Beyond the towering, somber silhouette of the Blackrock Bastion, a cluster of faintly glowing mushrooms could vaguely be seen, standing abruptly on the plains.
That was the newly risen Darkness City.
The city was composed of giant mushroom houses of varying sizes. The caps of these mushrooms were thick and rounded, with a fluorescent glow shining through their semi-translucent flesh, casting the streets and buildings in a hazy, dreamlike light, imbued with a serene beauty.
The slime residents of Darkness City had already received news of the war. Most had retreated into their mushroom houses. Even the adventurers and merchants temporarily staying in the city were restricted by a temporary ban from leaving. They could only gather in the taverns or wander the central streets.
In a remote, narrow alleyway within the city, the shadows were particularly dense.
A pair of eyes hidden beneath a hood peered through a gap in the clutter at the alley entrance, gazing towards the city center, at the most magnificent structure built upon a high cliff—the Slime Sanctuary.
The sanctuary was formed from three enormous Holy Light Mushrooms, their caps layered upon each other. Atop the tallest central cap, a massive crystal emitting a soft white light was embedded, resembling a miniature moon and serving as the most prominent landmark of Darkness City.
"Heh... truly magnificent," the man in the alley let out a low chuckle.
At that moment, two more adventurers clad in leather armor emerged from the darkness. The taller of the two followed the man's gaze.
"I heard the one managing this grand sanctuary is a vampire? Utterly depraved to the core, even abandoning the dignity of a dark noble to come guard the door for slimes."
The man standing in place turned his head and asked, "Hank, when will the Merchant Alliance legion arrive at the Rubble Plains?"
The tall adventurer named Hank shrugged, his tone relaxed. "Given the deep pockets of those Merchant Alliance lords, using magic scrolls and stamina potions like they're free, I estimate they'll reach the edge of the plains by tonight at the latest."
Then, the slightly shorter adventurer beside him hesitated before speaking up. "Boss... are we really going to betray the Princess?"
"These slimes are, after all, the Princess's allies. And the Dark Realm under their governance is indeed much better than before. Perhaps..."
Before he could finish, the man addressed as "Boss" coldly interrupted him. "Don't be naive, Roy."
"Don't you understand yet? The New Sun is the true master of our Shimmergold Adventuring Troupe. Only the Church can give us what we truly desire—endless gold coins, respected status, and those beautiful women."
"The Princess? What can she give us? Empty promises? Or getting crushed alongside her by orcs and demons?"
Hank also stared intently at Roy, his tone carrying pressure. "What's the matter, Roy? Are you still hesitating? Think about the reward the Envoy promised."
"I..." Roy opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest. He looked down in disbelief and saw the bloody tip of a sword protruding from his chest.
It was Hank!
Without Roy noticing, Hank had drawn the straight sword from his waist and ruthlessly stabbed it through his companion's heart from behind.
Roy's eyes widened, his gaze towards Hank filled with shock, pain, and incomprehensible despair.
He wanted to make a sound—to question, to curse, or simply to scream—but Hank's other hand was already tightly clamped over his mouth, dragging him deeper into the darkness of the alley.
"Roy, don't blame me." The man called Boss sighed, as if stating a trivial matter. "Blame your indecisiveness and that ridiculous conscience of yours. I cannot allow any uncertain factors to jeopardize the plan."
Hank impatiently shoved Roy's still-twitching body further into the darkness. "Alright, Shane, enough talk. Hurry up and feed him to that monster. The Casimir guards will be patrolling here soon."
The man nodded, his lips moving as if communicating with some entity.
From the deep darkness, something seemed to squirm. Immediately after, Roy's body was violently dragged into the depths of the darkness by an invisible force.
Then, a clear sound of chewing mixed with the crushing of bones echoed out, sounding particularly eerie in the narrow alley.
Even someone as ruthless as Hank couldn't help but shudder upon hearing that sound, muttering softly, "A terrifying monster... Who knows what those cultists are trying to do, being able to control something like that."
