Chapter 181: Journey to the Slime Lake
Her story with Ammon was beautiful.
Yet it left her with a surreal feeling, as if it were a dream—one too real to believe.
When the dream ended, she feared losing everything, returning to the solitude of her past.
"What's wrong?"
At that moment, Li Meng opened his eyes.
He had intended to sleep, but Vanessa had been silently staring at him.
Unable to ignore her gaze, Li Meng finally opened his eyes.
Vanessa smiled softly and shook her head.
"Sleep. Have a good rest. All your troubles will disappear after a nap!"
Saying this, Li Meng pulled Vanessa into his arms with the hand around her waist.
Vanessa nestled into Li Meng's embrace.
She shifted slightly, finding a comfortable position before closing her eyes.
Time passed slowly, and the palace grew quiet.
Soon, the setting sun disappeared, and darkness enveloped the land.
Night deepened, and the silence lasted until dawn.
Even the longest night must come to an end.
As morning light broke in the eastern sky, a new day was proclaimed.
Early in the morning, Li Meng rose from bed.
"Boss! Bo… Great King!"
Just as Li Meng walked out of the throne hall, Gobu Sheng came running over in haste.
Seeing the diminutive figure of his king emerge from the gates, Gobu Sheng was startled.
His tall frame staggered, nearly causing him to fall.
"Great King, didn't you evolve into a Goblin King? How did you become so small?"
Standing at the entrance, Li Meng stretched lazily.
He glanced down at Gobu Sheng, whose face was full of confusion.
"Big size is inconvenient, so I shrank!"
Gobu Sheng looked toward the throne hall, recalling the rumors from his subordinates that the king had grown nearly five meters tall—like a massive ogre.
Yesterday, when the king returned, Gobu Sheng had been at the Gobuda tribe, so he missed witnessing the king's towering form.
This morning, he had been waiting outside the throne hall, only to be disappointed.
Not only had the king not grown taller, but he had shrunk significantly.
If it weren't for the unchanged scent of the king, Gobu Sheng wouldn't have recognized the goblin before him as their "Great King."
"Great King, is this your ability?"
"Sort of."
Yawning, Li Meng began walking away.
Gobu Sheng quickly followed with a flattering expression.
"Great King, can you show us your majestic form?"
"No way. If I grow, my clothes will tear!"
Leaving through the northern gate of the inner district, Li Meng exited the area.
"Why has the Great King shrunk?"
Wherever he passed, goblins looked on in surprise.
Just yesterday, the king had been enormous.
Why was he suddenly so small today?
"Great King, I… I want to challenge you!"
A goblin warrior abruptly blocked Li Meng's path, nervously raising its spiked mace.
The diminutive size of the Great King gave the goblin an illusion of weakness.
Li Meng glared at the goblin warrior.
With just one look, the goblin warrior's legs gave out, and it fell to its knees.
"Scram. Don't block the way!"
The goblin warrior scrambled away in a panic, drawing laughter from the surrounding goblins.
"Gobu Sheng, go handle your tasks. I'm heading to the Iron Cavern."
With that, Li Meng's figure blurred as he sped off.
In the blink of an eye, he appeared a hundred meters away.
"Boom!"
The ground beneath his feet cracked as he leaped into the sky.
A shockwave rippled outward as he soared upward.
In moments, he became a small black dot, vanishing from sight.
"The Great King is flying!"
"Where? Where?"
The goblins gawked at the sky in astonishment.
How could the Great King suddenly fly?
Even Gobu Sheng was stunned, a relieved look crossing his ugly face.
Earlier, seeing the king so small, he had felt an urge to challenge him.
Luckily, he resisted the temptation.
If the king had gotten angry, Gobu Sheng would likely already be dead.
At that moment, a thousand meters above the ground…
"Can I jump this high?"
Li Meng was also startled by his incredible leap.
He hadn't expected to ascend straight into the skies.
However, recalling his exaggerated stats, he quickly came to terms with it.
Though he had shrunk, his stats remained unchanged.
The difference in size only affected the application of his strength and agility.
In his larger form, he could exert 200% of his strength, whereas his smaller form capped it at 100%.
Conversely, agility increased in his smaller form, as larger sizes required greater agility to maintain balance.
***
Morning. Outside the Iron Cavern.
"Boom!"
With a loud crash, a shadow fell from the sky, slamming into the ground outside the cavern.
The dark ground cracked, forming a large pit.
"My legs feel a bit numb!"
Li Meng shook his numb legs and stepped out of the pit.
Hearing the commotion within the Iron Cavern, Li Meng grinned and leisurely walked inside.
"Bo… Boss?"
Gobu Ge approached cautiously, sniffing the air.
After confirming the familiar scent, Gobu Ge broke into a fawning smile.
"Boss, why are you so tiny again?"
"Smaller size is more convenient. Gobu Ge, how much mithril do we have in storage?"
Gobu Ge turned and pointed toward the underground river.
"Boss, it's all over there!"
Looking toward the shallower section of the underground river, Li Meng saw a stretch of silvery light spanning hundreds of meters, resembling a brilliant Milky Way.
The sight of the riverbed littered with mithril ore came to mind.
"Gather it all. Assemble a team to accompany me. We leave tomorrow!"
Heading to the demon stronghold carried certain risks, so crafting a full set of mithril equipment was necessary.
Even if the ghost beastmen harbored ill intentions, mithril armor would improve his survival odds.
"Boss, I understand. I'll prepare everything."
"Call me Great King!"
While he appreciated being called "Boss," Li Meng preferred the title "Great King."
"Yes, yes, Great King, Great King!"
Gobu Ge's face was plastered with a flattering smile.
A title was just a name, after all—what did it matter?
Having seen the king's true form, Gobu Ge felt that calling him "Great King" was more than fitting.
Li Meng didn't linger in the Iron Cavern. Turning, he left.
Back at the throne hall, Li Meng entered the rear palace, beginning another round of progeny propagation.
For a time, the palace bustled with excitement following the king's return.
The next morning, Li Meng departed for the Iron Cavern once again.
Outside the cavern, a goblin cart team was already on standby.
The carts were loaded with mithril ore of various sizes, along with molds packed into two other carts.
"The Great King is here! The Great King is here!"
When Li Meng emerged from the forest, the cart team erupted in excitement.
Standing at the cavern entrance, Gobu Ge's eyes lit up, and he rushed toward the king.