Jura Great Forest.
"One Piece isn't even finished yet. Is Oda really planning to draw for another ten years? Boo hoo hoo! But it's great to see Luffy become a Fifth Emperor and fight Kaido in Wano Country!"
Yuuki's face was filled with happiness as he held a manga.
Rimuru also smiled happily, "That's not all! The most anticipated anime in recent years should be Demon Slayer and Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? II. Of course, among the new anime, Cautious Hero and Carol & Tuesday are also good. I have to say, Bones Studio is amazing!"
"Agreed, Bones Studio is the best! Dungeon has even released a second season, what a pity, it's a 'lifetime series,' and it's great that I can finally catch up this time."
Seeing Rimuru and Yuuki chatting about manga and anime, Shizue, Shion, Shuna, and the other women exchanged smiles.
Not long ago, they were fighting to the death, but because of a few manga, they buried the hatchet and even became close friends.
How incredible!
Is that rubber man named Luffy really that charming?
Seriously!
No matter how incomprehensible it was to them, Rimuru and Yuuki's relationship was incredibly good; they seemed to wish they were sworn brothers.
Perhaps because of their good relationship, the people below also quickly got along well.
Gobta, the king of comedy, personally took the stage and made everyone burst into laughter.
And the uninhibited Shion, being naturally friendly, dragged several adventurer girls to dance.
In short, the atmosphere was very lively!
However, happy times are always short-lived.
Early the next morning, Yuuki reluctantly left with a group of adventurers.
Before he left, Rimuru promised that he would go to the Kingdom of Cigna with Shizue-san soon to find a way to treat the children like Chloe and Alice.
Yuuki expressed his strong welcome, stating that as a senior, he would definitely take good care of Chloe, Kenya, and Alice!
The party dispersed, and the shadows of Yuuki and the others completely disappeared from Rimuru's sight.
Even when he observed through magic, he couldn't find any trace, yet Rimuru remained motionless.
This sight moved Shion, Shuna, and the others greatly!
As expected of close friends who are obsessed with anime, their friendship is truly deep. Their friend had been gone for almost two hours, yet Rimuru was still gazing motionless.
What an enviable friendship!
Hakuro chuckled, sighing with emotion. He was truly old; the World belonged to the young people now!
Benimaru and Souei were also filled with envy. What an admirable friendship!
After confirming that Yuuki's traces had completely vanished, Rimuru immediately summoned Hakuro, Benimaru, and Souei into the tent for a discussion.
Rimuru looked at Hakuro and the other two, and said frankly, "I plan to build a large Base in our town to guard it and defend against enemies. The design concept is a spring crystal in the back; as long as our people stand on the spring, it can replenish their magicules and restore their stamina. Around the four sides of the spring crystal, I've designed four paths: southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest, with three defense towers on each path."
Hakuro, Benimaru, and the others were astonished.
Why did My Lord suddenly think of this?
Rimuru: "The purpose of building the spring and defense towers is, of course, to guard against external enemies. Including my good friend, Kagurazaka Yuuki!"
Pfft!
Hakuro, Benimaru, and Souei almost spat out a mouthful of old blood!
What is this all about?
What about the great friendship they spoke of? Give them back their move!
If these people had experienced the internet era, they would have unanimously thought of one word: "plastic," "plastic friendship."
However, Rimuru was the My Lord they served, so whatever Rimuru said, they naturally carried out.
Rimuru looked at Hakuro and the other two with a smile, "It doesn't matter whether this Base exists or not with me around. But even a tiger naps sometimes. What if I'm not here and enemies invade en masse?"
Hearing Rimuru's words, the three immediately became serious.
Benimaru: "Rimuru-sama, have you perceived something?"
Rimuru: "What I've perceived isn't important. What's important is that you cannot relax your vigilance. Towards humans, we will, in principle, choose cooperation and friendly interactions, but we must absolutely not relax our vigilance."
"The Luminas Church's founding principle is to exterminate monsters. The commercial powerhouse Falmus Kingdom, as a hub connecting the Dwarf Kingdom and the Western Nations, has for years levied heavy taxes on passing merchant teams and adventurers. After our Demon Country Federation is established, it will inevitably take a share of the pie that originally belonged to them. Do you understand the crisis here?"
Hearing Rimuru's words, Hakuro and the other two immediately became vigilant.
Benimaru was even more ashamed!
As the person in charge of managing the Demon Country Federation's defense, it was shameful that Rimuru had to point out this crisis!
Even Souei was inexplicably ashamed; to be honest, he had also been a bit lax lately.
"I will get the design blueprints out as soon as possible. The other materials needed will be up to you to collect."
"Oh, and Souei, you and Gobta go to the Dwarf Kingdom and invite Master Kajin over. He is currently being ostracized by Minister Bester and is not doing well. If you go to invite him, the chances of success are very high. You might find these useful!"
As Rimuru spoke, he took out a large amount of Recovery Potion, magical steel, and gold coins.
Seeing Rimuru casually produce so many precious resources, the three were no longer surprised.
Rimuru had simply given them too many surprises.
In their eyes, they had already tacitly assumed that Rimuru was omnipotent.
"As for Hakuro, the training of the demon squads is entirely entrusted to you."
"Yes, My Lord!"
As commands were relayed, the Demon Country Federation became busy once again.
Because of Rimuru's specific instructions, these tasks were transparent and not hidden from anyone.
However, the core defense mechanism of the spring-defense tower was kept secret.
The only ones who knew the inside story, Benimaru, Souei, and Hakuro, were very curious: once this defense mechanism was completed, how would these inanimate spring and defense towers distinguish between friend and foe?
Just as Rimuru was designing the defense towers in a flash, Kagurazaka Yuuki's face still maintained its unchanging smile.
But he had also completely confirmed his thoughts deep down!
Regarding him, Rimuru truly knew something and was intentionally pressuring him to act early.
Should he act early?
The answer was, of course, yes!
Although his time fighting Rimuru was short, Yuuki felt it very deeply.
At his strength, his arm bone broke instantly during the fight. Rimuru was definitely an Awakened Demon Lord!
For a Demon Lord to awaken, it's not that easy.
The prerequisite is tens of thousands of human souls!
And to ensure foolproof success, many monsters prepare two to three tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of souls.
And Rimuru's subordinates include five Demon Lords who are close to awakening. That would require at least fifty to sixty thousand, or even five to six hundred thousand souls.
Five to six hundred thousand people is not a small number even on Earth with its population explosion in his previous life.
And in the Cardinal World, it's even more exaggerated!
In the Cardinal World, humans haven't fully reached the top of the food chain yet.
Facing numerous monsters, they are even still in a weaker position.
The most interesting point is that Demon Lords evolving into Awakened Demon Lords all require sacrificing human souls.
This only exacerbates the human crisis!
Rimuru's rapid rise in such a short time must mean he has mastered a method or secret treasure for rapid evolution!
Monsters, and even other Demon Lords, should be very interested, right!
Jura Great Forest, Storm Dragon Veldora.
Perhaps he obtained the legacy of the Storm Dragon Veldora, or perhaps Veldora has returned after nirvana!
The Holy Empire of Ruberios and the Luminas Church should also be very interested, right!
There's also the Falmus Kingdom's "cheese." To protect their cheese, they will surely be tempted to make a move.
Since Rimuru is pressuring him, then he will grant her wish!
Rimuru is confident he can find his flaws, but why isn't he confident in leaving no trace?
Let's see who has the last laugh!