The dawn dispersed the mist, golden light scattering over the swamp fortress, marking another day full of vitality.
The shadow of the Magical Tides had completely dissipated, and castle construction had returned to its normal track.
On the spacious open ground to the east, three Civil Engineering Slimes were diligently constructing the Slime Academy, while the surrounding area was crowded with slimes who had come to learn construction.
They were currently "splish-splashing" as they helped mix mortar, getting it stuck all over their bodies, as if they were playing with mud.
Don't be fooled by how rowdy these fellows were;
in reality, they were the most imaginative slimes selected by this land, the future Slime Engineers responsible for constructing wonders for the territory.
Inside the tree hall adjacent to the castle, it was a different scene of tranquility.
Scholar Slimes gathered around Little Flower, intently learning the techniques of imprinting talismans.
Although they could only produce four or five Magic Leaves a day, it was a good start, enough to maintain trade with the dryad territory.
With helpers, Chen Yu could finally devote himself wholeheartedly to his long-cherished "mass production of artillery" plan.
On the City Wall, Chen Yu bathed in the warm sun, his gel body slightly contracting, his gel hand holding a brush as he concentrated fully on drawing an Energy Gathering Talisman.
Beside him, several Metal Slime Artillery worked in close coordination, their round bodies transforming into tiny conical tips, precisely tapping on the Gray Gravel Crystals, emitting fine, crisp sounds, helping to carve the Jade Talismans and speed up the entire process.
Counting the "Goblin Ripper" that was nearing completion in Chen Yu's hands, the total number of Battery Arrays the territory possessed had reached six—two in the mining area, four on the fortress City Wall, defending the four directions.
With the coordinated defense of the Slime Artillery and the Poison-stinger Wasp Soldiers, it would be sufficient to deal with conventional raids from the Blacktooth mercenary group in the future.
"Sigh... so boring."
At a corner of the battlement, Count Bran lay sprawled with his wings outstretched, the entire bird seeming as if its bones had been removed, even its bright feathers exuding a sense of listless despondency.
Arthur had gone to the dryad territory again for the routine grain trade, leaving it alone to guard this busy, vibrant fortress, making it feel out of place.
Moreover, today's sunlight was especially scorching, and it couldn't even muster the interest to fly off to find a pretty stone.
Just as it was drooping listlessly, its gaze lazily swept over the distant end of the Forest Paths and suddenly paused.
Some moving dots came into view.
It seemed to be a dwarf like a barrel stump, and some... rolling stones?
...
Anvil followed the guiding Poison-stinger Wasp through the long, damp underground passage and finally set foot on the land of the Eastern Swamp, while behind him was a group of clamoring little Earth Elementals who wanted to see the boss.
In Anvil's eyes, the Eastern Swamp had always been a symbol of wilderness, a place with nothing that could spark even a flicker of interest in the Copper Fire Clan.
But when he actually set foot on this land, he realized that the experience and knowledge he had accumulated over many years were not entirely correct either.
Beneath his feet was a broad, flat stone path, the sturdy stone reflecting a faint glimmer in the sunlight, completely free of the muddiness typical of ordinary swamps.
On either side of the path, many earth-yellow slimes could be seen "plopping" and "plopping" as they used their own bodies to tamp down the earth;
wherever they rolled, the soft ground miraculously became firm and level.
Further away, some captive goblins and human prisoners under supervision were laboring, cutting down trees to prepare rations for Peachy.
The little stones behind him were already impatient to see the boss and get their hands on those shiny stones.
Seeing Anvil walk so slowly, two of the slightly larger little ones came over, "heave-ho," and actually lifted Anvil off the ground together, then started trotting "clack-clack" along the Forest Paths on their little feet.
Soon, they saw at the end of the Forest Paths a castle resembling those of human nobility.
Anvil observed it with an appreciative gaze.
Although this fortress was far from the grandeur of a dwarf mountain city, its bricks and stones were laid with exceptional neatness, the lines perfectly horizontal and vertical, exuding a simple, powerful symmetry that made him, a dwarf with an instinctive pursuit of detail, feel very comfortable.
