What's wrong with me, a mage, loving to farm?

Chapter 168. Salt-grilled meat, flowing with honey and milk...

To get the priest to hand over the replica of the Salt Stake, the angel specifically told Chloe a name—

Northampton.

He said, “The world that was once destroyed by salt was called this. Lucky friend, just tell him, and he will surely be willing to cooperate with you.”

"You have many secrets," Chloe said, staring at the angel.

Although the latter appeared calm on the surface when faced with his gaze, he was actually a little nervous inside.

Even a mage who cultivates the "Poem of the Primordial Origin" would have his emotional fluctuations detected if he wasn't careful.

Fortunately, Kroya didn't delve deeper into this issue, but instead raised another question—

"Is this snowstorm related to the merfolk?"

"I recently bought a magical plant called the Glazed Ice Lotus. Are there really other worlds besides this one?"

The angel breathed a slight sigh of relief and replied, "Yes, this snowstorm is related to the mermaids; it's an ancient ritual."

Legend has it that when the snow melts, the warmth from the entire ocean will converge on the mermaid kingdom, at which time the moon goddess will shower down her light and bestow blessings upon the new mermaids.

Kroa: "..."

"So this massive blizzard was all just to allow the baby mermaid to be born? Are the mermaid race really that crazy?"

He truly couldn't imagine such a grand scene, with snow and wind enveloping the entire northern border of the Kingdom of Norland and vast sea areas, all for a birth ceremony.

Won't the Buddhist Association and the church take action?

The angel sighed softly, his voice short and filled with pity: "Lucky friend, I must tell you... the merfolk once had a very glorious past."

Even though they are now confined to this sea area due to the decline of their descendants, it is far from something that the mage association and church of this world can easily stop.

You don't need to feel guilty. Even if you don't provide them with Mercury Essence, they'll find other ways... and that might be even more troublesome.

Actually, I don't feel really guilty. Heaven knows they would do something like this.

Kroa nodded slightly, signaling the angel to continue.

"As for the other worlds you mentioned... of course they exist, and there are many, many of them. Even mages who can travel through the astral plane would find it difficult to reach the end of the world in their entire lives."

"In this boundless world, there are also certain forces, and the Holy Spring Merchant Guild, from which you purchased your items, is one of them."

"Their power spreads throughout countless worlds, and the power of the Holy Spring also leaves its mark on countless worlds in this way, and also intersects with various races."

However, this does not include the merfolk. They had some conflicts with the Holy Spring Merchant Guild in the past, so the Holy Spring Merchant Guild's rule is not to trade with the merfolk.

After the angel's explanation, Kroya finally confirmed what he had long suspected—the Holy Spring Merchant Guild was indeed a powerful force outside the plane, and the mermaids could not purchase Water Essence from them.

He had suspected from the beginning why the mermaids didn't buy Water Essence from the Holy Spring Merchant Guild. Logically, the mermaids should know about the Holy Spring Merchant Guild.

If the Shengquan Chamber of Commerce can buy things at clearly marked prices, then they should also be able to sell them at clearly marked prices.

It turns out there was a conflict between the two.

But to have such a dirty trick on merchants like the Holy Spring Merchant Guild... what exactly did the merfolk do?

Merchants are driven by profit; they can ignore most things if they can make money. It's hard to imagine a merchant guild that spans many dimensions not interacting with a single race.

The angel saw the confusion and contemplation on Chloe's face, and to prevent Chloe from asking any more questions, He spoke:

"Lucky friend, I will tell you how to use the Salt Stake and some information about the Gluttonous Paradise... After that, I will continue to sleep. Please use Gopher Wood to help me manage my magic every seven days."

I will wake up when the snow stops and reopen the Ark Garden for you.

He gently leaned closer to Chloe and placed a warm kiss on her forehead.

Just as He was about to fly backward, Kroa suddenly asked a question that made Him stop.

Are you male or female?

To be honest, this question has been bothering him for a long time. Although the book says that angels have no concept of gender, maybe this guy is a little special?

The returning angel showed a clear look of confusion and replied rather strangely, "My friend, you can choose whether I am male or female."

"If you wish, I can use the power of the rings to create any shape you need."

"You can request whatever your body type is, even if you're not human. The body structure will be exactly the same as the real thing."

Please don't be shy; this was a service even the gods appreciated on the original Ark.

"..."

Now it was Chloe's turn to be unable to answer.

You, aren't you an angel? How can you describe something like this in such a pure and ethereal way?

He could only watch the angel leave, shaking his head and chuckling to himself.

But no one saw the fleeting smile on the angel's face after he turned around.

Yes, life forms like mushrooms and angels probably don't even have the concept of "gender," so he was overthinking it.

Now, let's try to trick the priest into coming over.

He covered Jit's cage with a cloth and then invited the priest through the mushroom man.

……

The priest had been waiting for Chloe to summon him, and upon hearing Chloe's invitation to enter the castle, he rushed in without hesitation.

