by Fuse
Since everybody was named “green” something, I named this army the Green Numbers. Might as well go with it. I wanted to go with “red” something since these were Benimaru’s forces, but I kinda liked the feel of this, too. It’d be a nice little surprise, this green force unleashing all these flame attacks. I think I’ll have their equipment repainted green for the battlefield sometime.
Next up was Geld’s force, a sort of complement to the Green Numbers.
The high orcs all evolved in the same way, earning power-up skills like Steel Strength and Iron Wall. Their officer class also had the extra skill Control Earth, letting them mold and sculpt the land around them. Good for digging trenches in a hurry, as Geld put it.
In addition, everyone in the army had earned the extra skill Armorize Body, making them into much more of a defense-oriented tank unit. They had also taken on a lot of my personal resistances—Resist Melee Attack to start with, followed by Pain, Rot, Electricity, and Paralysis. Kabal’s Charus Shield, the completed version of the one I gave him as a present, was now a Unique piece of equipment that boosted his magic resistance. Basically, whether it was melee or magic, they could deal with it. I gave half a thought to exposing them to Shion’s cuisine so they could gain poison resistance but quickly banished the thought.
Still, obtaining all those shield-like scales from Charybdis was really a stroke of luck. Kurobe had made lots of copies of the items Garm had created from them, and I really have those craftsmen to thank for that.
Now, this unit was sturdy enough that each member ranked a solid B. That, plus the Unique equipment on each one, made them impervious to any normal force. It was almost unfair how defensively able they were, and they numbered five thousand, their ranks beefed up by a constant stream of volunteers. Normally, they were involved in construction work, but when they received the call, they transformed into a powerhouse, an iron wall that no attack could pierce.
Their official name was now the Yellow Numbers.
Close behind them were the hundred dragonewts under Gabil’s command.
Dragonewts were naturally gifted with a pretty decent array of skills, and they had all but breezed into the A-minus ranks. Now, with my gifts, the dragon in their blood had awakened to an even stronger degree. Each of them now had the intrinsic skill Dragon Body, along with either Flame Breath or Thunder Breath, giving them some much-needed long-range attacks. Gabil could use them both, which meant he really was an exceptional dragonewt, I guess.
What I still didn’t really get was Dragon Body.
Report. The intrinsic skill Dragon Body is—
Oh, um, I didn’t need the full documentation. I know now that I can’t use it, so there’s not much point in hearing it. I’m sure Gabil and the rest will take the time to figure out how to use it best, if they want. What’s the point of having power if you never earned it for yourself? That’s what I think.
Huh? What about me? Well, I have the ultimate skill Raphael, Lord of Wisdom. If I have a problem, Raphael will help me out. No issue there. That’s my power, so in a way, it’s like I’m the one making the effort there. I don’t think it’s going too far to say that.
So! Hopefully Gabil and his team can learn how to use that Dragon Body thing before it’s too late! Not to throw it all on you, but good luck.
Still, in a way, it was almost like this squad’s talents were going to waste with Gabil. They could fly; they could breathe fire and lightning from the air… It’s nuts. And thanks to their intrinsic species aspects, they were resistant to pretty much everything—scales of steel, breastplate armor of magisteel. Whether by sword or by magic, no halfhearted strike was going to break their skin. Flight alone was enough to give them an overwhelming advantage, but look at that defense! Speed, offense, defense—the complete surprise-assault package, all in one.
I named them Team Hiryu, or flying dragon. They only numbered a hundred, but they were the strongest unit in our forces.
Last but not least, we had a brand-new unit, one positioned as my personal elite guard. Led by Shion, they were also a hundred strong, composed of the victims I revived after the battle in Tempest. There were some children, age-wise, among them, but apparently they had grown up to—and beyond—the point of maturity. I guess their frustration at not being able to fight encouraged that kind of evolution? Who knows?
