Chapter 454: The True Dragon Reveals Itself

"Whoosh—"

After arranging for the inspection team to check into the inn, Gawain Slime bounced out through the main entrance, basking in the warm afternoon sunlight as his gel body stretched out comfortably.

He proudly shook the little top hat on his head.

Another day of diligent service. The few mages from the inspection team all seemed quite satisfied, and even that stern-faced Lady Sabrina hadn't found anything to nitpick. That was practically a miracle.

Unfortunately, ever since he graduated from the Winter Academy with outstanding marks, he had been assigned by Princess Little Flower to serve as administrative officer in Misty Bay Harbor. It had been a long time since he'd returned to Slime City.

Today was the last day of the Slumber Days holiday.

He wondered how his mother was doing.

Last time he wrote home, his mother said the family had welcomed a new batch of little slimes, and the old blacksmith next door had gifted them a seashell... Thinking about this, Gawain Slime felt a pang of homesickness.

He was lost in thought when suddenly, as if receiving some kind of signal, his gel body gave a violent tremble and he stopped bouncing.

Then, he turned and bounced into the Adventurer's Guild, navigated the noisy first-floor hall with practiced familiarity, and pushed open the door to the Guild Leader's office on the second floor.

Then his eyes went wide.

A round, golden figure was standing by the window. The afternoon sunlight streamed through the glass, casting a brilliant luster over its body, like molten gold flowing.

Gawain Slime's mouth hung wide open.

Big Brother Slime!

The legendary Slime Hero, the Empire's only Golden Slime, had actually appeared here.

Back when he was still studying at the Winter Academy, he had worshipped this hero.

Every time he heard stories of Big Brother Slime beating back wave after wave of enemies on the front lines, he would get so excited that he'd write home to his mother that very night, saying he wanted to become a great figure like that someday.

And today, he got to meet him this up close.

He suddenly felt so happy he was dizzy, his gel body going even softer.

Big Brother Slime heard the commotion, turned around, and gave a gentle wobble of his body by way of greeting.

He said in a steady voice: "Gawain Slime, I have come on the King's orders."

Gawain Slime quickly straightened his body and nodded vigorously: "At your command, this slime will complete the mission!"

"Tonight's Slumber Days celebration needs to cancel the coastal venues. Concentrate everything in the Riverside District, and keep as far from the coast as possible. At the same time, notify the citizens that we will be distributing food and gifts at the celebration, and encourage people from all the harbor districts to participate."

Gawain Slime listened, somewhat puzzled.

What a strange order.

The venues for the Slumber Days celebration had been decided long ago, and the stages and stalls in the harbor district were nearly finished being set up.

Suddenly changing locations now meant not only having to rearrange everything in a short time, but also going through the trouble of notifying all the city's residents.

This order had come out of nowhere, and it didn't match their usual way of doing things.

But...

He looked at the golden figure before him and nodded firmly.

In his view, this hero must be carrying out one of the King's secret missions.

Perhaps... something bad was about to happen in Misty Bay Harbor again.

At that thought, his gel body tensed up slightly.

"I'll go right now."

He quickly turned and bounced out the door, hurrying off to relay the orders.

In the secret residence in the Golden Phoenix District.

Milo Fletcher sat in a dark high-backed chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest.

He took the document handed over by his subordinate and furrowed his brow.

"That slime administrative officer wants to change the celebration venue?"

The subordinate kept his head lowered and answered respectfully: "Yes, word just came in. The celebration originally scheduled for the harbor district has been cancelled, with everything moved to the Riverside District. A city-wide notice has also been issued, claiming they'll be handing out food and gifts at the celebration to encourage citizens to participate."

Milo sank into thought.

So sudden?

Could they have discovered something?

But as far as he knew, Misty Bay Harbor had three celebration venues: the New Harbor, the Riverside District, and the Golden Rose Plaza.

Among these, the harbor district was open and spacious, close to the docks, and suited for large-scale gatherings. The Riverside District sat near the inner river, with decent scenery but relatively cramped space.

