"What do you mean, 'huh'?"
"Aren't you supposed to be in the snowy mountains? What are you doing in a place like this?" Chen Yu bumped against her.
"Ah, I... Envoy, why are you here too?"
After confirming the identity of the red glowing orb in front of her, Sekashi sent out a joyful mental message, tinged with a bit of worry.
"This is the Ice Elemental Plane, you know... it's very dangerous..."
Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly realized something was off.
This meditation session seemed unusually long. Based on previous experiences, she should have long since exhausted her mental energy by now.
It seemed like that warmth that dispelled the cold had extended her meditation time.
Could it be that the Envoy suddenly appearing here was because he heard her prayers and descended to help her?
Chen Yu bounced a bit helplessly in her embrace.
This silly little follower's train of thought was still as bizarre as ever.
But confirming that she hadn't frozen into a little popsicle in the snowy mountains and was still alive and kicking, his mood was generally quite pleased.
"Stop being touched for now. How did you end up in a place like this? This is an elemental plane, not a place your little body should be."
Sekashi was stunned for a moment, instinctively thinking that was the question she should be asking.
But she patiently explained anyway: "I'm completing the final shaman trial—the metamorphosis of the Life Spirit. I need to find an ice elemental creature here and successfully form a contract to pass the trial."
"But I don't know why, I could see many glowing orbs before, but just now they all suddenly disappeared."
"Do you know what's going on?" She looked pleadingly at the warm red orb in her arms.
Chen Yu carefully recalled.
Magical Creatures suddenly disappearing?
He was the one who curiously entered the rift to investigate because he didn't see any Magical Creatures.
"If it's really as you say, and the elemental creatures here disappeared collectively all of a sudden, hmm... then it might not be a coincidence."
"It might be that some abnormal phenomenon occurred nearby, causing them to vanish."
Sekashi nodded vigorously, as if she had found her pillar of support. "Mhm, mhm, it must be like that."
Suddenly, as if she thought of something, her little face showed a conflicted expression. After hesitating for a moment, she mustered her courage and whispered, "Um, Envoy, if you're busy, you don't have to worry about me. I... I'll figure it out myself..."
"Idiot." Chen Yu bumped against her, a bit exasperated.
"Do you really think meeting me here is just a pure coincidence?"
He even suspected that the unique fluctuations generated by the opening of this planar rift were what attracted Sekashi, who was in deep meditation, to this vicinity.
Him encountering Sekashi in the elemental plane wasn't entirely a coincidence.
Or rather, it really could be the arrangement of that Bog Lord deity named Putu.
"If you want to complete the trial, then come with me. I'll take you to find someone you can still contract with."
"O-okay!" Sekashi hurriedly nodded. Even though she was scolded, she felt secretly delighted inside.
She even had the mind to let her thoughts wander, thinking the Slime in her arms was still as soft to hold as before...
After standing up while holding Chen Yu, she subconsciously looked around.
However, in her spiritual perception, this pure white world seemed like a boundless, hazy sea of clouds. She couldn't distinguish east, west, north, or south at all. She looked for a long time but didn't know which direction to go.
Just as she was at a loss, Chen Yu in her arms extended a gel hand, patted her, and pointed in a certain direction.
Against the backdrop of the vast snow and what seemed like an eternal dark night, there appeared to be a standing silhouette in the distance.
"Let's go check over there. I think I see something there, like a hill."
"Oh... okay." Sekashi snapped back to attention and immediately moved in the direction Chen Yu indicated.
What surprised Chen Yu a bit was that Sekashi's spiritual body walked across this icy plain with surprising ease, as if weightless and unaffected by the deep snow.
Her spiritual body didn't seem to be just simple soul projection;
it was more like a special form of existence adapted to the rules of the elemental plane.
On the way, Sekashi couldn't hold back her curiosity and longing, quietly asking about the swamp and the tribe's situation.
"After those corrupted guys were driven off, they never came back. Don't worry, the tribe is very safe," Chen Yu replied.
