Delicacy Bomb

Prestige Title: Slime Warrior

Acquisition Condition: Under the witness of the Beetle Knight, who represents Decay and End, a slime must display extraordinary courage surpassing its primal instincts, facing and overcoming a deep fear capable of plunging its entire race into instinctual recoil (typically a trial related to powerful natural enemies or destructive forces).

Title Effects:

1. Prestige Imprint: The name "Slime Warrior" is remembered by the demonic beasts around the Twisted Oak, inspiring either awe or hostility.

2. Fearless Heart: Gains an advantage on saving throws against fear effects from demonic beasts of a higher rank.

Note: This is the courage witnessed by the Obsidian Knight—a tearing of Instinctual Shackles, an Aberrant Glory born in the Corrupted Land.

The Fear Instinct dissipated. The once terrifying and abhorrent Death Knight now appeared to Chen Yu as nothing more than an oversized beetle.

Not only was it no longer frightening, but it even looked clumsy.

Almost... appetizing...

After a quick glance at the inexplicably appearing Prestige Title, Chen Yu couldn't hold back any longer and deployed the Stinger Sword hidden within his gel.

[Object Manipulation Technique]

The Stinger Sword trembled violently, its tip erupting with a sharp, cold gleam as it stabbed precisely and decisively toward the Beetle Knight.

Thud!

The Stinger Sword struck the thick carapace of the Digger Beetle, leaving only a white mark—it hadn't even breached the outer shell.

Incredible defense.

Chen Yu was secretly startled, but he noticed that under the impact of the Stinger Sword, the Beetle Knight's body was nearly lifted off the ground. Maybe he could use that to flip it over?

On the other side, the Digger Beetle had also witnessed Chen Yu's terrifying power. There was no trace of ferocity left in its eyes—only bewilderment and fear.

With its pitifully small brain, it simply couldn't figure out how a soft, weak slime had suddenly become so formidable. Pressured by the sudden mental strain, fear took root, and it frantically tried to turn around, scrambling to retreat into the burrow it had dug.

But Chen Yu wasn't about to let his soon-to-be prey escape so easily.

Without hesitation, he fired three more Stinger Swords in rapid succession—ding, ding, ding—striking from insidious, tricky angles beneath the Beetle Knight's belly, flipping it onto its back.

The Digger Beetle panicked. Its six legs, covered in hard chitin, flailed wildly in the air, its hooked claws grasping blindly until they caught in the gaps of a thick, tangled tree root nearby.

That only made it struggle harder, but instead of turning over, it only got more deeply stuck in the roots, letting out terrified, helpless hissing sounds.

Splat, splat...

Chen Yu hopped over, stopping steadily beside the Beetle Knight's violently thrashing bulk. Like a hunter brimming with pent-up power, he didn't hesitate for a moment. Inside him, his gastric sac churned and compressed violently.

"Ptoo—!"

A thick glob of dark green acid, reeking with a pungent stench, shot out like a high-pressure water jet, splashing heavily onto the Beetle Knight's proud obsidian carapace.

"Sssss—!"

The sound of violent corrosion erupted instantly. Acrid white smoke rose along with a skin-crawling noise. Where the acid touched, the carapace's surface reacted and boiled like cold water thrown onto red-hot iron.

But astonishingly, the strong acid—capable of easily melting rock and bone—only left a murky, corroded scar on the obsidian shell.

The once-smooth, mirror-like surface that reflected a dim luster was now roughened like coarse sandpaper, losing some of its intimidating sheen, yet still unbreakably protecting the body beneath.

"Tch... This beetle shell is this tough?"

Chen Yu's interest was piqued. If he could coat his soft, tender gel body with that indestructible obsidian armor, those annoying Stinger Bee attacks would probably bounce off without leaving a mark.

It was hard to imagine how satisfying the sense of security would be if he could wear it.

It felt like this Beetle Knight had come to deliver him some gear.

His small, round eyes glinted faintly as he stared at the struggling Beetle Knight, searching for a flaw in its thick obsidian shell.

Every time the Beetle Knight's six limbs pushed hard, nearly flipping itself over, Chen Yu would precisely stab out with the Stinger Sword, viciously striking its joints or leverage points, instantly breaking its rhythm and sending it crashing back down in vain.

After pondering for a while, Chen Yu planned to test an attack on the Beetle Knight's constantly twitching tail, but instead noticed that as it violently beat its carapace, trying to spread its wings and struggle, several rows of tiny holes were exposed on the sides of its body.

The piercing, fear-filled "hissing" sounds were blasting violently out of those holes.

These were vital respiratory organs—and also the Beetle Knight's fatal weakness.

Chen Yu seized the moment and shot out the Stinger Sword.

Slap!

The Stinger Sword was knocked away by a flapping carapace. It missed.

No matter. Chen Yu retrieved a few Stinger Swords and fired them in another volley.

Finally, amid a pained screech from the Beetle Knight, a Stinger Sword pierced precisely into one of the breathing holes, making it thrash even more violently.

The stinger got stuck in the carapace, preventing it from closing. Chen Yu pressed his advantage, sending more flying swords in rapid succession.

"Ptoo!"

Another stinger stabbed through a breathing hole and entered the Beetle Knight's body. Worse still, it was coated with the Slime Acid Chen Yu had secreted.

Now the Beetle Knight struggled even more violently, limbs flailing wildly, its hissing growing hoarse and choked. He could even hear the sizzling sound of acid corroding the tender tissues inside.

Chen Yu waited for a long time before he saw the Beetle Knight's six limbs go completely stiff, its body turning cold.

Little One, trembling in the grass nest, suddenly felt the fear deep in its blood gradually dissipate along with the Beetle Knight's death. Its tiny mung-bean eyes blinked in confusion.

Then it stared up at the figure standing above like a hero, confirmed what it saw, and began hopping and cheering, its gaze replaced by deep admiration and worship.

After confirming the beetle wouldn't suddenly rise from the dead, Chen Yu flopped over with a squelch and struggled to swallow the massive beetle corpse into his body.

Once the Digger Beetle was completely covered in gel, Chen Yu's form had swelled to twice its original size, nearly as big as the Slime Mother.

He barely managed to squirm back into the grass nest, patiently digesting the beetle in his stomach.

As the acid seeped into the beetle's body, the digested meat juices oozed out and were gradually absorbed by the gel.

Chen Yu, who had been on the verge of drowsiness, suddenly jolted. His tiny mung-bean eyes snapped open, filled with an incredulous gleam.

This Digger Beetle... was even more delicious than he'd imagined!

The acid inside him was efficiently breaking down the beetle's tough muscles and organs. When the strong acid finally corroded through the last barrier and touched the beetle's most essential core flesh, a concentrated torrent of umami surged through his body in an instant.

The flavor... was as rich as freshly cracked crab shell, the golden, oily crab roe and paste flowing out—thick, mellow, carrying a deep, bold savor unique to the underground depths, instantly overwhelming all his senses.

Then, a strange fungal fragrance spread, much like the aroma of top-grade matsutake mushrooms pan-fried in butter—a rich blend of earth, forest, and nuts—perfectly balancing the greasiness of the crab roe and adding an indescribable layer of complexity.

This wasn't a bug at all—it was a flavor bomb made of molten crab roe and seared matsutake!

Holy crap, beetle bro, do you even know how delicious you are?