“THAT DAMNED DEMON!” The Vampire slammed their foot into a large chunk of ice on the ground, kicking it clean off and sending the chunk flying deep into the icy-cold room. It would regenerate quickly anyways. 

 

The vampire’s heterochromatic eyes shone with fury and rage not seen in centuries as she walked deeper into the room whilst the temperature only further dropped. Soon, standing before a giant capsule, a beautiful woman, unconscious and frozen inside, sealed away until the time was right, the vampire continued raging. The vampire slammed her hand against the glass of the capsule, burns appearing across her skin as she did so.

 

Silently, with a much calmer tone yet with growing frustration, she clenched her fist and silently asked, “Why didn’t you warn me of her? If I had known, I wouldn’t have let Hinata…”

 

The vampire sighed, pulling away from the capsule and turning around, “I will try to fulfill your wish, I’ll do my best. If I can, I will spare the slime. But that demon and her nation… I will burn it to the ground.”

 

The Vampire stood as arguably the most influential person in all of humanity. The Western Nations were almost entirely under her grasp, reliant on her for cultural development and monster protection. With them viewing her as their god, she was seen as the protector of them all, though none knew of her true nature. She wasn’t a god as she was portrayed, but a vampire supposedly meant to be destroyed, not to mention a Demon Lord as well. 

 

One of her greatest enemies during her life was the Storm Dragon, the one she had sworn to annihilate for the immense damage it had done. Though she had thought that she had escaped the relentless destruction he brought, to see a Demon that claimed to serve in the name of the Storm Dragon take away a person she cared deeply about… it was the last straw.

 

Hinata was dead, and she could not even use Lustful King Asmodeus to revive her, making her furious beyond mortal recognition. There was no reason to hold back anymore, not a single one. Falmuth was already on the verge of collapse fighting Tempest on its own, set to topple completely within days or even hours. She needed to act now or she would never get another chance. She would mobilize everything she had at her disposal; all of humanity would join in the crusade to rid the earth of the Federation.

 

Soon that demon would learn what it felt like to face the entire world at once.

 

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

 

Youm sat anxiously within one of the many luxurious rooms of the castle, shifting in his seat. Within these halls, the once-feared and respected government of Falmuth had ruled. Now, if reports were to be believed, said government no longer existed, a testament to him resting in a chair that probably cost more than he could ever make in a single life. Even if it had managed to survive and flee, it no longer had a kingdom to return to. The kingdom was little more than a smoldering pile of rubble buried under a newborn republic, hellbent on exacting its revenge upon its own nobility. 

 

It had been surprisingly easy to get the people in support of a Revolution. No doubt in part due to Tanya’s influence, partially due to the greed and corruption of the noble class, which no doubt enticed many to jump on board the ideas of liberty and individual rights that they had heard coming from their southern monster neighbors.

 

He had expected to do more fighting amidst the chaos, but a mixture of the facts that basically everyone who wasn’t supportive of the revolution was fighting in Tempest at the moment, and that Tempest’s tanks easily breezed over any remaining threat meant that the fighting was minimal. It was basically a glorified parade from city to city, where they attracted more crowds, support, followers, and soldiers who only sang praises of them at every stop. By the time they finally reached the capital, they had with them a small army of peasants and middle class, with plenty of nobles following with their personal soldiers and guards to join in.

 

Although the nobles would be losing their ‘noble’ positions due to this revolution, most knew that long ago when they had been allying with an unknown force. With almost all of them having ties to Tanya, whether socially or economically, they were practically under her orders to do so. Though they would lose their official noble ranking, since they were seen as ‘supportive’ of the revolution, their wealth and property would remain largely intact, giving them a good start in the new nation.

 

Suffice to say, the few nobles who did resist found themselves facing mutiny from their citizens very quickly, usually dragged out and tossed over the front gates by their own guards and soldiers. The cowards who didn’t even participate in the invasion of Tempest had nowhere to go, nowhere to hide, and their heads flew off to the pleasure of those they had ruled over.

