The path to the main mine shaft was completely blocked by that peculiar black-brown metallic giant rock, forcing Chen Yu's exploration journey to end abruptly.
However, this might actually be good news.
At least it meant that if the Goblin Army wanted to make a comeback and reclaim this mining area, they would also have to deal with this obstructive rock first.
By the time the army finally managed to dig through here, he would have already mined enough Gray Gravel Crystals and made his escape long before.
The next time they met, it wouldn't be small skirmishes but a proper 'artillery barrage' welcome ceremony.
After returning to the original mining area, Anvil proactively requested to stay behind and guard this newly reclaimed homeland. Remaining with him were part of the Magical Creature Army and the two "Goblin Ripper" magic formations.
With these forces present, even if that cunning Earthworm returned, they could handle it easily.
Thus, Chen Yu mounted Little Ka and set off on the return journey with peace of mind.
Compared to their arrival, the team carried much more supplies. Peachy's broad back and the beetles' sturdy shells were laden with heavy ores and fine equipment scavenged from the goblin armory.
...
Eastern Swamp, swamp fortress.
Even before the Magical Tides arrived, the magical creatures in the swamp were somewhat restless.
Outside the fortress walls, a group of Undead revived by abnormal magical energy first broke into this area. They came in various forms—some short like dwarfs, staggering along, while others stood several meters tall with ferocious skeletons.
However, this disorderly intrusion alarmed a silent guardian within the fortress.
He didn't speak, merely silently raised that massive lance, like a statue merging with the shadows, walking alone out of the sturdy fortress to face the staggering Undead army approaching through the curtain of rain.
The rain fell heavier and more urgently, cold raindrops striking armor with dull thuds.
In the darkness, the grating sounds of bone friction and the unconscious roars of the Undead rose and fell intermittently.
But after who knows how long, these spine-chilling noises gradually thinned out and eventually disappeared completely.
Arthur still stood in the pouring rain, letting the water wash the filth from his armor.
The Soulfire in his eye sockets burned steadily without the slightest waver, gripping his lance tightly, faithfully upholding the King's instructions before his departure, guarding the fortress's peace.
At his feet lay a mess of scattered bones, crisscrossing and covering the muddy ground.
He, originally still as a mountain, suddenly detected something unusual mixed within the rain sounds.
It was a kind of rustling sound, as if countless arthropods were crawling through muddy water, coming from deep within the rain curtain.
He silently pulled his lance from the ground and stepped forward with steady strides, proactively advancing to face what seemed to be a larger enemy.
Just then, a complaining voice vaguely pierced through the rain from behind the curtain.
"Damn this wretched weather again, it's completely soaked my most beautiful feathers, how dreadful."
Count Bran?
The Soulfire in Arthur's eye sockets flickered slightly, his tense posture relaxing a bit.
Soon, the figures of the Magical Creature Army broke through the hazy rain curtain.
Behind them came the Magical Creature Army returning fully loaded.
Count Bran spotted Arthur standing in the rain at first glance and immediately flapped his wet wings, familiarly flying to land on his icy shoulder armor.
He tapped Arthur's helmet with a wingtip, "Why are you still standing there foolishly? Hurry back inside, my noble body is almost catching a cold."
"Yes, Count."
Arthur responded in a low voice, like the most reliable shadow, silently walking behind Chen Yu and Little Ka, escorting the team as they slowly returned to the warm, dry fortress.
The next day, the heavy rain still poured down, the world was shrouded in gray.
Large numbers of magical creatures surged out from the Western Swamp, with some following forest paths finally reaching the outskirts of the Eastern Swamp fortress.
However, what greeted them wasn't cheers or screams, but terrifying firepower.
The Beetle Logistics troops had already redeployed the recovered talismans and jade talismans, activating a brand new "Goblin Ripper" magic formation.
In the sky, Self-destructing Wasp Soldiers were like efficient bomber squadrons, precisely dropping deadly explosive stingers.
A magical tide assault-defensive battle that should have been brutal thus passed almost hastily.
