Count Bran's small head shook regretfully, his bald tail feathers trembling along with the motion.
"Oh dear, Mr. Fabian, a heart of gold... what a pity his ending wasn't good."
Yano also sighed softly, raising his hand to place it over his chest in prayer for the priest, hoping he could return to the warm, holy divine realm of his deity.
Then he continued his story.
"After that avenger named Kelvin gained power, he left the swamp and returned to the border for revenge."
"Actually, these two pieces of parchment are the last relics he left behind. After he departed from the swamp, he never returned."
Count Bran leaned over to look, and indeed the end of the letter read "To be continued, wait for my return."
"Poor knight," it cawed twice, "his head was probably chopped off by that Caron Scott."
Hearing this, Yano's expression turned desolate, his voice becoming somewhat muffled.
"Oh hoo hoo, so you reckless fellow actually attended knight training camp. But you're wrong about that statement - justice? This count has lived this long and never seen such a thing."
Count Bran patted him with his wing, comforting him, "Vermin exist everywhere, but even among those who seek forbidden power, there are people like Mr. Fabian who possess hearts of gold, isn't that right?"
Yano's shoulders relaxed slightly, forcing out a smile.
"Thanks, Count. Actually, I've seen many nobles like Caron, I just couldn't believe there were such vermin in the Border Garrison too..."
As a border noble's son like him, he had grown up steeped in the legendary tales of the Border Garrison.
"Western Wall" Ryan Simmons, "Frost Wolf Silver Rider" Granville Arevalo, "Wind Breaker" Alvin... These names that started from the Border Garrison and eventually achieved epic status in bardic songs were once the stars he looked up to in his youth, igniting his fervent dream of becoming a great knight.
However, a merciless case of Petrification Disease completely crushed the trajectory of his fate.
The glory of knighthood faded, and he became the Boss's rider, a knight of the Slime Kingdom.
The magnificent dreams of the past had long since dissipated along with that naive youth.
Nowadays, it wasn't that he lacked the courage to move forward, but deep inside, the desire to protect had long surpassed everything else.
Even though he had strayed from the faith of Cardos, protection - this instinct carved into his very bones - was an inseparable part of his nature.
He was quite satisfied with his current life and would defend this hard-won happiness to the death.
...
The small meeting of the Slime Kingdom concluded.
Yano still had concerns about the Corruption trial, instinctively wary of this forbidden power, but the Boss's calm demeanor secretly put his mind at ease.
Actually, Chen Yu had already figured out how to utilize this Corruption trial.
A trial ritual that could elevate creatures to elite status indeed held great temptation.
But the power of Corruption Morgul was quite chaotic, and if not properly controlled, it could backfire spectacularly.
And he had a perfect idea.
It could both cause trouble for the goblins at Riftrock Pass and bring help to some people.
"Your Majesty, you want to help those slave miners?"
Count Bran followed Chen Yu as he bounced onto the hardened ground, his small eyes widening in surprise.
Chen Yu bounced the palm-sized Gray Gravel Crystal onto the hardened, dry ground, swirling with mischievous ideas as he revealed his plan.
"When I infiltrated the goblin fortress, I saw many slaves in the slave camp secretly praying to Morgul."
"The power of Corruption isn't absolutely good or evil - whether it's benevolent or malevolent depends on who wields it, and those poor slaves happen to lack the power to resist."
"The Avenger's trial - this is currently the only way we can help them."
He wasn't absolutely opposed to the Corruption faith.
If those Lizardfolk hadn't been lingering near his territory, even surrounding it, he wouldn't have bothered with them.
Of course, the power he would grant would be limited to "Corrupted Avenger," as the cost for the Compassionate One was too heavy...
Count Bran seized the opportunity to flatter the slime.
"Caw caw! So that's how it is, truly worthy of Your Majesty, astonishing wisdom."
"Those green-skinned shorties dare to repeatedly offend the sacred territory of the Slime Kingdom - it's time to teach them a lesson."
Chen Yu bounced contentedly.
Setting aside the goblin matter for now, with this Gray Gravel Crystal, he could finally begin attempting to create the first-generation "Goblin Shredder-Type I."
