Chapter 1051 Hidden Guardian
Shortly after Lord Rhuvek sat down, he clapped his hands together and summoned a servant to bring forward some drinks to serve their honored guests.
Nevertheless, it only took a few breaths before Leon found two cups of green-colored wine placed beside him as the wine was prepared beforehand.
"Elvish fruit wine, one of our city's finest; please have a taste, Lord Leon. You too, Lord Rainshine," Lord Rhuvek kindly gestured with his cup of wine.
Leon took a quick whiff of the pleasant scent and discerned all the ingredients mixed within the elvish fruit wine before he took a sip and savored the taste.
It had the sweetness of honey, the sourness of apples, and the bitterness of alcohol. However, the conflicting flavors were well balanced, creating harmony and a unique savoriness.
Nevertheless, Leon's attention lay in the potent energy contained within the elvish fruit wine, which flowed into his system and invigorated his body.
The elvish fruit wine was comparable to tier-3 spirit food.
After Rainshine understood her master had determined the elvish fruit wine was safe to drink, she hopped onto the adjacent empty seat and sipped hers.
Her eyes brightened before she downed the whole cup in the next moment. Then, she licked her lips and glanced at Leon's cup.
At the same time, Leon noticed her gaze from the corners of his eyes before he shrugged nonchalantly and offered his drink to her.
"The elvish fruit wine of your city is quite good, Lord Rhuvek. You sure know how to enjoy yourself. I should return the gesture in kind," Leon casually said.
Shortly after, Leon took out a piece of sea monster meat and chopped it into diced pieces that shortly fell on a plate of ice he prepared. Then, he took out several spirit herbs to create the special dipping sauce and placed them in a bowl beside the ice plate.
"The meat of a Transcendent-level sea monster found in the Boundless Sea accompanied with my special dipping sauce; it's my unique recipe. Please have a try, Lord Rhuvek," Leon offered.
With a casual wave of his hand, the ice plate of chopped sea monster meat and bowl of special dipping sauce flew over to Lord Rhuvek. It landed on his table without causing any spillage.
"Lord Rhuvek, please let me test for poison for you," a nearby servant quickly offered.
However, Lord Rhuvek immediately frowned at the servant and rebuked him, "How dare you doubt Lord Leon's good gesture. A person of Lord Leon's caliber doesn't need to scheme against me to gain an advantage."
"You're right, Lord Rhuvek. I have misspoken without thinking. Please punish me."
"Leave. Your service is not required here."
"Yes, my Lord."
Shortly after dismissing the servant from the grand hall, Lord Rhuvek picked up a piece of sea monster meat with his bare hand. He dipped it in the special sauce prepared before swallowing it whole.
His eyes brightened in the same manner as Rainshine did with her wine.
"The freshness and texture of this sea monster meat are exquisite compared to the fishes we have around here; coupled with the dipping sauce, the taste is elevated to a whole different level."
Lord Rhuvek savored the taste with a dreamy look before adding, "Lord Leon has truly opened my eyes. Besides being a powerful expert, you are also a skilled spirit chef."
Leon smiled slightly.
With the spirit herbs that he used to create the special dipping sauce and the Transcendent-quality sea monster meat, the combination of the two was comparable to other tier-3 spirit food.
After Leon and Lord Rhuvek exchanged some casual pleasantries and their interests in fine food and drinks, they moved on to more serious topics.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you come down to Lower Abyss Domain, Lord Leon?" Lord Rhuvek inquired.
"How did I come down, you ask?" Leon rubbed his chin before replying, "Is there not a big hole right beyond your gates? How else could I have come down, Lord Rhuvek?"
"There is indeed a big hole," Lord Rhuvek nodded.
"However, the entrance to the Lower Abyss Domain should have been sealed by a very thick wall of tree roots and vines. Even if Paragons try to cut their way through that region, the tree roots and vines will continuously regenerate. Ultimately, Paragons will have no choice but to give up."
"How did you manage to get past all that?" Lord Rhuvek repeated his question before adding, "More importantly, the guardian didn't attack you? You didn't run into it?"
"How did I manage to get past all that, huh? Well, it's quite simple if you use the wood ability. More importantly, there was a guardian? I did not run into one," Leon replied.
Based on Lord Rhuvek's words, it didn't seem like there was anyone with the wood ability.
However, that was definitely not true. Leon had seen several dark elves tending to the spirit herbs while he was on his way.
In that case, the so-called guardian mentioned was the biggest problem in crossing the region?
"I don't know what to say," Lord Rhuvek smiled wryly before saying, "Your luck is very great, Lord Leon. Had you run into the guardian, the situation would have been very dangerous—even for you. After all, that guardian is a Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent."
"It is very tricky to fight and defend against it in that region," Lord Rhuvek added.
Sure enough, the guardian was the problem – Leon thought after hearing Lord Rhuvek speak.
Nevertheless, he did not expect to pass through the whole region without picking up the presence of such a powerful beast.
Either the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent's stealth ability managed to escape his detection or it simply wasn't within his divine sense range.
Leon furrowed his brows in thought.
If the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent had been outside his divine sense range then he was quite lucky indeed.
However, if there's any chance that the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent's stealth ability exceeded his detection level, then he found it quite strange why it didn't attack him.