But he was not interested in their appearance.
What truly mattered to him…
was their ability.
"Use your ability," he ordered, taking a step back.
One of the corrosive Slimes advanced a few meters.
And then
The air around its body began to distort.
A greenish aura emerged from its body, spreading like a dense vapor. It was not smoke, nor gas, nor mist.
The aura expanded rapidly until it reached a radius of approximately ten meters, enveloping everything around the Slime.
Wherever the Slime moved…
the aura followed.
The Slime always remained at the center, like the core of a mobile zone of death.
Jian Cheng narrowed his eyes.
"Interesting…"
He signaled to another.
"You too."
The second Slime activated its ability.
And then something unexpected happened.
The two auras did not repel each other.
They fused.
The greenish zone became thicker, darker, and its radius increased far beyond what it should have if it were merely a simple addition.
Jian Cheng slowly raised his hand.
"All of you."
All ten corrosive Slimes activated their aura at the same time.
The effect was immediate.
The green vapor expanded like a living tide, strengthening, densifying, until the covered area far exceeded expectations.
When the process stabilized…
The radius had reached more than two hundred meters.
The air within that zone became heavy, unbreathable. The stones on the ground began to show signs of erosion, as if they had been attacked for years in a matter of seconds.
"So they complement each other…" Yangchen murmured. "They don't just add up. They amplify one another."
To test their true power, he ordered them to advance toward an abandoned block of metal that the normal Slimes had not finished consuming.
The Slimes approached.
The aura touched it.
The metal began to melt.
Not as if it were being melted by heat…
but as if the very matter were decomposing while bubbling, collapsing in on itself until it became an unrecognizable puddle.
Then they tested it on remnants of wood, flesh, and vegetation.
Everything was corroded without exception.
Organic matter.
Plant matter.
Refined materials.
Most objects could not withstand that corrosion.
Jian Cheng watched in silence as one of the Slimes jumped.
The aura did not lag behind.
It moved with it.
But then his expression turned serious.
Because something he had expected happened.
During one of the tests, a normal Slime got too close.
The aura touched it.
And it began to melt.
The corrosive aura affected both enemies and allies.
That meant one very clear thing:
It was an extremely powerful ability…
but a dangerous one.
"I'll have to use them carefully," he thought. "Very, very carefully."
The corrosive Slimes remained still, the greenish vapor slowly dissipating around them, awaiting new orders.
Jian Cheng observed them once more, silently evaluating the results of the tests. Then, without wasting more time, he turned his attention away from the corrosive Slimes.
For him, that had only been an appetizer.
The real main course…
were the bodies of the Goblin Shamans.
Jian Cheng stepped forward until he stood before them.
He turned and pointed at three Slimes at random.
"You three. Devour them."
The Slimes slid forward without hesitation. Their gelatinous bodies enveloped the goblin shaman corpses, absorbing them slowly until not a trace of bone, skin, or clothing remained.
The moment the last fragment disappeared
A notification appeared before him.
> Do you wish to spend 500 sacrifice points to evolve into a Shaman Slime?
Yes / No
"Yes."
The first Slime began to writhe.
Its body became unstable, bubbling violently, and a greenish vapor began to escape from it. The transformation was fast, but intense.
When the process ended…
The Poison Shaman Slime had been born.
From its body, the Slime was able to expel a dense, lethal poisonous mist. It was not a simple dispersed gas; the poison responded to its will.
At Jian Cheng's command, the Slime condensed the mist.
The poison solidified.
Sharp spears, curved swords, and blades emerged directly from its gelatinous mass, all formed of solid poison, capable of piercing and corroding at the same time.
And that was not all.
The Slime expanded its defensive power, creating poison barriers in front of its body translucent green screens capable of blocking attacks.
It was almost identical to the Goblin Poison Shaman…
but with far greater versatility.
"Good," Yang Shen murmured. "Very good."
The second Slime began its evolution shortly after.
