Chen Yu steered the conversation back to business. "Speaking of which, how is the progress on finding the Crown of Ignis?"
"The main crown?"
Count Bran's eyes lit up, and he slapped his head with a wing. "Caw! This Count almost forgot about such a great merit waiting for me to claim!"
He puffed out his chest, boasting smugly. "With this Count's eloquence and wisdom, convincing those chaotic worshippers of the Blade of Vengeance was a piece of cake. Belly sent word this morning, saying she has successfully retrieved the crown and is now waiting for this Count to go back and get it!"
"Now that this meeting is over, this Count must hurry back to retrieve the crown for you."
But then, as if remembering something, his tone became a bit more cautious. "It's just... Belly said the crown seems to have a... minor flaw. I hope Your Majesty won't mind."
Chen Yu was somewhat surprised.
He originally thought that entrusting the internal affairs of the White Horse Kingdom to the unreliable crow, Count Bran, would most likely end in failure.
He never expected this fellow to actually succeed in negotiating the crown matter.
Upon hearing this, Count Bran was instantly overjoyed, flapping his wings excitedly and circling the room. "Caw hahaha! Your Majesty flatters me. This is all part of this Count's duty."
As he spoke, he flew down onto the table, taking the opportunity to lean closer to Chen Yu and whisper. "Then... Your Majesty, about the matter of this Count's fiefdom..."
Chen Yu waved his gel little hand grandly, if it could be called a hand.
"The Dark Realm is a vast place. Once you bring back the crown, I will personally allocate you a large and excellent fiefdom."
"It must have shiny gems and plump worms." Count Bran's eyes sparkled as he hurriedly added his conditions.
"No problem." Chen Yu readily agreed, then asked curiously, "But what exactly is the minor flaw Belly mentioned?"
"Ahem..."
Count Bran's imposing demeanor instantly shrank. He scratched his head with the tip of his wing, looking somewhat embarrassed. "It's... it's not a huge problem. It's just that the thing... it cracked."
"Cracked?"
Chen Yu thought that wasn't too bad;
it could still be used after repair.
"It's... shattered... into several pieces..." Count Bran covered his small eyes with his wings, his voice growing softer as he confessed honestly.
Well...
Chen Yu was speechless. Could that be called a minor flaw?
Alice, who had been listening nearby, couldn't help but furrow her brow. After a moment of thought, she spoke up. "According to legend, the Crown of Ignis was forged from the core of an extinguished sun, protected by the power of the sun god. Its sturdiness is extraordinary. How could it possibly shatter so easily?"
Count Bran lowered his wings, defending himself. "According to Belly, it seemed to crack on its own. Could it be because it's too old and has deteriorated too badly?"
Chen Yu bounced once. "Forget it. Shattered is shattered. It's not completely unusable."
Even if it was just a broken crown, or even just a single fragment, it should be sufficient to serve as one of the Two Treasures of Yin and Yang and complete his Foundation Establishment.
From Shield River City to the swamp, it would take Count Bran at least several days of full-speed flight.
If he moved quickly, he might be able to deliver the crown fragments to him before the summer Magical Tides erupted.
What was a bit regrettable was that without the complete crown, that seemingly impressive-sounding Trial of Kingship was probably completely off the table.
But looking on the bright side, obtaining the crown was only one of the conditions for the Trial of Kingship. As for what the other conditions were, he had no idea.
Such ancient trial legacies had long been lost over the vast stretches of time. However, that Greater Demon entrenched in the Golden Radiance Valley might know some inside information...
It wasn't like he could just send a letter asking, and that Greater Demon would obediently hand over the trial contents with both hands.
This Trial of Kingship might have been destined to be beyond his reach from the start.
Seeing that Chen Yu wasn't blaming him, Count Bran secretly breathed a sigh of relief and immediately became excited again.
He urged Alice to open the window, ready to set off immediately to return to Shield River City and retrieve the broken main crown.
Watching Count Bran's dark figure fly out the window and quickly disappear into the drizzling rain curtain, Chen Yu also bid a brief farewell to Alice, and his consciousness returned to the outpost fortress.
......
Perhaps because the summer Magical Tides were approaching, the weather over the outpost fortress was always overcast and rainy.
Even after a whole morning, the sky showed no sign of clearing. Instead, it grew increasingly gloomy. Bean-sized raindrops pitter-pattered down, and the rain was heavier than before.
The slime guards were not sensitive to rainy days. Their gel bodies actually felt pleasant and comfortable, nourished by the rain.
They still faithfully patrolled the fortress streets and city walls, their round figures appearing and disappearing within the rain curtain.
