Natalis froze in place.
Orion poked his head out from beneath the riverbank's bed of broken stones, still carrying a burlap sack over his shoulder, frantically waving and shouting in a hushed voice, "Natalis, let's go!"
"Oh, I'm coming!" Natalis swung up her giant hammer and turned to run.
She ran two steps, then came back, fished a heavy leather coin pouch from her waist, and tossed it toward the white-haired elf.
The pouch arced through the air, the white-haired elf instinctively raised his palm to catch it.
"For patching the hole in the boat, and for fixing the door handle! The stranding has nothing to do with us— that big octopus wasn't invited by us!"
She shouted as she ran, and by the time she finished the last word she had already leaped down from the riverbank, her silhouette following Orion and Salemir as they vanished into the shadowy bushes at the water's edge.
The white-haired elf held the coin pouch and glanced down.
The pouch was small, holding a dozen or so gold coins. It would cover more than just patching the hull or replacing a handle— they could replace the entire ship's handles with this.
The whole ship was stranded; even if they could drag it back to White Tower City-State, it would need major repairs. Those coins lost their meaning.
He tucked the pouch into his sleeve, but his thoughts were quickly pulled back by something else.
He turned and his gaze landed on the slime that had just popped out of a breach in the hold and landed on the deck.
It was only as big as a fist, round and plump, standing there as if surveying its surroundings.
From the hole behind it, another, even fatter companion was struggling to crawl out, nearly getting stuck.
Its body had been compressed into a slightly flattened oval, then with a "pop" it bounced out and smacked against the hull, dazed.
Once it cleared its head a bit, it hopped obediently behind Chen Yu and stayed close.
No one present dared to underestimate those two slimes.
Without needing to guess, they all knew those slimes came from the Slime United Empire.
That empire was born in the swamps and had grown to span nearly half a continent. In recent months its reputation on the mainland had shifted from "weird monster kingdom" to "don't mess with their emperor."
The Slime Emperor was a true legend, someone who had beaten a Legendary sorcerer head-on and driven Abyss demons back through the fissure.
Everyone was convinced the swamp slimes had undergone some irreversible sublimation under their emperor's lead, steadily evolving from mindless ooze into a genuinely intelligent race.
But what exactly was that beam of light just now?
It lacked the milky sheen of Holy Light, and it wasn't the bluish-white arc of mana cannon fire. It was a pure streak of gold that flew from the bottom of the hold, a single blade of light that pierced the shadow octopus— a creature that even Holy Light could only partially weaken.
Even more astonishing, nobody had time to react when that light shot out.
As the three Extraordinary professionals fell silent and the atmosphere grew oppressively heavy, the two slimes seemed to lose interest in them.
The front slime gurgled, as if saying "let's go," and both slimes simultaneously transformed into two streaks of green light, flying in the direction where Orion and the others had disappeared.
The green streaks left faint luminous aftertrails above the dark river, then were swallowed again by the black mist on the water's surface.
The white-haired elf watched the direction Chen Yu had gone, and his shoulders unconsciously relaxed.
I know what those two were trying to do, he thought. They might have had nothing to do with those half-elves who ran away earlier, they might just have opportunistically killed an octopus while passing outside the Shadow Mountains.
But in any case, they're at least safe for the moment.
"Rescue the people first." He turned to the boatswain and said.
The boatswain quickly nodded and began organizing the crew to move the passengers trapped in the hold ashore one by one.
The whole ship bustled into action. Before long the elf deputy leant on a tilted mast and walked over, staff in hand, looking at the white-haired elf as he asked, "Mr. Loserian, you seem to know some details about today's disaster. Could this be related to the three half-elves who left earlier?"
The white-haired elf fell silent for a moment, the image of the girl who had returned with the giant hammer flashing through his mind.
He shook his head. "No. Those three robbers had other goals; they only intended to kidnap hostages. They couldn't have attracted such massive shadow creatures."
"Perhaps something deeper is changing within the Shadow Mountains. We must send word back to White Tower City-State as soon as possible."
"Not related to them, then?" The elf deputy pondered, but didn't press further. He nodded, then turned with his staff to tend the wounded.
