The cold autumn wind, carrying the swamp's unique dampness, blew past. Tulk, walking at the front, instinctively tightened the thick animal hide coat he was wearing. He thought, according to the location Mr. Pum had mentioned earlier, Slime City should already be not far from them.
Alders did not ask any more questions. Any excessive words could expose his deliberately disguised identity.
He simply continued to lie "weakly" on the flat cart, covered with a rough but warm piece of linen cloth that a lizardfolk had kindly handed him, half-squinting his eyes, like a truly exhausted old dryad, quietly waiting for the appearance of that "royal capital" they spoke of.
How big could a city built by slimes possibly be? At most, the size of a human border town, Alders thought dismissively in his heart.
He truly couldn't imagine what decent structures those soft, bouncy little creatures could build. Probably just some crude nests haphazardly stuck together with mud, branches, and the mucus they secreted.
Squinting his eyes, he let his thoughts drift, enjoying this rare and peaceful travel time. The slow, rhythmic steps of the draft animals, the rustling sound of wheels crushing fallen leaves, the lizardfolks' hushed conversations, mixed with the cool, dry autumn air, created a relaxing atmosphere.
How long had it been since he last lay around doing nothing like this? Alders recalled aimlessly.
A hundred years ago? Or two hundred? Ah, when you get old, some things really become hard to remember clearly.
Ever since the Council experienced that painful internal strife and betrayal, he had hardly had any proper rest. On one hand, he was delving into the study of those ancient, obscure ancient tree runes; on the other, he had to be constantly vigilant against possible invasions that the Burning Capital might launch...
Away from those complicated affairs and potential threats, disguised as an ordinary old dryad, mingling among a group of simple, enthusiastic lizardfolks, feeling the most sincere kindness and their longing for a new life... this feeling was unexpectedly nice.
Alders let his mind wander, gradually emptying his thoughts, almost falling asleep in the slow, bumpy ride.
Much later, he heard a slight commotion and barely suppressed excited whispers rise within the caravan, and he slowly snapped back to reality.
"Look! The spire! We're here!" Salamander's excited voice rang out, his thick arm pointing forcefully ahead.
Alders' gaze followed the direction he pointed.
Ahead, the seemingly endless swamp forest abruptly ended, as if neatly severed by an invisible giant hand, replaced by a large expanse of hardened ground planted with moisture-resistant low shrubs, stretching far into the distance.
And at the edge of that distant horizon, even before the mysterious Slime King's capital revealed its full form, a towering, sky-piercing massive spire had already captured his gaze.
That spire resembled some kind of multi-layered geometric structure, its top seemingly inlaid with huge crystals or gemstones. Even from this far away, one could vaguely see the faint magical glow it emitted.
As the draft animals slowly climbed the last low hilltop, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
As far as the eye could see, ahead was a vast, flat expanse of land. At the center of the vision, standing imposingly, was a circular urban area of a scale so grand it defied imagination.
Dense clusters of buildings were arranged in neat distribution. Although it was clear that many areas in the outer parts still had scaffolding erected, the scale of the already completed sections was still shockingly large, almost comparable to the main cities or even the royal capitals of the human kingdoms in Alders' memory.
Yet, it was different. The architectural style here was unique.
They gave an overall impression of being heavy and solid. The walls were mostly built from large stone blocks, their surfaces not smooth but retaining a somewhat rough texture, carrying the rugged style characteristic of swamp architecture.
But the layout of the buildings was orderly and regular, with streets running straight and level, block divisions clear, clearly drawing wisdom from human urban planning.
That thick city wall, reaching a hundred feet high, reflected the luster of obsidian in the autumn sunlight. There was no doubt it was enveloped by some kind of magic. And judging from the arrow towers and artillery emplacements standing at regular intervals along the wall, this magnificent city clearly possessed astonishing defensive and counter-attack capabilities.
Alders had imagined many possibilities, even thinking this place might be a huge, chaotic, filthy magical creature nest. But he never, ever expected that those little creatures he remembered as seemingly only capable of bouncing and secreting mucus could actually build such a magnificent city.
This was an almost impossible miracle, overturning his centuries-old perception of slimes as low-level magical creatures.
"Whoa! Slime City is so big!"
The lizardfolks all craned their necks, their amber vertical pupils filled with curiosity, exclamations rising one after another.
