After responding to my bodyguard, I went back to listening to the ongoing discussion.
As they had deduced by examining the map, the main Orc army was advancing along the Great Ameld River—the only route wide enough to accommodate such a massive force.
Upon realizing this, Benimaru and Shuna questioned why a detachment of the Orc army had gone out of its way exclusively to exterminate the ogres, considering the ogre village didn’t even block the main path.
“I am not sure if it is relevant, but while we were under attack, I was able to sense the Orcs’ intentions thanks to my Extra Skill, Threat Perception/Malice Perception,” Shuna informed us.
“With absolute certainty, I can say that at that moment, I felt nothing but pure murderous intent and hostility coming from them.
It was as if their sole objective was our complete destruction—not pillaging or anything of the sort.”
It was also Shuna who brought up the most logical and alarming problem: How on earth do you feed an army of 200,000 Orcs?
No one seemed to have a clear answer or explanation for how such a feat was possible.
Well, except for me.
“During my patrol, I was able to observe the small supply caravan bringing up the rear,” the blue-haired ninja reported.
“That quantity is definitely far too meager to keep an entire army fed.”
“Then how are they sustaining themselves?” several people asked.
“I believe I have a possible answer to that,” Souei stated.
“After thoroughly investigating the battlefields, including our destroyed village, I was unable to find a single corpse, no matter how hard I looked.
The most likely scenario is that the Orcs completely devoured both their enemies and their own fallen allies in combat.”
“But why would they do something like that to their own comrades?” Kaijin asked, bewildered.
“No.
If my theory is correct, then it makes perfect sense,” Benimaru chimed in.
“Devouring every form of life they encounter, including their own allies, alongside the ability to unite an army of 200,000 soldiers…
all of this points to a single cause.
It is likely an Orc Lord leading their forces.”
“As much as I dislike admitting it, that seems to be the most probable explanation,” Hakurou conceded.
“Wait, wait.
What exactly is an Orc Lord supposed to be?” Kaijin asked.
“Yeah, I’d like to know too,” Rimuru added.
For some reason, everyone turned to look at me.
I suppose they figured I’d want to know as well.
Caught off guard—mostly because I hadn’t been paying close attention—I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.
“Huh?
Oh, right.
Yeah, I’d like to know too,” I said quickly.
“When an Orc Lord is born once every few hundred years, it comes into the world with the Unique Skill Starved,” the old swordsman explained.
“This Unique Skill subjects the entire Orc army to an insatiable, horrifying hunger, compelling them to devour every piece of organic material in their path to convert it into energy.”
“The most terrifying effect of Starved is that the Orc Lord absorbs the powers, physical attributes, and abilities of the monsters its horde consumes,” Shuna added.
“I see.
So that’s why they attacked the ogres,” Rimuru realized.
“They’re not clearing the forest for territory—they’re hunting high-level monsters to steal their abilities and become stronger.”
“Precisely, my lord.
If we do not act, the Orcs will continue to grow stronger without limit,” Benimaru said.
“Do you know of any weakness this Orc Lord might have?” I asked, simply to participate in the conversation.
After all, I already knew the answer.
“Yes, Lord Kaelion,” Shuna replied.
“Historically, Orc Lords have always been defeated by human coalitions.
This is because the skill Starved only steals the intrinsic skills of monsters.
Humans do not possess these biological traits, relying instead on techniques learned through effort—Arts—which neutralizes the monster’s greatest advantage.”
“Mmh, makes sense.
“Yeah.
If the threat is as big as it sounds, maybe we should ask the humans Kael and I know for help,” Rimuru agreed.
“Right.
First, we’ll verify whether this Orc Lord actually exists,” Rimuru elaborated.
“If it does, we’ll send an urgent message to the Guild through our adventurer friends—Kabal, Gido, and Eren.
To fund the request for aid, we could sell some of the valuable magisteel I have stored, or use Kaijin and his brothers as intermediaries.”
Everyone seemed to agree with the plan, raising no objections.
I suppose an Orc Lord truly was a catastrophic threat.
Poor guys, they have no idea what kinds of enemies and battles they’ll have to face in the future, I thought with a trace of pity for them.
In the very next moment, right on cue, Souei’s real body suddenly tensed up.
Acting like a proper leader should, I asked him what was wrong.
His response caught everyone off guard.
“My lord, one of my Replication clones in the forest has been contacted by an individual of great importance,” the spymaster reported.
“It’s not another problem, is it?” I asked dryly.
Ignoring Rimuru’s stern glare, I listened to the answer.
“No, sir.
The entity demands to speak directly with Lord Rimuru and yourself, and seems to know your names as well as other information about you both,” the blue-haired ninja concluded.
“Don’t tell me we’ve got a stalker now,” I said amusedly.
“Kael!” Rimuru barked at me.
