Chapter 458: What It Means to Be the Slime King

"Hm? What is this?"

Mammon squinted, his gaze piercing through the flurry of golden snowflakes dancing in the sky, settling upon the heavens guarded by three floating fortresses.

A golden cross-star blazed amidst the clouds, like a holy emblem nailed into the night sky by the gods themselves.

And at the very center of that golden cross-star, one could faintly make out a round, plump figure wearing a crown, its cloak billowing in the wind.

The golden snowflakes drifting all around fell like celebratory fireworks, welcoming the arrival of a king.

The soulfire in Krogg's eye sockets flickered unsteadily.

"The authority of a king... who would have thought that a slime could pass through such an ancient Trial of Kingship."

"This ritual... even those self-proclaimed noble royal giants rarely manage to complete it."

"Heh, I've killed plenty of human kings in my time, but a slime? This is a first."

He was just about to strike again when he seemed to sense something and whirled around abruptly.

From the Abyss fissure gaping open within the forest, a strange sound suddenly echoed out.

A horned demon's head came hurtling out of the fissure, rolling across the ground with a clatter until it stopped right at his feet.

The horned demon's eyes were still wide open, frozen in the terror and bewilderment of its final moment.

Then, in rapid succession, the numerous fissures began closing at a visible rate. Some of them were still spitting out panicked demons, while from a few others, clusters of Slime Knights mounted on iron beetles came leaping out.

"Cavalry charge!"

"Kill!"

The Slime Knights swung their short blades, chasing down the fleeing demons and hacking at them relentlessly, desperately slashing at their ankles.

When Krogg witnessed this, the soulfire in his eye sockets shook violently. He snatched up a demon that was scurrying away with its head down and seized it by the throat.

"What's going on?!"

The demon trembled, answering incoherently, "Those damned slimes! They opened a fissure in the Abyss and seized our territory!"

"That Slime Emperor... he came personally! We couldn't hold them back at all!"

"Came personally?"

Krogg whipped his head around.

He stared hard at that figure enveloped in golden light in the sky, probing its aura carefully with True Insight, and indeed found something peculiar.

Then he saw a fissure tear open in the void beside the golden radiance.

An emerald green slime drifted out of the fissure, extended a tiny gel hand, and gave a gentle touch.

The golden avatar melted like wax, being absorbed back into its gel body.

Krogg's soulfire nearly extinguished.

Damn it!

This was actually a split-off avatar.

And he, along with Mammon, two Legendary Mages, had been completely fooled by an avatar.

Chen Yu gazed down at the two figures standing at the edge of the forest, speaking in a soft yet commanding voice, "You dregs of the Abyss, there's no escape. Hand over all the Totem Ice Pillars."

Mammon's expression darkened. He said in a low voice, "You should have realized it earlier. Our whereabouts were exposed, and this Slime Emperor's delay in appearing was only because he was locating our Deep Abyss coordinates."

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the surroundings. The Slime Legion had already converged from all directions, completely encircling them.

"Lucky for us this is only a temporary outpost. Otherwise, those last few Totem Ice Pillars would have all been taken by him."

Krogg said nothing. His soulfire flickered violently, as if suppressing a burning rage.

He felt humiliated at being deceived by an avatar, and even more remorseful for carelessly exposing the Abyss's coordinates.

No matter how he thought about it, he never imagined this slime would be bold enough to launch a counterattack directly into the Abyss.

"Kill it. As long as we kill it, we get all the Totem Ice Pillars."

On the other side, Chen Yu floated in midair, calmly staring at Krogg.

He could now confirm that the giants were the ones hiding behind those Orc Homecomers.

But these giants were already dead, transformed into Undead, and yet they still stubbornly insisted on returning to this land.

Was it hatred?

Just how deep could obsession run, that it would let a skeleton forget its own decay across the long passage of time?

He guessed that only deities could be behind two Legendary figures running themselves ragged like this.

Could it be that some deity from the long-silent death pantheon, or perhaps the Giant Pantheon, was quietly awakening?

The more he thought about it, the more this guess felt instinctively right.

Sigh, why did it feel like the troubles on this continent were just piling up more and more?

Before he could finish his lament, Krogg had already made his move.

He struck his staff and chanted a long, deep, drawn-out incantation. From the forest behind him, a tide of Shadow Legion surged forth.

Twisted black forms lunged out from the dark corners like living shadows, charging at the slimes across the battlefield.

At the same time, the Undead were summoned anew.

The ground cracked apart, skeletal arms struggling up from the soil. Bones crawled out of the earth, faint blue soulfire flickering to life in their hollow eye sockets.

[Necrotic Torch]

Krogg continued casting. Pale blue flames spread from the tip of his staff like a flowing stream of blue, sprinkling over the newly summoned Undead.

Every skeleton's frame was coated in pale blue fire. Their movements instantly became swift and ferocious, flaming claws and fangs tearing into the surrounding slimes and adventurers.

At the same time, a thunderous roar came from the sky.

The Bone Dragon unfurled its tattered wings, soaring up from the depths of the forest with a scream that split the air. Twin flames of ghostfire burned fiercely in its hollow eye sockets as it charged directly at Chen Yu in midair.

