Chapter 435: A Single Sword Slays a Legend

"Envoy, how should we handle these orcs?" Sekashi asked hesitantly.

If they just left them where they were, they'd eventually be overwhelmed by the Undead. She felt that would be too cruel.

But she also understood very well that her softness would cause trouble for others, especially since these orcs had once been enemies of the Empire.

Saving them meant helping the enemy.

So she had already prepared herself mentally to abandon them.

But Chen Yu's answer was: "Simple."

He slowly floated upward, his gel rippling like water, then expanding outward like a curtain of gel stretched taut by tremendous force, shaping itself into a Gel Teleportation Gate.

"Orc soldiers, pass through this gate. Someone will receive you on the other side."

"Regardless of whether we were once enemies, we now share one common goal: driving out these Undead that occupy the lands of the living."

The orc soldiers stared blankly at Chen Yu, then exchanged glances, hesitating whether to trust him.

"We thank the Empire for its aid. Your kindness, the orcs will never forget."

At that moment, one orc rose, pressed his right hand to his chest, bowed slightly, and stepped into the gate.

Emerald green light swallowed his figure. His action influenced the other orcs. Then came the second, the third... Orcs in tattered clothing supported each other, walking in an orderly fashion through the teleportation gate, vanishing at the other end of the light.

Sekashi stood nearby, watching quietly all the while. Only now could she help but ask, "Envoy, we were... at war with the orcs not long ago, weren't we? Why are you willing to help them?"

Sometimes she felt she was too soft and merciful, yet the Envoy still chose to tolerate her.

Chen Yu jumped onto her shoulder. "No particular reason. No matter how chaotic things are inside the Orc Palaver now, one thing is certain: the Empire needs to take its next step into this icefield."

After the southern conquest of the Empire was thwarted, the Orc Palaver had split into two factions.

One faction advocated for recuperation and recovery, using the Empire's trade routes to regain strength.

The other faction still eyed the rich southern lands hungrily, believing that only war could restore orc dignity.

No matter which faction gained the upper hand, turmoil on the icefield was only a matter of time.

And now, the Undead calamity had completely overturned the entire chessboard.

The old Palaver had collapsed. Tens of thousands of orcs on the icefield had lost their homes, drifting like rootless weeds in the blizzard.

At this moment, if the Empire extended a helping hand, took in refugees, and provided shelter, those orcs who were taken in would remember this debt of gratitude.

In the future, when the Empire moved north to take control of this land, resistance would be much smaller.

Besides, entering the icefield under the banner of "resisting the Undead" was far more justified—both morally and in actual practice—than naked conquest.

The reason the Empire had faced no rebellion so far in its expansion was largely because it had always fought righteous wars with proper justification.

Even if someone hated the slime regime, it was hard to find a reason to rebel.

Perhaps before those stubborn, old-fashioned nobles could start a war, the peasants living better lives would have already reported them.

"You all go ahead. The orc's frozen harbor is still very far away."

"Got it."

Sekashi quickly nodded and summoned Penny to descend.

Once the two were aboard, Penny flapped her wings, let out a clear cry, and took to the air, continuing northward into the snowy depths.

They advanced through the blizzard and twilight, taking in one group after another of fleeing orcs along the way.

Some were elderly, women, and children trudging through the snowy forest, their food exhausted, barely surviving by boiling snow water and gnawing on tree bark.

Others were remnant tribal soldiers dragging their wounded, still maintaining crude formations. Despite their exhaustion, they instinctively gripped their weapons when they saw Chen Yu and his companions, only relaxing their tense shoulders after confirming there was no hostile intent.

Chen Yu opened a teleportation gate at regular intervals, sending batches of gathered refugees back to the temporary settlement in the Forge Region.

At a tribal ruin that had been mostly overrun by Undead, they encountered several orc elites commanding the remnants to resist the Undead siege.

These orcs were much better equipped than the other refugees. At their head was a towering orc clad in black iron armor, a battle axe hanging at his waist.

Semiaya recognized their identity—the Royal Guard.

They saved these elites.

After confirming Chen Yu's identity, the lead orc commander remained silent for a long time. He planted his battle axe in the snow, knelt on one knee, and revealed his identity.