In their eyes, the fortress in the Eastern Swamp was already big enough, sturdy enough. But compared to the Slime City before them, their previous lives seemed like living in a muddy pit in the countryside.
The greater the contrast he felt, the stronger the suspicion rose in Alders' heart.
Could it really be as the rumors said? That slime had enslaved a large number of human craftsmen and slaves, cracking whips, forcing them to complete the construction of this capital under the threat of death?
But as the carriage continued to approach the royal capital, Alders quickly dismissed this thought.
On the road, squads of Metal Slimes riding beetle mounts patrolled past with neat, uniform steps, disciplined and synchronized in their movements.
And in the sky, swarms of Poison-stinger Wasps converged into black streams, shuttling back and forth between distant mud pits and the royal capital's construction sites, transporting materials.
He witnessed with his own eyes, below a section of city wall being heightened, several slimes of different colors cooperating seamlessly.
They shaped the mud delivered by the Poison-stinger Wasps into standard square mud bricks. Then, a slime would jump onto a mud brick, its body glowing faintly. The mud bricks visibly lost moisture, their color darkened, and their texture rapidly became as hard and solid as rock.
Then they were transported up by a lift and laid onto the still-under-construction city wall.
The entire process was efficient, orderly, with clear division of labor. There were no overseers or whips, only silent collaboration between the slimes through slight tremors in their gel.
This discipline, this intelligence, this efficient socialized cooperation... Alders almost doubted his eyes. He felt he wasn't seeing a group of low-level magical creatures, but a well-trained, highly skilled team of human craftsmen.
No... wait... didn't this precisely confirm the rumors? That slime was using some evil magic to uniformly control the will of all its subjects, which was why they could be so uniform, like different parts of a single huge body.
Perhaps these slimes themselves possessed no intelligence. They were merely controlled by a unified will, hence displaying such astonishing discipline and sociality.
They were just puppets, tools.
Just as Alders thought he was close to the truth, the caravan had slowly arrived at the magnificent city gate of the royal capital.
Pum bounced forward and had a brief exchange with the slime guards. The slime guard's round, shiny eyes swept over the caravan, the lizardfolks on the carts, and Alders, seemingly conducting a verification.
Soon, the slime guard's body bobbed up and down, indicating agreement. The caravan smoothly passed through the city gate and entered the royal capital.
The first thing that entered Alders' sight was a broad central avenue.
The central avenue was very long, heading straight towards the very center of the urban area. Even from several kilometers away, Alders could clearly see that at the end, on the circular plaza, there seemed to be a slime sculpture fountain in the center, its water flow reflecting shimmering ripples in the sunlight.
Completely contrary to Alders' earlier assumptions, not only were there none of the human slave camps, dirty huts, or oppressive labor scenes he had imagined, but the streets were exceptionally clean and tidy, the air fresh, even carrying a faint fragrance of plants.
And those slimes he had thought might be controlled were now bouncing freely on the streets and alleys.
Mature commercial scenes appeared on both sides of the street. As the caravan passed a section of the street, both sides were lined with various simple stalls.
The stalls were made of planks, stones, or large leaves, displaying a dazzling array of goods. For example, there were green biscuits pressed and baked from moss and fungi, morning dew or nectar served in small wooden bowls, roasted fat and delicious Moss Monsters, Fluorescent Stones of various sizes, small baskets woven from thin vines...
And the passing slimes—they would bounce to the stalls, have brief exchanges with the slime stall owners, their bodies slightly quivering, spitting out copper coins from their bellies to make purchases and transactions.
These slimes even knew how to dress themselves up. He saw many slimes wearing various hats or head ornaments on their heads.
Some wore wreaths woven from thin vines and wildflowers on their heads; some even had somehow obtained shiny seashells stuck on their heads as decoration.
Some slimes, to accentuate their scholarly status, would even balance a book on their heads or wear glasses they had no use for.
Compared to their wild brethren in the wilderness, they appeared more confident, braver, and were not afraid of the lizardfolks who looked somewhat intimidating.
On the contrary, many curious slime residents gathered around with soft *paji paji* sounds, bouncing and examining the caravan and the new faces on the carts. Some even picked up a moss biscuit or a small wildflower from their own small stalls, trying to hand them to Tulk and the others as gifts.
If it weren't for Pum bouncing ahead to maintain order, these overly enthusiastic little creatures might have really blocked their caravan here for quite some time.
