Gabiru continued flailing away in his desperate battle. Things were getting more and more one-sided.
The orcs seemed to know no fatigue, attacking them without pause or end.
The federated goblin-lizardman forces, unable to escape from their encirclement, found themselves picked off one by one.
And even if Gabiru tried to break through, how many of his men—wounded and in a state of total
exhaustion—would follow him?
It seemed clear that now was the time to abandon the slower goblins for good.
There was no room for retreat, but by this point, Gabiru had to think about guaranteeing himself as many survivors as possible.
Warfare, in general, stopped once it became clear who the victor was—but these orcs seemed intent on completely wiping Gabiru and his force off this plane of reality.
There would be no terms offered; just murder, and then the feast.
The orcs saw them as nothing but prey, and it triggered a primal sort of fear.
The formation began to fall apart at the seams, the weaker-minded ones succumbing to terror like frogs being eyed by a snake.
The goblins were already a lost cause, running around like mad in search of any solace, and the orcs weren't having any of it.
They chased them down, killed them, and consumed them.
Not even three thousand functioned as a fighting force any longer—and to the lizardmen, a good fifth of which had fallen, the news was no less grim.
It was already becoming difficult to lead them as a cohesive army. But Gabiru kept pressing his teams forward, prodding the orc lines for any possible route of
escape.
His tactics were impeccable, his abilities being used to their fullest.
Then, a group of those orc soldiers in the black armor began to move.
A wellordered team, unlike the common rabble, and each one protected from head to
toe by metal.
They might have been as physically strong as any other orc, but they functioned as a trained army, and their equipment was a massive upgrade.
The orc leading them bore an aura that overwhelmed all the others, proving how much stronger he was than the rest.
An orc general, as powerful as an
entire tactical squadron all by himself. And he—just one of five among the horde—had two thousand stout orc knights following him.
His rank was A-minus, and he answered directly to the orc lord himself, the leader's most
trusted of officers.
"It's over…"
In Gabiru's eyes, the demonstration of power was decisive.
No escape, either. Best prepare to die in battle, then…
If he wanted anything right now, it would be to die like a warrior, at least.
Gabiru: 「Gah-ha-ha-ha-ha! So it's the leader of these cowardly pigs! Do you have the courage to duel me?!」
He could never win. Gabiru's scale mail was already in tatters, the fatigue building across his body.
His foe's armor was a work of art, enhanced with magical protection, and the aura he exuded told of his strength.
If he accepted this invitation, at least Gabiru would enjoy a glorious end on the battlefield.
Perhaps he could take a general with him if things went well
enough.
"Guh-huh-huh… Very well. Let me take you."
Striking down the enemy leader, crushing the last true support that his lizardman fighters had to rely on, would make the massacre that much easier to carry out.
That was the orc general's thought, and Gabiru was aware enough of that.
He also knew that struggling any more than this would only lengthen the agony.
Any thought of the reinforcements the chief apparently counted on was gone from his mind.
He had already selected this patch of land as the last one he would ever stand upon.
Gaburu: 「I thank you.」
Then all was solemn as they began their duel.
Holding his magical Vortex Spear, Gabiru sized up his foe, searching for any weakness.
"Come on!"—the orc general howled.
Gabiru: 「Bring it on! 『Vortex Torrent』!」
With all his remaining force, Gabiru released the most powerful attack he could—a killer move, combining his latent lance skills with the magic his current
weapon provided.
But…
"『Chaos Eater』!!"
The orc general spun his own spear in the opposite direction, canceling out the force of Gabiru's vortex.
It began whirling faster and faster, unleashing its own aura that took on a sickly yellow color before descending upon the lizardman.
Is he trying to eat me?!
He rolled to the side, relying on instinct, but the aura continued to close the distance.
"Geh-heh-heh! Just another reptile," the general laughed.
Gabiru: 「Your kind deserves to slither along the ground!」
Gabiru refused to give up. At least one strike; that was all he wanted.
He grabbed a clod of earth, throwing it at the orc general—as childish as it must have looked, he had to deliver at least one clean blow.
The attack disappeared futilely within the yellow aura, showing exactly how outclassed he was.