 

Youm, meanwhile, had to deal with the immense pressure growing on his shoulders, growing heavier by the hour. The title of ‘Champion’ had been somewhat forced upon him, though it was one he took with pride thanks to all its benefits. Yet that title had led him here, where he was bound to take another even more demanding role than a mere ‘champion’ of the people. Also within the room, handling a few documents and the more bureaucratic side of things, was a woman he learned was named ‘Mia, one he had no intention of ever crossing.’

 

The girl, as he was told by their common subordinates, was effectively Tanya’s personal and head assistant in the realm of human affairs. A vibrant blonde hair and blue eyes allowed her to fit right in with the nobles of Falmuth, though she was apparently of humble origins. As humble as being the head of a criminal organization was anyway, not that he was going to complain about an extra pair of hands, and especially not when he himself was also a criminal before meeting Rimuru. 

 

The girl had been a huge help these past few days; everything that Youm didn’t know about, she seemed to with ease. It was no doubt because all of this was planned ahead of time by Tanya, possibly months ahead. The only thing Tanya didn’t account for was the sheer lack of any defenses stopping them. What was planned to be a violent, but quick, civil war ended up being a largely unopposed march on the capital, startling even the demon.

 

Youm, exhausted, let out a sigh and leaned against his hands as he gazed out the large glass window to his left. Just outside the castle, he could hear the chanting of the people, all sharing the same cries for freedom and liberty which no doubt had begun to spread across the entire nation - if not multiple, if the intelligence he had been given was anything. The people sang songs, burned flags, and largely celebrated in the streets. Eventually though, Youm knew he'd have to confront them.

 

Silently, he muttered, “Just what am I going to do now…?”

 

Mia looked up from her paperwork and shrugged, “Well, elections will be organized and held soon, and inevitably you’ll be set as their elected leader. Even if you don’t want to run, I doubt you’ll be able to escape the pressure. Besides, with your ties to Tempest, you’re the only one that could possibly hope to see Falmuth survive in one piece, with the others being former nobles of various fiefs. If you aren’t the first leader of the new Republic, Tanya won’t hesitate to break it up into dozens of warring pieces, if only to then violently blow the nation to smithereens from within and use it as the world’s largest farm field complex.”

 

Youm grumbled, picking up the quill once more, “Yes, I know, but I don’t know how to be a leader! Let alone over such a massive and influential country such as Falmuth.”

 

“Well for one, its influence no longer exists. Falmuth’s influence had been waning ever since Tempest’s trade routes provided a safer and cheaper alternative, losing tens of thousands of gold coins in revenue every passing month. The only hope Falmuth had of stopping that was to either join Tempest as yet another subservient state or crush Tempest in its infancy. As you can reasonably guess, the former wasn’t a viable option for the greedy kings,” Mia explained, resuming her paperwork.

 

“I see… I suppose the agriculture of the Kingdom has been neglected for some time…” Youm muttered.

 

“Precisely. Falmuth is a rich country with plenty to provide; that’s how it became a rich nation in the first place. When the trade routes became more profitable, they switched focus economically, raising tariffs to absolutely insane levels. You just need to swap back. Alternatively, you could just hand your sovereignty to Tempest, and we would handle the rest.”

 

“Huh? I could just give Falmuth over to Tempest?” Youm asked with surprise.

 

Mia shrugged, “Of course. Though you’d still be the leader, at least some of the foundations would be provided for you. Unfortunately, it's not that simple.”

 

“How not? Can’t I just say ‘We’re joining Tempest now’?” Youm inquired.

