Slime Immortal.

Chapter 151 The storm is coming
Mid-June at the shore of Gray Fog Lake.

It was the hottest time of year, and the perennial dampness over Grey Mist Lake blocked out most of the sunlight. Compared to the heat, the air here was heavy, like a soaked wool blanket, making people uncomfortable.

Only occasionally will one or two carriages pass by, but they will not stop.

However, today, a commotion broke the tranquility of the lakeside road leading to the entrance to the underground city.

The advance team of the Black Fang Mercenary Group has arrived here and is working busily.

The strong mercenaries wielded axes and saws, felling the swamp trees, while the accompanying mages chanted softly, their hands flashing with a yellowish-brown light as they repeatedly poured "Earth Shaping" spells onto the muddy ground, laying the foundation for a temporary camp for the large group of soldiers and their supplies.

These mercenaries were uniformly equipped, wearing leather or heavy armor dyed in dark colors, armed with sophisticated weapons, and their eyes held a wary look towards the unfamiliar territory.

They were hastily assembled from various outposts in the Underdark. For this A-level bounty mission codenamed "Slime Extermination," the mercenary group even unusually deployed an elite professional to oversee the operation.

In the center of the camp, several white, thick canvas tents had been erected, with torches around the largest one, the flickering flames barely dispelling the damp mist of the swamp.

Inside the tent, a tall, upright man dressed in half-knight armor stood intently in front of a simple sand table.

The sand table roughly simulated the terrain on the southwest side of Gray Fog Lake, with several small flags representing enemy and friendly forces planted on it.

The man's name was Calvin. The mercenaries only knew that he was originally a knight captain in the White Horse Kingdom's border defense legion, but later defected abroad, concealed his identity, and joined the Black Fang Mercenary Group, which only cared about money and not background.

However, this guy was rigid and meticulous, even somewhat aloof, which was incompatible with the generally lax and profit-driven atmosphere of the mercenary group. Many mercenaries secretly looked down on him.

Calvin's fingers moved slowly across the sand table, his voice steady, as he gave a final tactical explanation to the surrounding squad leaders.

"...According to the intelligence gathered by Derek's team, taking this path from the southwest side can bypass a large area of ​​swamp and reduce the physical exertion required to enter the forest."

"The specific formation... Once inside the forest, a squad of heavy shield warriors will advance slowly in a wedge formation, with mages and rangers in the center. Assassins must be stationed on both flanks for continuous reconnaissance, guarding against any form of ambush or trap... Our primary objective is to reach this open area, establish a forward base, and then..."

The squad leaders, standing around the sand table with their arms crossed, seemed to be listening, and only spoke up to praise it after the simulation ended.

"very good."

"As expected of Commander Calvin, his tactics are very rigorous and meticulous, I can't find any fault with them."

In fact, these mercenaries who live on the edge of death are illiterate, and they don't have the knowledge to find fault with them.

Rex, standing to the side, laughed and said, "With such professional command from you, this A-level bounty should be a sure thing."

"However, you should have seen the intelligence I recorded. When we dealt with those greenskins at the last time we went to the Rift Pass, a goblin said that the real lord behind that force in the Eastern Swamp might be a 'Dead Knight,' whose strength is unknown, but he is very likely an elite silver."

"If the intelligence is true, how should we deal with him?"

Upon hearing the word "knight," Calvin paused for a moment before raising his head and glancing at Rex.

"There's no need to specifically allocate troops; if it appears, I will handle it personally."

His voice carried a calm and confident tone, which convinced everyone.

Only after everyone refocused their attention on what was behind him did Calvin turn his gaze back to the sand table, his tone becoming even more serious, "Gentlemen, I think you are all well aware of the price the mercenary group paid for this expedition."

"The cost of providing each person with high-grade antidotes, healing potions, protective scrolls, and hiring mages alone has already amounted to several hundred gold coins."

"This money is neither charity nor a gamble that can be easily wasted. I don't need to elaborate on what an A-level bounty target means. Any underestimation or carelessness could result in us losing everything, or even leaving our lives in this swamp forever."

"I hope that no unexpected situations will arise during the mission. I don't have time to give everyone psychological counseling, and you should understand what I mean." Calvin's words were pointed, reminding them to keep their subordinates in check.

