Slime Immortal.

Chapter 150 Earth Elemental and Tank
"At this time?" Chen Yu was taken aback.

The elves of the tree spirit territory are still touring the fortress; these mercenaries certainly know how to pick their timing.

If we can't even handle a few mercenaries, won't our plan to form an alliance with the Treant territory fall through?

How audacious of you to hinder the expansion of the great Slime Kingdom!

They're practically asking for trouble.

Chen Yu asked, "Do you have detailed information about them?"

"Yes, yes." Arno took out his notebook and unfolded it for the little slime in front of him to see.

“I gathered a lot of information from that Stoneborn woman named Nelly, including the Black Fang Mercenary Group’s strategy for their conquest.”

Chen Yu's gaze swept over curiously.

[Information on the eradication of monster forces in the Eastern Swamp region]

Target of the expedition: Slime Kingdom
Target rating: A (The actual controller is suspected to be an undead knight, a high-level undead unit. It is recommended to list it as a priority target for elimination.)

Confirmed intelligence:
Armed Forces: Equipped with high-powered magical weapons (comparable to standard magic crystal cannons), these are fast-responding monster combat units with high mobility.

Controlled monster types: Stinging Bee Swarm (domesticated), Beetle-type units (specific types to be further identified), Giant Siege Boar (possesses high-intensity impact and destructive capabilities).

Intelligence sources: Mercenary "Rex's" goblin army visit logs, and mercenary "Derek's" frontline reconnaissance report.

Recommended raid composition: 50 people (minimum), 1 elite professional (required), 5 regular professionals (required).

Note: This faction exhibits tactical coordination and technological equipment levels that are unconventional among monster organizations. It is recommended that the team accepting the mission prepare for high-intensity combat and equip themselves with appropriate magical protection and ranged attack capabilities.

Good guy.

These mercenaries are really dedicated; they almost managed to find out the color of Arthur's underwear.

This also made Chen Yu realize that the enemy he was facing this time was not simple.

Compared to the rusty keys or scattered adventurers he had encountered before, the Black Fang Mercenary Group seemed more organized and dangerous.

Arno added in a low voice, "Boss, it is said that in order to deal with the magical cannon array in the territory, the Black Fang Mercenary Group has equipped a squadron of heavily armored warriors and a large number of bloody scrolls with protective magic. There are even veterans who have retired from the border of the kingdom among them."

"After these guys betrayed the kingdom, they became the guiding figures for the Black Fang Mercenary Group in exploring the Underdark and waging war."

A hint of worry appeared on his face. "I suspect they have a way of getting their hands on magic crystal cannons. The mercenary group might launch an attack in the next day or two."

Chen Yu fell into deep thought.

Bloody scrolls, magic crystal cannons, a force of fifty, and elite professionals who are suspected of possessing the strength of that vampire.

The Black Fang Mercenary Group came prepared this time, and they were indeed much more troublesome than the scattered goblins in the mining area.

If the kingdom relaxes its guard even slightly, or if the enemy launches a surprise attack, the fortress could very well be breached.

Even if he wins the war, he will pay a heavy price.

For the Black Fang Mercenary Group, the biggest loss might only be an elite professional.

But now that we have prior knowledge of the Black Fang Mercenary Group's movements, we can formulate some strategies to target them.

He discussed it with Arno.

Arno believed that since the regiment had redundant defensive measures against the magic cannon array and frontal attacks, they should avoid direct confrontation and try to attack from the side or rear to disrupt the regiment's order and prevent them from concentrating their forces.

"Huh? Arno, you actually have quite a talent for military affairs."

Arno scratched his head sheepishly, "That's what my father said back then, which is why he decided to let me participate in the Knights' training camp."

"What happened after that? I've never heard you mention him again."

"Later, before I even came of age, he turned to stone," Arno said calmly, as if he had witnessed the family's tragedies and was no longer moved by them.

“Um…” Chen Yu decided to change the subject, “I’m planning to secretly set up an artillery position in the rear to deal with them, what do you think?”

