“So, Ramiris, what brings you here?”
Inside the central city of Rimuru, located in the Jura Forest, a grand banquet was underway. Rimuru, the host, was eating meat skewers while watching Ramiris beside him, who was happily gnawing on a piece of meat.
Just today, while they were discussing how to deal with Myulan, Ramiris suddenly barged into the conference room. However, no one paid her any attention at the time, and Ramiris was quickly distracted by the manga placed in the conference room.
It wasn't until now that Rimuru remembered to ask Ramiris the reason for her visit.
“Huh? Didn’t I tell you yet?”
Hearing Rimuru call her name, Ramiris, her little face covered in grease, looked up and asked with a bewildered expression.
“Ramiris-sama, haven’t you told Rimuru-sama about that matter yet?”
Belleta, Ramiris's servant, leaned in and gently reminded her. She had personally witnessed Ramiris forgetting all about the important matter after arriving here, spending the entire day reading manga in the corner of the conference room.
“Oh, right? Then I’ll say it again. Rimuru, your Jura Tempest Federation is going to be destroyed!”
“Why would it be destroyed?”
Rimuru, completely confused, looked at Ramiris in front of him. How could his Tempest Federation be destroyed for no reason?
“Don’t panic yet. I came to tell you because I don’t want Tempest to be destroyed. You should thank me. As for why, listen to me first... because of Demon Lord Clayman's proposal.”
“You said Clayman's proposal?”
Rimuru, who hadn't been paying much attention to the matter, instantly turned serious when he heard the name Clayman. Hong丸 and the others, who had been eating, also approached, including the Three Beastketeers from the Beast Kingdom and the citizens of the kingdom ruled by another Demon Lord, Frey.
Not long ago, Demon Lord Milim suddenly appeared in the Beast Kingdom and defeated Demon Lord Carrion. After being defeated by Milim, Demon Lord Carrion disappeared, which is why the Three Beastketeers came to Rimuru.
The people from the other kingdom had similar reasons, and all of this was caused by Clayman.
At this moment, upon hearing Clayman's name from Ramiris, everyone's expressions turned unfriendly, especially Hong丸 and the others, who remembered Shion and the others dying because of Clayman's conspiracy.
If Rimuru hadn't awakened as a Demon Lord and successfully revived Shion and the others, they would have lost them forever.
“Ramiris, what exactly is going on?”
“Walpurgis has been initiated!”
“Huh? What’s Walpurgis?”
Rimuru blinked his big eyes, looking at Ramiris flying up and down in front of him. What exactly was this Walpurgis she was talking about?
“It’s the Banquet of the Demon Lords. Also, I heard that the Tyrant of Gluttony from the Gluttony Kingdom has been invited this time. In short, it’s a special gathering where all the Demon Lords come together. That’s the Demon Lord's Banquet.”
Seeing Rimuru's clueless expression, Ramiris had no choice but to explain the meaning of Walpurgis, the Demon Lord's Banquet, from the beginning. In simple terms, it's a gathering where Demon Lords get together, drink tea, eat snacks, share the latest information they've obtained, and take the opportunity to resolve some conflicts of interest.
For example, this Demon Lord's Banquet was jointly initiated by Demon Lord Clayman, Demon Lord Frey, and Demon Lord Milim. As for the reason for initiating it, it's because a new force has appeared in the Jura Forest, and its leader, Rimuru, calls himself a Demon Lord. Clayman's excuse is that a mere slime dares to call himself a Demon Lord.
This seriously lowers the standing of all the Demon Lords.
But Clayman's real purpose is to use the power of other Demon Lords to completely kill Rimuru, and while everyone's attention is drawn to the Demon Lord's Banquet, he plans to kill all the citizens of the Beast Kingdom, using their souls as nourishment for his awakening.
“By the way, Rimuru, you call yourself a Demon Lord?”
“I don’t regret it, nor do I reflect on it.”
Facing Ramiris's question, Rimuru nodded expressionlessly, admitting to the matter. He didn't regret calling himself a Demon Lord at all, even if it had become Clayman's reason for starting the Demon Lord's Banquet.
“If it’s you, I wouldn’t be surprised. Although you’ll encounter a lot of trouble, with your strength, it shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
Hearing Ramiris's words, Hong丸 and the others nodded subconsciously. In their opinion, Rimuru-sama is the true Demon Lord.
