On the wetland battlefield.
The Hoghead Army suffered heavy casualties, but an endless stream of troops continued to arrive from the forest.
In fact, the main legion of the Hogheads had not even appeared yet.
To catch the bandits, first catch the king; Rimuru flew in the sky and began searching for the target, the Pig-Headed Emperor.
As long as the Pig-Headed Emperor was dealt with, the Hoghead Army would return to normal.
After a moment, he finally discovered the target on a part of the battlefield.
A hogman four times the size of a Pig-Headed General stood quietly, surrounded by a large group of soldiers.
Judging by the powerful Demonic Aura he released, there was no doubt he was the Pig-Headed Emperor.
Rimuru notified the people below to charge toward the Pig-Headed Emperor's direction.
He himself also quickly flew toward the target.
The group soon arrived near the Pig-Headed Emperor, and Souei also arrived with his subordinates at this time.
Just as everyone was preparing to fight, an aura rapidly approached from the horizon.
Gelmud landed between the two parties.
"Isn't this Lord Gelmud? I didn't expect you to come in person for our sake."
Gabiru recognized the newcomer and said with some excitement.
"Hmm? Gabiru?"
"Hmph, a mere piece of fodder, an eyesore!"
"Fod... fodder?"
Ignoring Gabiru's shock, Gelmud began to berate the Pig-Headed Emperor.
"You useless trash! If you had eaten the lizards and Goblins earlier to evolve into a Demon Lord, I wouldn't have had to come here myself!"
A glimmer of clarity flashed in the Pig-Headed Emperor's cloudy eyes, "What... Demon Lord...?"
"Forget it, I'll do it myself!"
"Gabiru, I command you, let the Pig-Headed Emperor eat you immediately!"
"What!?"
At this moment, even as dense as Gabiru was, he understood, and the faith in his heart instantly collapsed.
Because it was an order from his namer, Gabiru could only stay in place, waiting to be devoured by the Pig-Headed Emperor.
But after a long time, the Pig-Headed Emperor remained motionless.
"You trash, hurry up and do it!"
Gelmud frowned and shouted angrily.
Then, in the next moment.
"Hungry... I want food..."
The Pig-Headed Emperor drew a six-meter-long butcher knife from his waist and swung it.
"Squelch!"
Gelmud's head was separated from his body.
Dead!
This scene left everyone stunned.
No one expected such a dramatic turn of events.
Then, the Pig-Headed Emperor pounced on Gelmud's body and began to feast.
After consuming the body of a High-ranking Demon, the Pig-Headed Emperor finally accumulated enough energy and began to evolve into a Demon Lord Species.
A terrifying aura rose, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
At that moment, the voice of the world rang out in everyone's minds.
[Confirmation complete. Individual name: Kruut. Evolution into Demon Lord Species beginning... Success.]
[Individual name: Kruut. Successfully evolved into Pig-Headed Demon Lord!]
"Uwaaa!!"
Kruut's roar spread across the entire battlefield, and his body instantly swelled, turning into a ten-meter-tall giant beast form.
"I remember, I remember everything!"
"I am the Pig-Headed Demon Lord Kruut, the devourer of all things in the world!"
His cloudy eyes regained clarity, and the Magical Essence in his body soared several times more than before.
His level reached Demon Lord Species S-rank, and his combat power skyrocketed to over two hundred thousand, nearly three hundred thousand.
"Hmph, a mere hog dares to call himself a Demon Lord? Don't get too cocky!"
Benimaru drew his long sword, flames rising from his body once again.
"Let's go!"
Shiro and Souei understood perfectly, and they charged directly at Kruut with Benimaru.
"Hellfire Slash!"
"Spatial Tear!"
"Claw Blade: Phantom Light!"
Three attacks blasted toward Kruut simultaneously.
"Boom—!!"
The explosion kicked up dust, and a terrifying gale swept across the field.
When the dust cleared, only half of Kruut's body remained; even his head had been blown away.
Before everyone could celebrate.
In the next moment.
Yellow tentacles sprouted from Kruut's body and wrapped around the wounds; gradually, the missing body parts grew back.
This was the magic, Super-Speed Regeneration!
"Hmph, trivial tricks!"
Kruut grabbed a Pig-Headed General behind him and swallowed him in one bite.
To regenerate after taking massive damage, corresponding flesh was required.
Rimuru realized the Pig-Headed Emperor was indeed quite troublesome, so he spoke to the Great Sage in his mind.
"It's your turn, Great Sage. Take this guy down!"
[Activating Auto-Battle Mode!]
As the Great Sage's prompt sounded, Rimuru's pupils suddenly became mechanical.
Under powerful correction capabilities, the Great Sage perfectly utilized every skill, unleashing a flurry of moves on the Pig-Headed Emperor.
The final move, Flame Transformation Explosion Prison Array, provided a perfect finish.
[Notice: Individual possesses fire resistance. Revising plan...]
"No need!"
[...]
Rimuru regained control of his body. "I've thought of a way."
Great Sage: Do I not deserve any respect?
"Let me see who the real devourer is!"
The Pig-Headed Emperor's skill 「Hungerer」 has a corrosive attribute, while Rimuru's 「Predator」 has a dissolving attribute.
The two could be said to be very similar.
Rimuru immediately activated his skill, switching to Slime form to latch onto the Pig-Headed Emperor and began to slowly consume him.
The Pig-Headed Emperor struggled desperately, but it was to no avail.
Both were consuming each other; it was down to who would run out of mana first.
With a power bank like the Storm Dragon, the outcome was naturally self-evident.
[Confirmation complete. The Orc Disaster has vanished. Obtained special skill 「Hungerer」.]
[「Hungerer」 has been integrated with 「Predator」. Successfully evolved into 「Gluttony」.]
[Individual, Rimuru, has begun evolving into a Demon Lord Species... Success!]
..."Whew, that was close. I almost got eaten."
Somewhere in the forest, Mare patted his chest in relief.
He had originally been slacking off by hiding in the Pig-Headed Emperor's shadow, but it gave him a fright. Luckily he ran fast, otherwise Rimuru might have gained quite a few more skills.
Just then, Mare received a transmission.
(Lord Draco, is something the matter?)
(How is the mission on your end going?)
(It went like this and like that...)
(I see. Return immediately. I have a rain of experience points waiting to be collected here.)
(Understood, my Lord!)
After speaking, Mare cast a wind magic buff on himself and hurried toward Nazarick.
Time to eat.
-------------------------------
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