Slime Immortal.

Chapter 159 Silver Talent
The next morning, the golden rays of the sun shone on the city walls, making the traces of yesterday's fierce battle even more glaring. Dark brown bloodstains had already seeped into the cracks in the stones, silently telling the story of the battle's brutality in the morning light.

The bodies of the fallen human mercenaries have all been moved and buried in a newly established cemetery beside the forest road.

This was Chen Yu's most basic respect for the soldiers, and also a necessary measure to prevent the outbreak of the plague.

Due to the significant damage to the territory, various repair tasks and the need to reassure the affected personnel required his attention. He also stayed up all night, a rare occurrence for him, busy coordinating everything.

At this moment, he was quietly squatting on the battlements, his gel-like body bathed in the warm and vibrant morning sun.

Continuous mental focus and the circulation of magic, coupled with the nourishment of the morning energy, suddenly brought him into a mysterious state.

The circulation of spiritual energy within the body accelerated on its own, creating a wondrous resonance with the magic of this world.

hum...

A cool yet abundant sense of power instantly flowed through my body, as if some invisible barrier had been quietly broken down.

[Qi Refinement Lv.6 → Lv.7]

[Bronze Lv.6 → Silver Lv.7]

The moment Chen Yu broke through both his demon level and his immortal cultivation realm, his vision blurred, and he was plunged into a bizarre and fantastical illusion.

Countless psychedelic colors alternated and spun wildly like an overturned palette, twisting into incomprehensible patterns, as if one had accidentally ingested some kind of hallucinogenic fungus.

This strange state lasted for several seconds before the chaotic colors receded like a tide, gradually restoring the normal world.

Chen Yu sensed something and subconsciously tried to control his body.

A subtle ripple appeared on the surface of his lush green gel-like body, and his color and texture began to change rapidly, almost instantly mimicking the color and texture of the stone bricks of the city wall behind him, perfectly blending into the environment.

Invisible?

No, it doesn't seem that simple.

As his thoughts stirred again, his entire body began to twist and deform, his outline rapidly elongating. In just a few breaths, he transformed from a lump of slime into a angular, rough-surfaced stone.

As long as you don't touch and feel the bouncy gel texture, it's almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

【Gel Mimicry Lv.1】

A new racial talent has been born.

This stuff is great.

With the combination of "Stealth" and "Hot Fog Illusion," who dares to say that a slime can't become a master of stealth?

Chen Yu felt a surge of joy.

He felt that he could transform into any object if he wanted to: a knight's sword, a dwarf's forging hammer, or even a tiny Grimlin.

Of course, the current Lv.1 mimicry has its limits. It cannot transform into objects larger than twice its own volume, and when transforming into movable objects, it will show a tear-like flaw.

It's like a Grimlin walking along when suddenly its body splits open, its two legs going limp and each going its own way...

After all, it's only Lv.1, so there's potential for the future.

He optimistically thought that maybe when he reached a higher level, he could mimic a gel dragon and even simulate its terrifying dragon might.

He then thought of Arthur and Count Bran's upcoming quest for the crown.

Arthur wants to enter the human kingdom, but the first problem is how to disguise and hide his identity as an undead knight. If this is not solved, they will find it difficult to move an inch in the human kingdom.

And now, perhaps... this mimicry talent can come in very handy?
He remained in the shape of a stone, lost in thought.

Just then, the hardworking Earl Bran flapped his wings and flew over from the other side of the city wall, carrying a small, glittering crystal in his beak.

It spotted the extra stone on the battlement at a glance, a hint of doubt flashing in its small eyes, and muttered:

"Huh? Which bored guy moved a rock here..."

Before he finished speaking, the "stone" suddenly rippled and instantly turned back into a green slime.

"Huh?!!"

Count Bran was so startled he nearly swallowed the crystal in his mouth. "Your Majesty?! How did you turn into stone just now?"

"Just a trivial spell," Chen Yu's soft, gentle voice echoed in its mind.

“Well… your spell is quite… unique.” Count Bran landed on the city wall, still shaken, and began to comb his ruffled feathers, muttering to himself as he prepared to make his escape.

Chen Yu called out to it, "Wait, Earl Bran, exactly where in the Western Swamp did you find that alchemical seed you found yesterday?"

