Gauss and Aaliyah exchanged a glance.
It was as if he didn’t notice the surprised look in her eyes.
Their gazes were fixed intently on the giant frog corpse.
"It’s been a while since we’ve eaten," Gauss nodded to himself. "We rarely come across such edible demon ingredients; it would be a waste if we didn’t process it..."
Aaliyah instinctively swallowed her saliva.
She looked down at the giant frog beneath her.
Even though it was completely dead, the thick saliva oozing from its wide-open mouth dripped onto the grass, making a faint "sizzle" sound, with smoke rising and instantly corroding the leaves into withered, blackened traces.
Is this really edible?
She knew that parts of some demons could be eaten, but she had never cooked them before.
Wouldn’t eating this make her stomach upset? She was a bit worried.
However, while she was still hesitating, Gauss had already started his actions.
Without a moment’s hesitation, he deftly drew a dagger from his waist.
Seeing this, Aaliyah swallowed back her words of dissuasion. She didn’t want to dampen his mood, and in fact, she was also a bit curious, even if she wasn’t planning to eat it herself.
Gauss took a dagger and carefully avoided the slime, making a precise vertical cut on the abdomen.
He continued the cut from the rust frog’s chin all the way to its tail, then slowly peeled back the mottled gray-green skin along this incision.
Surprisingly, the peeling process went much more smoothly than expected.
Once the skin was fully peeled off, the tender pink frog meat was revealed before Gauss’s eyes.
Gauss took out a heavy book, "The Comprehensive Guide to Ingredients Around the Jade Forest," from his storage pouch and quickly flipped to the page marked "Rust Frog."
On the yellowed pages, a detailed anatomical diagram was evident—a relatively wide, flat head, short front limbs, and extremely developed, muscular, robust hind limbs, matching the skinned specimen before him almost exactly.
"Hmm, the slime glands and surrounding muscle tissue mustn’t be eaten. As for the essential parts... the thigh meat should be cut from here."
Gauss placed the dagger precisely at the joint where the frog’s hind leg connected to the body. Below the joint, the thigh was muscular, with distinct textures, and the pink flesh looked even somewhat enticing.
"Crack!"
The dagger fell steadily, slicing cleanly along the joint and removing the entire plump hind leg.
Gauss weighed it in his hand.
Just one frog leg weighed at least six pounds. Two legs would be just over ten pounds.
The book mentioned that once bones and inedible connective tissue, veins, nerves, and any residual skin were removed, you could get more than half of that as clean meat.
So a single frog would yield about 5 pounds of thigh meat.
With the twenty-five frogs in front of him, that would amount to nearly a hundred pounds in total...
Gauss drew in a sharp breath.
But whether it was worth spending the time to process all the frog corpses depended on the subsequent cooking.
Although the book noted that the thigh meat was edible, Gauss thought the true test would be the result of practice.
Aaliyah and Ulfen came closer.
Ulfen stuck out its tongue to lick, only for Aaliyah to silently hold down its snout.
Meanwhile, Gauss crouched on the ground, following the guide in the book as he began to peel the ingredients.
His movements were initially somewhat awkward, carefully using the tip of the dagger to separate the delicate muscle bundles from the sturdy leg bones, peeling off the textured muscle fibers one by one into the bag beside him.
One strand, two strands...
Gradually, the sturdy muscle fibers began to pile up in the pot.
As the peeling process continued, Gauss’s movements visibly became more fluid and precise.
Deboning, separating the fascia, avoiding the tiny blood vessels...
By the end, his hand movements were deft, with an air of professionalism.
The output of 5 pounds from two legs was not insignificant, and when Gauss finished processing them, they formed a small mound in the bag.
"If your cooking experience is still shallow, it’s recommended to use a stewing method for this type of ingredient on the first try..." Gauss obediently followed the book’s advice.
"Required ingredients and seasonings: ginger, garlic, fruit wine, salt, dried herbs, thyme, bay leaves, potatoes, carrots."
He washed the ingredients with water, removed any residual blood and odors, massaged and rinsed several times until the meat appeared pure pinkish-white, then drained it.
Afterward, Gauss took out the other required ingredients and seasonings from the storage pouch.
Aaliyah glanced at the book’s contents, then stared blankly as Gauss retrieved each necessary item without missing a single one.
"?"
She subconsciously furrowed her brows.
Something seems off?
How come the storage pouch just happens to have all the ingredients listed in the book?
She opened her mouth, about to ask.
Gauss had already beckoned her over to help.
"Aaliyah, help gather some firewood and set up the pot."
So Aaliyah had to temporarily set aside her curiosity and began helping.
Once Aaliyah finished setting up, using stones to create a simple stove and placing the iron pot on top, Gauss had already processed all the ingredients.
He cut a piece of creamy animal fat, tossed it into the pot, letting it quickly melt at the bottom with a sizzling sound.
Next, he added pieces of ginger and garlic, activating the fragrant oil.
Then came the potato and carrot chunks, quickly frying them until covered with a golden crust, before pouring in the drained frog meat.
Fruit wine, water, sprinkled with other spices, and then covered with a wooden lid.
Gauss looked spirited.
"Stew for twenty minutes, and it should be ready."
He used to cook for himself in his past life, and although not a master chef, he wasn’t a complete novice either.
Aaliyah hugged her knees, glanced at the steaming iron pot, and then at Gauss, who was fully concentrated, hesitated, and then quietly asked.
"Gauss, did you actually plan on cooking rust frogs all along?"
Otherwise, why would they be so thoroughly prepared?
"..."
Gauss remained silent for a moment, then flashed an awkward smile.
"Haha..."
In the distance, a few young people who had been slowly approaching hesitated whether to step forward.
They had actually wanted to come over and express their gratitude, since Gauss and Aaliyah had saved them from the frogs’ mouths.
But watching Gauss deftly dissect and cook those terrifying frogs capable of corroding metal, they hesitated.
He seemed like an odd person.
Eventually, they overcame their trepidation and came forward.
"Esteemed adventurers."
Their gazes lingered momentarily on the indigo badges on the duo’s chests, with faces showing a mix of realization and envy.
"Thank you for rescuing us!"
"Oh, it was nothing." Gauss looked up at them and waved his hand.
Their original target was also the rust frog, and they had helped lure out some with their bodies.
Moreover, upon arriving, they did warn the two to run along with them, not causing pure harm.
In fact, if Gauss and Aaliyah wanted to run, they could do so faster than anyone.
They didn’t run because it wasn’t necessary.
"Are you from a nearby village?"
"No..." the leading young man hesitated, looking at Gauss’s face, which appeared even younger than their own, finding it hard to speak. "We’re actually a newly formed adventurer team, and we accidentally stumbled into the group of giant frogs’ nest while traveling."
"Oh, it’s good that you’re safe." So they encountered beginner adventurers.
But one couldn’t blame Gauss for not immediately recognizing them; their gear didn’t mark them as adventurers, even bottom adventurers.
"Want to stay for a meal?" he invited politely.
"No, thank you! We won’t disturb your meal." Glancing at the bloodied frog skin and corroded ground next to Gauss, they swallowed and shook their heads.
After expressing their gratitude again, they practically fled.
"Was it really that frightening?"
Gauss looked puzzled, approaching the iron pot, fanning the air with his hand, sniffing.
The aroma smells quite wonderful!