Meanwhile, a few days had passed since the festival ended in Chiyon.
Thanks to the still abundant food supply, everyone had regained their energy.
“Everyone looks good.”
Verna, who had returned from the Dungeon of Gluttony, smiled contentedly at the scene.
Hearing her words, the members of the advance party also nodded in agreement.
“We don’t have to worry about food for a while. And since things have come to this, we should respond to the Demon King soon.”
Choro muttered.
However, a small hint of concern in his voice made everyone’s expressions darken.
Even if they were receiving help, they were still becoming the Demon King’s subordinates.
Not only them but also all the residents here would be incorporated under the Demon King’s rule.
It might turn out well in the end, but life was unpredictable.
What if they signed the contract thinking it was good now, only to find out later that it was a terrible, unfair deal?!
“Let’s not overthink this, Hero. We were worried about tomorrow and the day after anyway.”
“That’s right. Even though he’s the Demon King, he’s been very kind to us.”
Choro nodded in agreement.
Then, he looked down at the small slime near his feet.
Gloop?
He had already fallen into corruption.
As a result, he had gained the ability to summon such monsters.
But what exactly could this monster do?
‘Is it just for the Demon King’s decoration?’
It didn’t seem to have any combat abilities.
Nor did it appear to possess any special skills.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
The warning bell began to ring.
At the same time, a soldier standing watch in the watchtower shouted.
“Monsters! Monsters have appeared!”
“Monsters?!”
Choro and the others hurried to the watchtower.
Soon, they saw the monsters approaching.
“Fearsome fangs and savage howls! Everyone, take cover!”
The captain of the guard, Pokko, ordered the residents to evacuate.
People screamed and ran to hide inside their homes.
“Soldiers, prepare for battle!”
“Defend the walls! This is our last stronghold! The walls must not fall!”
“There’s nowhere else to go! We must hold our ground!”
Rumble!
The soldiers rushed out to prepare for battle.
Though their weapons were nothing more than crude stone blades tied to sticks.
Boom!
Soon, boar-like monsters rammed into the walls.
The overwhelming impact was felt vividly.
Behind them, a rock-like monster lumbered forward.
“I’ll stop the savage howls! Everyone, focus on the fearsome fangs!”
Choro leaped over the wall.
Then, he dashed toward the rock monsters.
Boom! Crash!
“The—the walls are cracking!”
“They might collapse!”
Voices of alarm echoed from all directions.
In the end, the captain of the guard, Pokko, had no choice but to make a decision.
“Open the gates! We’ll face them head-on!”
With no long-range attacks, the walls were useless for defense.
They had no choice but to engage in direct combat.
If this place fell, they would have no more sanctuary.
“Charge!”
“Yaaaaah! War!”
Fortunately, the soldiers were brave.
They knew all too well that there was nowhere left to retreat.
Screeeech!
Boom!
“The gates are open!”
“Charge! Chaaaaarge!!”
The poorly armed soldiers rushed out.
At the forefront were Verna and the nine members of the advance party.
“Blessings upon you all!!”
“Haaaaah!”
Leading the charge was a figure wearing an unusually impressive helmet.
He had received the helmet from Nyang Village, and thanks to it, he charged forward without hesitation.
Wham!
“I have slain a fearsome fang!”
It took about ten men working together to barely bring down a single monster.
But the sounds of fierce clashes continued to ring out everywhere.
“If only I could fight…!”
Unfortunately, Verna lacked combat abilities.
Instead, she could provide buffs and use protective shields.
Thanks to that, she prevented serious injuries.
Boom!
“Argh!”
“Popeo! No! How dare you harm our Popeo!”
The monsters were too strong.
No—if only they had proper weapons, they wouldn’t be so helpless.
Clang!
No one felt that reality more keenly than the man wearing the mithril helmet.
The helmet absorbed most of the impact, keeping him safe.
“Ugh! If I had known, I would have brought more gear!”
He had rushed back, thinking he needed to deliver food.
That was a mistake.
If he had stayed just a little longer and waited for the equipment to be completed…
“A-ah.”
“No! Damn you, monsters!”
“Blessings…! Blessings…!”
Chiyon’s soldiers were starting to be pushed back.
Only the injured remained.
Despair loomed as they prepared to surrender their last stronghold.
Gloooolop?
A massive slime appeared.
It had three horns and was purple.
The soldiers recoiled in shock at the sight of a slime almost as big as them.
“W-what kind of monster is this?!”
As they panicked—
Verna recognized it and shouted in excitement.
“It’s the Demon King’s slime!”
“The—the Demon King’s slime?!”
The slime suddenly began spitting something out.
The liquid landed precisely on the monsters.
Screee!
Squeee!
The monsters hit by the poison instantly collapsed.
The soldiers gasped in astonishment.
“Amazing!”
“W-we’re saved!”
Shortly after, Choro returned, having defeated all the rock monsters.
“Take this!”
With the remaining monsters dealt with completely—
Chiyon had successfully defended itself from the monster attack.
“Waaah! We did it!”
“W-we stopped them. We really stopped them!”
“If we weren’t the Demon King’s subordinates, we would have been in big trouble.”
