LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 222: The Act Continues
Before Lucius could open his mouth to explain, Lucian's expression darkened, as if he were deeply hurt by Pei Buhan's accusation. He shook his head as he spoke, "Sir Pei, please don't be so quick to judge them. Just look at them, they look like refined noblemen. They must have been watching us from the shadows because they were wary we might harm them.
Only after confirming that we were harmless, they showed themselves."
Hearing his words, the friendly smiles on Lucius' and Luke's faces stiffened, for a minute moment, before returning to normalcy.
[What an idiot.] Lucius said to his brother via Mana Transmission.
[No, elder brother… he's-] Luke paused, then continued, [The biggest idiot alive.]
If not for the fact they needed to keep the ruse up for longer, they would have burst into laughter.
Luke could not help but say, [But… what if he's putting on an act?]
[We don't have time to find out… father… he… doesn't have much time left.]
[As for that old man, h-] Luke continued but was interrupted by Lucius, [Don't worry about him. He's only at the Mana Condensation Realm. Worry about the Alchemist. When I give the signal, attack him together. Remember the plan. We need him alive, not dead.]
Luke subtly nodded, indicating he understood.
Pei Buhan, on the other hand, did not like the situation. The forest stretched for miles, so what were the chances these two 'adventurers' just happened to stumble upon their campsite? The fire barely reached four feet high, illuminating only their immediate surroundings.
As for the smell of food? What smell? The rabbits were still being processed. Had they been roasting over the fire, then there would have been a stronger aroma of roasted meat.
But at the moment, he could only smell the aroma of iron from their blood.
Moreover, the smell was so faint that unless they were Magical Beasts or Demi-Humans with an enhanced sense of smell, it was impossible to smell the bloody aroma.
'I can smell the load of crap, and I'm not talking about rabbit dung.'
Even so, he sat down on the opposite side of the campsite, making it silently known to everyone that he did not trust the two of them.
Meanwhile, Lucian continued his naive and friendly act.
"We were just about to eat. Why don't you two join us for dinner?"
Luke was stunned for a moment before he looked at his elder brother.
Realizing what his younger brother meant by his gaze, Lucius nodded, "We appreciate your kind offer, Alchemist Drake. To be honest… we haven't eaten anything good in a few days."
Lucian's eyes lit up.
"Oh! If that's the case, leave the cooking to me. I promise, after one bite of my super deluxe special roasted rabbit, you'll cry tears of joy." Lucian shamelessly boasted, then he paused, as he cast a thoughtful glance at the two-skinned rabbit carcasses nearby. "But… we only have two rabbits…"
The meaning behind his words was obvious to everyone present.
"Alchemist Drake, I'll be right back with the rabbits."
By the time Luke's voice faded, he had already darted into the forest.
Seconds later, Luke returned, holding a rabbit in each hand, their bodies hung limply from their legs.
'...'
Lucian looked at Lucius speechlessly, causing the latter to look away in embarrassment.
The reason for such reactions was that the poor rabbits that would have surely caused his Lily to be indignant were still alive, thrashing and scratching to escape Luke's grasp. Unfortunately, no matter what they tried, the attacks from an ordinary animal could never do harm to the body of a Mage tempered by Mana.
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"Well…" Lucian chuckled. "That's one way to bring dinner."
[Host, how are you going to handle the rabbits? I suggest letting Luke kill it for you.]
[Just watch.]
"Here you go, Alchemist Drake. Fresh and lively, just as you wanted." Luke arrived in front of Lucian and held out the rabbits to the latter.
"Thanks." Lucian nodded, but rather than taking both rabbits, he carefully grabbed only one by its four legs.
"I still have to kill it, please wait, Sir Luke."
Luke nodded.
Even though the rabbit was weak and held upside down by its legs, it still continued to struggle. It twisted its head up with its mouth wide open, baring its teeth to take a chunk of flesh cleanly off Lucian's hands.
But to Lucian, this was nothing new. He had handled plenty of live ingredients.
Moreover, years spent as chef and protector of an entire Universe had honed his reflexes.
Thus, even in his current, weakened state, he was more than capable of taking care of it. He deftly shook the rabbit to the opposite side, keeping its jaws away from his hand.
Every time the rabbit attempted to bite his hand, Lucian anticipated every movement, every faint, twisting his wrist ever so slightly to keep the rabbit's teeth from landing.
Desperation flickered in the rabbit's eyes, and even the other rabbit thrashing in Luke's firm grip, realized its eventual outcome.
Lucius and Luke, on the other hand, nervously gulped, realizing the true mastery of what Lucian was doing.
The movement of his hands was not something an Alchemist known for their time spent behind doors could achieve.
It was well known to all, that Alchemists held no battle prowess.
They were merely walking, breathing, piles of flesh stuffed full of potions. That was how they achieved their Mage Ranks.
With no fighting experience, Lucian should have been unable to make such precise and fluid hand movements. Yet, his wrist movement showed off his mastery over the sword, his understanding of the rabbit's attack patterns, and even more frightening was the way in which he did it.
His eyes were not even on the rabbit. He was simply walking with his eyes staring straight ahead. To the untrained eye, it might look as if he was lucky to not be bitten. But the brothers understood it was experience.