After unifying the Jura Forest, everything fell into place.
Incoming monsters, guided by Goblins, began to select suitable areas to build camps;
The hog race, Dragonewt Race, and Ogre race who had been given names held several meetings to determine their respective courses of action and security measures.
Chen Hai, aware of all this, did not interfere, but let them act on their own.
After all, Chen Hai couldn't stay in the "that time i got reincarnated as a slime" plane forever.
And now —
After Milim finished her bath and massage, she was taken away by Izawa Shizue, who said they were going to check out the new kitchen and clothing store.
Seeing this, Souka also didn't continue to rest in the hall. Instead, she told Chen Hai, "I'm going on patrol," and left the scene.
Shuna and Shion did the same; the two decided to accompany Izawa Shizue and together look after the Demon Lord Milim, who came from another country.
With time to himself, Chen Hai wandered around the village.
He was very popular.
Or rather... he was already regarded by the monsters as the 'savior of the Jura Forest' and the 'ruler of the Great Forest', so no matter where he went, people would bow and scrape.
Chen Hai waved his hand, telling them not to be so reserved, and then he saw a new statue being erected.
It was the second statue, located near the stronghold's entrance and exit, in addition to the central statue.
It was also Chen Hai's... Unlike the first one, this statue looked more like a king dressed in magnificent attire.
He walked over and asked the craftsman who was just fixing the base.
"Why another one...?"
"Lord Chen Hai? Your question is a bit strange, isn't it? How can just two statues display your greatness?! We have more than twenty planned!"
The craftsman finished speaking and quickly pulled out the proposal from his embrace.
Entrance, apartments, tents, patrol points, and even restrooms... "Don't put my statue in the restrooms. In fact, one is enough..."
"Is that so? I understand."
The craftsman nodded, crossing out all the statues near the restrooms.
However, even so, seventeen placement locations still remained.
"I said before, there's no need to put your energy into creating statues for me. Didn't you know?"
"No, no, no, everyone knows very well and understands that Lord Chen Hai wants us to focus on other matters, but please believe us! Other work is also progressing well!"
Moreover... the craftsman said earnestly,
"More and more monsters are coming here. If anyone doesn't recognize Lord Chen Hai and disrespects you, that would be our dereliction of duty! If you don't like statues, how about replacing them with portraits? Just now, many monsters also found beautiful flowers, and surrounding them would surely look very nice."
"..."
In the monsters' worldview, there shouldn't be a custom of 'sending wreaths to people,' right?
Chen Hai again denied,
"Neither statues nor portraits are necessary."
"But we've already prepared the materials, and we even held an all-night meeting to finalize the plan for today."
Were they being too serious?
Facing the monsters who worshipped him, Chen Hai finally agreed, allowing them to build ten statues.
After finishing the arrangements, Chen Hai saw a familiar face emerge from the crowd.
Treyni —
The Treant of the Jura Forest.
After Chen Hai defeated the Hog King, she returned to the deep forest where her kin gathered, explained the situation, and only now came back.
"Lord Chen Hai, are you free now?"
"What's wrong?"
"I found a caravan in the forest. They have Adventurers escorting them, and I hope you can go take a look."
"A human caravan?"
"Yes, if we leave it to others to handle..."
Treyni looked around, seeing only active monsters.
If the two sides met, who knows what conflicts might arise.
Chen Hai had nothing else to do at the moment, so he agreed.
However, he didn't go with Treyni alone. Instead, he brought Ranga, Souei, Gobta, and others, so they could handle other issues when they arose.
"Where are we going, boss?!"
"To see the humans who encountered trouble in the forest."
"Are they enemies?"
Gobta looked ahead curiously.
"Not at the moment."
As soon as he said this, Souei and Ranga became vigilant.
Because in their eyes, Chen Hai's uncertain answer meant risk, and even though Chen Hai himself was very powerful, as his subordinates, they were already prepared to fight the enemy.
And so, the group passed through the woods, climbing over fallen tree trunks.
Upon reaching the next area, Gobta noticed an animal trail.
And to the northwest of the animal trail, sounds of conversation could be heard.
"It's just ahead."
Treyni said softly, with a hint of worry in her tone,
"I hope no conflict breaks out..."
"I don't think we need to worry about that."
Chen Hai finished speaking and led the way forward.
The sudden sounds from the forest immediately caught the attention of the human caravan.
The Adventurers hired by the Caravan Captain instantly took on a fighting stance.
Chen Hai also emerged from the bushes, and the scene before him opened up.
"Quite a lot of people..."
He saw the crowd that appeared in his sight.
Several Adventurers with bandaged arms and legs pointed their weapons at Chen Hai.
The sunlight filtering through the leaves illuminated their tired and wary faces.
A young child lay on a blanket, breathing rapidly, coughing occasionally.
"Is it the enemy that caught up?!"
