Gabil successfully obtained the cooperation of the goblin villages.
Without even needing to show his strength, the goblins submitted to him.
After all, they were minor tribes. If they showed any resistance, he planned to subdue them with violence without hesitation.
The words of the chieftains no longer mattered to Gabil.
He gathered the warriors from each village and had them carry as much food as they could from the warehouses.
Thus, he began to organize an army for himself.
The number was 7,000.
They were armed with old leather armor and broken stone spears.
While their combat power was uncertain, this was good enough for now.
Those who lacked the will to fight immediately fled.
"Chieftains! Are there any other villages nearby?"
At this question, the chieftains exchanged glances.
One of them hesitantly answered.
"No... there might be a small settlement."
What did he mean?
The unpleasant tone of his voice irritated Gabil.
When he pressed further, the chieftain began to say something strange.
It seemed there was a group of goblins who worshipped the Arang.
Gabil didn't understand. The Arang were quite powerful monsters that operated in groups.
They were known as the rulers of the plains, and even the lizardmen would step back in the plains due to their combat power.
The idea that such a group would follow lowly goblins was absurd.
Moreover, the chieftain said something even more ridiculous.
The goblins were led by a slime.
Gabil found this laughable. Slimes were the lowest of all monsters! The idea that the Arang would follow such trash was unthinkable.
He needed to verify this.
There might be some scheme. If he could, he might even bring the Arang under his control.
Following his inflated ambitions, Gabil began to act.
There were no villages where he was told there would be.
This angered him, but he suppressed it. To gain control of the Arang, he needed some patience.
Gabil, freed from the lizardmen's rule, could no longer control his desires.
Still, he endured for his goal.
To him, the existence of the lizardmen was merely an obstacle to having his own army.
If he could bring the Arang under his control here, other lizardmen tribes would surely follow him.
If the powerful rulers of the plains and the prince of the swamps joined forces, even if the lowly pigs attacked in waves, there would be nothing to fear!
Gabil firmly believed this.
By subduing the pigs and becoming the ruler of the Jura Forest, he could prove himself as a worthy subordinate to Gelmut.
With this dream in mind, a little patience was not difficult.
The army was moved to the Shizuhou area and put on standby.
With no surplus of food, quick action was necessary. Time was not on their side.
Upon receiving a report from a subordinate about signs of movement, he issued an order.
Including himself, ten elite soldiers.
They rode on a hover lizard and headed for their destination.
As they approached their goal, they didn't set up any guards.
The Arang were a threat, but they were following goblins. They were probably just a group of stragglers.
He would train them and restore their original strength! That's what he thought.
He couldn't imagine what awaited him at the destination.
His mind was filled with the idea of becoming the ruler of the forest and serving his beloved Gelmut.
We moved to the entrance of the village to welcome the lion.
We waited leisurely in a hut set up for the guards at the village entrance.
The members were me, Rigel, Benimaru, Hakuro, and Sion.
Sion prepared tea, but I regretted it.
She lacked frugality. She tried to do everything by force.
Strength is everything! That was her feeling.
She even tried to blow away the entire building to clean it! Fortunately, she stopped, or we would have had to rebuild it.
I'm sorry!! She slumped, but I couldn't let my guard down.
She tried to solve everything with force. I was worried about what would happen if I took my eyes off her.
However, since she was in charge of taking care of me, she was trying her best.
Please, don't use such force.
This time, the tea was worse than expected. Was it even tea?
It looked like seaweed. It was definitely not drinkable.
What's going on... Explain! I glanced at Rigel, but he quickly looked away.
What kind of guy is this? Benimaru closed his eyes tightly and refused to look at me.
These guys...
Sion, who seemed to want praise, looked at me.
Wait! How can I praise this?
Just as I was about to reach for the cup,
"Ah! It's tea! I was just thirsty!"
Gobuta, who had returned from reconnaissance, drank it in one shot.
Guh????? Laugh!!!!
Well done! I gave him sincere applause!
In front of me, Sion had transformed into a terrifying form, but...
Gobuta didn't notice. Or rather, he wasn't in a state to notice.
Choking, Gobuta fell to the ground, convulsing dangerously.
It was dangerous. If I had made such a mistake, it could have been me.
Huh? Sion tilted her head, looking confused.
I wasn't fooled. I decided to ban her from preparing food or drinks.
"Aah, Sion. If you want to prepare food or drinks for others, you need Benimaru's permission!"
I made it clear.
Benimaru opened his eyes wide and looked at me.
I can't. You're the supervisor. Take care of it! I said with my eyes.
Sion and Benimaru slumped.
I hoped there would be fewer victims in the future.
One hour after the alarm sounded.
The lions arrived, shaking the ground.
A lizardman, with a haughty attitude, dismounted from a large lizard.
Was he the leader from yesterday?
"Thanks for the welcome! I'll give you the chance to become my subordinates. Consider it an honor!!!"
Suddenly, he started barking.
For a moment, I couldn't speak. What is this idiot talking about?
"Hmph. Did you hear that? Orcs are planning to attack this place. I'm the only one who can save you punks!"
So, the orcs are coming. I was waiting for the results of Sou's investigation, but this was expected.
If we ever clashed, fighting together might not be bad...
"Right, right. I heard there's someone here who tamed the Arang. I'll make him an officer. Bring him here!"
What...?
Fighting together is fine, but what if the one fighting with us is an idiot?
An incompetent ally is more difficult to handle than a competent enemy. This is also modern knowledge...
I glanced at Rigel. He was speechless.
Benimaru scratched his head, looking at me as if to ask, "Can I kill this guy?"
