Was Yūto actually from the Kingdom of Falmuth?
Rimuru himself wasn't entirely sure. Still, he seemed to recall Yūto mentioning before that he was technically still drifting—without a fixed place to call home.
And honestly, given the situation at hand, who even cared whether Yūto belonged to Falmuth or not? What mattered was stopping the Pig Demon Lord. That was the top priority.
Originally, the most suitable people to search for Yūto would have been Shion and Shuna—after all, they already had direct connections with him. However, Shion was currently one of the main pillars of the battlefield, while Shuna's role as a wide-range support caster was equally indispensable.
More importantly, although both of them had grown significantly stronger, their mobility was still their biggest weakness.
In the end, Rimuru had no choice but to dispatch Sōei—the one who possessed both high combat ability and mastery over Shadow Movement—to head toward the Kingdom of Falmuth and seek Yūto's assistance.
Because unlike Shion and the others, Sōei couldn't pinpoint Yūto's exact location. At this point, all they could do was hope that Yūto would stay put for once and not wander off somewhere unpredictable.
Using his "Shadow Movement" ability, Sōei slipped effortlessly into the city of Maris. From the hushed conversations among the townspeople, he quickly learned that a coup had taken place in the Kingdom of Falmuth.
The greedy former king had been driven out, and—coincidentally—Lord Yūto was currently in the city.
Sōei immediately sensed that this turn of events was likely connected to Yūto in some way. Taking advantage of the cover of night, he infiltrated the royal palace.
The monsters guarding the palace exterior were far stronger than Sōei had anticipated, a testament to Falmuth's newly transformed military strength. Still, with "Shadow Movement" combined with "Presence Concealment", he slipped past layer after layer of defenses and entered the grand hall.
What Sōei didn't expect was that the moment he stepped inside—before he could even reveal himself upon spotting Yūto seated on the throne—a terrifying aura instantly locked onto him.
Under normal circumstances, with both concealment skills active, Sōei had absolute confidence in his stealth. Even someone an entire tier stronger than him shouldn't have been able to detect his presence.
And yet now, he had been discovered the instant he entered.
Not only that—the aura emanating from the one who had locked onto him made it painfully clear: this opponent was extremely dangerous.
What followed was exactly the scene that had just unfolded before Yūto and the Spider Princess.
After hearing Sōei's explanation and learning the purpose of his visit, Yūto froze for a moment—then, to Sōei's visible delight, readily agreed to lend his aid.
Honestly, Yūto had thought things on his own side were already chaotic enough. He hadn't expected Rimuru to have gone so far as to assemble an entire allied force.
As expected of the protagonist, Yūto mused inwardly.
Part of his decision to help stemmed from the fact that Rimuru genuinely suited his tastes. Besides, Shuna and Shion could be considered half his subordinates anyway.
The other reason was simple curiosity.
The so-called "Pig Demon Lord" and the "Moderate Harlequin Alliance" had thoroughly piqued his interest.
Originally, Yūto had planned to stabilize Falmuth first, then mobilize the kingdom's power to search for Named Monsters for his own purposes.
But according to Sōei, the war now raging in the Jura Forest wasn't just about the Pig Demon Lord and his two hundred thousand pigmen. Numerous high-level Majin—similar to Gelmud—had also gathered there.
If they were subordinates of Demon Lord Clayman, and high-ranking ones at that, then surely a fair number of them were Named Monsters.
On top of that, there was the road construction project he'd promised the nobles—a route that had to pass through the Jura Forest anyway.
Perfect timing, Yūto thought. I can handle everything in one trip.
"Lord Yūto," the Spider Princess—Kumo-hime—asked respectfully from behind him, bowing slightly,"Shall I notify the Falmuth forces to prepare and accompany you on the campaign?"
At those words, Sōei's usually impassive expression cracked with unmistakable excitement.
According to Rimuru's original plan, they'd only hoped to secure Yūto's personal assistance.
No one had expected that the man they'd parted with not long ago had quietly become the king of an entire nation.
No matter how strong an individual was, personal combat power could never compare to the might of a country.
And judging by the aura Kumo-hime had released earlier—along with the monsters guarding the palace—Yūto's forces were anything but ordinary.
More reinforcements meant higher chances of victory, and Sōei was naturally pleased. Even with Yūto joining them to compensate for their lack of top-tier strength, they were still overwhelmingly outnumbered by the pigmen.