"As for the swamp, I built a huge castle inside. Recently, I've been planning to expand the territory, preparing to establish a royal capital for the Kingdom."
"Ah?"
Sekashi's mouth fell open in surprise.
Had she only been gone for a few months?
The Envoy was already building... building a royal capital?
"So, so amazing!" she praised sincerely.
Chen Yu asked about her recent situation.
"Over in the snowy mountains, has any bad guy bullied you? I'll send an army over to beat him up for you."
Sekashi quickly shook her head, her tail subconsciously swaying even in her spiritual state.
"No, no, the tribal savages in the snowy mountains are very good. They revere courage and warmly welcome outsiders who dare to challenge the mountains."
"And I learned natural healing magic. I help treat people in the tribe, and they're all very willing to help me complete the trial."
"But..." She seemed to remember something, her expression turning hesitant.
"But what?" Chen Yu pressed.
She lowered her voice, as if afraid of being overheard.
"I heard from the orc merchant caravan from the far north that further north, there are several very large orc tribes."
"It seems because the mountains are exceptionally cold this year and prey is scarce, they are planning to head south, wanting to raid the White Horse Kingdom's border for food..."
"Northern orcs?"
Chen Yu was taken aback, silently committing this news to memory.
To prevent any accidents, he still needed to be wary of these guys. He really didn't want his territory invaded by southbound orc raiding parties.
And those demi-human tribes by the riverbank—perfect timing to consider bringing them under the Kingdom's protection as official subjects.
These were all his potential believers, much more reliable than those profit-driven human Adventurers.
And the territory was indeed currently lacking demi-human subjects with hands and feet. A lot of delicate craftsmanship work still needed to be handed over to demi-humans with nimble fingers to speed up work efficiency.
He was pondering future plans when that massive "hill" was already right in front of them.
However, looking at it up close, this didn't seem to be an ordinary hill, but rather a transparent ice crystal covered in thick snow.
"Strange, why is there such a huge lump of ice crystal here?" Chen Yu was just feeling curious.
Sekashi in his arms suddenly panicked, "Envoy, it's not a hill."
"It's a glowing orb! A really, really big glowing orb..."
As soon as she finished speaking, the massive ice crystal hill in front of them suddenly shook violently. Snow fell rustling down as it raised its head, completely made of ice, revealing its full body.
This was actually an enormous ice elemental!
"ROAR!!!"
The ice elemental let out an earth-shaking roar, instantly sensing the unusually conspicuous red Slime in Sekashi's arms.
The next moment, its massive fist, formed from countless ice pillars, carrying bone-chilling cold air capable of crushing everything, smashed down towards the two of them.
"Why so much anger right after meeting?"
Chen Yu muttered a complaint, but his reaction was extremely fast.
He abruptly jumped up from Sekashi's arms, facing the incoming ice fist.
[Fire Element Affinity]
[Pea Shot]
[Water Arrow Technique]
Several gel balls burning with flames shot out, along with swift water arrows, directly towards the ice elemental's giant fist.
However, the ice elemental giant seemed blind, completely ignoring the water arrows, all its attention drawn to those flame-burning gel balls.
It even adjusted its fist's trajectory slightly, aiming straight for the flaming gel.
Thud! Thud!
Two dull thuds.
The burning peas only scorched a few small pits on the surface of its massive ice fist, melting a tiny bit of ice shavings.
But that ignored water arrow, frozen into an even harder ice arrow by the extreme cold during flight, *pfft*, unexpectedly pierced through its forearm.
Yet the ice elemental felt no pain. Having its arm pierced was like a mosquito bite to it. Its massive body just paused briefly, still stubbornly chasing after Chen Yu, who had already moved.
"This guy perceives enemies by temperature?"
Chen Yu instantly understood the key.
With a thought, he concentrated fully on restraining all the heat radiating from himself. His gel body quickly became as cold as the surrounding environment.
Sure enough, the massive ice elemental giant instantly lost its target. Its huge fist froze mid-air. It turned its ice-blue head left and right in confusion, looking around.