"No, it's different from the monsters just now!"
"And... a human?"
"A diversion?!"
The Adventurers were extremely vigilant, not believing that the appearance of Chen Hai, a human, meant 'it's safe now'.
However, when they noticed Ranga, they all showed terrified expressions.
As things stood, Ranga's oppressive presence was indeed the strongest.
"Don't panic, we are not your enemies."
Treyni was the first to speak.
She rarely handled such matters.
But ever since Chen Hai appeared, Treyni felt it was necessary for her to do something, to change the Jura Forest and create a better future.
"Not enemies?"
"Really?"
"They're all monsters... but there's also a human."
The Adventurers were also bewildered.
But one thing was clear —
If the two sides fought, the Adventurers didn't believe they could win.
Just then, the Caravan Captain ran out.
He knelt on one knee and said to Chen Hai,
"Respected Sir! We meant no offense! It's only because our companion is gravely injured and our child is seriously ill that we fled to this place… I beg you… please spare us! We will leave immediately!"
The Caravan Captain explained their reason for intruding into this area.
Initially, they were attacked by monsters at the edge of the forest, and a companion was injured. Even a child in the caravan was running a high fever… To reach their destination as quickly as possible and get the injured and sick treated, they decided to take a dangerous risk.
After hearing this answer, Gobta clasped his hands behind his head.
"It's strange to drag injured and sick people through the forest, isn't it?"
"It could be an investigation team sent by the enemy, but disguised."
Souei also expressed his doubts.
But the Caravan Captain immediately had the Adventurer show his wounds and at the same time picked up the sick young child.
Seeing this, Chen Hai couldn't help but ask,
"Where are you from?"
"We are traveling merchants, just came from the Eastern Empire, intending to trade in the Kingdom of Brumund and the Kingdom of Farmus, but… as you can see."
With that, the Captain also took out some of his so-called 'specialties' as proof.
Knowing they weren't lying, Chen Hai turned around.
"Follow me first. Instead of leaving the forest to seek rescue in human countries, it's better to resolve it here."
"Really?!"
Although the Caravan Captain was half-skeptical, he had no choice now but to lead the caravan to follow Chen Hai's steps.
During this time, Gobta found a few young men and asked them what kind of scenery they had seen traveling to other countries.
Facing a monster talking to them, the young men of the caravan initially had subtle expressions, but they quickly started chatting.
Before reaching their destination, Gobta ran to Chen Hai's side and reported to him,
"Boss, boss, I just asked, and they said that the Eastern Empire's recent weapon trade has become very frequent, and some war-related supplies are also being prepared."
"The Eastern Empire, huh…"
Chen Hai remembered that in the setting, the Eastern Empire was the 'strongest group' before the Demon Lord transmigrated.
Because of the large number of Transmigrators, their technology tree developed in the direction of [Science x Magic], so they had mecha legions and the like… 0 0
It felt very interesting, after all, Chen Hai had never piloted a Gundam.
"It is precisely for this reason that they chose to leave that country and go to other countries for trade, to avoid being caught in the potential war."
"It seems to have a huge impact on the plot."
"Plot?"
"Don't worry about it, I just mean that the current 'peace' of this world is slowly disappearing."
"That sounds super scary, Boss, aren't you worried at all?"
Gobta, however, showed a panicked expression.
"There's no need to worry, just defeat the enemy."
"Only the Boss can say that, right…"
Gobta couldn't help but complain.
At this moment, Souei and Ranga also drew closer.
"Lord Chen Hai, Ranga and I will patrol nearby."
"Go and deal with the monsters that just attacked the caravan."
Hearing this, Chen Hai nodded, letting the man and the wolf act simultaneously.
After some more time, the main group returned to the stronghold.
Seeing the human caravan, the monsters cast curious glances, temporarily stopping their work.
The humans, being stared at, huddled together like lambs to the slaughter, very docile.
Seeing this, Chen Hai directed the caravan to an open space to rest, then turned to Treyni.
"Miss Treyni, please notify those responsible for treatment."
"I understand."
With that, Treyni turned and flew to the other side.
Half an hour later —
The injured were treated, the sick child's breathing stabilized, the high fever subsided, and the caravan members finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Captain, with tears in his eyes, clasped his hands together and ran to Chen Hai.
"Lord, your kindness, we will never forget! In return, we are willing to offer you a portion of the goods from our caravan — high-quality fabrics, spices, and various desserts imported from the East!!"
"These are all good goods."
"As long as you're happy!"
"Besides that… I still need some things."
"You mean…"
"Other intelligence about the 'Eastern Empire'."
In the "that time i got reincarnated as a slime" plane, the 'Eastern Empire', which had the world's strongest comprehensive national power before the Demon Lord arrived, once conquered, would significantly increase the occupation rate.
Although he didn't plan to start a war immediately, it was necessary to understand it as a future plan!