“Boss, forgive my bluntness…” Arno glanced at him furtively, “Setting up the artillery positions takes time and cannot be moved. The regiment can temporarily retreat to take down the positions and then continue the siege.”

"However, if a large number of bee soldiers are deployed to hide in the rear, the target will be too large and easily discovered. Doing so will not only disperse the defensive forces, but also turn the troops that launch a surprise attack from the rear into isolated islands that cannot provide support."

“You’re right. So what do you think we should do?” Chen Yu asked with interest.

Encouraged, Arno's tone became noticeably more excited.

"I think we should deploy a highly mobile assassin squad with strong penetration capabilities in the rear."

"The core of the Black Fang regiment is heavily armored warriors, which means their formation changes won't be too rapid. The assassin squad can easily gather into a sharp force for a surprise attack."

"When faced with a change in the formation of a regiment, they can break into smaller units and retreat in a guerrilla-style manner. Apart from some assassins within the regiment, other professionals simply cannot catch up with them."

"We can even prioritize eliminating these assassins and then repeat the above tactics to disrupt the regiment and prevent them from concentrating their firepower."

Chen Yu seemed to be thinking about it; this tactic did indeed sound feasible.

The problem is that although there are enough Assassin Stingers in the territory, their individual combat strength is insufficient, and they can only cause limited interference to the formation.

Unless... the territory can send an elite unit with both high mobility and high damage to participate in the attack.

Does his territory have such units?
Beetroot counts as half, but its battery life is terrible.

Are there any more?
After thinking it over, Chen Yu suddenly remembered an idea he had mentioned to Iron Anvil before—to put the "Goblin Ripper" on the shoulder of the Earth Elemental Giant and turn it into a mobile, high-damage "monster tank".

Moreover, those little earth elementals are all incredibly clever; when they encounter danger, they can disperse on the spot and burrow into the earth to escape.

Even assassins with the skills of professional assassins would find it difficult to track down the little earth elemental's movements.

It can be said that the "Monster Tank" was tailor-made for this kind of scenario.

I just don't know how the research on the anvil is progressing.

"Boss, do you have a solution?" Arno asked in a low voice.

Chen Yu snapped out of his reverie. "We don't need to worry about the territory. But you, are you sure those Stone Race members don't have any other ideas about you?"

Arno, upon hearing this, revealed the secret of the Kingdom's Stoneborn that Nelly had previously mentioned.

“I feel it’s quite credible. My father once said that Shi Yi’s origins were not simple, but before he could inherit the family’s estate, my grandfather turned into stone.”

"That stoneborn woman named Nelly, uh... who is now my aunt, said that the gargoyles in the ruins of Gol have rioted for unknown reasons and can only temporarily camp here to rest. They will let me know more secrets after they return to the castle in two days to confirm my identity."

Hmm... it seems that even the Stoneborn of the Underdark don't fully trust Arno's identity.

He had no interest in these Stoneborn, but he was more interested in the Stoneborn Grand Duke named Castor.

The gargoyles that inhabit Gore are far more ancient and powerful than vampires, not to mention they can form an even more terrifying gargoyle army.

He wanted to know how this ancestor of the Stone Descendants had managed to subdue the gargoyles.

If such a powerful gargoyle army could be brought under the control of the Slime Kingdom, the swamp of the Rotten Mountains would likely be ruled by the slimes.

Not to mention the Black Fang Mercenary Group, even the Goblin Legion wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

"Okay, you can go back to the castle with them and take a look. I'll help if there's any danger." Chen Yu jumped back into Arno's chest along his arm, closed his eyes, and entered a dormant state.

"Phew..." Arno finally breathed a sigh of relief, touching the bulge in his chest, feeling a sense of peace, and even the bewilderment and anxiety about the unfamiliar environment lessened considerably.

Waiting is always boring, so to find something to do and to become a competent rider, he walked to a spot not far from the camp, drew his broadsword, and began practicing his combat skills.

