The next morning, the golden rays of the sun fell upon the city wall, yet they also made the scars left by yesterday's fierce battle even more glaring. The deep brown bloodstains had long since seeped into the stone crevices, silently recounting the brutality of that battle in the morning light.
The bodies of the fallen human mercenaries had already been carried away and uniformly buried in a small cemetery newly opened beside the forest paths.
This was Chen Yu's basic respect for warriors and a necessary measure to prevent the outbreak of plague.
As the losses to the territory were not small, all repair work and personnel appeasement needed handling. He had also, for the first time in a long while, stayed up all night, busily coordinating everything.
At this moment, he was quietly crouching on the battlement, his gel body bathed in the warm and vibrant morning sun.
Continuous mental focus and mana circulation, combined with the nourishment of the dawn energy, suddenly caused him to enter a mysterious state.
The spiritual energy cycle within his body accelerated on its own, producing a wondrous resonance with this world's mana.
*Hum...*
A sensation of cool, abundant power instantly flowed throughout his entire body, as if some invisible barrier had been quietly broken.
【Bronze Lv.6 → Silver Lv.7】
The instant both his magical creature level and cultivation realm broke through, Chen Yu's vision suddenly blurred, plunging him into a kaleidoscope of bizarre illusions.
Countryless, psychedelic colors alternated and spun wildly like an overturned palette, twisting into incomprehensible patterns, as if he had mistakenly eaten some hallucinogenic mushroom.
This strange state lasted for several seconds before the chaotic colors receded like a tide, gradually restoring the scenery of the normal world.
Sensing something, Chen Yu instinctively tried to manipulate his body.
A slight ripple passed over the surface of his green, gel-like body. Its color and texture began to change rapidly, almost instantly simulating the color and texture of the stone bricks of the city wall behind him, perfectly blending into the environment.
Invisibility?
No, it didn't seem that simple.
As he willed it again, his entire body even began to twist and deform, its outline rapidly elongating. Within a few breaths, he actually transformed from a blob of slime into a piece of stone with distinct edges and a rough surface.
If one didn't physically touch it and feel its springy gel texture, it was convincing enough to pass for the real thing.
【Gel Mimicry Lv.1】
A new racial talent was born.
This thing is great.
Combined with "Stealth" and "Heat Mist Illusion," who dares say a slime can't become a master of stealth?
Chen Yu felt a wave of inner delight.
He felt that as long as he was willing, he could mimic and transform into any object—a knight's sword, a hammer used by dwarves for forging, even a tiny Glimmerling.
Of course, the current Lv.1 Mimicry had its limits. It couldn't transform into objects more than twice its own volume, and when changing into movable items, flaws resembling tearing would appear.
It would be like a Glimmerling walking along, its body suddenly splitting open, its two legs going limp and walking off on their own...
After all, it's only Lv.1. The future holds promise.
He thought optimistically that perhaps when the level was higher later on, he could mimic a gel dragon, even simulating its terrifying draconic aura.
He thought again of Arthur and Count Bran's upcoming quest for the crown.
If Arthur wanted to enter the human kingdom, the first problem was how to disguise and hide his identity as a death knight. If not resolved, they would find it difficult to move an inch within the human kingdom.
And now, perhaps... this Mimicry talent could be of great use?
He maintained his stone form, silently pondering.
At that moment, the diligent Count Bran flapped its wings and flew over from the other side of the city wall, a small, shiny crystal held in its beak.
It spotted this extra stone on the battlement at a glance, a flicker of confusion in its little eyes as it muttered:
"Huh? Which idle, bored fellow moved a stone here..."
Before it could finish, the "stone" suddenly rippled, instantly reverting to a blob of green slime.
"Gah?!"
Count Bran was so startled it nearly swallowed the crystal in its beak. "Y-Your Majesty?! How did you just turn into a stone?"
"A mere insignificant spell," Chen Yu's soft, glutinous voice sounded in its mind.
"Alright... Your spell is quite... distinctive." Count Bran landed on the city wall, smoothing its ruffled feathers while still shaken, and muttered quietly, preparing to slip away.
Chen Yu, however, stopped it. "Wait, Count Bran. Regarding that alchemical seed you found yesterday, exactly where in the Western Swamp was it discovered?"
Lv.1 "Fertile Soil" already had such astonishing effects, and it was only one of the insignificant abilities of the "World Tree in a Bottle."