Shane turned around, no longer looking at that patch of darkness. "Who cares? We're just doing a job for money. Once we get the promised reward, we'll leave immediately, flee to the southern kingdoms, ensuring these slimes and the Church can't find us."
"Let's go." The man started walking towards the other end of the alley. "We still need to lead that monster closer to that mushroom church."
Hank was about to say something when Shane suddenly raised his hand, signaling for silence.
Both men immediately held their breath, listening intently.
Sure enough, rhythmic "squelch, squelch" sounds came from the stone-paved street not far away. A patrol team composed of five slime guards was bouncing along the street in formation.
The patrol passed by the alley entrance, seemingly not noticing the two men in the shadows. They even nearly stumbled due to their clumsy movements.
Hank and Shane, half-concealed in the darkness, breathed a slight sigh of relief.
However, just as the team was about to pass, the last pale blue slime guard suddenly stopped bouncing.
It turned around, staring at the shadows in the alley, its gel bubbling with confusion.
"Gurgle?"
The slime guards in front also stopped, turning around. Several blobs of gel gathered together, "squelching" as they bumped and communicated.
Soon, they seemed to reach a consensus, deciding that these two adventurers hiding in the shadows were suspicious and needed to be questioned.
Seeing this, Hank immediately put on an ingratiating smile, stepping half out of the shadows, rubbing his hands together. "Ah, dear slime lords, you must be tired from patrolling so late. Truly diligent. We're just passing by, taking a short rest. We'll leave right away, right away."
However, the slime guards were not fooled by his words. The leading green slime bounced forward a step, raising its gel-like little hand in a "stop" gesture.
Shane and Hank exchanged a glance, knowing their disguise was useless. A fierce glint flashed simultaneously in their eyes.
"Now!" Shane hissed, drawing a poisoned dagger from his waist.
Hank also instantly shed his pretense, swinging the blood-stained straight sword in his hand down at the nearest slime guard.
The slime guard instinctively raised its small round shield, blocking the path of the straight sword.
"Clang!"
The round shield deflected the straight sword. The slime guard used the impact to slide back a short distance.
The two men's expressions changed. They hadn't expected these seemingly clumsy slime guards to be so capable.
"Come out! Deal with them!" The man no longer hesitated, shouting towards the darkness in the alley depths that had swallowed Roy.
With his shout, the shadows around the alley seemed to come alive. Several figures clad in black robes grew out from the walls, surrounding the five slime guards.
They held poisoned short blades, emitting an eerie aura—they were precisely the New Sun followers lurking in the city.
The battle erupted in silence, with only the sounds of blades cutting through air and the gurgles of the slime guards.
Despite the slime guards' desperate resistance, under a premeditated ambush, they quickly found themselves in dire straits.
...
On the city wall of the Blackrock Bastion.
Galvin stood with his hand resting on his sword hilt, gazing into the darkness of the distant Rubble Plains like an iron-cast statue.
Suddenly, his brow furrowed as if he sensed something. He sharply turned around, looking towards the direction of Darkness City behind him.
Almost simultaneously with his turn, the urgent sound of an alarm bell pierced the night air, faintly coming from the direction of Darkness City.
"Hmm? Enemies?" Galvin's gaze sharpened.
Just as he was about to head over, Casimir's figure quietly appeared beside him.
"Sir Galvin, please focus on guarding the Bastion." Casimir bowed elegantly. "The minor disturbance within Darkness City can be left to Bishop Lya and me to handle."
"Me... me?" Lya, who had been following Casimir somewhat bewildered, blinked upon hearing her name, then quickly straightened her small frame, trying her best to look serious. "Yes, leave it to us!"
Casimir said no more. He gently wrapped an arm around Lya, and his figure suddenly dispersed, transforming into a large flock of dark red bats flapping their wings.
These bats swarmed around the startled Lya, rising into the air like an ominous red cloud, swiftly flying towards the direction of Darkness City, vanishing into the night in the blink of an eye.