As if wondering where that annoying heat source suddenly went.
It completely failed to notice that Sekashi had already carried Chen Yu and escaped to a sufficiently far distance.
Although she didn't feel tired in her spiritual state, she was still terrified by that huge ice elemental orb from earlier.
So she timidly suggested, "Envoy, sh-should we just go find a little ice wolf to contract instead..."
Chen Yu reignited his heat glow, jumped onto her shoulder, and patted her head.
"No ambition. Not even a dog would want an ice wolf."
"It's this big guy. Looks impressive. Wait for me to call for reinforcements."
Sekashi weakly retorted, "B-but I'm a Lizardfolk, not a dog..."
"No buts."
Chen Yu puffed out his chest. "It dared to strike first, so it gets beaten up."
"You wait here. I'm going to summon Slimes."
He had no intention of slinking away after being attacked, especially when the opponent was just a brainless ice elemental.
...
Swamp Fortress.
While Chen Yu was busy in the Ice Elemental Plane summoning Slimes to deal with the big guy, his swamp home welcomed an unexpected visitor.
Vampire Casimir, like an elegant night bat, silently weaved through the dense, humid swamp trees.
Behind him followed dozens of equally silent vampire bats, each clutching an exquisite gift box tied with black satin ribbons.
These were gifts he brought on behalf of the vampire clan for their ally.
Passing by a bubbling, decaying bog, he slightly furrowed his brows and couldn't help but elegantly cover his nose with a black-gloved finger.
He thought disdainfully to himself, "I must say, the taste of these Magical Creatures is truly poor. How can they possibly live in such a dreadful, utterly awful place?"
Soon, the trees ahead thinned out, revealing a fortress standing in the swamp.
The stone city walls, the strange artillery arrays, and the faintly visible Wasp Nest all carried a savage and dangerous aura.
Casimir observed with interest. "So this is the fortress that stopped Galvin and even made him trip up in a ditch? Doesn't look particularly special."
The moment this thought flashed through his mind, a killing intent suddenly locked onto him from the shadows all around.
*Swish, swish, swish—!*
Several poison stingers grazed his formal attire and shot into the tree trunk behind him, instantly corroding several small holes.
"Oh, oh! Friends, calm down!"
Casimir reacted extremely quickly, immediately raising both hands high, masking the shock in his heart, and putting on what he considered a friendly smile.
"I retract any inappropriate comments I just made."
"Casimir, that's my name. This lord has come with utmost goodwill to visit, absolutely no ill intentions."
Surrounding silence, only the rustling of leaves and the low hum of Poison-stinger Wasp wings.
The stealthy Assassin Wasp Soldiers ignored his explanation, merely continuously threatening him with their stingers, forcing him step by step out of the woods where he hid, completely exposing him to the sunlight in the open area before the fortress.
"Friend, this isn't very friendly." Casimir's smile remained unchanged, but the intense sunlight made him somewhat uncomfortable, a slight abnormality showing on his face.
Soon, news of a visitor spread throughout the fortress via the gel network.
With Chen Yu absent, Little Flower, temporarily in charge, immediately *pat-pat-patted* her way up the city wall, Captain Beet close behind.
Little Flower poked her round body out from behind the battlement, looking down curiously at the pale-faced man dressed lavishly below.
Seeing that the one appearing on the city wall was actually a Slime, a flicker of surprise passed through Casimir's eyes.
"Having a Slime handle visitors? This territory gets more and more interesting."
He straightened his slightly disheveled bowtie, snagged by branches, and performed an impeccable noble bow.
"Oh, esteemed Slime Lord, good day."
"I am Casimir, a vampire from the Dark Realm. Please forgive my abrupt visit. I hope I haven't disturbed your peace."
Beet looked at Little Flower.
"Little Flower, should we beat him up? He doesn't look like a good person."
Beet was somewhat eager, even ready to sting his butt hard.
Little Flower bounced once. "Ask his purpose first."
