Slime Immortal.

Chapter 80: All locked up in a small dark room
An outpost on the edge of the swamp forest.

Compared to the storm and clamor brewing in the Gray Mist Lake dungeon, it is much quieter here.

The bright sunshine poured down, penetrating the sparse treetops and casting mottled, swaying spots of light on the soft, moist black soil.

"Bang Bang Bang..."

A ball of slime squatted limply on the edge of the unfinished low wall, waving oak branches carefully, like a hardworking little craftsman, building the last wall of the outpost.

Next to the outpost is a newly cultivated flower bed, planted with daisies, wild lily of the valley, a few clusters of unknown purple star-shaped flowers, and butterflies and bees attracted by the fragrance of the flowers.

The flower bed is not big, but it is full of vitality, like a freshly washed colorful velvet carpet on the edge of the dark green forest.

At this time, Arthur was kneeling on one knee beside the flower bed, carefully planting a light blue flower, and then watering and fertilizing it.

The movements were clumsy but extremely serious, as if they were performing a pious ritual.

After doing all this, he slowly stood up and looked at the colorful world bathed in the sun. It took him a long time to come back to his senses. A warm current seemed to be rising quietly from the place where his heart had stopped beating long ago.

Serenity... contentment...

These words, which belong to the living, were now so clearly imprinted in his perception.

Perhaps... Your Majesty is right.

Protecting this vitality and witnessing life sprout and bloom in the soil, farming itself is also a test.

At this moment, the noise of weapons clashing came from outside the swamp forest, interrupting his thoughts.

Arthur turned to look at the earth slime on the wall, which was still diligently building an outpost with a "bang bang bang" sound, and asked in his serious tone:

"Your Majesty, there seems to be a fight outside."

The little slime stopped what he was doing, thought for a moment, and then jumped into his arms.

"fight?"

"Oh, it's nothing. It's probably the adventurers over at Graymist Lake having a party."

"You know, those guys are busy all year round, so it's normal for them to make some noise."

Arthur: "..."

He tried to understand the connection between "party" and the roar of weapons he had just heard.

In the end, he chose to absolutely trust His Majesty's unfathomable wisdom.

"Understood, Your Majesty." He nodded solemnly, his gaze returning to his flower garden, focusing on the trial of farming.

Chen Yu shook his body with satisfaction.

What a worry-free employee.

And the flowers are grown really well. I'll ask Earl Bran to learn from him and stop thinking about his spirit stones all day long.

As for the dungeon, his "gift" for the Rusty Key Thief was almost ready.

……

Underground city.

In the damp and dim underground passage, two figures walked close to the cold stone wall, like geckos blending into the shadows.

A thief with a scar on his face lowered his voice.

"Hey, Jimmy, that 'Miracle' Arno guy is deliberately provoking the guild and luring us in. He might have set a trap long ago."

"The president has already informed us in advance that we are forbidden from entering the dungeon."

"If we go in, will it be..."

The thief he called "Jimmy" shook his head.

"A trap? Scarface, you're more courageous than a goblin's asshole. Can you eat the president's words?"

"Think about it, how much is the head of 'Miracle' Arno worth? Think about the gold coins he has on him. That's enough for my brother and I to clear our names and return to the kingdom to live comfortably for the rest of our lives."

"It's a thousand times better than living in this damn place in fear. President? Fuck the president! The one who gets the gold coins is the real president!"

"As for the risks... Ha, Scarface, you know who we are. For people like us who live in the gutter, every mission we carry out is risk-free. Failure is inevitable. We might as well take this opportunity to make a fortune and retire early."

"And that guy fled into the 'Swamp Fog Area', thinking he was safe hiding in the fog. Stupid! That place is a natural hunting ground for thieves."

"A knight's squire wouldn't frighten you, would he?"

Scarface thought about the bright prospects Jimmy had described, and his Adam's apple rolled. He gritted his teeth and said fiercely:

"You're right, damn it!" "Let's go."

Like ghosts, the two men silently merged into the shadows of the passage again and sneaked towards the ominous fog area.

Shortly after they disappeared, two other figures emerged from the fork in the road on the other side of the passage.

A tall and straight figure, wearing light leather armor that is convenient for movement, with long brown chestnut hair tied behind her head, is Alice.

She was accompanied by an equally capable young adjutant, Karen.

Karen looked in the direction where the thief disappeared, with a hint of surprise and emotion on his face:

"That brat Arno is so powerful now, he dares to challenge the mad dogs of 'Rusty Key' single-handedly?"

Alice's eyes were as calm as water.

"People always change, but courage alone is not enough. He needs to be able to lure the snake out of its hole and kill it."

"But 'Rusty Key' can't even control his own men, allowing them to go out and seek death. It seems they're rotten to the core too."

Karen asked, "Arno has entered the foggy area and is being targeted by the rats from the 'Rusty Key'. He's probably in danger. Should we…"

Alice stepped forward, her target also being the swirling fog.

"Follow him and see, 'Weasel' Moriarty. It's very likely that our wanted target is also targeting him."

Deep in the dungeon fog area.

White mist filled the air.

Arno leaned against a huge, cold mushroom rock and, following his boss' instructions, carefully placed the last small white stone with strange patterns carved on it in several specific crevices of the rock.

Then prepare to return to where you started.

But as soon as he turned around, he saw a tall black shadow emerging from the fog.

It was a fortress.

In just over ten minutes, a small fortress built of mud, rocks, fungi, wood and vines suddenly rose from the mud.

Although it was just a temporary fortress that was not very solid, the speed of its construction was simply astonishing.

"Yano, are you done with the little gadget I asked you to set up?"

Arno came back to his senses from his daze and quickly pointed to a few places around him: "Okay, okay, everything is placed where you said."

"Boss, this... is this a magic circle?"

Magic circles are rare, and he was extremely curious, staring at the fortress and the places where the stones were buried.

Chen Yu did not answer, but placed four gray gravel spirit stones into a reserved groove in the center of the fortress.

"Om-!"

A low humming sounded, as if coming from underground.

In an instant, the rune-carved array bases placed by Arno on the ground around the fortress lit up at the same time.

Outside the fortress, the already thick white fog seemed to be attracted by something and rushed towards the magic circle frantically.

The concentration of the fog doubled instantly, turning into a thick wall of fog that could not be dissolved.

And inside the fog wall.

The fog in the fortress itself and the core area where Arno was located was rapidly dissipating and becoming thinner at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Within a few breaths, the vision within a dozen meters around the fortress became clear, as if there was an invisible cover that isolated the deadly fog outside, leaving only the clarity inside.

“This…this is amazing!”

Arno was completely stunned, his mouth opened so wide that a duck egg could fit in.

"Wuhu, it's done."

"Everything is ready. Now we just have to wait for the thieves to come and patronize us."

"Boss, is this a defensive fortification to resist thieves' attacks?"

"What fortifications? This is a small dark room prepared for them."

"A small dark room?"

(End of this chapter)