The Golden Rose Plaza was located in the noble quarter, mainly used for high-society social events.

Today was the last day of the Slumber Days, and tomorrow would be the new year.

Logically speaking, them wanting to hold a bigger celebration in the Riverside District made sense.

After all, the Riverside District was connected to several main streets, making it easier for citizens to gather, and distributing food and gifts would reach a wider crowd.

Still, he couldn't shake a nagging sense of unease.

He had heard plenty about that Slime Emperor's methods.

Rising from the swamp, annexing the Merchant Alliance, establishing an empire, sweeping aside all opposition... Getting this far couldn't be explained away by mere coincidence.

The steward hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Patriarch, what do we do now?"

Milo thought quietly for a moment, his fingertips ceasing their tapping. Finally, he spoke slowly: "Proceed with the plan as scheduled."

"So what if they've discovered something?"

He raised his head, a cold gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Our beloved Majesty can't split himself in two. There's no way he can personally hold down both the eastern and western fronts. As long as he's still dealing with those demons in the west, the east is our hunting ground."

He turned his head toward the steward: "Were those intelligence reports delivered?"

The steward quickly nodded: "As you instructed, the intelligence report about the impending demon raid on the western front was anonymously delivered to that slime administrative officer."

A cold smile crept across Milo's face.

"Excellent."

He rose from his chair and walked to the window, peering through the gap in the curtains toward the distant harbor.

The streets were thronged with people, the common folk's faces glowing with pre-holiday joy, utterly unaware that a storm was closing in.

"These demons want to use us as bait to draw His Majesty's attention, but aren't we using them as bait in the same way?"

His voice was low, yet carried the calm of a hunter.

"By the time his attention turns back east, this place will already have fallen."

"Or perhaps... he won't even get the chance to turn back."

The harbor coastal street.

Night had silently descended upon Misty Bay Harbor, but tonight's Slumber Days felt much quieter than yesterday. There was hardly a pedestrian to be seen on the streets.

The sailors who usually shouted and hauled cargo at the docks, the laborers who carried sacks between the warehouses, even the vendors who'd set up grilled fish stalls on the street corners year-round—all of them had vanished without a trace.

Only the seawater kept lapping against the stone embankment, stubbornly sloshing with every wave.

But Brandon hadn't gone.

As a grizzled old sailor in his forties, his calloused hands had gripped more bottles than helms.

Rather than attend some Slumber Days celebration, listen to the racket of strangers and that woman's grating chatter, he preferred drinking alone in peace.

Tonight his wife had gone out to a neighborhood party, leaving him in blessed solitude.

The harbor district was dead quiet now, the whole street seemingly asleep. This feeling was incredibly comfortable to him.

He staggered along drunkenly, his boot soles stepping over loose flagstones. His body lurched, and he nearly fell.

"Ugh..."

He braced himself against the wall to steady his balance, muttering a few slurred curses under his breath, then turned into a narrow alley nearby, heading home.

Brandon took a few steps, then suddenly stopped.

...Something wasn't right.

The place was too quiet—so quiet it felt like death itself.

He scratched his head in confusion. The alcohol had dulled his reactions, and he squinted hard, looking toward the depths of the alley. It seemed like he saw some strange light.

The light was an eerie blue, flickering in the darkness like the eyes of some creature.

"What the hell..."

He narrowed his eyes and looked more carefully.

In the depths of the alley, countless pairs of ethereal blue soulfires were drifting.

The soulfires clustered densely together, and behind them, the silhouettes of rotting bones stood silently in the darkness, as if they had been waiting there for a long, long time.

His eyes went wide with terror.

The alcohol in his system seemed to turn to cold sweat in an instant. His legs went weak, and then, as if driven by some force, he scrambled around and sprinted out of the alley, his voice tearing through the silence of the street.

"Undead!"

"Help! There are undead!!!"