He was originally the captain of the Royal Guard. After the royal capital fell, he was ordered to escort the royal family members in a breakout. Traveling south all the way, they had been trapped in an encirclement here.

From his account, Chen Yu learned more of the truth.

A few months ago, a group of uninvited guests crossed the mountains and entered the Orc Palaver.

They were also orcs—or rather, they had once been orcs.

These orcs, calling themselves the "Homecomers," had rough features similar to the icefield orcs but with darker skin and more robust physiques.

They claimed to be descendants of an orc vanguard from a thousand years ago, having been lying dormant in the Abyss. Now, following their ancestors' prophecy, they had returned to lead the orcs to reclaim their former glory.

Their goal was simple: join forces with the Palaver, gather all able-bodied tribes on the icefield, and once again march south to conquer the Slime United Empire.

This proposal sparked heated debate within the Palaver.

The faction led by Commander Karl opposed it firmly. Karl had personally witnessed the Empire's military tactics on the southern battlefield, seen how those seemingly soft slimes crushed steel-like battle formations.

He knew well that the power on that land had far surpassed what traditional warfare could comprehend.

But his opposition could not shake the fervor stirred up by the Homecomers among the masses. A few days later, in the dead of night, Karl was branded with the charges of "cowardice" and "collaboration with the enemy," thrown into the dark dungeon beneath the royal capital.

What happened next was exactly what they were seeing now.

Not long after, a catastrophe struck the orc royal capital.

No one knew exactly what had happened, only that when the Undead surged out of the royal palace, this ancient Palaver had already perished.

Orc warriors fought desperately, but the Undead seemed endless—they needed no rest, no food.

Within days, the royal capital fell completely. The streets were packed with rotting corpses. The high towers of the royal palace no longer flew banners; instead, flocks of carrion birds circled under the gray sky.

Survivors, under the desperate cover of the Royal Guard, broke out southward. Karl was also rescued from the dungeon by loyal subordinates and evacuated by ship along the coastline, fleeing that city of death.

If they encountered no storms or sea monsters during their voyage, calculating the time, they should have already landed on the Empire's coastline and were heading to seek help from the Empire.

Semiaya spoke in a low voice. "Envoy, to stir up such a widespread Undead calamity and also sow division within the Orc Palaver... those so-called Homecomers must have extraordinary origins."

"If there are still remnants of their forces near the royal capital, continuing deeper into the icefield might bring us into direct conflict with them."

Chen Yu considered more than she did.

Thinking along the worst-case scenario, these so-called Homecomers might be connected to the long-slumbering Mordewyn the Skeletal.

He was the sole deity of the Undead, having participated in that ancient Divine War.

According to Oros, he had not completely perished in that great war, only fallen into a deep slumber.

No one knew when he might awaken or in what form he would stage a comeback.

Of course, looking on the bright side, these mysterious orcs might also be related to the Abyss, since that was currently the Undead's stronghold.

If the Abyss demons were behind it, that would actually be less troublesome.

They continued traveling across the icefield, taking in large numbers of orcs along the way. By the time the sun rose in the morning, the snow had gradually given way to moss and lichen.

On the horizon ahead, an ominous gray outline emerged.

They had arrived—the orc's royal capital.

It was a magnificent city built of massive stone blocks, facing the sea with the tundra at its back.

But now, the once towering stone walls were charred black by flames, collapsed in many places. Gaps in the city walls swarmed with dense, gray-white Undead figures.

Inside the city, dying light and shadow intertwined. The Undead surged like a tide through the streets, with occasional scattered defenders firing arrows or throwing javelins from barricades and rooftops, but these feeble resistances were quickly swallowed by the next wave of Undead.

Sekashi's gaze was suddenly drawn to a scene on the tundra.

In a ruined tribal settlement, she saw an opened Abyss fissure.

And in front of the fissure, several massive giant Undead were bent over, working together to drag an ice pillar, moving step by step toward the rift.

"Envoy, look at that!" Sekashi immediately pointed in that direction. "That looks just like the Totem Ice Pillar the Frost Giant spirits mentioned. Could their goal be these pillars?"

Chen Yu followed the direction of her finger, his gel body slightly stiffening.

A Totem Ice Pillar—that was a good find.

It might hold the legendary secrets of the Frost Giants.

He had intended to seek out Totem Ice Pillars before but had no way to find their specific locations.