【Hack】

A flash of cold light, and the heavy broadsword was swung out at an extremely fast speed, then came to a steady stop.

Arno's taut arms and steady stance revealed the force and power of his strike.

Actually, he has a decent talent as a warrior, but he wasted a lot of time in the past few years. Recently, he has picked it up again and is showing signs of surpassing his previous skill peak.

Unfortunately, he had already left the border guard and could no longer undergo the knight's trial.

If he cannot find a new warrior to train him in, his power will remain at this level, and without petrification, he will not be able to defeat even a formal professional.

"Warrior Trials... Sigh, where am I supposed to find one?"

The ancient castle of Shi Yi?
There are assassin trials, though.

The question is, is he really going to give up halfway and become an assassin?

Arno had no answer in his heart.

Or perhaps he should shamelessly ask his boss for information on this, or maybe the ancient Stoneborn possess other paths of trial.

……

Inside the fortress treehouse, Chen Yu opened his eyes.

A thought flashed through his mind, and the news that the Black Fang Mercenary Group was about to attack the territory was quickly spread through the military slime.

"Please note that war is imminent. From this moment forward, the entire territory shall be placed on high alert."

"Please be careful..."

Chen Yu's soft yet serious voice echoed repeatedly in the minds of all the monsters in the territory.

In an instant, whether it was slimes, stinging bees, or beetles, they all stopped what they were doing and stood still in place.

"Oh, damn it."

Old Bloom was leisurely leading a group of Grimlins on a stroll through his territory when he was startled by the bizarre sight of all the monsters suddenly freezing in place.

"What happened?" Iselin rushed back.

The other elves quickly gathered around Iselin, trying to understand what was happening.

Iselin stared intently at the stunned monsters, and then saw that all the monsters resumed their movements, but their movements were noticeably faster than usual.

This unusual behavior... clearly indicates that something big is about to happen.

Soon, Arthur returned to his territory with composure and explained the situation to the elves.

"The Black Fang Mercenary Group is about to attack the territory, and the entire territory is now on high alert."

"Miss Iserline, please try not to go out in order to avoid being harmed by the enemy."

The observant Isabel noticed the gel ring on Arthur's iron finger.

She noticed that, compared to yesterday, the monsters in the territory seemed to be wearing gels of various shapes to varying degrees.

Is this some kind of communication magic?
A realization flashed in her eyes.

It was clearly the slime king who possessed some kind of magic that allowed him to communicate with groups of creatures remotely, enabling his territory to quickly enter a state of combat readiness within seconds.

Such massive and convenient magic coming from a slime, such terrifying war mobilization capabilities... it seems the assessment of the Slime King and its territorial warfare capabilities will need to be updated again.

With a change of heart, she responded to Arthur.

"We can help, without any compensation, simply to help our allies."

Having observed this far, she had essentially accepted the Slime Kingdom. Her initiative to help was, in effect, a tacit acknowledgment of their cooperative alliance.

Arthur's eyes flickered with soul fire, and after a few seconds he nodded and said, "His Majesty has given permission to notify you when the enemy attacks."

"As for these Grimlins..."

He looked at the little creatures clinging to old Bloom's leg. "It would be best to let them hide in His Majesty's castle, where Mr. Bloom can take care of them, until the war is over."

Iserline performed the elven greeting, "Very well, thank you, Mr. Arthur."

Arthur nodded again, turned and left, seemingly having other things to attend to.

……

Temporary mining area.

As soon as Chen Yu flew to the fortress gate on his small truck, he heard the incessant clanging of metal.

Upon entering, one can see that the mining area has been completely transformed compared to the desolation after the riot.

All the slave camps and the goblin's stinking dens were completely demolished, and several temporary warehouses for storing ore were built on the spot.

The monsters here work in an orderly manner. The beetle miners in the south soften the mineral layer, their six limbs digging rapidly, excavating pieces of gray gravel and placing them on the mine tunnel.

