Even for Arthur, defeating an army of two hundred thousand orcs would take some time.
But how could he annihilate them quickly and decisively?
What kind of strategy would be required to wipe out such a massive orc army?
The answer was as clear as daylight: he didn't need any strategy at all.
He simply had to repeat exactly what he had done before in the capital of Blumund.
"Ahhh~ What a pain…" Arthur sighed as he walked.
He had obtained some information through Treyni.
Among it, one of the most important—if not the most important—was that there was no Slime named Rimuru.
Much less a goblin village led by a Slime.
This made Arthur question things even more.
How the hell did Veldora disappear from this world when, apparently, there is no Rimuru here?
Arthur theorized many possibilities. One of them was that the Slime might have died inside that cave.
However, Arthur had the feeling that the truth went much deeper.
He knew that someone had tampered with this world's timeline.
Perhaps whoever did it either killed Rimuru or sent him to another world.
That possibility couldn't be ruled out—if he managed to come here, who's to say someone else couldn't?
"Well, looking on the bright side, I'll have loyal subjects and beautiful girls following me around," he laughed as he approached the forest.
The moment he entered the forest, Arthur stopped restraining the overwhelming aura emanating from his body.
"Ogres, huh? I wonder what they look like in real life," Arthur murmured with a smile.
---xXx---
"Who is this… who can emit such a powerful aura?"
The white-haired old man muttered, overtaken by a mixture of astonishment and unease.
Before dying at the hands of those despicable orcs, the former leader of the Ogre Tribe had entrusted the young master and the princess to his care, showing absolute faith in his strength and wisdom.
Yet at that moment, even he was no longer certain he could face an existence like that.
"Hey, you there. The group of ogres."
A sudden voice echoed, cutting through the heavy silence.
The six ogres were completely stunned when they turned around and saw the blond man looking at them.
They could clearly feel the crushing power radiating from the man before them.
And yet, there was not the slightest trace of hostility in his stance. On the contrary, he even seemed friendly.
Was this an illusion? Or perhaps… some kind of test?
"Why are you staring at me like that? I'm not going to eat you."
Arthur spoke as he let out a tired sigh.
"A dryad named Treyni told me that the survivors of the Ogre Tribe were destined to become my subjects. Whether that's true or not, I honestly have no idea. But I'll choose to believe her. So tell me… are you willing to serve me and avenge your tribe?"
He asked with a smile on his face.
It was true—Treyni had really said exactly that.
However, how she had obtained such information remained an absolute mystery.
"What?!"
The six surviving members of the Ogre Tribe were immediately struck by disbelief.
A dryad had said such words?
Just moments ago, they had been thinking about how they could avenge themselves on the orcs.
And now that very opportunity had appeared right before them.
Without the slightest hesitation, the six knelt before Arthur and swore their loyalty.
"Very well. Then I will now give each of you a name."
Despite belonging to the Ogre Tribe, a warrior race renowned throughout the Jura Forest, they had no names.
Becoming a named Majin was the common dream of all majins.
And to their complete surprise, immediately after pledging their loyalty, their new master announced that he would grant them names right away.
If it had been an ordinary being—or even a suspicious stranger—offering such a gift, they would have certainly refused.
After all, even for a powerful majin, naming another majin was an extremely dangerous act.
But the man standing before them was far from ordinary.
The red-haired youth showed deep joy and spoke with reverence:
"Thank you for granting us such a great gift, my lord. I will accept it with gratitude and follow your leadership from this day forward!"
The white-haired old man nodded slowly.
"Since the young master agrees, there is no reason for us to refuse this gift."
Seeing the reaction of the six, Arthur couldn't help but smile.
"Very well. Let's begin."
"From this day on, your name will be Benimaru."
The moment Arthur spoke the name, a colossal amount of magicules enveloped Benimaru.
The transformation was visible to the naked eye.
Before, as an ogre, he had a tall and robust body, with slightly wavy crimson hair resembling flames. Two large, jet-black horns protruded from his head. Red markings, like bloody tears, ran from beneath his eyes down to his cheeks. His eyes were fierce and piercing, with red-orange irises.
"The young master… evolved into a Kijin?" the white-haired old man murmured in disbelief.
After the evolution, Benimaru's height shrank to around one hundred and eighty centimeters. His body became more slender, with the appearance of a young man in his twenties, perhaps even younger. His hair became less wavy, straighter and sharper. His horns shrank slightly, becoming narrower and shining with a black even deeper than obsidian. His eyes now conveyed calm and confidence, and his skin took on a human tone. If not for his horns and the drastically amplified aura, it would have been impossible to distinguish him from an ordinary human.
The other five, who had yet to receive names, were filled with excitement.
Kijins were practically legends among ogres. Throughout recorded history, very few had ever reached such an evolution.
Benimaru had never imagined he could attain that level.
Just as he was about to kneel to give thanks, he felt his body pulse violently once more.
In the blink of an eye, Benimaru evolved again.
The white-haired old man trembled uncontrollably.
Benimaru had evolved once more… becoming an Oni.
Onis were the result of a kijin fully returning to its elemental roots, transforming into a spiritual life-form—similar to dryads or incarnated archdemons. They possessed immense power, comparable to that of a Demon Lord, as well as an almost limitless lifespan.
How was that even possible?
As for Benimaru himself, he was completely stunned.
Overwhelmed by emotion, he knelt before Arthur.
"My lord… from this day on, I will serve you with body and soul!"
Arthur waved his hand lightly.
"No need to be so serious with me, Benimaru. Tell me, what abilities did you acquire upon evolving?"
Benimaru nodded and replied promptly:
"After evolving into an Oni, I acquired the Unique Skill [Commander], whose effects are: Inspire Forces, Predictive Calculation, Thought Acceleration, and Thought Domination."
"In addition, I gained the following skills: Mana Perception, Heat Source Perception, Multilayer Barrier, Spatial Movement, Flame Manipulation, and Black Flame."
"I also gained resistances: Abnormal Condition Nullification, Holy-Demonic Attack Resistance, Natural Effect Nullification, Pain Nullification, Physical Attack Nullification, and Spiritual Attack Resistance."
Isn't this a bit too much…? Arthur thought, growing more perplexed as he listened to the list of abilities.
"Ahem! Very well, Benimaru," Arthur cleared his throat. "Now, I'll give names to the remaining five."
He turned to the rest of the group.
"Your name will be Shuna."
"Your name will be Shion."
"Your name will be Souei."
"Your name will be Hakurou."
"Your name will be Kurobe."
Arthur granted names to all of them in succession, and just like Benimaru, each underwent their own evolution.
(End of Chapter)