Originally, Clayman had planned to act alone and take all the credit for himself.
But he hadn't expected the Nazarick Principality to suddenly emerge, which had taken him by surprise.
Moreover, the prosperity of this nation also exceeded his expectations.
Clayman, who loved schemes and intrigues, was not strong himself; he considered himself a mental player, believing he only needed to learn how to kill with a borrowed knife.
This also led to him not taking his subordinates' strength to heart; it was a bit unsafe for him to deal with Nazarick alone.
Thus, he had called Carrion and Milim, wanting to use their hands to eliminate this unstable factor.
He swirled his red wine glass and said composedly, "This is currently the biggest variable. If we don't handle it as soon as possible, we will lose the initiative."
Carrion nodded in agreement.
"That may be so, but isn't it a bit inappropriate for us to enter the forest so blatantly? Regarding the other Demon Lords..."
Clayman snorted coldly, his gaze becoming somewhat sinister.
"Now that the Storm Dragon has disappeared, the previous agreement has become optional."
"We just need a reasonable excuse to attack; even if the other Demon Lords find out, they will have nothing to say."
Clayman had a smile of victory in his grasp, as if he could already see the scene of Nazarick being completely destroyed.
Milim listened silently, appearing to be thinking seriously on the surface, but her heart was feeling a bit guilty.
Fun is fun, and trouble is trouble, but Milim knew in her heart that even if these two guys combined their forces, they were no match for Nazarick.
So she wasn't too worried about Nazarick's safety.
What Milim was worried about was that, as Draco's good friend, she was expected to take action against Nazarick. If Draco broke off his friendship with her, her source of happiness would be gone.
"You can't see me! You can't see me! Don't call on me for this kind of thing..."
Her heart was screaming frantically.
Exactly what she feared most happened.
"Milim, Milim!"
Just as Milim was spacing out, a series of urgent calls rang in her ears.
Clayman tapped the table lightly, seemingly noticing her distracted state.
"What's wrong?"
"You used to be the most active in such matters; why are you so quiet today?"
Carrion looked at her suspiciously.
"Ah ha, hahaha... I was just lost in thought. You guys carry on... hehehe!"
Milim gave a dry laugh to hide her unusual behavior.
The two didn't pay much attention to her abnormality; after all, she was known for her childlike nature. Anything was possible, and they were long used to her strange behavior.
Clayman shrugged and continued the previous topic.
"We must resolve the matter of Nazarick as soon as possible."
"I've already thought of a reason: we'll say Nazarick previously engaged in large-scale illegal slave purchases in my country, leading to a serious labor shortage."
"This military expedition is to reclaim that population."
"I learned from merchants that this country's military strength is not weak. To be safe, I need your support to ensure a hundred percent success."
Carrion and Milim fell into silence at the same time.
Lion King Carrion was a new generation Demon Lord who rose and survived during the Heavenly Demon War four hundred years ago.
Compared to the older generation of Demon Lords, his own strength and combat experience were overwhelmingly insufficient.
Therefore, he urgently needed to find strong individuals to expand his influence, which was why he came to participate in Clayman's plan.
Moreover, a new Heavenly Demon War was approaching, and Carrion needed more manpower.
Although he was eager, it didn't mean he would be blinded by profit.
If Nazarick were a small country, Clayman would surely have swallowed it alone.
Inviting him to participate now meant this country was not simple, and Clayman needed someone to share the risk.
Carrion cleared his thoughts and began to weigh the pros and cons.
As for Milim, she naturally had no desire to participate, but it was hard for her to back out now.
To hide one lie, countless lies are needed to make it whole; it was a vicious cycle.
She began to think of what excuse to use to decline.
Clayman originally thought that after proposing this suggestion, the two would agree without hesitation.
He didn't expect to fall into a stalemate now.
He prepared to add some fuel to the fire.
"Carrion, your Beast Kingdom has three hundred million people, including three million Upper-class Citizens. What are you worried about regarding a tiny country with only a million people?"
"Furthermore, the wealth of this country is far beyond imagination."
Clayman's tone was full of temptation, trying to bewitch Carrion.
"That being said... how about this? I will personally participate in the battle this time, while my subordinates stay behind to guard our territory."
"It would take them at least a month to reach the eastern side of the forest. Since we plan for a quick victory, there's no need to wait for them."
Carrion made this decision after careful consideration.
If everything went smoothly, that would be best.
But if something went wrong, he was alone anyway; at worst, he could just walk away.
"Oh? You're actually willing to take action personally? That couldn't be better."
A flash of joy crossed Clayman's face before vanishing instantly. "What about Milim?"
"Uh..."
At worst, I'll just hide my true identity then. It's just going through the motions anyway, I shouldn't be discovered... Thinking this, Milim immediately replied.
"I don't have any subordinates, da. How about... I go with Carrion."
"No problem, I'll go have someone prepare right now."
Clayman was clearly very happy about this and immediately ordered his subordinates to start preparations.
With two Demon Lords personally taking action, this matter was settled!
On my side, I have
skeleton soldiers, plus 9,378 elite combat forces, which should be enough... Meanwhile.
After receiving orders, Benimaru took the leopard girl Shiro and a hundred members of the Ogre Race toward Goblin Town.
Aura had three giant Roc Beasts whose broad backs could be used as mounts.
The group spent only a day to arrive at the scene.
Three massive shadows suddenly appeared over the town.
"Chirp—!!"
After circling for a long time, the giant Rocs landed on the open ground at the town entrance.
Rimuru had naturally noticed the abnormality long ago and quickly gathered Rigurd and Gobta's Wolf Riders.
Outside the town, as Benimaru and the others appeared, Souei also stepped out from the shadows with his subordinates.
"Long time no see, Souei."
Benimaru looked at him and smiled faintly.
Souei said coolly, "You've grown stronger."
"Heh, after being trained by the old man for so long, I had to make some progress."
"Let's get down to business first; we can catch up later."
By then, Rimuru had already approached with his subordinates.
"Everyone, I wonder what brings you here?"
Benimaru
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