"Eh? What happened, Shirou?"
Rimuru descended quickly from the sky and landed beside Emiya Shirou, his expression tense as he asked the question.
"It looks like a subordinate of another Demon Lord came to probe us," Emiya Shirou replied calmly. "That guy was extremely arrogant. He even tried to attack Rigurd, but I stopped him."
"I see." Rimuru nodded, then glanced toward Gobta, who was lying in his companion's arms, his condition unclear. "Then what happened to him?"
From Rimuru's perspective, even if Emiya Shirou intended to teach someone a lesson, he wouldn't normally beat them half to death in one go. Shirou was the type to keep someone conscious, slowly and methodically breaking their confidence until regret set in.
"Ah, that?" Emiya Shirou answered casually. "Milim saw him trying to bully her little brother, so of course she stepped in first."
At this point, Milim had already begun calling Emiya Shirou and Rimuru "big brother" and "big sister." By that logic, she was now also one of the commanders of the Monster Federation. Which meant that, in a roundabout way, Emiya Shirou and Rimuru's subordinates were also her subordinates.
"...So it really was her."
Rimuru pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed.
"Alright, don't blame her," Emiya Shirou said lightly. "Standing up for her subordinate shows good intentions too."
"Exactly, exactly!" Milim nodded vigorously in agreement.
"...Fine," Rimuru said helplessly. "If Shirou says so."
He waved his hand, then looked down at Gobta again.
"So what do we do with this guy next?"
"That's entirely up to you," Emiya Shirou said with a grin, shrugging. "We already divided responsibilities. Diplomacy is your job."
"I knew it," Rimuru muttered. "Always pushing extra work onto me."
Still, he turned and began giving instructions to Rigurd.
"Take the envoy from the Animal Kingdom to the command center. I'll meet them there later."
"Also, give them healing potions. Don't let anyone die."
"Yes, Lord Rimuru!"
As Rigurd led several people to escort the Animal Kingdom warriors away, Emiya Shirou turned to Rimuru.
"I'll leave that side to you," he said. "I'm going to gather the troops and continue expanding our control of the forest."
"Alright. I'll leave it to you."
"Mm."
Emiya Shirou nodded, then paused.
"Oh, and let Milim go with you," he added. "Your aura alone won't be enough to suppress that guy."
"Besides," he continued calmly, "you don't actually want to fight, do you?"
Rimuru froze for a moment, then let out a quiet sigh.
"...I get it."
He turned toward Milim.
"I'll be counting on you, then."
"Oh, leave it to me!"
With that, the three split up, heading in different directions.
"Is that so? The Guild Master of the Freedom Association wants to visit us?"
Hearing Souei's report, Emiya Shirou was briefly surprised, then quickly relaxed.
He already knew that, in the original sequence of events, the Guild Master would come to visit, accompanied by Elen and the others. What he hadn't expected was advance notice.
"And then?" Emiya Shirou asked. "Did Rimuru have you relay anything else?"
He knew Rimuru wouldn't send Souei just to pass along simple information.
"Yes," Souei replied. "Lord Rimuru hopes to establish trade through this exchange. He wants Lord Emiya to attend the meeting as well, to ease their concerns about monsters."
"I see."
Emiya Shirou nodded slightly.
"Understood. I'll return for the meeting."
"Since the message has been delivered, I'll take my leave."
With that, Souei's figure vanished instantly.
"...A meeting, huh."
Hearing Emiya Shirou's mutter, Gobta, who was riding atop his Ranga Wolf nearby, leaned closer.
"Boss, when are we going back?"
"No rush."
Emiya Shirou glanced at Gobta, then looked down at the corpse of the monster beside them.
The reason Emiya Shirou and Rimuru only controlled about thirty percent of the Great Forest of Jura wasn't due to resistance from organized forces.
It was because of monsters like this.
Thanks to Veldora's former presence, the magicule density of the forest was far higher than elsewhere. As a result, powerful monsters were everywhere.
Unlike goblins or lizardmen-weak races that lived in groups-these monsters typically lived alone, or in small groups of three to five. Each would occupy a vast territory and rarely interact with outsiders.
Most of them weren't even aware of the existence of the Jura Forest Great Alliance.
At the same time, many weaker monster tribes were also ignorant of the Alliance's existence, having never participated in the war against the Orc Disaster.
That was why Emiya Shirou's current objective was simple.
Recruit those willing to join.
Subjugate those unwilling to submit.
Nothing more.
"My familiars are spread throughout the forest," Emiya Shirou said calmly. "Especially around the outskirts of the town. There are no blind spots."
"Once the Freedom Association's humans arrive, I'll know immediately."
"Even if I have to rush back, I won't miss the meeting."
He turned back toward the forest.
"So before that..."
"Let's speed up our conquest."
"Yes!"
The Kijin unit and the Orc soldiers beside him responded loudly.
The battle resumed.
Although the forest sweep was still ongoing, Emiya Shirou deliberately chose targets closer to the town. It made movement and coordination easier.
However, after receiving Souei's message, he adjusted the plan for the later stages of the operation.
Through Souei's reconnaissance and Emiya Shirou's familiars, the two had already completed a detailed map of power distribution within the Great Forest of Jura. Each region had been evaluated accordingly.
Any monster capable of living independently was at least B-rank.
The strongest among them were A-rank.
As for S-rank monsters-those comparable to Demon Lord Seeds-they were always leaders of factions. Such existences never wandered alone unless they completely lacked intelligence.
Based on this, Emiya Shirou divided his forces.
Subordinates suitable for independent command were sent to handle B-rank monsters.
He himself led the remaining troops to personally deal with A-rank threats.
Today's target was one such monster.
An A-rank creature located near the forest's central region.
The Armored Spider with Spear Legs.
"If I remember correctly," Emiya Shirou said thoughtfully, "the meat of the Armored Spider with Spear Legs is extremely fresh."
"A rare delicacy."
"It's delicious even with minimal preparation."
"Truly worthy of a monster from a supernatural world."
Riding atop Ranga, Emiya Shirou was already thinking about how to prepare the meat to make it even better.
But before they could draw closer-
The sounds of battle echoed from ahead.
"...Did they run into adventurers?"
Emiya Shirou knew that a group of adventurers had entered the forest. He simply hadn't paid them much attention.
Familiar surveillance was just precaution.
At his core, he was still a warrior.
He preferred solving problems directly.
"...It's them again."
Watching the scene relayed by his familiar, the corner of Emiya Shirou's mouth lifted slightly.
"How interesting."
🔥🔥 You can find 30 chapters ahead here
Support link: pat-reon.com/Redon1
Just remove the -
Also other exciting fanfic available 🔥🔥
More Bonus Chapters!!!!
Every 250 power stones = Bonus Chapter
Give me more Power Stones