As far as skills go, they all earned the extra skills Complete Memory and Self-Regeneration. Those two complemented each other. Complete Memory meant that even if their heads were blown off, their memories remained in their astral bodies. They could then use Self-Regeneration to recover fully instead of dying instantly. This meant they had basically gained the astonishing healing skills of the Orc Disaster of yore.
If Self-Regeneration ever evolved into Ultraspeed Regeneration, they’d be pretty much immortal. And I had a hundred of these guys. I couldn’t even deal. And thanks to that regeneration, they were durable enough to take Shion’s ultra-intense training and deal with it just fine. As a female member put it, one who was just a little girl not long ago: “We don’t die or anything!” I didn’t have much of an answer to that, no. I wasn’t sure if this was the best thing for ’em, but hey, have fun! Break a leg!
Their strength was at around a rank C for now, but I had a feeling that, over time, they’d become the strongest unit in our forces. With that expectation, I decided to name them Team Reborn. They all had a whole new life ahead of them, after all.
That rounded out the briefing.
It felt like the effects of my evolution dovetailed well with everybody’s personal efforts to bear some major fruit for us. My first impression was Wow, we’re more damaging than ever. The total force was under ten thousand, but we could whip pretty much any army out there. Their numbers weren’t as strong as the Farmus military I wiped out, but in terms of war power, we would’ve totally overwhelmed them.
All this stuff came as a total surprise to me. Being outnumbered is still a weakness, but we’d just have to gradually build that up, between strengthening our country and negotiating with others. I think a standing force of around ten thousand would be the number to shoot for.
Plus, we still had our reserve forces protecting the Forest of Jura. They weren’t part of this campaign—the difference in training was just too much—but if we could work ’em up, they’d serve us well enough in battle, too. That’s something to tackle in the future.
Still, after Benimaru finished his report, I couldn’t help but be amazed by the sight of ten thousand of my soldiers in formation. That, plus ten thousand beastman soldiers—an army of twenty thousand, all lined up and waiting for the order to march.
Shion’s Team Reborn, as my personal guard, was on standby away from the crowd. They were holding down the fort back home this time, so they’d just get in the way among these ranks.
“Sir Rimuru,” Rigurd reported, “everything is ready.” I thanked him for his long hours of frantic work. “Oh, I hardly deserve it,” he said, smiling.
So if we’re all set, it’s time to get transporting.
“Oh, um, Lady Alvis…?”
“Alvis is fine, Sir Rimuru.”
I was trying to be polite, but I guess I made things worse. Let’s just bulldoze right over that.
“All right, Alvis. We have all your friends assembled on the other side, so I want you to relay what we talked about to them. I think Phobio should be organizing them into units, so you take care of the rest!”
“Understood. I promise I will not forget your kindness.”
She bowed deeply at me, followed by Sufia and the rest of the beastmen. It felt almost oppressive, but I didn’t react. That was how they wanted to show their appreciation.
“You really saved us,” a smiling Sufia told me. “Now we can smash up Clayman’s forces without a second thought. We’ll let you have him, Sir Rimuru, so take out all our anger on him for me!”
Pretty scary face, considering that smile. Alvis was similarly glaring at me, in apparent agreement. Everything was set
for them; now all they had to do was go wild on the battlefield. We’d enjoy a force of twenty thousand beastmen alone, so I’m not sure we needed the reinforcements, but the more the merrier. If it was just them, we’d still be outnumbered anyway.
With these extra fighters, we now had a unified force of thirty thousand to go against Clayman’s own thirty thousand. We were even now, and we were the better-quality army. Victory was as good as ours. The only problem…
“Benimaru, any issues with our operation?”
While I was rounding up beastmen last night, I had Benimaru and his team shake down our plan of action once more. The gist of it hadn’t changed, but since we weren’t spreading out our forces to collect the refugees any longer, a few details needed to be changed.
“We’re all set, sir.” He shot me a crafty smile. “If Clayman is targeting the citizens of the Beast Kingdom, then retreat is certainly an effective option as well.”
Yes. I agreed with him. No need to smash right against his front line and get people killed.
