A lizardman rests on the throne of his people, holding up the same regality that one would see from the proudest kings, armored guards surrounding him at all sides. His silver hair clearly distinguished him from the others there, an elder amongst the younger generation. Despite his apparent age, he still gave off the aura of a proud hero among his people, a leader with the absolute support of his followers.

It was an image he had maintained for a long time. His keen intelligence and experienced fighting skills had helped him stand out thus far, however as he began to age, the hope fell upon one of his children to continue his legacy. He had his doubts about both of them, one seemed to have no intention to be the chieftain, more contempt as a warrior or an assistant ruler more than anything. The other, while more than capable of rallying the younger generation of lizardmen and more than willing to be chieftain, lacked discipline, among other qualities.

The issue of succession had been crossing his mind frequently for weeks now. His decision on it would decide the fate of his people. It had been a long time since the lizardmen were so unified under a single leader, and he didn't want to risk losing that.

For now, though, he shook off the thought. The debate would have to come later, for now, the Lizardmen had a more pressing matter: invasion.

Word had spread fast of an approaching Orc army. There were rumors that they had taken out an Ogre settlement, and while this was considered a bit of a stretch to some, the chieftain was wiser than to completely ignore the possibility.

Orcs were greatly weaker than Ogres, of course, but with enough numbers, they may prove capable of overwhelming even them. Another possibility would be the existence of an Orc Lord. The Orc Lord was a thing of myths and legends, but considering everything, the possibility was there.

The Orc armies had been spotted the day before, and while exact numbers were never calculated, the witnesses could only describe an 'ocean of pigs.'

As such, scouts had been sent to analyze the Orc armies, the scouts having finally returned as they knelt before the chieftain.

The chieftain looked down at the two lizardmen who knelt before him, gesturing for them to raise their heads as he spoke to them, "Tell me, how many Orcs are there?"

The lizardman tilted his head upwards towards the King, a slight look of terror in his eyes. Stammering for words, he silently mutters out "We believe the Orc army has 200,000 members, possibly more."

This news was startling. The Lizardmen had plenty of forces of their own, but the Orcs currently outnumbered them. The only question that could escape the chieftain's mouth was "How are they keeping that many Orcs fed…?"

Such a large army would require a large amount of food. The chieftain knew little of the events of the surrounding area, however, if he recalled correctly, the territory of the Orcs was undergoing a drought. While it would certainly give them the motivation to invade, why would they go out this deep into the forest for it? How are they even able to supply that?

As the voices of his fellow lizardmen filled the cave, he raised his hand up for silence. One by one all the other lizardmen in the room quieted down as the Chieftain made a realization: They could not do this alone.

They needed all the allies they could get. To obtain them he would send an envoy, this proving a perfect time for his son to prove himself. If his son could do this well, some of his doubts about succession could, perhaps, be soothed. It was a simple task, sure, but if he was successful he would gain popularity not only among the Lizardmen but also among nearby goblin tribes. If that was the case, the lizardmen could perhaps enjoy a new period of co-prosperity with their neighbors.

But he was getting ahead of himself. "Where is my son? Bring him here!" The chieftain called out as his son, a powerful lizardman named Gabiru stepped out from the shadows of the other room into the light.

Gabiru approached the throne before kneeling, "Father, must you refer to me in such a way? I have been granted the name 'Gabiru' by lord Gelmud, I would prefer it if you called me that way."

"What your name is does not matter, you are still my son." The chieftain explained. He greatly appreciated the strength Gabiru got from being named, however, it also seemed to have the side effect of flaring his ego more than he would've liked. The chieftain still maintains hope that it would soothe down in time. Perhaps this venture will help him be more humble.

The chieftain continued, "I have a task for you, you are to go to the nearby goblin villages and enlist their support. A large Orc army is approaching, and we'll need all the reinforcements we can get."

Gabiru bowed his head respectfully, "I understand father, I, Gabiru, will not fail you!"

Gabiru promptly stood up before bowing again and leaving. Even the way he strode out of the room was filled with a natural sense of pride. The chieftain had felt a similar sense of pride in his youth, and it almost brought about many issues. If he had let his ego continue to run wild, the Lizardmen tribe would be a far different place now.

For now, he's left to leave this mission to his son, mentally hoping he doesn't fuck something up.

