Chapter 422 - 24: Slime Breeder

Chapter 422: Chapter 24: Slime Breeder

...

While Keze and his men were furiously attacking the Telekinesis Barrier, the Bee Swarm Gluttonous Slimes inside the Lord’s Mansion had spent enough time to complete the capture of the territory.

[Your territory has been occupied!]

[You have lost your status as a lord!]

[The various modules of your system are about to shut down. Only the chat function will be retained. Please regain your lord status as soon as possible to reactivate all functions!]

Keze was ordering his men to attack the "seemingly crumbling" barrier when the system prompts changed.

His expression changed. He was just about to order his men to give it one last push, to break the barrier, drive off these Slime Monsters, and retake the territory.

However, when he looked again, all the cracks covering the barrier had vanished.

He immediately realized it. ’I’ve been played!’

He immediately turned tail and ran with his men.

However, they didn’t get more than a few steps before stopping.

An invisible barrier had appeared in front of them. The fastest runners slammed right into it and were badly hurt.

Worse, this barrier began to slowly contract. Squeezed by the advancing wall, Keze and his men were forced to retreat, step by step.

To make matters worse, the barrier enveloping the Lord’s Mansion began to expand outward. It seemed the two barriers, one in front and one behind, were about to crush them all together like filling in a dumpling.

’Like filling in a dumpling?’

The thought immediately reminded Keze of the Shadow Leopard that had been kneaded into a meatball by the Slime Monsters, then devoured.

’Damn, are these Slime Monsters planning to eat us all?’

"Attack faster! If we don’t, we’ll be turned into meat paste and eaten by these Slime Monsters!!"

Keze’s roar ignited the fear in his soldiers and heroes. Those who had seen the video, in particular, couldn’t hold back, attacking the barrier before them with all their might.

With barriers in front and behind them, everyone present was able to join the attack. Following the lead of the first strikers, they all attacked the barriers in unison.

The whole scene looked incredibly inspiring and heartwarming.

But in the face of absolute power, all their efforts were futile.

The two barriers continued their unhurried advance, indifferent to the attacks, gradually crushing everyone together until they were packed into a pile, unable to move.

At the thought of being turned into dumpling filling, Keze shed tears of regret. ’If I had a second chance, I would never underestimate these Slime Monsters.’

No matter how much their bouncy forms appealed to his aesthetic sense, he would have definitely cleaned them out.

’Just which lord figured out my weakness and sent these bouncy creatures into my territory?’

Keze was still wondering just how his fetish for bouncy things had been exposed.

But it couldn’t be helped. After all, every plant and animal on the Titan Continent was rock-hard.

So when he finally discovered a soft, bouncy creature, of course he treasured it.

’To die at the hands of my beloved, perhaps this death won’t be a total waste.’

"Do you want to live, or do you want to die?"

A voice suddenly rang out. Hearing the emotionless words, Keze struggled to turn his head and look around. He guessed the controller of these Slime Monsters had finally shown themselves.

But he couldn’t find any creature that looked like a controller, only the Slime Monsters that had emerged from the Lord’s Mansion, which were now gathered around watching them.

It was a strange sensation. These Slime Monsters didn’t have eyes, yet he distinctly felt that he was being stared at by them.

’Can they talk?’

At that thought, Keze suddenly called out, "Was that you talking? You Slime Monsters?"

"First, we are not called Slime Monsters. Our race is called Slime!"

"Second, it was indeed us who were speaking."

The voice sounded again.

This time, Keze observed the Slimes carefully, but he didn’t see any of them open their mouths to speak.

This was understandable, as Slimes don’t have mouths.

’But how are they talking, then?’

Keze pushed his question aside and shouted, "I want to live! I want to live!"

’If you can live, who would choose to die?’

"If you want to live, then surrender. However, you’ll have to prove your worth. Otherwise, we can’t guarantee you’ll be allowed to live."

The Slimes’ voice sounded again. The barriers then relaxed somewhat, reforming into several square cages that penned Keze and the others inside, at least giving them some room to move.