Gabiru was too occupied with dodging the aura to focus on any other strikes.
The orc general thrusted his spear at him, a twisted smile on his face…
"Whoa! Better not get distracted, there!"
A familiar voice reached Gabil's ears. At the same time, he felt himself being launched backward, just barely avoiding the hilt of the orc general's spear.
"Wh-what happened?!"—the confused Gabiru thought.
Then came a roar that deafened the battlefield, like the heavens had fallen upon it.
Gabiru thought it was another orc trick at first before realizing it wasn't. Even the orcs, with their insurmountable advantage, were visibly panicking.
The tides were changing anew, and violently so.
◇◇◇
Just as Gobta was reaching out to rescue Gabiru, I was checking out the battle from above.
It was a pretty fearsome sight. The orcs must've thought they had a massive advantage, and now we would just flip the chessboard on them…
Just us and a few ogre mages, really. I couldn't blame them for freaking out. I kind of was,
too.
◇◇◇
After I sent Soei off to the lizardmen, I decided to start assigning battle posts.
We wouldn't all head out there; I wanted a setup that could work quickly on its feet.
We didn't know what we'd be dealing with, so I had to be sure we could extract ourselves fast if need be.
That was my watchword as I gave the order to prepare for war.
The construction effort across town was continuing to go without a hitch, but we still had no real defenses in place.
Not even an outer wall, since it'd get in the way of the building boom. There is no way we could weather out a siege or anything.
It was much more logical to picture ourselves bringing the battle to them.
Along those lines, I told the people who were not joining me to prepare to travel to the treants.
They might have to set off before we made it back to town.
Before any of that, though, I had to assemble all the monsters in town and tell them what we had decided on. I tried to act as kingly as possible.
It was really embarrassing, but I managed to pull through.
After the speech, I received word from Soei.
I had asked him to help us get an alliance going, but what happened?
Did he, like, not know where they were or something?
After his flashy exit, if that was all he had for me, I might have to drop the "gentle" act a little…
It worried me a bit, but I should've known that wasn't the reality.
Unlike me, Soei was actually somewhat capable.
"I was able to meet with the lizardman chief. He seemed willing to accept the alliance, but he asked for you to personally come see him, my lord…"
It wasn't even half a day since our conference ended, and he had already extracted a promise from the guy.
Talk about capable! And handsome, to boot. I almost resented him.
As he put it, Soei used Shadow Motion to reach the marshes, then deployed his army of Replicants to scope out the area.
Gobta could only travel via
Shadow Motion for as long as he could hold his breath, so Soei outpaced him.
It appeared that his physical corpus was already back
I wondered if having a Replicant contact the lizardman chief was really the best thing.
The mere fact he could control multiples at once still astonished me.
It was nothing I could pull off.
He asked me when the meeting would be held, shrugging off my
compliments in a way Shuna or Shion never would.
We needed time to prepare, and the goblin riders will need a few days for the journey. A week from now, maybe?
It was my reply.
It'd be more like two weeks if we were going on foot, but a goblin rider wouldn't need five days.
I reckoned we'd take around two days to prepare, so a week should be fine.
Gabiru had his own transport beast, but it didn't look nearly as fast as a tempest wolf.
If we arrived at the lizardman caverns before he and his men
returned, we might wind up getting caught in…whatever he had cooking.
Fubuki had shared with me the possibility of a coup'detat from Gabiru.
Even I had thought so, but with the confirmation given, it was an eventual case.
In the end, we agreed on seven days.
He ended the link.
I wanted this alliance to be firm in writing as soon as possible, but I knew it'd be hard to trust someone you'd never met before.
But if we waited to prepare until after we shook hands and declared the alliance done, the orcs would be knocking on our collective doors in an instant.
If the whole thing fell through, I was planning to pull back our forces at once.
If they weren't willing to work with us, we'd wait for the orcs to swarm them, then hustle off to the treants' sanctuary.
It sucked for them, but I wasn't here to give them lip service.
This was war, and I had people counting on me. There had
to be a line in the sand.
They sounded open to the idea, though, so maybe I was just catastrophizing again…
Either way, though, I had to hope it'd work out.