Unexpectedly, this trip had delivered one right to his doorstep.

He suppressed the urge to jump down immediately and first cautiously extended his Divine Sense.

Centered on him, silent ripples spread in all directions, covering the entire tundra.

After a moment, he withdrew his Divine Sense, a clear picture forming in his mind.

Only a few warlocks were near the fissure. The defensive forces weren't strong.

"You two stay here and wait for me. I'll be back soon."

Chen Yu leaped from Sekashi's shoulder. The moment his words fell, his body transformed into a streak of light, shooting straight toward the Undead-infested tribal ruins.

The giant Undead guarding the Totem Ice Pillar seemed to sense his aura, letting out a low roar, trying to turn and block him.

But Chen Yu didn't slow down at all. Like an emerald green cannonball, he plowed straight through the oncoming tide of Undead. Wherever he passed, Undead fell like wheat before a scythe.

A bone dragon lurking nearby, waiting to pounce, tried to spread its wings and intercept him mid-air. Chen Yu crashed straight into it, shattering the bone dragon into pieces.

After swallowing the Totem Ice Pillar into his gel stomach, Chen Yu flew toward the direction of the royal capital's city center.

[Mana Siphon]

His gel body suddenly swelled a full size. Descending from the sky, he landed on a large group of Undead, crushing them flat, and swallowed a second Totem Ice Pillar into his gel stomach.

He roamed through the city, quickly finding a third, then a fourth.

But his actions seemed to attract the attention of some mysterious entity. An Abyss fissure opened before him.

An arm covered in dark red scales reached out from the fissure, gripping its edge, followed by a tall figure with curved demon horns emerging from the rift.

It was a demon warlock.

He wore a robe woven from shadows, a chain of small skulls hanging around his neck.

After stepping out of the fissure, the demon warlock first swept his gaze over the surrounding ruins, then fixed his eyes on the round, plump slime before him.

The demon warlock's brow furrowed slightly as he looked Chen Yu up and down, then spoke uncertainly, "Demon King Cult?"

"No, that's wrong. You're the Empire's slime."

Chen Yu was somewhat surprised.

He hadn't expected the Empire to have become so famous that even the demons of the Abyss knew of its existence.

But before he could feel even a hint of pride for the Empire's reputation, he sensed that the demon opposite him was a legendary warlock.

Honestly speaking, his gel clone really couldn't defeat a true legendary.

He made a split-second decision.

Run.

"Trying to run?"

Just as he had covered a short distance, the demon warlock let out a cold snort and raised his arm.

[Abyss Prison]

Several chains condensed from deep purple Mana shot out from the fissure.

"Who said I was running? Just kidding."

Chen Yu suddenly turned back, charging toward him with an agility completely at odds with his round, plump body.

"Cunning slime!"

The demon warlock's pupils shrank sharply. He hadn't expected Chen Yu to double back. This brief hesitation cost him the initiative.

In the midst of his flying charge, Chen Yu's gel body quickly flattened out, transforming into a Gel Teleportation Gate.

Light swirled, and a slime wearing the crown emerged from the teleportation gate. This emerald green figure looked no different from an ordinary slime, yet it radiated the majesty of a king.

"The Slime Emperor?!"

The demon warlock's expression changed instantly. He instinctively stepped back, but immediately stopped, his shocked face twisting into a scowl.

What was there to fear? He was a legendary too. What did it matter if it was the Slime Emperor?

Could he be harder to deal with than the Demon King?

It was this moment of hesitation that sealed his fate.

Chen Yu didn't even speak. He simply secreted a clump of gel, rapidly shaping it into a golden sword before him.

[Gel Golden Light Sword]

His gel hand swung downward. The sword light followed, whistling down, slashing toward the demon warlock.

The warlock reacted quickly. The moment the sword light fell, he summoned a demiplane shield to block.

The golden sword light instantly sliced through the planar barrier, passing through his neck.

The demon warlock's face froze. His head slid off and thudded to the ground.

His eyes were wide open, as if he couldn't understand why, when they were both legendary, his spells were so easily broken.

If Casaric were still alive, he might have mercilessly mocked his ignorance.

And watching this from above, Sekashi's eyes were equally wide open.

"Did the Envoy just... kill a legendary demon with one sword strike?"