Chapter 450: The Prototype of an Industrial City

After Olivia's figure completely vanished into the seabed, Chen Yu withdrew his gaze and asked Old Wu beside him, "How is the setup of the Universal Xu Xuan Spirit Mountain Grand Formation in the Southern Territory going?"

Old Wu clasped his hands and replied, "Your Dragon Sovereignty, eight major Civil Engineer Sects have already joined in, each with a Dao Master skilled in civil engineering overseeing the work."

"Although the Southern Territory is vast, no local sects have opposed it, so the Spirit Mountain Grand Formation is proceeding smoothly."

"The elders of the various sects plan to lead their disciples in working tirelessly, continuously casting spells to reshape the mountains, rivers, and Spiritual Veins, aiming to complete the Formation Foundation within a month."

Chen Yu nodded.

This pace was faster than he had anticipated.

If all the Civil Engineer Cultivators in the world could truly be gathered to invest in construction without counting costs, completing the main structure of the entire Universal Xu Xuan Spirit Mountain Grand Formation within a year might not be impossible.

As for the subsequent self-sustaining cycle of the formation and the nurturing of the Spiritual Veins, that would have to be left to time.

"I'll trouble you to continue guarding the path, Old Wu. I need to absorb the Sea Spiritual Veins here to stabilize my cultivation."

Hearing this, Old Whale Man knew that he had broken through to mid Golden Core stage. He was both shocked and overjoyed, quickly bowing to accept the order.

He knew from Guanshan Dao Master that it had only been half a year since the Dragon Sovereignty had broken through to Golden Core, and now he had broken through to mid Golden Core again. It seemed his enlightenment of the Great Dao had made another breakthrough.

This Dao cultivation was indeed different from Qi cultivation; no wonder he could ascend to heaven in a single step.

He even secretly suspected that if the Dragon Sovereignty wanted to ascend, he could do so at any time.

Chen Yu was unaware of his thoughts. His consciousness receded like a tide, falling back into the slime body within the Tree King dream.

After instructing Sophie the spider to watch over the sapling, he bounced through the Fissure and returned to the Slime City Palace.

The palace floor was warmed by the afternoon sun. When he landed on the stone slabs, his bottom felt pleasantly warm.

The New Year was approaching, and from the window, he could faintly hear the clamor of festivities on the streets outside.

He stood on the windowsill and watched for a while, feeling like there was something he had forgotten. After thinking for a moment, he clasped his gel hands behind his back like a monarch, leaving a round silhouette in the hall.

"Silver Sparrow, is there anything noteworthy happening in the Empire recently?"

Silver Sparrow's phantom appeared beside him. She bowed slightly, then reported, "Your Master, Miss Semiaya is assembling a legion in Northern City. Once the Orcs who have submitted are fully reorganized, they can march north to retake the Palaver. Additionally, Commander Karl has led the remnants of his forces to officially join the Empire."

"However, some conservative Orcs are restless, unwilling to accept the Empire's governance and order. Miss Semiaya did not force them to stay and has sent them all back outside the Empire's borders."

This did not surprise Chen Yu.

Compared to races like the Dwarves, Orcs had always been less docile.

The blizzards of the Icefield and the instinct for battle flowed through their blood. Even if they chose to submit when cornered, the defiance ingrained in their bones would not easily dissolve.

He had never expected all Orcs to willingly accept the Empire's order.

The departure of the conservatives was a good thing; it cleaned out internal instability.

As for those Orcs who chose to stay, they could not remain in the south for long.

"There is a long-standing blood feud between us and the White Horse main kingdom and the Northern wildlings. If we let them linger in the Empire's heartland, it will inevitably escalate tensions."

"The most suitable place is still the northern Icefield."

"That is our homeland. Although it has been ravaged beyond recognition by the Undead, that is precisely why we need to rebuild it ourselves."

"The Empire can provide tools, grain, seeds, and technical support from the Slimes, but every brick and stone used to rebuild their homes must be laid by their own hands."

"At the very least, with the Empire's support, their lives in the future will be no worse than before."

Orcs might be rowdy, but as long as there was sufficient force to deter them and they had enough to eat, their loyalty could be secured.

After all, Orcs never submit—unless there's room and board.

He bounced back around to look at Silver Sparrow: "Has the source of the Undead calamity been found? What exactly are those Demons plotting in secret?"

Silver Sparrow nodded: "Bishop Ark of the Demon King Cult, acting on your orders, began investigating long ago."

"According to the information he has sent back, most of these Demons colluding with the Undead originate from the Bottomless Prison plane in The Abyss."

"Their forces are vast, and ordinary demonic lords dare not provoke them. Moreover, they seem to have a mysterious connection with the Shadow Scions of the Shadow Mountains and are currently brewing some action."

