Eren and the others watched blankly as Shizu easily killed a large number of red ants, and looks of joy appeared on their faces.
"As expected of the Conqueror of Flames, Miss Shizu is truly amazing."
"Yeah, yeah, she's practically my idol."
"You two, stop fangirling and hurry up and help!"
Eren and Gido finally snapped out of it and joined the battle.
Kabaru was a warrior who could use Battle Qi Magic against the enemies.
Gido was an assassin skilled in sneak attacks, able to use throwing stars or daggers.
The two of them didn't have much impact on the battle; in a group fight, they still had to rely on the mage, Eren.
Large ice pillars fell from the sky one by one, smashing into the red ants and scattering them in all directions.
A moment later, the area was littered with the giant corpses of the ants.
Everyone sat on the ground panting to rest; the battle just now had consumed a lot of their physical strength.
Just then, an unexpected change occurred.
A red ant behind Shizu that hadn't quite died yet suddenly lunged up, opening its mouth to bite Shizu's neck.
"Watch out!!"
Eren cried out in alarm.
Having reacted, Shizu was just about to draw her sword and strike, but at that exact moment...
Thump!!
Her mind shuddered as the Ifrit within her nearly went berserk; Shizu knelt weakly on the ground, trying her best to suppress it.
Just as everyone thought the red ant was about to succeed, a bolt of black lightning descended from the sky.
"BOOM—!!"
Accompanied by a violent explosion, the red ant was directly obliterated into nothingness.
The gale produced by the explosion swept across the field, and the mask on Shizu's face was blown away, revealing a slightly pale countenance.
"Miss Shizu!"
Eren ran urgently to Shizu's side, supporting the swaying Shizu and asking with concern, "Are you okay?"
"It's nothing, I was just a little tired just now."
Shizu slowly shook her head and looked at the Slime that walked—no, hopped—out from the dust behind them.
"Heave-ho~ Here!"
Mr. Slime picked up the mask that had fallen on the ground and handed it to Shizu.
"Thank you."
Shizu smiled as she took the mask and put it back on her face.
Fate had ultimately brought the two of them together.
"Hey, are you all okay? I didn't expect the power of Black Thunder to be this strong."
This was a skill Rimuru had gained after evolving from devouring Ranga's father; he was still practicing it and wasn't very proficient with it yet.
"Mr. Rimuru!?" x3
Eren and the other two looked at the newcomer in surprise.
"Oh~ it's you guys."
"Didn't you go to the Grand Duchy of Nazarick? Why are you here?"
"You know each other?"
Shizu asked with some surprise.
"Well, sort of."
Kabaru scratched his head and continued, "Mr. Rimuru is Lord Draco's third sister."
"Idiot, it's third brother!"
Rimuru jumped up and knocked Kabaru on the head, correcting his mistake.
"Ahaha, sorry, sorry."
"Sigh, forget it, just come back with me for now."
With that, the group walked toward Goblin Town... Two days later.
Over in the Dwarf Kingdom, Draco attended a banquet specifically held for his arrival.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, they were in a study.
Draco and Gazel had dismissed their subordinates and were talking privately.
"His Majesty Gazel, you can tell me now, can't you?"
Draco took a sip of tea and said calmly.
"I have taken the liberty of inviting you here for two reasons."
Gazeru put down his teacup. "First, I hope you will consider forming an alliance with us."
"An alliance?" Draco was somewhat confused.
"That's right."
Gazeru nodded and continued, "Actually, I have noticed you for a long time, but I have been in a wait-and-see state."
Draco didn't speak, waiting for him to continue.
"I want to ask you first, do you know what the disappearance of the Storm Dragon means?"
Draco raised an eyebrow.
"War!"
He spat out the word.
Gazeru nodded appreciatively.
"You are indeed clever. Yes, it's just as you guessed."
"Are you worried about an invasion from the Eastern Empire?"
Draco spoke plainly and asked, "Your Dwarf Kingdom is easy to defend and hard to attack; you can rest easy. This shouldn't be a problem for you to worry about, right?"
"What you say is true, but the situation is a bit complicated this time."
Gazeru gave a bitter smile and said, "The Dwarf Kingdom's industry is well-developed, but its agriculture is quite lacking. We need to purchase food from the outside."
"In the past two years, it has become increasingly difficult for our country to procure grain."
Hearing Gazeru say this, Draco also frowned.
"Could it be... the Empire is operating in the shadows?"
"No!"
"In fact, this matter is related to you."
"Huh?"
"Do you still remember what you did in the Falmuth Kingdom two years ago?"
Gazeru suddenly mentioning this made Draco stunned. "Naturally, but what does that have to do with the Dwarf Kingdom?"
"Because the treasury was stolen and the capital was flooded for three days, the Falmuth Kingdom suffered heavy losses."
"To make up for the deficit, the Falmuth Kingdom began to increase taxes on merchants."
"As a result, many merchants abandoned this trade route and flocked to the Nazarick Duchy."
Hearing this, Draco was secretly proud.
And he gave his past self from two years ago thirty-two thumbs up.
"But I still don't understand what this has to do with the Dwarf Kingdom."
"Don't be in a hurry; the key is what follows."
"If it weren't for the Nazarick Duchy, the merchants might have had to hold their noses and endure it."
"But since a better trade route appeared, those merchants who had been bullied by the Falmuth Kingdom for so many years naturally packed up and left overnight."
"The loss of merchants was unexpected for the Falmuth Kingdom. Even if they lowered taxes again, the merchants ignored them."
"Thus, the Falmuth Kingdom turned its greed toward our Dwarf Kingdom."
Fate, indeed.
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