(OLD) The Saga of Slime and Devil

Chapter 5 - Ragnarok

A lizardman sits on a throne deep within a cave system just within the swamps. Next to him is his daughter, and scattered throughout the room are guards stationed to protect him. After just a few moments another lizardman enters the room.

"Father!"

"Ah, you've returned. Well? Did you succeed in recruiting the Goblins to assist us?"

"Yes, sir! They number 7,000 in total. They are standing by. But... Why must we remain here in the face of an Orc attack? This is not how the proud lizardman race fights."

"While you were away, we were approached with an offer of alliance. Until they join us, our best option is to focus on defense."

"You've aged, Father."

"What?"

The lizardman raises his hands as armed lizardmen funnel in from the entrance of the portion of the cave they were residing in, filing behind the lizardman.

"Utilizing these natural labyrinths may be a wise strategy against a large army... However, it divides our forces between too many separate corridors, Preventing us from meeting the enemy with our full strength!"

Three armed lizardmen step forward, pointing spears at the neck of the lizardman chief sitting on the throne, his daughter shouting in protest, "G-Gabiru, what is the meaning of this?!"

"Be calm, captain of the guard. I have no intention of harming you."

"But..."

"I will apologize later for resorting to violence. You may feel uncomfortable while restrained, but bear with it until I defeat the Orc Lord."

"Son! I will not allow you to do this!"

"Gabiru... no, Brother! Please, come to your senses!"

"Unhand me! Unhand me, I said! Unhand me at once! I will not stand for this!"

A lizardman walks up to Gabiru, holding up the chieftain's trident and handing it to him, "Sir Gabiru, here."

"That's my father's..." He grabs the trident, holding it up as his body courses with its power, "Th-This power... Vortex Spear, you acknowledge me as your master now?"

Now with the trident, the other armed lizardmen now return, "We've seized the leaders of each clan. There were a lot of young ones who didn't agree with this defensive battle."

"I see."

The lizardmen all kneel behind Gabiru, "We're all behind you. We're counting on you, Sir Gabiru."

"Of course. I will show you how a true Lizardman fights! The time has come!"

Gabiru marches towards the exit, spear in hand as the group of lizardmen begin to cheer, "GABI-COUP! GABI-COUP! GABI-COUP!"

Gabiru had left the village about several hours ago, and while I personally, along with Benimaru, wanted to just kill the annoying lizard, it seemed Rimuru again preferred the diplomatic solution. If you count sending the clown-nosed goblin out to kick him in the back 'diplomatic.' In the last few hours, me and Rimuru have worked a bit to organize a meeting between the important figures of the village. The primary attendees were the Kijin, the Goblin village chiefs, as well as some others like Kaijin.

Now with the meeting started, Souei, who was basically the closest thing we had to an anti-intelligence or reconnaissance agency, gave us information on the Orc army. "I saw 200,000 Orcs. The main army is moving north along the river. Based on the movements of this army and a detached force, I expect they will regroup in the marshlands east of here."