Inside the library.
Draco was reading a magic book in his hand.
Edoma was standing quietly to the side, her eyes staring straight at Draco.
Taking advantage of a moment when Draco wasn't paying attention, she quietly took a large cockroach out of her sleeve and ate it in one bite.
*Crunch, crunch!*
"Mmm~ Mmm~"
Delicious!
Edoma's face was full of intoxication, and her mouth made comfortable sounds.
Draco naturally noticed her small movements but continued to look down and flip through the magic book in his hand.
"Edoma!"
"Ugh~"
Hearing Draco's sudden call, Edoma was startled and almost spat out the delicious morsel she had just swallowed.
"Wh-what is it?"
Edoma hurriedly wiped away the residue from the corner of her mouth, looking like someone caught red-handed doing something wrong.
"If you're hungry, go and eat."
Closing the magic book, Draco gently stroked Edoma's head.
"By the way, go call Mare for me."
Edoma, having her head stroked, was stunned for a moment, and then a warm feeling surged in her heart. She obediently gave an affirmative response and turned to leave the library.
Although Edoma's true form was a spider, Draco's attitude towards her was no different from anyone else's; he was still as gentle as usual, even showing a bit more closeness and doting than normal.
A moment later, Mare arrived in a hurry.
"Lord Draco, you... you were looking for me?"
Mare stood timidly before Draco.
"Yes, I need you to go do something for me."
"What is it? Please give your orders, My Lord!"
Draco handed a cloak to Mare.
"This is the Shadow Infiltration Robe, a magic item that allows one to hide within a target's shadow."
"Go and rendezvous with Demiurge. For the coming period, there should be heavy casualties in the forest."
"Take Greed and Desirelessness with you; you should be able to harvest a large amount of experience points."
"As you command, My Lord."
Mare respectfully accepted the order and subsequently left Nazarick.
The black glove worn on Mare's left hand was the World Item 'greed.'
When a character died nearby, as long as one was wearing 'greed' and began to chant a special incantation...
Experience points in the form of blue light blocks would appear on the deceased, and the 'greed' glove would absorb and store these blue light blocks.
And the white glove on Mare's right hand was 'Selfless,' which could be used to consume the stored experience points.
If Draco's estimation was correct, the birth of the Pig-Headed Emperor should not be far off.
This incident would result in the death or injury of at least nearly a hundred thousand monsters.
Not only that, the Pig-Headed Emperor's army could rapidly grow stronger by devouring other races.
The stronger they became, the more experience Draco would acquire.
In any case, Clayman would take the blame in the end, and Draco only needed to sit back and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Whether he could break through to Lv100 would depend on whether this maneuver was effective... Inside the Goblin village.
Rimuru was sitting on Ranga's back, directing the villagers under his command to build houses.
At this time, the village chief Rigurd ran over.
"Lord Rimuru, someone outside is asking for an audience."
Rimuru was somewhat surprised. "Who is it?"
"Those… are the chiefs of the other Goblin villages."
"Huh? What are they doing here?"
Though puzzled, Rimuru still invited the group into a hastily built log cabin.
Several of them were dressed rather lavishly; the rest were presumably attendants.
The moment they stepped inside—THUD! ×N
They all dropped to their knees in unison.
"It is our first meeting, exalted lord. Please hear our humble plea!"
"Huh?"
Rimuru was bewildered—what was this about?
"Mm, let's hear it."
"Yes! Thank you. We wish to become your subordinates!"
One of the chiefs spoke as their representative.
The others around him nodded fervently.
"Please grant us this favor!" ×N
With eyes full of hope, they pressed their foreheads to the floor again.
Beside them, Rigurd's expression grew complicated.
"Why?"
"…"
After their explanation Rimuru's brows knitted slightly.
Earlier, the Fang Wolf invasion had devastated every Goblin tribe.
With no spare soldiers to defend it, Rigurd's village had been abandoned by the others.
Their settlement had been the only one with a "Named" monster.
That monster was Rigurd's eldest son—Rigur.
Gelmud had been naming monsters throughout the forest; Rigur was one of them.
Knowing Named monsters were formidable, the other tribes figured Rigurd's village needed no protection and moved their troops elsewhere.
Consequently, Rigur and a dozen Goblins died trying to repel the wolves.
Then Rimuru appeared, saved the village, and turned it upside-down overnight.
With the evolved Tempest Wolves joining, the settlement's might skyrocketed.
Gobta's Wolf Riders hunted throughout the forest daily.
When the other Goblins finally noticed, they were stunned.
The village chiefs convened an emergency council.
A minority argued they should beg their former comrades for forgiveness.
The rest shrugged—since the wolf crisis was over, why bother?
Clearly, the four chiefs now kneeling before Rimuru belonged to the minority.
Rimuru was torn: manpower was welcome, but betrayal was the one thing he could never abide.
He also caught the look on Rigurd's face.
Heaving a long sigh, Rimuru said, "Rigurd, you decide."
Rigurd blinked. "Lord Rimuru, this…?"
"You decide."
Rimuru waved a hand. "No need to feel pressured—you're the victim here."
"…"
After a long silence Rigurd finally spoke.
"Lord Rimuru, please accept them."
"Oh? That's unexpected."
"Even if our village hadn't been abandoned, the outcome would have been the same."
"We were simply too weak."
"Since they wish to apologize, I believe we can forgive them."
Rimuru pondered, then nodded. "All right, I accept."
The four chiefs wept with joy. "Thank you so much!" ×N
"But remember: I despise betrayal. This is your only warning. Next time, you'll feed the beasts—every last one of you."
"Understood, lord."
"It will never happen again."
"…"
After thanking Rigurd profusely, the four chiefs led their five hundred Goblins into Rimuru's fold.
Meanwhile—
Gelmud finally reached the southern edge of the forest.
In a barren wasteland he found the Hogheads on the brink of ruin.
A rain of experience points destined to drench the entire forest was about to begin.
Aura, Mare
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