"This time?" Chen Yu blinked.
The Dryad domain's elves were still touring the fortress, these mercenaries really knew how to pick a moment.
If they couldn't even handle a handful of mercenaries, then the plan to form an alliance with the Dryad domain would be doomed.
How bold, daring to obstruct the grand expansion of the Slime Kingdom.
They must be courting death.
Chen Yu asked, "Do you have detailed intel on them?"
"Yes, yes." Yano took out his little notebook and opened it to show the little slimes in front of him.
"I gathered a lot of information from a Stone Descendant named Nilly, including the Blacktooth mercenary company's campaign strategy."
Chen Yu glanced over curiously.
Target of campaign: Slime Kingdom
Target rating: A (Actual controllers suspected to be Death Knight and high-tier undead units;
recommend prioritized annihilation)
Confirmed intelligence:
Armed forces: Equipped with high-power magical artillery (comparable to standard magic crystal cannon specifications), possesses fast-response monster combat units, relatively high mobility.
Controlled monster types: Poison-stinger Wasp swarms (tamed), beetle-class units (specific species pending further identification), giant siege boars (high-impact and destructive capability)
Intel sources: Goblin army visitation records from mercenary "Rex", frontline reconnaissance report from mercenary "Derrick".
Recommended task force size: Team of 50 (minimum), Elite Professional ×1 (required), Official Professionals ×5 (required).
Note: This force displays tactical coordination and technological equipment level unusual for monster organizations. Recommended accepting teams prepare for high-intensity combat with appropriate magical protection and long-range strike capabilities.
Good grief.
These mercenaries are thorough — they almost investigated Arthur's underwear color.
This made Chen Yu realize the enemy they faced this time was no simple foe.
Compared to the Rusty Key or some scattered adventurers he had dealt with before, the Blacktooth mercenary company seemed more organized and far more dangerous.
If the Kingdom relaxed even a little, or if the enemy managed a surprise strike, the fortress could really be breached.
Even if he won the war, the cost would be brutal.
For Blacktooth, the biggest loss might be just one elite professional.
But now that he had advance knowledge of Blacktooth's movements, they could devise targeted strategies.
He and Yano discussed it.
Yano thought that because the organized unit likely had redundant defenses to counter the magic battery array and head-on assault, they should avoid frontal engagement. Instead, they should try a flank attack or rear ambush to disrupt the unit's order and prevent them from concentrating force.
"Huh? Yano, you actually have a knack for tactics," Chen Yu said.
Yano scratched his head sheepishly, "My father used to say the same, so he insisted I join Knight Training Camp."
"So why have you never mentioned him before?"
"Well… before I reached adulthood, he turned into stone." Yano said matter-of-factly, as if used to his family's tragedies, without much joy or sorrow.
"Uh…" Chen Yu decided to change the subject, "I'm planning to quietly set up an artillery array in the rear to deal with them. What do you think?"
"Boss, forgive my frankness…" Yano glanced at him, "Setting up an artillery array takes time and it can't be moved. The organized unit could simply withdraw temporarily to dismantle the array and then continue the siege."
"And if you hide a large number of wasp soldiers in the rear, the target becomes too big and easy to spot. That would not only disperse our defensive strength but also turn the rear ambushers into isolated islands that can't be supported."
"You're right. So what do you suggest?" Chen Yu asked with interest.
Encouraged, Yano's tone brightened noticeably.
"I think we should place a high-mobility, breach-capable assassin squad in the rear."
"The core of Blacktooth's organized unit are heavy-armored warriors, their formation won't be too quick to shift. An assassin squad can form a spearhead for a surprise strike."
"When the organized unit adjusts, the squad can split and retreat guerrilla-style. Except for any assassins inside the unit, other professionals won't be able to catch up."
"We could even prioritize eliminating those enemy assassins, then repeat the tactic, harrying the organized unit until they cannot concentrate their fire."
Chen Yu pondered. The tactic sounded feasible.
But the problem was, the domain's assassin-type Poison-stinger Wasps, while numerous, lacked single-target combat power. Their disruption against the organized unit would be limited.
Unless... the domain could send a single elite unit that combined high mobility with high damage for the raid.
Did his domain have such a unit?
Beet counted as half, but its endurance was too poor.
Any others?