Then, the stinging wasps push them onto the small stone baskets on the backs of the beetle transporters, line them up in rows, pass through the outposts, and pile them into the warehouse, waiting for the beetle transporters from the swamp territory to carry the ore back to their territory.

Next to the former outpost, a smelting area occupying a large part of the mining area has sprung up at some point.

Hot magma flowed down from the sluice gate trench, passing through the smelting area, radiating a reddish glow that reflected on the anvils where blacksmiths were diligently forging iron.

"Ding! Ding! Ding..."

Unlike usual, this dwarf, who regards forging as an honor, becomes extremely focused once he gets into the zone. His sweat-soaked face shows no trace of his usual laziness, only seriousness and earnestness.

Even when Chen Yu rode up to him in his small truck, he was completely unaware, his eyes fixed only on the red-hot forged piece.

"The boss is here!"

"Alas, I must be the first to greet them!"

"I want to be a lackey!"

"Don't you dare take it from me!"

The little earth elementals who were stealing ore nearby became excited and skipped over when they saw Chen Yu.

"Boss, boss!"

"Boss! Look at me! Isn't it pretty because it's sparkly?"

Chen Yu jumped to the ground and discovered that these little guys had undergone new changes.

Some small earth elements, due to their gluttony, have mostly turned grayish, like gray gravel, with a touch of crystal clarity.

There were also some who seemed to be wearing metal equipment forged from an anvil, their bodies appearing heavy and sturdy, like little chubby guys, walking with a wobbly gait.

"How did you end up turning yourself into a spirit stone?"

The small earth elemental possesses the talent of "energy storage," meaning it can store spiritual energy. After transforming into gray gravel crystals, its storage capacity seems to increase even further—a single small earth elemental can seemingly hold more spiritual energy than a standard-sized spirit stone.

As for the small earth elementals wearing metal equipment, he guessed that they might be related to the "metal base" that the anvil had mentioned.

As for the progress of the monster cannon's forging, we'll have to wait until the anvil is finished forging before we know.

While waiting, he picked up a piece of scattered ore and fed it to the little earth elementals.

Little Ka, curious, ran to the edge of the lava trough, secretly tasted the lava that looked like candy, and showed a satisfied expression.

He didn't have to wait long; with a "sizzle," the metal forging was quenched.

After examining the anvil and confirming that there were no cracks, it burst into joyful laughter and began to dance with delight.

"Hahaha, it's successful, it's successful!"

"You little rascals, Grandpa Anvil has succeeded."

"Wait a minute, where did they all go?"

Iron Anvil discovered that the little earth elementals that used to like to steal ores had suddenly disappeared, and they could not be seen anywhere.

He suddenly felt something was wrong, turned around sharply, and saw the little earth elemental slime feeding him. He immediately realized that his blunder had been seen, and his cheeks flushed red.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

Chen Yu secreted a small clump of gel ring that fell to the ground.

The anvil tried to put it on, and then it heard Chen Yu's voice.

"Mercenary groups might attack our territory in the next couple of days. I've come to check on the progress of our research on the monster cannon."

"Mercenary group? Those guys who risk their lives for money again? Bah!" The straightforward Iron Anvil spat, making no attempt to hide his dislike for mercenaries.

To avoid any misunderstanding, he coughed lightly and said, "Of course, the mercenaries I'm referring to are those other than Kane and his men."

"So you're planning to use monster cannons on the battlefield?"

Chen Yu shook the gel up and down. "That's right, is there a chance?"

The anvil looked somewhat hesitant. "You've come at the perfect time. I've just finished forging the last component of the monster cannon."

"But the problem is that these components are just experimental, and I'm not sure if they will work as intended."

"It's okay if we fail, I have other ways to replace the monster cannon," Chen Yu encouraged.

Upon hearing this, the anvil nodded repeatedly and carefully installed the final metal component onto the little earth elemental.

The little guy patted the hard metal armor, felt a surge of power, and jumped up and down happily to express his gratitude to the anvil.

"Ahem, very good." The anvil pulled out the blueprints for the monster cannon and showed them to them.