The Lv.1 "Fertile Soil" has such an amazing effect, and it's just one of the minor abilities of the "World Tree in a Bottle".

If we can find more seeds...

Hehe, he couldn't even imagine how amazing a talent he could nurture.

"Oh ho ho! It seems His Majesty is quite interested in this Earl's legendary tales."

Upon hearing this, Earl Bran immediately perked up, flew closer, and began to recount the story vividly.

In fact, it did fly eastward toward the fortress that day, intending to get away from the territory of those pointy-eared tree spirits.

Tired from flying, they rested by the reeds of the river. There they happened to see two beavers cuddling together, and they were about to go over and scold them for their indecent behavior when they ran into a group of mercenaries passing by.

Hearing that they claimed to be from the Underdark and were mercenaries of the Black Fang Mercenary Group, Count Bran followed them out of curiosity.

Before it knew it, it had wandered into the vicinity of the goblin's territory. After wandering around for a while, it realized that it had actually circled around to the western swamp.

"I thought I might as well come back since I hadn't gained anything, but then I suddenly encountered an extremely strong chill. When I went over to take a look, good heavens, there was a huge crack in the swamp."

"Cold air was billowing out from inside, freezing a large area of ​​swamp into solid frost, and there were a few silly ice wolves wandering around inside."

"I took a stroll around the neighborhood and happened to find the seed on a frozen goblin corpse."

Chen Yu was completely speechless after hearing this.

This guy flew east to avoid the treant territory, but by a series of unexpected events, he ended up in the opposite direction, the Western Swamp, where he happened to stumble upon a newly appeared dimensional rift and picked up an alchemical seed along the way...

This luck is simply outrageous.

Even the most eloquent bards probably couldn't have come up with such a story.

"So you mean that not only did a dimensional rift emanating an aura of extreme cold appear in the Western Swamp, but the seed was also found on a nearby goblin corpse?"

"So where is that dimensional rift located?"

Dimensional rifts are essentially free monster dungeons unless you open one in your own home.

Such a good resource point, of course we should occupy it first.

"Hehe! This plane is located northeast of the Treant territory. We'll arrive in a little while, Your Excellency..."

Count Bran was speaking when he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly flapped his wings to take off.

"Your Majesty, let's not talk about that now. I think I just saw the elves from the tree spirit territory return, with a long procession of camel caravans. They must be bringing food."

"This Earl must go into hiding first, so please don't tell me you've seen me."

Without waiting for Chen Yu's response, it flapped its wings and flew away in a panic, disappearing into the fortress in an instant.

Just as Count Bran had said, not long after, Chen Yu saw a sizable convoy appear at the end of the forest road.

The tall camels strode with steady steps, their backs laden with bulging sacks of grain. On either side of the caravan were elite elven rangers, led by Iserline.

Iselin also saw Chen Yu on the city wall, and from a distance, she gracefully bowed with her hand on her chest.

"Lord Slime, I have returned as promised, and I have brought with me enough food."

With a wave of her hand, large quantities of grain began to be transported into the fortress's granaries in an orderly manner.

Looking at the mountain of various grains, tubers, and treated magical moss, Chen Yu seemed to understand why Count Bran loved collecting crystals and filling his nest with them.

Even just seeing the warehouse filled up gives the slime a great sense of satisfaction.

With the stable food supply from the Treant territory, the Stinger Bee swarm's expansion plan could finally be put on the agenda, achieving a true "mass production" of troops.

With a sufficient army, it will be possible to completely wipe out the remaining monsters in the dungeon, or to march into the western swamp to drive out the goblin forces and expand the territory.

After completing the handover, Iselin found Chen Yu and solemnly handed him a letter sealed with fragrant wood.

"What is this?" Chen Yu asked, somewhat puzzled.

“This is a letter personally written by Lady Viola, instructing me to deliver it to Knight Arthur by hand,” Iserline explained, her expression somewhat subtle, as if she knew something but didn’t want to say more.

Having finished giving her instructions, and still needing to guard against a goblin counterattack, Iserline did not linger. She bowed again and took her leave, leading her elven guards to escort the empty camel caravan, disappearing into the forest path.

