Slime Immortal.

Chapter 185 The Trial Begins

No matter how much time had passed, the flames in the fireplace continued to burn tirelessly, illuminating the wooden house with a warm glow.

Arno returned from outside, carrying the slightly cool scent of night dew. He skillfully added a few more dry pine sticks to the fireplace, allowing the temperature in the room to rise again.

Just as he was about to report the situation to Chen Yu, in the shadows of the corner where the firelight couldn't reach, a deep shadow rippled like water, and Nelly yawned and came out.

"I heard you two were looking for me all over the place. Now I'm back."

She shook the dampness off her black robe, casually removed her hood to reveal a tired little face, and unceremoniously squeezed into the best spot in front of the fireplace to sit down, comfortably squinting her eyes.

"Speak quickly, Auntie needs to hurry back and catch up on some sleep. It's so late and you're not sleeping, but I still need to sleep."

Arno didn't say much and went straight to the point: "The boss said there's some important information that I need to tell you immediately."

Chen Yu hopped around and turned to face Nelly: "I happen to have some information about the vampires here, are you interested?"

"Bloodlines?"

Nelly paused in rubbing her eyes, looked down at the squatting slime on the blanket, and said with surprise.

"You slimes can get information about vampires, information that even we Stoneborn don't know about?"

Chen Yu confidently puffed out his round belly, "Of course, don't underestimate the information gathering capabilities of our Slime Kingdom."

"It is no exaggeration to say that even the goblin legion at the Rift Pass is under our close surveillance."

Hearing the little guy's boastful tone, Nellie became interested and her sleepiness was dispelled.

She crossed her legs and rested her chin on her hand: "Oh? Then tell me, but ordinary information won't fool me, you need some real stuff."

Chen Yu didn't say anything, but just stared at her with his round eyes.

"What do you mean? You're not willing to tell me?" Nelly felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and poked him with her finger.

Chen Yu said matter-of-factly, "I'll say it three times: Reward! Reward! Reward!"

“Miss Nelly, if you want to know exclusive and important information, please pay the corresponding reward first.”

"Hey! You little rascal, you're even trying to raise prices on the spot. In all my years, I've never seen a slime as obsessed with money as you."

"Hmph, no way. I'm so poor, I don't have a single penny."

She turned her head away, seemingly indicating that she was not interested.

"It's like you've ever seen a talking slime before," Chen Yu thought to himself.

Chen Yu turned his gaze to Arno sitting next to him: "Well, since Arno is related to you, how about I give you a discount as a favor?"

Nelly's eyes darted around, and after a moment's thought, she seemed to find the suggestion acceptable, nodding in satisfaction: "That's more like it, it sounds like a business negotiation, but..."

She said slyly, "I need to hear your information first and confirm its value before I can decide how much to pay you. That makes perfect sense, doesn't it?"

Slime Alert.jpg
"You're not thinking of... getting it for free, are you?" Chen Yu's tone was full of distrust.

"Freebie? What do you mean?"

Nelly looked puzzled by the unfamiliar term, but quickly put her hands on her hips and said, "Hey, Auntie is a highly respected elder in Stone Castle, how could I be the kind of person who doesn't keep her word? And there's Arno here to testify."

Upon hearing this, Arno immediately nodded seriously and replied, "Yes, Auntie, don't worry. If you go back on your word later, I will help spread the word."

"See...see? Arno is our witness!" Nelly's tone was a little guilty, and her voice unconsciously rose a little.

Chen Yu understood.

This guy was really trying to get something for nothing.

I want to get his information for free!
"That's what I said. Those vampires seem to be keeping a close eye on tomorrow's Shadow Trial as well."

"That mage named Salazar, I don't know what method he used, modified a shadow creature and has secretly released it into Gore."

"It seems they're planning to cause some disruption during the trial."

"Impossible!" Nelly instinctively denied.

She was quite certain that she had searched the fluorescent forest and even the surrounding area of ​​Gore several times before, and had not found any strange shadow creatures behaving abnormally.

