Night turned to day, until a strip of dawn like floating gold barely pierced the heavy Gray Mist, spilling light onto the Storm Fortress’s towering walls. The newly repaired stone bricks and the remaining scorched marks glittered like they had been gilded, as if coated in a layer of hopeful light.
The scattered torches along the wall gradually sputtered out. The huge breach that had once collapsed was now roughly sealed with temporary boulders and reinforced gel after the Slime Engineers’ all-night effort. It was far from as strong as the original wall, but at least it could resist the surge of the Magical Tides.
Aside from one magic tower that had been completely ruined, the fortress’s other defensive installations—arrow towers, ballista platforms, and magic formation nodes—had mostly returned to function with the help of the fortress mages.
A faint magical glow relit along the walls, enough to hold back the still-raging Magical Tides.
Of course, these were only emergency repairs.
After the tides subsided, Chen Yu planned to form a much larger Slime engineering corps, fully reinforce the fortress’s defenses, and then build a longer, stronger wall at the edge of the Golden Tassel Plain behind the fortress, to guard against threats that might come from within the White Horse Kingdom.
From the reports smuggled back by the Poison-stinger Wasp informants, once the mages sent word that the Storm Fortress had fallen, the White Horse Kingdom had already descended into chaos.
After the Demon agents’ identities were exposed, they launched a long-prepared coup and completely seized the Royal Capital. A large number of nobles who opposed them ended up on the scaffold, blood flooding the streets.
Almost overnight, various princes announced the formation of restoration armies. The ancient nobility in the Northern Territory took the opportunity to declare autonomy or to wait and see. The mages of Smaragdon Academy in Jade City and several other colleges issued statements of neutrality, refusing to join the strife. The wealthy southern nobles were likewise stirring, expanding private armies.
It was foreseeable that the region would remain unstable for a long time: warlord clashes and many competing powers vying for dominance were almost unavoidable.
To prevent those bloodthirsty factions from spreading the war to the Slime Kingdom, expanding and strengthening the Storm Fortress’s defenses was necessary.
At the same time, a secure and stable bridgehead would allow the Kingdom to dispatch the Magical Creature Legion into its interior without fearing for its rear, letting them participate in the chaos.
At minimum... they had to fully seize the Storm Territory, which occupied one third of the Golden Tassel Plain, before they could consider longer-term plans.
However, if magical creatures directly intervened in human internal disputes, they would easily provoke hostility and fear among many White Horse Kingdom factions, possibly uniting them to attack and labeling the creatures as invaders.
That outcome was not what Chen Yu wanted.
He had a more mature plan—fight proxy wars.
If Demons could secretly back agents like Dominic and Vincent to manipulate the Kingdom, then his Slimes could do the same.
And this was not merely theoretical; it had a practical foundation.
Since the existence of Demon agents had been proven, Princess Louisa’s previous charge of treason became not a shame but her greatest political capital for restoration.
Legally, Princess Louisa was the fourth in line to the White Horse throne, and she was the first to expose and resist the Demon agents—she could legitimately be called a national heroine.
Supporting her in the Kingdom’s internal conflicts was entirely reasonable and lawful, and it would face little popular resistance; it held moral ground.
But Louisa... she was clever, headstrong, and ambitious. She would not willingly become a puppet and might refuse covert control by the Slime Kingdom.
If negotiations failed, Chen Yu could turn to the Arevalo family as Plan B.
Raven was aging, Arthur was Undead... Alice might be a decent alternative.
Chen Yu rode Little Ka slowly along the wall, lazily enjoying the hard-won sunlight. His gel body looked even more crystalline and translucent in the warm light.
The Slime guards began rotating shifts.
Some little ones who had been on duty all night leaned against corners or behind the battlements and fell into heavy sleep, their round bodies rising and falling slightly with each breath, making soft “plop-plop” sounds.
If one ignored the occasional monsters still pounding against the temporary barriers below the wall, the fortress that morning was comparatively peaceful.
Until noon, when the sky darkened again and a steady drizzle began to fall.
From the gray distant sky flew a familiar black silhouette—Princess Louisa and Celeste.
