Territory Construction

After the torrential rain, Demonic Beasts carpeted the Swamp. There were too many Slimes to count, each one like a glistening emerald beneath the sunlight, casting a soft green shimmer over the forest.

Chen Yu was one inconspicuous member among them, hopping through the afternoon swamp as mottled sunlight occasionally passed through his transparent gel.

Warm and comfortable.

Having been away from the territory for so long, he had begun to miss the warm, cozy Slime Nest, as well as Slime Mother and the Little Ones.

With the Stinger Bees watching over them, no Demonic Beasts should have dared bully them...

But he still felt the territory was not safe enough.

It would be best to finish building the territory before the next torrential rain arrived, and make it capable of withstanding rampaging Demonic Beasts.

This was not difficult. It merely required time.

After traveling for a day and a night, Chen Yu finally returned to Oak Territory.

Compared to when he had left, the area around Oak Territory had become a complete mess. Seja's camp had been washed away by Demonic Beasts, and the firepit had been buried beneath withered leaves, returning to its primitive state.

Fortunately, Oak Territory was maintained by Stinger Bee Soldiers. The breeding grounds remained much the same, except there were now some plump Moss Monsters.

After enjoying a satisfying breakfast, Chen Yu dove to the bottom of the swamp and returned to the Slime Nest.

During his absence, quite a few Slime Nests seemed to have been established nearby. Yet no Slimes dared approach the area around his Slime Nest.

With a pop, he squeezed into the nest and saw Slime Mother feeding the Little Ones, who had already grown to the size of thumbs.

When those little fellows first saw him, they stared blankly for a moment. Then they recognized him and happily rolled and bounced about in Slime Mother's embrace.

Upon seeing him, Slime Mother slowly released a gentle pheromone, carrying a faint delight.

Chen Yu wriggled inside and realized that as he had grown, the once spacious nest had become somewhat cramped.

He touched his forehead to Slime Mother's and used the Sound Transmission Technique to convey the idea of "moving house."

"Oak tree... my territory... move house..."

A Slime's mind was even simpler than a Stinger Bee's. Clearly, she could not understand such complicated words.

Fortunately, Slime pheromones contained a primitive language for "moving house" and "territory," as though Slimes had truly once claimed land and moved their nests out from the dark swamp bottom.

Slime Mother blinked, remaining dazed for quite some time before she seemed to understand him. Silently, she pressed the Little Ones one by one into her gel, packing them up to leave.

Chen Yu gathered the Gray Grit Crystals he had previously buried in the nest and swam upward out of it. Slime Mother quietly followed behind him, surfacing alongside him.

It was the Little Ones' first time leaving the nest. As they gazed upon the vast, deep-green world and felt the warm sunlight passing through their bodies, they radiated excitement.

Chen Yu went ashore and hopped step by step toward the beetles' former nest beneath the tree.

The nest beneath the tree was spacious enough, and entry and exit were convenient as well. It was perfect for use as their new nest.

Wherever he passed, Moss Worms scattered in panic. Even so, this was Slime Mother's first time coming into such close contact with these predators. Her body trembled, and it took her a long while to catch up.

The Little Ones, on the other hand, seemed to have witnessed him killing the beetles. They were not so afraid, instead blinking curiously as they observed the entire world.

Slime Mother followed Chen Yu back into the dim underground and squeezed the Little Ones out.

The beetles' nest beneath the tree was fully twice the size of the Slime Nest, spacious enough for the Little Ones to romp and play inside.

"Not a bad start."

Chen Yu thought with satisfaction.

Slimes were originally the weakest Demonic Beasts on this land. He did not ask for these Little Ones to become exceptionally powerful when they grew up; it would be enough if they could peacefully live ordinary lives.

At the very least, no Demonic Beast in his Oak Territory would be allowed to bully them.

Having just completed the nest's relocation, Chen Yu immediately began the territory's construction in full swing.

First, he expanded the territory's boundaries to include the three surrounding oak trees, encompassing Seja's former camp.

The central tree area became the Slimes' habitat, while the Moss Monster breeding grounds were moved to the moss tree area covered in fluorescent moss.

The camp tree area was a place he had left for Seja to stay overnight. Perhaps she would return someday.

He had not yet figured out what to do with the final oak tree growing in the swamp. Still, he would claim it first and worry about that later.

After he drove away the Glow Mushroom People sleeping within the territory, the Stinger Bees began a grand construction effort according to his plans.

In truth, using the swamp oak trees as territory was an extremely poor choice.

Ordinary noble lords would choose high ground in villages or towns to build castles and fortresses, gaining a degree of terrain advantage—easy to defend, difficult to attack.

Oak Territory, however, was so flat one could see from one end to the other at a glance. Demonic Beasts could surge in from every direction, and another Mana Riot could wash away the entire territory.

But the territory he intended to build could not be considered with the mindset of this world.

Rather than a territory, it was more like an immortal's abode.

Recalling the contents of the Maze Formation Diagram, he directed the Stinger Bees to bury pebbles in the earth as the formation's feng shui veins, with the range encompassing all four oak trees.

However, asking Stinger Bees to dig earth and carry stones was simply making things difficult for them. Whether they could carry the stones was one matter; digging trenches was also extremely difficult with their tiny limbs.

Chen Yu began to miss his beetle brothers. Those beetles had been masters at digging.

Since the Stinger Bees could not manage it, he would personally take the field and dig the pits.

Behind him, Slime Mother and the Little Ones also emerged from the nest to help transport the stones.

Slime Mother did not understand what he was doing. She simply worked quietly to help.

The Little Ones treated carrying stones as a game. One after another, they exerted every ounce of strength, hauling stones larger than their own bodies and pushing them into the earthen pits and trenches.

With the whole family helping, construction of the Illusionary Formation sped up. In just one day, they buried the basic formation foundation.

Once he drew spiritual patterns with Slime mucus filled with Spiritual Power, the entire Illusionary Formation would be only one final step away from completion.

At this thrilling moment, Chen Yu took out the Gray Grit Crystal he had found earlier and buried it within the nest beneath the tree.

This thing could replace a Spirit Stone as the formation core, but it shone like a light bulb and was far too conspicuous. It could only be buried within the nest beneath the tree.

It could also provide illumination for the dim nest.

After setting it in place, Chen Yu counted down and injected Spiritual Power. As the Gray Grit Crystal lit up, the formation activated. A thin mist gradually spread outside, shrouding the entire Oak Territory.

This thin mist was rather peculiar. It looked like drifting clouds, yet it did not block the light. Sunlight could still pass through the fog and fall upon the territory.

From outside, however, the Illusionary Formation had completely blended into the poisonous fog. One could not even make out the territory's appearance.

He caught a Moss Monster and threw it outside to test it.

He discovered that the Moss Monster seemed to have fallen under an illusion, wandering endlessly outside the Illusionary Formation and never managing to enter.

"It worked."

Chen Yu slowly climbed the oak tree and looked down over the vibrant scene of the entire territory, unable to stop a surge of lofty ambition from rising within him.

This was a new beginning.

Everything was developing in a better direction.