Life absorbs, evolves, and advances.
In the western reaches of the Silva Empire, upon a hilly region where roots and vines intertwined.
Emperor Drian was inspecting the site for a new barracks.
Tarvan followed behind her.
Between the tree trunks rising from beneath the earth, slime cores were piled up.
Perhaps because they were the result of several life cores and wave cores being fused together, each slime core was about twice as large.
Tarvan said,
“Unlike Ignis, we can receive as many wave cores as we need from Aqua. Thanks to that, we will be able to produce dual-attribute core troops before Ignis does.”
“Of course.”
Drian answered in a low voice.
“Especially cores born from attributes that oppose each other are undesirable. Now it is time to prove that our cores are worth more than theirs.”
The slime cores were born from the fusion of the aura of water and the aura of wood.
By contrast, the golden cores were the result of the aura of fire meeting the aura of metal.
Drian fell silently into thought.
“Aqua’s water can extinguish Ignis’s fire. But our wood feeds their fire. Meanwhile, water has little effect on metal, and we are, in fact, weak against metal.”
At Drian’s words, Tarvan’s expression turned grave.
He spoke carefully to Drian.
“Then are our slime cores weaker than the golden cores?”
Drian shook her head.
“No. We must be wary of metal, but if our power is stronger, metal cannot harm us. A battle against metal is fought from an unequal position, but it is not as though we have no chance of defeating them.”
Tarvan listened to her in silence.
Drian continued.
“It is the same from their perspective. Fire is weak against water, and though it receives aid from our wood, fire in turn does not affect wood. Also, metal can cut our wood, but it contains water and creates waterways for it. Since the relationship of mutual generation does not occur in reverse, excluding that, one generation and one overcoming cancel each other out. If fire overwhelms water and attempts an insulting relationship, then one insult would be added, and gold would hold the advantage.”
Tarvan slowly nodded.
“I believe I understand. Conversely, from the perspective of our slime cores, water suppresses fire and wood feeds fire, so one overcoming and one generation cancel each other out. But if the aura of our wood overwhelms metal, then it becomes one insult, meaning there is also the possibility that slime will be stronger.”
“Correct. In the end, the outcome between slime and gold will be decided by which side’s aura is stronger.”
From the standpoint of Silva and Aqua, the mere fact that they had created a core equal in power to Ignis’s golden core was enough for them to get ahead.
While Ignis would have to attempt another invasion of Metallum in order to secure Metallum’s metal cores, Silva and Aqua could provide each other with the cores they needed at any time.
Tarvan said,
“It seems we have secured enough slime cores.”
“Good.”
Drian nodded and stretched her hand toward the sky.
The piled slime cores began to glow, and from their form, which resembled viscous liquid, a thick and elongated shape began to grow as though living life were being born.
Soon, they intertwined and gathered together, forming one enormous building.
This barracks, constructed on the foundation of slime cores, had a shape different from the barracks created with life cores.
It was a structure made not of matter as hard as wood, but solely of an organism’s fibers and mucous membranes.
And some time later, a new type of soldier was born from the slime core barracks.
The name of that troop type was the Slime Infantry.
The first Slime Infantryman quietly walked out from inside the barracks.
The Slime Infantryman had a half-transparent body, and within it, some organism flowing through him shimmered like a wave pattern.
Thin nerve fibers spread throughout his entire body, and his legs and arms moved fluidly, yet were sturdy enough to support his body.
Bramir, who arrived shortly afterward, looked at the Slime Infantryman and asked Tarvan,
“Perhaps because it is mixed with Aqua’s aura, its form is understandable, but does it have no weapons or armor?”
Tarvan answered calmly.
“The weapons and armor will be made in Aqua’s way.”
No sooner had Tarvan finished speaking than the Slime Infantryman slowly moved his body again.
His movements were smooth, yet his balance was stable.
“Hah!”
With one short shout, the Slime Infantryman transformed his arm into a spear.
His body also became harder than before.
After examining the Slime Infantryman, Drian spoke in a low voice.
“This is akin to evolution. It is the result of possessing both the attributes of life and wave.”
Now, the other slime cores inside the barracks began to pulse as well.
Soon, new Slime Infantrymen would also be born.
Like the other empires, the citizens of the Silva Empire were born naturally within Silva’s territory, and its soldiers were reborn when those citizens underwent training.
However, the Slime Infantrymen were unique in that they were born from slime cores.
The newly created Slime Infantrymen moved to the training grounds within the barracks and were placed among obstacles and complex terrain installed throughout.
Tarvan said quietly,
“You all possess both the aura of wood and the aura of water. Show us how exceptional you are. On this given terrain, we will determine your combat adaptability.”
The first area was a slope covered in soil.
The existing troop types, the Thicket Infantry and Vine Archers, had to maintain their center of gravity as they took a detour, or fix themselves with roots and slowly descend.
But the Slime Infantrymen flowed lightly up the slope.
They did not even step with their feet, instead using their entire bodies to move up and down without any notable resistance.
