As we prepared to break for more information, Soei stiffened, wincing.
"What's up, Soei?" I asked, noticing immediately.
"It seems that one of my Replications has made contact with someone. They're insisting on communicating with you and Lady Risa, Sir Rimuru."
"Huh? Who?" I asked. They'd called me and Risa out by name? I couldn't think of anyone who could fit that bill. Kabal, maybe? No, it took them several weeks to journey between their home base and here. Not possible, timewise, unless they got about halfway and turned back or something, but I doubted that.
"They have not given me a name, my lord, but she seems quite adamant about giving you a message. She is a dryad." Soei explained.
Immediately, everyone's eyebrows went up. Basically, the dryads were known as near-mythological caretakers of the forest. They hadn't been seen in decades. On top of that, if someone was capable of spotting Soei's replication, then they must've been incredibly high caliber. I told Soei to guide her over here right away.
Immediately, Soei's replication shadow motioned to the village. It was only a few minutes before it appeared in the doorway, followed by the dryad, a beautiful woman with light green hair and deep blue eyes. She looked like a young adult by human standards, but with her semi-translucent body, it was clear that she wasn't human.
Breaking the silence that had descended upon the conference room upon seeing this high level, semi-spiritual being enter the room, the dryad spoke. "Hello, Leader of monsters and your followers. I am Treyni, a dryad. It is nice to meet you all." She paused, smiling.
"Yeah, no titles, please." I replied, "My name's Rimuru."
"Alright. I have come to discuss the series of calamities taking place in the forest as we speak. As one of the Forest of Jura's wardens, I would like to join in your conference here, to address the orc problem."
"But why here?" Benimaru asked, "Surely there are more powerful races than the goblins around here?"
"This is the most powerful outpost in the region. The others do not exist anymore. Had the ogres not been destroyed, I may have gone there as well, but…" She trailed off for a moment, "Our village consists of dryads and treants. We cannot move our true bodies, but us dryads can, at least, interact with the outside world in spiritual form. Unfortunately, if the root cause of these calamities attacks our home, we lack the numbers to provide an effective defense. I wish to tap your strength before that happens, if I may." It made sense, but we were still a bit dubious.
But as Treyni talked, things became more clear. It was an orc lord. The dryads had confirmation of it. On top of that, they had noticed high level magic-born working behind the scenes, too. The same ones that the ogres had originally mistaken Risa for. They believed that a demon lord was backing them, but they weren't sure which one, and it didn't really matter, either.
"So, what do you want us to do about it, exactly?" I asked.
"I would like you to defeat the orc lord."
"Okay." Risa responded immediately. The rest of the room was plunged into silence for a moment, before arguments arose. The kijin, in general, agreed with Risa, while the goblins wanted more information first. One thing everyone agreed on, though, was that we didn't want any casualties. Eventually, we came to an agreement, though. We'd fight the orc lord in the marshes. Then, if we seemed to be struggling, we'd retreat before a single person on our side died. In that case, the dryads had promised to shelter our people while we called in the humans for a last resort.
Apparently, Treyni had totally expected us to say yes. After seeing our assorted exploits, she'd figured Risa and I to be sort-of omnipotent good samaritans, with me being the cool-headed leader, and Risa being the smart, but hot-headed champion. She wasn't wrong, either, which irked me.
…
(Soei POV)
The first thing necessary in our plan to deal with the pigs was the lizardman's cooperation. Naturally, though, we weren't about to put ourselves under that idiot Gabil, so Lord Rimuru sent me over to the lizardman marshes. After all, Lady Risa and I were the only ones capable of Shadow traveling over long distances, and Lady Risa was a bit too… blunt for this sort of thing.
…
(Lizardman Chief POV)
"Chief! We have an intruder! He wishes to meet you in the limestone grotto entrance!" I could feel the monster's aura long before my subject reported the intrusion to me. Luckily, I couldn't detect any hostility in the owner's aura. Unwilling to anger such a powerful monster, especially now, with the casualties that could end with, I had my soldiers bring him over to me. I hoped he'd understand that, at present, I was far too busy to meet him on his terms.
"Sir, what about the risk involved?"
"Line the chamber with a hundred of our elite troops, but ensure that nobody moves unless I give the order. We can't afford to fight a meaningless battle with an opponent like that, especially now." I ordered my royal guard. Honestly, though, I wasn't sure if even a hundred of my royal guard would be able to stand against this thing.
