Fleet again. This time he was alone, still wearing a dark cloak, holding a light crossbow. He was no longer as composed as before. When he saw Peter, he finally dared not point the crossbow at the red-eyed ghoul's forehead.

Ethan understood everything.

This includes the story VanVleet previously mentioned about being saved by "red eyes".

He subtly instilled certain ideas in the villagers, making them believe that the "red-eyed" creatures were harmless, and that as long as they did not provoke them or invade their territory, the high-ranking ghouls deep in the mist would not cause them trouble.

The eerie green lantern at the village entrance was unimportant from the moment it was turned on, which explains why Ethan couldn't think of any spell to make the ghouls leave the village when he entered.

The key point is his agreement with the "red-eyed" people.

As long as he can keep an eye on the sheep in the "sheepfold" and regularly deliver the agreed-upon food to the "red-eyed" people in Mirror City, the two sides can continue to maintain a false peace.

Van Fleet stared intently at Ethan, his gaze incredibly complex.

All the lies were exposed at this moment, and his image as a witcher and leader crumbled. He could no longer face the outsider who had recently left the village—he had sincerely invited Ethan to stay in this safe sheepfold and become a docile sheep.

But he had no time to talk to Ethan now; "Red Eyes" usually only appeared near the village for one purpose.

"I've already met my quota for this month!"

He reminded Peter.

He was referring, of course, to the five people who were nearly eaten at the banquet.

The method of paying tribute is simple: he will tamper with the list of patrol routes, causing the tributes to stray from the normal patrol paths. In such foggy weather, even people who have lived here for a long time can easily get lost, and these lost sheep will wander into the territory of the "Red Eyes".

The disappearance of a few people every now and then wouldn't arouse suspicion in the villagers. After all, everyone knew that this was ghoul territory. Perhaps they encountered attacks from low-level ghouls during their patrols, or perhaps they deviated from the planned route—in order to continue living, the villagers wouldn't bother with such unpleasant things.

When people gather together to remember the dead, and then have a good night's sleep, they can forget all the messed-up things.

"You have no right to tell us what to do."

Peter was a head shorter than Van Fleet, but he didn't take the experienced witcher seriously at all.

"Is it to welcome fresh blood..." Van Fleet clenched his fist. "How many more people do you need?"

"We're just here to take a look."

Peter waved his hand impatiently, "We'll let you know when we've made a decision."

The sound of patrolmen's footsteps echoed through the mist. Van Fleet's expression was uncertain, but in the end he did nothing. He responded to the call from the depths of the mist while facing the approaching patrolmen. They needed to pretend nothing had happened and conceal the fact that "Red Eyes" had been there.

"what do you think?"

After Van Fleet left, Peter couldn't wait to ask Ethan for his opinion.

"It's worse than I imagined."

Ethan shook his head. “On our ranch, we not only carefully select the sources of our ingredients and provide them with a comfortable and fertile growing environment to ensure they don’t carry any diseases—that’s just the first step. After that, we’ll customize their living environment in advance according to the menu. But as I said before, maintaining a cheerful mood is the secret.” “A cheerful mood?”

Peter was filled with awe. He marveled at Ethan, who truly lived up to his reputation as a ghoul from the capital. Compared to a true culinary empire, their proud ranch was utterly insignificant.

"These people? You don't even need to taste them to know their flesh is bitter."

“It’s absolutely true, Mr. Ethan!”

Peter exclaimed excitedly, "I've been telling them all along that these taste weird!"

This was, of course, a lie. He had never said that. Before Ethan arrived, Peter had always thought that indulging in the pleasure of eating living people was the most luxurious enjoyment in the world. He was the youngest of his siblings, and his older brothers and sisters would always give way to him when they ate, leaving the youngest food for him.

But now that Mr. Ethan has spoken, it's bound to be bitter for these people.

Because Mr. Ethan is a true gourmet, and also his current idol.

Peter was captivated by Ethan's narration in the banquet hall. Eating was no longer a ghoul's instinct for him, but an art. Peter could easily imagine Ethan methodically handling each ingredient, just like a musician in an orchestra playing a mesmerizing symphony with the sounds of knives, spatulas, and hot oil.

How can I become like you?

Peter tilted his head back, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Child, this wasn't easy. Do you know how many years it took us to build our culinary empire?"

Ethan adopted a nostalgic look, and seeing Peter shake his head, he continued, "Twelve years! Twelve years ago, when I came to the capital with my first pot of gold earned from doing business, ghouls were still rats in the gutter. Once your identity was exposed, those insatiable followers of the Goddess of Life, like jackals, would break into your home and steal your money."

"How despicable!"

Peter shared the same hatred for the enemy, and he had also heard his mother talk about the church. Their mother had fled to Darkhearth under the persecution of the church.

With the blessing of the evil god, they gained power here that could rival the goddess of life.

In their territory, there is a rule: followers of the Goddess of Life have no right to live. Every second they exist is a desecration of this land. They will not devour those followers, but when Van Fleet delivers those followers to them, they will treat them with the most severe torture.

Death will become a long torment, which may last for days and nights.

They have enough time here to not miss a single scream from the victim.

"This is a long story, it could take three days and three nights to tell. All you need to know is that in today's capital, not only can ghouls live a glamorous life, but our gourmet club also has vampires. They have almost demanding requirements for the taste of blood. The club provides seasoning chefs for senior members, who start preparing the ingredients a week before the blood is drawn. As for werewolves, they especially like hearts, and they only eat meat products that are medium-rare."

At this point, Ethan glanced at the village. "So, back to your question, what you need isn't just a ranch; you need more specialized talent—nutritionists, seasoning specialists, chefs—only with the combined efforts of these people can you cook truly delicious food."

"Are you saying... our ranch will never meet your standards?"

This left Peter feeling extremely frustrated, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"I'm afraid so, but child, you can look at this from a different perspective."

Ethan coaxed, "As long as you leave here and come back to the capital with me, you can taste the most exquisite cuisine. As long as you can convince your mother and other siblings to join the food club, it won't be difficult for me."

"Really?"

Peter's eyes lit up.

He could almost picture himself dressed in an evening gown, sitting in the upscale restaurant Ethan had described, waiting for the waiters to bring the real delicacies to his table.

He didn't want to wait a single moment longer.

“But your mother looks like a traditional ghoul, and seems to have some prejudice against me.”

"I'll help!"

Peter quickly replied, "My mother loves me very much, I'm sure I can find a way to persuade her!"

He was convinced of this; the world Ethan described was nothing short of paradise to them.

No one would refuse to live in heaven.

Unless they're stupid.

(End of this chapter)