The sun was directly overhead when Jiang Cheng looked up. It was noon, and by that time almost the entire forest around her camp had disappeared reduced to bare earth, exposed roots, and hollowed-out trunks. Her slimes had turned the area into a clean circle, as if a monstrous swarm had swept through leaving nothing behind.
Jiang cheng watched with satisfaction though slightly uneasy as the slimes continued devouring the last dry leaves. So far, everything was moving according to plan: consume, multiply, and dominate the secret realm.
But then…
Something changed.
A sharp pull in her mind.
A sudden snap in her spiritual thread.
Two connections vanished instantly.
Jiang Cheng froze.
"...What?" she whispered, frowning.
Another rupture hit seconds later, as if something or someone was killing her slimes without warning.
That shouldn't be possible.
Slimes could die, yes, but not so suddenly, without the slightest hint of resistance or alarm.
"Five evolved ones, with me," she ordered.
The five special slimes lined up around her. Mantis-like blades extended from their gelatinous bodies sharp, gleaming, deadly. Jiang Cheng walked confidently between them as they escorted her toward the place where the mental link had been severed.
As they moved, the smell of blood grew stronger.
And when they arrived…
The scene was a disaster.
The ground was clawed.
A massive tree trunk had been split in half.
Deep gouges scarred the surrounding stones.
And in the middle of the chaos, she found the remains of two of her slimes small puddles of dark gelatin marking a quick and violent death.
"Something big came through here…" she muttered, jaw tensing.
It didn't take long to find the culprit.
From behind some fallen bushes, a deep roar thundered through the trees.
A gigantic bear, with dark fur and a mass of muscle far beyond any normal wild animal, rose onto two legs. It stood nearly three meters tall. Its eyes glowed red, as if mutated by the secret realm's influence, blazing with fury at the sight of the slimes.
The monster lunged.
The five evolved slimes reacted instantly.
The metallic sound of mantis-blades cutting through the air filled the area. The battle erupted without warning.
The bear slammed a massive paw into the ground, shaking the earth. One slime rolled from the shock but didn't burst; instead, it slid aside, dodging the next attack.
Another slime leapt high, its blade descending in a perfect arc.
The slash tore a line of blood across the monster's shoulder.
The roar that followed was so loud Jiang Cheng had to cover her ears.
But the slimes didn't stop.
"Attack without pause," she commanded firmly.
The five of them moved like a coordinated dance:
jumping, cutting, retreating, stretching, lunging again.
One clung to the bear's back; another cut into its hind legs; another slithered beneath its belly to carve deep wounds.
The creature fought with savage strength, but it was far too slow compared to the speed of the small monsters.
Eventually, after a frantic, brutal exchange, the bear let out a choked groan, stumbled, and collapsed.
A wet hiss marked the moment the slimes pierced its throat.
The giant beast went still.
The fight was over.
Jiang Cheng approached the corpse. It was enormous much larger than the panther from the night before and brimming with vital energy.
"Feed," she said.
Normal slimes began arriving from all directions, drawn by the scent of blood. They swarmed the fallen body and devoured it without rest.
As she watched, Jiang Cheng noticed something else…
About thirty meters away, a small figure was crouched among the bushes, rummaging through the ground.
A goblin.
The first one she had seen in the entire secret realm.
Green, tiny, with an improvised backpack made of woven leaves. It seemed to be collecting plants, seeds, and natural resources. It moved with the ease of someone who knew the area… but showed no signs of being part of a group.
"A gatherer…" Jiang Cheng thought.
She observed quietly.
She could kill it.
She could order her slimes to tear it apart in seconds.
But she didn't.
"No…" she murmured. "I'll follow you."
Maybe it would lead her to something far more valuable: a village.
And if she found a village…
A smile curved her lips.
Goblins were weak alone.
But if she struck the village smartly, while they were unprepared…
She could take it entirely.
Jiang Cheng and three evolved slimes began following the goblin from afar. They moved slowly, silently, hiding between trees and sliding through shadows.
All afternoon, they tailed him.
The goblin gathered roots, berries, pieces of bark, drops of sap. He didn't look nervous or alert this was clearly safe ground for him.
After nearly two hours of wandering in circles, the goblin stopped at the top of a rocky mound. From there, Jiang Cheng saw what lay ahead.
A small depression.
A creek shining under the sunlight.
And in the middle…
A goblin village.
Not many of them.
About thirty huts made of mud and branches.
Minimal guards.
No signs of beasts or traps.
A poor settlement.
Weak.
Vulnerable.
The goblin descended the hill and entered the village, unaware of anything.
Jiang Cheng watched for a long moment, evaluating.
She could destroy that village.
She could erase it in less than a day.
It was too tempting an opportunity.
But she needed a plan.
A clean strategy.
An attack with no loose ends.
"Let's go back to camp," she finally said.
The evolved slimes escorted her back as the sun set. All the while, Jiang Cheng wore a thoughtful smile.
She had found her first real objective.
And when she returned for that village…
nothing would remain standing.
Jiang Cheng reached camp in a hurry. By then, the bear's body had almost completely vanished beneath the writhing mass of slimes. The air smelled of dried blood and disturbed soil.
