Kang!
"Ghk?!"
With Rimuru, the [Kijin], Ria, and Shizue watching, the clear ring of a sheathed sword and a [Lizardmen]'s cry rang out at the same time.
Kang!
Once more.
Kang!
Again.
Kang!
And again.
Kang!
The impacts kept coming without pause, so continuously that silence never had a chance to settle.
"N-ngh... h-how long are you going to—"
"—Until you realize what you did wrong."
Kang!
"Kgh...!!"
"If you're really a monster fit to talk about becoming the next chieftain of the [Lizardmen], you should at least be able to endure this much, shouldn't you?"
Fixing Gabiru's reptilian eyes with a brief stare from his cold blue gaze, Adelio raised the sheathed sword toward the sky once more.
With a hand holding back to the bare minimum, and not a trace of magic power in it.
*
"......."
And so, about ten minutes later...
"...He passed out."
Gabiru, who had been wobbling and looking ready to collapse for the past few minutes, finally lost consciousness.
No matter how little magic power Adelio used, and no matter how carefully he controlled his strength, there was no way Gabiru could stay fine after taking repeated blows from [the body of a saint].
'I avoided the vital spots as much as possible, but it seems this is the limit for a [Lizardmen] body.'
Unlike when he attacked Footman half-seriously, Adelio had deliberately lowered the intensity of [Heroic Aura] when dealing with Gabiru, and it seemed that had been the right call.
If Gabiru, whose body was far inferior to Footman's, had been attacked while completely crushed under [Heroic Aura], he would have suffered much worse injuries without even being able to defend himself properly.
'...If it were up to me, I'd like to straighten out his personality in advance too, but... this should be enough for now.'
If he meddled rashly and made Gabiru turn out even more twisted here, it would only become a pointless headache later. It was better to simply watch how things developed from here.
It was still only a possibility, but if this defeat reduced Gabiru's arrogance, then there was a chance he might choose to listen calmly to his chieftain instead of attacking the [Orc]s first.
"You three [Lizardmen] over there."
At last, Adelio released [Heroic Aura] and called out to the [Lizardmen] slumped on the ground with fear written all over their faces.
"This hardly needs saying, but negotiations are over. We might consider an alliance, but we have no intention whatsoever of serving under the [Lizardmen]."
"......Uh, um..."
"......"
"...Kuh..."
At Adelio's words, which were all but a final notice, Gabiru's close aides lowered their heads in silence.
They desperately wanted to argue back, but in this situation, there was nothing they could say.
More than that, this was someone who had subdued all of them with a single [Skill] and casually crushed even their leader Gabiru. Arguing with him was impossible to begin with.
If he took offense and decided to kill them, not a single one of them would survive.
"Rimuru."
"H-huh?"
Rimuru, who had been quietly watching Adelio, suddenly answered in a startled voice when her name was called.
Then Adelio said that, as the master of this place, her opinion mattered too.
"You agree with me too, right?"
"Ah, yeah! Of course!"
Rimuru nodded vigorously in agreement.
She had not the slightest intention of becoming a subordinate of the [Lizardmen] either.
People who looked down on others and made demands with an irritating attitude had always rubbed her the wrong way, both before and now.
"Ahem! Just like Adelio said, I'm willing to consider cooperating against the [Orc]s, but if you're telling us to become your subordinates, I refuse. Take that idiot and go home for today!"
As Rimuru finally declared that while pointing at Gabiru, the waiting [Lizardmen], looking like defeated soldiers, hurriedly hoisted the unconscious Gabiru up.
And lastly—
"W-we'll come back again someday...!"
"T-that's right...!"
"...We're letting this go for now... b-but next time will be different!"
—they muttered those familiar loser lines in voices as small as ants.
"......"
'...Like leader, like followers.'
After watching the [Lizardmen] flee with their tails between their legs, spouting lines fit for third-rate villains so quietly they were almost impossible to hear, Adelio turned away with a bitter smile.
"Well then, now it's our turn to decide what to do next."
It was time for their side to start preparing as well.
*
That night.
"Grrrrr..."
"Trample them...!"
"The strength of my comrades shall become mine..."
"The strength of my enemies shall become mine!"
The army of [Orc]s was heading toward the marshlands along the great river of the Jura Great Forest.
Quite a few had fallen during the attack on the [Ogre] village because of Shizue's assault, more than expected, but with their numbers still exceeding two hundred thousand, they remained an absurdly massive force.
"......"
And Souei's clone body, which had been observing those [Orc]s from afar, narrowed its eyes slightly.
'At this rate, they'll reach [Lizardmen] territory within a few days.'
Having roughly gauged the [Orc]s' speed of movement under Rimuru's orders, he prepared to return to his main body and report.
But at that moment—
Fwaaaa...
"...!"
—a wind with properties similar to a spirit stirred, then gradually began taking human form before him.
"...You are..."
Fresh green hair, and a body that seemed almost one with nature itself.
As far as Souei knew, there was only one race in this great forest that could be so close to nature.
"A [Dryad]...?!"
A venerable race that served as the代理 of Veldora, the [Storm Dragon] and lord of the great forest, its current administrators, and one that had even served a Demon Lord in the distant past.
"It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time, assassin of the [Ogre]... no, of the [Kijin]."
It was the appearance of the highest authority in the great forest, unseen for decades.
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