...
Meanwhile, at the Howler's Gorge.
Chen Yu was still unaware of the incident occurring in Darkness City. His full attention was focused on the Merchant Alliance legion slowly advancing through the gorge below.
Not long after, the shadows at the edge of the cliff face rippled slightly. Nilly's petite figure seeped out from the rock as if emerging from stone itself, silently slipping back.
She clapped her hands, placing them on her hips proudly. "Done. That big guy was sleeping soundly. I woke it up with a good scolding. It probably has a massive case of morning grumpiness now. Heh, I think those guys below are in for some bad luck."
As soon as she finished speaking, as if to confirm her words, an enraged roar erupted from above the gorge. It echoed through the narrow canyon in layers, shaking people's minds into a daze.
Commotion broke out among the marching Merchant Alliance legion below. Soldiers nervously raised their weapons and shields, looking towards the dark heights where the sound originated.
Nolan frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping across the cliff faces above.
Among the accompanying mages, someone immediately made a judgment based on the sound's characteristics, exclaiming in alarm, "It's a Stone-Beak Beast!"
A Stone-Beak Beast was a cave-dwelling predator adept at ambushing in dark environments. Normally, a Stone-Beak Beast growing to adult size would only be Black-Iron or Bronze rank. But the sheer volume of this beast's roar indicated it was no ordinary specimen.
Just as the legion soldiers were still tensely looking around, searching for the target, disaster struck.
From above the gorge, a shadow the size of a small hill plummeted down, accompanied by cascading rubble.
It was a terrifying creature with a body comparable to a small house. Its shape somewhat resembled a rock pangolin magnified a thousandfold, but its back was covered in countless clusters of sharp, scaly obsidian crystals.
BOOM—!!!
The colossal beast landed. The moment it hit the ground, it crushed over a dozen nearby soldiers who couldn't dodge in time—men and armor alike—into pulp. The terrifying force directly smashed a deep crater into the hard rocky floor of the gorge.
Its head was massive, with a protruding snout and a mouth full of yellowish-brown giant teeth capable of chewing through rock. It was wide open in fury, emitting a terrifying roar.
The roar formed a substantial sonic shockwave, sweeping through the surroundings like an invisible giant hammer. More soldiers had their ears and noses bleeding, feeling dizzy and disoriented, some even fainting on the spot.
The previously somewhat orderly legion formation instantly descended into chaos. Frightened Terrorclaw Birds and other flying magical creatures flew about wildly. Wagons were overturned, their magic scroll boxes breaking open. Sporadic scrolls were triggered, erupting into small fireballs or frost, injuring many of their own people.
"Magical Creature Lord! It's a Gold-Rank Magical Creature Lord!" a mage shouted hoarsely.
The Merchant Alliance elites were, after all, well-trained. After the initial chaos, under the furious shouts of officers, the soldiers began trying to regroup.
Several sentinel constructs that had been on aerial patrol dove down first, attacking the Stone-Beak Beast with their mounted magic rays, trying to draw its attention.
On the ground, several construct metal golems also stomped forward with heavy steps, rumbling as they charged towards the Stone-Beak Beast, swinging their massive metal fists at its carapace.
Mages and archers coordinated their spells, unleashing a barrage of firepower upon the Stone-Beak Beast.
Though the Stone-Beak Beast had thick skin and tough hide, under such concentrated attacks, it began to appear somewhat overwhelmed.
While magic attacks struggled to directly penetrate its hardest back armor, the continuous energy impacts and elemental erosion clearly caused it pain and irritation.
Especially the heavy physical blows from those construct golems—each collision produced a loud bang, shaking its massive body slightly, making it hard to maintain balance.
Enraged, the Stone-Beak Beast swung its giant claw, swatting one construct golem that had gotten too close, sending the metal body flying to crash into the cliff face, leaving a dent and scattering parts.
Simultaneously, it opened its giant maw and bit down on another construct golem, tearing its arm off completely.
