On the other side, in the wetland underground cavern.
The day after the subjugation of the Pig-Headed Emperor, the major races gathered together in the cavern's main hall.
Gabiru had already been imprisoned in the dungeon by the Old Clan Chief due to his rebellion.
Even if it was his own son, he had to make a statement.
Inside the hall, Rimuru sat at the head of the table, with representatives of the Lizardmen Tribe, the Hogheads, and the Goblin tribe seated below.
Treyni, the administrator of the Jura Forest, was naturally present as well.
Benimaru, Souei, and the others simply stood to the side, not participating in the proceedings.
The Hogheads had suffered heavy casualties; only the sole surviving Pig-Headed General and the leaders of the ten major tribes came to attend this post-war conference.
They kept their heads low, their spirits very dejected.
After all, they were the primary culprits of this disaster; even if they were manipulated by the Pig-Headed Emperor, they still bore joint responsibility.
As for the various Goblin clan chiefs, although over five thousand of their tribesmen had died in battle and only two thousand remained, they were still the victors.
At this moment, they were shouting insults at the Hogheads, looking like petty men who had come into power.
"Silence!"
The Lizardman Chief shouted, instantly bringing a hush over the entire venue.
"Then, Chairman Rimuru Tempest, please begin."
He looked at Rimuru, his tone calm.
"Mm."
Rimuru nodded, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and then summarized the casualties of this campaign.
The Hoghead army of two hundred thousand suffered fifty thousand casualties, the Lizardmen Tribe suffered two thousand, and the Goblins five thousand.
After finishing, the topic naturally turned to the issue of post-war reparations.
"So, Lizardman Chief, what are your demands for reparations from the Hogheads?"
Facing Rimuru's question, the Chief shook his head.
"This victory was primarily achieved by relying on Excellency Rimuru; I have no demands."
Upon hearing this, the representatives of the Hogheads fell to their knees with a thud one after another.
"Regarding this matter, I will make compensation even if it costs my life. Of course, this is far from enough; as long as I can do it, no matter..."
Rimuru interrupted his speech.
"First, let me state that I do not intend to hold the Hogheads accountable."
"But..."
"Let me finish."
The Hoghead representative had no choice but to sit back down helplessly.
Rimuru continued, "The primary cause of this disaster was famine. If placed in the same position, other races would likely have made the same choice."
"Furthermore, as you all should know by now, there was someone pulling the strings behind the scenes."
"It might sound like I'm just speaking for myself, but there's one thing I want to tell you all."
"I have inherited all the sins of the Hogheads. If you have objections, direct them at me."
"This is my promise to Demon King Kruut!"
When Rimuru devoured the Pig-Headed Emperor Kruut, he had a proper talk with the dying emperor in his final moments.
After Rimuru promised him that he would help the Hogheads, the Pig-Headed Emperor completely gave up his resistance.
There was a moment of silence.
After a long while, the Lizardman Chief let out a sigh.
"I see. However, that answer is a bit cunning."
"We, the Lizardmen Tribe, choose to accept it."
In terms of the big picture, the Lizardman Chief was very strong; he knew how to walk a path that would only widen.
"However, I have one thing I need to confirm."
"How do you plan to settle the Hogheads?" the Lizardman Chief asked calmly.
"Since you don't intend to hold them accountable, do you mean to take in the remaining Hogheads?"
"Mm..."
At this time, there were as many as one hundred and fifty thousand Hogheads.
Moreover, they had no surplus food. The Hogheads were currently in a precarious situation and would starve to death before long.
"Everyone, I would like to ask you all for your help."
Rimuru smiled and looked at everyone present.
"Help?"
"What do you mean?"
"??"
Everyone looked at him in confusion, not quite clear on what he meant.
"The Lizardmen will provide high-quality water resources and fish, the Goblins will provide a place to live, and my city can provide processed goods."
"As for the Hogheads, they will provide labor as payment."
"I see!"
"..."
"The various races of the Jura Great Forest will form a great alliance and establish a relationship of mutual assistance."
"If we can form a nation where multiple races coexist, that would be interesting."
"And everyone, if we ignore the Hogheads, it won't be long before the tragedy repeats itself."
Everyone expressed their agreement one after another.
"What does Excellency Treyni think?"
"No problem."
With that, Treyni slowly stood up and spoke to everyone present.
"As the administrator of the forest, I, Treyni, swear."
"I recognize Lord Rimuru as the new Alliance Leader of the Jura Great Forest!"
"Huh? Alliance Leader?!"
"In the name of Alliance Leader Lord Rimuru, the 'Jura Forest Great Alliance' is officially established!"
"Eh? Wait..."
Regardless, Treyni walked up to Rimuru and led everyone in kneeling on one knee.
Good grief, this mess could finally be dumped onto someone else.
Who knows what others thought, but Treyni was a hundred percent satisfied.
"This..."
Looking at the atmosphere of the scene, Rimuru really couldn't bring himself to say words of refusal.
"Fine, fine, I'll do it..."
In this way, Rimuru's nation-building plan took another major step forward.
Because there was still a mountain of things to handle after the war, Rimuru temporarily stayed with the Lizardmen Tribe.
Seeing that there was nothing left to do, Benimaru and Shiro prepared to set off and leave, but they were called back by Rimuru just as they were departing.
"Thank you all for your help this time."
"Lord Rimuru is too polite; we were only acting according to Lord Draco's orders."
"No, one thing is one thing; I still have to thank you."
"By the way, help me pass a message to Draco. When I'm done with my business here, I'll visit the Nazarick Duchy, and tell him to think carefully about how to 'explain'."
Rimuru said with a smile.
"...I will certainly deliver it. Well then, Lord Rimuru, we bid you farewell."
After saying that, Benimaru left the place with his subordinates.
As for Souei, before receiving a new mission, he continued to lurk around Rimuru, acting as eyes for Draco.
In the following ten days, who knows who spread the news.
It was said that Rimuru was going to name everyone.
As a result... one hundred and fifty thousand Hogheads lined up and spent ten days draining all the Magical Essence from Rimuru's body.
Fortunately, he had grown significantly stronger through his breakthrough this time, otherwise he truly wouldn't have been able to complete such a daunting task.
Because Goblin Town hadn't been completed yet, the Hogheads—no, they had now evolved into Orcs after being named.
The Orc population was too large, so Rimuru distributed them throughout the forest to form several brand-new major tribes.
Rimuru would provide technology and materials so they could build their own towns.
As for the sole surviving Pig-Headed General of the Orcs, Rimuru gave him the name of his father, the Pig-Headed Emperor, Kruut.
Before the Pig-Headed Emperor evolved, all nine of his sons had starved to death due to the famine.
This sole survivor was the Pig-Headed Emperor's youngest son; the Emperor had carved off his own flesh so that his youngest son would not starve.
Allowing him to inherit his father's name was a decision Rimuru made after careful consideration.
Afterwards, Kruut led the two thousand survivors of the Pig-Headed Royal Guard and became Rimuru's subordinate.
This was the prototype of the Yellow Legion that would be born later.
With the addition of this labor force, Rimuru's town entered a stage of rapid development.
In just three short months, it had already begun to take shape.
Of course, that is all for later.
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