“I discussed it with Sir Benimaru as well,” Alvis said, excitedly playing with the staff in her hand. “We’ve got enough leeway now to move the site of battle, so it’ll be a little while before we begin…”
All systems go, then. Failing to complete his mission before Walpurgis would make for one angry Clayman, no doubt. At the very least, he’d treat his underlings even worse than usual. If their army’s commander fears that and starts freaking out, the ball’s on our side.
“…We will deploy the force at the entrance to the Forest of Jura. The wasteland that was once our home, the now-toppled orcish kingdom of Orbic—now, it shall be their grave.”
There was something close to sheer malice in Geld’s voice. Clayman’s scheming cost him his home nation, and now it would be the site of the decisive battle. I suppose anyone would’ve felt the hand of fate at play here.
The strategy, as it was, is pretty simple. We’d make it look like we had the refugees evacuate into the Forest of Jura, then strike at the enemy forces trying to pursue them. That’s about it.
Raphael provided the perfect simulation of it in my brain. Obtaining and replaying the information Soei and his gang gave me, I had a picture of the future that was almost as vivid as reality. I then Thought Communication’ed that to everyone else, so we could all equally grasp it.
Our original plan called for us to keep the refugees secure as we lured the enemy over, eventually surrounding and destroying the force. With this change, the faster units would serve as bait instead. That reduced the danger to the individual forces involved, which greatly boosted the chances of this working.
The key to this was making sure they were all inside the forest before crushing them. I didn’t intend to kill them all, but I didn’t like the idea of them running away and attacking again later. We had to be thorough.
“You got all that, Benimaru?”
“Of course. Let’s give them enough hell that they never dare defy us again!”
Ooh, he’s got his no-mercy face on. I like that.
“Let’s wipe ’em out, Benimaru!” Shion added, cheering him on.
“Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh… You need to take out the garbage fast, you see, before it rots.”
Diablo was…also cheering him on? I’m not so sure, but whatever. They both wanted to join in, of course—they just loooove fighting. But Shion would stay with me to prepare, and Diablo would be stepping into Farmus land soon. They were out of the picture. Now to just leave things to Benimaru and wait for the good news.
“Right! No matter what happens, I want you to report back immediately. I’m sending you off now. Win this one, guys!!”
“““Rahhh! Victory shall be yours!!”””
And now they were all looking at me, all those many, many eyes. As I regarded them with my own golden pair, I deployed a square of magic. I spent ages practicing this last night, so I had it down pat. Beneath the feet of all twenty thousand, a giant square drew itself in layers, from the bottom to the top. A complex array of geometrical shapes built themselves up inside, too intricate for me to figure out. Something this size, of course, required a lot of magic and concentration. My energy rapidly drained, but based on my figures, I should manage to hold out. (Not to brag, but my magicule stores had risen exponentially, too.)
It took around five minutes in all. Everyone stood there, bolt upright, waiting for the transport spell to complete. And then, the moment the mélange of shapes within the square stacked up above the heads of everyone inside—the entire army was gone, in the blink of an eye.
Transport complete. Looks like we got them out of there.
Back when I was practicing last night, I was a little concerned Clayman had noticed all the light this was generating in the darkness. So I combined it with a blindness bomb to sap all the light away from the magic square. You never know where you may mess up—diligence is key. There was no need for that now, though, and the sight that unfolded before me could only be described as magnificent.
“Well done, Sir Rimuru. Such a beautiful spell.”
“Indeed. It was so charming!”
I had earned high marks from Diablo and Shion. Diablo must’ve really liked magic. Once things calm down, I’d like to talk shop with him a little. Maybe he’s got a spell or two I don’t know about. And I’ve got to help Shion stop being jealous of everyone around her. I can’t afford any weird drama around here.
Such were my thoughts as I nodded at them, and we went on our way.
After everyone left, we were greeted by a clearly bored Veldora. “Rimuru,” he asked, “can I go and beat ’em all up, too?”