◇◇◇
We had to make a few preparations before heading out.
For example, we headed over to the production workshop, the nerve center of all our
manufacturing.
We simply went to get the new clothing prepared for us by Shuna and her workers.
Fubuki definitely seemed enthusiastic. Well, considering that he never really wore different types of…
Hold that thought; has he ever changed his clothes before?
What the… ayo...
Okay, let's forget about that. Yes. Demons are built differently.
Alright, so there I was, in the changing room. My first outfit was a base layer—a shirt and some short pants.
She had done a great job reproducing the crude
illustration I gave her.
It felt great for everyday wear, I thought, and she had created three sets for me, so I didn't have to go naked while having the laundry done.
The second set of clothes, meanwhile, was for battle. A real tour de force from Shuna.
Transforming into my child version, I immediately set to strapping it on.
It felt so glossy and slick on my fingers—more wonderful than even the highest-quality silk I knew—and the pants and shirt were done up just as I had designed them.
It was an incredibly pleasant surprise. The cut and the fabric were better than anything I wore back home.
Some of my Sticky Steel Thread was woven in, too, so it'd protect me more than well enough.
I had the Sage analyze it for me,
so I knew. This outfit, though…
The moment I had it all on, it was like I was born to wear it. Perfectly sized.
It's a sort of magic item, I supposed. I had absolutely nothing to complain about, as I felt its magicules intermingle with my own.
It already felt like another part of me.
Just to test it out, I morphed into my adult version—and just as I thought, the clothes adjusted themselves to match.
A perfect piece of work.
I moved on to the armor Garm had provided. He said he'd given it some extra attention, and it fit me just as well as the clothes.
There was a dark jacket mad from tanned leather, tied together with string in front instead of sporting buttons.
It looked like a plain old jacket, but it was also magical and a perfect match for my aura.
Maybe it was because I had the original pelts stored in my
stomach before handing them over to Garm.
That must've turned it black in
color, matching well with my aura.
Once again, there are no complaints. All I had left was the coat to wear over the
clothing.
This was a long blue coat made from the original direwolf boss's fur.
Another Shuna special, and since it lacked any sleeves, it was light as a feather.
The front was open, but that didn't make it annoying to wear at all, oddly.
Putting it on, I wound up wearing it sort of like a robe.
The rear had a high part like a collar to protect my neck, and I could remove this if I wanted or use it as a scarf.
A scarf that, apparently, would keep me warm in winter and cool in summer, somehow.
Not really needed, but whatever.
I also got a pair of extra shoes made of leather and resin to add to the set.
I tested them out, and whew, that was some insane comfort there.
I got a few ladies blushing, so it was all but worth it.
As for Fubuki…yeesh, did she really need to go that deep into details?
A mesmerizing kimono-like robe clad in sleek silver that almost seemed to reflect whatever was in sight.
A few golden designs here and there, and voilà!
The perfect outfit.
On a normal person, it would seem unnecessarily excessively gaudy, but his already unnatural beauty made it a perfect blend of perfection.
All the ladies in the room blushed crazily.
Man, does his beauty actually attract the ladies or what?!
He's doing the trick! Look!
Now that I think of it, I guess they had put their heart and souls into making these outfits for us.
Well, I wouldn't really put it like that. With the way Shuna dismissed her brother…
Shuna: 「Thank you for being patient, I prepared your clothing, my lords, along with a little something for my brother, I guess…」
Benimaru: 「You guess…?」
Fubuki: 「Heh-heh-heh. Can you even blame her?」
I guess they were more intent on seeing Fubuki and I (I think) put on the gowns they prepared.
Well, I was loving it so far.
Next up was Kurobe's forge.
In short, we had prepared special weapons for the ogres using the unique materials provided to us by Fubuki.
Well, he said they weren't really special, just your average plain 'ol gold.
He had the ones that had basked in his magic for eons (he never let up on exactly how long he meant).
Though, as per his words, they would soon become regular materials we would occasionally find ourselves dealing with in the near future.
Benimaru had an elegant, flowing longsword, Hakuro, a large staff with a sword hidden inside, Soei a pair of ninja-style blades.