 

“Tempest wants to be seen as liberators of the people; if you join freely, even with favorable terms, it would just seem like a ploy by Tempest, which mind you, it totally is. However, if another nation were to join Tempest of their own accord, you could join as well shortly under the excuse that you were ‘following the trend.’ There are few people supportive of the republic that would oppose joining the greater Federation, especially if you’re the one to do it. Politically, you joining after some other human nation does also makes you the reinforcer of the trend, creating a landslide of nations scrambling to join Tempest’s sovereignty”

 

Youm still wasn’t convinced, “You think other nations would join Tempest? I understand that each of the states are autonomous, but…”

 

Mia shrugged, “I see it as inevitable. It’s hard to tell if Tanya planned this from the start or not, but… well, Tempest is in a position in which if she offered it to its allies, a number of them would have a good number of reasons to accept. If Tempest really wanted to, the pressure they could exert would be enough to force them to if nothing else.”

 

Youm shook his head, “They really thought this out, didn’t they?”

 

“They don't call her a devil for nothing,” Mia commented.

 

Youm sighed and stood up, the chants from outside only growing louder and louder. With an exhausted, yet determined look on his face, he nodded, “Best I go settle them down then. I will be their leader after all, and it’s important that I leave a good impression.”

 

Youm opened the doors to the immediate balcony, the sun bleeding into the room as he stepped out into his future.

 

As he did, Mia stared down at her own documents. To the west, a much more dire situation was unfolding, one she knew even she was terrified of. Though it was unclear if Tanya knew what she was doing by killing Hinata, by doing so she had angered the Western Church, the largest and most influential organization besides the Free Guild. Mia previewed the documents as, one by one, the nations of the west either deliberately declared war or began funneling support into those that did. The Council of the West, Ingrassia, and the Holy Empire all unified into one purpose; the complete and total annihilation of Tempest.

 

Of course, Mia knew that if they thought Tempest, or rather Tanya, would just sit down and accept that… then they would be sorely mistaken.The Devil of the Rhine, whatever the Rhine was according to Tanya’s other uppermost echelons was, had played her first cards, and the rest of her hand was still ready to be played.

 

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

 

‘Geez, if someone told me the Harvest Festival would wake me up with this much of a headache, I would’ve had the TRI invent some advil first…’

 

«Notice: This is a temporary pain. It will quickly subside.»

 

True to his skill’s words, the headache faded in mere seconds as Rimuru glanced up to see two large mounds above his head. He had sat in enough laps to recognize them as Shion’s. Noticing his movement, Shion’s head quickly looked down and smiled.

 

“Great Rimuru, you’ve awakened!” Shion exclaimed happily.

 

Rimuru stared up with a nod, “Shion, glad to see you’ve made it back…”

 

‘So the resurrection went successfully, then?’

 

«Affirmative. Assistance from the Manas ‘Athena’ allowed the Resurrection to go smoothly despite the excessive souls involved.»

 

‘Is that… frustration in your voice? Are you upset that you needed help?’

 

«No. It was just your imagination.»

 

‘You’re also speaking more fluently…’

 

«No. It was just your imagination. However, the Unique Skill [Great Sage] has evolved into the Ultimate Skill [Raphael].»

 

‘An ULTIMATE Skill?! Jeez, I didn’t even think there was something higher than Unique…’

 

«You have also acquired the Ultimate Skill [Beelzebub] from an evolution of [Gluttony].»

 

‘I see… Oh wait, Tanya! Where’s she at? I didn’t get to see if she won. Judging by you mentioning that manas that you awoke in her before, I assume she was successful!’

 

Focusing back on the world around him, Rimuru quickly noticed he was being cuddled right between Shion’s breasts, not just getting a close-up view. Awkwardly squirming his way out, he bounced onto the floor, waving up at Shion, “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back, I need to see how Tanya is!”

 

As Rimuru swiftly bounced away, Shion tried to mutter, “But Lady Tanya is…”

 

Rimuru, no longer paying attention, swiftly bounced to where he detected Tanya’s aura. As he bounced, he again heard Raphael speak to him.

 

«Notice: The Individual Tanya Tempest is currently-»

 

‘Who is that?!’

 

Raphael was suddenly interrupted by Rimuru shouting in his own mind, leaping back as he saw a woman with a massive aura in front of Tanya’s room, standing guard. The aura rivaled his own, even after his harvest festival, and he wasn’t even sure if he could win. The woman had two pairs of silver-white wings on her back, all of which flapped gently as she took notice of him.