If this magic formation with power comparable to cannons succeeded, and he could mass-produce them to line his territory's borders, neither goblins nor Magical Tides would pose such a great threat to the territory.
At the very least, he wouldn't have to constantly worry about goblins sneaking in at night.
His attention returned to the Gray Gravel Crystal before him, sinking into thought.
The spirit stone formation foundation and formation pivot jade talisman arrangement for the Goblin Shredder wasn't difficult - the challenge lay in needing proficient Talisman Drawing Technique to gather the three types of talismans: Energy Gathering Talisman, Spirit Guiding Talisman, and Truth Condensing Talisman.
But in this aspect, he was an old hand.
Talisman drawing? Something you could do even without hands.
What worried him more was that the "starry sky" here was different.
The formation principles of the Goblin Shredder corresponded to the four directional constellations of Xu Xuan Heaven, but in Zeyarila's nights, the familiar Big Dipper was gone, replaced only by this strange thing called "Jelov Ten-Star Silver Seat" hanging in the sky.
With different stars, the formation principles might also change, and the Goblin Shredder could become a dud.
But no matter what, he had to give it a try.
Chen Yu secreted a small blob of slime, which plopped onto the ground, and he summoned Yano over.
"Boss, you called me?" Yano crouched down.
Chen Yu used a branch to draw clear mud-line formation diagrams on the ground, pointing at several positions.
He handed Yano the talismans he had drawn earlier, instructing him to set up the formation foundation and arrange the talismans according to the mud lines.
He himself moved aside, took a lump of mud, shaped it into a knife form, used "Transform Mud to Stone" to harden it, refined it into Sword Pellets, then used his newly made hard stone knife to continuously shift his round body while scraping and carving on the large Gray Gravel Crystal.
The "scratching" sound continued as complex patterns slowly emerged. Before long, a formation pivot jade talisman covered with grooves was completed.
Yano had also finished his part, the talismans arranged straight along the mud lines. He even pulled out a small bag of Magical Dust, sprinkling it around the magic formation to purify the chaotic mana in the territory, preventing the magic formation's operation from being disturbed.
Seeing the Boss had finished carving, Yano rubbed his hands together, his face showing anticipation.
"Boss, is this that more powerful magic formation you mentioned?"
Chen Yu gestured to him, trying hard to stretch his bouncy body longer.
"If it succeeds, probably this many goblins could be blown sky-high with one 'boom'."
Um... how many was that?
Yano silently looked at the Boss's less-than-half-meter-long body, then at the magic formation on the ground, unable to visualize it.
"Put the crystal in, and you'll find out by trying."
"Oh, okay."
Yano took the crystal talisman and firmly pressed it into the central groove.
Then Chen Yu, holding a Gray Gravel Crystal filled with spiritual energy as a primer, immediately activated the formation.
Hum—!
The Gray Gravel Crystals arranged in the Big Dipper formation slowly lit up, gray light like living mercury quickly crawling along the mud-line talismans on the ground, emitting soft "sizzling" sounds.
In the blink of an eye, all the gray light poured into the central jade talisman.
The humming sound rose, becoming shrill.
The jade talisman erupted with dazzling gray-white light, the entire formation shaking, the air like thick swamp water as a force compressed and expanded at the center.
It seemed about to succeed.
But Chen Yu tightened his gel.
Wrong.
In his perception, those seven lit Gray Gravel Crystals were like fireflies randomly flying in the swamp, completely failing to connect into a star chart.
The energy in the jade talisman was like a headless fly, violently colliding within the talisman "lines," unable to find the path it should take.
The dazzling gray-white light lasted only a few seconds, then with a "pfft" sound like a leaking waterskin, all the light instantly extinguished, the seven Gray Gravel Crystals becoming dull and lifeless, their surfaces even cracking with fine lines.
The first activation of the Goblin Shredder had failed.
His worries had come true after all.
The only thing Chen Yu could think of that would prevent the star chart from connecting was the problem with the "Jelov Ten-Star Silver Seat."
Perhaps he should find a professional to improve the formation.