But here came the problem: those currently in the territory who could speak were all absent, and she certainly couldn't rashly let this suspicious stranger connect to the gel network.
How to communicate?
Little Flower's round body wobbled a bit, quickly thinking of a solution.
She had the nearby Slime Engineer quickly fetch a wooden board and ink.
Then, under Casimir's curious gaze, Little Flower dipped a brush in ink and began writing Common Tongue characters on the board.
After writing, she struggled to lift the board, displaying it to Casimir below.
Written on the board was: What is your purpose in coming here?
Casimir originally thought the negotiation had failed and was preparing to try another approach when he suddenly saw the clear, neat handwriting on the board.
"Slimes... can write?"
And wrote much better than those mostly illiterate blood thralls in the castle.
He forcibly suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, plastering a "sincere" smile back on his face, spreading his hands and saying, "This lord's purpose here is simple."
"First, I wish to express my most sincere apologies for the Blacktooth mercenary company's previous rude offense. I believe there may be some serious misunderstandings between our vampire clan and you."
"It's all because of those cunning Goblins stirring trouble in between. They used money to bewitch those mercenaries. Pitiful us, kept in the dark, only finding out now."
He skillfully shifted the blame.
"To show our sincerity," he turned sideways and snapped his fingers.
The vampire bats behind him immediately flew forward, carefully placing the exquisite gift boxes they carried on the ground.
The gift boxes were beautifully packaged, seemingly containing things like wine bottles, some kind of artwork.
"The vampire clan specially prepared some small gifts, hoping you'll like them."
After doing all this, Casimir smiled and asked, seemingly casually, "So, my friend, may I now have the honor of entering and personally visiting your powerful lord?"
Little Flower and Beet exchanged a glance.
"This guy looks even more like a bad guy now."
"I think so too."
But they were also a bit conflicted, unsure whether to directly drive him away or... deal with him?
So Little Flower immediately tried to contact Chen Yu, who was far away in the Western Swamp territory, via the gel network.
After waiting a moment, Chen Yu's reply came back through the network.
"Just say I'm not here, tell him to come another day. Don't worry, Little Ka and Anvil are already on their way back."
Receiving her brother's instructions, Little Flower felt much more at ease.
She picked up the board again, wiped off the previous words with gel, dipped in ink, scribbled for a while, then lifted it again for Casimir to see.
The new writing said: Lord not here. Leave this place.
"That Undead isn't here?" A glint flashed in Casimir's eyes, his mind becoming active.
"Is it a coincidence, or...?"
He even began to suspect that to defeat Galvin, that Undead had also paid an extremely heavy price and was currently in a weakened state, which was why he didn't dare to come out to meet him.
However, those faintly visible artillery arrays and wasp swarms on the city wall, along with the still unclear details, ultimately made him suppress the impulse to immediately turn hostile and test them.
He merely showed a slightly regretful smile, elegantly retreated a few steps, but didn't leave. Instead, like a stubborn pest, he directly found a large tree near the forest edge and leaned against the trunk in a leisurely pose.
He said with a smile, "So the Lord is out on business? No problem, a gentleman has no lack of patience."
"I'll just rest here for a while, waiting for your lord to return. Consider it admiring the scenery."
Seeing the Slime on the city wall seemed somewhat restless, he proactively opened his formal coat, revealing the empty pockets inside.
"Please rest assured, esteemed Slime Lord. I'm carrying nothing, no weapons. I am merely a peace envoy longing to resolve misunderstandings."
Meanwhile, Chen Yu's words also came back.
"Don't mind him. Just keep watch."
So, Little Flower on the city wall put down the sign and silently stared at the vampire lingering below.
In the surrounding woods, the frequency of Poison-stinger Wasp patrols quietly increased, enveloping Casimir like a spider web, keeping him in check.
Casimir seemed completely unaware, even pulling out a small, exquisite silver flask from somewhere, elegantly taking a sip, looking quite comfortable.
Putting on a completely non-hostile appearance.
Even looking like he came for a vacation picnic.