They all looked happy with them, and I could see why—each one was a perfect fit for their owner.
Fubuki said he already had one, so there was no need to make a new one.
I never took him for a swordsman type of person. I wonder how good he is with the blade.
One thing did bother me, though. Shion's war blade… It's kind of too big, isn't it?
Shion: 「Oh, it's fine.」she said with a laugh.「The scabbard's covered in magical power, so I can make it disappear with a moment's thought.」
That's great, but it wasn't what I asked. Isn't it kind of impractically large?
But Shion's smile informed me that further protest was useless.
If she could handle it, fine, but it was far too large for a regular person to pick up.
I doubted even Kaijin could've made that—dwarves, pretty strong as they were, would still need
two hands just to move it.
Shion, meanwhile, could unsheathe this massive hunk of iron with a single arm.
I realized, at that moment, that angering her would never be a good idea.
With that thought in mind, a wicked, evil plan had been born.
Let's see how Fubuki deals with an enraged Shion. Heh-heh-heh~.
Finally, it was time for my own weapon.
Kurobe: 「For you, Sir Rimuru, I got this. It ain't complete yet; this is just the beginning.
You talked about a sword with magic ore in it, and that's what I'm aimin' for.
Kaijin and I are doin' some research, but we're gonna need a mite more time for it. Until then, if you could get used to this sword…」
I was handed a long, straight sword. So he was actually going through with that idea?
Sweet! It made me excited—and glad I offered the suggestion in the first place.
Sitting through two hours of esoteric blacksmith discussion paid off after all.
Finally, I asked Kurobe to make a shortsword for me. He looked a tad confused momentarily, but he smiled and nodded at the request.
I didn't know what he thought about it, but I didn't really care, either.
This would be Gobta's weapon, after all. I could hand him a plastic fast-food knife, and he'd worship me for it.
Fubuki did mention some enhancement he planned to perform on the weapon, so we were all chill about that and stuff.
I figured we might as well get going so we could scope out the geography in advance.
Rimuru: 「We've got an orc lord to take down!」 I shouted at them. 「Let's make this quick!」
I deliberately kept the pep talk short. There's no point getting too eager.
We need to keep our eyes focused on the situation around us, and the simpler the objectives, the better.
Fubuki: 「The orc army would probably use their overwhelming numbers to their advantage.
If you are targeted during an encircled, disengage and regroup. Do not get complacent with the new weaponries and power.
If you see any ally requiring aid, support them under reasonable circumstances. Do not take brash actions that would likely disrupt the positive flow of the battle.」
Fubuki, on the other hand, decided to go into details on the plan.
Well, since he readily helped, I wasn't gonna look back on it.
The riders, nonetheless, gave their war cries of approval
in response, the deafening roar echoing across town.
Most of these hobgoblin soldiers were survivors of our first (and last) battle against the pack of direwolves.
There were a few newbies, but all were elite troops, each entrusted with a tempest wolf of their own.
Morale was high, and watching them prepare to ride helped relieve some of my own anxiety as well.
Maybe we could win this. Or at least escape unhurt if we couldn't.
It wouldn't pay to be too optimistic, but there's no need to assume the worst in this battle, either.
So off we went, spirits lifted as we made tracks for the marshes.
◇◇◇
About an hour into our camping prep, I received a message.
"Is now a good time, sir?"
My Thought Communication sprang into action as I rested, watching everyone at work.
"What is it? Did you find something?"
"Well, I found a group engaged in battle."
"What?! Gabil?"
"No, not him. There's only one lizardman, someone I believe to be a close aide to the chief.
Here against a group of orcs—one high-level orc, plus more under his command. Around fifty in all."
"A close aide? All alone?"
"Yes, my lord. The battle has only just begun, but I feel the outcome is already clear.
It would appear that one of the higher-level orcs is seeking to torment the lizardman in order to show off his strength. What should we do?"
"Could you defeat this higher-level orc and his men?"
"It should be simple, sir."
More of that confidence. I figured I could trust Soei on that.
But what about that lizardman? I couldn't just let him die, but if the orc wanted a fight, now would be a good time to scope out their abilities.