---

The meeting had been mostly brief, mostly a go-over of basic recon plans and possible escape routes should all go south. Some plans involved leaving the forest entirely, others opted for an escape route into Veldora's cave as a temporary defensive location. The deep nature of the cave mixed with the fact it had one single choke point of an entrance meant that while they would be backing themselves into a corner, it would be a damned big corner with a very small entrance.

With nowhere for the villagers to stay long-term, however, the possibility of a loss was not something we could reasonably afford. As such the main focus of this was to plot out possible contingencies and to set Souei out to find details on the orc armies.

The possibility of working with some other races in the forest came up, but until we know where it's heading and how many there are, the need to begin negotiations with anyone is premature. The meeting did, however, set aside which units would be set for what jobs. While it was likely to change as more information became known, it was planned that the bulk of the village's forces would be centralized around defending the village.

The remaining forces would be sent off as a pre-emptive strike force, whittling down their numbers, or if the fight should be taken elsewhere, aid in whatever allies we can obtain. The forces in this strike force consist mostly of the Kaijin and the Goblin Riders, forces either strong enough to easily handle hordes of orcs, or fast enough to escape them.

Rimuru, seemingly satisfied with the results of the meeting, hops into his human form and speaks, "Well then, I think that's it then, anything you'd like to add, Tanya?"

I shake my head, responding "No, I think we've covered everything we can until we get more information. I recommend you head out soon, Souei." I turned to the Kaijin who nodded as I again turned to Rimuru.

Rimuru smiled and stretched, "Well then, now that we have that handled, Shion said she made lunch, any of you want to join me?"

Instantly I felt the tension in the room rise, particularly from the other Kaijin as Shion headed out of the room. Souei was the first to respond, standing and creating numerous body doubles, "I will scout the area before heading out."

In the next instant, Souei was gone as Hakurou seemed to completely hide his presence, Benimaru looking away and muttering "W-Well I'm not hungry…"

Rimuru didn't seem to get it, however, I pieced it together fairly quickly. In an instant, even before Shion returned to the room I could smell it. Rimuru seemed oblivious but I swiftly noticed it.

Rimuru turned to me asking, "Well would you like to join me, Ta-eh?! Where'd you go?!" Rimuru looked around confused as I applied my [Illusion Master] skill, hiding myself from even Magic Sense. No way am I dealing with this!

Hakurou silently sent me a message through [Thought Communication], muttering {"Wise choice."}

{"Are we just going to let Rimuru deal with this?"} I asked him, looking over to where he was hiding his presence, albeit not with the same skill that I could.

He shook his head, {"Consider this training. I'm sure Rimuru has poison resistance, anyways."}

I remained silent as I looked over Rimuru's skills.

He did not have poison resistance.

Looking at the pile of—WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?—Shion brought out, I quickly made my escape in case Rimuru somehow found a way to drag me into this.

The food in the trenches was bad, but at least it was edible.

Escaping the poisonous situation, I left the building and went over to what had become Shuna's workshop. She had been hard at work producing high-quality clothes in the brief time she's been here. The silk she has introduced in the village is of high quality, not to mention great with mana flow. The clothes I'm currently wearing are more or less extensions of my body as a demon, so having an actual uniform with some magical properties could do me well.

I had recently asked Shuna to work on a project that I had in mind. After getting Rimuru's approval for it a bit before the Ogres arrived, I requested Shuna to produce it the day after she had. I personally thought it might be too much to push onto someone who had just arrived in the village, but she seemed happy to do it.

I went inside, aiming to check on her progress as I saw her seemingly working on clothing. Shuna quickly took notice of my presence, turning to greet me as she smiled, "Miss Tanya, it's good to see you, I was just working on some clothes, give me one moment please."

"Take your time, I'm not in any rush. Rimuru is busy learning the skill [Poison Resistance] anyways.." I responded as Shuna turned back around, finishing up what she was working on as she sighed.

"Did Shion make him lunch?" She asked.

"Yep. I was able to take a hint, though."

