Chapter 236
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 236
Chapter Title: 67. Guardian Angel Slime (4)
10.
“It was real.”
The moment they accepted El Pam’s proposal, he provided food for ten thousand people just as promised.
Of course, it wasn’t anything fancy.
“All cheap stuff.”
Grains ground and hardened into blocks, chunks of meat dried to the limit, things with no flavor to speak of.
In Henesys Market, they wouldn’t sell for ten mesos—they were that shoddy.
And he bought them for ten thousand mesos? Not one portion, but enough for each adventurer for thirty days?
Ruthless profiteering.
“We’re grateful.”
Yet not a single adventurer gathered here complained about it.
“How he got it is a mystery, but that’s not what matters now.”
Now they had a way.
“Let’s prepare to fight that damn slime for a month.”
A way to wage a siege that went beyond a prolonged battle—an ultra-long war.
And the moment that way appeared, the adventurers didn’t hesitate to devise a strategy and put it into action.
The entire process wrapped up in less than a day.
In a situation where time was more precious than gold, they couldn’t waste it agonizing.
Above all, it wasn’t much different from their existing tactics.
“Take it even easier than before.”
They even had more leeway.
To go the distance, you had to conserve strength—that was common sense.
And so, the Guardian Angel Slime hunt resumed.
Then, on the tenth day, change finally came.
11.
“Its body’s glowing!”
On the tenth day, the Guardian Angel Slime showed a reaction they’d never seen before.
It was far from a good sign.
A phase change—meaning the Guardian Angel Slime was about to unleash something more powerful.
From the adventurers’ perspective, it was cause for tension.
But this time, it was a little different.
“Finally!”
Before the long-awaited result, the adventurers showed excitement over tension.
Nor were they the only ones.
“We’ve finally entered a new phase.”
El Pam’s party, watching the battle from afar, reacted to the change with interest rather than tension.
“Wonder what it’ll bring out.”
Of course, that was part of why they were interested.
“We don’t know what the slime will do.”
There was nothing strange about treating the Guardian Angel Slime lightly compared to other boss monsters.
It was a freak beyond common sense, sure—but because of its near-infinite stamina.
Strip that away, and the combat abilities it showed were honestly laughable compared to the blue-grade boss monsters El Pam’s party had faced, like the Centaurus King, Manon, or Leviathan.
And that was the slime’s limit.
No matter how impressive, a slime was still just a slime.
Of course, El Pam was different.
He didn’t say it.
He couldn’t.
The facts he knew were things no one else could know at this point.
So he kept it to himself.
‘Hell’s about to start.’
How brutal the spectacle everyone was about to witness would be.
And soon, everyone felt what El Pam did.
“Hey, hold up.”
Miner sensed it first.
“Everyone, focus.”
“Why?”
“Something’s wriggling in its body.”
“I just see light. You sure?”
“Hey, I’ve got Golden Eye. I’m sure!”
At Miner’s words, El Pam said,
“Everyone, retreat. For now.”
At that moment, without exception, they all began widening the distance from the Guardian Angel Slime.
That’s when they saw it.
Rumble rumble rumble!
“M-My god!”
A staggering number of slimes bursting out from the Guardian Angel Slime’s body.
It wasn’t just them coming out—it was a wave.
“Sl-Slime wave!”
A wave—that was the only way to describe it!
Naturally, dodging a sudden onslaught like that properly was impossible.
It happened in an instant.
“S-Save me!”
Dozens of adventurers who’d handled the Guardian Angel Slime so flawlessly up to now were swept away by the slime wave in a flash.
No time for counterattacks or countermeasures.
And even less time to save them.
“Everyone, run!”
All they could do was flee from the wave with everything they had.
Even that wasn’t easy.
Of the adventurers in the wave’s path, only half managed to escape.
Over forty adventurers died on the spot.
More than ten percent of their forces vanished in a single skill.
At that staggering result, the adventurers’ faces went pale.
El Pam’s party, watching from afar, was the same.
“Crazy!”
A curse slipped from Dibo’s mouth at the slime wave.
“How do you even block that?”
A skill impossible to defend against, one where escape was nearly impossible too.
For any adventurer facing the slime wave head-on, it was practically a death sentence.
No wonder curses flew.
“This is insane—can we really take it down?”
Naturally, the Guardian Angel Slime’s hunt difficulty had just gone beyond common sense.
“Whether we can or not doesn’t matter.”
But El Pam knew.
“No giving up. We have to take it down somehow. Otherwise, we die.”
The adventurers had no choices.
And the adventurers facing the Guardian Angel Slime knew it too.
They were surely shocked by their comrades’ deaths.
But everyone knew.
“We press on with the strategy!”
Stopping here wasn’t the answer.
The moment they stopped, all that awaited was despair and death.
So they charged.
“For a full month!”
Until their food ran out.
El Pam’s party knew it too.
“They plan to fight to the end.”
