The afternoon sun pierced through the dense canopy of the Jura Great Forest, casting dappled light.
The air was filled with an unprecedented excitement and busyness.
Today was the day the Chenhai Federation was established.
From early morning, the forest had been bustling with noise.
Goblins, dressed in newly sewn leather armor, built a massive celebration stage with vines and timber under the guidance of Ogre race artisans.
The hog race was responsible for transporting food. Baskets of fresh wild fruits, golden-roasted giant mushrooms, and beast meat marinated with special spices were piled into small mountains.
Dragonewt Race warriors ran everywhere, transporting items sent by other races, looking extremely busy with no time to rest, causing them all to be drenched in sweat.
"You there! Pull the rope tighter! Don't let that flag be crooked!"
Benimaru stood on a makeshift high platform, his voice booming.
He wore a red samurai uniform, with a sword at his waist, his expression steady with a hint of barely concealed excitement.
"Yes, Big Brother Benimaru!"
A tall monster knelt on one knee, respectfully responding.
Behind him, a huge flag was slowly rising.
A silver wing spread across a blue background, symbolizing freedom and distant voyages, was the emblem of the Chenhai Federation.
"I told you not to call me Big Brother..."
Benimaru scratched his head, looking a bit awkward.
In his opinion, the entire stronghold was somewhat chaotic at the moment.
Different monsters, different races, different customs, different viewpoints, suddenly gathered together, inevitably leading to various problems and conflicts.
Fortunately, these fellows were all well aware of Chen Hai's strength and dared not act recklessly.
But these problems ultimately needed to be dealt with.
Benimaru believed these could be resolved after the establishment of the Chenhai Federation.
For example, setting up emergency departments, combat departments, patrol departments, internal investigation departments, training departments, and so on.
The reason Benimaru possessed this knowledge was not from what he had learned among the Ogre Clan.
After being named by Chen Hai and evolving into a Kijin (Ogre), Benimaru and the others' attributes in all aspects had improved, including their intelligence.
So he bought several books from a human merchant caravan.
It was quite a coincidence.
The human merchant caravan, rescued by Chen Hai and temporarily staying at the stronghold, not only sold goods from the Eastern Empire but also brought many books intended for other countries.
Some of these books depicted a fantasy world, while others were related to battlefields and command.
Benimaru, who had read half of them overnight, felt he had learned a great deal.
As long as he continued to grow stronger and accumulate experience and knowledge, he would be able to help Chen Hai solve all sorts of problems!
"Brother Benimaru, where should these be sent?"
Benimaru heard this and turned around.
"I told you, I'm not..."
His words stopped halfway.
Because the monsters appearing before him were young children, barely a meter tall.
They held tied corn, looking puzzled.
"This..."
"You can send them to the tent over there."
The voice came from the right.
Shuna appeared beside Benimaru, pointing the way for the little monsters.
"Ah! Thank you! Sister Shuna!"
"No, no, you're all so amazing, already helping the adults. After you deliver the corn, go to the kitchen to get something to eat. Tell the cooks there that I sent you."
"Yay!!!"
The monster children ran off with the corn.
Watching the little ones disappear into the crowd, Benimaru finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's wrong, Brother? Such a worried look. Today is a good day. It wouldn't be good if Chen Hai saw you like that."
"I just feel like the scene is a bit chaotic."
Benimaru looked ahead.
The stronghold was lively, but problems were popping up everywhere.
"Just solve things one by one. Since Chen Hai entrusted you with managing the site, it proves you have the capability!"
Shuna, now wearing a light purple long dress, her hair flowing like a waterfall, continued with a gentle smile,
"When we first met Chen Hai, didn't we also have all sorts of worries? In the end, we got along very well with those Goblins and Fang Wolves, because as long as Chen Hai is here, everyone will unite."
"That's true..."
Benimaru strongly agreed with this point.
Chen Hai's strength was like 'a flag.'
The monsters would follow that flag, eventually embarking on the same path.
"At first, I thought you were troubled because you hadn't seen Chen Hai."
"Where did you get such an idea..."
Benimaru denied it, then emphasized,
"I'm just thinking about how to do better."
"Then just maintain the current pace."
"That's right... but speaking of that, where are the others? Weren't you always with Shion and Souka?"
"They went to find Chen Hai. I guess Shizue is there too. As for me... I came to help you, Brother."
Before Shuna finished speaking, a cheerful song drifted from afar.
A group of small humanoids ran joyfully, pulling colorful ribbons through the forest.
Merfolk leaped from a nearby pond, holding shell instruments, playing a melodious water tune.
Kobolds lined up in neat rows, carrying spears, marching to transport new ingredients to the warehouse on the west side of the stronghold.
Just then, the sky suddenly darkened.
"Hahaha! I'm back from hunting!"
A clear and flamboyant voice cut through the sky.
Benimaru and Shuna, siblings, looked up together, only to see a huge black mass of meat falling in the center of the stronghold, shaking the ground.
And the figure standing on the meat mass was the uninvited Demon Lord from not long ago—Milim.
"This piece of meat is too big..."
Shuna couldn't help but complain.
Hearing this, Milim's gaze fell on her.
"Since we're having an event, we definitely need to use these things! This is a way to show our strength! To tell the Demon Lords who will attack here in the future that we are not to be trifled with!"
"That's true, wait... what did you say!?"
Shuna's eyes widened as she sought confirmation.
"What 'what did you say'?"
Milim tilted her head in confusion.
"What you just said."
"Huh?"
"It was about 'the Demon Lords who will attack here in the future.'"
"What's wrong, Kijin (Ogre) little sister?"
"This..."
Shuna didn't know how to continue.
Benimaru, however, understood Milim's meaning very well.
Once Chen Hai's nation was established, it meant a new relationship with Demon Lord Milim.
Countries and countries, Demon Lords and Demon Lords.
It will change the world's landscape.
Therefore, the future 'Chenhai Federation' might become a target, and the 'Demon Lord War' Milim spoke of will also become a reality!