The atmosphere inside the tent immediately became more serious, and the squad leaders of the formal professional warriors nodded in agreement.

"Very good, everyone, it's a pleasure working with you."

After Calvin finished speaking, he prepared to leave.

Rex, who was standing nearby, followed up by taking a wine pouch from his waist and handing it over, trying to get closer to him.

"Commander, it's stuffy outside. Have a drink to get rid of the dampness. This is some good stuff brought from Zearella..."

"No need."

Calvin raised his hand in refusal and walked straight out. "During a mission, staying alert is more important than anything else. If you have this energy, you might as well go check the equipment again or urge the progress of the camp's fortifications."

Rex was met with a setback, a hint of embarrassment flashing across his face, but he quickly masked it, chuckling awkwardly as he put away his wine pouch.

"Hehe, the commander is right. I didn't think things through. I'll go and keep an eye on those lazybones and get them to work."

After saying that, he also left the tent, and in an instant, the noise from outside immediately enveloped him.

The fog outside seemed to have thickened, and the distant woods were reduced to blurry outlines, like lurking beasts, exuding an oppressive atmosphere of impending storm.

However, the ordinary mercenaries in the camp seemed unaffected. Most of them looked excited, wiping their weapons, checking their bowstrings, and whispering about the bounty and spoils.

Like a shark that has smelled blood, the more dangerous the situation, the more restless it becomes.

After walking a few steps away, one of Rex's trusted men approached and whispered, "Boss, everyone's heard that Commander Calvin has a terrible temper, as stubborn as a rock in a latrine. Seeing him today, it's definitely true; he wouldn't even give us a drink..."

Rex took out his wine flask, took a swig, and wiped his mouth.

“They are proper royal knights, with strict rules. They would never look down on us mercenaries who only have gold coins in their eyes.”

"If it weren't for the sudden appearance of another dimensional rift deep within the Dark Lands, which led to all the elite professionals being reassigned to deal with that S-rank bounty, this task of leading a team to exterminate the demonic forces wouldn't have been assigned to this rigid guy."

"Kingdom Knight? Heh, he's just a stray dog, and in the end he still has to rely on our mercenary group to feed him."

His subordinate's eyes widened in surprise: "A dimensional rift? This... this is already the third rift to appear in the Underdark this year, isn't it?"

Rex waved.

"Who knows? Every summer when the magic is turbulent, a few of these things always pop up. There's nothing to be surprised about."

"But this thing is very dangerous. Even the lawless goblins at the Rift Pass suffered heavy losses and lost a lot of men. That's not something we can get involved in right now. Let's focus on taking down this fat guy first."

After saying that, he stuffed the wine bag back into his waistband and strode towards the edge of the busy camp with his men, their figures gradually being swallowed up by the increasingly thick gray-white fog.

Rex left, and the mercenaries in the camp continued their noisy chatter, completely unaware that on the outskirts of the camp, several beetles clung silently to the rough trunks of oak trees, watching them. Unlike ordinary beetles, they were unusually quiet, each with a bouncy gel cap on its head.

These were the beetle scouts sent by Chen Yu, all equipped with the Lv.1 [Stealth] talent, which could effectively reduce their own presence.

Moreover, because of their small size, they are easily overlooked even when a group of assassins patrolling the area.

Undisturbed, the beetle scouts meticulously collected intelligence on the regiment's personnel distribution, equipment types, and other details, then transmitted it back in real time to the distant swamp fortress via their gel caps.

A few seconds later, Chen Yu, who was standing on the fortress wall, suddenly received frontline intelligence compiled and forwarded by the strategist slime.

Arthur, along with the elves wearing gel rings, also received brief intelligence.

"Is this intelligence coming back from the front lines?"

A hint of surprise flashed across Iselin's face.

The ability to instantly obtain information about distant enemy camps without leaving the safe fortress was a communication magic far beyond her imagination.

According to what the Slime King inadvertently mentioned, even if the Treant Territory and the Slime Kingdom are far apart, as long as the people of both sides possess this "communicator," designate a communicator, and send a communication request to magic, the people can even chat and communicate with each other remotely as if they were talking face to face.

This efficiency in information transmission completely overturned the traditional magical communication or messenger system.

This kind of unheard-of slime magic was fortunate to have originated in this nameless swamp... If it had appeared in front of those old fogies in the Ancient Tree Council who adhered to tradition, I wonder what they would have thought.