Of course, that's not allowed.
It was difficult to respond. Compared to Sion's incident earlier, this was even more difficult.
Hakuro crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He wasn't sleeping, right?
Sion, who was hugging me, tightened her grip...
Sleep! My body is going to break!
Panicking, I struggled, and she noticed, easing her grip.
Hugging her in slime form felt good, but it was dangerous.
I had let my guard down. Dying from sleep wasn't a joke. It seemed she still hadn't mastered controlling her strength.
However, it was difficult. I didn't expect the lion to be an idiot.
"Um, the one who tamed the Arang and made them subordinates is me..."
Anyway, let's move the conversation forward.
"Huh? A lowly slime? Show me proof. Then I'll believe you."
He spoke in a haughty tone.
I started to get a bit angry. Not listening to the other party in a conversation and talking unilaterally, this guy was really looking down on us.
In society, there were sometimes employees or executives in large companies who acted like this, but it was rare to be so openly treated as an idiot.
In such cases, it's not necessary to deal with them according to their rules.
Having an idiot as an ally is never a good thing.
I decided to change my approach.
"Ranga!"
"Here I am!"
Ranga appeared from my shadow. Recently, hiding in my shadow had become his habit.
"Hey, you seem to have something to say. Let's hear it."
Usually, I would throw the problem to someone else.
Ranga would deal with it more effectively.
To dismiss a slime as a mere child and not listen to it, he was like the Rigel and the others when we first met.
I couldn't blame him for not wanting to deal with me.
Moreover, while those who noticed my aura would see through my disguise, those who didn't notice wouldn't even if they saw me.
I had to think about this.
Ranga, who heard me, said,
"I've been ordered by my master to deal with you. I'll listen. Speak!"
He addressed the lion while the lizardmen were intimidated.
The lion, a bit flustered, regained his composure.
"Oh, oh. Are you a noble, an Arang, or a chieftain? I am Gabil, a warrior of the lizardmen!
Pleased to meet you. As I said, I am a 'Named'. Wouldn't you rather ally with me than that slime?"
He said boldly.
I want to punch him!
No, no, it's better to forgive him like a big shot here.
I'm an adult. I need to calm down.
And I also need Sion to calm down. Wait, don't use more force!
As I moved slowly, he panicked and bowed repeatedly. I really appreciated his effort.
But, for a lizard to be so arrogant...
Ranga, please! I cheered him on in my heart.
"Grumble. A mere lizard... I am no longer an Arang. A child who doesn't even know this..."
He bared his teeth and his eyes glowed red. Ranga seemed to be quietly angry.
Ranga... don't go too far... Is the lizard guy going to be okay?
If it weren't for the lion, I would have laughed it off as a self-inflicted mess.
"Fine! I'll prove my strength! Who will face me?"
Oh, oh... You're joking, right?
This lizard needs to learn some TPO. He's the weakest here.
He said he was strong, but he might be stronger than Rigel...
Rigel, despite his quirks, is B-rank strong.
He is the king of the goblins and the strongest goblin warrior.
The average goblin has evolved to a "C+" level, but Rigel is even stronger.
Most importantly, this strength is also a measure of weapon power.
This lizard, while a powerful individual as a 'Named', is still lacking in this group.
Where does his confidence come from?
We made eye contact.
So, who will face him...
"Grumble, grumble, grumble, fine. If you can defeat one of my subordinates, I'll listen to you."
Ranga moved the conversation forward.
Thankfully, a fight over who would face him was avoided.
Everyone wanted to crush him with their own hands, so their eyes were dangerous.
Seeing their eyes, I became even more calm.
If someone gets angry first, the atmosphere cools down.
In this case, it seemed only I was calm, but it was okay.
"Is that fine? I can face you, but it might be better to leave it to a subordinate if you're thinking of excuses for losing!"
Ugh?????!!! I want to punch him.
I had just calmed down, but my anger flared up again.
Ranga, calmly, summoned a subordinate.
It seemed he could now summon his own kind.
Visually, it was like a black wolf emerging from the shadow, which was cool.
"Grumble. Shut that lizard up!"
"Roar! (Yes!)"
Then, to the lizard,
"If you want to borrow my strength, show me your strength. Let's start!"
Ranga said.
With Ranga's words, the battle began.
The lizard, Gabil, took a stance with a trident, watching Ranga's movements carefully.
In contrast, Ranga stood calmly, unafraid.
With a light kick, he accelerated to battle speed in an instant.
An overwhelming speed that surpassed Gabil's reaction time.
Gabil, unable to react, probably couldn't understand what was happening.
In an instant, Ranga entered Gabil's guard and delivered a body blow. Then, he circled around to Gabil's back, bit his neck, and threw him into the air.
After a spin in mid-air, he slammed Gabil to the ground.
This all happened in a split second.
Ranga, though not the main character, but just one of his subordinates, Ranga, had overwhelmed B-rank Gabil, the warrior of the lizardmen.
I had felt Ranga getting stronger day by day, but I didn't expect his subordinates to evolve to this level...
Gabil's scale mail was shattered by the attack, but he was only unconscious.
Gabil's subordinates, who were about to cheer, froze.
They couldn't understand what had happened.
"Hey, the match is over. I refuse to become his subordinate.
If you want us to cooperate against the orcs, we'll consider it.
For today, take him back."
At my words, the lizardmen finally started to move.
Thus, the noisy lion of the lizardmen left.
However... The orcs are invading, but what can we do?
There's a problem with the number of allies, and the lizardmen, who could be allies, are disappointing.