 

The woman had long brunette hair and large blue eyes which now studied the slime in awe. In a youthful and energetic voice, the woman reached out and picked Rimuru up without warning, something even Rimuru’s closest subordinates hesitated to do at times, “Aww, look at this little guy! Are you lost, little slime creature? Oh, I hope you aren’t poisonous… I probably shouldn’t have picked you up without asking…”

 

The woman then began to gently pat the top of Rimuru’s head, causing his slime body to jiggle slightly each time as he simply remained confused, ‘Who is this woman and why is she petting me?’

 

«Judging by the uniform she wears; it is likely that she has some affiliation with the individual Tanya, specifically the ‘Empire’ from which she originates. Furthermore, analysis suggests her to be the individual Tanya was fighting before.»

 

‘Huh?! What’s she doing in Tempest?!’

 

«Further analysis suggests that although this is the same body, the individual controlling it seems to be different. A few key traits have also changed since Tanya’s fight, further supporting this probability.»

 

‘Good, so we’re not about to be destroyed… Still… Is she going to stop petting me anytime soon?’

 

«Notice: If you do not reveal your identity soon, the woman in question has a 90% chance of taking you in as a pet.»

 

Before Rimuru could fret over what to do before he was forcibly adopted, he felt himself being picked up by yet another woman. Glancing up, this girl had an even scarier aura than the previous one, the latter pouting in response. Her white hair contrasted the crimson eyes that stared straight into Rimuru’s soul so casually.

 

With a sigh, the woman shook her head, “Miss Viktoriya, you can’t go around picking up major political figures like that.”

 

The woman gently placed Rimuru on the ground as he stared up, confused, “There you go, Sir Rimuru. I am the primordial white, known as Blanc. In a way, you could consider me a daughter to Lady Tanya.”

 

‘Daughter?! Tanya had children?! Who’s the father?! Is that what she was doing when I was gone?!’

 

As if guessing his thoughts, Blanc shook her head, “Before you get it wrong, I am her daughter in a spiritual sense. My soul was born from a fragment of Tanya’s soul. Similarly, Noir was also a product of the same situation.”

 

“Noir? Who’s that?” Rimuru inquired.

 

“The silly demon who's been following just out of sight in hopes that you call for him,” Blanc explained.

 

Rimuru turned back to view the black-haired demon from earlier, quickly ducking away as soon as he turned. With a sigh, he muttered, “So that’s what his deal is… I’ll need to see what that’s about… But if I can ask, what are you doing here anyway?”

 

“Is it wrong for a daughter to be visiting her mother?” Blanc giggled, shaking her head, “I was summoned by Lady Tanya, or more specifically Athena, when they underwent their Harvest Festival. I brought them to Tempest. as they were quite far away when it began.” Blanc then turned her head to Visha who was now panicking as she realized how she had so casually petted the leader of the nation, “This is Viktoriya. From what I’ve heard, she was a close subordinate to Lady Tanya.”

 

Viktoriya was quick to make a salute, “I-It is a pleasure to meet you s-sir Rimuru! I-I didn’t mean any offense when I picked you up… I-I just thought you were a cute, cuddly creature!”

 

Rimuru shook his head, “It’s fine, it happens more than you’d expect. Though usually they know who I am when they start doing it… I don’t know if that makes it better or worse. Regardless, you said you were Tanya’s subordinate?”

 

Viktoyia, still unable to relax in the presence of half of Tempest’s leadership, remained firm and proclaimed, “Y-Yes, I was Tanya’s adjutant in the Empire… If you even know what that is…”

 

Rimuru nodded, “Tanya’s told me all about the Empire. Or well… Not really, but they’ve told me some things. If I remember correctly, being an adjutant is sort of like being an assistant, right?”