The second area was a section where vines were tangled together.
The existing soldiers took some time to avoid the vines, but the Slime Infantrymen lengthened or narrowed their bodies and nimbly passed through the cramped thickets.
Parts of the Slime Infantrymen’s bodies would briefly separate, then reattach and reform their bodies.
Bramir murmured,
“Their response to terrain is excellent. Has Aqua’s combat method been introduced, by any chance?”
Tarvan spoke as though answering him.
“Aqua’s soldiers also move fluidly, but their viscosity is weak, so they can scatter easily. The Slime Infantrymen can hold themselves together even better than they can.”
The final area was a wall blocked off with earth.
The Slime Infantrymen briefly struck the wall and stopped, but then burrowed into it as though seeping through and collapsed the wall.
“Excellent, as expected.”
Drian slowly nodded.
“Aqua’s water requires a great deal of strength to break earth, but our roots can pierce earth with ease. Those things are like water that pierces through the soil.”
On the way back to the citadel, Drian quietly looked over Silva’s existing barracks.
While the citadel had grown to stage three, the barracks still remained at stage two.
“Of course, we must not neglect the training of our own soldiers either. It would be good if Aqua continues to provide cores.”
She stretched her hand over the barracks.
The barracks had now finished preparing to grow by one stage.
The Garden of Council within the citadel.
The vassals of the Silva Empire sat gathered around Drian.
Drian’s voice rang out first.
“I have just completed the growth of the barracks. See to it that we develop our own new troop type as well.”
Tarvan bowed his head.
“Yes. I will carry out your command.”
Drian turned her head and looked west.
“After hearing the details, it seems Terra attacked Aqua, seized a large number of cores, and then delivered them to Metallum. Whatever their intention was, beyond the act of attacking Aqua, the act of offering Aqua’s cores to Metallum is something we cannot tolerate.”
Bramir answered in a grave voice.
“Yes, that is so. Terra’s actions are no different from a provocation not only against Aqua, but against us, Silva, as well. They claim to pursue balance and harmony in words, but in reality, they seem to be driving even greater chaos. We must not leave them be.”
Drian nodded and said,
“We have sufficient justification to attack Terra. How are the Slime Infantrymen’s preparations coming along?”
Tarvan answered,
“The training of the Slime Infantrymen is proceeding smoothly. The first unit has been completed. Furthermore, they are far superior to our existing soldiers.”
Bramir immediately took over.
“They may not have actual combat experience yet, but this battlefield will soon prove the Slime Infantrymen’s capabilities.”
Drian spoke quietly.
“The slime core is a new core born from the meeting of wood’s aura and water’s aura. Our wood is already strong against earth, and while Aqua’s water is originally weaker than earth, a dual-attribute core overwhelms a single-attribute core, so it should be able to surpass earth. The Slime Infantrymen will be able to inflict no small damage upon Terra even with a small force.”
A brief silence passed.
She glanced slightly toward the northwest.
“Aqua still seems to be focusing on defense. They must be preparing a counterattack against Terra as well. But before it grows too late, we shall move first.”
Tarvan nodded and answered,
“That is correct. Not only do I have considerable expectations for the power of the Slime Infantrymen, but as their ally, we cannot pretend not to see this situation.”
Bramir then continued,
“It is also a response to the disruption of the flow. If that response begins from our life, then we can build even greater trust with Aqua.”
Drian said,
“Good. And we will soon become the empire that reestablishes the center. First, we will clear away the existence that shook the balance, and set our roots in its place.”
Her finger pointed to a location on the map atop the table.
It was Terra’s eastern border, a plain region surrounded by stone.
“We will stretch out new roots from this place. This will be the site where our new life is born.”
At the western forest border of the Silva Empire, the trees swayed gently.
The Slime Infantrymen appeared first.
Rather than walking, they flowed over the ground, seeped into it, and advanced by shifting their own weight.
Behind them, the Thicket Infantry and Vine Archers moved forward.
Their appearance was like the sight of a forest on the move.
Outside Silva’s territory, there were no separately maintained roads.
However, the Slime Infantrymen moved naturally, covering whatever lay beneath them, whether ground or rock.
Their movement was not fast, but neither did it stop.
Tarvan commanded them, and not only the Thicket Infantry and Vine Archer units, but the Slime Infantrymen as well followed Tarvan’s orders.
They advanced in orderly fashion without colliding with one another.
Before long, Silva’s army had gone far beyond its territory and approached Terra’s eastern border.
Before their eyes, they saw a massive stone wall and a rocky plain.
A green wave reached the land where rock and soil were clumped together.
“So it finally begins……”
A Thicket Infantryman murmured.
From their perspective, it was the first battle that would finally begin.
The life of the Silva Empire flowed over the earth, and while that flow stretched toward the center, movement also arose on the opposite side of the world.
In the western Metallum Empire, they too, for some reason, showed signs of moving toward the central Terra Empire.
It was a situation even Silva’s army had not anticipated.