Chen Yu mulled it over and suddenly recalled an idea he had discussed earlier with Anvil — mounting a Goblin Ripper on the shoulder of an Earth Element giant to create a mobile, high-damage "monster tank."
Besides, those small earth elements were clever;
when in danger they could disperse and burrow into the ground to escape.
Even an assassin with Official Professional strength would struggle to track their movements.
The "monster tank" was tailor-made for this kind of scenario.
He only didn't know how far Anvil's research had progressed.
"Boss, so? Do you have a way to handle this?" Yano asked quietly.
Chen Yu snapped back to the present. "No need to worry about the domain. But you — are you sure those Stone Descendants have no other designs on you?"
Yano hesitated, then revealed the Stone Descendant secret Nilly had told him.
"I think it's pretty credible. My father once said the Stone Descendants' origins aren't simple, but before he passed on the family inheritance, my grandfather turned to stone."
"That Stone Descendant named Nilly — uh, she's actually my aunt now. She said the gargoyles in the Gore ruins went berserk for unknown reasons and they had to camp here temporarily. In two days, when they return to the ancient castle and confirm my identity, I can be allowed access to more secrets."
Hmm... it seemed the Stone Descendants in the Dark Realm didn't fully trust Yano's identity yet either.
He wasn't particularly attached to these Stone Descendants, but he was curious about the Stone Scion Grand Duke named Castor.
The gargoyles dwelling in Gore were older and more powerful than those vampires, and they could form terrifying gargoyle legions.
He wanted to know how that ancient Stone Descendant managed to subdue the gargoyles in the first place.
If such a powerful gargoyle army could be controlled by the Slime Kingdom, the swamp of the Corruption Mountains would surely fall under the slimes' rule thereafter.
Then neither Blacktooth nor the Goblin Army would be a problem.
"Alright, go with them back to the ancient castle and take a look. If there's danger, I'll intervene." Chen Yu slid down Yano's arm and returned to his chest, closing his eyes and entering hibernation.
"Phew…" Yano finally breathed easier, rubbing his swelling chest with relief. Even his unease about the unfamiliar environment eased a bit.
Waiting was always boring. To keep busy and to prove himself as a capable Rider, he walked a short distance into the camp, drew his broadsword, and practiced combat techniques.
[Slash]
A cold flash, the heavy broadsword swept out at high speed and came to a solid stop.
From Yano's taut arms and steady stance, one could tell the strike was powerful and weighty.
Actually his warrior talent was decent, though neglected in previous years. Having resumed practice recently, he was beginning to approach his former peak.
Unfortunately, he had left the Border Garrison and could no longer take the knight trials.
Without a new warrior trial, his strength would plateau at this level;
without Petrification he wouldn't be able to defeat even an Official Professional.
"Warrior trials... where would I even find one."
Stone Descendant's castle?
Assassin trials might exist.
But did he really want to give up halfway and switch to assassin?
Yano had no answer.
Maybe he should boldly ask the Boss about it, or perhaps the ancient Stone Descendants had other trial paths.
...
Inside the fortress tree house, Chen Yu opened his eyes.
A thought flickered in his mind and the news that Blacktooth would soon attack the domain quickly spread through the military slimes.
"Attention, war imminent. From now on, the entire domain enters wartime readiness."
"Attention…"
Chen Yu's soft yet solemn voice reverberated repeatedly inside the minds of every monster in the domain.
In an instant, slimes, poison-stinger wasps, and beetles all halted their tasks and froze in place.
"Oh, damn."
Old Bloom had been leisurely leading a group of Glimmerlings around the domain. The eerie scene of all monsters freezing in place startled him.
"What happened?" Eserin hurried back.
Other elves gathered around Eserin, trying to make sense of the scene.
Eserin stared at the stunned monsters, then watched as all the creatures resumed activity, their movements noticeably faster than usual.
Such unusual behavior… clearly something big was about to happen.
Soon Arthur returned to the domain calmly to explain to the elves.
"The Blacktooth mercenary company is about to attack the domain. The whole domain has entered wartime readiness."
"Miss Eserin, to avoid harm to you, please refrain from going out as much as possible."
Observant Eserin noticed the gel ring on Arthur's iron finger gauntlet.