To everyone’s surprise, they were accompanied by several small but well-equipped human guards. From the banners and crests, they appeared to be a small number of nobles loyal to Louisa.
Chen Yu did not attend the negotiations personally this time; he delegated full authority to Count Bran and Arthur.
Count Bran had been so thrilled when he learned he would represent the Slime Kingdom in such an important negotiation that he could not sleep last night. He pestered Arthur the entire evening, rehearsing lines and imagining the negotiation scenarios.
Fortunately, Arthur was Undead and didn’t need rest, and he had the patience to endure Count Bran’s endless ramblings and dubious “brilliant plans.”
Chen Yu hopped along the battlement in the drizzle and looked into the fortress. Warm lights glowed from the windows of the relatively intact central Meeting Hall, signaling the start of talks.
Because both sides approached with clear aims, their red lines and demands were also clear. The negotiations did not drag on.
About an hour later, the Meeting Hall’s lights were still on, but Count Bran hurried out into the rain.
“Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Good news!” Count Bran flapped his wings and flew up to Chen Yu, puffing out his chest to report proudly.
Although the talks had been difficult and the sides sparred over some details—resulting in several compromises by the Slime Kingdom—the final agreement basically matched the framework Chen Yu had envisioned.
Effective immediately, the Slime Kingdom and Princess Louisa von Whiteman of the White Horse Kingdom formally reached an accord.
At a seventy-to-thirty ratio, they would form a mixed “Restoration Legion” composed of Magical Creatures and human units, fully supporting Princess Louisa’s restoration campaign within the White Horse Kingdom.
The Arevalo knights and the remaining soldiers of the Border Corps would be reorganized into the “Second Protectorate Legion,” with Raven Arevalo as its commander.
The Slime Kingdom’s provided Magical Creature forces—including the Gargoyle Legion, the Poison-stinger Wasp legion, and Metal Slime units—would form the “Third Covenant Legion,” with Celeste standing as the Slime Kingdom’s nominal legion commander.
Princess Louisa would serve as the Restoration Legion’s supreme commander, with Raven and Celeste as her deputies.
On the surface, this Restoration Legion was presented as a human-led restoration force with no direct Slime Kingdom control.
But both sides knew the truth: the Magical Creature Legion would only take orders from their glorious Slime Majesty.
Letting the magical creatures join the Restoration Legion functioned as a check on Louisa, to prevent her ambition from ballooning, breaking the agreement, or slipping out of control.
The agreement also contained a crucial hidden clause: if the restoration succeeded, Louisa would formally swear that the White Horse Kingdom would become a vassal state of the Slime Kingdom.
Confident in the Slime Kingdom’s future, Chen Yu did not fear Louisa reneging. With the Slime Kingdom’s current expansion, it was only a matter of time before its strength outpaced the fragmented White Horse Kingdom.
So the White Horse Kingdom becoming a vassal would not be unjust.
As for why Louisa would risk allowing the magical creatures to “steal” her kingdom in order to reach this agreement—she had little choice.
Even if Chen Yu allowed her to take whatever remained of the Border Corps, those two dozen or so battered, morale-drained knights and soldiers could not contend with Demon agents occupying the Royal Capital or with dukes who controlled local military power. They would stand even less chance against restoration armies other princes might form with broader local support.
The White Horse Kingdom ran deep; the Extraordinary were far more numerous and influential than they appeared. Even Smaragdon Academy’s rector was Extraordinary, and the ancient noble houses likely harbored even more.
Without powerful outside backing, Louisa’s path to restoration would be nearly impossible.
With the agreement concluded, Louisa temporarily took up residence in the fortress and began organizing the newly legitimized army. Count Bran excitedly went to boast about his “diplomatic achievements” to Celeste.
At that moment Yano came up.
He sported two obvious dark circles under his eyes; apparently yesterday’s victory and his newly acquired power had not let him sleep peacefully.
Now the Gargoyle Legion and the Stone Descendant family were under his control; he had become the de facto Stone Scion Grand Duke.
Yet he was not greedy for power; his face was clouded with worry.
“Boss.” Yano rubbed his hands, worried. “The Kingdom’s so chaotic now, Jade City surely isn’t safe. Lola and the kids are still in Jade City... I’m worried something might happen...”