As for the captured human adventurers and mercenaries, most had retreated into the houses, gathering around warm hearths, chatting in low voices, warming themselves, and waiting for the rain to stop.
Inside the Slime Hall.
The fire in the hearth burned quietly, dispelling the damp chill.
Chen Yu sat cultivating on the oak throne. Several slime scholars were hopping about with soft *plop plop* sounds, busily organizing the mountainous piles of intelligence scrolls and maps.
Peachy and Little Ka lay lazily on the soft carpet by the hearth, snoring softly, seemingly already asleep.
Just then, the wooden door of the hall was pushed open from the outside, and a figure holding an umbrella stepped in with elegant strides.
The newcomer was none other than Casimir.
Perched on his shoulder was a slime scholar chatting happily with him.
Seeing him enter, Chen Yu opened his small eyes and asked, "What's happened?"
Casimir closed his umbrella, gently shook off the water droplets, then quickly walked to Chen Yu, who was seated on the central oak throne, and bowed respectfully.
"Your Majesty, all the assets looted from the ancient castle treasury have been fully accounted for."
He took out a list from his bosom and presented it with both hands. "According to the precise statistics of the slime sir managing the warehouse, the fortress warehouse currently holds seventy-six thousand gold coins and approximately three thousand silver coins."
Chen Yu's small eyes instantly lit up.
Over seventy thousand gold coins. He never expected those vampires to have left him such a huge sum.
He bounced excitedly and pressed further. "Excellent. And if we sell all those confiscated enchanted equipment and magic scrolls, roughly how many gold coins could we exchange for?"
Upon hearing this, Casimir's face showed a helpless smile. He spread his hands. "Regarding your reputation as the 'King of Magical Creatures,' it has long spread throughout the border of the White Horse Kingdom. The Border Corps has long been on guard against us, strengthening inspections at various checkpoints."
"I'm afraid before our trade caravan even enters the territory of the White Horse Kingdom, these 'stolen goods' would be confiscated by them under the pretext of suppressing bandits."
"Oh, that seems right." Chen Yu only then realized.
He thought for a moment and proposed another idea. "Then what about selling them to the local mercenaries in the Dark Realm? They should need this equipment, right?"
"Ahem..."
Casimir covered his mouth with his hand and coughed lightly. "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? In the Dark Realm, practically any mercenary with a bit of a reputation has now been 'invited' by you to 'be a guest' in our prisoner camp."
"Are you sure you want to sell the equipment back to them?"
His words were very tactful, almost explicitly stating the worry that those mercenaries, once armed, might turn around and attack them.
"Then forget it." Chen Yu completely dismissed the notion, feeling inwardly troubled.
To cultivate a vast Ancient Tree Legion, just the cost of procuring Ancient Resin alone would be an astronomical figure.
To be honest, these tens of thousands of gold coins would probably be depleted after just a few procurement trips.
But without stable trade channels, the 'specialties' within the territory couldn't be smoothly traded out, making the source of Ancient Resin a major problem.
Just then, Casimir suddenly chuckled softly, his tone composed. "Your Majesty need not worry about this. Regarding trade channels, I do have a solution."
Chen Yu looked up at him expectantly.
Casimir explained. "You might not be very familiar with the geography of the Dark Realm yet."
"In fact, besides the eastern route leading to the White Horse Kingdom, there are two other important trade routes that almost traverse the southeast direction of the Dark Realm."
"Using these two trade routes, our trade caravan can avoid the Border Corps' blockade, head south, and go to the commercially renowned Misty Bay Harbor Trade Alliance, or even further south to those affluent southern kingdoms for trade."
"Of course, the drawback of these two trade routes is that they are long-distance. Using traditional carriage transport, a round trip would take about two months."
He revealed a confident smile. "But if I personally lead the team, utilizing some of our vampires' convenient little abilities, I am confident I can shorten that time to about half a month."
Chen Yu looked at Casimir suspiciously.
"Why have you suddenly become interested in trade?"
Just as he was thinking Casimir might have some ulterior motive, perhaps planning to abscond with the funds, Casimir spoke as if it were the most natural thing. "Of course it's for missionary work!"
His gaze was fervent, his expression fanatical, as if speaking of an incredibly sacred undertaking. "Your Majesty, you must understand that monetary trade often accompanies the spread of faith."
"Although the Dark Realm is not coastal, there are still quite a few mercenaries here who worship 'Ethera'—that goddess from the sea. Such examples are common across the continent."
He spread his arms excitedly. "Please imagine, Your Majesty, in those southern nations where faith is still primitive, how many potential believers await my guidance."
Chen Yu's expression turned odd.
It did sound somewhat reasonable.
But who would believe in a slime?