As Chen Yu later remarked: "The intensity still isn't enough, can't truly test the territory's current actual strength."
He returned to his comfortable tree house and slept in properly, not waking up leisurely until the next day when sunlight streamed through the window onto him.
Pushing open the tree window, the fresh post-rain air rushed in, the bright sunlight dispelled the continuous gloom.
Standing at the territory's highest point overlooking, outside the fortress sporadic magical creatures still charged unwillingly, but posed no threat against the patrolling Poison-stinger Wasp Soldiers.
Inside the fortress was a scene of vibrant busyness—Worker Wasps tended to the Moss Monster farms and mushroom farms, carefully planting the spirit crop seeds traded from the dryad territory in the newly cultivated northern fields.
Meanwhile, their "Court Tutor" Count Bran was excitedly hopping around at the treasury entrance, inventorying this expedition's gains with Little Flower.
Chen Yu slid down the winding slime slide and curiously approached.
Count Bran immediately fluttered over upon seeing him, his voice sharp with excitement.
"Good news, my Count and Princess Little Flower have completed the preliminary inventory of gains, here's the inventory, please take a look."
Chen Yu took the inventory handed by Little Flower, glanced at it, and immediately understood why Count Bran was so agitated.
Among them, eight were exceptionally high-quality large pieces.
Additionally, various orichalcum ores and standardized weapons equipment seized from the goblin armory were piled up like mountains.
Many pieces were well-preserved;
even if the Kingdom didn't use them itself, they would undoubtedly represent massive wealth if traded.
Chen Yu shook his gel with satisfaction.
As long as enough "Goblin Rippers" were deployed, even if the main Goblin Army came next time, they'd have to taste the flavor of artillery barrages first.
He then inquired about the mining area's follow-up situation and the Goblin Army's movements.
Count Bran tilted his head, looking somewhat puzzled: "The mining area is eerily quiet, information from the outpost says those green-skinned fellows seem to have completely vanished overnight, with no further attempts to return to the mining area."
Chen Yu also couldn't figure it out, but since the threat was temporarily lifted, he was happy to relax, now single-mindedly wanting to quickly realize his "artillery mass production plan."
Holding Little Flower, he returned to the tree hall, spread out a paper, and began conceiving the Kingdom's upcoming summer development plan.
Resources, manpower, defense, production... many problems needed solving one by one.
Moreover, with sufficient Gray Gravel Crystals, many plans previously stuck at the conceptual stage could finally be scheduled.
But to roll out these plans, the territory needed a large number of talents.
Ideally, slimes could undergo social division of labor, acquiring different roles through learning.
The first professional role he thought of was "Slime Agronomist."
The territory's food security was always paramount;
they couldn't forever rely on imports and hunting.
The fertile northern land needed full utilization—those spirit tubers with high yield and rich nutrition were perfect choices.
He planned to select a group of slimes who enjoyed contact with plants, try to teach them agronomy knowledge and methods for cultivating spiritual herbs, specifically responsible for agricultural research, guiding the poison wasps in farming, solving the food gap.
Actually, the Slime Kingdom's territory had already expanded to include the dungeon. Continuing construction would be a massive project.
Relying on him and his clones to laboriously work would take over a year to complete.
He needed to train a professional "engineering team" specifically responsible for future fortress phase three expansion, mine tunnel reinforcement, road leveling, and other tasks.
The Kingdom's flagship product "Magic Leaf" currently suffered from severely insufficient production capacity.
He needed to establish a formal "Magic Workshop" to systematically train a group of slime mages focusing on talisman drawing and enchanting.
Finally, "Slime Artillery."
This was key to solving the "Goblin Ripper" shortcomings.
Select a group of combat-loving slimes for specialized training, making them artillery formation operators.
Equipped with "Energy Storage," they could charge magic formations when necessary, enhancing the artillery formations' sustained combat capability and flexibility.
He dipped in ink and began outlining the Slime Kingdom's slime talent plan on paper.
In the past, slimes might have symbolized weakness, but now they would become the Kingdom's pillars, supporting the grand blueprint of the great magical creature kingdom.