Compared to yesterday, she realized more of the domain's monsters were wearing varied shaped gels.
Was this some kind of communication magic?
Understanding flickered through her eyes.
Apparently that Slime King possessed a magic to remotely communicate with collective creatures, allowing the domain to enter readiness within seconds.
Such large-scale and convenient magic coming from a slime — this terrifying mobilization capability meant reassessing the Slime King and the domain's war potential.
Her thoughts shifted and she replied to Arthur.
"We can help, no payment required, only to assist allies."
By offering, she effectively acknowledged the Slime Kingdom and their cooperative defense alliance.
Arthur's soulfire flickered in his eye sockets. After a few seconds he bowed slightly, "His Majesty has authorized it. When the enemy attacks we will notify you."
"As for the Glimmerlings…" He looked at the little ones clinging to Old Bloom's knee, "It's best to hide them in His Majesty's castle under Mr. Bloom's care until the war ends."
Eserin bowed with elven courtesy, "Alright, thank you, Mr. Arthur."
Arthur nodded again and turned to leave, as if he had other business.
...
Temporary mining area.
Chen Yu rode Little Ka and had just flown to the fortress gate when he heard the constant clang of hammer on metal.
Inside, the mining area had been completely renovated compared to the post-riot decay. All slave camps and goblin-smelling nests had been torn down, replaced by temporary ore storage warehouses.
The monsters worked in orderly fashion. On the southern side beetle miners softened the ore layer, rapidly digging with six limbs, extracting Gray Gravel Crystals and laying them on the mining path.
Poison-stinger Wasps pushed the crystals onto little stone baskets on the beetles' backs, forming queues that passed the outpost and stacked in warehouses, awaiting transport back to the domain by the beetle haulers.
Beside the old outpost, a smelting zone occupying half the mining area stood up at some point.
Molten rock flowed down the slag trough, passed through the smelting area, radiating hot red light and casting a glow on Anvil's face as he hammered iron.
"Clang! Clang! Clang…"
Unlike usual, when the dwarf treating forging as honor entered a working state, he became utterly focused;
the lazy expression gone, replaced by seriousness and rigor.
Even Chen Yu riding Little Ka in front of him went unnoticed. His eyes were fixed only on the red-hot forging piece.
"Boss is here!"
"Whoo, I'm the first to greet him!"
"I'll be the flatterer!"
"Don't you dare steal my spot!"
Nearby, small earth elements that had been nibbling ore saw Chen Yu and leaped over excitedly.
"Boss! Boss!"
"Boss! Look at me! Aren't I sparkly?"
Chen Yu landed and noticed new changes in the little ones.
Some small earth elements had eaten so much they became as gray and crystalline as Gray Gravel Crystal, semi-translucent like crystals.
Others seemed to be wearing metal gear forged by Anvil, their bodies heavy and solid, waddling a bit like little chubby fellows.
"Since when did they turn into spirit stones from eating?"
Small earth elements have the "Energy Storage" talent, able to store spiritual energy. After becoming Gray Gravel Crystal in constitution, their storage capacity seemed larger — a single small earth element could hold more spiritual energy than a standard Spirit Stone.
As for the metal-clad earth elements, he guessed they were tied to Anvil's "metal formation foundation" idea.
How far along the monster cannon forging was, they would only know when Anvil finished.
While waiting, he picked up a stray ore and fed the small earth elements.
Little Ka wandered to the edge of the molten trough, secretly tasted the candy-like magma, and looked satisfied.
He didn't wait long. With a sizzling sound, the metal forging piece finished quenching.
Anvil inspected it. After confirming no cracks, he laughed with glee and danced about.
"Hahaha, success, success!"
"Little brats, Anvil grandpa succeeded."
"Huh, wait, where did they go?"
Anvil suddenly noticed the small earth elements that usually stole ore had disappeared. He felt uneasy, turned, and saw the slime feeding them. Realizing his outburst had been witnessed, his cheeks flushed bright red.
"Y-Your Majesty… you're here."
Chen Yu squeezed a little blob of gel ring onto the ground.
Anvil tried it on, then heard Chen Yu's voice.
"There may be a mercenary attack in the next two days. I came to check on the monster cannon research."
"Mercenaries? Those sell-your-soul-for-pay types? Bah!" Straightforward Anvil spat his disdain for mercenaries without hiding it.
