Chen Yu hopped closer, hiding behind a large rock and peeking out with half his round head.
Whoa, it's quite lively right at the doorstep.
In front of the sparkling entrance floated six fiery, magma-formed Lava Demonic Bats.
Chen Yu figured these things had clearly wandered out from the deeper lava zones.
Blocking the slime family's doorstep—they definitely weren't here for a friendly visit.
Trying to collect protection fees?
Seems they didn't get his permission for that.
The Lava Demonic Bats hovered mid-air, emitting buzzing threat noises toward the cave entrance, their intention obvious—they clearly wanted to attack the slime nest.
Big Brother Slime blocked the front, body tensed tight, emitting warning buzzes as if trying to stop these Lava Demonic Bats from advancing.
The lead, largest Lava Demonic Bat suddenly glowed red, and whoosh—a scorching magma ball smashed toward Big Brother Slime.
"Clang! Sizzle—!"
Big Brother Slime flattened its body, turning into a thick shield to block head-on.
The magma ball struck, instantly heating a large area of the shield red while white smoke rose.
Big Brother Slime was knocked sliding back a short distance, its metal body emitting pained buzzing.
The other five demonic bats also attacked, more magma balls whizzing wildly, trying to bypass Big Brother or force it to surrender.
Big Brother Slime wasn't pushover either—it brought two metal underlings and played "bumper car" tactics in front of the entrance.
Rolling around, bumping into things, seizing opportunities for sudden acceleration, bang—it slammed hard into one demonic bat.
"Boom!"
The bat's body exploded, magma splattering everywhere, its glow dimming significantly.
But Big Brother Slime and its two underlings also gained several charred marks.
Both sides reached a temporary stalemate.
The slimes didn't dare venture too far from the entrance, while the bats' magma balls were fierce and countered metal.
The remaining five demonic bats still hovered there, their message clear.
Give us food! Or we keep fighting!
Just then, a chubby little slime, apparently just returning from outside and unaware of the situation, slowly oozed into the center of the battlefield.
The slimes in the nest saw it and immediately jumped anxiously.
Sister Slime hurriedly bounced out from the nest, trying to carry this seemingly foolish little guy back to safety.
But their movements immediately attracted the attention of a nearby bat, which flashed red.
"Whoosh!"
A magma ball shot out.
Big Brother tried to roll over to rescue, but the distance was too great.
At this critical moment.
The seemingly harmless chubby one suddenly gathered a water sphere in front of itself, stretching and condensing it into an arrow that shot out.
[Little Arrow Technique]
"Kaboom!"
The demonic bat burst like a magma-filled sack, sizzling with steam, exploding into a mess of scorching stone fragments and hot magma.
The entire battlefield fell silent instantly.
All the slimes stood bewildered.
The remaining bats' bodies flashed red frantically, seemingly also wondering what just happened.
After brief confusion, the remaining four intact bats became utterly enraged.
Their red glow became blindingly bright, temperatures skyrocketed, and four terrifyingly thick magma streams, like frenzied fire snakes, shot toward the chubby one.
Big Brother Slime emitted an ultra-high-frequency metal roar, its heavy body bursting with ultimate speed, positioning itself in front of the chubby one, instantly expanding into an enormous, super-thick metal shield.
"BOOM!!!!"
Four scalding magma streams smashed into the shield with explosive force, sparks and magma flying everywhere. The shield visibly reddened, softened, and even began dripping molten metal droplets.
Chen Yu, hiding behind the giant shield, felt like he was pressed against a massive furnace, his moisture rapidly evaporating.
Good big brother, truly holding the line!
He mentally gave the metal slime a thumbs-up.
His body began frantically gathering blue light points.
[Little Arrow Technique]
Another blue water arrow shot toward the two bats on the right that were happily spewing magma.
"Sizzle! Boom!"
The water arrow collided with the superheated magma bodies, instantly exploding into a massive cloud of white steam.
The two bats' bodies suddenly dimmed, their magma shells cracking with several fissures, their magma streams becoming weaker and thinner—severely injured.
But the two on the left continued spewing magma at full force.
The giant shield formed by Big Brother Slime glowed bright red, thin as paper, edges dripping "molten iron"—clearly about to give way.
Meanwhile, Chen Yu behind it felt like his body was being steamed alive.
A faint aroma even drifted out...
This clone still suffered from lacking "Fire Resistance."
Enduring the pain, he prepared another big move, blue light flickering inside him as a third water arrow took shape.
Just then, the left bat's body flashed red, and a small stream of scorching magma, flexible like a whip, cleverly bypassed the failing shield, smacking directly into Chen Yu who was charging his attack.
"Splash—Sizzle!!!!"
The green gelatinous ball instantly suffered, like butter thrown into a hot pan, body violently boiling, bubbling, shrinking, large amounts of gel transforming into blue smoke and white steam, burnt smells spreading.
So painful!
This thought flashed through his mind.
Then Chen Yu's vision went dark.
With a sizzle, the chubby one melted into a puddle of liquid under the watchful eyes of Big Brother Slime, Sister Slime, and all the slimes at the entrance.
"Buzz!"
Big Brother Slime's giant shield trembled violently, pheromones mixed with rage and the sharp lament of "My underling!"
"Clang clang clang!!"
With no slime left to protect, it emitted a series of metallic explosions, contracting and transforming into an ultra-heavy metal hammer, smashing down hard onto the two bats severely wounded by the water arrows.
"CRASH!"
Rocks flew, magma torsos shattered into pieces—the heavily injured bats directly became piles of smoking rubble.
The final two intact bats, seeing only themselves remaining, then looking at the group of slimes at the entrance who, though still trembling, were emitting increasingly aggressive pheromones.
Their bodies flashed red rapidly several times, emitted an unwilling buzz, and whoosh—flew into the dark passageway, disappearing.
The battle ended.
The Lava Demonic Bats fled.
The entrance was a mess, filled with smoke, burnt smells, and... an eerie silence.
Big Brother Slime gurgled, rolling to where the chubby one had sacrificed itself, using its damaged body to gently touch the still-warm, charred sticky substance on the ground, emitting low buzzes.
The nest slimes also gathered around, emitting sorrowful pheromones, as if mourning the chubby one.
Woo woo woo...
It was a hero.
A hero slime who saved everyone.
...
While the nest slimes were still mourning the chubby one, back in the swamp fortress treehouse, Chen Yu opened his eyes.
Ouch...
That burning pain just now really hurt.
"Lava Demonic Bats, huh."
"You'd better sleep with your eyes open."
His gel body bounced, squeezing out a slightly reddish little slime from itself.
It landed on the wooden plank, bounced a few times, and blinked.
This was Chubby One Mark II, equipped with "Fire Resistance" and "Mana Explosion."
Both survivability and combat power were upgraded a level.
A specialized model specifically targeting Lava Demonic Bats.
The chubby one swallowed the newly forged stone sword, escorted by a civil engineering slime, the two little guys riding beetles set off back to the dungeon.
This time, the magical creatures of the lava well would face the chubby one's revenge.
Chen Yu watched them leave, then bounced a few times back to the city wall, rushing to complete the final touches on the fortress walls.
His ambitions weren't just about surviving the Magical Tides.
The Magical Tides were a perfect opportunity for an all-you-can-eat buffet.
To welcome the upcoming feast, he'd probably be quite busy for a while.
But calculating the time, it seemed Yano should be returning with supplies soon.