If he could find more seeds...
Heh heh, he didn't even dare imagine what incredibly powerful talents could be nurtured.
"Oh ho ho! It seems Your Majesty is quite interested in this Count's legendary tale."
Speaking of this, Count Bran immediately perked up. It flew closer and began to narrate vividly.
Actually, that day, it had indeed flown out east from the fortress, intending to stay far away from those pointy-eared dryad territories.
Tired from flying, it rested by the Reed River. Who knew it would just happen to see two beavers being all lovey-dovey there? It planned to go over and scold them for their indecent behavior but coincidentally encountered a passing squad of mercenaries.
Hearing they claimed to be from the Dark Realm and were mercenaries of the Blacktooth mercenary company, Count Bran, momentarily curious, followed them.
Unconsciously, it ended up circling near the goblins' activity zone. After all this meandering, when it finally came to its senses, it realized it had somehow circled around to the Western Swamp area.
"This Count thought, since there was no harvest, might as well head back. Then, I suddenly encountered an extremely strong chill. I went to look, and goodness, a huge crack had actually split open in the swamp."
"It was puffing out cold air, freezing a large area of the surrounding swamp into hard, frosty soil. There were also a few silly ice wolves wandering inside."
"This Count wandered around the area and just happened to find that seed on a frozen goblin corpse."
After listening, Chen Yu was utterly speechless.
To avoid the dryad territories, this fellow flew east, yet through a series of twists and turns, it actually managed to circle around to the Western Swamp in the opposite direction. It even coincidentally stumbled upon a newly appeared planar rift and conveniently picked up another alchemical seed...
This luck was simply outrageously good.
Probably even the most eloquent bards couldn't fabricate such a story.
"So, you're saying that not only has a planar rift emitting extreme cold appeared in the Western Swamp, but the seed was also found on a goblin corpse nearby?"
"Then, where is the location of that planar rift?"
As long as a planar rift doesn't open in one's own home, it's essentially a free monster dungeon.
Such a good resource point, of course, should be occupied first.
"Gah gah! That planar rift is northeast of the dryad domain, just a bit further flight, this Count..."
Count Bran stopped mid-sentence, suddenly remembering something, and hurriedly flapped its wings to take off.
"Your Majesty, I'll stop here for now. This Count just saw those elves from the dryad domain returning, bringing a long line of pack beast caravans. They're definitely delivering food."
"This Count needs to go hide. Please, on no account say you've seen me."
With that, without waiting for Chen Yu's response, it immediately beat its wings and flew away in a flurry, disappearing into the fortress in an instant.
Sure enough, as Count Bran had said, not long after, Chen Yu saw a fairly large caravan appear at the end of the forest path.
Tall pack beasts strode with steady steps, their backs laden with bulging sacks of grain. Flanking the caravan were elite elf rangers providing escort, led by Eserin.
Eserin also spotted Chen Yu on the city wall. From afar, she gracefully placed a hand over her chest in salute.
"Sir Slime, I have returned as promised, bringing sufficient food."
With a wave of her hand, soon, large quantities of grain began to be transported in an orderly manner into the fortress granaries.
Looking at the mountains of various grains, tubers, and processed magical moss, Chen Yu could somewhat understand why Count Bran so loved collecting crystals and piling them up in its nest.
For no other reason than that, just seeing the warehouses being filled could give a slime an immense sense of satisfaction.
With these grains stably provided by the dryad domain, the expansion plan for the Poison-stinger Wasp swarm could finally be put on the agenda, achieving a true sense of "mass-producing troops."
With a sufficient army, whether it was completely clearing out the remaining magical creatures in the dungeon, or advancing into the Western Swamp to thoroughly drive out the goblin forces and expand the territory's borders, all would become possible.
After completing the handover, Eserin found Chen Yu and solemnly handed him a letter sealed with fragrant wood.
"What's this?" Chen Yu was somewhat puzzled.
"This is a letter personally written by Lady Viola, who instructed me to deliver it by hand to Knight Arthur," Eserin explained. Her expression was somewhat subtle, as if she knew something but couldn't say much.
After delivering the message, and because they still needed to guard against goblin counterattacks, Eserin did not linger. She saluted again, bid farewell, and led the elf guards, escorting the now-empty pack beast caravan, disappearing into the forest paths.
Holding the faintly fragrant letter, Chen Yu's little eyes showed a trace of confusion.
