Chapter 46 – Devouring Slime

(Note: The ambush section from the previous chapter has been revised—readers who viewed before 18:00 yesterday may refresh to see changes)

Dolai’s Rank was the same as Deadbone’s—Tier Zero Level 6—and not far from Level 7, the ‘Late Stage of Apprenticeship,’ far surpassing other Large Slimes who were only at Levels 3 or 4.

Not only that, it had consumed some nurturing Treasures, giving it a foundation in all aspects far superior to its peers.

Hoping to bolster their strength, Mu Yuan bestowed the power of evolution upon Dolai.

The evolution was brief.

A sudden white light startled the goblins for a moment, and in the next instant, a transformed Dolai stood before Mu Yuan.

It still retained its jelly-like form, but its size had increased slightly, its overall color had darkened, and a faint, starlit purple sheen shimmered across its surface.

“Ding!”

“Prompt: Your unit ‘Large Slime · Dolai’ has bathed in the power of Miracle and begun to transform, evolving into…”

“Prompt: Large Slime · Dolai possesses a latent talent, causing a mutation during evolution. It has evolved into the special mutant ‘Devouring Slime (Rare One-Star).'”

“Prompt: Your unit Dolai has been supplemented during evolution, learning the skill ‘Leap Strike’ and acquiring the new skill ‘Liquid Form Manipulation.'”

“Prompt: Your unit Dolai has Awakened the talent ‘Devour (Elementary).'”

——

“Devour (Elementary): Increases absorption efficiency of Soul Sand, medicinal herbs, Treasures, etc. By devouring various items, it can enhance specific attributes. When a sufficient quantity is devoured, it may also acquire additional abilities.”

Two skills and one talent!

With just one evolution, Dolai had undergone an epic upgrade.

Moreover, Mu Yuan had previously fed Dolai some Replenishing Fruit. With its latent Devouring Talent, Dolai absorbed them extremely quickly and, as a result, learned a bit of energy manipulation.

Mu Yuan wasn’t worried that the newly evolved Dolai would be unable to use its skills—at most, it might be a little unskilled.

Compared to the Skeleton Soldier Deadbone back at Level 1, Dolai’s foundation was many times higher.

It was born in a better era.

Mu Yuan reined in his wandering thoughts, having no time to dwell further, and continued directing Bone Two and Bone Three to charge the enemy formation and locate that sneaky old goblin.

At that moment, Dolai, still in a daze, saw three goblins charging at it with fierce cries, thrusting sharp spears deep into its body.

“Squeee—!”

Its jelly-like body dented inward, the spears sinking into the viscous liquid and quickly becoming stuck.

In pain, Dolai let out a fierce roar. Both sides of its liquid-like body slowly bulged outward, extending and shaping as they grew, forming a pair of massive, dark-blue arms over two meters long.

Like plucking chicks, Dolai grabbed the two goblins on its left and right, then clapped its hands together, squashing the middle goblin into a goblin sandwich.

Meanwhile, Bone Two and Bone Three in the distance erupted into action once more.

Bone Two swung its Sword, engaging in its usual exchange of injuries with the Great Goblin opposite.

Thud!

Its armor dented, cracks spreading across it, and several ribs inside its chest shattered, but…

The greatsword, shimmering with a faint black glow, slashed diagonally downward, cleaving through the Great Goblin’s plate armor and slicing open nearly half of its burly body.Bone Two was violently knocked back by the Great Goblin’s death throes, but it remained standing while its opponent fell.

Around the same time, Bone Three, wielding a Bone Spear, did not throw it but instead thrust forcefully from behind one of the Great Goblins, executing a charged backstab.

The advantage began tilting toward Mu Yuan’s side.

Whoosh—

Another thick, long Wooden Spear tore through the air, its trajectory extremely tricky, timed precisely when Bone Four and Dolai were preoccupied.

These goblins truly had no honor!

They kept targeting his fatal weak spot relentlessly—how unreasonable.

However, since the initial attack, he had been hiding within the protective circle of three sentinels, ordering them to slowly retreat with him toward a large boulder, using it as cover with three overlapping shields.