“So, Clayman's purpose is to sanction me, right?”
At this time, Rimuru looked at Ramiris and asked, mainly to understand the attitude of the other Demon Lords. If the other Demon Lords also planned to participate, even if Rimuru was confident in his strength, he wouldn't think he could take on all the Demon Lords.
After all, even now, Rimuru doesn't think he has enough confidence to defeat Milim, let alone the other Demon Lords.
“We’re too lazy to care about that. Whoever wants to sanction you can do as they please. That’s the rule in our industry. Also, there’s another thing about Clayman starting the Demon Lord's Banquet, which is that Demon Lord Carrion has betrayed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Huh, who are they again?”
Ramiris looked at the small fry who suddenly stood up to speak, turned her head, and asked Rimuru.
“They are the Three Beastketeers under Demon Lord Carrion.”
“Oh, I see. But it’s useless for you to get angry at me.”
“Ramiris-sama, did he say that Carrion-sama betrayed someone?”
At this time, Albis, the leader of the Three Beastketeers, suppressed the anger in her heart and looked at Ramiris. In her opinion, Carrion-sama clearly lost to Demon Lord Milim in order to protect the Beast Kingdom, but now that bastard Clayman dares to say that Carrion-sama betrayed them.
“He violated the Jura Forest non-aggression pact and also revealed to you that a魔人 named Myulan is Clayman's subordinate, right?”
Ramiris raised her little finger and pointed at Rimuru in front of her, repeating all the words Clayman had told her before.
“And then I killed Myulan, right?”
After speaking, Rimuru turned his head and looked behind him, where Myulan, who Clayman said he had killed, was standing. As for the matter of him killing her, it was impossible because, after everyone's discussion, Rimuru finally decided to let Myulan go.
“Does Clayman want to conquer the Jura Forest?”
“Hey! I’m saying, how can you still be so calm? I heard that Carrion has already been defeated by Milim, and Clayman seems to have already ordered his魔人 subordinates to attack!”
Looking at Rimuru, who wasn't worried at all, Ramiris flew in front of Rimuru and glared at him with a pout. She had clearly been so kind as to inform Rimuru of this, so why was he still so calm after knowing these things?
“Attack, so Clayman has already started moving? That guy is more prepared than I imagined.”
Upon hearing that Clayman had launched his attack, Rimuru's face showed a hint of surprise. He thought Clayman would at least wait until after the Walpurgis Banquet to take action, but he didn't expect him to move so far ahead of schedule.
“I told you, don't be so calm!”
Seeing that Rimuru was not at all nervous about Clayman's actions, Ramiris couldn't help but circle around Rimuru, shouting.
“Don't worry, besides, I didn't really kill Myulan.”
“What do you mean?”
Hearing Rimuru's words, Ramiris stopped and asked curiously.
“That is to say, Clayman is talking nonsense.”
“Do you have evidence?”
“Of course.”
Saying that, Rimuru turned to look at Myulan behind him. Just as he was about to introduce her to Ramiris, suddenly Rimuru and Ramiris turned their heads to look at the sky at the same time. A powerful and unfamiliar aura was approaching rapidly.
According to Great Sage's report, the magic essence of the person approaching was completely comparable to Rimuru before his awakening.
“Here they come!”
In the next second, Rimuru stepped forward to block everyone behind him, looking at the woman slowly falling from the sky. She was clearly wearing pure white and holy nun attire, with a kind and lovely smile on her face.
“Who are you?”
Rimuru looked at the strange woman in front of him and asked cautiously. The other party's target was obviously him. Rimuru had a feeling of being locked on from just now.
“Greetings, Rimuru-sama, the leader of the Tempest Federation. I am Angelica from the Gluttony Kingdom, here on my master's orders.”
“Gluttony Kingdom... Is it Min Hao? What's the matter?”
Upon hearing the words "Gluttony Kingdom," Rimuru's expression gradually relaxed. After all, that was his close friend Lu Min Hao's kingdom.
“My master asked me to represent the Gluttony Kingdom to form an alliance with the Tempest Federation. By the way, my master also asked me to help you, believing that you already know the news that Demon Lord Clayman has begun to act.”
