The outbreak of war is rarely so grand or solemn.
Perhaps it happens on a peaceful afternoon, just as everyone finishes their day's work and sits down for dinner.
The Month of Sap had ended, and it was now the night of the first day of the Month of Sowing (March).
Firelight rose from the forest east of Slime Territory—a warning signal from the outer outpost.
Zoe received the intelligence immediately and quickly bounced out of his cave.
At this hour, he was still training his skills and had not yet gone to sleep.
He had already devoured a treasured, highly restorative goblin priest into his belly. His Level 5 [Digest] quickly broke down the goblin priest inside him, converting it into mana to recover what he had spent on training.
“Lord, report from the outpost!”
“A large force of goblins is marching toward the east! Around one hundred goblin riders have already rushed out of the Great Hera Forest ahead of the main force!”
The pigman elder rushed up the mountain in a panic to deliver the report.
‘To think it would be at a time like this.’
“Puji.”
[Deploy the troops quickly and gather in the eastern part of Slime Territory. Wait for my signal before launching an attack.]
[How many warriors can we mobilize right now?]
“If we mobilize everyone, we can gather 780 warriors and 121 shadow wolves.”
The pigman elder accurately reported the numbers of their available combat personnel.
“Puji.”
[Mobilize all of them.]
“Yes!”
The pigman elder did not hesitate for a second.
As long as it was a command from their Lord, they would carry out Zoe's will without question.
“Zoe, are we going to fight?!”
The commotion in the territory had also woken Vera, who had been sleeping in the cave. She flew over, landed beside Zoe, and spoke with excitement.
“Puji.”
[That's right. Vera, the territory is in your hands.]
“Leave it to Vera!”
Zoe looked at the excited Vera and said nothing more.
He quickly returned to the cave at the top of the mountain and packed everything he decided to take with him, stuffing his Reincarnation Space to its absolute limit.
Inside went the pink ore from the Ore Dragon's stomach, as well as a silver spinal bone of the Ore Dragon that looked as though it were forged from steel.
Next was a piece of red-iron scale about the size of a footprint—the scale protecting the Ore Dragon's heart, which was the hardest scale on its entire body.
Along with the magic item, the crossguard.
The remaining space was packed completely with the steel needles he had forged.
Having packed all of his belongings, Zoe took one last look at the cave.
Then, without looking back, he hopped out of the cave and leaped onto Vera's back.
“Lord, Lady Evelyn and Lady Flora asked me to pass on a message. They are heading straight to the battlefield to assess the situation and said there is no need to wait for them.”
It was now the dead of night. In the shadows nearby, Dark Wolf materialized, bowing its head as it spoke.
“Puji.”
[Understood. Now, here is your next task.]
[Lead the troops and wait for an opportunity to strike. You must remain calm at all times, no matter what happens. Your primary objective is to protect everyone in the territory and Vera, ensuring that everyone survives.]
“Understood, Lord.”
Dark Wolf usually referred to Zoe as Lord Zoe.
However, with Flora now staying in the territory, Zoe had specifically instructed Dark Wolf to call him “Lord” to prevent Flora from making any unwanted connections.
“Let's go.”
Zoe gave Vera a gentle pat, and she spread her wings, soaring into the sky.
Dark Wolf watched Zoe disappear into the night sky before returning to the bottom of the mountain to lead the monster forces toward the eastern part of the territory.
The forest below rushed past. As they flew further and further away, Zoe could finally see the boundary of the Great Hera Forest.
Speaking of which, in his nearly a year of living as a slime, Zoe had not taken a single step outside the Great Hera Forest.
Aside from his six hours of sleep, he had spent every single day grinding his skills.
“Puji.”
[Can you find the goblin army?]
Watching the dialogue box pop up in front of her eyes, Vera nodded.
“I can. I can smell the stench of those wretched goblins from twenty li away.”
An easterly wind was currently blowing from east to west. Since they were flying from west to east, they were downwind, and the breeze carried the scent from ahead straight to them.
And the stench of a massive goblin army was, naturally, incredibly potent.
Zoe looked up at the sky.
Although it was night, the sky was completely cloudless, making it difficult for Vera to hide.
But that was no challenge for Zoe.
Zoe's entire body began to spread out, covering the surface of Vera's scales and shifting his color from deep purple to pitch-black.
“My beautiful white scales...”
“Puji.”
[Catch up. We shouldn't have to worry about being spotted now.]
Whether it was this level of shapeshifting or color alteration, both consumed mana.
Zoe did not want to waste his mana by dragging things out.
Under Zoe's concealing layer, Vera's sound and color completely blended into the night sky.
Pursuing their target, the dragon and the slime finally got a clear look at the goblin army.
It was an army composed of over a thousand goblins.
Each goblin held a spear and a wooden shield, clad in leather armor as they marched forward in formation.
Not only that, the hundred or so goblin warriors standing at the front were powerfully built, wearing leather armor along with crude iron breastplates.
In their right hands, they held massive spiked maces, while their left hands bore wooden shields large enough to cover half their bodies.
There were also no fewer than ten goblin priests and two goblin high priests within the ranks.
Additionally, there were goblin cavalry riding dire wolves, as well as goblin heavy cavalry riding tusk boars.
“Zoe, Zoe! I can smell goblins to the north and south, too.”
Hearing Vera's words, Zoe took a deep breath.
The goblin army they saw did not contain the goblin king. Combined with Vera's report...
This army was not even their main force.
The goblins had likely split their forces into three routes, launching an assault from the west, south, and north.
The main force led by the goblin king was either to the north or the south.
At a conservative estimate, this entire goblin army had to be composed of four to five thousand goblins.
And then there was also the monster army assembled by the Headhunter Cult.
“Puji.”
[Let's head near Hera City first to meet up with Evelyn and Flora. The battle will ultimately break out outside Hera City.]
During this time, Evelyn had been trying to assassinate the goblin king, but she had never succeeded.
Evelyn was strong, but she was not invincible.
This war presented their best opportunity.
Jaden had propped up the goblin king to gain an opportunity to collect souls.
However, the goblin king and Jaden were in absolute opposition when it came to competing for these souls.
Jaden had prepared for three years, but Evelyn's interference ultimately forced him to initiate his plan ahead of schedule.
It was uncertain whether the final count of souls would even be enough for his own advancement, so there was no way he would tolerate the goblin king snatching them away.
According to Evelyn's plan, Jaden would definitely make a move to fight the goblin king for the souls in the end.
That would be their chance to deal with both the goblin king and Jaden at once.
The eastern Hera Plains.
In the night sky, Vera flew at high speed. Zoe had already retracted his pitch-black concealing layer.
Looking down, the endless forest was gone, replaced by a vast plain dotted with scattered groves of trees.
Beside the small rivers, along the low hills, and within the small woods, small villages could occasionally be seen lying quiet in the dark of night.
If they flew a bit further north, he might even be able to find the place where he had died in his past life.
“Zoe, we're here!”
Looking ahead in the direction of Vera's voice, towering city walls could be faintly discerned along the dark horizon. This was Hera City, which marked the border between the Hera Plains and the Grand Duchy of Rose.
“Puji.”
[Fly over there.]
Zoe pointed toward a small grove of trees by the river, not far from Hera City.
This was the meeting place that Zoe, Evelyn, and Flora had agreed upon.
“Okay!”
Flapping her wings, Vera landed gently in the small grove of trees.
Inside the grove, Evelyn and Flora were already waiting, clad in black robes and wearing masks.
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