What resolve the adventurers had.
“We’ll watch for a month, then. See if they take it down by then or not.”
El Pam’s party steeled themselves to match that resolve.
Of course, El Pam was the exception.
His thoughts were different.
‘Even after a month, the result will be the same.’
The adventurers could never defeat the Guardian Angel Slime.
‘Waiting a month is pointless.’
One thing to keep in mind: for El Pam, time was more important than anything.
Even more than gold.
The door would open soon.
In that situation, wasting more time watching failure?
Unacceptable.
“Prepare.”
“Huh?”
“We’re intervening.”
That’s why El Pam planned to join the Guardian Angel Slime raid with the adventurers from this moment on.
“Boss!”
But to his comrades, it was a hard decision to accept.
“The adventurers won’t just sit still!”
The adventurers were staking their fates on hunting the Guardian Angel Slime— if El Pam’s party barged in?
No way they’d accept it quietly.
“We have to follow the rules.”
Moreover, El Pam’s party couldn’t just accept it either.
Adventurers’ world had rules to uphold.
They had to respect their resolve.
At least, that’s what El Pam’s party was.
Of course, El Pam knew.
Even for those who’d fail anyway, stepping in now was the right call.
But he couldn’t say that.
No need to.
‘I’ll wrap it up with overwhelming performance.’
If El Pam’s party was mediocre, the adventurers might see them as rivals—but if they were overwhelmingly superior?
The scales would tip.
And the result was obvious.
They’d accept El Pam’s party joining.
It was an adventurer’s quality to give your all without fleeing death, sure—but dodging death when possible was an even more important quality.
At least, for the adventurers here.
‘They’re survivors—they’ll calculate fast. They’ll see they need me.’
They valued survival more than anyone.
‘And I need them too.’
More importantly, El Pam needed those adventurers.
The Guardian Angel Slime was that terrifying a monster.
Even with the adventurers pouring nonstop attacks, its stamina was still over half.
Above all, it was massive.
No matter how skilled Dibo and Kiri were, holding that monster off just the two of them was impossible.
Not enough firepower.
That’s why the scales.
If El Pam’s party could solo it, he wouldn’t have suggested the scales in the first place.
‘Won’t get Fried’s brooch.’
Of course, he knew the price of teaming up.
‘But taking down the Guardian Angel Slime is a huge win.’
From the start, El Pam’s main reason for coming here was to slay the Guardian Angel Slime—nothing else.
If he left it be, and it spread to the Maple World later, it’d be a nightmare worse than anyone imagined.
Half of Victoria Island was already burning and crumbling to the Guardian Angel Slime and the slimes it led.
El Pam, having seen it himself, had no hesitation.
‘Regrettable.’
Still, he couldn’t help feeling regret over not getting Fried’s brooch.
It stung.
But no choice.
Kyuu?
‘Mano finding it would’ve been ideal.’
If Fried’s brooch was just hidden in this forest, Mano would’ve sniffed it out already.
But Mano showed no reaction.
Simple answer.
‘Have to take down the Guardian Angel Slime.’
It was somewhere other than the forest.
So El Pam let go of any lingering attachment.
“Everyone, prepare.”
At El Pam’s command, his comrades showed no rebellion or complaints now.
They’d grumbled at his decision moments ago, but the moment the order came, it changed.
From now on, they had to pour everything into slaying the Guardian Angel Slime facing them alongside El Pam.
‘Risk our lives.’
Plus, the Guardian Angel Slime was a monster that allowed no lapse in attention.
Every sense on high alert.
So they sharpened their senses to the limit.
Like guns with triggers pulled back.
The moment El Pam spoke, they’d fire full force at the Guardian Angel Slime.
And to them, El Pam said,
“Combat begins.”
At that instant, Dibo and Kiri charged at the Guardian Angel Slime with everything they had.
El Pam, Miner, and Ralph followed.
Time to stop spectating and become adventurers.
And once you became an adventurer, going back to spectator was impossible.
No turning back.
Nor any desire to.
That’s how it was.
“Everyone.”
“Yes, Boss. Don’t worry! Didn’t you see my skills against Leviathan?”
“No—halt combat.”
“Huh?”
But then El Pam stopped everyone.
It was sudden.
El Pam almost never halted combat like this, of all people.
“What’s wrong?”
At the natural question, El Pam looked at his finger instead of answering.
Fingers laden with multiple rings.
His eyes fixed on the one on his left middle finger.
At the sight, everyone tilted their heads.
‘What?’
Nothing seemed off, no matter how they looked.
That’s how it was.
‘Huh?’
But soon, they all saw it.
“B-Boss?”
“The ring’s vibrating lightly!”
The ring moving.
At this bizarre event, everyone had one question.
“What ring is that?”
To that, El Pam answered,
“Fried’s ring.”
With that answer, El Pam turned his head.
“Fried’s ring is resonating with something.”