Luo Hao left. After casually tossing the invitation letter onto Clayman's face, she opened a spatial portal and returned to the Monster Nation.
She had only accepted this mission so she could fight a strong opponent.
A weakling like Clayman was simply too disappointing.
"You're back?"
At the Demon Lords Castle, Rin smiled when he saw Luo Hao return. "Was your battle with Dagruel enjoyable?"
"Not bad."
Hearing the Giant King's name, Luo Hao praised him. "That guy is a true strong individual. I look forward to our second encounter."
Although she had defeated the Giant King, Luo Hao did not underestimate him.
After all, she had Rin's boost, while Dagruel relied entirely on his own strength.
For a true comparison, it would have to be Luo Hao during her Campione period against the current Dagruel.
But in that case, would Luo Hao be confident in defeating Dagruel?
Clearly, Luo Hao could not do it.
Therefore, this time, Luo Hao was more interested in assessing the caliber of the Ten Great Demon Lords.
The real battles would have to wait until they submitted to Rin, transformed into his dependents, gained new powers, and reached their peaks.
Only when everyone reached their peak, and then she defeated them, would Luo Hao feel truly pleased.
"Oh, right."
Suddenly, Luo Hao thought of Clayman. "What's the deal with that Clayman?"
After successively encountering three Demon Lords who were not Campiones, Luo Hao had initially been very happy, but Clayman's existence was like a fly in the ointment, utterly disgusting.
"Him, you say..."
"Just a clown."
Afterward, Rin briefly explained Clayman's relationship with the Monster Nation.
"Why not just kill him?"
Luo Hao did not understand Rin's dark humor. If he was an enemy, then just kill him cleanly. Why keep him until now?
"Plans can't keep up with changes."
Rin had not expected his own strength to break through so quickly.
In just a few months, Rin had gone from being utterly powerless to a quasi-two-digit strong individual who could easily crush the universe.
And at such a realm, the Clayman he once feared was no longer in Rin's eyes.
The reason he kept him alive was exactly as Luo Hao had said.
Watching Clayman jump around was, dare I say, quite amusing.
Of course, Rin would not truly let Clayman continue like this. At this Demon Lord Feast, Clayman would pay the price he deserved for his past actions.
His schemes against the Oni race, allowing the Insect-Type Magic Beasts to rampage through the forest, and the Orc Clan who had already joined Rin's side.
As a leader, how could he remain indifferent when his subordinates were bullied?
And the other members of the clown troupe.
As the old saying goes, a family should be neat and tidy.
"However..."
Rin mused, "I haven't decided how to deal with them."
Was the grudge between Clayman and Rin big?
It certainly was.
Killing Clayman would cause Rin no psychological pressure at all.
But the other members of the clown troupe...
Yuki was the mastermind, while the others were more like tools helping him.
The true goal of the three clowns was to resurrect the former Demon Lord, now Kagali.
And they had already accomplished that mission.
Regardless of how much hatred or grievance Yuki and Kagali had in the original work, at least with Rin, he, the clowns, and Kagali had little interaction.
"Are you going to keep those... what were they called, clowns?"
Luo Hao did not care about such matters. In her opinion, as long as she was invincible, no one could resist her.
"I'm thinking about it."
The ones Rin truly wanted to keep were Laplace from the clowns, and Kagali, who was once a Demon Lord.
Before becoming a clown, Laplace had once served as the hero Sarion Grimwald, driving out the Chaos Dragon.
That battle left the hero Sarion on the brink of death, and in that state, he met the Demon Lord Kazalim.
Kazalim used sorcery to revive the hero Sarion, and the price was that he became Kazalim's puppet, turning into the pleasure-seeking clown Laplace.
In the original work, Laplace, relying on his excellent strength and Yuki's help, successfully broke Michael's control over the remaining members of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance.
Before being hit by the super-nuclear strike magic, Laplace remembered his past life and his wife, dying without regret alongside Yuki while protecting Kagali and Tear.
He possessed absolute trust in his companions.
Despite losing almost all his memories, he retained the experience and skills of his past life as a hero, and his strength remained incredibly formidable.
Such a talent, who cherished his companions and loved his family, would be too much of a waste to simply kill.
Furthermore, Laplace was the easiest to subdue.
As long as his memories from his previous life were awakened, he could be reborn as Sarion.
After all, Sarion had been completely controlled by Kazalim, having lost his mind. It would be reasonable and justifiable for him to reform and submit to Rin.
And Sarion had once been a hero of the Sorcerous Dynasty of Sarion, holding considerable status and influence there.
With him, subduing the Sorcerous Dynasty would become quite easy.
"Easy" here does not refer to military force, but rather to winning the hearts of the people.
Otherwise, with Rin's power, he could overturn the Sorcerous Dynasty and kill everyone with a flick of his finger.
But doing so would go against Rin's original intention.
Since there was a better, simpler, and more legitimate way to subdue them, why make things so extreme?
"Most importantly, the Sorcerous Dynasty has many Elf members."
Conquering the Sorcerous Dynasty would bring a large number of Elf members into the Monster Nation.
Both Rimuru and Rin had a slight preference for elves, seeing them through a certain lens.
Well, Rin admitted it was his collecting habit at play, and a good one at that.
Wouldn't it be pleasing to the eye to have a group of Elf ladies serving as maids in the Demon Lords Castle?
"I didn't expect you to have considered so much."
Luo Hao admitted she was not good at management. She preferred fighting. "Well, anyway, I'm not interested in that Clayman."
"So, what level is that Kagali?"
"Is she very strong?"
Fighting strong opponents was Luo Hao's pleasure. "How does she compare to the previous Demon Lords?"
"She was defeated by Leon."
"Tsk!"
Luo Hao said disdainfully, "I thought she was someone formidable, but she's only this much?"
Leon's strength, let alone now, even the former Luo Hao had absolute confidence in crushing him.
This also meant that even if Leon received Rin's grace, he would only barely break the ten million mark, completely failing to reach Luo Hao's height.
(To be continued.)