"Just like I told you yesterday, remember your positions. His Majesty is watching from the side, so don't cause any trouble."

The little earth elementals nodded earnestly, climbed together, and gradually glued together to form the legs of the earth elemental giant.

"Hey, the efficiency is much faster than yesterday. That's progress. These little rascals are quite clever." Iron Anvil stroked the red beard with satisfaction.

Ok……

Chen Yu shook the gel without saying a word, simply listening to the whispers of the little earth elements.

"I'm from here, don't take my spot."

"No, no, I'm the one here!"

"Hey, I'm standing in the wrong place, never mind."

"Hey, don't push..."

The scene was chaotic for a moment, and it seemed to be quite different from what Iron Anvil had imagined.

A few seconds later, the earth elemental giant barely managed to condense its torso and arms.

The peculiar metal structure covers almost half of its body, with some metal reinforcements forming the skeleton and enhancing its overall strength.

Next came the head, the base on the shoulders, the cannon barrel... wait, something seems off, why is the cannon barrel getting more and more crooked?
"Your Majesty, it seems there's been a slight mishap. Let me check it out." Iron Anvil smiled awkwardly and climbed the wooden ladder to inspect the internal structure.

"Huh? Where's the gear? Where did the gear go?"

"Where are the crystal slots? Who blocked them?" The anvil was furious, its face turning red as it directed the little guys back to their positions.

"Oh, I've gone to the wrong place."

"I think I'm a little lost."

"The bearded man is angry. I'm going to be a cog in the machine."

After a lot of work, the messy internal structure was finally organized, and the originally crooked gun barrel was straightened again.

After reinstalling the last misplaced part back into its original position, he climbed down the wooden ladder and gave Chen Yu a guilty smile.

"Uh... Your Majesty, you know, experiments are always full of surprises, but it's all settled now. Next, we just need to install the artillery..."

Under the command of the anvil, the massive mechanical body of the earth elemental giant began to operate, and the smaller earth elementals that made up the gears turned with all their might.

"Keep going, bro, you can do it!"

"Spin it!" The other little earth elements, enjoying the spectacle, joined in the commotion.

As the gears turn, the grooves open one by one, revealing ten slots—which correspond exactly to the ten stars of the Dzerlov constellation.

To Chen Yu's surprise, the anvil creatively changed the base of the array from being parallel to the ground to being perpendicular to the ground.

However, since the Goblin Ripper only relies on celestial phenomena and does not consider feng shui or geomancy, this change is indeed feasible.

At this moment, the stinging bees buzzed in, carrying the spiritually imbued gray gravel crystals, and embedded them one by one into the slots.

Each slot can hold a maximum of three gray gravel crystals, for a total of thirty. Once the spiritual energy of the gray gravel crystals in front is exhausted, they can be replaced at any time.

The number of times the artillery can fire is thus increased to twelve, and its endurance is three times that of an ordinary artillery array.

If you also consider the spiritual energy stored by the earth element itself, there's almost no need to worry about endurance issues; it might even have some left over after finishing a war.

After the gray gravel crystals were filled, the next step was the talismans, which were hidden inside the metal structure by the stinging bees along the original route.

In the end, only the crystal talisman remained in the anvil's hand, and at this point, he became nervous.

"Your Majesty, this final step...would you please take it upon yourself?"

"Ok."

Chen Yu picked up the crystal talisman and slowly climbed to the top of the wooden ladder. Under the watchful eye of the anvil, he gently embedded the crystal talisman into the groove in the heart area.

With a crisp "click," exclamations of surprise came from inside the earth elemental giant:
"It's lit up! You're glowing!"

"You too! So bright!"

"Alas! I am the brightest earth element!"

Under the watchful eyes of Chen Yu and Tiezhen, the crystal rune emitted a soft light, which quickly spread across half of its body, illuminating the ten stars on the array base one by one, without any problems.

Become!

It actually lit up on the first try.

Is this the skill of a master blacksmith?

Chen Yu felt that he had underestimated the anvil.

(End of this chapter)