Chen Yu held the letter that emitted a faint fragrance, a hint of doubt showing in his small eyes.

"A letter Viola wrote to Arthur herself?"

He skipped back to the tree hall and called Arthur over through the gel network.

Soon, steady footsteps could be heard.

Arthur entered, with Count Bran standing proudly on his shoulder, recounting his legendary exploits, and somewhat surprisingly, Calvin followed behind them.

Before Chen Yu could ask, Arthur explained, "Your Majesty, Calvin has decided to return to the kingdom with me to search for the 'Crown of Ignis'."

"Weren't you two fighting to the death before?" Chen Yu asked curiously, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the two.

Arthur's answer was as simple and direct as ever: "We're just... used to communicating through battle, and with his help, the search for the crown will be smoother, and he can redeem himself." Calvin crossed his arms, his face calm, and continued, "That crown must not fall into the hands of the demonic minions hidden in the border legion. A demon who successfully gets crowned will bring unimaginable disaster to all the human kingdoms, and even I will not be spared."

He paused, his voice lowering slightly, "This time, consider it my atonement for my past cowardice and escapism..."

Arthur looked at him seriously: "I am the one who should atone. It was my recklessness and stubbornness that dragged you down. I didn't expect the consequences to be so serious."

Calvin said with relief, "This debt was settled long ago after your death. The reason I couldn't let go all these years was simply because I couldn't let go of myself; I still couldn't let go of the justice I despised."

“No, it was my oversight…” Arthur insisted.

Seeing that the two were about to get into an endless cycle of blaming each other, Chen Yu quickly interrupted them.

"Stop, let bygones be bygones."

He handed the letter, which carried a faint scent of wood, to Arthur: "This is a letter from Violato Iserline to you."

"Letter to me?"

Arthur stared blankly at the letter, looking somewhat puzzled.

"Oh, what the hell!"

Count Bran screamed as if his tail had been stepped on, and jumped off Arthur's shoulder.

"Was it that old-fashioned person who wrote you this letter?"

"This must be a conspiracy against me, Earl. She must have put a vicious curse or tracking magic in the letter. Arthur, throw it away!"

Upon hearing this, Arthur actually gave it a serious consideration.

If Chen Yu hadn't told him to read it before deciding, he might have already thrown the letter away.

Arthur glanced at Earl Bran, then took a few steps back with the letter, carefully opening and reading it only after walking outside the Tree Hall.

Count Bran claimed to be afraid, but his actions betrayed his fear. He hid behind a pillar, peeking out every now and then to nervously observe Arthur.

"How are you, Arthur? Are you alright? How are you feeling? Are you feeling dizzy or lightheaded?"

After reading the letter, Arthur carefully folded it and put it away, shaking his head.

"Are you really alright?" Count Bran's small eyes were still full of suspicion.

Arthur checked again to make sure it was correct, then took out the still-radiant sunflower and the raven tail feather with a metallic sheen from his pocket.

"Lord Viola seemed to have anticipated my return to the kingdom; she informed me in a letter of the correct use of these two items."

"How to use it?" Chen Yu's curiosity was piqued.

Arthur nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, she said that this is the key to my passing the 'Trials of Nature', and emphasized that Your Majesty has good judgment in choosing her as my mentor."

"But regarding their specific functions, Lord Viola repeatedly warned me that I cannot reveal them to anyone, otherwise... the trial will fail."

Uh……

Actually, he had no idea that there were any "natural trials" in the tree spirit's territory. He just got lost with Arthur and stumbled upon Viola by accident.

But judging from Arthur's solemn attitude, he seemed to truly regard that strange experience as a sacred trial.

“Natural Trials?” Count Bran’s eyes widened immediately.

"So Your Majesty had planned this all along? This Earl thought I was really lost back then, cough cough..."

Chen Yu remained calm and silent, which made him seem even more unfathomable to Count Bran.

However, he was actually having doubts in his heart.

He, as a natural being, was also very curious about what the Natural Trials actually entailed.

Arthur looked at Count Bran, held up the raven feather, and asked seriously, "According to the hints in Lord Viola's letter, I seem to need to make good use of this feather, so should I throw it away?"

Count Bran hesitated for a moment, then said, "Let's keep it."