Thought Communication allowed me to see the world through Soei's eyes—a pretty handy feature, in my opinion—but unlike myself, Soei couldn't keep the
link going indefinitely.
He needed to rest that muscle, so to speak, on regular occasions.
This applied to everyone else, too; they could receive all the
thoughts they wanted, but sending them was subject to certain restrictions.
If anything, the fact I could send all I wanted made me a freak of nature.
We could've linked together more closely if Soei weren't so far away, but no point complaining to him about that.
"All right. Try to observe them for as long as you can and relay what happens afterward. I feel bad for that lizardman, but keep your distance for the time
being. Step in if you think the battle's gonna turn fatal."
"Yes, my lord!"
The connection expired. Sounds like something's up, then.
No way a lizardman would be alone in the outer regions of the forest otherwise.
I was hoping to rest and take my time gauging things, but I guess that wasn't going to happen.
I gathered everyone together.
Rimuru: 「Listen, people, we're not camping. It sounds like something's going down.」
I saw the faces of the goblin riders tense up.
"So we're fighting?" one asked.
Rimuru: 「Likely, yeah. Our enemy numbers are approximately fifty, so I want to see two of you tackle each one.
Remember, the orc lord's capable of absorbing the abilities of dead enemies.
So don't push it. If you think you're in trouble, get out of there. Are we clear on that?」
""Yessir!"" they cheered, Gobta leading them on.
Fubuki: 「Good. I guess we're prepared?」
Rimuru: 「Yeah. Do you think I'm overworrying about this whole thing?」
Fubuki: 「Yup.」
Rimuru: 「?」
Fubuki: 「Especially when you're teaming up with somebody that could likely sweep the whole piggies like *Woosh*—!!」
Rimuru: 「....」
Forget that I ever asked.
I watched as Benimaru and Hakuro led the riders off.
Shion and Fubuki were staying with me.
The riders could handle the infantry-level orcs, but I wanted to see this "high-level" officer for myself.
The more I knew about our enemy, the more I'd have to work with in the upcoming battle.
I had Fubuki and Shion working on my side—I doubted it'd be too dangerous for me.
Thus, we mounted Ranga and made a beeline for Soei.
◇◇◇
We reached Soei as he deflected a sword slash from an orc that had just jumped off a tree limb.
The orc bore a pair of heavy scimitars, curved to look like enormous meat-cutting knives but thick enough to slice through bone.
The long arms on the orcish races made it hard to estimate their offensive range.
Soei engaged in a little back-and-forth with him, his constant array of leaps and dodges bringing him precariously close to defeat at times, to an
outside observer.
I wasn't worried, though. This orc was, in my eyes, pretty weak.
Unlike Hakuro, whose strikes seemed impossible to avoid even with the instincts of a born hunter, I could still predict this orc's moves just by looking at him.
It was cute, in a way…
"Gehh! Who are you fools?!" the long-armed orc shouted at us, his face a mixture of pig, wild boar, and human. "Here to be consumed by an orc general?"
Ah. This was the high-level one, then? The orc general?
Shion: 「How dare you look down on our lords.」She fired back, looking at the orc general with an unnervingly cold gaze.
"Oh. You…"
I looked down at this new, faint voice. It belonged to a lizardman, looking up at me.
She appeared to be cowering, wounded from head to toe, and just barely breathing. She had lost a lot of blood.
I doubted she'd last long unaided.
I knew I had asked Soei to remain impartial for as long as possible, and I guess he followed my orders to the letter.
He wasn't at fault for that, but now I wish he had stepped in a bit earlier.
I was starting to look like a total villain, and I figured it was time for a good deed to make up for it.
I tossed the lizardman (or lizardwoman???) a bottle of healing potion.
She hesitated for a moment before gulping it empty.
"What on…?!"
"Impossible…"
The orc general and lizardman both expressed their surprise simultaneously.
Nice. That oughta improve my rep a little.
Good thing I earned some brownie points with these guys before the big meeting with the chief.
As I patted myself on the back, the lizardman approached me.
"P-please, sir! Please, I need you and your envoy to rescue my father, the lizardman chief…and Gabiru, my brother!"