He was an ogre. Dark-skinned, with a single jet-black horn jutting from his forehead. His hair was something between blue and black, and his eyes were a lighter blue, cold as ice.
'If anything goes wrong, I wasted the lives of over a hundred of my best warriors…' I couldn't help but think to myself, sensing that overwhelming aura again.
"My apologies. We've been so busy with our preparations that I fear I cannot provide you the proper courtesy you deserve. May I ask what brings you here?" I asked. I could tell that my tone angered some of the younger lizardmen in the chamber with us, but frankly, I didn't care. Their lives were more important than appeasing their ignorance with false pomp.
"No need for excessive ceremony. I am merely a messenger. My name is Soei." Named, huh… Under the employ of someone else, clearly. The thought of someone capable of naming this ogre and actually bringing them under their control sent a shiver down my spine, but I didn't let it show, gesturing for Soei to continue. "Allow me to state my business. My master wishes to form an alliance with you. I've been sent to make the necessary arrangements. He cannot sit idly by and watch as the orcs decimate your ranks."
This offer felt like a godsend to me. I was mildly afraid of what this would come out to in the end, with how powerful this 'master' seemed to be, but this offer deserved to be heard. In fact, it may be our best hope for survival. After all, whoever this was, he was clearly working against the orcs.
"Before I respond, may I ask you a question?"
"Let me hear it." So, he was willing to negotiate. That was a relief.
"If your master is seeking an alliance, do you mean that he is willing to work alongside us as we confront the orcs?"
"Indeed. That is the ideal. My master does not wish to see you annihilated." Soei explained.
"Then let me ask you a question. What does your master believe is the root cause behind the orc activities?"
Soei saw right through my question. His answer stunned me. "You're asking whether it's an orc lord or not, right? My master, Lord Rimuru, has received a request from the dryads, the wardens of the Forest of Jura, to slay the orc lord. He has promised to do the deed. I hope you'll consider that as you make your decision."
Not only did he confirm that the orc lord was real, but the dryads had also chosen to get involved… Asking Soei's master for assistance. So, even the dryads believed that he, and not them, had the power to defeat the orc lord. On top of that, he was asking for an alliance. As equals. The chief would have to be insane to not take it.
But, unfortunately, another group of lizardmen chose that moment to bound into the chamber. Gabil's men, who'd stayed behind. Immediately, they began shouting about the insanity of taking this deal. Talking down about the envoy. They were too young. Too naive.
"Silence!" I immediately ordered them taken to the brig. My guards followed my orders, escorting the young lizardmen off, ignoring their shouts of "Please reconsider!" and "Sir Gabil would never allow this!"
From there, I asked Soei if his master could meet us here at the marshland. With everything going on, I could not leave. Thankfully, he understood. According to him, we would meet his master here in seven days.
Before he left, though, Soei gave one last word of advice. "Seven days. I would advise you to not enter into conflict before then. And my lady has one last message for you. 'Be careful. Your stupid envoy, Gabil, seems to be getting a big head. He may misjudge the danger that the orc lord presents.' Do with that what you will… we have no intention of prying into your internal affairs, but my lady can be rather… dogmatic."
"I will take your words under advisement. I apologize for my son's behavior."
"No apology is necessary." Soei waved it off, disappearing into the shadows.
"My fool of a son…" The chief muttered to himself once the envoy was gone. He didn't want to believe that Gabil would truly do something so idiotic and destructive as to stage a coup at such an inopportune time, but knowing his son, it wasn't too far fetched for the boy to get a big head and underestimate his opponents… ever since he got that name.
The chief immediately got to work. First priority was the orcs. They would hole up in their labyrinthine caverns and await these reinforcements. And Gabil would be brought to the chief for punishment the moment that he stepped foot in Lizardman territory.
…
Unfortunately, Laplace, the Wonder Jester of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance had other plans. Within the day, with Laplace's help, Gabil had taken control of the Lizardmen, even claiming the Chief's prized weapon, the Vortex Spear, for his own. And the worst part, Gabil knew nothing about the Orc Lord, and refused to hear what the Chief had to say. He was planning an all out attack… The chief guessed that the lizardmen had three days, maybe less. They wouldn't last a week.