Nothing was more perfect than this simple symmetry.
It seemed he and His Majesty should be able to get along well in private.
"Boss! It's the boss!"
The little Earth Elementals sensed Chen Yu on the City Wall through the Contract Spirit, hopping and jumping with joy.
Chen Yu had just finished the last stroke of the Energy Gathering Talisman. Sensing the familiar fluctuations below, he nimbly jumped onto the battlement, waving his gel hand in welcome, but he was still curious about why Anvil had suddenly come here.
The city gate opened, and Anvil and the little Earth Elementals were welcomed into the fort.
The little ones were immediately attracted by the slimes who had just finished class as soon as they entered. Unable to resist their mischievous nature, they forgot their intention to ask for Spirit Stones and soon blended in to play with the slimes.
After inviting Anvil into the tree hall, Chen Yu secretly sent a small clump of his clone to jump into Anvil's arms and asked directly, "Why have you come here all of a sudden?"
Anvil rubbed his thick fingers somewhat sheepishly, stating his purpose in a muffled voice.
"Ahem... to be honest with Your Majesty, the mining area is still a pile of ruins with nothing there. I have nothing to do there all day, just watching those Beetles mine. It's really too boring."
"I thought I'd find something to do for myself, rebuild the forging workshop, buy some tools for blacksmithing and forging, and incidentally get some ale to drink... hehe."
Chen Yu agreed very readily.
"My knight hasn't returned from the Dark Realm yet. You'll have to go to Ironboot Town yourself to procure the tools and ale. As for funds..."
He paused, his gel body swaying toward the direction of the Count outside the window.
"Go apply to Count Bran. Remember, write the application in detail, with sufficient reasons, otherwise it won't be so easy to get him to loosen his grip."
Anvil thanked him excitedly, licking his lips. Then, remembering the real purpose of his trip, his expression turned serious.
"Your Majesty, to be honest, I actually came here for another matter."
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately spoke bluntly, "I've been observing those Battery Arrays these past few days and found that these big guys seem to have many flaws. For example, they need to be disassembled and installed every time they're deployed, they can't move freely, and the efficiency of replacing the Gray Gravel Crystals isn't high."
He gestured in the air with his hands, "I have an idea. Perhaps we could forge a movable artillery base for the Battery Arrays and change the internal Gray Gravel Crystal slots to a sliding, replaceable style."
"As long as we pre-cut and carve all the Gray Gravel Crystals into standard sizes, using mechanical structures and counterweights, we could achieve rapid rotation and recharging."
"That would solve both problems at once. What do you think?"
After speaking, he looked at Chen Yu.
Appraising someone else's carefully designed magical creation and pointing out its "shortcomings" was undoubtedly a blatant affront, especially to a superior, so revealing it required sufficient courage.
But as a dwarf, he had always been unable to resist the exploration of perfection.
In his view, the dwarf motto was about continuous improvement. Pursuing perfection was pursuing progress in forging craftsmanship. He could not allow himself to turn a blind eye to existing problems.
Such behavior was a complete insult to the name of Copper Fire, a betrayal of Anvil Copper Fire himself.
Chen Yu's gel body rippled slightly, as if thinking rapidly.
Just as Anvil was starting to feel somewhat apprehensive, Chen Yu conveyed an appreciative thought.
"That's a fantastic idea. I'll invest. Whatever resources you need, just name them."
Upon hearing this, Anvil's face immediately bloomed into a delighted smile, his beard twitching with excitement as if he had encountered a rare kindred spirit.
Then Chen Yu suddenly changed the subject, "However, I was thinking that purely metal constructs might still be too cumbersome. Why not try combining them with Magical Creatures?"
"For example, combining them with the little Earth Elementals."
He jumped to the window, pointing at those little fellows playing outside.
"These little ones have a miraculous property;
they can merge without hindrance into larger Earth Elemental giants."
"If we directly 'embed' the Battery Array on the giant's shoulder or arm to use as a weapon, then the giant itself would be the most stable and flexible mobile artillery base. Two legs are always better than wheels for adapting to various terrains."
