"Gu~ gu~"

Deep within the Dusk Forest, the light was dim. An owl perched on a faintly glowing branch, its small head swiveling agilely, using Darkvision to search for prey below.

But soon a dull, continuous rumble abruptly shattered the forest’s silence.

Through the owl’s view, the outline of a massive creature barreled in roughly. It ignored the thorny brambles that could pierce leather armor, paid no mind to the towering trees, and wherever it passed, thick trunks groaned under the strain and crashed down.

"Gu—!"

The owl flapped in alarm and took off. The very next second, the tree it had been roosting on was struck down by the giant beast, then chewed and swallowed with a crunchy, grinding sound by a maw that seemed capable of devouring everything.

On Peachy’s broad back, Count Bran stood with his wings on his hips and his head held high, imagining himself as a dignified captain steering a great ship through raging waves. No matter how the vessel rocked, he maintained boundless confidence in his control.

"Your Majesty, it looks like the forest end is just ahead!" Count Bran called over his shoulder.

A small Slime split off from Chen Yu’s main body, bouncing nimbly and in a few hops landing on Peachy’s spine.

"Peachy, stop and rest."

"Hmm~"

Peachy obediently emitted a long snort and halted in a rare open clearing within the forest. The huge body slowly lowered to the ground.

The exhausted Magical Creature Army finally had a chance to rest, stopping and emitting low, buzzing murmurs.

Count Bran unfolded a well-worn map and reported to the small Slime at his side, "Your Majesty, the outskirts of the Obsidian Mining Area are not far ahead. What shall we do now?"

A gleam of eagerness flashed in his little eyes as the tip of his wing pointed to the map’s marker for the mining area. "Why not just smash our way in? Clean out that nest of Green-skinned Shorties?"

There was a hint of excitement in his words, a lust for conquest, territorial claims, plump bugs, and glittering treasures.

The small Slime wobbled with a soft plop.

"We can’t win."

With the current scale of the Magical Creature Army, harassing a scouting detachment would be doable, but if they truly angered the Goblins and the Goblin Army’s main force pushed east, he would likely have to move his base.

The scales weren’t even comparable.

Unless he could make a "Goblin Ripper."

Still, the Riftrock Pass lay above the Obsidian Mining Area, which meant they weren’t far from Rootwhisper Forest.

If he could map the terrain and find the right opportunity, bringing Arthur back wouldn’t be hard.

Right now, however, he had a more pressing matter—to establish an Obsidian Outpost in this secluded forest to monitor Goblin movements... and, on the side, secretly mine some precious Gray Gravel Crystal.

Hehe...

He was desperately short of Gray Gravel Crystal.

And he needed high-quality pieces to serve as the core for the "Goblin Ripper."

That meant mining right under the Goblins’ noses without being discovered.

He needed skilled, efficient miners.

"Miners? This dungeon has the most miners you could ask for."

The small Slime plopped over to Count Bran and tapped his wing with a gel hand.

"Count Bran, the Kingdom needs Gray Gravel Crystal, lots and lots of Gray Gravel Crystal, quietly mined right under the Goblins’ noses."

Count Bran scratched his head in confusion. "That dusty stuff? Only some mages like that. Are you planning to open an alchemy shop and make Magical Dust to trade with humans?"

"You’ll see later." Chen Yu blinked, teasing a little mystery.

"I have an important task for you now. Lead the Wasp Guard out of the Dusk Forest and help me catch a few earthworms—bring back as many as you can."

Seeing His Majesty act so secretive made Count Bran itch with curiosity, but he was delighted at the chance to catch worms.

"Ga-ga, leave it to me, Count Bran!"

Catching insects was his specialty.

He could swear no Magical Creature in the Kingdom was better at catching bugs than he was.

Count Bran led the Wasp Guard away, while Chen Yu stayed to guard the camp and prepare the construction of the Obsidian Outpost.

Of course, before construction could begin, he had to ensure the site wouldn’t be disturbed by Goblins.

"Plop, plop."

Chubby One and his Nanny Brother decomposed and fell back off him.