“Do us a favor and take this whole situation seriously!”
“Sorry, sorry.
I just wanted to lighten the mood a bit, don’t get worked up,” I apologized quickly.
“The one who contacted me is a Dryad, known as the guardian spirits of the forest,” Souei clarified.
“Oh, in that case, I wouldn’t mind if she was a stalker.”I said with absolute certainty.
Rimuru didn’t take even a second to scold me again.
After that, he seemed to get distracted by his thoughts for a moment.
Rigurd and the others fell into shock upon hearing who it was.
Seeing that Rimuru seemed to have no clue what a Dryad was, Rigurd explained it to him:
“My lord, Dryads are legendary creatures who have essentially been missing and haven’t appeared before anyone in decades.”
“I see.
We’ll meet with her.
Bring her here,” Rimuru ordered.
Even with Souei’s clone utilizing Shadow Motion to travel over, the Dryad took only a second longer to appear right beside him.
When she materialized in front of everyone, we were able to clearly take in her appearance.
The woman—who would later introduce herself as Treyni—appeared in a semi-transparent spiritual form.
Even though she resembled a human, that possibility was quickly discarded.
Personal preferences aside, she possessed breathtaking beauty, looking like a green-haired, blue-eyed Nordic goddess, and held power equivalent to Rank A or higher—roughly on par with Ifrit.
Ignoring the terrified reactions of the hobgoblins and the visible tension among the Kijin, she formally introduced herself:
“My greetings to you, Leaders of the Monsters, and your followers.
I am Treyni, a Dryad.
It is nice to meet you all,” the green-haired woman spoke softly.
“Um, you too.
My name’s Rimuru.
We can keep it casual here, okay?
None of that ‘Leader of the Monsters’ crap.”
“Hey there,” I said, raising a hand in a relaxed greeting.
Sounding a bit embarrassed, Rimuru finally asked her, “Ehh…
so, what brings you all the way here?”
“Thank you for hearing me out.
I have come here to discuss the events taking place in this forest—events of which, I imagine, you all are aware.
As one of the Forest of Jura’s appointed wardens, I cannot allow this series of calamities to go unaddressed, which is why I have appeared before you.
I do so hoping to join your conference.”
She nodded respectfully to each participant before turning back to Rimuru and me.
“But why here?” Benimaru dared to ask, showing no fear.
“Surely there are races far more powerful than goblins you could have turned to for assistance.”
“This is the most powerful outpost in the nearby region,” the Dryad replied smoothly.
“The others no longer exist—their people now affiliated with the lizardman known as Gabiru—and the treants are incapable of moving from location to location, interacting little with other races.
If they were blighted by an outside enemy or natural disaster, there would be little they could do to defend themselves.
We Dryads are granted permission to travel to the outside world only in these spiritual forms, and I regret there are but few of us…
If the root cause of all this were to attack the treant community we share our lives with, we lack the numbers to provide an effective defense.
That is why I wish to borrow your strength, if I may,” she finished with a cheerful smile.
“I see,” Rimuru responded.
“So, do you have any information that could help us out?”
Internally, I immediately groaned.
Please, no more meeting.
I can’t stand sitting in this room any longer.
“I do indeed possess information that may prove useful.
In short, an Orc Lord is invading the forest, so I can confirm with absolute certainty that the Orc Lord’s existence is real.
I also know that a high-level majin appears to be pulling the strings from the shadows, though I am unaware of which Demon Lord they might be serving,” the Dryad declared.
“Furthermore, our abilities and magic are not particularly effective against beings who hold no fear of death,” Treyni added.
“Well, we’d like to help, but what exactly do you want us to do?” Rimuru asked.
“I would like you to defeat the Orc Lord,” Treyni replied instantly.
Her answer rendered everyone speechless.
“Whoa,” Rimuru protested.
“That monster is, like, crazy-ass strong, isn’t it?
Why would someone like me have to take him on?”
“Sounds fine to me.
It’s no problem at all,” I chimed in with calm confidence.
“Kael, stop deciding things on your own!” my friend scolded me again.
Treyni responded with a quizzical look.
“But the Kijins here intend to fight against the Orcs, do they not?
And you plan to contribute to the effort yourself, right?
You were the one who extended a hand to save all those defenseless goblins not long ago.
I had thought you would show similar kindness to us and the treants.” She smiled once more.
Damn.
Doesn’t that count as emotional manipulation?
I thought.
After pondering for a moment, Rimuru let out a sigh and prepared to speak, but someone interrupted him before he could start.
“Of course!
To our leaders, Lord Rimuru and Lord Kaelion, the Orc Lord is no more of a threat than a passing cockroach!” Shion declared, a bold look of determination on her face.
Just like in the original story, Shion basically backed us into a corner and forced us into helping by making that grand statement without even asking us first.