His shouts echoed through the empty street, startling a few seagulls perched on distant rooftops.

The nearby Slime Guards heard the noise and quickly bounced over.

Several slime guards squeezed out of their patrol post, rolling along the ground to the scene, their round little eyes rapidly scanning the surroundings.

Brandon stumbled to a stop behind them, bracing his hands on his knees, panting heavily. He pointed frantically at the alley behind him: "U-Undead! It's full of undead in there!"

The Slime Guards paid him no mind, their gazes fixed tensely on the pitch-black alley across from them.

Because they could see, in that darkness where one couldn't see one's own hand, countless drifting soulfires were surging forth, like eyes slowly opening in the night—so densely packed it made one's skin crawl.

These were the real deal—genuine undead.

Before they could even react, a low roar suddenly echoed from the sky above.

A massive shadow swept across the moon, blotting out the street's only moonlight.

The Slime Guards looked up and saw a bone dragon spreading its tattered wings, howling past at low altitude.

This enormous skeletal body gleamed with a pale, deathly light under the moonlight, and two blazing ethereal blue flames burned in its hollow eye sockets, as if mocking the city's fragile defenses.

It landed atop a tall tower, its claws gouging deep scratches into the stone walls, then let out a deafening roar that echoed across the entire city.

Damn it. The city was being invaded by the undead.

The Slime Guard unit quickly transmitted the news back through the Gel Network.

And in the depths of the alley, it wasn't just the undead that appeared.

Shadows writhed in the darkness like living things, twisted black silhouettes rising from the walls and the ground, condensing into various shapes.

Some resembled elongated human figures, others crouching beasts, their edges blurry and indistinct, floating through the air.

They shrieked as they streaked through the streets, silently sweeping past the streetlamps and devouring their light. Then they charged toward the tall tower, seizing the high ground.

Milo stepped out from the shadow of the tower.

He stood on the tower's terrace, gazing down at the harbor streets below rapidly descending into chaos. The sea wind stirred the hem of his coat. He spread his arms wide, as if embracing the land being swallowed by darkness.

"Yes, just like this."

His voice drifted away on the wind, filled with pleasure.

"Go and take it. Take everything here."

He turned his head to look at the silent attendant beside him.

A warrior professional by the name of Marcus was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, silent as ever.

He wore a set of thick leather armor, with a broadsword hanging at his waist. His face was resolute, his eyes sharp, like a silent reef.

"Marcus, go take over the Merchant Alliance Council building. Arrest everyone on the list."

"I need to seize all power in this city."

Marcus didn't say a word. He simply nodded slightly, then turned and headed downstairs, his footsteps fading into the distance along the stone steps.

Milo withdrew his gaze and looked back down at the spreading chaos below, the corner of his mouth curving upward.

"I'll make sure everyone sees who the true master of this city is."

...

Council office.

Gawain Slime had been dozing at his desk, his little top-hat-wearing gel head bobbing up and down, enjoying a rare moment of respite.

When the news came in, he immediately jolted awake from his nap, his little eyes bulging wide.

"What?!"

He frantically bounced to the window, pushed it open, and peered outside.

In the distance, the massive silhouette of the bone dragon was clearly visible atop the tall tower. Vague shouts and the clashing of metal drifted up from the streets.

The air that should have been filled with festive holiday cheer was now thick with unsettling turmoil.

Panic surged in Gawain Slime's little eyes.

This is bad. This is really bad.

The city had been taken over by the undead.

And he, as the administrative officer of Misty Bay Harbor, hadn't sensed a thing beforehand.

He drooped his gel body in dejection, feeling he had failed the King's trust.

The King had entrusted this city to him, yet he hadn't even laid eyes on the enemy before the city plunged into chaos.

Just then, a golden figure bounced up beside him.

Big Brother Slime extended a small gel hand and gently patted him.

"The King foresaw everything."

"He deliberately kept you in the dark, just so the enemy wouldn't catch on."

"Now, you come with me and fight our way out."

