It was mid-November, the Month of Withered Bones, in the year 640 of the Sacred Circle Calendar.
The Great Hera Forest was growing colder and colder; all things withered, and a deathly stillness filled the air.
Prey in the forest had also grown scarce as most animals began hiding away to prepare for the winter, leaving the monsters in the Slime Territory with a sense of urgency.
At this point, nearly three hundred intelligent monsters had gathered in the Slime Territory.
Their races included pigmen, kobolds, lizardmen, deermen, half-orcs, and horned-kin.
It was a complete hodgepodge of monsters.
Quite possibly, having so many different types of monsters living together under a single lord was a unique sight in the entire Great Hera Forest.
Naturally, so many intelligent races had gathered together to survive the coming winter.
They did this to ensure their long-term survival in the Great Hera Forest.
However, with their lack of provisions, heading into winter like this would likely result in more than half of them starving to death.
At that moment, the leaders of each race were gathered in a cabin, discussing how they would get through the winter.
“The Month of Bitter Winter is drawing closer, and the food in the Slime Territory is not enough for so many of us to survive.”
“We must banish some of the races from the Slime Territory.”
The pigman elder opened the meeting with those words, his tone heavy with helplessness.
“There's no need to kick them out, woof. Just reduce our numbers directly and use some of the monsters as food for the winter, woof.”
The kobold elder's alternative proposal immediately drew the ire of all the other monsters in the meeting.
“If we were to ask the Lord for help...”
The deer-headed deerman elder spoke up, her voice timid.
The deermen had the lowest combat capabilities and usually survived by depending on the strong. Whenever they encountered difficulties, their immediate instinct was to seek help from the powerful.
“Are you asking the Lord to hunt for us?”
“The great Lord Zoe has already shown immense benevolence by allowing us to live here and providing us with shelter. And you want that lord to hunt for us?”
“Do you want us to anger the Lord and get kicked out, woof!”
The deerman elder had not expected everyone to react so vehemently and could only timidly apologize.
Yet she did not believe she was in the wrong. After all, this was how her tribe had always dealt with things.
“Hmph, so we still can't come up with a concrete plan? In that case, why don't we raid other tribes and plunder their food?”
The one speaking this time was the half-orc elder. Among all the races, the half-orc elder was the most physically imposing, and his proposed plan and tone were also the toughest.
Only twenty half-orcs had sworn fealty to Zoe, but both the males and females were all warriors.
“I agree with this plan. Better to launch an active assault than to huddle here and starve.”
“War will also reduce our populations, and those fallen compatriots can serve as rations.”
This time, the speaker was the horned-kin elder.
Amidst a table of bizarre-looking races, the horned-kin appeared remarkably normal.
He looked almost identical to a human, save for the tightly spiraled argali-like horns growing from both sides of his head.
“...”
Silence fell over the meeting. Consuming fallen comrades in battle was far more acceptable to them than the kobold's previous proposal of slaughtering and eating their own people.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
A sharp knocking sound resonated from the crude wooden door.
“Cough, cough. Enter.”
The pigman elder coughed twice to signal the other elders to quiet down before speaking.
The crude door was pushed open, and a pigman stepped inside. After saluting, he spoke.
“Elders, a gnoll has arrived outside, insisting on seeing the Lord.”
“Seeing the Lord? Did he say anything else?”
“He also begged for the Lord to save his master, the Shadow Wolf King.”
...
“Great and noble High Slime!”
The moment the gnoll—brought in by several elders—saw Zoe, he collapsed to the ground, crawling toward him while weeping and wailing miserably.
“Do not be insolent to the Lord, woof!”
The kobold elder pinned down the gnoll before offering a sycophantic smile to Zoe and Vera.
Zoe didn't mind, while Vera huffed and raised her head, showing off her snowy-white neck.
“Puji.”
「I remember you.」
Zoe looked at the gnoll in front of him, noting his messy fur, his bloodied, scraped paws, and his extremely exhausted state.
This gnoll was the very same one who had delivered the message before. Zoe remembered how he had repeatedly referred to him as a “lowly slime” when he left to report back to his wolf king.
He hadn't expected the creature would actually risk its life to return and find him.
“Puji.”
「Did your tribe not swear never to set foot in the Slime Territory? Now that you have broken your oath, do you want me to devour you?」
Looking at the dialog box that popped up, the gnoll trembled in fear, yet he did not back down.
“If you wish to devour me, Great High Slime, then do so.”
“But I still beg of you to save my king, the Shadow Wolf King!”
“Please, I beg you!”
The gnoll spoke with absolute resolve; though his voice shook, he enunciated every single word clearly.
“Puji.”
「You are my enemies. To think you would seek help from an enemy.」
The gnoll simply pressed his head hard against the floor.
“The only way I can think of to save the King is by relying on your strength, Great High Slime.”
“Puji.”
「Tell me then. What danger has your wolf king encountered? Give me a reason to be convinced.」
After reading the dialog box in surprise, the gnoll spoke up in a high-pitched, excited voice.
“It's the goblins!”
“After we left this place, we continued eastward and eventually settled down in a canyon.”
“However, not long after, a goblin force attacked us.”
“The King led the pack to resist, but he was ambushed by a despicable goblin priest.”
“Now the King is heavily wounded, surrounded by the goblins in the canyon. I do not know how much longer he can hold out.”
“Please, you must go and save the King!”
The gnoll looked at Zoe expectantly.
“Puji.”
「That goblin tribe is very powerful. If you expect me to take a risk to save your king, what price can you pay?」
“I... I will give you my life! Even if you devour me, I am willing, whether it means offering my soul or my life!”
The gnoll begged desperately.
“Puji.”
「What use do I have for your life? What use do I have for your soul? Are you special? Do you taste particularly good? You think far too highly of yourself.」
“I... I...”
The gnoll was at a loss for words.
He could not pay the price. What did he even have to offer?
“I am willing to offer our entire tribe as the price! You will receive the absolute submission of the entire shadow wolf pack!”
“Puji.”
「Do you truly believe you have the right to make decisions on behalf of your wolf king?」
“I do not, but I still beg you to save my king!”
“Puji.”
「Utterly absurd.」
「But I shall grant your request. You have pledged a price on behalf of your wolf king. If your wolf king refuses to honor this price, I will personally kill him.」
「Such is the weight of the empty promises you have just made.」
The gnoll collapsed to the ground, unsure if what he felt right now was relief or regret.
Zoe turned to look at the other monster elders nearby.
“Puji.”
「Gather all warriors capable of combat and prepare to march with me. If all goes well, you will no longer lack food for the winter.」
“Yes!”
The elders hurriedly responded in unison.
This outcome was far better than what they had imagined. With their Lord personally leading the vanguard, their casualty rate would be significantly reduced.
After all, their Lord was a Mid-tier Monster with the title of “Evil Slime.”
The elders quickly mustered their forces, ultimately gathering half of their active combatants, totaling 162 warriors.
Since they were comprised of all different races, they looked exceptionally bizarre.
Their equipment also looked strange, consisting almost entirely of weapons and armor fashioned from polished bone.
After all, the Slime Territory lacked any race skilled in smelting and forging.
‘Once I return, I must find a way to develop a smelting industry.’
Zoe leaped onto Vera's back.
“Puji.”
「This time, I can help you exact your revenge.」
“Roar!”
Rate on N.U.