Next, the Slimes prepared to clear the territory.

They had just received a telepathic message from their Lord. This territory was to be kept.

Therefore, they needed to cleanse the territory and sweep out all remaining enemy forces.

Before the wide eyes of Keze and his men, the Slimes began to divide.

To maintain their combat power, the resulting Slimes were all level 50.

As a result, each max-level Slime split into 99 smaller Slimes.

But the result was still staggering. 2,000 Slimes instantly became nearly 200,000 Slimes.

Everyone stared in stunned silence as layers upon layers of Slimes covered the entire plaza in less than a minute.

Keze also discovered that the little "Slime Monster" he had captured had arrived and was now merging with one of the other Slimes.

’They can split, and they can merge?’

’So raising one is like raising many?’

’What a perfect pet!’

Keze didn’t realize he had spoken his thoughts aloud.

"What did you say?" the Slimes asked, hearing his words in disbelief.

"Ah~~ I mean, you’re all so incredible! Absolutely perfect! A single one is a whole colony..."

Of course, the Slimes didn’t believe his nonsense, even though it was true that a single one could split into thousands, effectively becoming a colony.

Finally, amid Keze’s nonsensical rambling, they put him in a separate Telekinesis Cage, trapping him so he couldn’t move as a punishment.

Then, the Slimes scattered. Unsurprisingly, they proceeded to clear out the soldiers and heroes roaming the territory. Any who dared resist became food, while those who obediently surrendered were "gifted" a Telekinesis Cage.

...

「A few days later」

Order was restored to the territory.

Keze regained his freedom, though his status had changed from an independent lord of the Titan Race to a subordinate lord under Lin Yu.

After surrendering, he had been taken to the prison in Als Territory, where he dutifully confessed everything he knew.

Perhaps it was the fondness he showed for the Slimes, which Lin Yu had taken note of.

Perhaps it was the genuine sincerity he displayed when pledging allegiance to Lin Yu for the sake of the Slimes.

Unlike the other lords who had surrendered before him, Keze did not have to undergo a long observation period.

Much like Al, the first lord to defect, he was quickly appointed as the vassal lord of his original territory.

As the territory closest to the other lands of the Titan Race, his territory—Farm Territory—was designated as a logistics base rather than a frontline war post.

This was mainly due to his territory’s traits: Recuperation and Prosperity.

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[Recuperation]: The people of the territory have a faster growth rate.

The growth cycle of the people within the territory is shortened, and the experience points required to level up are reduced by 20%.

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[Prosperity]: The growth speed of plants in the territory is accelerated, and their metabolism is hastened.

Plants will enter their wilting period faster.

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"Recuperation" meant the territory’s inhabitants needed 20% less experience, allowing them to grow faster.

"Prosperity" allowed the territory to provide more food, as well as an abundance of naturally dying plants.

Thus, after leaving enough Slimes in Als Territory to act as a garrison, Lin Yu sent the rest of the Slimes stationed there to Farm Territory.

The Bee Swarm Gluttonous Slimes dispatched from the World Tree Territory would also be sent to Farm Territory.

Also located on the Titan Continent, Farm Territory could not only provide them with food to help them adapt, but it could also shorten the time they needed to level up.

Only a small number of the Titan Race’s denizens and soldiers were left in Farm Territory to maintain its buildings; all others were transferred to Als Territory.

Farm Territory had now become a Slime farm, with Slimes being the most populous inhabitants in the entire territory.

Although it no longer had many soldiers on guard, the massive number of Slimes was more than enough to guarantee the territory’s defensive strength.

The Slimes roamed and grew in swarms across the territory. Once they had fully adapted to the gravity of the Titan environment, they would begin to expand outward.

Meanwhile, Keze and a few of his men were busy feeding the Slimes. Slime Breeder was his new profession, and he was also the manager of this Slime farm.

(Of course, he only had managerial rights, not ownership.)

As more and more Slimes poured in, Keze found himself completely immersed, unable to pull himself away from the joy of raising them.