To avoid misunderstanding he added, "Of course, I mean mercenaries other than Kane and his lot."
"So you're planning to use the monster cannon on the battlefield?"
Chen Yu shook the gel. "Yes. Any chance of success?"
Anvil hesitated, "You're timely. I just finished the final component of the monster cannon."
"But these components are experimental;
I'm not sure they will function as intended."
"Failure is okay, I have other alternatives to replace the monster cannon," Chen Yu encouraged.
Anvil nodded repeatedly, carefully installing the last metal piece onto a small earth element.
The little guy patted his hard metal armor, feeling empowered. He jumped happily to show his thanks to Anvil.
"Ahem, good." Anvil drew out the monster cannon schematics and showed them.
"Just like I told you yesterday, remember your positions. His Majesty watches nearby, no messing about."
The small earth elements nodded earnestly, climbed together, and gradually formed the legs of an Earth Element giant.
"Huh, faster than yesterday, getting better. These brats are pretty clever." Anvil stroked his red beard with satisfaction.
Chen Yu shook the gel and listened silently to their whispering.
"I'm right here, don't steal my spot."
"No, no, I'm the one here!"
"Oops, wrong spot, nevermind."
"Hey, don't push…"
The scene devolved into chaos, not quite what Anvil had imagined.
After a few seconds, the Earth Element giant barely formed its torso and arms.
A peculiar metal framework covered almost half its body;
metal reinforcement pieces formed a skeletal structure to increase overall strength.
Then the head, shoulder formation foundations, the barrel… hey, something's off, why is the barrel tilting more and more?
"Your Majesty, a little accident, I'll check it." Anvil smiled awkwardly and climbed the wooden ladder to inspect the internals.
"Huh? Where did the gear go, who moved it?"
"The crystal slot — which one of you clogged this?" Anvil's face turned red with anger as he commanded the little brats back to their positions.
"Oh, I went to the wrong place."
"I seem a bit lost."
"Big beard is angry, I'll behave as a gear."
After hustling for a while, the chaotic internals finally fell into order and the crooked barrel straightened.
After installing the last runaway component back into place, he climbed down the ladder and gave Chen Yu a sheepish grin.
"Uh… Your Majesty, experiments are always full of surprises, but it's fixed now. Next we just need to install the artillery array…"
Under Anvil's direction, the Earth Element giant's massive mechanical body began to operate, the small earth elements forming gears pushing with all their might.
"Come on, brother, you can do it!"
"Spin!" The other small earth elements egged them on from the sidelines.
As the gears turned, a series of slots opened up, revealing ten slots — exactly corresponding to the Jelov Ten-Star Silver Seat.
To Chen Yu's surprise, Anvil creatively changed the formation foundation from parallel to the ground to perpendicular to the ground.
But the Goblin Ripper relied only on star alignment, not feng shui or terrain, so the modification was feasible.
At that moment, the Poison-stinger Wasps buzzed over, carrying Gray Gravel Crystals brimming with spiritual energy and setting them into the slots one by one.
Each slot could stack up to three Gray Gravel Crystals, thirty in total. Once a crystal's energy was spent, it could be replaced at any time.
This raised the array's firing count to twelve, giving it three times the endurance of a standard array.
Add in the small earth elements' own stored spiritual energy, and endurance was nearly a non-issue — they might have energy left even after a battle.
After loading the crystals, the talismans were next. The wasps hid them along original routes inside the metal structure.
Only the crystal sigil remained in Anvil's hand, and he suddenly grew nervous.
"Your Majesty, this last step… would you like to do it?"
"Alright."
Chen Yu picked up the crystal sigil and climbed slowly to the top of the ladder. Under Anvil's watchful eye, he gently set the sigil into the heart-positioned slot.
With a crisp "click," the small earth elements inside the giant shouted in delight:
"It's lit, you're glowing!"
"You too! So bright!"
"Woohoo! I'm the brightest earth element!"
Under Chen Yu and Anvil's gaze, the crystal sigil radiated a soft light that quickly spread over half the body, illuminating the ten stars on the formation foundation one by one, with no issues.
Done!
It lit on the first try.
Is this the power of a master craftsman?
Chen Yu felt he had underestimated Anvil.