Krogg tightened his soulfire, watching Chen Yu's reaction carefully.

He wanted to probe the depths of this Slime Emperor, to see how it would respond.

But Chen Yu merely willed it.

[Primordial Origin Sword Dao]

Without any warning, sword qi erupted from his gel body. From skull to tailbone, the Bone Dragon was split cleanly in two mid-flight.

Carried by inertia, the dragon's remains glided forward several hundred more meters before crashing down onto the battlefield with a thunderous impact, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Chen Yu transformed into a streak of golden light, shooting straight toward Krogg and Mammon like a meteor.

"What the hell."

Krogg instinctively stepped back.

He couldn't even tell what spell this Slime Emperor had cast, and a Legendary Bone Dragon was already split in half.

And this slime was bold enough to attack them head-on.

Mages dreaded close combat above all else. Even a Legendary Mage who commanded countless spells was at their most vulnerable the moment someone got within arm's reach.

That was why mages had used the same fighting style for thousands of years: create distance first, then bombard the enemy with spells.

Legendary warriors were indeed rare, but once someone reached Legendary rank, all they needed against a mage was one chance to get close.

Mammon reacted swiftly, swinging his staff.

[Demiplane Shelter]

He and Krogg were pulled into a demiplane, leaving only projections behind in the Material Plane. The space around them instantly became hazy, as if veiled in a curtain of mist.

Chen Yu's sword intent passed straight through, carving a deep crater into the ground.

He paused in midair, somewhat surprised.

He had to admit.

These two Legendary Mages were far stronger than half-baked wannabes like Casaric.

Not only was the demiplane more deeply hidden, but even his locating spell couldn't immediately find its coordinates.

That meant they were at least level fourteen.

Seizing the moment of Chen Yu's pause, Mammon continued casting.

He slammed his staff heavily into the ground. The earth began to tremble violently as a magic formation emerged on the soil. Dark red runes pulsated like blood vessels, spreading outward in every direction.

A searing crack split open at the formation's center. The stench of sulfur gushed forth as a massive figure slowly rose from the rift.

This was a Legendary demon servant, over four meters tall, its entire body covered in pitch-black scales. Two pairs of curved horns grew from the sides of its head, and it gripped a battle axe wider than a city gate.

Scorched black marks trailed behind its steps. Every footfall cracked the ground beneath it, radiating a suffocating pressure.

Mammon sneered, "This is the Legendary demon we enslaved when we conquered the Blade Plane. Corax the Demon Axe. The heads of the demons he has killed, piled together, would form a mountain."

"King of Slimes, I hope your gel can withstand a single swing of his axe."

Yan Fei watched this enormous creature charging toward her and tilted her head.

Hm? Quite the impressive title.

The giant axe came down with a howl that tore through the air. Chen Yu drifted aside lightly, and the axe grazed past his round, plump body, embedding itself deep into the ground.

Before the demon could even yank the axe out of the earth, Chen Yu's gel body suddenly writhed. The normally supple gel surface visibly deformed at a visible speed, growing a pitch-black dragon claw.

Chen Yu extended the dragon claw and grabbed the demon directly by the neck, hoisting the entire creature into the air.

This four-meter-tall Legendary demon dangled in the air like a plaything, struggling and roaring, yet utterly unable to break free from the dragon claw's grip.

[Water Arrow Technique]

[Mana Explosion]

[Primordial Unity True Technique]

A multicolored arrow coalesced before him, then shot forth, piercing clean through the demon's chest.

The demon's body stiffened in midair, its crimson eyes glazing over. Chen Yu casually tossed it aside, and it crashed to the ground.

"What?!"

Krogg and Mammon were completely dumbfounded.

This was a Legendary-tier servant.

Even in the Abyss, Legendary demons stood at the very peak of the pyramid.

Even if it couldn't defeat this Emperor, at the very least it should have been able to tie the enemy down for a while, buying them precious time to cast spells.

And now, this thing's corpse was lying on the ground, without even getting off a single attack.

This was bad.

This Slime Emperor's strength had been severely underestimated.

They were even beginning to suspect that this slime's true level might be brushing against level fifteen.

Damn Casaric. Even in death, he had to spread false intel.

Mammon hastily swung his staff.

[Scorching Arrow]

[Disintegration Ray]

A barrage of spells streaked across the darkness trailing brilliant colors, slamming into Chen Yu's gel body and bursting into flashes of light and smoke.

But Chen Yu didn't even show the slightest intention of dodging.

These attacks fell like drops of mud against a stone wall, rippling across his gel surface before dissipating.

"What do we do?" Mammon gasped.

Krogg's soulfire was shaking violently as well.

If he still had a body right now, he would probably be drenched in sweat, barely able to stand.

His gaze swept over Chen Yu, when suddenly, a thought struck him like lightning across his mind.

"Right... that's it!" He jerked his head up. "Slimes are afraid of fire and extreme cold! Their elemental resistance isn't that high! You hold him off first, I'll summon Amber!"

When Mammon heard the name "Amber," he actually relaxed a little.