She was on one knee, head bowed down, as if praying to me.
"What ha—?"
I was about to ask what happened to her when the orc general came rushing in.
"Get in my way, and I'll eat you first!" he bellowed, crossing his scimitars in front of him.
He was probably trying to catch me by surprise, but with my Magic
Sense, that was never going to happen.
I nimbly leaped backward to dodge the incoming strikes, but I didn't even need to bother with that—in a flash, Fubuki brought out a weird looking sword and swiftly sent out a flash strike, aiming to decapitate the orc's arms off.
The orc general instinctively recrossed his swords to block the attack, but Fubuki's sheer force knocked them right out of his hands.
Both of his wrists were sent flying out of his arms.
They landed beside me with a wet thud.
Yuck!
"Dammit! All of you, seize this wench at—"
None of the orc underlings responded to the order.
It was understandable, given how they no longer existed.
Benimaru: 「Should I even call that a warm up? How disappointing…」
Gobta: 「Yeah. Talk about a letdown.」
They had apparently wrapped up the encirclement and massacre, just as I ordered.
The speed with which they had carried out those orders shocked me into silence.
Hakuro was just cutting down the few surviving orcs behind them.
Maybe I was indeed worrying too much.
"Y-you're kidding me!"—the orc general managed to gasp out.
Then things got even worse for him. Just as I was about to order Soei to interrogate him, everything finished.
Shion: 「Die!」
The voice was accompanied by a single flash of light, backed up by a low rumble. And with it, the orc general ceased to exist in any physical sense.
Fubuki: 「What is that idiot doing?」 Fubuki whispered.
Soei had the same intention as Fubuki, approaching the orc general to extract whatever information he could.
But Shion had no similar thoughts.
Shion: 「I have given this impudent fool the divine punishment he deserves, my lord!」
She smiled at him, anticipating the praise that was no doubt coming.
He didn't even know whether to compliment her or scream at her.
Fubuki: 「Uh, yeah, let's try to capture 'em alive next time, all right?」
Shion: 「Ah, yes, Sir Fubuki! We need to make them fully understand what happens when they cross the likes of you!」
No, nothing like that. At all. But we didn't want to bother explaining it to her.
She said yes to his request, and that was good enough. The entire squad was now dead, and while I would've liked some of the orc general's intel, I was willing to call this a success.
No point dwelling on what's already done, I guess.
I mentally shifted gears as I turned to the lizardman. At least we wouldn't be interrupted any longer.
We had a quick discussion, and it turns out that the situation isn't good at all.
She looked at Fubuki and me in succession before setting her eyes upon me.
"I am the daughter of the lizardman chief," she said, conviction clear in her voice.
"I serve as the head of his royal guard. In advance of our alliance, my brother Gabiru overthrew the royal family and imprisoned the chief.
He intends to wage open battle against the orcs, but he vastly underestimates their strength.
If this keeps up, we will lose, and the lizardman race will be wiped off the land."
She paused for a moment, searching for the right words.
"The chief instructed me not to put an undue burden upon you as I related this message. But…please, as the one who offered us this alliance, I beg you to help us!"
Now, she was fully prostrate on the ground at us.
Well, huh. Gabiru was the son of the lizardman chief—it turned out, and his sister was right here with us.
They must have all had good genes. It was a pity that Gabiru turned out to be… let's skip that.
Still, I couldn't let anything happen to the chief. So now what…?
Fubuki: 「Well, keep in mind that we haven't forged this alliance quite yet.
The chief knew he couldn't count on us to get involved with an internal dispute at this point, so he sent you over to keep us informed of things.
Is that how it is? If so,
then why're you asking us for help?」
It sounded mean, I'm sure he knew, but I also wasn't bound by any debt to the lizardmen.
It'd be one thing after I signed on the dotted line, but it'd still be a lot more intelligent for us to get out of there.
I was also starting to resent her not having a name, either.
I had heard monsters could tell one another apart via the subtle
vibrations they emitted as part of their emotions, but as an ex-human, it was all ass to me.
I felt cringe calling her a "lizardman" and "chief's guard leader," though.