I knew it. He hadn’t listened to a single word I told him.
“What are you, deaf? I’m trying to keep you a secret until the Walpurgis Council begins! If you go crazy out there, the secret’s gonna be out in two seconds!”
“Gwaaaah-ha-ha-ha! Yes, yes, of course. I almost forgot!”
“Almost,” my ass. I don’t know what to do with this old coot. I gave him a whole bunch of manga volumes I had stored up, but will that be enough? Because I’m really worried he’s gonna try to pull something stupid. Better keep a very close eye on him.
Yohm and his squad also set off that afternoon. I look forward to having them tell everyone they run into along the way that Veldora is back—I told them to make sure and phrase it so it spreads as quickly from village to village as possible.
The purpose for this, of course, was so Clayman would hear about it as he keeps snooping on us. Hopefully the news will reach him sooner than later, I thought as I saw them off. Diablo told me to “expect us back very, very soon,” but how much of a pushover does he think Farmus is anyway? It almost made me worried, but I still left things up to them anyway. Everybody makes mistakes, after all, and if something came up, we could think about it then.
It wasn’t long after when Gazel set off toward the Dwarven Kingdom. His assorted ministers were livid, which made his departure a bit more hurried than I think he would’ve liked. Guess that decoy he hired wasn’t up to the job, and I could guess why. I definitely shouldn’t be taking any lessons from him on that front. Nobody likes being found out.
Another day passed—and while Benimaru reported that things were moving along well, we weren’t without our problems.
Naturally, a group of thirty thousand soldiers and refugees is a little restricted in where it can go. These were stout beastmen, however, not humans, so I was told that they should reach their destination without too much delay. I wasn’t too worried, though. I had something to deal with that.
“Right,” I said, patting Benimaru’s shoulder. “We’re all ready to take in the refugees here, so I’m gonna transport all the noncombatants over to Tempest.”
“Oh… There is that, yes…”
Benimaru groaned, chiding himself for not coming up with it first.
You know, though, that transport spell costs a lot of magicules. The more people you’re transporting, the mo
re it adds up. At this point yesterday, I was fresh off moving a force of twenty thousand around; I didn’t really have much free energy left. I couldn’t go shooting that off rapid-fire, so it wasn’t like I was deliberately wasting time. Besides, this was a completely new sort of magic, one that flew in the face of conventional approaches, so we’d be able to weave this into future tactics with a lot more frequency. I mean, I don’t think too many people could cast that spell anyway, so that should help preserve our unique superiority.
Regardless, Rigurd had set up the required camping quarters after I sent everyone off yesterday, so I figured we could transport the refugees alone into here. So I did it all in a snap. And none of them were nervous about it, either. I guess they were all adaptable enough that they got used to it quick.
I let Rigurd guide them around, since that work I started yesterday was still calling my name. I really wanted to finish it up in time for Walpurgis, so I just had to hope no more issues arose.
In the end, the day of the Walpurgis Council began without any major crisis. My work was done before lunch, allowing me to dive into the final stages that afternoon. Looks like I’ll be on time. That’s a relief.
“Rimuru, is this…?”
“What do you think? Pretty neat, huh?”
“What’re you, some kind of genius?!”
I had enough of dealing with Ramiris’s yelling at me. I didn’t want to engage any longer. I had to save my mental acuity for this evening, so I’d just ignore her rantings for now.
After lunch, I worked on the final touches, then placed the finished item in my Stomach and headed over to the treant village where Treyni lived. Veldora wanted to join me, but he’d have to wait. I didn’t want anyone attacking town, not that I thought they would. Right now, the whole urban area was being protected by a Barrier that Veldora put over it. That prevented any potential eavesdropping from Clayman as well, so him abandoning town at the moment was a bad idea.
So I promised him “next time” and set off with Ramiris and Treyni. I assigned Beretta to deal with him, as much as it hurt my conscience. He’ll probably be used and abused, I’m sure. I’ll have to reward him later.