"Just notify Nekomata, Tearai-Oni, Kaginui-Onna, Kishigake-Kozō, and Samurai-Hyō," Yūto said calmly."The rest should stay behind to protect Falmuth.
"As for human soldiers—forget it. They're ordinary people, and the Jura Forest isn't exactly close. At their marching speed, by the time they arrive, Rimuru and the others would already be dead."
Sōei's excitement cooled instantly.
He was right. The situation was dire. Even if they brought more support, it would be meaningless if they couldn't arrive in time.
Not everyone had "Shadow Movement" like he did. Anyone too slow would be a burden rather than help.
Realizing this, Sōei suddenly dropped to one knee before Yūto.
"Lord Yūto, your willingness to dispatch additional forces will surely move Lord Rimuru deeply.However, given the urgency of the situation, please allow me to accompany you ahead immediately.As for the rest, they can follow at their own pace."
Though politely phrased, his meaning was clear: Don't let reinforcements slow us down.
Yūto gave a wry smile.
It was obvious that Sōei had just lumped the subordinates Yūto named into the category of dead weight.
"Your demon energy's not even that impressive," Yūto said dryly,"yet your mouth's bigger than my athlete's foot.
"You think we'll slow you down? Fine. When we leave, go all out—your absolute fastest speed.If we can't keep up, I'll make sure to call you 'Sir' every time we meet from now on."
Before Yūto could say anything else, the ones Kumo-hime had summoned had already arrived—and just in time to hear Sōei's arrogant remarks.
Naturally, they exploded.
They'd been thrilled when they heard they'd been personally chosen to accompany Lord Yūto on the campaign.
And now, the moment they stepped into the hall, some oni was dismissing them as baggage.
That good mood evaporated instantly.
To have their abilities questioned in front of their lord was nothing short of humiliation.
With no time to waste, Yūto's group departed that very night.
Traveling at night was difficult for most—but for them, it was effortless.
After all, they were yokai.
Night was their domain. Darkness didn't hinder them—it invigorated them, causing their demonic energy to surge.
Their pace was astonishingly fast.
But along the way, Nekomata and the others ended up locking horns with Sōei.
Being looked down upon earlier clearly struck a nerve, and now they were determined not to fall behind.
Not only that—they turned the journey into a race, intent on humiliating Sōei on his own turf.
Nekomata, in her feline form, was blindingly fast by nature. Combined with her superior demonic energy, she left Sōei eating dust.
Kishigake-Kozō transformed his body into flowing water, gliding across the terrain like liquid shadow, ignoring obstacles entirely. His speed rivaled Sōei's own.
Kaginui-Onna used her hair like grappling wires, swinging forward in pendulum motions. She wasn't as fast as the others, but she kept up just fine.
Trailing at the very back was Tearai-Oni, who had Samurai-Hyō tucked under one arm. He bulldozed forward in a display of brutal aesthetics—trees, boulders, anything in the way was smashed to pieces.
As for Samurai-Hyō… being a clay golem, his defense was superb.
His mobility, however… left something to be desired.
Thanks to their unspoken rivalry, a journey that had taken Sōei a full day on his way in was shortened by nearly half.
Toward the end, they were even burning demonic energy just to go faster.
"I don't even know what to say to you," Yūto sighed."Using demonic energy on something as trivial as traveling… At our original pace, we could've reached the Jura Forest within a day.
"And yet, before even setting foot on the battlefield, you've already burned through nearly thirty percent of your reserves.Do you really think that was wise?"
Unlike them, Yūto didn't need demonic energy to keep up. His own ability—Swift as the Wind—made it effortless.
Still, seeing how much weaker their auras had become gave him a headache.
He understood pride.
But they were about to face an army of over two hundred thousand. Was this really the time for reckless competition?
"Lord Yūto, I sincerely apologize," Sōei said, dropping to one knee."This outcome was caused by my earlier disrespectful words.
"Your subordinates are truly exceptional. I retract my doubts and offer my apology."
Not only to Yūto—but to Nekomata and the others as well.
For someone as proud as Sōei, this was no small gesture.
Truthfully, he couldn't fathom how Yūto—who had been traveling alone not long ago—had managed to gather such a formidable group of powerful yokai in such a short time.