With ten thousand soldiers from the Kingdom of Falmuth, twenty thousand monsters from the Great Jura Forest, and another ten thousand beastmen from the Beast Kingdom, the combined force exceeded forty thousand troops.
Under such overwhelming numbers, the ragtag forces under Clayman simply had no ability to resist.
Especially when considering fighters like the Samurai Spirits under Ren Kuroda and commanders such as Benimaru serving Rimuru—Clayman's so-called "Ten Fingers" were utterly incapable of standing against them.
Even the Lost Dragon Capital, which had participated in the battle under Milim's banner, along with the members of the Moderate Harlequin Alliance, were almost completely crushed.
Among them, the Angry Clown Footman and the Sorrowful Clown Teare had actually been deliberately allowed to escape by Benimaru.
Aside from those two, however, even the powerful bald dragon-man warrior from the Dragon Capital was eventually overwhelmed and defeated after being surrounded by great monsters like the Samurai Spirits.
Clayman might have been a relatively new Demon Lord, but he had still held that title for several centuries.
Naturally, he had accumulated quite a bit of wealth during that time.
But before long, all of it was completely emptied out.
The victors looted everything—so thoroughly that the only thing they didn't pack up and take away was Clayman's tasteless castle itself.
According to the agreement made beforehand, the spoils obtained after defeating Clayman were divided into three portions.
One share went to the Jura Tempest Federation, ruled by Rimuru.
Another went to the Kingdom of Falmuth, under Ren Kuroda.
The final share was reserved for the Beast Kingdom Eurazania.
However, when it came time to divide the spoils, Beast King Karion firmly refused.
He insisted that Ren and Rimuru had already done more than enough by sheltering his subordinates and helping them take revenge.
Accepting additional rewards on top of that, he said, would feel improper.
"One thing at a time," Ren replied calmly.
"Since this was a joint army, the Beast Kingdom Eurazania contributed its strength as well. That means you have every right to share the spoils—"
He paused for a moment, then coughed awkwardly.
"—I mean, to share the war trophies."
"Besides," Ren continued, "if I remember correctly, when Milim attacked your country earlier, your entire kingdom was basically looted clean, wasn't it?"
"A large portion of the treasure here actually originally belonged to Eurazania. Are you really sure you don't want it back?"
Ren didn't know Karion particularly well.
But according to the plans he had discussed with Rimuru, the Beast Kingdom Eurazania was famous for producing all kinds of fruit.
In the future, it would likely become one of their important trade partners.
Because of that, Ren didn't mind building a friendly relationship with Karion.
"Exactly," Rimuru added with a nod.
"Karion, rebuilding your kingdom is going to require a lot of funding."
"As for manpower… we captured many of Clayman's subordinates alive. You could easily put them to work during reconstruction."
"And if that still isn't enough, just let me or Ren know. The Great Jura Forest and the Kingdom of Falmuth will help however we can."
Hearing those words, Karion was deeply moved.
As the leading figure among the beastmen, he was someone who tended to think straightforwardly, without too many complicated schemes in his head.
Right now, he was practically overwhelmed by the sincerity Ren and Rimuru were showing him.
Especially when he recalled Ren's words during the Walpurgis Banquet, when Ren had provoked Clayman by declaring:
"That seat belongs to my close friend Karion."
At the time, Karion had assumed it was merely a taunt directed at Clayman.
But now…
Maybe Ren hadn't been joking at all.
From Karion's perspective, he had already lost his position as a Demon Lord.
Meanwhile, Ren and Rimuru's strength was obvious for all to see.
Both of them were now Awakened Demon Lords.
There was absolutely no need for them to flatter him.
Which meant…
Perhaps these two truly cared about him—and about the Beast Kingdom itself.
After the chaos of the Walpurgis Banquet finally settled, Ren led the army of Falmuth back toward his kingdom.
By the time they arrived at the royal capital, the streets were already packed with citizens waiting to welcome them.
Long before Ren's return, the news about the Nine Pillar Demon Lords had already spread across the land.
And what shocked the people of Falmuth even more was this:
Their own king had become one of those Demon Lords.
"Wait… weren't they supposed to be going to defeat a Demon Lord?"
"So how did it turn into our king becoming a Demon Lord himself?"
When the citizens of Falmuth first heard the news, they were completely stunned.
But once they processed it, their confusion quickly turned into joy.
Hero or Demon Lord—it didn't really matter.
What mattered was that he was still their king.
Thanks to everything Ren had done for the kingdom in the past, the people of Falmuth had practically become die-hard supporters of his rule.
Whether Ren was a hero or a Demon Lord made little difference to them.
As long as he continued improving their lives, they were more than willing to acknowledge him as their ruler—even if that ruler happened to be a Demon Lord.
Riding beside Ren on horseback, Alice felt the nervousness she'd carried earlier completely disappear as soon as she saw the enthusiastic crowds.
Before this, she had been worried.
She wondered whether the kingdom's citizens—and especially the nobles—would accept the sudden revelation that King Ren had become a Demon Lord.
But now it seemed that concern had been unnecessary.
King Ren was still King Ren.
No matter how his identity changed, the people of this kingdom still loved and respected him deeply.
For the ordinary citizens of Falmuth, that admiration truly came from the heart.
As for the nobles, however…
Only some of them genuinely respected Ren.
The rest were probably motivated by something else.
Fear.
Ren had never shown mercy when dealing with corrupt nobles in the past.
Now that he had become a Demon Lord, they imagined his methods would likely become even more ruthless.
So even if some nobles secretly had objections, none of them dared say a word.
After all, the group of nobles who had previously rebelled were still sitting in prison.
Ten thousand soldiers from Falmuth had marched out to battle.
They had set out to defeat a Demon Lord.
And technically speaking…
the Demon Lord had indeed been defeated.
But when the Minister of Military Affairs looked at the casualty report, he couldn't help feeling utterly speechless.
"Three hundred and twenty lightly wounded… thirty-eight seriously wounded… five dead…"
He stared at the report Alice was holding, then sighed deeply.
"Are you sure you went to war?"
"Or did you just go out for a spring picnic?"
Alice's father wore an equally exasperated expression.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a campaign to defeat a Demon Lord?"
"Why are the casualties lower than what we usually get when suppressing a group of bandits?"
"Is that so-called Demon Lord really that weak?"
Seeing the confusion written all over their faces, Alice quickly stepped in to explain.
"That's because the allied army under His Majesty Ren was simply too strong."
"Setting aside Lord Samurai Spirit and the others for a moment…"
"Besides our Falmuth forces, there were also the armies of the Jura Tempest Federation and the Beast Kingdom Eurazania."
"The Three Beastketeers, as well as commanders like Lord Benimaru under Lord Rimuru, are all incredibly powerful fighters."
"When Demon Lord Clayman's forces encountered our combined army, the battles were almost entirely one-sided."
"In fact…"
Alice hesitated slightly before finishing.
"Some of our soldiers couldn't even find an opponent to fight."
Alice spoke honestly, explaining everything as it had happened.
But her father and the minister simply stared at her with completely blank expressions.
The Jura Tempest Federation… and the Beast Kingdom…
They had already heard rumors about Tempest—after all, that nation had previously annihilated the coalition army of the Western Nations.
It was known as a powerful monster nation.
But the Beast Kingdom was even more formidable.
Its king had once been a Demon Lord, and the Three Beastketeers were famous far and wide.
Joining forces with two such powerful nations…
to attack a single Demon Lord…
This wasn't a war at all.
This was simply bullying the weak.