 

Viktoriya nodded, “That’s a pretty accurate way to describe it, I suppose…”

 

“So you must’ve been pretty close with Tanya, huh? Well, I’m sure she’ll be glad to have you,” Rimuru considered asking about the whole fight with Tanya, but considering that didn’t seem to be her fighting, Rimuru decided that it was likely a touchy subject best left for Tanya.

 

“Well, I was just about the only other woman in the battalion… So I suppose so. I’ve served with her personally since our time on the Rhine…” Viktoriya explained.

 

Rimuru bounced up with a nod, “So, how is she? I came to check in, I assume she woke up around the same time as me, right?”

 

“Uhm about that…” Viktoriya muttered nervously.

 

“She’s still unconscious,” Blanc stated blankly.

 

‘Huh? Didn't we undergo the harvest festival at the same time?’

 

«Had the Individual Tanya Tempest still been in combat when the Festival first began, then it is possible that they overstrained themselves in the process.»

 

‘She’ll be alright though… Right?’

 

«Most Likely. However, she may remain unconscious for a few days longer than you have.»

 

‘Wait, just how long have I been unconscious?’

 

«Approximately Three Days»

 

‘THREE DAYS?!’

 

Rimuru internally sighed, ‘Well I suppose we might as well hold off a bit for celebrations. It wouldn’t be fair to do it when Tanya’s not even here, nor would the people want to celebrate at their fullest knowing one of their leaders is still in a slumber. Might as well have a look around and check in on everyone. They seemed to get stronger after my Harvest Festival, so it might take a bit of work off of Tanya’s shoulders if I start trying to catalog any new skills or evolutions that were gained.’

 

Rimuru, saying his goodbyes to Viktoriya and Blanc, swiftly bounced off into the city. He would have a bit of work ahead of him, but he had always been a workaholic anyways since his first job in Japan.

 

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

 

It had been a day since Rimuru had woken up from his Harvest Festival, but what an eventful day it had been. Gathering all the data he could on everyone’s evolutions and new skills and compiling it into a small pile of papers took a bit, even with Raphael’s help, and with a few other minor affairs he had to deal with, he basically had no free time to relax.

 

Now with it being yet another day and with Tanya still deep into her own sleep, Rimuru decided to take a bit of a day off. Tempest was, seemingly, at peace, and though there was a sizable list of affairs that would need to be handled, they could be dealt with when Tanya was there to give her input. Particularly the influx of reports about Falmuth.

 

Bouncing around the capital city Tempestia for a few hours, Rimuru quickly took notice of what seemed to be a sizable group of soldiers chatting it out amongst each other over lunch. Their uniforms were all a deep green with red linings along them. Rimuru had seen it enough to recognize it as the uniform from Tanya’s old Empire.

 

«Notice: It is likely that these individuals are from-»

 

‘The Empire?’

 

«…Affirmative.»

 

‘Don’t give me that sass.’

 

Rimuru, curious, silently transformed into human form and casually walked over. The soldiers seemed to be chatting it up with a number of goblins, orcs, lizardmen, and even some kijin that seemed to have evolved from hobgoblins, an evolution Rimuru didn’t even know existed through blasting past ogre evolution.

 

Silently sitting down at a table with what seemed to be the most talkative men, they didn’t seem to pay any special attention to him as they continued talking.

 

“Yeah, you didn’t want to get on her bad side. Just look at Grantz, the guy foams out at the sight of a snowflake,” One of the rounder of the men, someone Rimuru overheard being called ‘Neumann’ explained.

 

A blonde-haired soldier who appeared a bit younger than the others seemed annoyed at his comment but remained otherwise silent. Turning away, he grumbled, “There’s a reason they called her the Devil of the Rhine.”

 

Neumann laughed, “Haha! Just don’t let her hear you say that. I hear her training here has been equally harsh.”

 

A longer-faced man, who Rimuru heard was named Koenig, smirked, “Let's hope she doesn’t think we’ve gotten rusty, wouldn’t want to go through that again.”

