Slime True Immortal

The Filthy Demon Ea's blood-red eyes calmly lowered, sweeping over the bowed head of Hammerbone.

With a flicker of his figure, he leaped down from the back of the giant Filthy Descendant. His hooves, covered in obsidian-like carapace, landed on the rubble-strewn ground with a dull thud.

He strode directly toward the fortress, not even turning his head as he commanded in a hoarse voice, "Have your Army Commander come out to see me."

Hammerbone's burly frame trembled slightly. Steeling himself, he said, "Lord Ea, the Army Commander is currently undergoing his trial. You can ask me about anything."

Ea's footsteps halted. He turned around, his gaze focusing on Hammerbone, and said with interest, "Excellent. Then, from this moment on, I am the Army Commander. Do you have any objections?"

"Uh..."

Hammerbone's throat went dry. He was momentarily speechless, his hand subconsciously tightening around his mace as he fell into hesitation.

While he was still hesitating, Grumg, standing to the side, had already opened his mouth wide, letting out a laugh. Leaning on his staff, he took a step forward and performed a salute toward Ea.

"Grumg pays his respects to our new Army Commander of profound wisdom—Lord Ea!"

His voice was loud and booming, filled with undisguised flattery and obedience. The surrounding goblins clad in fine iron armor looked at each other, their gazes turning toward Hammerbone, the highest-ranking figure present, as if waiting for his final decision.

At the same time, Hammerbone felt Ea's gaze upon him. He had no doubt that if he showed the slightest hesitation, this demon would not hesitate to feed him to those Filthy Descendants.

In the face of absolute power and the terror of the Abyss, so-called loyalty seemed so pale and powerless.

His massive head bowed even lower. Using a roar to cover his struggle, he shouted loudly, "Hammerbone pays his respects to Army Commander Ea!"

His mountain-bear-like, robust, and burly frame appeared so insignificant and humble before this demon. It was hard to imagine that a bugbear, notorious for its cunning and brutality, could ever be so humble, even fearful.

Ea gave a slight nod, as if this was all as it should be, showing no surprise whatsoever.

He no longer paid attention to these green-skinned creatures, who were no different from food in his eyes. Turning around, he continued walking, preparing to step into the stone fortress that symbolized the change of power.

However, just as his hoof was about to cross the threshold of the giant stone fortress, he seemed to remember something. His steps paused once more as he asked in that raspy voice, "While active in this swamp, have you ever seen a combination of an undead and a crow?"

"Oh, right. This undead can use natural power. That crow is very noisy."

As he spoke these words, a trace of wariness mixed into his originally calm tone.

That's right. He was precisely that Filthy Demon who had previously lain dormant in the dungeon of the Eastern Swamp, nearly driven to a dead end by Arthur, and ultimately fled in disarray.

As for the so-called name "Ea," it was merely a code name bestowed upon him by that Greater Demon when he pledged allegiance in the Golden Radiance Valley.

In the Common Tongue, it meant "filthy" or "unclean"—not exactly a glorious title.

But a true demon possessing great power would never easily reveal his true name to outsiders.

Exposing one's true name meant exposing one's scent as prey in the dark forest, enough to attract terrifying hunters.

After his defeat at the hands of that nature-blessed Death Knight, he had wandered southwest, surviving dangers like adventurer bounties and magical creature hunts, and ultimately stumbled into the Golden Radiance Valley by chance.

There, relying on his cunning and thirst for power, he successfully caught the attention of that Greater Demon, completed the soul-trading ritual, and obtained even greater strength.

He thought about returning to this swamp, where he had suffered humiliation, every single moment.

He wanted to wash away the mark of his failure and restore the terrifying reputation of the Filthy Demon Scourge.

In the scenario he had envisioned countless times in his mind, he would drown that damned Death Knight, along with his laughable natural power, in an endless tide of Filthy Descendants.

He would imprison his soul, scorching it day and night with the most malicious flames, making him the soul fuel for his future ascension to the Greater Demon rank.

If not for this obsession, he would never have volunteered to return here.

As for helping these weak and foolish green-skinned creatures? That was even more laughable!

In his eyes, these goblins, bugbears, and even that ogre mage were nothing more than strategically useful miners and cannon fodder.

He even understood clearly that the true power behind the scenes of this army, from beginning to end, cared only about the mineral resources within Riftrock Pass.

The life of a single goblin was worth even less than a vial of Magical Dust.

The goblins looked at each other, their faces filled with bewilderment, shaking their heads one after another to indicate they hadn't seen such a thing.

Hammerbone did have a vague impression of "crow," but in his understanding, the swamp's main enemies had always been those Slimes. He had never seen any powerful undead force.

Thus, he answered in a booming voice, "Reporting, Army Commander. We have never seen the undead and crow you described in the swamp."

"The enemies we have currently confirmed are a group of cunning Slimes."

"Slimes? That is interesting."

Ea's eyes flickered with light.

Regarding the intelligence on Slimes, he had already studied it thoroughly through Grumg and other channels before deciding to return.

This was the basic competence of a qualified Abyssal strategist, not worth mentioning.

He hadn't expected that besides that strange Death Knight and noisy crow, this swamp also harbored strange Slimes capable of establishing a kingdom.

It was making him more and more interested.

With Hammerbone and Grumg leading the way, Ea quickly inspected the entire fortress, including the petrified dragon corpse in the main mine shaft deep within.

But what left Hammerbone somewhat puzzled was that this new Army Commander seemed rather uninterested in these things. Instead, he was more interested in that planar rift.

After he personally entered the rift, surveyed the frozen tundra beyond, and returned, he directly finalized the army's next course of action.

"Immediately procure large quantities of cold-resistant furs and anti-freeze potions."

"Then, dispatch your most elite warriors and occupy that tundra behind this planar rift for me."

Hammerbone scratched his scar-covered bald head, his face filled with confusion. "Army Commander, but... there's nothing in that tundra except freezing winds. What's the use of occupying it?"

Ea glanced at him. "Foolish. The fissures nearby are all interconnected. The area behind this planar rift is undoubtedly an important strategic location."

His dark red pupils flickered with ambitious light. "As long as we firmly control this place and establish a stable outpost..."

"Not to mention that small swamp to the east, even the Dark Realm to the south and the distant southern kingdoms, our army can achieve rapid deployment through this network."

"My children... need more flesh, blood, and souls as sustenance."

"These creatures of the Prime Material Plane, with their weak souls yet occupying fertile lands, have been living in peace for far too long. It is time to reclaim everything from them."