"So the newcomer benefit is giving me unlimited restart chances? And restarting from the very beginning, not even a save point? What kind of benefit is this..." Long Yixiang's expression was complicated. He didn't know if it was his imagination, but even though she was a goddess, he found her somewhat punchable.
Even bottom-tier students get such a rough deal when transmigrating?... So, is my current script like Halshero or Natsuki Subaru?
But complaining wouldn't solve the problem. Even if he was toyed to death by this sadistic goddess, he should at least put up a fight...
"Whatever, time to work..."
Over the next few hours, he efficiently gathered the items he planned to use: bought a small storage ring at the magitool shop; a knife, sword, armor, crossbow, explosives, and fuses at the weapon shop; salted meat, vegetables, and sausages at the food store; then went to the general store for fishing gear, aromatic agents, and scent masking agent; finally, he bought a map and pigments.
With these prepared supplies, he headed to the Trial Grasslands near the starting town, an area for novice adventurers to gain experience. Following the map's indications, he found several large Slime gathering spots. At each, he buried the explosives, sprinkled a large amount of aromatic powder over them, set up fuses, and placed signs reading "No Entry" at key intersections. After completing all this, he hid in a deserted wooden cabin on the grassland—a spot he had scouted during his first cycle. Now, it was all coming in handy.
For the next few days, he hid in this small cabin, not daring to light a fire, surviving on salted meat and sausages when hungry. As the sun rose and set, he gradually lost track of time. One morning, he felt a slight tremor in the ground. He quickly rolled out of bed, pushed the door open, and looked into the distance.
A glint of light appeared at the end of the road, then multiplied into several points—the sunlight reflecting off the knights' plate armor. In the middle of the procession, a giant beast with a black iron mask had blood-red eyes, and its steps caused slight tremors. It was the power source for that carriage... the dragon carriage. The carriage body was made of ebony, covered in heavy gold decorations. The roof was carved with an intricate cross pattern, an emerald embedded at its very center.
The symbol of the Redemption Domain—this was a contingent of the Truth Church.
Long Yixiang snapped out of his daze instantly and rushed out of the cabin, hurrying to the pre-laid fuse location and throwing himself down into ambush.
Thirty minutes later, the procession arrived nearby. Banners fluttered proudly; from the dragon carriage to the knights' sword hilts, gold and silver glittered everywhere under the sunlight, dazzling and magnificent, an extremely impressive display.
Long Yixiang pulled a flint from his chest, struck it, and lit the fuse. The spark traveled like a snake slithering through the grass toward its target.
Everything was proceeding just as before. Thanks to the experience from his first playthrough, he could handle and utilize the upcoming events with ease during this second run, preparing in advance to steer everything in his desired direction.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
Amid the series of loud explosions behind him, Long Yixiang sprang up and ran for his life like mad. A brief moment of silence was followed by a low rumble in the distance. The ground beneath his feet began to shake, starting faintly but growing steadily stronger, escalating from a slight tremor to a violent shudder, rolling forward like roaring thunder.
Long Yixiang sprinted desperately, scattering scent masking agent over himself as he ran. Just as the distant green cloud surged closer, he dove headfirst into a pile of hay.
Slimes were the most basic monsters. Individually, they had no attack power, almost zero defense. When hit, they would dissolve into a puddle of green water and disappear, becoming nutrients for the grass. One could say even the dumbest novice adventurer could defeat them.
But the weakest existence could unleash power under special circumstances. The aromatic agents made by humans were extracted from the secretions produced by female Slimes upon maturity, with a concentration hundreds of times greater than what occurred naturally.
Long Yixiang used the explosives to fully volatilize the powder, stimulating the male Slimes in the gathering spots. It was currently the Slime maturity season, and such intense stimulation could trigger male Slimes to secrete large amounts of hormones. This made them ignore fear and increased their aggression and group behavior. From one to ten, ten to a hundred—the so-called 'weakest overcoming the strongest.' When the trashiest monsters gathered together, they could almost surpass the strongest individual.
The cloud of green Slimes surged forward like a bursting tidal wave, submerging everything in its path. The procession on the road had clearly noticed the anomaly. A Slime tide of this scale was very rare, occurring near the starting town made it even more unexpected.
The priests and knights were clearly panicked. Escape was impossible. If they chose to fight, facing such a massive Slime tide, their contingent would be but a drop in the ocean, seemingly on the verge of being swallowed whole in an instant.
This was the trap Long Yixiang had set. He knew the Truth Church would be conducting their spring prayers on this day, an annual ritual at the beginning of the year to pray for the world's peace.
The Church placed great importance on this ceremony. On this day, the most outstanding young people from every city and town would gather, and the Church would select promising candidates afterward to recruit and train. During his first cycle, he had first met her at this ceremony. After a series of twists and turns, they eventually ended up together.
But in this cycle, he couldn't wait for so many coincidences; he needed to act now. Therefore, he had to resort to methods like triggering a Slime tide to disrupt the procession.
Although it was somewhat dangerous, Slime tides usually didn't cause large-scale casualties. They held no hatred for humans; they were just eager to mate and had excessive hormone secretion.
Moreover, Long Yixiang had no goodwill towards the Truth Church. Even if these people were washed away by Slimes, he wouldn't mind.
Knights of the Protection Domain stood neatly in front of the dragon carriage, forming a steel wall of shields. Lances of the Judgment Knights protruded from the gaps between shields, threatening the weak green monsters to stay away.
"Tch, like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!" Long Yixiang mocked ruthlessly.
The young male Slimes, yearning for love, immediately demonstrated their energy. The Slime horde crashed head-on into the knight formation. Mountains of Slimes used their clumsy bodies to swing and attack the knights, even denting the massive steel shields.
The Judgment Knights attacked with their lances, but it was minimally effective; each attack only eliminated a few. Compared to the endless Slime tide, this ratio was like trying to put out a burning cart with a cup of water.
"Where did so many Slimes come from!"
As the battle between Slimes and knights raged on, over time, the number of Slimes seemed to increase beyond the knights' expectations.
The Protection Domain Knights struggled to hold their ground, but they gradually felt overwhelmed. The Slimes' assaults grew fiercer. Their liquid bodies were incredibly flexible, able to seep through shield gaps, evade knight attacks, then regroup and launch powerful charges.
The knights fought hard, but they soon found themselves in despair. The Slimes' attacks became more violent. Their liquid bodies entangled the knights, dragging them into the endless sea of Slimes.
The knight brigade's morale began to shatter. No one wanted to admit that these monsters, usually crushable underfoot, had now driven them to such a pathetic state.
"This time, no more pretending, no more posturing, just like a pack of stray dogs! Haha..." Long Yixiang felt immensely pleased inside.
"Let's scatter and run!"
Another wave of Slimes struck. The Protection Knights' shield formation completely collapsed. The team dispersed in chaos. The Slimes didn't split up to chase; they weren't intent on attacking humans, they just wanted to mate.
"The wrath of losers can be really terrifying sometimes..."