"A letter from Viola to Arthur?"
He hopped back to the tree hall and called Arthur over through the gel network.
Soon, steady footsteps approached.
Arthur walked in. On his shoulder stood Count Bran, spiritedly describing its legendary experiences. Slightly unexpectedly, Galvin was also following behind them.
Before Chen Yu could ask, Arthur proactively explained, "Your Majesty, Galvin has decided to return to the kingdom with me to search for the 'Crown of Ignis.'"
"Weren't you two fighting to the death before?" Chen Yu curiously transmitted the thought, his gaze shifting between the two.
Arthur's reply was as simple and direct as ever. "We just... are accustomed to communicating through combat. Moreover, with his help, finding the crown will proceed more smoothly, and he can also atone for his crimes through meritorious service."
Galvin crossed his arms, his expression calm, and interjected, "That crown absolutely must not fall into the hands of the demon's hidden agents within the Border Garrison. A successfully crowned demon would bring unimaginable disaster to all the human kingdoms, and even I would not be spared."
He paused, his voice lowering slightly. "This time, consider it my atonement for past cowardice and evasion..."
Arthur looked at him seriously. "The one who should atone is me. It was my recklessness and stubbornness that implicated you. I didn't anticipate the consequences would be so severe."
Galvin said with relief, "After your death, that debt was already settled. All these years, my inability to let go was just me refusing to forgive myself, still unable to relinquish the justice I once scorned."
"No, it was my lack of consideration..." Arthur insisted.
Seeing these two about to fall into an infinite loop of mutual blame-taking, Chen Yu hurriedly interrupted them.
"Stop. Let the past be the past."
He handed the letter with the faint scent of fragrant wood to Arthur. "This is a letter for you, entrusted by Viola to Eserin."
"A letter for me?"
Arthur's empty eye sockets looked at the letter, seeming somewhat confused.
"Oh, damn it!"
Count Bran, however, shrieked as if its tail had been stepped on, jumping away from Arthur's shoulder in alarm.
"That old fossil specifically wrote a letter to you?"
"This must be a plot targeting this Count! She definitely put a vicious curse or tracking magic on the letter paper! Arthur, throw it away quickly!"
Upon hearing this, Arthur actually considered it seriously.
If Chen Yu hadn't told him to read it first before deciding, he might have already thrown the letter in his hand away.
Arthur looked at Count Bran, then finally took a few steps back with the letter, walking outside the tree hall before carefully opening and reading it.
Count Bran, despite saying it was afraid, its body was honest. It hid behind a pillar, occasionally peeking out its little head to nervously observe Arthur.
"How is it, Arthur? Are you alright? How do you feel? Any dizziness or blurred vision?"
After finishing the letter, Arthur carefully folded the paper and put it away, shaking his head.
"Really nothing?" Count Bran's little eyes were still full of suspicion.
Arthur confirmed it again, then took out from his chest the still-brilliant Sunblossom and the crow tail feather with a metallic sheen.
"Lady Viola seems to have anticipated my return to the kingdom. In her letter, she informed me of the correct usage of these two items."
"Usage?" Chen Yu's curiosity was also piqued.
Arthur nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty. She said this is the key to my passing the 'Nature's Trial' and emphasized that Your Majesty's judgment was good, choosing her as my mentor."
"However, regarding their specific functions, Lady Viola repeatedly stressed that I must not reveal them to anyone, otherwise... the trial would become invalid."
Uh...
Actually, back then, he had no idea there was a "Nature's Trial" in the dryad domain. He had just followed Arthur when they got lost and stumbled upon Viola by chance.
But judging from Arthur's solemn attitude, he seemed to genuinely regard that strange experience as a sacred trial.
"Nature's Trial?" Count Bran's eyes immediately widened.
"So Your Majesty had planned this all along? This Count thought we were genuinely lost back then, ahem..."
Chen Yu remained calm and silent. In Count Bran's view, this made him appear even more profound and inscrutable.
However, he was actually muttering internally as well.
He, a nature's blessed, was also extremely curious about what the Nature's Trial entailed.
Arthur looked at Count Bran, raised the crow tail feather, and asked seriously, "According to the hints in Lady Viola's letter, I seem to need to use this feather properly. So, do I still need to throw it away?"
Count Bran hesitated for a moment. "Better keep it."