Everyone sighed in relief, but it wasn’t over yet.
Soldiers lay sprawled across the battlefield. Their conditions needed to be checked.
“Popeo! He’s unconscious!”
“Longje, are you okay?”
“I think I broke a rib. Ugh.”
The battle was over, but most of the soldiers had collapsed.
Seeing this, Choro bit his lip, blaming himself.
‘I should have accepted the Demon King’s help sooner!’
Because of lingering doubts, he had avoided reality for a while, indulging in the daily lives of the well-fed villagers.
But why had he overlooked the fact that their homeland was still at risk from monsters?
If it weren’t for the Demon King’s slime, which appeared from nowhere, this attack could have ended in disaster.
“Hurry, transport the injured!”
“Move carefully!”
At that moment—
Gloooop.
Poispois, the poison slime that had helped in battle, wobbled toward Choro.
Strangely, Choro could understand what it was saying.
“What? It can heal them?”
Just then, another slime appeared from somewhere.
It had wings, resembling Verna’s own.
The newly arrived slime began to envelop the injured soldiers one by one.
Squirm, squirm.
“It’s not… eating them, is it?”
People watched anxiously.
Then, the first treated soldier suddenly sat up.
“Huh? I’m fine!”
“What?! Really?”
As the healing continued, people finally let out cheers of relief.
“Wooow!”
“They’re healed!”
“Look at this! My broken leg is fixed!”
Not a single person was left untreated.
It was an overwhelming display of healing power.
People began to revere the slimes.
“The Demon King sent them to help us!”
“He’s already taking care of us—how grateful we should be!”
“Praise the slimes! Praise the Demon King!”
As the cheers erupted, the villagers rushed toward Choro.
“Once again, we survived thanks to the Demon King! As his subordinates, shouldn’t we offer something in return?!”
“Ah… Of course!”
Thinking about it, that made sense.
Choro nodded. Until now, they had only received help while harboring doubts, yet they had done nothing in return.
“What if we offer the monsters we defeated?”
“Normally, we’d use them for food, but we already have an abundance of divine meals from the Demon King!”
Would the Demon King appreciate such an offering?
But there was nothing else to give.
After a brief discussion with Verna, they reached a decision.
“In honor of the Demon King, who saved us in this battle, we will offer him all the monsters we captured today!”
“Yes! That’s a great idea!”
“Long live the Demon King!”
At that moment, Poispois nudged Choro again.
Gloop.
“Oh! And the slimes the Demon King sent will stay with us for a while to assist us!”
“Waah! The Demon King’s grace!”
“Long live the Demon King!”
Thus, Chiyon grew once more.
***
[The Demon King is being worshiped.]
[The Slime Overlord’s abilities are improving.]
“What is this now?”
Right after sending Poispois and the angel slime—
A sudden message made me tilt my head.
“He must be really pleased.”
I wasn’t sure what was happening over there, but an unexpected power-up was always welcome.
[Overlord’s Authority: Once every 12 hours, you can use a random ability of a designated slime for 30 minutes. (30% of the original power)]
“Wait, I leveled up this much?”
The skill associated with the Slime Overlord, Overlord’s Authority, had significantly improved.
The cooldown had been reduced from 24 hours to 12, and the ability duration had increased from 10 minutes to 30.
Not to mention, the power boost had risen from 20% to 30%.
‘I only helped the little humans without much thought… but now this is getting interesting.’
It seemed my powers as the Demon King were classified under Slime Overlord rather than Liquid Synthesis.
Either way, I was satisfied.
“This won’t do.”
I straightened up from tending the fields.
Thinking about the little humans, I suddenly wanted to visit the forge.
“Where are you going in the middle of work?!”
Ara called out in a scolding tone as I got up.
I smiled at her and replied.
“I’m heading to the forge. I want to see how the equipment for our little humans is coming along.”
“Oh! I’m curious about that too! Cheong, let’s go together!”
“Yes, sis!”
Cheong dusted off his hands and stood up with a bright smile.
His always cheerful expression was endlessly adorable.
We rode Woofy mount toward Nyang Village.
Woofy especially loved visiting Nyang Village, making my earlier worries about their relationship seem ridiculous.
Lick.
Meow.
As soon as we arrived, Woofy licked a cat’s cheek in greeting.
The cat scrunched its face but didn’t move away.
Leaving Woofy to play, I headed to the forge with Ara and Cheong.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The forge was filled with heat.
The sound of hammers rang out non-stop.
“Hey, you guys are working hard.”
Meow meow!
The cats proudly showed off their hammers.
I wanted to check on their progress, but the completed equipment seemed to be stored elsewhere.
“Do you have any finished gear for the little humans?”
Meow.
“We’re still making them!”
One of the cats immediately jumped up and led us to a storage room.
Inside, there was a collection of equipment solely for the little humans.
“Whoa, you’ve made a lot!”
Meow meow meow.
“Around 50 sets of armor! If you need weapons, just let us know!”
“Oh, right, weapons would be necessary too.”
I’d have to check with Choro’s group when they came by.
And right at that moment—
Wooooong…
The portal in Nyang Village, connected to Choro’s group, began to shimmer.
Cliche Novel 