Loserian stood at the slanted railing, glanced once more toward the pitch-black forest on the river's far bank, then took a spare slate from his waist and began carving out the report to dispatch.
.....
On the dim path, the white pebble riverbank gradually gave way to the thick humus of the forest, and the footsteps grew lighter.
Orion and Salemir panted as they ran ahead, taking turns carrying the sack and stopping occasionally to rest.
Natalis caught up from behind, her face still flushed with excitement.
"We did it, we did it!"
"I told you, we'd get it done. Sure, there was that little surprise with the extra octopus, but the result is what matters."
"This Sage's Son should be enough to ransom a lot of our kin, right?" she asked eagerly.
Orion finally couldn't run any further.
He shrugged the sack off his shoulder, braced his hands on his knees to catch his breath, then straightened and lobbed the sack toward Natalis.
"You carry it, you carry it. I seriously can't run anymore."
He panted, then looked at Salemir, who had also stopped, one hand on a tree trunk, chest heaving, his forehead beaded with sweat.
Salemir recovered his breath and lifted his head, his gaze passing over Natalis to glance behind her.
The path they'd come down had been completely swallowed by layers of shadow; you couldn't see the riverbank or the grounded merchant ship. He just had a bad feeling.
"Natalis, did those slimes catch up with us?"
Natalis was about to answer when Salemir's face went pale and his eyes locked on a spot behind her.
Natalis spun around and saw a streak of green light flying straight toward them from the path's end, moving so fast it seemed to ignore the surrounding shadow.
"Damn it, the slimes followed us," Orion shouted.
"Run!"
"We can't. We can't outrun it, it's too fast."
Salemir had planned to run, but seeing the green streak's speed he knew escape was impossible.
"I'll deal with it, you two get away."
Natalis stepped forward to block Orion and Salemir, gripping her giant hammer and facing the two green lights warily.
But the two green lights stopped floating forward and gently hung in front of her, landing on the ground.
They spread into two round, plump slimes.
The one in front was slightly smaller, the fatter one fell back a little.
Natalis' heart leaped into her throat.
She tightened her grip on the hammer, her palms sweating, but forced herself to sound brave: "You... don't come any closer! I'm the bloody hammer Natalis— you've heard of me, right?"
"I've smashed giants with this hammer, beaten golems..."
Chen Yu did not speak. He secreted a small glob of gel.
The glob detached from his body, quickly stretched and reshaped into a tiny flying sword no longer than a finger. With a flash of light the blade zipped past Natalis' cheek and struck the small, shadow-encased hill behind the three of them.
There was a thunderous crash as the hill was cleaved open.
The low, shadow-covered mound was sliced clean through by the sword light, and countless threads of shadow howled as they retreated from the fissures in the broken rock, scattering like ants whose nest had been burned.
The road ahead, previously sealed by hill and shadow, was forcibly opened into a bright gap.
The three of them stood frozen, cold sweat pouring down their backs.
Orion turned stiffly and gaped at the now-levelled mound behind them, unable to contain his surprise.
"Uh... Your Excellency, you've got the wrong idea. I mean, welcome to you," Natalis dropped her hammer, clasped her hands, and put on an earnest expression.
Salemir's lips twitched, and Orion swallowed. Both of them stepped aside, making way.
"If you want to pass, please go ahead. We don't mind."
Chen Yu regarded the three now-cowed half-elves and finally issued a mellow, slightly syrupy voice.
"Are you familiar with this area?"
The three exchanged glances. Salemir cautiously answered first, "Your Excellency, we only know the river routes of the Shadow Mountains. We've never gone deep into the mountain interior; only shadow practitioners dare stay there."
Chen Yu wasn't surprised. He nodded with a touch more approval at Salemir's honesty.
He wobbled the gel in his form and asked, "Do you know how to get to Aelune City-State?"
Count Bran and company were hiding on the shadow border near Aelune City-State. Eserin had mentioned that place in the vision earlier.
If he could reach Aelune City-State, his divine sense could extend from the city-state to cover the nearby shadow-border regions. Even if the animated shadows shredded the divine sense into fragments, being close enough would make locating Count Bran and the others only a matter of time.