This newly minted Grand Duke’s mind remained on his wife and children.
Chen Yu split off a small slime clone and let it hop onto Yano’s shoulder, offering reassurance: “Don’t worry. I already sent a Poison-stinger Wasp squad to scout Jade City.”
“If you leave now with the Gargoyle guards, you should quickly get definite news about them.”
“I’ll watch things here, so go without worry.”
Chen Yu knew Yano worried about the Filthy Descendants and the Goblin Army to the west of the Dark Realm, but frankly, that Filthy Demon had stared him down without fleeing—he respected that demon’s courage.
Yano’s anxious frown eased noticeably, and a warm current ran through him.
He nodded vigorously and sincerely: “Thank you, Boss!”
After expressing his thanks, he wasted no time. Escorted by a squad of elite gargoyles and Poison-stinger Wasps, he departed the Storm Fortress and sped northward toward the Kingdom.
Not long after Yano left, Arthur approached.
Chen Yu had assumed Arthur would discuss follow-up negotiation details or the Restoration Legion’s organization.
But after Arthur performed a formal Knight’s Salute, his hoarse voice reported: “Your Majesty, there’s been an incident in the fortress prison.”
“The guarding knights reported that not long ago, Legion Commander Simo and that assassin Ellen... died.”
“What?!”
Two major Extraordinary prisoners dead at once. His first thought went to Demon foul play.
“What about that Iron Cavalry Demon?” Chen Yu asked immediately.
Arthur recounted evenly: “He is fine. He says Casaric forged the sealed souls of Simo and Ellen together, using the process to punish and reclaim power, which caused their sudden deaths.”
“That likely means the Burning Capital has learned of these events and responded.”
“Go see.”
Chen Yu hopped onto Arthur’s shoulder and followed him down from the wall, walking into the fortress’s dark corridor that only torches barely lit, and into the underground prison for dangerous criminals.
Two rows of knights wearing Arevalo-armored helms stood solemnly along the prison passage.
Galvin crouched by the two corpses outside a cell, brows furrowed and silent.
Behind him, Anna stood awkwardly, her face a little pale and her gaze tinged with fear.
That suggested the deaths of those two must have been particularly gruesome.
When Arthur returned with Chen Yu, Galvin rose, saluted, and quietly stepped aside to give them space to inspect.
Only then did Chen Yu properly see Simo and Ellen’s bodies on the ground.
Both bodies were twisted unnaturally, as if they had experienced violent struggle and torment before dying.
Their faces were frozen, eyes bulging wide with remnants of extreme terror and pain in their pupils; their mouths were gaping, yet no sound came out.
They had clearly undergone horrific torment before death, suffering far beyond mere physical pain.
“Galvin, kids shouldn’t be seeing this. Why’d you bring your little companion?” Chen Yu said.
Galvin was taken aback; he hadn’t expected His Majesty’s concern. He put his hand to his chest and answered: “Your Majesty, a knight must face such cruelties. And Anna is already eighteen; she needs to go through this.”
Anna hurriedly nodded and whispered, “Thanks for your concern... I—I’m fine.”
Chen Yu looked again at the two miserable corpses and was pretty much certain this was the work of the Greater Demon Casaric.
A punitive execution based on a soul contract—it reclaimed part of their power and struck terror into any potential traitors.
Simo and Ellen, as important Demon pawns within the Border Corps, surely knew many inside secrets.
A pity... Chen Yu regretted that he had not yet been able to squeeze more information from them about the Demons’ internal affairs before they were gone.
At that moment, a cold voice came from the dark corner deep within the cell block: “Lord Casaric tolerates no form of betrayal, even from Extraordinary puppets.”
Chen Yu looked inward and saw the Iron Cavalry Demon Ark firmly chained to the wall with thick chains.
He bowed his head, his eyes burning with sulfurous flames, and met Chen Yu’s gaze.
Yet from Ark’s round, armored form the little eyes did not show fear or surprise.
Instead, those small eyes seemed to sparkle with a curious light.
The sight sent a chill down Chen Yu’s spine!
He felt less like he was facing a captive and more like a rare toy being eyed for disassembly and study.