 

Rimuru was curious to hear of Tanya’s second life. She had spoken little of it, outside of military tactics that she had learned or methods which the Empire had used that she carried over to Tempest. Though he hadn’t shared many details from his own life with her either, he was still nonetheless curious to hear what her men thought of her.

 

Subtly poking his way into the conversation, Rimuru casually asked, “You served under Tanya, right? What was that like?”

 

The group of mages didn’t seem to recognize him as the leader of the nation, and for the time being, that was for the best. Rimuru didn’t want them tensing up on him and giving him dishonest answers to avoid insulting him, which would indirectly insult Tanya.

 

Grantz groaned, “Terrifying…” The look in his eyes gave Rimuru all the context he needed from that statement. Rimuru himself knew of Tanya as a cruel but effective commander, a role which was no doubt harsher in the World War style of warfare that the Empire faced.

 

Neumann, meanwhile, shook his head, “Eh, I wouldn’t say it was that bad. Terrifying? Absolutely, but I think you’re giving the wrong impression. She was probably one of the most unorthodox commanders I’ve heard of within the Empire. Most generals would just sit at HQ and wait for the battle’s conclusion. However, Tanya would almost always be found front and center of every major push, at least before the Kampfgruppe filled her plate. Even still, the commander had her nicer moments.”

 

Koenig smirked, “Yeah, like Desert Pasta.”

 

“Desert Pasta?” Rimuru asked.

 

“Probably our most successful military campaign in the 203rd’s history. Forget the raid on the Dacian and Rus capitals or our contributions in the fall of Legadonia and Revolving Door, this was the operation that truly mattered!” Neumann explained eagerly, all but exclaiming.

 

‘Must be one hell of an important mission if it’s more important than such major operations! Tanya only told me so much, but those operations were largely among them. Yet Tanya hadn’t told her about ‘Desert Pasta’. The name must be some kind of codeword like Overlord with D-Day…’

 

“Just what was Desert Pasta though?” Rimuru inquired with curiosity.

 

Neumann made a smirk and explained, “Well you see, this was a campaign on the Southern Continent, a place of mostly hot deserts and, as one would expect, poor infrastructure. Most nations relied on supply hubs to keep their men equipped and fed. Sure, those were needed on most fronts, but in the desert, they were all the more critical.’

 

‘The Southern Continent? If the Empire was in Europe, that would make that Africa, right? Seems to be a mimicry of the North African Campaign from World War II.’

 

Neumann continued, “We were under the command of Romel, I believe. Probably one of the best generals in the Empire, he’s pretty famous if I remember correctly. Tanya had a high opinion of him, though that was mostly because he was one of the few generals who knew the best way to handle her. That being to not really handle her at all. Just set her on a target and that target won’t exist if you gave her enough freedom and time.”

 

‘His name was Romel? And he was the one in charge of that world’s version of the North African Campaign? I’m no history nerd, but is that seriously just a parallel to Erwin Rommel? At what point does it stop being a coincidence?’

 

“With the freedom we had been given, Tanya planned out countless raids on major supply hubs, and we managed to take them out one by one along with a score of minor ones and literal dozens of supply trucks. Viktoriya was the one who coined the name ‘Desert Pasta’ for the operation. By the time we were done, Entente supply lines were running thin and they were forced to retreat, like pasta noodles.”

 

‘I see, so Tanya helped them win the North African campaign unlike what happened on Earth…’

 

“So that was the operation that helped you win the North Afr-I mean the Southern Continent campaign?” Rimuru inquired.

 

“What? No. The 203rd was pulled out of the Southern Continent when the Rus attacked, and the Southern Continent had to be abandoned a while later. What we did get out of the operation was some great pasta.”

 

Rimuru stared in confusion, “Pasta? Wait, was this all about pasta?”

 

Neumann shrugged, “What else would an operation called ‘Desert Pasta’ be about? The brass decided to give us a dish that required water in the middle of a desert, not to mention without anything like sauce or seasonings. So we went off and took it ourselves. All those supply hubs had plenty of ingredients.”