Natalis visibly relaxed.
Just directions, then.
She'd been scared they were coming to capture them.
She perked up again, slapping a hand on her chest. "Of course we know. Don't underestimate us. Not only Aelune City-State— we once snuck into Quel'Thalas."
Chen Yu gave a satisfied wobble of gel, a casual tone like booking a room: "Good, then lead the way."
"Ah?" Natalis froze completely, her proud expression turning blank. "You're going to Aelune City-State? But why would you go there..."
Orion stepped forward, his face even more grave than when they faced the shadow octopus.
"Your Excellency, I must warn you, pure-blooded elves are not friendly toward slimes."
"Because the Slime United Empire sheltered escaped half-elf refugees, high elves now suspect any slime they see on the roadside of being an agent of the United Empire."
"Aelune City-State even issued a temporary decree recently: any slime entering the city-state area without permission is suspected of being a spy sent by the United Empire."
"Yes, yes! It's dangerous there!" Natalis hurriedly nodded in agreement.
Salemir was frank: "More importantly, we can't even enter Aelune City-State."
"The Council doesn't favor half-elves. We might be arrested before we even pass through the gates, let alone guide you."
"What's the point of me being here if I'm scared?" Chen Yu puffed up his tiny chest and imagined himself a nonchalant master with his hands behind his back.
The three exchanged looks.
It was strange: they saw arrogance in a slime.
Orion couldn't help a bitter smile.
The slime wasn't afraid, but they were.
They had just kidnapped the Sage's Son; heading back to Aelune City-State now would be walking into a trap.
Seeing their hesitation, Chen Yu tempted them: "I know our Majesty. If you accompany me to Aelune City-State, perhaps you could gain the Slime United Empire's cooperation."
The three were tempted.
Salemir looked up and broke the silence, asking solemnly, "Your Excellency, can you guarantee our safety?"
Chen Yu squatted on the moss and puffed his chest. "When we get to Aelune City-State, if I see an elf I'll thrash them."
Natalis' eyes brightened and she patted Orion's forearm. "Orion, this sounds promising."
Orion hesitated a moment, thinking Chen Yu might be speaking politely, then nodded. "I hope you keep your promise."
He was about to act when the sack next to him shifted. The bound Sage's Son poked his head out of the sack, still dizzy from waking.
He looked around the unfamiliar dark woods with wary confusion, and just as he saw his surroundings clearly enough to panic, Natalis' fist was already down.
With a dull thud the Sage's Son's head lolling to one side, he fainted again.
Natalis withdrew her fist and smiled at Chen Yu. "He's our companion. He just likes to sleep— don't mind him."
Well, he was indeed a heavy sleeper.
At least after that punch he wouldn't wake up for a long time.
Salemir hastily changed the subject. "Your Excellency, on foot it's at least half the outer mountain range to Aelune City-State..."
He didn't finish the sentence before Chubby One hopped forward.
Its rounded gel body suddenly swelled, like a sponge soaked with water rapidly expanding.
The gel's color shifted from pale green to a deep black, scale-like patterns rising row by row across its surface. Spines arched out along its back as membranous dragonwings unfolded from its sides, and the gust from those wings flattened an entire patch of surrounding bushes.
In seconds a chubby black hatchling dragon appeared on the forest path.
"Let's go." Chen Yu leisurely hopped onto the little dragon's back, then turned to look at the three half-elves.
They went numb.
Staring at the black dragon, Orion didn't know whether to be shocked or numb.
At least even if the next second the slime claimed to be the Slime Emperor, he wouldn't be surprised.
Orion mechanically hoisted the sack and climbed up, then hauled Salemir onto the dragon's back and finally reached down to pull Natalis up.
The three sat on Chubby One's black-dragon back. The dragon scales felt unexpectedly soft and slightly cool, surprisingly comfortable.
But worry still lined their faces.
Who knew— they had only intended to kidnap a hostage for the Leaf of No Distinction, and somehow they seemed to have stumbled into a far bigger conflict.