Bouncing along, Farmas slowly arrived at the great bridge of Mondstadt. The surface of Cider Lake shimmered in the light, where a few plump ducks paddled about without a care in the world. Now and then, fish leapt from the water in silver flashes.
But what caught Farmas's attention was a knight in full armor stationed at the bridge.
"A Knight of Favonius? Or maybe one of the Boreal Knights?"
Hiding behind a bridge pillar, Farmas peeked at the fully armed knight. In his current state—just an ordinary Pyro Slime—strolling into the city would get him mistaken for a monster and wiped out instantly.
"If I die now, there's no respawn this time."
Farmas wobbled anxiously as he stared at the two knights guarding Mondstadt's gate. But if he didn't enter the city… how was he supposed to find the God of Freedom, Barbatos?
Just as he fretted, strange noises reached his ears.
"!@｜#%"
Farmas turned his head to see several Geo Slimes.
"!@#｜%%"
The odd noises were coming from them. The lead Geo Slime chirped and burbled a string of incomprehensible syllables.
But for Farmas—formerly a Flame Archon, and now a slime—understanding the language of his own kind was child's play.
Roughly translated, the Geo Slime was saying: "Bro, what's this? Trying to enter the city?"
The Geo Slime spoke while giving Farmas a wide, cocky grin across its earthy-colored face.
"Big bro? You got a way?"
Forced by circumstance, Farmas looked at the slime with genuine curiosity and asked cautiously.
"Of course! I've gathered a whole bunch of siblings and drawn up a perfect plan for invading Mondstadt!"
The slimes behind it hopped energetically, clearly supporting their leader.
"We call this operation: The Great Round-and-Roll Riot!"
If Farmas had hands, he would've smacked his forehead. Who names their plan like a daily commission? And such an ominous one at that…
"So? Wanna join? I got some Anemo Slimes too. You team up with them, do a Pyro Swirl, and boom—burn Mondstadt down."
Farmas stared wordlessly as the Geo Slime rattled on excitedly. He reluctantly agreed, but immediately decided to ditch the group mid-chaos and sneak in alone.
"Great! With you on board, our plan's even better! This one's gonna blow A Little Step for Hilichurls out of the water!"
Farmas felt a bad premonition crawl up his nonexistent spine.
"Big bro… you also planned A Little Step for Hilichurls… that daily—uh, that invasion mission?"
"Of course! We failed, but the Hilichurl priest at Windrise loved my plan. Next time he'll call in a Stonehide Lawachurl—then we'll definitely… hehe…"
Farmas was utterly speechless. After settling the time and place for the "invasion," he hopped to the lake's edge to take a look at his new appearance.
Flames spread across the grass, and using the crystal-clear surface of Cider Lake as a mirror, he saw a deep-red Slime with two big oval eyes—cute and harmless-looking.
"Morax! I'm gonna get my revenge! REVENGE!"
Farmas gathered strength and spat two Pyro orbs into the lake.
————————————
The next night.
"Bro, we'll invade from the side gate. There's only this young knight called Guy guarding it. We scare him a bit, then we can raid Mondstadt's supply stock!"
Farmas looked past the Geo Slime and finally understood slime logic on a spiritual level.
Behind the Geo Slime were three Hydro Slimes, two Anemo Slimes, two Electro Slimes, two Cryo Slimes, and Farmas himself—twelve slimes total.
"Any Vision holder could wipe this entire group with one combo…"
Farmas quietly distanced himself. He definitely did not want to get hit with Superconduct or Vaporize.
"Brothers—charge!"
The Geo Slime led the assault. Farmas, trailing at the rear, could barely make out the young knight—Guy—whose face twisted in horror as he shouted toward the city:
"Knights of Favonius! Alert! Slime invasion!"
Farmas, once human, understood him perfectly. The Geo Slime didn't. It saw Guy's panicked face and immediately assumed victory, gleefully spitting a chunk of Geo crystal at him.
The crystal shot straight for Guy, who tried blocking with his dull training sword—but the force knocked him flat on his backside, sending his weapon flying.
"Hahaha! Grab the goods!"
The Geo Slime yelled proudly as it rushed toward the supply crates stacked inside the side gate.
"Huh? Where's Miss Hertha, the logistics chief?"
Farmas, always slacking behind the slime squad, slipped into Mondstadt amid the chaos. He quietly devoured a few bottles of precious Flaming Essential Oils. Watching the slimes devour raw meat with gusto, he sighed.
"Eat the matching elemental oils, brothers…"
He nudged a nearby Geo Slime.
"This—Geo Essential Oil."
The slime blinked, then gulped it down. Its body swelled significantly.
Seeing the effect, the slimes turned and began devouring any oil bottles they could find.
Farmas was just about to slip away from the chaos and sneak deeper into Mondstadt when two figures appeared in front of the slime squad—a tall red-haired man wielding a greatsword, and a petite armored girl beside him.
"Master Diluc, please help clear out these invading monsters."
It was none other than Miss Hertha and Mondstadt's legendary Darknight Hero—Diluc.
The moment Farmas saw them, a primal sense of danger exploded in his mind.
"RUN!"
He only had time to shout a warning to the still-eating slimes before sprinting back toward the gate.
"By my judgment…"
A blazing phoenix erupted from Diluc's greatsword. Farmas felt searing flames behind him, and the swirl of Electro and Cryo elements turned wildly turbulent.