Shuna sighed again, "That girl… They need to keep her away from the kitchen." Shuna picked up what she had been working on, turning around as she held a sundress in her hands, likely for one of the Goblinas in the village. Turning to me she said "You know, Tanya, I think you'd look great in a dress! I could make yo-"

"I'll pass. I've had enough dresses for three whole lifetimes already." I shut down her idea immediately, though, with her stubborn pout on her face, I assumed this would not be the last I heard of this.

Shuna seemed intent to persist with her push for me to wear a dress but seemed to decide to continue that argument later. Dropping her pout, she continued, "I assume you came here for that project, well I've already finished it!"

"Already? You work fast." I commented, much to the satisfaction of the Kaijin princess.

"Of course, this is an important project for this village's identity. I only have one done, but now that I know how it works, I can probably produce a few more a bit faster." She began to walk to the shelf, pulling out a few items and laying them out on a nearby table.

On the table lay a number of banners, the largest and most notable being a large, rectangular flag of various shades of blue and gold. The flag was a direct mimicry of the Imperial flag from my last life. There were, of course, numerous differences. Firstly, rather than the bright red background, it was more of a dark blue. The white in the flag was replaced with dark gold, and light gold replaced the black. The main exception to this was a central strip which was a light blue color. The background of the central shield, rather than yellow, was the same light blue color as the central strip, with a circular image of a dragon in light gold to replace the dual-headed dragon of the Empire.

Those familiar with the Empire would no doubt recognize it as being inspired by it. I had two main reasons for copying the flag; firstly, designing a whole new flag was a process I didn't feel like doing, and secondly, by designing it like the Empire's flag, I could attract Otherworlders which may be from the Empire, the nation which I consider myself most likely to appeal to Otherworlders from. I could mimic the Japanese flag or any other flag for that matter, but I don't believe I could convince those people to join based on nationality alone. The Empire, however, I feel like I have a better shot at.

Overall, it was a minor thing, in truth we need a flag to identify ourselves as a country. Rimuru seems hesitant to do so, at least so soon. Unfortunately for him, this is something that would happen in the due course of time no matter what. And with the lifetimes of monsters, it's better to lay the foundations sooner than later.

The other banners are more or less war banners, some being longer banners similar to those that hung at the top of the Imperial HQ in my last life. Most of these likely won't need to be used until well after we've established a country and a centralized military command, at least one that's more than just me running around planning and performing military doctrines. Nevertheless, they're still good to have prepared. Besides, stirring early patriotism of the monsters here would get them better motivated to support the creation of a country.

At the table, where the flag lay, I took the fabric into my hand and rubbed it a bit. At first glance, it appeared as a normal flag, but upon further analysis, one would realize it was far more capable than that. Its silk was rich with magicules, not to mention durable. If this flag was directly attacked by a magical attack, it may be able to withstand lower-leveled attacks without damage. It was also much harder to tear, meaning that unless someone was actively seeking to target the flag, the flag would likely remain intact. Such a feature wasn't too essential, but it would help with morale if battles ever got too rough.

"Good job, I can tell you put a lot of effort into this. If you ever need a bit of help with something, just ask."

Shuna made a polite bow and smiled, "It was nothing, Miss Tanya, I'm glad you approve."

She was among Rimuru's subordinates, so I couldn't rely on her instantly supporting me. I have no intention to rival Rimuru's hold on this country. However, I do need to make sure that subordinates respect me since I don't have the natural loyalty caused by being the one to name them. It's something I noticed with the Goblins as well; since I didn't name them, they lack the same instinctive loyalty to me, though they do regard me as an equal to Rimuru now.

Now about to take a brief break, I heard Rimuru's voice in my head. He's still alive huh? {'Tanya, an envoy from the Lizardmen is approaching, it may be useful if you came to greet them with me and the Kaijin.'}

'Lizardmen eh? They're a bit to the east if I remember correctly. Around that big lake in the center of the forest. They're one of the larger factions no doubt. It's likely they noticed the Orc armies too and have come to discuss an alliance, or maybe they've just seen our rapid growth and want to establish diplomacy? Whatever the case, we should treat the situation carefully.'

{'I'll be right there, Rimuru.'}

I turned to Shuna once more, "Apologies, a situation has come up, I must go."

Shuna smiled, "Goodbye then, Miss Tanya."