Chen Yu's small face showed caution.

He always suspected that those Demons wouldn't just let things go. After all, four of the giant's Totem Ice Pillars were still with him; they couldn't remain indifferent.

But these Demons were hidden in the shadows, hard to find. He could only have Silver Sparrow increase manpower to closely monitor movements across the Empire, to avoid being Backstabbed again.

He bounced out of the palace and flew toward the shipyard construction site north of the swamp.

Winter seemed to be leaving this land. Morning light spilled across the vast swamp, plating the intersecting waterways with flowing gold.

From afar, the enormous metal silhouette standing in the shipyard came into view.

The main bodies of the two Floating Fortresses had been fully installed. Their silver-gray metal shells glowed with a steady, cold luster under the sunlight. The bridge, side-mounted Artillery Emplacements, and Rune array bases were all in place. It wasn't far from full completion and test flight.

But his destination wasn't there.

He plunged straight into the ground. The moment his gel touched the soil, he sank into the earth.

Seconds later, he landed in a vast underground world.

Grass slimes were cultivating glowing fern-like plants nearby. When they saw him suddenly drop in, they panicked and rolled away.

After recognizing it was their sovereign, they bounced over joyfully.

Chen Yu greeted them, then bounced forward, looking around.

Everywhere, busy slimes were hauling sand and stone. Dwarf artisans were gathered around a massive metal Component, discussing something loudly.

This place had originally been a Dungeon, but after the Engineering Team's tireless expansion and renovation day and night, it had become a vast underground settlement capable of accommodating tens of thousands of craftsmen and engineers working simultaneously.

And all of this was just the first step of the Gunda Plan.

As he was observing the changes around him, a stocky figure swinging a hammer up ahead noticed him.

Anvil put down his forging hammer, casually wiped the oil and grime from his palms on a nearby glowing mushroom, and waved at him.

"Your Majesty, why have you come?"

Chen Yu bounced a couple of times, landing on a relatively flat rock. His gaze passed over Anvil's shoulder, landing on the enormous metal framework behind him.

It was a colossal structure assembled from countless steel beams, towering so high it nearly touched the dome of this underground space. The surface was densely engraved with Runes.

Chen Yu tilted his gel body curiously and asked, "What's this?"

Anvil followed his gaze, looked back, then puffed out his chest proudly and slapped the sturdy steel frame.

"Haha! Mr. Samuel calls this the Gunda construction platform."

"It's specially used to support the main structure of Gunda, making it easier for us to do high-altitude work and assembly. Without this thing, we couldn't handle those Components that are hundreds of meters tall."

Chen Yu estimated the height of the steel frame—at least several hundred meters, several times larger than the Floating Fortresses.

He couldn't help but imagine the colossal object this construction platform would bear.

If Gunda were ever completed, it would probably be even more giant than the legendary giants.

But on second thought, Gunda was a giant golem driven by an entire Floating Fortress as its core.

Even after removing all unnecessary rooms and facilities, a Floating Fortress still had a diameter of several tens of meters. It wouldn't make sense for Gunda to be too small.

Chen Yu bounced up from the rock and landed on Anvil's shoulder.

"Give me a tour."

"Sure thing, Your Majesty!" Anvil stowed his forging hammer and strode toward the area opposite the construction platform.

"Your Majesty, look over there. To meet the metal plate demands for Gunda and the Floating Fortresses, we've opened a new Smelting Area right here. This Smelting Area is even bigger than the one in the Obsidian Mining Area."

"See that row of huge mushroom houses? They're fireproofed with Enchanting. They're actually alchemy workshops."

"I heard those mages have been experimenting lately on how to reduce the cost of Alchemical Gel. If they succeed, we could save a huge amount just on material expenses."

"Over there is the residential area. Dwarves and slimes live together, and it's pretty much full. The tavern downstairs is noisy until midnight every night..."

Chen Yu's gaze followed the direction of his finger, nodding occasionally.

Gunda construction was indeed a far larger project than the Floating Fortresses.

With the construction platform standing at the center as the core, various functional zones radiated outward like a Spiderweb.

The Smelting Area, Forging Area, Assembly and Testing Area, Material Warehouse, Artisan Dormitories, Canteen... There were even Mage Towers and farmlands here.

To build this behemoth, the entire underground world had nearly developed into a small kingdom.

Or rather, it was already faintly taking the form of an industrial city.

An entire city operating around a single magical project—even to those Dawn mages in the south, this would probably be an unbelievable sight.

At this scale, the seemingly astronomical Gunda Plan didn't seem so frightening anymore.

