Tanuki Rise of the Yokai Clan

Chapter 178: I will become a Demon Lord

Everyone was in silence when they heard such a request, yet how could they not be?

Frankly, no one was thinking of fighting the ogre as soon as possible since 200,000 orc warriors weren't something that they could take lightly; maybe, when they were desperate, they would do so, but now?

"Suppress the Orc Lord...? That's... you are asking us to enter this battle?" Rimuru, who was a pacifist, was confused.

"That's of course, Rimuru Tempest-sama, Inugamigyoubu Tamazuki-sama."

"Just call me Tamazuki. My name is too long."

Tamazuki knew that his name was too long, so he asked someone to either call him Inugami or Tamazuki.

"Your name is too long," Rimuru smirked.

Tamazuki only rolled his eyes.

"Then, Tamazuki-sama." Treyni nodded with a bright smile.

The reason for their request was simple if they didn't ask the strong for help, then it would be impossible for them to stay alive, and their habitat would be damaged by this group of orcs.

"That's why we are asking for the help of the strong."

"But whether the Orc Lord has been born is still a question, right?"

"We Dryads are able to gain a lot of information as long as it's inside the Jura Forest and the Orc Lord is born." Treyni looked at the bowl of potato chips and asked, "What is this, Tamazuki-sama?"

"Potato chips."

"Can I try it?"

"Sure."

"Hm~! Delicious!" The crisps and lightly salted taste of the potato chip made her smile.

However, everyone couldn't care about all of this since the news that came out from Treyni shocked them.

"If Dryad-sama has already said so..."

"Then, the Orc Lord must have appeared!"

"Then, sooner or later, they will come to us!"

No one doubted the news brought by Treyni. Instead, they knew this crisis was going to come to their village sooner or later.

Still, Rimuru didn't immediately accept the request as he still wanted to check the situation since he didn't want to cause a meaningless death. While he knew the battle was inevitable, he wanted to get the information by himself as it was hard to believe Treyni, who he had only met for a moment.

Unlike the other monsters who didn't have a doubt about Treyni, Rimuru was a human in the past, so he couldn't trust something so easily. Moreover, before he was an adult, he was also the leader of this village, so he had a responsibility to protect all of them.

Still, before all of that, Rimuru wanted to know what was the purpose of the Orc Lord. Was it only for the destruction? Was it born just to destroy everything? Frankly, he didn't understand, but Treyni answered that doubt.

"Unique Skill [Starving Ones]"

"Huh?"

"A skill the Orc Lord gains the moment it's born. It allows the Orcs to eat anything, and everything at this point is similar to your skill [Predator]."

Tamazuki glanced at Treyni, wondering how this woman could tell that Rimuru had this skill, but he didn't bother to ask since Rimuru didn't seem to mind that his skill was known.

"Though it is similar to [Predator], its access rate is not constant; if there are many using the skill for consumption at the same time, the success rate rises."

"So the Orc's motive is..."

"Not to destroy the high-ranking monsters like Ogre and Lizardmen but to gain strength from eating them."

When everyone knew this, they knew that no one was saved anymore. Everyone was in crisis, and all of them would be targeted by a group of greedy pigs.

By now, this group of orcs should have all the abilities of an ogre, and soon, they would have the ability of lizardmen.

And if they continue to evolve?

This matter wasn't something that they could ignore any longer!

"Uncle, you should accept this request."

"Eh? Tamazuki?"

Rimuru was surprised.

"This Orc Lord will be beneficial to your skill."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Rimuru was confused.

"If you use [Predator] on the Orc Lord, I believe that your skill will evolve, and you can become stronger."

"Really?" Rimuru was surprised and then quickly asked the [Great Sage].

[Affirmative. Once you can use [Predator] on the Orc Lord, there is a high probability that the Unique Skill [Predator] will evolve into [Gluttony], so it is advisable to accept this request]

Really?

[Yes]

Gluttony...

What kind of skill was this?

The [Great Sage] couldn't answer it as it hadn't seen what the [Starved One] was really capable of, but for one thing, Rimuru was sure that he would become stronger. Hearing that, he didn't hesitate any longer. He thought that he should accept this request. More importantly, Tamazuki was also by his side.

In the wrong case, he could rely on Tamazuki.

However, at the same time, Rimuru also wanted to get stronger, so this Orc Lord was that chance for him to become stronger.

'Go and become stronger, Uncle.'

The stronger Rimuru was, the better it was.

Tamazuki knew that he couldn't stay in this world forever, so all he could rely on was Rimuru, especially when he could tell that this world was dangerous. Maybe, some thought that this world was a funny world where the protagonist was slime, but that wasn't the case.

It was just his intuition, though.

More importantly, he didn't know much about the plot of this world, so while he was gone, Rimuru needed to be strong enough to take care of the rest.

This was why he gave me a chance to use [Predator] on the Orc Lord Rimuru, turning it into a Unique Skill [Gluttony].

Nevertheless, even if he gave the Orc Lord to Rimuru, he could learn [Gluttony] as long as he saw it, so everything was okay.

Still, they also couldn't let go of this Orc Lord as the longer they let it go, the more dangerous it would be as it might evolve into a Demon Lord.

Yet, Tamazuki didn't mind since he was sure the soul of the Demon Lord would become the best sacrifice for his evolution.

"Then, the request to suppress the Orc Lord, we shall accept it!" Rimuru looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, please prepare for it!"

"Yes!"

Everyone was ready for the battle, and everyone was confident of the result, especially the Onis since all of them had evolved.

Benimaru, Souei, Shion, Hakurou, Shuna, and Kurobee swore that they were going to avenge their tribe and also wash the humiliation they received that day.

However, when they were about to prepare, Tamazuki suddenly stopped them. "Wait, everyone; there is something that I need to talk about with all of you about."

"Hm?"

"Is there something wrong, Tamazuki-sama?"

While they were confused, they didn't move from his spot and looked at him curiously.

Tamazuki wanted to say that he planned a Demon Lord, but in the end, he held it. He wasn't sure whether he could become a Demon Lord, but he needed to remind them of something.

"In this battle, there is something that I want to try."

"Try? You mean an experiment?" Rimuru asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Do you need us to help you with something?"

"No, you don't need to, but just don't be surprised if I somehow change or become a little fierce."

"...okay?"

They felt confused, but they nodded regardless.

Shizu hesitated, but in the end, she didn't say anything and just stayed on Tamazuki's side.

"Also, Ranga and Souei."

"Yes?" 2x

"When my experiment is over, and it is successful, it brings me far away. I will tell you when it is successful, but if I fail, then you don't need to do anything."

While Ranga and Souie were confused, they nodded regardless.

"What are you planning to do, Tamazuki?" Rimuru even became curious.

"For now, let's say it is a secret since if it's a failure, then it is useless. Anyway, let's just focus on the battle and survive. In this battle, your lives are more important, so don't force yourselves."

"Yes!"

With those last words, the meeting ended, but Tamazuki prepared himself since the day he became a Demon Lord was near.