Amber. The most powerful Inferno Demon King among them. A name that haunted the nightmares of many heroes who had once been legends.

Whenever its name appeared in the narrative poems of bards, the story's ending was always annihilation.

Its level was a full fifteen. Its terrifying flames could cow most magical creatures into fear, and could even keep the fires of Abyss territories burning for centuries without ever going out.

Even if this Slime Emperor was level fifteen, under the constraints of elemental disadvantage, there was no way it could be a match for Amber.

Krogg swung his staff and began to chant.

His voice grew louder and louder, every syllable carrying waves of scorching heat, as if the summoning ritual itself represented destruction.

Chen Yu ignored the spells Mammon kept slamming into his body. He used his locating spell to scan the surrounding space again and again, trying to find their true coordinates within the gaps between planes.

The longer Mammon fought, the more despair he felt.

He discovered in despair that his spells weren't failing to work, but this gel was like a bottomless pit. No matter how many spells he poured into it, it could never be filled.

Chen Yu was still searching for the coordinates when he suddenly sensed a shift in temperature.

The air around him abruptly turned scorching hot. Even the withered branches and dead leaves nearby began to spontaneously combust.

Krogg's summoning formation was finally complete.

The massive formation spun and expanded across the ground. Dark red light pierced through the soil like magma surging up from cracks in the earth.

Wave after wave of searing heat erupted from the formation's center, dyeing the night sky in a blazing crimson.

Krogg raised both hands, his voice hoarse with fervor: "Slime Emperor, greet your king."

A colossal fissure split open at the center of the formation. Molten lava erupted from the rift.

An enormous figure slowly rose from the fissure. It was a giant forged from molten rock. Its eyes were twin deep-red suns, radiating blinding light, as if anything they laid their gaze upon would be burned to ash in an instant.

It looked down at the emerald green blob of gel floating in midair, and its roar shook the entire battlefield: "Little thing, perish in flames!"

A magma giant hand came crashing down, crimson light covering several hundred meters.

With a thunderous boom, the entire ground caved inward. Scorching magma splashed outward like a fountain. The battlefield was left as nothing but a blazing sea of fire, flames and thick smoke churning as they devoured everything.

"Your Majesty?!"

The adventurers still dealing with the Undead calamity on the city wall broke out in cold sweat at the sight.

</path>GetPrep Kits

They watched helplessly as Chen Yu vanished into the sea of fire. Some of the more timid slimes had already started trembling, their gel bodies shaking uncontrollably.

Krogg and Mammon stared intently at the sea of flames, not daring to breathe.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly. Every second dragged on like a year.

Until Krogg hastily withdrew his arm. The flames gradually dispersed, revealing the ground covered in magma, with no sign of Chen Yu's figure anywhere.

Nothing remained.

"It's over," Krogg said in a low voice.

This King of Slimes had finally been burned to ashes.

"Were you looking for me?"

Krogg jerked his head up.

There, in midair, a figure shrouded in blazing crimson fire had appeared at some point.

The red-hot color slowly began to fade, returning to its original emerald green. Chen Yu's form re-emerged.

"How is this possible?" Mammon couldn't believe it.

He had seen it clearly. Amber's flames had indeed engulfed this slime.

But how had it survived in those flames?

Chen Yu looked down at them, his soft, sweet voice carrying a note of admiration: "Quite clever, knowing to use fire against a slime."

"But do you know..."

[Gel Fusion]

On the battlefield, slimes of different types within the Slime Legion were suddenly enveloped in a layer of regal radiance.

They glowed. They trembled. As if responding to some call from the depths of their bloodline.

"This is what it means to be the Slime King!"

[Mana Siphon]

As the words fell, Chen Yu's gel body swelled violently. Different colors continuously shifted and flowed across his gel surface.

Stone gray of rock, dark red of magma, emerald green of moss, snow white of frost, steel gray of metal, golden yellow of Holy Light... the attributes of different slimes flickered alternately across his gel, like a palette that had been knocked over and stirred back together.

Finally, all these colors merged into one, forming a dazzling, iridescent black.

This black was deep and heavy, yet carried a flowing luster. It seemed to be a color forged from fusing all the elements of the world into a single crucible.

Amber let out a furious roar. Both hands scooped up a mass of magma from the ground, a blob as large as a floating fortress. Its scorching red glow burned the night sky white-hot.

It hurled the magma at Chen Yu like a catapult stone.

[Mana Will]

Chen Yu's gel instantly shifted into dark red magma patterns, merging with the incoming molten rock.

The massive blob of magma seemed to lose its own weight, dissolving into wisps of scorching mana that he absorbed completely.

Krogg swung his staff, summoning a violent blizzard.

Freezing winds howled in, carrying hail and snowflakes. Chen Yu's gel simultaneously shifted into the snow-white color unique to Frost Slimes.

The overwhelming blizzard touched him and was utterly devoured.

He stood upon the earth, looking down at Krogg and Mammon from on high.

Full elemental affinity.

Full elemental damage immunity.

This was the Elemental Slime.

The true king who had integrated all the traits and talents of every slime.