If an alien shadow creature were to enter, given her keen perception of shadows, she should have been able to detect the anomaly immediately.

Something was off... she thought to herself.

But what the little guy said didn't sound like a lie, and lying about this kind of thing didn't seem to do them any good...

"Where did you get this information from?" Nelly probed cautiously, trying to determine the authenticity and source of the information.

Chen Yu thought for a moment, and to make his words more believable, he said, "We have a vampire informant, and this is the intelligence he brought back."

A vampire spy?
These slimes also have the ability to turn vampires against their own kind?

The Slime Kingdom is so strange, with both Stoneborn and vampires. Are you sure they won't start fighting?

She thought for a moment and said, "Well, this news doesn't sound very true. I'll go and verify it myself first."

"As for the payment, we'll settle it with you later once I've verified the information and determined its value."

She emphasized, "Of course, it's not that we won't give it to them, it just takes a little time to verify."

After saying that, she didn't give Chen Yu a chance to react at all. She quickly got up and disappeared back into the shadows in the corner of the wall, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

They were afraid that if they were a step too slow, Chen Yu would grab them and demand payment.

Chen Yu silently made a few comments.

Still careless.

He had underestimated how thick-skinned this guy was, and she got a piece of information for free.

Oh well, who told him to still be obsessed with the secret of the Stoneborn controlling the Gargoyle army? Consider it a deposit in advance.

"Arno, it's getting late. Get some rest and prepare for tomorrow's trial."

“Yes, boss,” Arno replied.

He brought bedding from the room, spread it out on the floor in front of the still-warm fireplace, and lay down.

But his mind was still involuntarily processing the information he'd just received, and he couldn't help but ask, "Boss, do you think... tomorrow's trial might be suddenly canceled or postponed because of this news?" Chen Yu, who had already snuggled into the warm bed, peeked out at him when he heard his question: "What, are you still eager to try? Afraid the trial won't be held?"

Arno scratched his head and smiled somewhat embarrassedly, "Yes, a little... After all, with so many talent balls, my strength has improved a lot, and I really want to find an opportunity to see what level I've reached now."

"Don't worry, tomorrow is just a formality for you," Chen Yu said confidently.

After saying that, he comfortably crawled back into his warm bed, leaving only a small bulge.

Arno relaxed considerably upon hearing this, lay down, put his hands behind his head, and gazed at the ceiling, which was flickering with light from the fireplace, as his thoughts drifted away.

At first, he was seriously considering the tactics and route planning that might be used in tomorrow's trial.

But as he thought about it, his thoughts drifted uncontrollably to farther places—he thought of the Slime Kingdom, which he hadn't returned to in a long time, and of his wife and young children in the great city of the White Horse Kingdom…

Looking back on the past few months, he couldn't help but wonder what he would be like now if he hadn't encountered an accident during that business trip, hadn't stepped into that legendary dangerous swamp, and hadn't met the boss.

Perhaps they are still struggling to make money, or perhaps they have already become a statue.

Fortunately, he was lucky.

They encountered an angel who was known as a devil...

Arno's thoughts wandered, as if sinking into soft, warm clouds, growing deeper and deeper until he fell into a deep sleep, emitting soft snores.

……

The next morning, Stone Castle was still shrouded in the eternal darkness of the underworld. Only the fluorescent moss and glowing mushrooms scattered throughout the corners persistently emitted a faint light, providing enough illumination for the sleeping town to see.

The temperature in the town was very low in the early morning, and the breath of the residents could condense into fog instantly, but the town was already bustling with activity.

Everywhere were Stoneborn preparing for the trials, family members seeing them off, and some curious cave dwellers.

Arno ate a simple breakfast and returned to the cabin. When he saw the pastry shop open early, he specially bought the owner a blueberry cake that looked delicious.

He then put on the sleek, stiff leather belt, covered it with a light leather armor, securely fastened his broadsword to his back, and tucked two short blades into his waistband. Guided by the enthusiastic help of an early-rising caveman, he arrived at the meeting point at the edge of the fluorescent forest.