Iselin sighed inwardly. She felt that she was only in her early twenties and still young, so how could she be so unable to accept new things?

Is it because I'm mentally old?

After a long period of reverie, she finally came to her senses and turned her gaze to the Slime King in front of her.

"This enemy is quite well-prepared, Lord Slime. How do you plan to deal with them?"

She shared the information she knew.

"The leader of that group, Calvin, originally came from the most elite border knight order of the White Horse Kingdom. More than ten years ago, he was a promising young knight. For some reason, after completing a mission at an outpost ruin, he suddenly betrayed the kingdom and joined the Black Fang Mercenary Group."

"This knight is well-versed in the strategies and tactics of a regular army, and is an elite professional. He is a very dangerous fellow."

"Black Fang's regiments were clearly well-prepared. According to intelligence, they were equipped with targeted heavy shields and a large number of protective scrolls to counter the magic cannon array."

"In fact, this is a conventional tactic for dealing with magic crystal cannons, and it is quite effective, greatly narrowing the scope of application of magic crystal cannons."

The Slime Kingdom seems to rely heavily on these magical cannon arrays, which resemble magic crystal cannons. If they are targeted, it will be difficult to stop the advance of the formations.

Chen Yu's soft, gentle voice echoed in her mind: "Miss Iserline, rest assured, we have already prepared a backup plan."

He blinked, but did not reveal what the so-called "backup plan" was.

"It would be best if you were prepared."

Iselin nodded slightly and stopped asking questions, but her elven companions seemed quite curious about the so-called "backup plan," exchanging glances and guessing what it was.

"It's getting late. Once these mercenaries have rested, they'll head into the swamp and head straight for the fortress."

"We should also assemble our troops."

Chen Yu lightly jumped and landed on Arthur's shoulder armor. The others followed him to the training ground in the center of the fortress.

Just as several elves were patrolling the deserted training ground—

"Boom!!!"

A series of low, dense buzzing sounds suddenly emanated from the beehives on the city wall watchtowers.

The next moment, the stinging bees gathered into several huge black clouds and surged out of the hive. Then, like a well-trained army, they quickly landed on the training ground and formed a neat square formation.

These stinging wasps are numerous; even if they are just the permanent troops, there are at least five hundred of them.

The most numerous of them are the regular explosive bee soldiers, followed by the more slender assassin bee soldiers, and the medical bee soldiers whose tails store life energy.

Even more eye-catching are the several newly introduced special units – jetpack bees equipped with "pea shoot" and "growth boost" abilities.

Although they cannot directly shoot peas, their stingers can connect with the magic pea sprouts cultivated under the crenellations of the city walls. By promoting growth, they stimulate the pea sprouts to quickly produce plump pods and control the pods to shoot out hard, large peas.

These peas have low individual damage, but as long as they can form a dense barrage, they are enough to effectively slow down the enemy's advance and interfere with climbing, making them an excellent auxiliary force for defending the city walls.

Following the stinging bees, the second most numerous monster in the territory—the beetle—made its appearance.

Most of them are not directly offensive, but they are diligent logistical soldiers who maintain the lifeline of the fortress, and can transport strategic materials such as gray gravel, repair materials, and moss monster jerky to the front line.

Then, a slight tremor was felt in the ground.

Peggy, who was the size of a small battering ram, huffed and puffed as she gathered around. On her back lay Little Ka, whose eyes were resolute and who was ready to fight at any moment.

In addition, slimes of different professions also began their busy preparations for battle. Some were working hard to draw talismans, while others were inspecting every corner of the city walls, ready to repair the damaged fortifications at any time.

Seeing this solemn scene, the elves finally realized that war was coming, and their expressions became somewhat tense.

Iselin, standing beside Arthur, nodded slightly in approval.

This monster army is clearly much larger and more powerful than the one that supported them last time, and its combat capabilities should not be underestimated.

However... even so, to defeat a human mercenary group led by elite professionals and fully equipped, it would probably still be a brutal war of attrition.

Even if they win, the Slime Kingdom may have to pay a heavy price.

But she always felt that this monster kingdom that suddenly emerged from the swamp wouldn't be so easily defeated.

Hopefully her hunch is right.

(End of this chapter)