To put it nicely, they are potential believers. To put it bluntly, currently there are zero believers of slimes in the south.
He looked at Casimir's eyes, which held the determination of a martyr, and ultimately swallowed his complaint.
"As a safeguard, I will prepare enough Life's Blood for you and the trade team to last half a month."
Casimir's eyes lit up. He placed his hand on his chest and bowed deeply.
"For the Kingdom! For Your Majesty!"
Watching Casimir leave the hall, Chen Yu couldn't help but sigh.
With the addition of Casimir and these vampires, the Slime Kingdom finally had a few more humanoid subjects capable of handling external affairs.
At least for this kind of trade requiring external negotiation and long-distance travel, they wouldn't have to drag Anvil along every time.
It would allow his master blacksmith to stay peacefully in his workshop, focusing on honing his craft.
Speaking of which... ever since the Graystone Bulwark was breached and the Magical Creature Legion captured the ancient alchemical cannons on the city wall, that fellow Anvil had been so excited he didn't even drink his beloved ale anymore, throwing himself entirely into researching that big thing.
He wondered if Anvil had made any breakthroughs recently.
Chen Yu, with his round little belly, sat upright on the comfortable oak throne. A Poison-stinger Wasp diligently brought him a cup of specially prepared honey water.
He leisurely sipped the drink through a straw while, through the gel network, he connected with Anvil, who was far away in the Obsidian Mining Area.
This gave him a feeling somewhat reminiscent of the leisurely times in the past, sitting on a sofa drinking soda and scrolling through his phone.
His little life was indeed thriving, becoming more and more promising.
Soon, Anvil's excited voice came through the network. "Your Majesty, did you also hear that my research has made a major breakthrough?"
"Breakthrough? What breakthrough?" Chen Yu was somewhat confused.
"So you didn't know..." Anvil on the other end muttered, but immediately continued enthusiastically. "Hahaha! Thanks to that child Aileen. She can actually recognize the damaged enchantment patterns on that alchemical cannon, and she can use her peculiar magic to bond and restore the broken patterns."
"As long as we figure out the most headache-inducing part of analyzing these enchantment patterns, repairing this big thing is just a matter of time."
Chen Yu's heart stirred. He asked, "Roughly how long until it can be fully repaired?"
Well...
Anvil's voice hesitated slightly. "About two months or more. After all, many components need to be reforged, and enchanting is delicate work..."
He seemed afraid Chen Yu would think it too slow and hurriedly added, "Ahem, Your Majesty, to be honest, our smelting area is still a bit short on manpower, especially craftsmen who understand enchanting and forging... You see, when can we go catch some more dwarf craftsmen?"
Upon hearing this, Chen Yu said seriously, "Our Slime Kingdom respects talent the most. How can we 'catch' them? Of course, we must treat them with courtesy and invite them over for exchange and guidance."
"Coincidentally, there are many captives here. I'll have Little Flower carefully screen them to see if there are any craftsmen who meet the requirements, and then hire them over."
Anvil's delighted voice immediately came through. "That's great! That way, progress can be sped up considerably."
Chen Yu nodded. Suddenly remembering what Anvil had just mentioned, a thought flashed through his mind.
"Anvil, you just said Little Aileen can bond damaged enchantment patterns?"
"Yes, that child is practically a genius in this area." Anvil's tone carried pride.
"Then can you also repair the shattered Crown of Ignis?"
He told Anvil the news that the crown had broken into several pieces.
After listening, Anvil couldn't help but say, "Your Majesty, you seem to be overestimating us a bit."
"That's a main crown forged from a sun's core, according to legend. It's completely different from the craftsmanship we use for forging and enchanting. Repairing such a divine artifact is probably impossible."
"Alright." This outcome was within Chen Yu's expectations;
he wasn't too disappointed.
"However..."
Anvil on the other end suddenly adopted a solemn tone. "Your Majesty, when the time comes, could you leave the smallest crown fragment for me?"
He seemed afraid Chen Yu would misunderstand and hurriedly explained. "I, Anvil Copperfire, hereby swear in the name of my ancestors and the forge fire, it is not for the power of the divine artifact, but only to deeply study the forging techniques upon it."
"I swear, I will exhaust all my lifelong learning to present you with a founding gift infused with my entire heart and soul."
This was the first time Chen Yu had heard Anvil speak in such a serious tone. He could feel the sincerity and longing in this dwarf master blacksmith's words.
Just a fragment. If it could truly inspire Anvil to forge something remarkable, then it would be worth it.
After thinking for a moment, Chen Yu readily agreed. "Alright. When the crown fragments arrive, I'll leave one for you to study."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty! I will not disappoint your expectations." Anvil's voice was filled with excitement and gratitude.