Of course, Chen Yu had more practical considerations he didn't mention.
The little Earth Elementals all possessed the "energy storage" talent. Before battle, they could pre-store large amounts of spiritual energy, enhancing the "Goblin Ripper's" endurance, so they wouldn't need to carry large quantities of heavy Gray Gravel Crystals every time they fought.
The saved transport capacity would allow the Beetles to carry more Moss Monster rations.
"Ah, this..."
After hearing this bold concept, Anvil was stunned for a moment.
Combining Magical Creatures, forged objects, and Magic Formations... His Majesty's imagination was too vast.
Was this something a person could think of?
That didn't sound right. His Majesty indeed wasn't a person;
he was a slime.
After a brief moment of surprise, what followed was an eruption of wild joy and creative passion akin to an underground volcano.
Anvil felt as if he had opened a door connecting to a new way of thinking, instantly submerged by the surge of inspiration. Countless ideas popped into his mind, shining brightly, waiting for him to realize them.
"Your Majesty, I'll go apply for funds right away."
Anvil stood up abruptly, so anxious he even forgot to say goodbye. He grabbed the charcoal pencil and small roll of parchment he carried with him, composing his wording as he hurriedly rushed toward the corner where Count Bran was sunbathing, muttering under his breath.
"For the trip out, it's best to procure all the needed items in one go. Should get some precision steel bearings, need quick-release latches too... no, can't hinder the conduction of elemental energy..."
He seemed as if possessed, walking without looking, accidentally tripped over a slime, and fell embarrassingly, covered in mud. He just wiped the mud off his face and continued toward the City Wall.
Chen Yu watched his retreating back, somewhat suspicious.
"This guy going out to procure supplies... he won't get lost on the way and forget to come back, will he?"
No, better have Count Bran accompany him out for the procurement. He's just idling around anyway.
After seeing off both of them in one go, Chen Yu returned to his busy talisman drawing. Finally, before the afternoon arrived, he finished drawing all the talismans and deployed this sixth Battery Array.
With new equipment, even the steady Metal Slimes couldn't help but emit pleased hums, celebrating the strengthening of the Kingdom's power.
Chen Yu, satisfied, puffed out his little belly, admiring his masterpiece.
He had originally planned to continue drawing talismans before the sun set, but then he saw the figures of a trading wagon train appear at the end of the Forest Paths.
Arthur had returned, bringing back sufficient grain.
When the wagon train entered the territory and parked on the training ground, Poison-stinger Wasps and Beetles took turns moving bag after bag of tubers back to the granary.
It had to be said, these elf-grown tubers not only tasted like potatoes, but their wildly growing manner was also very much like potatoes.
With just a hint of moisture, these things could sprout overnight and develop some toxins.
The swamp's damp environment destined these tubers not to last long. Even sprinkling lime around the warehouse for moisture prevention, they could only be preserved for four or five days.
But coincidentally, these things seemed plentiful, enough to fill the granary he built in one go, but in reality, they weren't enough for the Moss Monsters in the southern breeding farm to eat for even ten days.
Moreover, Moss Monsters had astonishing digestive abilities;
they weren't afraid of any toxins, still chomping away, lively and vigorous every day.
It was just the right counter to this non-perishable-resistant grain.
After Arthur finished his tasks, he respectfully carried Chen Yu back to the tree hall, the Soulfire in his eye sockets drifting as he organized his words and said,
"Your Majesty, something happened in the dryad territory. Lord Viola asked me to request help from you on her behalf."
Chen Yu was taken aback, "The dryad territory is in trouble? Is it the Goblin Army?"
Arthur pondered sluggishly, "Yes and no. Although the Goblin Army hasn't taken direct action, they have been using wind direction and position to spread plague-poisoned winds toward the dryad territory."
"Many plants have mutated due to chaotic mana, continuously disturbing the lives of the territory's inhabitants."
"There are too many of them to resolve easily. Knowing that you like Magic Organs, Lord Viola asked me to bring these beans back to you. Whether to help or not is your decision."
After speaking, he took out from his pocket two bean-sized beans that actually emitted a faint mana aura.