 

‘Here I thought ‘Desert Pasta’ was some sort of code name like ‘Overlord’ or ‘Desert Storm’...’

 

“And Tanya just let you guys go on this whole operation to get pasta?”

 

Neumann nodded, “Of course, it fell within our orders, after all.”

 

Koenig chimed in, grinning, “If you ask me, the General Staff sent us the pasta expecting Degurechaff to do something like that. Even they weren’t stupid enough to send pasta without ingredients, or at least without water.”

 

‘Note to self: If I want Tanya to blow up a country, give her some pasta. Second note to self: Invent pasta if it hasn’t already been invented.’

 

Hearing of Tanya’s antics in her past life was certainly interesting. In what was seemingly a world war, practically world war two for him, for her and her men to have had the freedom to seemingly fuck around as they did, she no doubt was considered valuable and effective enough for the high command to tolerate it. She must have been one of the most important figures on their front lines, which only supported her loads of experience managing the military.

 

As the men once more began to delve into another story, Rimuru noticed Weiss taking a seat across from him at the table, turning to the men as he muttered, “I see you’ve met Rimuru.”

 

The men all stared at him and then back to the blue-haired person they had assumed was some random woman with an interest in Tanya’s life. They had all heard of Rimuru, but were told he was a slime, not some little girl that was somehow shorter than Tanya.

 

After a few seconds of shock and confusion, Neumann just shrugged, “I expected you to be scarier.”

 

“Scarier? Look just because my appearance is that of-” Rimuru began before he was suddenly cut off.

 

Raising his hand, Neumann explained, “No, I didn’t mean your appearance. If we judged one’s scariness by their appearance, Tanya would hardly have the title ‘Devil of the Rhine,’ I meant your personality.”

 

“Huh? Why’s that?” Rimuru asked.

 

Koenig, sitting next to him, shrugged, “We assumed anyone that works hand and hand with Tanya directly would be just as terrifying as she is, at least when the time is right. Tanya’s charismatic, don’t get me wrong, but she doesn’t ever stop giving off a commanding presence, even when speaking casually to her subordinates.”

 

Neumann nodded in agreement, “I mean no offense, Sir Rimuru, but you don’t really give that impression.”

 

Weiss folded his arms and explained, “You’ll find Rimuru to be the nicer of the two leaders, at least on a diplomatic scale. Tanya is the sword pointed outward, Rimuru is the shield bent around, in a sense. Tanya takes over when aggressiveness and firmness are needed, Rimuru meanwhile tends to take over when friendliness and openness are necessary.”

 

“So like a good cop-bad cop on a diplomatic scale?” Grantz questioned.

 

Rimuru nodded, “You could compare it to something like that. I usually let Tanya handle the economy and military, given how both are intricately connected in the Jura lands. I’m the main one handling domestic affairs and the democratic elements of the government itself. Who handles diplomacy depends on who we’re meeting with, but I tend to be the one meeting with our allies while Tanya is the one handling the Demon Lords.”

 

“Just where is Tanya anyways?” Neumann asked, looking at Weiss.

 

“She’s still asleep from the Harvest Festival, unfortunately. She should be waking up soon though!” Rimuru happily explained.

 

Neumann grinned, “Good, she owes me a drink.”

 

Koenig looked confused, “No she doesn’t. You’re thinking of Weiss.”

 

Neumann looked up in realization, “Ah right. Ey Weiss, you ha-” As Neumann turned to Weiss, he noticed the lad had practically vanished. Rimuru immediately knew where he went, but it seemed that the men didn’t. Not wanting to interfere, Rimuru decided to keep silent as suddenly the three men in front of him all pulled out rifles with a grin.

 

“Well, well, well Weiss… If that’s how you want to play. C’mon men, let’s take down the old commander!”