Watching this scene, Alders completely overturned his previous internal conjectures.
These slimes undoubtedly possessed intelligence, and they were far smarter than he had imagined. Moreover, they seemed to have developed clear social divisions of labor, with warriors, merchants, scholars, craftsmen... a series of professions only humans had.
"Simply incredible..." Alders murmured softly.
Tulk turned his head back and smiled, "Right? That's what I thought too."
"If not for a coincidence, our generations might never have discovered that within the swamp, which seemed to represent death, there existed such a glorious kingdom."
"Your identity has already been reported to Her Highness Little Flower via the Gel Network. I believe Her Highness will soon arrange for slimes to escort you safely to the dryad domain to reunite with Lady Viola."
"Gel Network?" Alders keenly caught this key term. He felt he had grasped the key to understanding how this peculiar kingdom operated.
Tulk loosened his animal hide coat, revealing the emerald green gel pressed against the scales on his neck.
"This is it. Through this special gel, we connect the consciousness or voices of all the kingdom's subjects into a huge network."
"As long as the distance isn't too far, even messages from the dryad domain over there can be transmitted here within minutes. Similarly, orders or information from the royal capital can also be quickly conveyed everywhere."
Alders suddenly understood, and couldn't help but laugh inwardly. So that was it. He had misunderstood, and misunderstood very badly.
So the so-called "magic controlling the subjects" referred to this efficient and convenient Gel Network.
Thinking about it carefully, through such a network, it indeed could make armies act in unison during battles, responding quickly to commands, and make construction projects coordinated and orderly, multiplying efficiency.
To outsiders unaware of the internal situation, such a high degree of synchronization and coordination would indeed look like being "controlled" by a unified will.
From what he had seen and heard today, this Slime Kingdom was not some evil magical creature nest or puppet state, but rather an orderly, intelligent, and vibrant civilized kingdom.
If he could meet that Slime Sage, have a deep conversation... it might truly bring him no small surprise, perhaps even provide inspiration for the future direction of the Council, Alders thought to himself.
His attitude towards this "inspection" had quietly shifted from initial vigilance and suspicion to strong interest and anticipation.
Since he had entered the royal capital along with the lizardfolk immigrant caravan, he was temporarily arranged, like Tulk and the others, to stay in the temporary residential area specially prepared for lizardfolks near the Knight Training camp, and settled down there.
Here were rows of semi-underground stone houses, dry and warm inside, with fireplaces for heating, and thick animal hides spread on the floors.
Though they still looked quite simple, they were sufficient to withstand the autumn chill. For lizardfolks who in previous years could only hide in damp caves to endure the cold, this was already quite comfortable.
Alders was placed in one of the slightly larger stone houses, right next to Tulk and Salamander's dwellings.
He declined the bed provided by the lizardfolks, stating that as a "dryad," he preferred direct contact with the earth. So, the thoughtful lizardfolks piled a small mound of moist, humus-rich soil in a corner of the dwelling for him to sink his roots into and rest.
On ordinary days, Alders would take root in the corner of the dwelling, seemingly dormant and recovering, but actually observing everything around him.
He saw those young lizardfolk warriors, rising before dawn, training under the guidance of the Training Instructors.
These lizardfolks trained exceptionally hard, their eyes filled with a thirst for power and hope for the future.
They were no longer fighting merely for survival, but had a clearer goal—to become knights recognized by the kingdom, to protect their home, to win glory.
This inner motivation and resilient willpower drew silent admiration from Alders.
That Slime Majesty had not only provided the guarantee of survival but had also ignited the fire in the hearts of these young beings. This was far more sophisticated than simply bestowing power.
Guiding beings towards a path—this was precisely what a sage should do.
After just one day, there was a response from the dryad domain. Tulk ran over excitedly to tell him, "There's news! Lady Viola says she is aware of your situation, but the dryad domain is currently not convenient for receiving outside guests. She earnestly requests the Slime Kingdom to temporarily shelter you. After some time, she will send elves to the royal capital to fetch you and convey her thanks to His Majesty."
Alders understood in his heart. This was clearly Viola's excuse to cooperate with his inspection, providing a perfect reason for him to stay in the Slime Kingdom.
Thus, he naturally stayed, becoming a "dryad guest" temporarily residing in the Slime royal capital.
Two days passed quickly.
On this morning, Alders heard the news that His Majesty the Slime had returned to the royal capital.