Saying that, Angelica raised her hand and gently pressed it on the ground. Immediately, a giant magic circle appeared, and then, to the shock of Rimuru and others, the six Demon Lord seeds of the Gluttony Kingdom appeared in front of them.
“From this moment on, we will follow our master's orders and obey your command.”
Flora, a girl with a pair of white demon horns on her head, stepped forward and looked at Rimuru with a faint smile.
“Ogres, and there are two of them!”
At this time, Souei, who was standing in the back, also noticed that among the several Demon Lord seeds that suddenly appeared, there were actually two ogres.
“You are Souei, right?”
Flora raised her head and looked at Souei and Shion with pity. Before coming, her master had already told them about their situation. How pitiful that their clan was forced to forgive the enemy who killed their clansmen because of the foolish master's orders.
Indeed, in Flora's opinion, Souei and his clan were pitiful. They had to forgive the enemy who killed their clansmen because of Rimuru's orders.
“Yes.”
Souei, who originally planned to ask Flora about the ogre clan in the Gluttony Kingdom, instinctively responded after seeing Flora's pitying gaze and stopped talking.
“Um, welcome you all. Also, I, on behalf of the Tempest Federation, agree to form an alliance with the Gluttony Kingdom.”
Noticing that the atmosphere was not right, Rimuru quickly stepped forward and extended his hand in front of Angelica. Although he didn't understand why Lu Min Hao suddenly sent six Demon Lord seeds to form an alliance with him,
I have to say that this really filled Rimuru with confidence for what was to come.
“Ramiris, how much time is left before the Walpurgis Banquet begins?”
“Let me think... one... two... three, the new moon in three days.”
“Three days?”
Hearing that the Walpurgis Banquet would be held in three days, Rimuru subconsciously frowned. Even with the newly joined Angelica and the other six Demon Lord seeds, Rimuru didn't think he could completely kill Clayman in three days.
“However, that's enough.”
In the next second, Rimuru raised his head and looked at everyone with a confident expression. Since he couldn't kill Clayman in three days, then he could just kill him at the Walpurgis Banquet. As for now, he would first eliminate all of Clayman's subordinates.
“Angelica, there is something I need to ask of you!”
Rimuru looked at Angelica. Originally, Rimuru planned to carefully discuss how to stop Clayman's subordinates' plan, but now it was completely unnecessary. With the addition of the six Demon Lord seeds on their side, the combat power of both sides had completely reached the point of crushing.
There was no need for any plans.
“Rimuru-sama, please instruct.”
Hearing Rimuru's words, Angelica smiled slightly, bowed slightly, and looked at him, waiting for orders.
“Now that Clayman has started to act, I would like to ask you to be responsible for stopping Clayman's subordinates later. During this time, Souei and others will also act with you.”
“No problem.”
Angelica nodded in agreement to this matter. Anyway, it was just a simple and easy task, and it was a good opportunity to collect some delicious ingredients to offer to the master and Lady Sally later.
“By the way, has Souei found the location of Clayman's army yet?”
“I have already found the other party. The number is 30,000, and they are all currently in Milim-sama's territory.”
Souei silently appeared next to Rimuru, and at the same time, with a wave of his hand, a virtual picture appeared in mid-air. The picture was of Clayman's subordinates.
“30,000? It's not an impossible number to defeat, but why are they in Milim's territory?”
Rimuru stared at Clayman's subordinates in the picture, thinking about what Clayman's purpose was in doing this. Just then, Great Sage's voice sounded.
“Report, according to analysis, Demon Lord Clayman's goal is to collect all the souls in the Beast Kingdom to awaken and become a true Demon Lord.”
Hearing Great Sage's analysis, Rimuru quickly told everyone present about this matter.
“You said his target is the Beast Kingdom, but the capital has already been destroyed, and the surrounding towns and villages are only left with refugees.”
“Yes, Clayman's target is those refugees. He wants to slaughter them all to awaken and become a true Demon Lord.”
“What!”
“That hateful guy!”
Hearing Rimuru's words, the Three Beastketeers couldn't help but get angry instantly. Currently, the king of the Beast Kingdom, Carrion, is missing, and the Beast Kingdom's army has also been brought by them to the Jura Forest. Currently, only refugees are left in the entire kingdom, and they have no power to resist.
