"From now on, the Great Jura Forest will be unified."
"The Lizardmen, under Souka's leadership, will become my subjects."
"And the Orc Tribe..."
Rin ignored the reactions of the Lizardmen and turned to look at the Orc Tribe, immediately locking onto the strongest presence among them. "You, step forward."
"Me?"
The Orc Lord's son slowly stood. He hadn't expected Rin's gaze to be so piercing.
But given the situation, he didn't have the luxury of hesitation.
"Great Unknown Being."
"The Orc Lord's son pays his respects."
He knelt, expression solemn, without flattery or groveling in his eyes.
What he had was deep helplessness, and the final sliver of resolve left when his race stood on the brink of despair.
He wanted to lead the Orc Tribe to survive.
No matter what it took, he would protect his people.
"Is there anything you want to say?"
"No."
His voice was quiet. "The sins committed by the Orc Tribe leave me with no right to ask for mercy."
"No."
"Sins or not, they have nothing to do with me."
Rin said, "I also have no interest in the Orc Tribe's past actions."
"What?"
Rin's words stunned not only the Orc Tribe but also the nearby Lizardmen, who found them hard to believe.
How could it be like this?
'Shut up.'
Seeing a few Lizardmen about to speak, Souka sent out a wave of mental pressure, instantly silencing them.
Souka could understand Rin's meaning.
The Orc Tribe had been afflicted with the Unique Skill Starved, which drove them to endless consumption.
Driven by that hunger, they became monsters that devoured everything. Humanoid calamities.
But for the Orc Tribe, it had been a torment. A disaster.
Nearly a million Orcs had starved to death from food shortages, one-third of their entire population.
The rest had even resorted to cannibalism.
No matter how much destruction the Orc Tribe caused in the south, it had nothing to do with Rin.
His subordinates had not been devoured by them.
It was like a war in a neighboring land. In Rin's eyes, there was no need to distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil.
"But Rimuru, when she devoured the Orc Lord, accepted his final request."
"A promise made by a subordinate. As their master, I cannot simply ignore it."
"Therefore, the Orc Tribe, like the Lizardmen, will submit to me and become subjects of the Monster Nation."
Rin wasn't offering them a choice. He was issuing an order. "As for you, I permit you to inherit your father's name and lead your people as the new leader of the Orc Tribe."
"You!!"
The Orc Lord's son looked up at Rin in disbelief.
Those eyes, which hadn't wavered even in the face of his race's annihilation, now trembled like a rippling lake.
"Is that really allowed?"
"Why would you..."
Large tears fell from his face.
Rin's words were a declaration.
They marked the end of enmity between the Orc Tribe and the other monsters.
Including the Lizardmen. Including everyone.
From this moment forward, the Orc Tribe would start anew.
"Geld."
"From now on, that will be your name."
Rin named him, and the immense magicules surrounding the area surged into his body, triggering his evolution.
[Individual name 'Geld', evolution successful]
[Race: Orc, evolved into Orc King (Orc Lord branch)]
[Geld]
Race: Orc King
Magicules: 600,000 EP (Special A-Rank Demon Lord)
Unique Skills: Corroder, Fitness Enthusiast (Magicules Solidification blessing)
Corroder was essentially a version of Starved without the side effects.
Its effect was nearly identical, allowing the creation of hungry dragons capable of corroding and digesting everything, and using the Extra Skill Chaos Devour to grow stronger by absorbing the power of others.
As for Fitness Enthusiast, it was a Unique Skill that Geld awakened independently.
Its effect was somewhat similar to Magicules Solidification, but with a lower initial cap.
However, blessed by the Special Skill Magicules Solidification,
Geld's Fitness Enthusiast became a Unique Skill with no upper limit.
As long as he continued to temper his body with magicules, he could continuously grow stronger.
Without question, Geld was now Rin's top-tier physical expert.
Everyone else had Magicules Solidification...
But he, on top of that, would build his body up to the limit.
"Thank you for your gift, Rin-sama!"
Geld had evolved. Along with him, the other members of the Orc Tribe also received corresponding benefits.
And so, 250,000 Orcs simultaneously knelt, pressing their foreheads to the ground in reverence.
"Your grace..."
Geld bowed low and spoke from the heart, "Please allow me, and my people, to repay you with eternal loyalty!"
"Good."
Rin accepted Geld and the Orc Tribe's submission.
Souka, watching everything from the side, was already cursing the Lizardmen in her heart.
Bunch of idiots.
You all better hurry up too!
They just watched the Orc Tribe swear allegiance and still stood around gawking?
Souka had no other choice. As the leader of the Lizardmen, it was her duty.
"My Lord."
"Souka is willing to lead the Lizardmen to join the Monster Nation!"
In the original story, not all Lizardmen became subordinates of the Demon Lord.
Only a portion of them were sent.
And formally, the Lizardmen were members of the Jura Alliance, not absolute subordinates.
But now, it was different.
Souka chose to have the Lizardmen fully submit and become subjects of the Monster Nation under Rin.
As for the Lizardmen's personal opinions...
That didn't matter.
Didn't they see the moment Souka spoke, the dragons, led by the Four Dragon Kings immediately began exerting pressure?
Just in case any idiot tried to speak out.
"The Lizardmen need to adjust their attitude."
"Yes..."
Souka stiffened slightly, inwardly cursing the Lizardmen's lack of awareness.
"Forget it."
Rin was willing to tolerate it. "We'll leave it at that for now."
Dragons, after all.
They were a proud race by nature.
Even the Dragon Kings in the original work had only agreed to live in the underground city after Veldora gave them a solid beating.
(To be continued.)
◇◇◇
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)