It had devoured the Goblin Fire Shaman.
Its body shook, heating up from within, and a reddish glow appeared in its core. The process was simpler than the previous one, without as many variations.
It had gained only one clear ability:
the ability to launch fireballs.
At the command, the Slime condensed thermal energy and expelled a blazing sphere that exploded upon impact with a nearby wall.
However…
No matter how Yang Shen tested it, the Slime was unable to create flame shields. Its power was clearly focused on direct offense, which disappointed him slightly, as it could not inherit all the abilities of the Goblin Fire Shaman.
Finally, it was the third one's turn.
The Slime that had devoured the Goblin Water Shaman.
Its body became more fluid than the others, undulating like a living droplet. A bluish glow ran across its surface as the transformation progressed with surprising stability.
When the process concluded, the Water Shaman Slime revealed its abilities.
It was capable of creating water shields rotating layers that absorbed impacts and dispersed the force of attacks. In addition, it could manipulate water offensively, shaping it into whips, projectiles, liquid blades, and pressure currents.
"This is different…" he murmured.
When all the evolutions were complete and the system stopped issuing notifications, a doubt began to form in his mind.
These Shaman Slimes were, without a doubt, more powerful than the first Fire Shaman Slime he had obtained long ago. That one had barely gained a single offensive ability and had not undergone as many physical changes, whereas these displayed a much broader repertoire of skills.
Was the difference the materials… or something else?
His eyes narrowed.
These Goblin Shamans were not the same as the first one. They had possessed spiritual stones and might have used them to strengthen themselves or to force the evolution of their abilities. That meant the materials they left behind upon death were superior to those of ordinary Goblin Shamans.
"So that's the factor…" he thought. "Spiritual stones."
He would have to investigate more carefully in the future. If he could understand what truly influenced the quantity and quality of abilities obtained, he could optimize every evolution.
For now, it was enough.
He ordered the Shaman Slimes to follow him and headed toward Mira's tent.
The canvas shifted slightly as he approached.
"Mira?" he called.
She stepped out a second later… and froze completely.
Her eyes widened when she saw the new gelatinous figures behind Jian Cheng. The colors red, green, and blue contrasted with the common Slimes she had seen before. The pressure they emitted was different, more dangerous.
"What… what are those?" she asked, taking half a step back on pure instinct.
Jian Cheng raised a hand, signaling her to calm down.
"Slimes that evolved using the materials of the Goblin Shaman Slimes," he explained casually. "They work the same way as the Slime that shoots fireballs the first one you saw. Only these have more complete capabilities."
"That's not a normal improvement…" she murmured. "They're on another level."
Yang Shen nodded.
"The materials made the difference."
Then Mira smiled.
"In that case… I suppose it's my turn."
Yang Shen frowned slightly as he noticed the change in her expression.
"I used the six spiritual stones," she said bluntly.
He tensed for a moment.
"And?"
"My inner world grew by twenty percent."
The answer left him silent.
Mira extended one hand, and the air around her vibrated faintly. The pressure Jian Cheng had felt before intensified.
"That caused more Elementals to be born," she continued. "Four new ones."
As if responding to her voice, figures of water began to take shape behind her. Four newly born Elementals joined the group, still unstable, but already clearly denser and more defined than the previous ones.
Jian Cheng observed them carefully. They were not only more numerous the flow of energy running through their bodies was stronger, more concentrated.
"And that's not all," Mira added. "Now I can draw more power from my inner world. The Elementals grow stronger along with me."
For the first time since dawn, Jian Cheng showed a genuine expression of surprise.
"Twenty percent…" he repeated softly.
Then he exhaled slowly and nodded.
"Then I won't fall behind."
Mira looked at him, intrigued.
"Are you going to absorb them now?"
Jian Cheng lowered his gaze to his pocket, where the remaining spiritual stones still rested.
"Yes. Wait until I'm done," he said. "After that, we'll make a new plan to continue attacking villages."