Anvil spread his arms proudly. "Your Majesty, this place is practically Father God's divine kingdom, a Dwarf's paradise! There's endless exploration of craftsmanship here, and an endless supply of ale!"

"How about we try to recruit those southern Dwarves from the Forge Mountain Kingdom? They absolutely wouldn't be able to resist this place!"

"Sure, those red-nosed southern Dwarves have terrible tempers and aren't very likable, but the Gunda Plan is still short on a lot of craftsmen. If a few Extraordinary Craftsmen would be willing to join, that would be even better."

Chen Yu thought this idea wasn't bad, but there was one problem: "Is Samuel still in the south?"

Anvil scratched his head: "Not back yet."

"I heard he had a disagreement with some Constructivist mentors, and it seems the Dawn Council also found out about his private contacts with Council mages."

Caught trying to poach talent?

Chen Yu felt a twinge of guilt.

"What did the Dawn mages say?"

Anvil recalled the news from Samuel's letter: "They didn't really pursue it much."

"The Dawn Council is much looser than we imagined. The Council's rules don't restrict a mage's personal freedom of action. As long as the bottom line isn't crossed, they don't interfere."

"In fact, you could even say they barely cared at all. It was the Constructivist mages who were more interested. They said they'd decide after the inspection team visits the Empire and sees it with their own eyes."

Chen Yu listened and felt speechless.

A few months ago, that Dawn mage named Agrel had visited. He had originally thought the Council would soon send a formal mage inspection team to the Empire, but months had passed without even a trace of anyone.

"Terrible efficiency," he muttered under his breath.

"Whatever. Send someone to try and contact the Forge Mountain Kingdom. See if we can recruit some Extraordinary Craftsmen over. The expenses go on the Gunda project account."

Anvil's eyes lit up, and he slapped his chest hard. "Haha, don't worry, Your Majesty! We Dwarves don't have all those complicated schemes like humans."

"As long as there's ale and work to do, there will naturally be Dwarves willing to come."

"As for those Extraordinary Craftsmen, I swear by Father God's name, once they see the Gunda construction blueprints, they won't be able to walk away."

"Once those southern mages finish their inspection and confirm the Empire is safe, those guys probably won't leave even if I try to chase them away."

More inspections.

But Chen Yu had to admit that the Dawn Council's inspection itself was essentially a default alignment judgment.

With the Council's authoritative certification, confirming the Empire as lawful good, it would naturally attract more races and individuals leaning toward that alignment to proactively join.

This was, in itself, a massive, wide-reaching free advertisement.

And the Slime Hero King Biography written by Oros had been selling like hotcakes in the south recently. He felt this opportunity might come soon.

He instructed Silver Sparrow in his sea of consciousness: "Keep an eye on the Dawn Council's movements. I need to know when they're sending the inspection team, who the members are, and which route they'll take to enter the Empire."

"Yes, Master." Silver Sparrow replied simply and then fell silent, apparently busy.

Silver Sparrow's external identity was his steward minister, wielding considerable power.

She could directly mobilize Empire legions, allocate personnel and supplies at all levels, and exercise some of his decision-making powers when necessary.

Although no one had ever seen the true face of this mysterious steward minister, everyone who had dealt with her unanimously described her as "strict" and "loyal."

She was, aside from Princess Little Flower, the core figure with the most power in the Empire, and together with Little Flower, they were called "the Slime Emperor's right and left hands."

But almost no one knew that her true identity was actually the castle spirit, with combat power not inferior to a Legendary.

Chen Yu stayed in the underground world for an entire day.

He followed Anvil through every part of it. In a temporary canteen, he drank a couple of ales with a group of Dwarf artisans. Finally, atop the construction platform, he overlooked the entire industrial city from a bird's-eye view.

He named this burgeoning industrial city "Mudun."

Meaning the starting point of a new industrial spark.

After doing all this, he finally returned to the palace, satisfied.

But he hadn't expected Silver Sparrow's news to come so quickly.

In just one day, she brought back a detailed report.

Sure enough, as he had predicted, under the growing influence of the Slime Hero King Biography's public sentiment, the Dawn Council had finally officially begun preparations for the inspection team.

And to demonstrate the Council's importance attached to this inspection, they publicly announced their upcoming diplomatic inspection trip to the Slime United Empire with great fanfare.

But the moment he saw the inspection team's roster, Chen Yu's small face twisted into a strange expression.

Oros?

What was this old man doing on this list?

Was he selling the biography so hot just to get in on this excitement?

But after a moment's thought, he wasn't too worried.

After all, his granddaughter had already become the Empire's dragon. He wouldn't screw over his own family, would he?

Chen Yu just assumed he was hitching a ride back.