The count left her speechless.
Nearly a thousand.
After devouring the bear, the slimes had multiplied at a ridiculous rate. They bounced restlessly, vibrated, piled onto each other like a trembling sea, awaiting her next command.
A cold smile crossed her face.
"Tonight."
The goblin village wasn't big. Night was falling. And the slimes didn't need to see.
Everything fit perfectly.
When the sky turned completely dark, Jiang Cheng walked among the gelatinous sea with a steady pace. She lit no torch; the slimes moved through vibration and energy, not sight. Her five evolved slimes glided beside her, mantis-blades hidden inside their bodies, waiting for her signal.
"All of you, follow me," she whispered.
The entire forest seemed to move with her.
Thousands of tiny bodies advanced in absolute silence. No footsteps, no crackling branches. Only a faint, moist murmur, like rain brushing stone.
That was the true advantage of slimes:
an army of silence.
An army undetectable until it was too late.
As they neared the hollow where the goblin village lay, Jiang Cheng's excitement grew. She stopped behind a rock formation and raised a hand.
The slimes froze instantly, as if they were one creature.
From up there, the village looked peaceful. Firepits glowing. A couple of goblins chatting. Two guards lazily gripping their spears. And in the center, a larger tent the chief's.
Jiang Cheng studied everything carefully.
"The five evolved ones… go there," she whispered, pointing at the chief's tent.
The evolved slimes crawled silently into position around the center.
The rest… only needed a single command.
Jiang Cheng inhaled deeply.
"Attack."
The word left her softly, but the result was devastating.
The slimes slid down the slope like a silent avalanche. A dark tide, almost invisible, creeping across the ground with only the faintest wet whisper. The goblins didn't notice until it was far too late.
The first scream ripped through the night.
A guard stabbed downward, trying to stop a translucent mass climbing up his legs. But when he tried to pull back, it was already too late. Five more slimes wrapped around him, covering him up to the chest. His body trembled… then disappeared beneath the tide.
"GURAA! GURAAAAH!" panicked goblin cries echoed across the village.
But it didn't matter.
There were too many.
The five goblin warriors burst from their huts carrying crude weapons spears, sticks, a rusty sword. They fought desperately, trying to strike, smash, push. Each attack sliced through a slime… only for it to re-form instantly and wrap around the weapon or their limbs.
One warrior screamed as a slime burrowed into his chest, devouring from within. His eyes rolled back. He collapsed lifelessly.
Another warrior leapt onto a rock for leverage, but two slimes pulled him down, covering his face and torso until he stopped moving.
A third tried to shield a group of fleeing female goblins, but twenty slimes engulfed him entirely. His spear fell before he did.
The last two warriors fought back-to-back. One wielded the rusty sword with surprising skill, slicing slimes repeatedly. Each cut split the gelatinous bodies in half… but both halves rejoined before hitting the ground.
The other defended with his spear, pushing furiously.
Jiang Cheng watched from afar, hidden between fallen trees. She felt nothing. No hatred, no joy. Only analysis.
They were stronger than the others… but not enough.
"That's enough," she murmured.
The five evolved slimes emerged from the shadows.
Their natural blades gleamed under the flickering firelight.
In a single motion:
One decapitated the sword-wielding goblin.
Another sliced through the other warrior's spear.
Three more struck from different angles.
The final two warriors fell before they could even scream.
The chief finally emerged from the central tent.
Massive for a goblin. Muscular, with scars carving his arms. His dark-green skin shone in the fire's glow. In his hand, he held a solid spear far better crafted than the others.
"GRAAAAH!" he roared, pointing at the slimes. "ABOM! ABOMAAAAH!"
Despite the chaos, he didn't retreat.
He charged into the slime army, spear swinging in a powerful arc.
The first strike pierced five slimes at once.
The second shattered three more.
He had strength.
He had technique.
He had courage.
But it didn't matter.
An army of a thousand slimes was not a fair fight.
The five evolved ones stepped forward.
The chief roared again, thrusting the spear.
One evolved slime leapt, coiling around the weapon. The chief tried to pull back, but another slime sliced his fingers clean. The spear fell.
The chief staggered, shocked.
He didn't get a chance to recover.
Three evolved slimes attacked at once:
One blade pierced his side.
Another tore open his chest.
A third slit his throat from end to end.
The goblin gave a choking sound and dropped to his knees.
He tried to rise.
Tried to breathe.
Tried to fight.
But the slime army swallowed him instantly.
His body vanished under the tide within seconds.
By the time everything was over, the village no longer existed.
Homes destroyed, the ground covered in wet marks, fires extinguished beneath the weight of countless gelatinous bodies.
The slimes devoured wood, food, bones—anything organic they could find.
Jiang Cheng descended calmly, surveying the devastation she had caused.
The first village had fallen.
Completely.
Nothing remained alive.
"Well done," she whispered, patting one of the evolved slimes as it approached.
But as the night deepened, a new idea formed in her mind.
If one village had fallen this easily…
How many more existed in the secret realm?
How many could she destroy before the week ended?
Her smile widened.
The massacre was only beginning.