 

Neumann rallied the men as they suddenly launched into the sky, immediately chasing after their former battalion head. Rimuru knew they stood no chance of ever catching him thanks to his [Accelerator] skill, but it certainly showed the unit’s determination and unity when it came to their food and drinks. They didn’t seem like bad men, and were certainly people he could work with.

 

[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]-[]

 

The eastern defenses of Tempest were light. The three great fortresses built to deter an invasion from the Eastern Empire, though manned, were far more lightly guarded than they usually would have otherwise been. With many units withdrawn westward, should they be needed in the war with Falmuth, the first units were only now beginning to funnel back into the east.

 

Unfortunately, for the largely war-hungry populations of the Mezu and Gozu, war for the time being seemed to have been avoided. Falmuth had been crushed faster than they could even arrive to help, and after the show of force Tempest put on display, few believed anyone would dare challenge the growing superpower that was the Federation.

 

That was, at least, what they thought. It had been a few days since the war ended and their leaders had become Demon Lords, however, now they found themselves faced with another. A pink-haired woman descended before each of the forts, her aura so imposing that it easily spanned across the area, encompassing all three fortresses with her aura.

 

The woman wore pompous clothing with a purple necklace shining around her neck. It took a few moments, but the soldiers were quick to identify her as Milim Nava; one of the Demon Lords they had been explicitly told to avoid confrontation with at all costs.

 

As she descended, she placed her hands on her hips and loudly declared, “You have fifteen minutes to evacuate your fortifications before I blast them to the ground! Any who remain will be destroyed!”

 

The soldiers stationed at the fortresses quickly panicked. Though they would’ve usually had easy means to communicate with the capital and by proxy their leadership, the few people that could had yet to return from heading west to aid in the Falmuth war. 

 

Unable to reach their leadership before Milim’s proclaimed attack, the soldiers were swift in their evacuation, knowing of her might. Though some wished to remain stubborn and fight it out with the Demon Lord, swearing to defend their lands to the end, their masters’ former words of warning when dealing with her caused even the most stubborn to be convinced that fighting her was a lost cause.

 

It was strange though, if she had just wanted the fortresses destroyed, she could’ve just done so. Why give the warning? Why let them live? Why would she even attack Tempest at all? Wasn’t she friends with their rulers?

 

Many questions filled the heads of the soldiers as they looked on, seeing Milim gathering more power around herself. Was this her strange way of declaring war? It wasn’t smart to let even a single soldier live, no matter how weak they were compared to you. Why couldn’t she just go for the capital anyways since she could fly?

 

Before they could hope to get any answers, they watched as massive pink explosions rocked the forest, destroying stretches of forest, roads, and most notably the forts from the border of Dwargon to the border of Jistav. In an instant, their fortifications were gone, and in the next, Milim blasted off over the horizon, leaving the soldiers stunned.

 

They sat around for a few moments, sending messengers to get into contact with Tempestia. However, as they regrouped and awaited orders, the sound of tanks rolling across the ground caused some confusion.

 

Had their tanks somehow survived the blast? The fortifications had countless tanks, all prepared for a large-scale war with the Eastern Empire if it broke out, but just about all the tanks had been abandoned in the chaos. Surely if there were a few tank drivers who stayed behind, they didn’t have enough to pilot the seemingly hundreds of tanks they heard coming from the east.

 

As they sent scouts to investigate the sounds, they quickly returned with horrifying news, packing dozens of men into the trucks as they fled. The tanks weren’t Tempestian, heck, they were barely even magical in nature. The banners they flew and the colors they used meant only one thing:

 

Tempest was at war with the Eastern Empire.

 

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

 

Dr. Rx, Dragon1008

 

To join the discord for chatting, discussion, updates, or to apply to be one of the credited helpers, join the link below:

 

https://discord.gg/xcCvpSxmA7

 

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Alphas and Beta Comments Deluge!

 

Dr. Rx - Well that’s a hard pill to swallow

Dragon1008 - Yeah, but at least you don't have to swallow it if it no longer exists… All those oversized stationary pillboxes just got wiped by Milim’s artillery.