Leaving her workshop I quickly went towards what had become the pseudo entrance to the village where Rimuru and the others were standing. Rimuru rested in slime form, being held up under the breasts of Shion, a position I wondered if he was a bit too comfortable in. Joining us were Rigurd, Benimaru, and Hakurou as well, a formidable force considering the strength each of them had.

Approaching us, were a group of lizard snouted people, laced with green scales across their bodies and with tails. They were dressed in leather and thin steel armor, and their spears, while well made, still were weak as they were made of wood with a steel tip, as opposed to an all-steel spear. If the lizardmen had come with hostile intent, they surely would've brought more men. Also, judging by their strength, just about anyone standing here to greet them could probably solo all of them, with Rigurd being the only one who may show any struggle.

Before anyone could notice, I had applied illusions on myself to make myself appear like a human girl, an appearance similar to that I had in my old life. Noir had told me demons could change their forms, but since it appears that I'm essentially possessing my own corpse from my last life, and the fact I've yet to properly control my own intrinsic skills, it appears my ability to modify my body is rather limited. Through illusions, however, I'm able to get around this, even if the change is solely visual.

As the lizardmen approached, the lines of them raised their spears before banging the tips on the ground. Once more raising them up, they banged down again, keeping a steady tempo as their force split into two, walking apart to make room for what could only be assumed to be the envoy. The envoy rode a lizard-like creature roughly the size of a horse. His power and magicules were a bit more than the others around him, clearly distinguishing himself as the leader of the rest.

He approached as the banging continued, raising his fist as they all stopped on command. He jumped off of his mount with a 'hup' before landing and proudly proclaimed, "I am Gabiru the lizardman! You will all now serve under me! Consider this a great honor!" The army of the lizardmen now sat on the ground, with two other lizardmen seemingly using mirrors to give him an artificial spotlight.

The lizardmen all applauded him, singing his praises as he posed proudly in the light. One of the lizardmen next to him explained, "Remember him well, for he will be the next chieftain of the Lizardmen!"

'Ah, so he thinks he's some bigshot. This guy's ego is practically pouring out of him. He already doesn't seem to have the concept of negotiation, rather he seems to think his authority as heir to the chieftain gives him all the leverage he needs. Let's see how he reacts when faced with authority equal to or greater than his.'

{'What are your thoughts on this guy, Tanya?'} Rimuru asked through thought communication, his tone of voice seemed to already indicate his poor opinion of this 'Gabiru'.

{'If you want my honest opinion, I think he's a moron. But, if his claims to be the heir to the Chieftain are true, we can't just send him off without hearing what he has to say. He's named as well, so it's possible there's something else at play here.'}

I expected some sort of confirming response from Rimuru but turning towards him I could only see him struggling as Shion practically strangled him out of anger. Finally freeing himself, I took hold of Rimuru for his own safety.

"You said your name was Gabiru, correct? What're the lizardmen tribes doing trying to get us to serve you? We're a bit far from the marshlands." I asked as Gabiru looked down at me.

"I suppose it would be hard for a child to understand-"

"Eh?!"

"-But I'm certain you all have heard about the invading Orc armies, correct? That is why it would suit you best to become my men. I, Gabiru, shall protect you weaklings from the Orcs!" Gabiru slowly began to trail off as his eyes moved from one person to the other, seemingly realizing the strength they all held "Weaklings! Weaklings. Weaklings… Wow." His gaze finally rested on Shion's overly large chest as he then turned towards his fellow Lizardmen.

He silently began to discuss with them, confused at the apparent lack of goblins.

"Well, if the Orcs are invading then forming a united front with the lizardmen is an option…" Rimuru began to say as he trailed off, "But this guy…"

"He's an incompetent buffoon. If we form any alliance with the Lizardmen, I'd prefer we do it directly with the Chieftain and hope he's more negotiable. This dinosaur would be more useful as fossil fuels." I responded, Rimuru nodding along.

"Please refrain from killing him, Tanya."

"I understand at the very least that regardless of how much of a moron he is, he is still the diplomatic representative of the lizardmen. Though, I hope the Chieftain understands how his actions rub off on the lizardmen's reputation unless the Chieftain is just as much of an idiot."

"Let's hope not." Rimuru added.

"Ahem." Gabiru got back up and gathered attention again, "I have heard that there are those among you who have tamed Direwolves and a… Blade Tiger. Bring them to me and I shall make them officers in my army!"