But in doing so, it exposed its vulnerable belly and neck, getting hit by an enchanted ballista bolt that left a charred wound.
Under the cliff face, Nilly couldn't help but click her tongue.
"This legion is actually quite formidable. They can even handle a Gold-Rank Magical Creature Lord."
Chen Yu saw more clearly than she did.
Besides the ordinary constructs, one particular metal golem wielding a massive tower shield and warhammer clearly possessed strength attributes comparable to an Extraordinary warrior. Each of its attacks was immensely powerful, and it could release a small-scale protective force field, providing cover for nearby soldiers and mages.
No wonder... With constructs of this level, plus well-trained soldiers and mages coordinating, dealing with a lone Magical Creature Lord wasn't that difficult.
The injured Stone-Beak Beast also seemed to realize these "iron lumps" and "little bugs" weren't easy to deal with. Reason began to reclaim the high ground of its intellect. Its massive body started moving towards one side of the gorge cliff, its thick claws scrabbling at the rock as if trying to climb and escape, abandoning this fight.
"Let's go."
Taking advantage of the chaos with the flying magical creatures still in disarray and the legion's attention diverted, Chen Yu and the others slipped out from behind the cliff face, blending into the panicked, chaotically flying Terrorclaw Bird flock.
"Make way! Make way!"
Down on the battlefield, Nolan had already ridden his warhorse to the scene. He sharply spurred his horse, making it rear up with a whinny.
He himself maintained perfect balance, reaching back to take the metal longbow from his back.
"O great God of Wealth, Gildor, please shield your faithful. Let his arrows find their mark unerringly, let wealth scatter across the land."
As he chanted, the longbow seemed to come alive. The bow instantly erupted with dazzling golden-yellow light and visibly swelled in size.
He gripped the giant bow with his left hand, his right hand drawing back the empty bowstring. As he pulled, an intensely brilliant point of golden light suddenly ignited on the string, condensing into a pillar-sized golden arrow.
[Golden Arrow]
"Everyone—clear the way!"
Nolan's voice exploded like thunder within the gorge, clearly reaching every soldier's ears.
The soldiers scrambled to the sides like a receding tide. Even the golems temporarily ceased their attacks, retreating.
Nolan's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, firmly locked onto the Stone-Beak Beast climbing the cliff face.
*Twang!*
The bowstring vibrated with a resounding snap. The massive golden arrow left the string.
It cut through the air, leaving a lingering golden trail of light that seemed to illuminate the entire dim gorge. In everyone's vision, it was as if only that dazzling golden streak of light remained.
BOOM!!!
The golden giant arrow struck its target with pinpoint accuracy, piercing through the Stone-Beak Beast and pinning its massive body to the ground.
Centered on it, the incredibly hard rocky floor of the gorge caved in like a biscuit struck by an invisible giant hammer, forming a massive crater.
The shockwave, carrying rock fragments and dust, spread out. Soldiers relatively close by, even with shield protection, were blown off their feet, unable to stand steady. They could only cling to the ground, shielding their heads with their arms.
Their armor and clothing flapped violently in the gale, as if about to be torn apart. Only when the wind subsided slightly did people dare to look towards the center.
In the middle of the deep crater, the Stone-Beak Beast's massive body lay completely still. Its originally obsidian-like carapace was now covered in sprouting metal clusters, transformed into a metallic sculpture.
Its raised head was slightly tilted back, its giant maw still agape, as if letting out one final silent roar, forever frozen within this metallic coffin.
"That exaggerated?" Nilly, hiding high up, was startled.
Wait, we're all supposed to be Extraordinary professionals.
How is this guy so powerful?
Chen Yu's focus, however, was a bit peculiar. He was still pondering whether this lump of Stone-Beak Beast was still edible.
At the critical moment, it was Yano who was more reliable.
"Boss, my Gargoyle Legion has arrived."
The Merchant Alliance legion hadn't yet quelled the chaos. Now was clearly the best time for them to strike.