She's a she. Shouldn't the person responsible for the racial naming term them as lizardwoman and stuff?
As my mind was veering off track, she looked straight up at my face.
"I thought," she said, "that ones who have evolved to be as powerful as yourselves may have the strength to rescue us all. If the dryads who watch over this forest have recognized your skills, then I only hope you have the mercy to help. I fully know how selfish this is, but please…"
Shion: 「Ah, well said! You have a great deal of potential,
indeed, if you have noticed the full glory of our lord's strength.
I am sure the lizardmen shall be saved, just as you hope they will. We're already dedicated to
destroying the orc forces, besides!」
Great. Here we go again. I had the weirdest sense of déjà vu all of a sudden.
Fubuki: 「Should've thought twice or even thrice before appointing her as your secretary. She's does the complete opposite of her job.」
I had appointed Shion to be my secretary, but she had a real knack for tossing more and more work into my in-box.
He's right. But it's all his fault. He's way more experienced in these things.
I thought he'd help out, but he dropped the weights on me and ram off.
He'd have found the perfect position for her, and now, he dares to pin all accusations on me? Damn you!
Ah, well. We were in for a fight anyway. Might as well cooperate as much as we could—as long as we didn't get hurt along the way.
Rimuru: 「Soei, can you Shadow Motion yourself to where the chief is?」
Soei: 「I can, sir.」
Fubuki: 「All right. I hereby order you to rescue the lizardman chief. If anything gets in the way of our alliance, eliminate it.」
Soei: 「Yes, my lord!」
"So you'll…?! Oh, thank you so much!!"
The lizardman was beside herself with gratefulness. Which I was fine with.
Fubuki: 「Oh, do keep in mind, I'm not planning to sacrifice my people for this, all right?」
"I would expect as much, yes. I would also like to serve as your guide if you like…"
Good. I'm glad to see she wasn't offended.
She probably knew she was asking a lot, and she couldn't heap all the responsibility on our shoulders alone.
There wouldn't be much point to calling it an alliance otherwise.
Rimuru: 「I appreciate the thought, but Soei will reach the chief a lot faster operating by himself, I think—」
Soei: 「Can you hold your breath for approximately three minutes?」 Soei asked.
"Yes, absolutely! I can hold out for five, in fact."
Soei: 「All right. You can join me, then. Is that all right?」
Rimuru: 「Sure, no problem. Take these, too.」
I gave Soei a few recovery potions. If he was fine with it, I was, too.
I had no reason to refuse her as long as she wasn't a drag on my ass.
Rimuru: 「You could probably dilute these to a tenth of the strength, and they'd still do the trick, as long as the injury's not too serious.
Use 'em on anyone who needs 'em. If anything happens, I'm just a thought communicative away.」
He nodded and saluted me.
Fubuki: 「We're off, then.」
The lizardman bowed deeply before turning to Soei. He placed his hands on her hips and began Shadow Motion, disappearing from our sight in an instant.
Benimaru: 「I'm sure the chief is in good hands with him.」he said approvingly.
And given Soei's skills, I figured he was right.
◇◇◇
With Soei taking care of the chief, I went back to my original work of surveying the battlefield.
Things had ramped up, apparently, so I didn't have time to waste.
For now, I wanted to check out the state of the war.
I spotted Fubuki doing warm-up exercises. I had to step in.
Rimuru: 「You're not planning on partaking in the battle, are you?」
Fubuki: 「Wah—? Of course.」
Rimuru: 「You…」
Scoping out the situation was basic stuff, I thought, and I did want to check and see if Gabiru was alive.
Benimaru, however, was vehemently opposed.
Benimaru: 「My lords, wait a moment. Hakuro and I could handle the job well enough by ourselves.
You and Shion could simply observe us from afar instead.」
Hakuro: 「Indeed. You two are our leaders and the leaders of us all. I am sure it would be wiser to leave this battle to us, in this case…」
Guys, guys, that's not gonna do. All we had here were Benimaru, Hakuro, and a hundred goblin riders. Everyone had to pitch in.
Not to mention Fubuki.