It coughed twice, puffed out its chest, and tried to appear as if it had everything under control: "Ahem, of course, this Earl had long anticipated its use."

Arthur nodded seriously: "As expected of Earl Bran."

"..."

Calvin, who had been observing silently, couldn't help but wonder about Count Bran's true identity when he saw Arthur's respect and devotion to the raven.

The monsters here cannot be judged by ordinary standards. This Slime King is already strange enough, so the raven beside him might be unusual as well.

Chen Yu noticed Calvin's "I understand" expression and thought to himself.

"As expected, the only person who can become friends with that idiot Arthur is another idiot."

After Arthur carefully put away the sunflower and raven feather, Count Bran flew back to his shoulder armor and stood still, saying with some regret:
"Your Majesty, before the summer demonic tide arrives, we plan to set off for Allenbridge Fortress as soon as possible, so we will skip breakfast."

"What a pity, my dear bryozoan, I didn't have time to give it a morning kiss."

This was the first time Chen Yu had seen Earl Bran so proactive; it seemed he valued the crown and Arthur's "natural trial" quite a bit.

Chen Yu agreed to their plan and had the slimes prepare ample supplies for them.

Then, he secreted a small slime equipped with "stealth" and "heat fog illusion" that landed on the ground with a thud.

He had experimented before, and like "devouring and digesting," although "gel mimicry" was not visible on the Little Slime's panel, it did not prevent its use. Only "division and proliferation" was still unusable.

He looked at the knight who was fully prepared for battle, "Have you figured out how to disguise yourself as an undead? The human kingdoms aren't very friendly to the undead."

Arthur hesitated for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Wrapped up in bandages?"

Chen Yu: "..."

He didn't think mummies would be more popular there than the dead.

Who came up with the idea of ​​using straps?

"I'll do it."

"Just to confirm, the undead shouldn't need to breathe, nor should they suffocate, right?"

Arthur was taken aback, and subconsciously touched his jawbone to confirm that there was no sign of airflow: "No breathing, Your Majesty, do you have any way to help me?"

"Watch me, you kneel down first."

Arthur obediently knelt down.

The little slime clone bounced around and stuck to Arthur's face as he knelt on the ground with a splat, quickly spreading out and covering his entire skull.

Then, to Calvin's astonishment, the gel began to rapidly change shape, adjust color, and texture.

A few seconds later, a strange human male face with sharp features and a bit of stubble appeared.

Although his eyes looked vacant, it was still much better than the terrible idea of ​​using bandages.

"A mimicry slime?"

Calvin looked puzzled.

But this Slime King is clearly a slime slime, so how could it possess the abilities of the slimes in Farron Highlands?
Is this Slime King not a local slime?

Count Bran jumped around excitedly, "Wow, you look like you've come to life, squire, except your eyes still look a little silly."

"Is...is that so?" Arthur seemed a little happy, and subconsciously wanted to raise his hand to touch his face, but was afraid of hurting it.

"Of course, why would I, the Earl, lie to you?"

After the chat ended and everything was ready, Chen Yu escorted them to the gate of the fortress.

"Go ahead and be careful. If you encounter any danger, don't hesitate to ask me for help."

Arthur placed his right hand on his chest and solemnly gave Chen Yu a standard knightly salute.

"Your Majesty, I entrust my flowers to your care."

Seeing this, Count Bran also puffed out his chest in a similar manner, placing his wings in front of his chest like hands, and performed a noble salute.

Then it flapped its wings in farewell, its voice booming with confidence: "Your Majesty, we will soon return with the crown. Prepare for your coronation!"

Chen Yu watched their figures gradually disappear at the end of the forest path, the morning light stretching their shadows long.

A faint sadness, akin to that of an elderly father watching his child depart into the distance, lingered over Chen Yu.

Sigh, children grow up, and we have to let go eventually.

It's good to let them go out and explore.

Only when their figures were completely swallowed up by the trees did Chen Yu turn away and turn around.

His attention returned to the fissure in the western marshland that Count Bran had mentioned.

Ice and snow monsters... he pondered.

It sounds so cool and refreshing.

If you can catch it, add some sugar and cream, stir it...

That should be similar to ice cream, right?
(End of this chapter)