"What should we do with this guy?"
"I don't know, I'm only responsible for fighting, not for the aftermath."
"Since this is Rudra's body, leave him to me."
Velgrynd said seriously, looking at Michael, who was lying motionless on the ground.
"Alright, I'll leave him to you. But what about the Eastern Empire? It seems there are still millions of troops outside."
Rimuru thought of the millions of troops setting up defenses in the Eastern Empire's capital and didn't know how to handle them.
If he were to kill them all, it didn't seem necessary, especially since Michael was already dead.
But if they weren't dealt with, having millions of troops lingering around wasn't a good thing either.
"I'll go explain everything to Kondo Tatsuya and the others."
"Kondo Tatsuya was saved by Rudra, and he is very loyal to Rudra. Once he knows the truth, I think he will surrender."
Velgrynd thought for a moment after hearing Rimuru's words and then spoke.
"Will they believe you? After all, in the current situation, there's no one to corroborate the story."
"Heh heh, when I went to beat up Veldora before, Zhong Chen told me to leave evidence."
A magic recording stone suddenly appeared in Velgrynd's hand, playing Michael's every word and action.
"With this, everything will be easy to handle."
Rimuru nodded slightly, looking at the magic recording stone in Velgrynd's hand.
Then, thinking of the Eastern Empire being without a leader, he couldn't help but ask again:
"So who will be the emperor of the Eastern Empire afterward? Rudra doesn't seem to have any heirs."
"I will find a way to persuade them to join the Monster Country Federation. I think Rudra, who loved peace, wouldn't have any objections."
"Huh? Join the Monster Country Federation?"
Rimuru looked at Velgrynd, who had said this so casually, with a surprised expression.
"The Eastern Empire's current situation makes it impossible for it to continue existing. Merging into the Monster Country Federation is the best outcome."
"Uh… alright, I hope Kagaya Ubuyashiki doesn't faint from excitement."
Seeing Rimuru agree to the Eastern Empire merging into the Monster Country Federation, Velgrynd nodded slightly to everyone present in thanks and then walked out.
At this moment, Granite was commanding troops to deploy defenses, while Kondo Tatsuya leaned against a nearby wall with his arms crossed, his face full of solemnity.
"Whoosh… Marshal!!!"
"Why have you come?"
Seeing Velgrynd suddenly appear, both men immediately stood at attention and saluted.
"Kondo Tatsuya, Granite, Rudra is dead."
Velgrynd didn't waste any words and directly told them that Rudra was dead.
"This… Marshal, are you joking? Didn't His Majesty just give us orders?"
"Marshal, this joke isn't funny."
Looking at the disbelief on their faces, Velgrynd took out the magic recording stone and played it, narrating everything that had just happened while it played.
Half an hour later, Kondo Tatsuya and Granite gathered all the remaining high-ranking officials of the Eastern Empire.
And told everyone their decision.
"What!!! Join the Monster Country Federation! Are you betraying His Majesty!!!"
Gladim, the Legion Commander of the Monster Beast Legion, pointed at Kondo Tatsuya and the others, questioning them loudly and angrily.
"That's right, His Majesty treated you well, why are you betraying the Empire!!!"
Gasta also had an incredulous expression. He hadn't expected Kondo Tatsuya and Granite to suddenly betray the Empire.
"We are not betraying the Empire, but His Majesty is no longer the original His Majesty; he has been replaced!"
"Impossible! His Majesty is the original Hero, how could anyone replace him!"
Gasta didn't believe their words and instead shouted angrily.
"This is the evidence!"
Just then, Velgrynd suddenly appeared before everyone and threw the magic recording stone to Gasta.
"Marshal, this is…"
"You'll know once you see it."
As the recording stone finished playing among all the high-ranking officials, everyone present was aghast.
Their highly respected His Majesty had, unknowingly, been replaced by a skill.
"Your Majesty!!!"
"Damn Michael, this thief who stole the emperor's throne, I'm going to kill him."
"Kali Julio, calm down, Michael has already been killed by the Marshal and the others."
"The focus now is what we should do next."
Hearing Gladim's words, everyone present fell silent.
To be honest, they were unwilling to merge into the Monster Country Federation, as the two countries had just fought a war.
And the Eastern Empire had suffered a crushing defeat. But if they didn't merge, having lost their emperor, they didn't know who to crown as emperor.
Finally, after Velgrynd's persuasion, the remaining high-ranking officials of the Eastern Empire voted and ultimately decided to merge into the Monster Country Federation.
However, Kali Julio and Gasta resigned from their positions, citing that they no longer wished to manage any affairs.
Gladim also decided not to manage the Monster Beast Legion, which existed in name only.
Instead, he decided to take the three Nagim to find a beautiful place in the Eastern Empire to live in seclusion.
The Imperial Knights also announced their disbandment. Kondo Tatsuya, the first in sequence, Granite, the third in sequence,
And Gardner, the fourth in sequence, decided to join the Monster Country Federation.
The sixth in sequence, Minaza, the Insect Demon, heard that the Monster Country Federation had a Phantom Insect named Zechien, and planned to go to Academy City to chat with him.
As for the others, they planned to retire directly.
"So this is why you suddenly told me that another 800 million people need me to be responsible for…"
Kagaya Ubuyashiki looked helplessly at his boss.
"Oh, Yaozai, aren't you capable? The more capable, the more work. I'll leave this to you. I'm off now, bye bye!"
Rimuru finished speaking and fled Kagaya Ubuyashiki's office as if escaping.
Looking at the retreating figure of his emperor, Kagaya Ubuyashiki shook his head with a wry smile, then pressed the communicator on his desk.
"Kagaya Ubuyashiki-sama, how may I help you?"
"Please invite Rigurd-sama, Beckman, Dorag, Nico Robin, and others to the conference room for a meeting."
"Yes!"
"With these 800 million people, the national population has exceeded 2.5 billion."
"Now we have completely dominated this world."
"Sigh, I've only been working for less than two years, but I feel like I've been working my whole life."
"I actually have thoughts of retiring."
Kagaya Ubuyashiki couldn't help but laugh out loud after muttering to himself.
At this moment, Benimaru, who was marching towards the capital of the Eastern Empire, also received Rimuru's message.
So the advance turned into a march, and Kondo Tatsuya and the others had already prepared everything, waiting for Benimaru's army to arrive…