Although he had gotten up early enough, when he arrived there, he saw a number of Stoneborn people wearing leather armor and cloaks waiting there for a long time. The three Stoneborn people who had returned to Gol with him earlier were also among them.

Ella was talking quietly with other familiar Stoneborn when Max nudged her shoulder with his elbow, gesturing for her to look behind her.

Ella turned around in confusion, and when she saw Arno and the familiar green slime on his shoulder, she waved enthusiastically.

"Uncle Arno! Little messenger! Good morning!"

Arno waved back at her, saying, "Good morning. I'm not too late, am I?"

Max, who was tall and strong, shook his head and said in a deep voice, "It's not too late. The trial won't officially start for a while."

"We were just a little nervous and excited last night, so we didn't get much sleep and decided to come over early to wait."

"Really?" Arno scratched his head subconsciously.

He felt like he slept quite well last night.

Chen Yu leaned on his shoulder, glanced at him, and seemed to have guessed what he was thinking.

How could I not sleep well? I was snoring.

Last night, he heard the snoring in his drowsy state and thought the vampires had invaded the stone fortress, but it turned out to be a false alarm.

Ella leaned closer and asked in a low voice, "Uncle, how are your preparations going? They're spreading the word everywhere that you passed the Knight Trial. You're a celebrity in town now."

Leon crossed his arms and chuckled, reminding her, "Ella, didn't you say before that we're all competitors before the trial begins, and it's best not to pry into each other's information?"

Upon hearing this, Ella's cheeks flushed slightly, and she said somewhat guiltily, "I... I was just a little curious, I didn't mean to pry into information."

"Besides, I've undergone several days of grueling training, guaranteed to impress you all. I don't even bother with gathering intelligence, hmph!"

Max listened in silence.

He remembered Ella's mother saying that the "devil training" Ella referred to meant spending half her time training and the other half visiting the town's dessert shop, going to the pastry shop more often than going to the training grounds.

Arno didn't expect that the news of his passing the Knight Trial would spread throughout the entire town so quickly.

Judging from this, it seems that all the Stone Tribes know about this matter. No wonder when he came over earlier, he felt that many Stone Tribes were secretly looking at him.

Being young and lively, Ella's guilty conscience didn't last long before her attention quickly shifted to the slime on Arno's shoulder.

She stretched out her index finger and curiously poked the slime's soft, bouncy belly.

"Little envoy, are you going to accompany this uncle to participate in this trial? That would be a bit unfair."

They had witnessed firsthand how easily this seemingly small slime dealt with those troublesome gargoyles.

Don't let its small size fool you, it's actually quite powerful.

Chen Yu swayed slightly from the poking. With his belly sticking out, he imitated the posture of putting his hands behind his back and calmly said, "Miss Nelly won't let me go. I won't get involved in your young people's trial."

Ella poked him again with a grin: "Yes, yes, thank you, Your Excellency, for giving us this opportunity."

As the group was chatting happily, a blurry shadow gradually gathered and appeared beside the trunk of a poplar tree.

Nelly yawned, her short hair slightly messy and her eyes dark with heavy circles, looking like she hadn't slept well as she walked out, casually waving to the young Stoneborn around her.

Good morning, little ones.

When the young people of Shiyi saw her, they immediately showed the nervousness one would feel when meeting a parent, straightening their backs and greeting her respectfully.
Good morning, Aunt.

Good morning, Auntie. How did you sleep yesterday?

Arno, watching this scene, couldn't help but ask Leon beside him in a low voice, "Speaking of which... how old is Auntie?"

Before Leon could speak, Nelly's gaze swept over, and she slowly approached.

"Talking about a lady's age behind her back is not a gentleman's habit."

She didn't delve any further, clapped her hands to draw everyone's attention, and her tone became slightly more formal.

"Alright, enough chit-chat. Come with me, your ancestors are already waiting for you in the fluorescent forest."

(End of this chapter)