He was as unconventional as ever this time.

Upon meeting Kroya, he immediately asked, "Mage Kroya, in your territory... are there any special church creations?"

His tone was so excited that he completely ignored the chaotic atmosphere emanating from the portal not far away.

The monk glanced at him and casually said, "Northampriya."

"!!!"

The priest's pupils dilated instantly.

How do you know this name? He wanted to ask, but he held back.

He took several deep breaths to calm himself down, then pressed his fingers to his chest, near his heart: "Honorable mage, I am Kevin Ragnarok of the Salt Knights."

A salute to you, a legend who knows the past.

"I will provide whatever you need, and will contact my colleagues in the Knights when necessary."

"Give me the Salt Stake, I have a use for it." Kroya didn't say much more, because he really didn't know anything more.

If I say a few more words, I'll be exposed.

"Yes."

Father Kevin took a small wooden box, about ten centimeters long, from his inner pocket and respectfully handed it to Chloe.

The wooden box had very distinctive emblems on it.

It appears to be a hand holding a strange holy grail, with slender fingers, clearly a woman's hand.

"Seal it." Following the method taught by the angels, Kroya gathered a point of holy magic at his fingertips, turning it into liquid, and slowly dripped it onto the emblem.

The Holy Grail in the emblem immediately filled with water.

Then, the wooden box opened silently by itself.

Inside lay a white object, about three centimeters long, very rough, like a wooden wedge, with very coarse granular salt on its surface.

It looks like some kind of crude alchemical creation.

This is the Salt Stake.

Don't let its unassuming appearance fool you; if it pierces into any object, it can rapidly salt it. Unless it's high-level divine or legendary magic, there's no way to reverse the damage.

And this is just the power of counterfeits.

The knowledge the angel gave him described... that if it is the genuine Salt Stake, even the gods cannot resist it in the slightest.

It is the greatest masterpiece of the goddess of life, the ultimate alchemical creation capable of transforming all life and matter into the concept of "salt".

To be honest, this thing is definitely a trump card in hand, but unfortunately, what Kroya is going to do is a little strange.

He simply stretched out his finger and gently touched the salt pile.

Divine power flowed into the salt pillar like silk threads, then was quickly salted, turning into pure white salt crystals that scattered down in a soft patter.

This was a method the angels taught him: to draw upon some of the power of the Salt Stakes without compromising the structure of the Salt Stakes alchemy formula.

This method requires a very high level of magical control, as well as divine magical power bestowed by Him. It is estimated that only Kroa can combine both of these.

Kroya collected the salt crystals and examined them closely in his hand—the crystals, salted by divine power, had a pure scent.

Then, he picked up the salt and gently sprinkled it onto the shredded pork chop grass next to him, just like salting a barbecue. The salt immediately absorbed into the shredded pork chop grass after it came into contact with it.

Their power quickly dispelled the magic of the gluttonous demon within the meatgrass.

Without the gluttonous magic, this peculiar meat-steak grass is actually edible, but Kroya didn't try it herself to prevent any problems.

He took out chili powder and other spices, sprinkled some directly on the pork chop grass, and then roasted it over a flame.

"Sizzle!"

The pork chop grass started to ooze oil.

The grease dripped into the flames below, causing them to burst into even more intense flames, with crimson tongues licking the meat-filled grass.

Soon, the meat-filled grass emitted an indescribable aroma, an aroma that was truly tempting, more so than any roasted meat that Kroa had ever smelled.

Here, you can try some.

After baking, Chloe casually handed it to Father Kevin.

After a brief hesitation, the latter licked his lips: "Thank you, great mage!"

He was indeed a little hungry.

These past few days, although there has been food in the Greedy Castle, it's only enough to fill one's stomach. Now, smelling this aroma, I really can't resist it.

He took it and took a small bite. The fresh juice burst into his mouth. The meat was extremely tender, and the perfect amount of chili powder added a touch of divine power.

One bite, and the satisfying feeling of eating meat was intoxicating.

It's so delicious that you can't stop eating.

In just a few bites, he had eaten all but a root of the meat-cutting grass. When he tried to take another bite, the remaining little bit of root nimbly darted away.

It ran to Chloe's side and hid in Chloe's shadow.

"It tastes pretty good, doesn't it?" Kroya glanced at the root and smiled slightly. "With sacred salt as a seasoning, do you feel any changes in your body?"

"Changes?" Father Kevin sensed it carefully and found that the power seemed to have penetrated into his body, and his power and flesh had become very "clean".

That's right, it's clean.

He actually knew about the power of the Salt Stakes.

Salt can wash away all sins and filth, but no one has ever dared to experiment on themselves with it—the salt sold by the church is fundamentally different from the salt from the Salt Pile.

To be able to use the power of the salt stake in this way...

Father Kevin immediately became even more respectful to Chloe.

"I need your help with some things next," Kroya said bluntly, pointing to the doorway beside him.

"I can hold it up for about ten more minutes. Could you go in and find something for me? Anything is fine, just bring it back."