It cleared its throat twice, puffed out its chest, trying hard to appear as if everything was under control. "Ahem, of course. This Count had already anticipated its use long ago."
Arthur nodded earnestly. "As expected of Count Bran."
"..."
Galvin, who had been silently observing from the side, saw Arthur's such respectful trust in this crow and couldn't help but secretly speculate about Count Bran's true identity.
The magical creatures here couldn't be judged by common sense. This Slime King was already strange enough, so perhaps this crow by his side was also unusual.
Noticing Galvin's expression of "I understand," Chen Yu thought silently to himself.
"Indeed, the only one who could become friends with a blockhead like Arthur is another blockhead."
After Arthur solemnly put away the Sunblossom and crow tail feather again, Count Bran flew back and settled on his shoulder pauldron, saying with some regret:
"Your Majesty, taking advantage that the summer magical tides haven't arrived yet, we plan to set off for Allen Bridge Fort early. We'll skip breakfast."
"What a pity. This Count's dear Moss Monster, didn't even have time to give it a morning kiss."
This was the first time Chen Yu had seen Count Bran so proactive. It seemed it placed considerable importance on that crown and Arthur's "Nature's Trial."
Chen Yu approved their plan and had the slimes prepare ample supplies for them.
Then, he secreted a small slime equipped with "Stealth" and "Heat Mist Illusion," which plopped onto the ground.
He had experimented before. Like "Devour Digestion," although "Gel Mimicry" didn't appear on the small slime's status panel, it didn't hinder its use. Only "Split Proliferation" still couldn't be used.
He looked at the knight ready for departure. "Have you thought of a way to disguise your undead identity? The human kingdom isn't very friendly towards the undead."
Arthur hesitated for a moment, tentatively speaking. "Wrap it all up with bandages?"
Chen Yu: "..."
He didn't think a mummy would be more welcome there than an undead.
Whose idea was this bandage plan anyway?
"Let me handle it."
"Confirm something first. Undead shouldn't need to breathe, right? They can't suffocate?"
Arthur was taken aback, instinctively touching his jawbone to confirm there was no sign of air passing through. "No breathing. Your Majesty, do you have a way to help me?"
"Watch me. Kneel down first."
Arthur obediently knelt on one knee.
The small slime clone hopped and, with a *splat*, stuck to the face of the kneeling Arthur. It quickly spread out, covering his entire skull.
Then, under Galvin's astonished gaze, that layer of gel began to rapidly change shape, adjusting color and texture.
Within seconds, it actually formed a sharply defined, unfamiliar human male face with some stubble.
Although the eyes looked rather vacant, it was still much better than the lousy bandage idea.
"Mimicry Slime?"
Galvin's face showed some confusion.
But this Slime King was clearly a slime. How could it master the abilities of those slimes from the Faran Highlands?
Could it be that this Slime King wasn't a local slime?
Count Bran excitedly hopped around. "Oh ho ho, Retainer! You look almost as if you've come back to life! Just your eyes are still a bit silly-looking."
"Is... is that so?" Arthur seemed somewhat pleased, instinctively wanting to raise his hand to touch his face but afraid of damaging it.
"Of course. Why would this Count lie to you?"
After the chat ended and everything was ready, Chen Yu saw them off at the fortress's main gate.
"Go on. Be careful in everything. If you encounter danger, don't hesitate to call for my help."
Arthur placed his right hand over his chest, solemnly performing a standard knight's salute to Chen Yu.
"Your Majesty, I entrust my flower to your care."
Seeing this, Count Bran also imitated by puffing out its chest, using its wing like a hand to place over its chest, performing a noble's salute.
Then it waved its wing in farewell, its voice loud and full of confidence. "Your Majesty, we will return with the crown soon! Prepare for your coronation ceremony!"
Chen Yu watched as their figures gradually disappeared into the end of the forest path, the morning sun stretching their shadows long.
A faint sadness, similar to that of an old father seeing his children off on a long journey, lingered around Chen Yu.
*Sigh, children grow up. You have to let them go eventually.*
*It's good for them to go out and make their way.*
Only when their figures were completely swallowed by the forest did Chen Yu withdraw his gaze and turn around.
His attention returned to the planar rift in the Western Swamp mentioned by Count Bran.
*Ice and snow magical creatures...* he pondered.
*Sounds icy cold.*
*If they could be captured, add some sugar and cream, stir it up...*
*Wouldn't that be similar to ice cream?*