Rimuru sighed, "We didn't really tame them… We made them our allies, and I'm the one who did that. Tanya's the one who allied with the Blade Tiger, though."

"A slime and a child did that?! Don't make such jokes."

Rimuru sighed again, "Ranga."

I continued, "Eiga."

Suddenly a large cat and dog jumped out of my shadow, landing in front of us as their size easily towered over even Rigurd. Both were far larger than they usually were, well, considering it was their natural size, it made sense to use it for intimidation. Eiga in particular took on a more beastly appearance now, looking more like a stronger version of other Blade Tigers rather than the glorified Maine Coon she normally looked like. It was technically her natural state, though she seemed to prefer the 'house cat' appearance more.

"He wishes to talk to you, hear them out if you would." Rimuru said, speaking to both Eiga and Ranga as they both gave off an intimidating aura, causing most of the Lizardmen to cower in fear.

Surprisingly, Gabiru remained unflinching. If it weren't for certain aspects of his personality, he may have a chance, even if slim, of being a solid leader. Unfortunately, nobody's made perfect, and Gabiru was just made very wrong.

Benimaru was a bit confused, asking, "Were they always that big?"

I shook my head, "No, but that's their natural size, works a lot better for intimidation."

Ranga stepped forwards, leaning his head towards the lizardmen, "Our masters have ordered us to listen to you. Speak."

Gabiru, as requested, spoke, "So you are the leader of the Direwolves? And you are the great Blade Tiger, no you both seemed to have evolved beyond that. Your beautiful fur, keen eyes, all wasted serving a mere child and their pet slime! You have been tricked, but do not worry, I will defeat that child and their slime for you!"

The other lizardmen immediately began chanting his praises again, joining together to chant "Gabiru! Gabiru! Gabiru!" as the Lizardman made various poses in front of the increasingly enraged cat and dog duo.

Gabiru really has a death wish huh? It's best if I do something to prevent lizard blood from getting onto my cat after all.

Placing Rimuru back with Shion I began to approach him, calming down the two as they stepped aside.

"You want to fight me? Fine." This should be fun.

"Hm?" Gabiru was initially confused to see the 'child' approach him so calmly, but nodded anyway as he prepared himself, "I shall defeat you and free those two from your deceit! Where is your weapon?"

"I don't need one. Eiga, if you would." I turned to Eiga who nodded, walking off to our side.

"When I say go, you may begin fighting! Ready… Go!" Eiga shouted in a loud, commanding voice.

Gabiru got into a stance, which was surprisingly solid for a spear wielder. Unfortunately, he was fighting a Demon after all.

He charged at me, his spear whistling at me through the air slowly. It was so slow in fact, and it wasn't imbued with any magic, that I just let it collide with my barrier.

The wooden shaft of the spear shattered, sending fragments all over the place, as Gabiru staggered back. His eyes widened up, revealing his dilating pupils, but that was all I saw of his face as I connected my fist with his stomach, the feeling of soft flesh moving about under my knuckles was satisfying.

A split second later, Gabiru went flying into the air, tumbling before slamming into the ground and rolling like a tumbleweed. He eventually came to a stop and was unmoving.

"Next time, get your chieftain to negotiate." The other lizardmen stiffened at my commanding tone.

"Far from serving under you, I refuse to negotiate with a moron like him."

The lizardmen panic, quickly picking up Gabiru and rushing off shouting various things which I didn't bother listening to. Turning back towards the others, all of them began clapping with praise. Rimuru sighed, "Was punching a foreign envoy really the best idea?"

"He instigated the conflict, it was well within my right to defend our village, after all." I responded as all the Kaijin seemed to agree with me. Rimuru simply shook from left to right as if shaking his head.

"Now then, we need to discuss how we're going to handle this. Gather everybody tonight, Souei should have information on the Orc armies by then." I said, Rimuru nodding in response.

"Right, we have bigger issues at hand than the lizardmen. From now on, we're preparing for war."

---

Thanks to various editors and helpers on the Discord who helped with things like plot decisions, grammatical errors, and other aspects of the chapter:

Kyzershlact, Ra2griz, Hoshi, Informer, RoboShark1019, Terraman60, Zirmeister, and Ken

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