The World's Ego

Eve of War

Rimuru POV

A month had passed since that conference, and ever since then, I had been regularly showing up in the Control Room to keep a lookout on the movement of the Imperial Army. Plus...

Masayuki looks just like Emperor Rudra... Gadra told me that back then and even decided to warn Yuuki about the possible culprit that attacked him back then. I don't doubt Masayuki, but the fact that he looks like the Emperor could either be a coincidence or...

I shook these thoughts off and focused on the screens again. We made sure the Control Room was constantly staffed 24 hours a day since the war was looming, rotating in three shifts to make sure that everyone would have enough rest. Ramiris and Veldora are always here to play around whenever they like, having been excited (or secretly anxious, in Veldora's case) for the war. However, because of the month of inactivity, they had returned to the research labs after growing bored and Veldora only drops by occasionally now (he has been a little huffy since that conference though). The executives currently in this room were me, Beni, Souei, and my two Secretaries. We had initially predicted that it would take them 20 days to arrive, yet they have been moving slower than expected. Rather, they were purposely doing this to show off their military might.

It's no surprise, really. For anyone, including monsters, who has never seen tanks before, they look absurdly like big monsters. Even the monsters on Rank A and below were escaping from their marching path. They have already crossed our national borders, but since it's the Empire, they didn't abide by these laws.

"I think we're being way too optimistic when preparations aren't even close to being done. No matter what, we will settle it in battle anyway, so we don't have to be underhanded." Beni reassured me with full confidence

I smiled at his confidence and within a few days, the wait was over. The Empire finally stopped moving and got into formation. They never intended to fight fairly and were already sending an infantry unit of 70,000 soldiers.

"That's their main force." Iris pointed out

Beni nodded in agreement, "I agree. The purpose of the tank unit is to serve as a decoy and, at the same time, contain the Dwarven Army."

"They are ensuring that the rear would be protected while attacking our country. They are cautious even with a large army." MEI noted, pushing up her glasses

"I see..." I then took a glance at MEI, "How's the research with the psuedo core?"

She gives me a confident smile, "It's just in time for the war."

I grinned, "Good to hear."

Beni suddenly cuts in after observing the screen again, "At least we clearly see their intentions. It's astonishing how much of an advantage we hold over them simply by controlling information."

"Kufufufu, as expected of Rimuru-sama. What you must mean is that everything is in the palm of your hand!" Diablo praises me once again

"Regarding the Empire's infantrymen, it seems we may have taken their threat level a bit too lightly. Each and every single one of them is talented, there are no deserters, either, and have gathered 30 kilometers away from Elysium, our capital. They've even encamped and set up a command post there." Souei explained

"In this case, it usually means that they believe in their superiority and that their covert operation is running smoothly. They are sorely underestimating us and have already begun to move in after their offer of surrender." MEI continued

Diablo nods in agreement, "Kufufufufu, I agree with what MEI-dono said. Furthermore, these 30 kilometers is the perfect distance, not too far and not too close. After all, surveillance through magic loses its precision as distance increases. With magic interference caused by legion magic on top of that, they wholeheartedly trust the area to be completely undetectable, and that they are pulling everything off perfectly. It is laughable, but I think that is the limit of their capabilities."