Reappearing was the stealth-specialized Chubby One equipped with Stealth and Evaporative Illusion.

Its body color seemed better able to blend into shadow, and its surface showed faint signs of steaming moisture.

Nanny Brother shouldered the Chubby One loaded with Stone Swords and they squirmed into the brambles with soft plops.

They would infiltrate the Obsidian Mining Area through the nearest passage to enter the Goblin Army’s stronghold and gather intelligence.

This mission was perilous enough that they might not return.

...

"Plop plop..."

In the empty, dim underground passage, the springy sounds echoed softly off the rock walls.

"Hmm?"

Two well-equipped Goblins patrolling with torches halted immediately and grew alert. The one-eyed Goblin raised his torch high, the yellow light sweeping across rough rock and scattered stones.

"Did you hear that? Just now... something was making a sound?"

"You’ve been driven crazy by those slaves," his companion muttered impatiently. "Those troublemakers who dared resist were all hung up and beaten into submission, weren’t they? Relax, friend. This is our turf."

He shoved his partner and resumed walking.

The one-eyed Goblin cast a suspicious glance around and, seeing nothing unusual, swore under his breath and trailed after him.

Shortly after their footsteps faded, the previously bland rock face along one side of the passage began to dissolve like mist blown by wind, silently revealing the Chubby One and Nanny Brother pressed against it.

Who would have thought Evaporative Illusion worked so well for infiltration?

Chen Yu’s confidence in the infiltration rose immediately;

he directed the two brothers onward along the passage.

"Plop plop..."

Nanny Brother carried Chubby One, nimbly circling out from the passage mouth and slipping into a dense shadow cast by giant stone pillars.

"A! Kukaru... (Shift change time?)"

"Jigu! (Not yet, hold your post!)"

Ahead, a fierce fortress built of rough obsidian loomed at the west side of the vast cavern.

A dozen or so Goblin Soldiers patrolled atop the battlements, talking as they walked. Bows and slings lay within easy reach, eyes scanning below as if any twitch would draw an arrow or a volley of stone.

Chubby One maintained his illusion, perfectly mimicking the rough rock behind him;

even the play of light and shadow was convincingly real.

Nanny Brother pressed close to Chubby One, inching forward within the shadow at the fortress’s base.

Chen Yu guessed that the true Obsidian Mining Area lay behind this small fortress, which explained the heavy guard.

Fortunately, the Goblin Army seemed unconcerned about infiltration from the east—they hadn’t set up a reconnaissance magic formation here—so the two little fellows easily slipped along the wall.

Using illusion and shadows, they slid without incident to the thick fortress gate, and at a guard’s momentary turn, like two slippery loaches, they wriggled through the gap.

Instantly, a blast of heat, sweat, sulfur, and the clang of metal hit them.

"Clang clang! Clang clang!"

A dense, grating chorus of metal on metal rang out, relentless as if never ending.

"Hurry up and work! You lazy maggots, want to feel the whip?"

The foreman’s sharp curses and the crack of a leather whip were unceasing.

The two little guys looked up and their view opened wide: before them stretched a colossal underground world.

Far across the rock face, crude wooden scaffolds and lifting platforms had been erected densely.

Tattered-clothed humans with vacant eyes, dwarves with bulging muscles shackled in heavy irons, and even other scrawny humanoid races hunched over, gouging at the exposed coarse ore with makeshift tools.

Heavy ore was loaded into baskets or pushed in wagons, then hauled by these slaves deeper into tunnels that disappeared into the other side of the cavern.

On the other side of the mining area were rows of squat, cramped huts built from black stone and rudimentary slave camps ringed with rough wooden fences, packed with more numbed figures waiting to "go to work" or "rest."

Chen Yu was still curiously scanning when his gaze snagged on a chunk of ore lying among the waste pile and could not look away.

Gray Gravel Crystal!

And it was a raw piece large enough to fill a palm!

It lay casually dropped beside a heap of broken rock and tailings, and seeing it made Chen Yu ache with frustration.

Damn Goblins.

How dare they treat his ore like this.