He needs to find out what other special species are inside.

Only after figuring out exactly what's involved can we consider land acquisition, as well as breeding and planting.

After Kroya said that, Kevin finally noticed the lower plane gate standing to the side, and his expression became even more excited.

It's a demon! The aura of a demon!

You should know that the Knights' promotion depends entirely on the number of demons they kill. He had always been troubled by not having enough demons to kill, but now he actually saw a portal to a lower plane!

"Okay, I'll go right away."

The priest took out an exquisite crossbow engraved with sacred runes from his personal spatial artifact, and also a scepter inlaid with heavy holy scriptures.

Holding the two items, he eagerly stepped through the portal and walked across the ground that looked as if it had been scorched by flames.

However, despite his high level of vigilance, he didn't sense any demonic aura at all. Instead, he smelled some strange roasted meat and a sweet, cake-like aroma.

"Is this a lower plane?"

The priest became increasingly puzzled, feeling that there was a reason for all this strangeness, so he became even more cautious.

They walked forward cautiously, step by step.

Soon, he heard the "splashing" sound of the river.

"There's water. Could this be Leviathan's territory?" He continued walking forward, but when the river appeared before him, he was stunned.

The river was filled with milky white milk and golden honey, and it was turbulent and fast-flowing.

It flows out from an unknown place and flows into the depths, with no end in sight, stretching across the earth.

Because of its rapid flow, the milk and honey mixed together, giving off an extremely sweet aroma that even made him lick his lips.

"A river flowing with honey and milk... could this be the Promised Land?"

Kevin's education made him even more confused at this moment. If it really was the Promised Land, how could it be in a lower plane?

While he hesitated, several hopping creatures approached the river and licked the flowing water on the riverbank.

That's... a sheep.

Their wool is extremely fluffy and soft, with a golden-brown color, making the whole sheep look like a loaf of bread spread with butter.

"..."

The priest was completely at a loss for words.

In truth, with his abilities, he couldn't discern the gluttonous demon's magic power within these monsters. After all, the gluttonous demon had once intended to spread its "creations" to the prime material plane, so it certainly couldn't allow anyone to see the demonic power within them.

However, if you eat it directly without processing it, you will be directly corrupted by the demon's magic and become a gluttonous servant, belonging to greed in both body and soul.

He silently put down the holy crossbow in his hand, put away the codex hammer, and took out a net.

Then, like a hunter on a hunt, he moved almost silently toward the sheep that were drinking honey and milk.

As the distance gradually closed.

He suddenly threw the net—

"Meow!!!"

The net instantly caught several sheep, who cried out in terror. But the net closed completely the moment it caught them, leaving them with no chance of escape.

When the other sheep saw their companion caught in the net, they immediately took off running without saying a word, running so fast that they escaped Father Kevin's sight in just a few moments.

Only the three sheep trapped in the net remained, bleating pitifully.

"Only three?" The priest was slightly disappointed.

He was about to grab the sheep when he suddenly heard a "splash" and a huge shadow leaped out of the river and landed on the ground.

The immense weight caused the ground to tremble slightly.

What appeared this time was... a dragon, or more accurately, a dinosaur, and it was extremely similar to the Tyrannosaurus Rex that Kroa had seen in his previous life.

It is about ten meters tall, its body is covered with honey and milk, and its robust body is coated with oil. Under the surrounding light, it looks... crispy skin and tender meat, in short, it is very appetizing.

"roar!!!"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex roared furiously at the priest, then pounced on him, intending to swallow the tiny human whole.

The priest silently took out the holy crossbow and the codex hammer that he had just put away, and first fired a bolt—the golden bolt exploded upon contact with the Tyrannosaurus Rex.

"Bang!"

The Tyrannosaurus Rex's flesh was instantly blasted apart by the treated Sacred Blazing Bow, and it let out a painful howl.

But that's not all.

The priest seized the opportunity and leaped forward, wielding the seemingly incredibly heavy hammer, and struck the Tyrannosaurus Rex on the head.

"Awooo!!"

Contrary to expectations, the Tyrannosaurus Rex collapsed with a mournful cry, and its body suddenly split open after it fell.

As if it had disintegrated, strips of golden-brown roasted meat instantly appeared on the ground.

A Tyrannosaurus Rex, now much smaller than before, leaped out of the chunk of flesh and hurriedly tried to escape, but before it could run, it was caught in another net.

"Is this a reward?" The priest looked at the golden-brown roasted meat chunks, swallowed hard, and selected some to put into his spatial artifact.

Then he began to collect honey and milk from the river and put them into several water bags. During this time, he unexpectedly discovered some strange jellyfish-like things inside.

Anyway, they would arrest him as soon as they saw him, and before leaving, they would also uproot and take away a small gray-black tree next to him.

When they realized it was almost time, they quickly left with their loot.

But after he left, deep inside, a huge tree shadow flashed by, as if it were watching him.

(End of this chapter)