Big Brother Slime's golden body swelled slightly, as if channeling the power within.

Gawain Slime took a deep breath, gurgling and bubbling, swallowing all his dejection and panic back into his belly.

"Mhm!"

He nodded firmly, then bounced over to his desk and pulled out a staff he hadn't used in a long time.

This staff had been brought with him from Slime City.

As an outstanding graduate of the Winter Academy, he was not only proficient in administration but also an Elite Professional. He would never run from a fight like this.

Suddenly, a figure streaked past the window.

A banshee left a blurry afterimage in the air, letting out a piercing shriek as it dove straight toward the council building.

Big Brother Slime's body compressed suddenly, like a spring squeezed to its absolute limit, then exploded outward.

The window shattered, wood splinters and glass shards flying everywhere. He shot out like a cannonball and slammed straight into the banshee.

The banshee didn't even have time to scream before it was crushed into a puff of mist by the gravity force field, dispersing into the night sky.

It was only now that Gawain Slime realized the invasion involved not just the undead, but demons too.

On the streets, tall, dark-red figures were advancing slowly amidst the undead horde. Curved goat horns grew from their heads, and they reeked of sulfur.

He finally understood why the King had moved the celebration to the Riverside District.

Big Brother Slime paid no attention to his thoughts. He simply swelled his gel body and gave a violent pulse.

An invisible force field radiated outward from his body, like a sudden eruption of gravitational tides. The undead surging in from all sides were instantly crushed, their bones groaning and snapping as they were flattened against the ground.

Then, he activated the Fake Core within his gel, and his golden body began to transform—stretching and reshaping from a round sphere into the form of a golden greatsword.

Using his Divine Sense to wield himself like a Flying Sword, he swung out with explosive force.

The golden greatsword carved through the air, leaving a golden afterimage across the street, instantly sweeping through the surging tide of undead.

The undead disintegrated under the golden blade light, their offensive collapsing entirely.

Gawain Slime waved his little staff behind him, almost cheering out loud at the sight.

Big Brother Slime transformed back into his slime form mid-air, landing in the middle of the street. A golden halo radiated from his body, illuminating half the road.

"Charge with me!"

His voice spread through the streets via the Gel Network, reaching the ears of the human guards still putting up resistance.

He flew straight into the undead horde, with the Slime Guards right behind him. The human guards also rallied and launched a counterattack.

...

On the tower, Milo narrowed his eyes.

Watching the Golden Slime below cut through the undead tide like a blade, he couldn't help but inwardly acknowledge the sight.

No wonder he was the rumored Army Commander of the Slime Legion. This Golden Slime was indeed formidable.

But so what if he was formidable?

Just as he was thinking this, a fissure opened in the depths of the alley.

A thick sulfurous stench wafted out from the fissure, and from within stepped a towering Fear Demon.

This demon's body stood over three meters tall, covered in pitch-black, heavy scale armor. Curved bone spikes grew from its shoulders, and its head resembled a twisted ram.

In its hand, it held an iron chain covered in barbs, dragging along the ground and throwing off sparks.

Big Brother Slime had just crushed the surrounding demons into paste and was about to continue charging forward.

That was when the Fear Demon stepped into the force field with heavy, deliberate steps.

Its stride showed no sign of obstruction whatsoever, as if the gravity that could crush steel didn't exist for it.

It simply walked forward at a leisurely pace, each step leaving a deep imprint in the stone floor.

It muttered something in an obscure demon language and swung its arm.

The iron chain tore through the air with a whistling wind, whipping straight toward Big Brother Slime.

Even with the gravity field in effect, the chain's speed was still terrifyingly fast.

Big Brother Slime's reaction was quick enough—he tried to compress his gel to dodge—but the chain still connected squarely with him.

"THWACK!"

A dull, heavy impact rang out. Big Brother Slime was sent flying, tumbling several times across the street before smashing through a stone wall and finally coming to a stop amidst a pile of rubble.