Fubuki: 「Meh, if you insist. I was just planning to give them a little bit of my great magic, but that'll be for another sucker.」
Eh? Well, I'm sure he'll step in if things go south.
Fubuki: 「I figured there'll be some spies set up to watch the operation, including the minions of the mastermind, so I sent Treyni to go handle 'em.」
Rimuru: 「Eh. Is she gonna be fine?」
Fubuki: 「Heh. You underestimate her, dude. She could probably give you a run for your money—location and all.」
Fubuki: 「Also, there's a chance that someone would be able to recognize me, so I'm gonna switch appearance and lay low.」
Is he a wanted criminal. If there's a bounty on his head, I'd be more than happy to two-time 'em and sell him out.
Imagine all the money I'd make!
Fubuki: 「I'm sure you're thinking of something really stupid now.」
Ah, women's intuition reigns supreme!
Fubuki: 「.... I suddenly have the urge to collect souls.」
Yikes. Too far! Too far!! Change of topic!
Benimaru: 「So, about the battle plan, Sir Rimuru? We've received Sir Fubuki's approval.」
Rimuru: 「Whoa, whoa, calm down, guys. Do you seriously intend to defeat two hundred thousand screaming orcs with a band of a hundred Riders?」
Gobta: 「Yeah! Tell 'em, sir! You don't expect someone to follow an order to jump off a cliff. I couldn't blame 'em.」
Benimaru: 「I figured, where there's a will, there's a way.」
Only Hakuro and Shion agreed with him. I was starting to wonder if all these ogres had a screw loose somewhere. "Will" can only get you so far, guys!
I was planning to give them a fair bit of leeway, but maybe I should tighten the reins a little instead.
They had already lost to the orcs once—they should know how scary they all were.
That was my take on their reaction, but I didn't verbally share it with them.
They were all acting like their evolutions had wiped the slate completely clean.
Fubuki: 「Cut them some slack, will ya? I bet they have some crazy stuff in line for us. I'll take the blame when otherwise takes effect.」
Meh, he said it. He'll take the blame. Might as well join in to add to the chaos and trouble list.
Fubuki: 「Plus, as expected, there are a few spies. But certainly not the ones I expected.
I think I'll have to change appearances sooner than anticipated. I hope you guys don't mind.」
Benimaru: 「Not at all, my lord.」
I don't really think anyone would mind that.
Shion: 「You are magnificent regardless of the form you adopt!」she remarked.
Hakuro: 「Hoh-hoh-hoh. Adapting to the new face would be something else to talk about, though.」
Rimuru: 「Yeah, pick a form that isn't way too off.」
We all agreed on that, so he had no choice but to fall along.
Fubuki: 「Sure, sure. Let's get this massacre started.」
I do not like the phrasing, but it literally is what we are about to do, I guess.
Rimuru: 「Well, anyway, I'm gonna be watching the situation from the skies above.
I'll give out orders depending on how things go, so I'll let you handle the details on the ground, Benimaru.」
Benimaru: 「All right. Fair enough, then.」
That seemed to appease him well enough. But I was still nervous.
I'd never done anything like commanding an army before.
I played a lot of strategy games on the PC, but I had no experience directing actual flesh and blood around.
So my intention was to watch the action from overhead and stick
strictly to handing out orders.
I'd use Thought Communication to link up with everyone and keep them abreast of developments.
Benimaru would then use that to command the ground forces, although I'd have ultimate authority over whether we retreated or not.
Rimuru: 「So, is that clear?」 I said to the assembled goblin riders. 「You are to follow the orders of Benimaru unless we give specific orders.
Also, don't do anything you think might get you killed! This isn't gonna be our last stand, so don't fool yourself into thinking it is.」
""Raahhhh!""
The riders roared their approval once more.
I warned them not to get too hotheaded, but war was war, and they were rarin' for one.
Shion: 「We will not let you down, Sir Rimuru!」 Shion said, Benimaru nodding next to
her.
Hakuro was as unaffected as always.
…Ahh, I'm sure it'll work itself out.
But between the way-overconfident ogres and the level of excitement among the goblin riders, I had a feeling I was getting in over my head.
So I swore to myself…—If things get too hairy, retreat, retreat, and retreat!