The outermost shield still had a meter-long Wooden Spear embedded in it.

Moreover, Mu Yuan, concealed behind the sentinels, had crouched halfway down, relying solely on the War Falcon’s vision to observe the battlefield. He never exposed himself.

His Amulet still had two charges of protective power left.

If absolutely necessary, he could pull out the Mystic Crystal Lamp hidden in his robes.

But it hadn’t come to that yet.

Boom—

This Wooden Spear strike was even more powerful, shattering most of the outermost shield and sending the sentinel stumbling backward. But the other two shields overlapped, and the three sentinels worked together to dissipate the impact.

Well done, lads.

Mu Yuan quickly directed the War Falcon to scan the area where the spear had originated. He finally spotted a greenish figure, nearly blending with the leaves, crouching on a tree branch.

The sly bastard is here!

“Dolai!”

Leave it to me, gurgle!

Under Deadbone’s tutelage, Dolai had deeply internalized the principle of targeting the backline in team fights. It just hadn’t located the backline earlier. Now, with a cue, its body stretched upward like a spring, then compressed downward.

Similar to before, but this time, Dolai shot up like a rocket and vanished from sight.

The next moment,

Crash—

A massive weight crushed the branch and toppled the tree, but at the last second, the sly spear-thrower dodged.

Broken branches and scattered leaves flew everywhere amid the messy thicket. The spear-thrower glared fiercely at Dolai.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh—

With lightning speed, it hurled Wooden Spears one after another, each striking Dolai’s body, causing it to shudder and sway violently.

Pain! So much pain!

At this moment, Dolai finally understood why Brother Deadbone always said goblins had a death wish—it wholeheartedly agreed, gurgle!

「Goblin Spear-Thrower (Two-Star): Tier Zero, Level 9.」

Its skin was dark green, its stature short but not hunched, with arms boasting explosive muscle power. A necklace of sharp teeth around its neck hinted at a distinguished status, and the Wooden Spears on its back were thicker, longer, and more refined than common throwing spears.

It seemed to be the leader of this goblin group, almost a mini-boss elite.

However, the Goblin Spear-Thrower was somewhat bewildered; its rapid spear throws seemed ineffective against Dolai.

As if realizing something, it pulled out a crumpled, pale-red Scroll from its person, aimed at Dolai, and tore it open forcefully.

Whoosh—

A ball of flame erupted, rolling fiercely toward Dolai.Dolai, with its limited combat experience, was utterly bewildered. Instinctively, it opened its mouth wide and swallowed the ball of flame in one gulp.

Burp~

It let out a satisfied belch, exhaling a faint scent of gunpowder.

Goblin Leader: “???”

Mu Yuan: “???”

Dolai: Tastes pretty good, actually.

…

The goblins met an undignified end. After the death of their little leader, the remaining goblins finally reverted to their true nature, scattering in all directions.

Of course, Mu Yuan didn’t let a single one escape. He ordered Bone Two, Dolai, and other troops to pursue them for hundreds of meters, pulverizing every last goblin that had maxed out their path to death.

Only then did Mu Yuan wipe the sweat from his brow, finally having a moment to reflect on what had just happened.

Without a doubt, he had been ambushed. These goblins had deliberately lain in wait here to launch a surprise attack.

Even the War Falcon’s reconnaissance had failed to detect anything unusual beforehand.

Admittedly, he had been somewhat careless himself. Since this area was close to the territory with sparse monster activity, if he had sent Skeleton Soldiers to conduct a carpet search two hundred meters ahead, he would certainly have discovered the goblins hiding in the bushes.

“Monsters attacking player territories isn’t unusual, but well-equipped goblins capable of ambushes and sneak attacks targeting a novice Lord like me? That’s just excessive.”

Mu Yuan suspected that he had been spotted while scouting the northern Goblin Camp.

But could a mere Camp-level goblin group be this elite?

He wasn’t sure, but regardless, he was putting this grudge on their tab for now.

(End of Chapter)