Every slime watching was stunned into silence.

In their eyes, the Slime Hero—the one who always charged at the front, the invincible one—had just been knocked flying.

The morale of every slime deflated instantly, like a balloon being popped.

"A... Legendary demon?"

A human professional's voice trembled.

That's right.

Milo stood on the tower, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

His trump card was precisely this Legendary demon.

The steward stood behind him, worry etched on his face. He asked in a low voice: "Patriarch, won't this draw the attention of those Dawn mages? They're still at the inn."

Milo let out a cold laugh.

"We're not allied with these demons, you know."

His voice carried an unhurried calm.

"If those Dawn mages want to act, they can act. But they'll find that this city contains demons, undead, and us 'victims' all at once."

"Once these demons are dead, no one will ever learn the secrets behind it all."

He turned around, gazing toward the dim outline of the inn barely visible in the distant darkness, and continued.

"And we'll survive—survive as victims, then continue to grow stronger in corners no one watches."

He paused for a moment. "Notify those damned nobles. If they still want a new order, have them deploy their armed forces. Tell them this is their last chance to bring about the new order."

Inside the inn room.

Agrel stood by the window, his gaze passing through the glass to rest on the distant streets stained red by the flames of battle.

He had seen the Golden Slime, Marcus, leading the charge, and had also seen it get blasted away by that Fear Demon.

He wasn't surprised.

What truly caught his attention was something else.

His gaze inexplicably drifted toward the distant tower, toward the barely visible silhouette of a human figure standing there.

Wanting the Empire, the demons, and their Dawn mages to fight among themselves, all so he could profit from it?

A fine plan, this noble had.

But he was somewhat underestimating a mage's spells.

What he couldn't figure out was why that Slime Emperor still hadn't shown up.

Only a Legendary can counter a Legendary.

He admitted that the Golden Slime was brave, but it was still a fair distance from Legendary.

Sabrina stood at another window, arms crossed, deep in thought as well.

What was that Slime Emperor thinking?

As the battle situation in the city visibly deteriorated, and the Merchant Alliance's armed forces began to show signs of collapse, the younger mages in the inspection team were getting restless, unconsciously tightening their grips on their staffs.

Just then, Oros—who had been keeping a low profile throughout the inspection team's journey—suddenly raised his head and looked toward the western sky.

"He's here."

"He's here?"

"Who's here?"

Everyone was puzzled, and followed his gaze toward the west.

In the distance, a streak of white light was racing across the edge of the sky, like a silver-white rift being torn open in the heavens.

This light was moving at an inconceivable speed, closing from the horizon to the city's airspace in the blink of an eye.

"ROOOAAAR!!"

A dragon's roar thundered across the entire city.

It carried a power that pierced the soul, like a divine voice descending from the highest heavens, stirring involuntary awe in every heart.

Whether it was Milo directing the battle or the demons wreaking havoc, everyone looked up.

A dragon coming to support?

No... what was that?

Within the mass of white light at the horizon, a slender figure gradually revealed itself.

It was a creature none of them had ever seen before.

Its body was like a silver-white serpent, yet more elegant and sacred than any snake.

Its mane was white as snow, running along its long neck all the way down to its spine. Silver scales flowed with a quicksilver luster under the moonlight.

On its head grew a pair of dragon horns like white jade coral. Its mane fluttered in the wind as its long body undulated through the clouds, like flowing moonlight. Its sacred bearing resembled a divine messenger descending to the mortal world.

A dragon? Or something else?

The same question surged in everyone's minds.

The mages of the inspection team also raised their heads, gazing in astonishment at the silver-white figure circling in the sky.

"What is that?"

"That's not a dragon. I've never seen a creature like that either."

"Look at its form... it doesn't seem like a being of the Material Plane. It's more like some kind of purer coalescence of power."

"Could this be His Majesty's trump card?"

Only Oros, the moment he saw this figure, seemed to recall something, and his expression grew complicated.